Weekly Email 6-15-23
Dear Common Ground Friends,
Over Memorial Day weekend a group of us gathered for a Work Retreat to plant over 200 trees at the retreat center. Amid the heat and physical demand of digging holes, I was struck by how held we were by the spirit and lineage of generosity and how people freely stepped in to steward the community and land. Joan and Jen kept us well fed and on the last night Cory and Roger arrived to water the trees we couldn’t reach with a hose. Through witnessing and participating in the giving, I continue to be deeply moved by how this core teaching shifts and loosens our perceptions of what life is about.
Generosity is the movement of a free heart. When we are generous, we are choosing to relate in ways that build trust in abundance and resource. It is not a foundational concept we act on in order to “get” somewhere in our practice. It is more like the root of a great tree. We can water this powerful root and as it grows deep its fruits bring understanding in how this sense of a “me” is not as fixed, independent, and solid as it seems. Generosity is a practice to cultivate and also a fruit of our practice, and we can relate to it in both of those ways.
Dear friends, if this is a practice you are interested in cultivating, what are your edges of generosity? Where can we be more generous with our attention? With our resources? With our fearlessness? With our care for ourselves and each other?
One of the last evenings at the retreat center, community member and plant scientist Stephen Gregg, took us on a nature walk through the woods. He led us to one of the oldest trees, an elder red oak. We put our hands on their trunk and looked up into the vast canopy.
Wishing you deep happiness,
Robin Major
Office Manager
P.S. If you are interested in attending the next work retreat, Cory Clemetson will be at the retreat center for two weeks July 17th – 28th. You can register here: Summer Work Retreat.
Community Potluck!
Sunday, June 18th | 12:00 – 1:30 PM
Celebrate community and bring a vegetarian dish to share! If you’re like to volunteer to help out before, during, or after, click here.
The Practice of Generosity
Ongoing Programs
To view a complete list of our regular program offerings, visit our upcoming programs page on our website. As always, our online calendar is the best way to find the correct times and Zoom links.
Open Meditation
Check our online calendar for times and details. There are many opportunities for silent meditation, 7 days a week, in-person and on Zoom.
Weekly Practice Groups
- Sunday mornings, 10:30-11:45 AM in-person and on Zoom with Mark Nunberg
- Sunday evenings, 7:00-8:30 PM in-person only with Mark Nunberg
- Wednesday evenings, 7:30-9:00 PM now in-person and on Zoom with Shelly Graf
- First Fridays, 7:00-8:30 PM, Lovingkindness with Mark Nunberg and Stacy McClendon
- First Thursdays, 7:00-8:30 PM, Developing the Art of Spiritual Inquiry with Ramesh Sairam. On Zoom only.
- Sundays, 4:30-5:30 PM, on Zoom with Mark Nunberg and Wynn Fricke, on Zoom
- Tuesdays, 12:00-1:00 PM, on Zoom with Stacy McClendon, on Zoom, joined by Mark Nunberg on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month.
- Wednesdays, 8:30-9:30 AM, in-person with Shelly Graf, assisted by Robin Major
- Fridays, 9:00-10:00 AM, on Zoom with Shelly Graf and every other Friday with Shelly and Jen Racho
- Every other Saturday, 10:30 am-12:00 PM, on Zoom with Ramesh Sairam
Meets every Friday, 7:00-8:30 PM.
On Friday, June 16th, this group will join the guest teacher talk with devon hase
In-person and on Zoom
On Friday, June 16th, this group will join the guest teacher talk with devon hase
In-person and on Zoom
7:00-8:30 PM
- Children’s Program: The Children’s Program is on pause for the summer, except for Sunday, June 18th, the next Community Potluck.
