Weekly Email 9-30-22

Dear Common Ground Friends,

Dear Friends,
Not long ago I came across some photos from the first family program at Common Ground more than 2 decades ago. It was sweet to see such happy faces of parents and kids…who are now grown ups by the way! It was also sweet to reflect on the center’s longstanding commitment to supporting kids and families through many iterations of programming and how so many people over the years have volunteered to make it happen. Maybe you remember pre-pandemic Sunday mornings and so much joy in the building, with children, preteen, and teens all gathering with their respective group, and parents joining the adult practice group meeting in the meditation hall. Especially joyful were those final 10 minutes when the littlest kids filed into the meditation hall to lead the community in song. Such sweet memories really gladden the heart.

We’ve heard from many parents over the past months, hoping that Common Ground is able to find a way to restart programming for children. Gratefully, Joe Fuemmeler and Madeline Gardner have stepped forward to begin an effort, leading a program for children ages kindergarten – 3rd grade. Younger children are welcome if accompanied by parents. If you know Joe and Madeline, you know that the children will be in good hands with them! We are still looking for volunteers assistants to support Joe and Madeline too, so please let us know if you are interested. We’ll be able to have only as many kids as the adults can safely care for each week, so more volunteer assistants means more capacity. As always, parents are asked to remain on-sight, joining the adult program when their kids are participating in the children’s group in the adjacent community room. We’ll begin modestly and run the children’s program every first and 3rd Sunday in October, starting this Sunday, November, and December concurrently with the Sunday morning program from 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.. We’ll evaluate how things are going at the end of December. We ask everyone to follow CDC guidelines about how and when to take precautions in order to support a sense of ease in the physical space.

We know too that our covid protocols are imperfect but we’re grateful to be wading through the muddy waters of science, risk, collective well being, autonomy, and so much more with our doctor team. Mark, Robin and I had a meeting with the doctors last week that ended with a collective acknowledgement that arriving at protocols that work for a community is hard and uncertain. Yet, we keep doing the best we can, keeping compassion in mind. Please continue to share your feedback with us and we’ll keep listening to you, to our hearts and to our team of doctors guiding us. Thankfully, there has been no known transmission at any Common Ground programs. Let’s all keep following the Buddha’s example, listen to our hearts, and keep our collective well being in mind at all times.

Warmest Wishes,
Shelly

p.s. We are very close also to restarting our teen practice group so please stay tuned in the upcoming weeks for more information about that!

Weekly Programs
To view our entire list of programs and to access Zoom links to participate in online programs, please visit the online calendar. 

Weekly Practice Groups

• Sunday mornings, 10:30-11:45am in-person and on Zoom with Mark Nunberg
  • October 2nd and 9th Mark will be teaching virtually and live-streamed in the dharma hall
  • October 16th taught by Shelly Graf
• Sunday evenings, 7:00-8:30pm in-person with Mark Nunberg
  • October 2nd with Shelly Graf
  • October 9th with Shelly Graf
• Wednesday evenings, 7:30-9:00pm on Zoom with Shelly Graf
  • October 5th will be held from 5:30 – 7:45 CT in order to include the community at Cambridge Insight Meditation Center.

• First Wednesday of the month: Community Group led by Matthew King and other practice leaders
• Third Wednesday of the month: Monthly Practice Group with Mark Nunberg and guest teachers

The Practice of Generosity

Continuing in the tradition of Buddhist monasteries in Southeast Asia, all programs at Common Ground are offered free of charge in the spirit of generosity. This offering is possible because of the generosity of people like you—from the Buddha on down to all the people in our community—who contribute their practice, time, and financial resources to support the continuation of the center.

To learn how to support the center and our teachers, visit this page. Let us know if you have any questions.

Current Volunteer Needs 
Please contact Robin Major at robin@commongroundmeditation.org if you are interested in any of these volunteer opportunities:

• Adopt a Cleaning Task for the Common Ground building! Our meditation home is welcoming more traffic these days. If it would feel good for you to pick up a work task and care for the community in this way, please let Robin know a specific time you would like to come in and we can identify a weekly 15 minute cleaning task for you to do.
• Mid-week flower watering needed. Please contact Karen Heegaard at Kfheeg@yahoo.com if you would like to water or know more.
• Wishlist items: large pot (for over 20 servings), one bookshelf, large high quality wool rugs for the dharma hall at the retreat center, large indoor trees with nice pots.

Community News 

Weekly Tejaniya

When the mind finds some-
thing interesting, acknowledge
that interest is present in the mind.
Then ask: Is the interest in the object,
or in the awareness of the object? Re-
member always to direct interest
towards the awareness.

 Thanks to The Daily Tejaniya for this quote

Happy retreatants at the closing brunch for the Tranquility & Insight Retreat last weekend