Dear Common Ground Friends, It’s good to be back at Common Ground after taking some time for personal retreat in July and also doing some traveling before and after to teach retreats. I found the Buddha’s teachings on wise effort to …
Weekly Email 8-2-22
Welcome back Dr. Femi Akinnagbe Dear Common Ground Friends, On Saturday August 13th, we have invited our friend and former Common Ground leader and teacher Dr. Femi Akinnagbe from Los Angeles to join Shelly Graf and me in leading our …
Weekly Email 7-26-22
Dear Common Ground Friends, In his quest for total liberation the Buddha discovered that craving was the cause of all suffering. So, in attempting to apply the Buddha’s discovery to our lives, craving is a very important part of our …
Weekly Email 7-20-22
I was talking to some dharma friends recently and the question, “What would the Buddha be like in an intimate, sexual relationship?” came up. Dear Common Ground Friends, I was talking to some dharma friends recently and the question, “What …
Weekly Email 7-12-22
Dear Common Ground Friends, Like it or not we live in a relational world. There is no way to avoid being in relationship with others and even ourselves. And, as we begin to investigate, we realize that many of our …
Weekly Email 7-5-22
Dear Common Ground Friends, The Buddha encouraged us to reflect on our sila. Sila is the pali word for the liberating training in harmlessness– a moral sensitivity and integrity that leads to freedom from regret and remorse. This is a …
Weekly Email 6-29-22
Dear Common Ground Friends, I would like to begin by asking you to join me in wishing Shelly Graf, Common Ground’s other Guiding Teacher, an easeful and insightful retreat. Shelly will be entering a period of retreat practice for the …
Weekly Email 6-21-22
Dear Common Ground Friends, I am currently away co-leading a week long retreat for young adults. It is really inspiring to be here supporting 30 young people as they do the noble work of caring for the heart moment by …
Weekly Email 6-14-22
Dear Common Ground Friends, Awareness practice is an invitation to wholeness, allowing the totality of what is moving in each moment. Aligning with awareness requires a full renunciation of fixed ideas. It is not possible to be in control and …
Weekly Email 6-7-22
Dear Common Ground Friends, Feeling into the impact of suffering can often inspire us to seek the deepest, most noble place to rest the heart upon. This is what we might call seeking refuge. It’s common practice at Common Ground to take refuge in the …