Upcoming Programs at Common Ground’s City Center
To see the full list of programs visit our calendar
Buddhist Studies with Mark Nunberg: Divine Abodes
Eight Classes: Mondays, June 12th – July 31st
Optional Sitting Period, 7:00 – 7:30 PM
In-person and on Zoom
Register here
Metta for Our Times with devon hase
Friday, June 16, 7:00 – 8:30 PM
In-person and on Zoom
Register here
Daylong Retreat with Mark Nunberg
Saturday, June 24th | 9:30am – 4:00pm
In-person and on Zoom
Register here
Weekly Practice Group with Guest Teacher Deborah Ratner Helzer
Sunday, June 25, 10:30 – 11:45 AM
In-person and on Zoom
No registration needed
Maneuvering the Simple Complexity and Complex Simplicity of Dhamma Practice with Nils Heymann
Sunday, June 29, 7:00 – 8:30 PM
In-person only
No registration needed
Half-Day Retreat with Shelly Graf
Saturday, July 1st | 1:00 pm – 5:00 PM
In-person and on Zoom
Register here
Daylong Retreat with Mark Nunberg
Saturday, July 29th | 9:30am – 4:00pm
In-person and on Zoom
Register here
Upcoming Programs at our Retreat Center
Common Ground Retreat Center is located in Wisconsin, about an hour-and-fifteen-minute drive from Minneapolis. More information and registration for upcoming programs at the retreat center can be found here
Contemplative Arts Practice Period with Wynn Fricke and Richard Bonk
Thursday, June 22nd – Sunday, June 25th
In-person only at the retreat center
More info and registration here
Educator’s Practice Period with Risa Cohen, Paul Sackaroff, and Cecilia Ramón
Thursday, July 6th – Sunday, July 9th
In-person only at the retreat center
More info and registration here
The Joy of Renunciation Practice Period
with Mark Nunberg, Robin Major, Cory Clemetson and Rick Condon
Tuesday, July 11th – Sunday July 16th
In-person only
Register here
Divine Abodes: Four Dimensions of Love with Patrice Koelsch
Thursday afternoon, August 10th – Sunday midday August 13th
In-person only at the retreat center
More info and registration here
Labor Day Retreat
with Shelly Graf and Mark Nunberg, assisted by Stacy McClendon and Gabe Keller Flores
Saturday August 26th – Monday September 4th
On Zoom, in person at our city center and in person at our retreat center
More info and registration here
In addition to these weekend retreats, we also offer public drop-in groups on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month at the retreat center, 6:30-7:45 pm. The groups are led by Dharma teachers and community leaders. More info about these Wednesday night programs here.
Current Volunteer Needs
Please contact our Office Manager, Robin Major, at robin@commongroundmeditation.org if you are interested in any of these volunteer opportunities:
- Office Volunteers: We are looking for one or more people with 1-2 years of experience at the center and with prior office experience to help us with office tasks and bulletin board maintenance. Experience with G-Suite and general comfort with computer technology would be helpful.
- Wishlists: If you would like to donate a specific item, check out the Retreat Center Wishlist and the City Center Wishlist.
Community News
Upcoming Community Group Meetings
To view a complete list of our regular program offerings, visit our upcoming programs page on our website. As always, our online calendar is the best way to find the correct times and Zoom links.
- Be Queer Now, weekly on Wednesday, 7:30-9:00 PM
- Black, Indigenous, People of Color Community Group, First and Third Thursdays, 6:30-8:00 PM
- Community Group: Learning to Approach Social and Political Conflict with Skill and Kindness, Sunday, June 18th, 1:30-3:00 PM
- Mindfulness & Depression, Sunday, June 18th, 4:00-5:30 PM
- Millennials Sangha, Friday, June 23rd, 7:00-8:30 PM
- To see the complete list of community groups, click here.
Right Effort
Being mindful is not difficult.
But it is difficult to be continuously aware.
For that you need right effort,
which is effort with wisdom.
It does not require a great deal of energy.
It’s a relaxed perseverance
in reminding yourself to be aware.
Thanks to The Daily Tejaniya for this quote
Tree planting scenes from the Memorial Day weekend Tree Sangha Practice Period
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