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Common Ground Meditation CenterSupporting the Twin Cities Mindfulness Meditation Community Practicing Together in the Footsteps of the Buddha
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Common Ground Meditation Center 2700 East 26th Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406 (612) 722-8260 email: info@commongroundmeditation.org |
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Current ProgramsAll programs are offered free of charge in the spirit of generosity. The Center, however, is completely dependent on your gifts. Your contributions pay for all the Center's expenses as well as the livelihood of the teachers. You may leave donations in the bowl in the entranceway. All contributions to Common Ground are tax deductible.
Note: The Center will be closed beginning the evening of December 27th through noon on December 31st due to the year-end retreat. Mindfulness in the Twelve-Steps
ONGOING PROGRAMS
Sundays, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Please join us for this weekly drop-in opportunity for families, led by community volunteers. The practice for children ages 1 through 8 years is held in the community room during Sunday Morning Weekly Practice Group. Parents should plan on staying with their child until she or he has settled in. In addition, one parent should assist the teacher every second visit. When not assisting, parents are expected to join other community members in the meditation hall. Please contact Kate Needleman at okneedleman@gmail.com, for more information. For older children, please contact Linda Breitag (LBreitag@gmail.com) for children 9 to 13 and Paul Sackaroff (paulsackaroff @hotmail.com) for teenagers 14 through 19.
Open Meditation Sessions Metta Practice Group Fridays, December 4, January 8, February 5; 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Practice Meetings COURSESPlease contact the center to register. Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation: The Way of Awareness or Intro Workshop with Gail Iverson, Sunday, December 6 or February 14, 1:30 – 5:00 p.m. Buddhist Studies Program: Mindfulness of the Body The Buddhist Studies Program is designed for people who have attended three or more mindfulness meditation retreats and have a commitment to daily meditation practice. This class will examine the Buddha’s teachings on mindfulness of the body as a primary strategy for calming the mind and developing insight. A direct, moment-to-moment knowing of sensations is often obscured by the mind’s habitual conceptualizing. In this class we will explore several techniques designed to transform the mind’s understanding of experience, resulting in less reactivity and suffering. Participants will be expected to use the teachings as a focus of their meditation and daily practice. Led by Mark Nunberg. Eight Mondays, January 11 – March 1, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. Optional sitting period, 7:00 – 7:30 p.m. Healing in the Present Moment: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction This eight-week program is an introduction to mindfulness meditation practice. Participants will learn and practice mindfulness meditation techniques, including body scan, sitting and walking meditation, gentle yoga, and qigong. Sessions will include formal meditation practice and large and small group discussions. The course is appropriate for people seeking to use mindfulness meditation techniques to improve their general health and well-being. It is open to those willing to commit to the eight-week course and a daily practice. Debbie Norgaard has over 25 years experience in the healthcare field as an RN/Nurse Practitioner and is certified as a Healing Touch and Shiatsu Practitioner. Her formal meditation practice began 11 years ago. In addition to formal retreat practice, she has completed the seven-day MBSR professional training program with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli. Eight Thursdays, January 14 - March 4, 6:30– 9:00 p.m. Day long retreat: Saturday, February 27, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Quarterly Community Gathering
Please join us for this wonderful opportunity to meet the community that practices at Common Ground and recommit to living a life dedicated to kindness, generosity, and the awakening of wisdom and compassion. Mark Nunberg will give a dharma talk, then the community will recite the Refuges and Precepts. A potluck will begin at 11:45 am. Feel free to bring along family and friends. If you plan to come to the sit or talk, you can store food in the refrigerator until the potluck begins. No registration necessary.
The quarterly gathering replaces the regular weekly practice group on this Sunday. The Sunday Morning children’s program will be held as regularly scheduled, as will the open sitting time from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. Sunday, December 20, 10:30 – 11:40 a.m.
WORKSHOPS
Living the Practice:The Art of Calm and Contentedness in Daily Life In this workshop we will explore the real possibility of calm and freedom from craving in the midst of our busy lives. We will discuss a shift in values that acknowledges the wholesomeness and joy of a quiet and simple mind and the violence of always having too much to do. We will practice simple techniques that can be used in our daily lives to support the releasing of craving and agitation. This workshop will include talks and discussions, time for guided reflection, small group sharing, and meditation periods. The lunch break will allow for informal discussions and social time. Led by Mark Nunberg. Saturday, December 19, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. A Fresh Beginning:New Year’s Day Yoga and Meditation Please join Nancy and Debbie for a rejuvenating experience of movement, stillness, and everything in-between. This program will include various yoga practices, guided meditation, and chanting. No experience required. Please bring a yoga mat if you have one. Led by Nancy Boler and Debbie Norgaard. Friday, January 1, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Mindfulness and Physical Pain Mindfulness meditation can help practitioners understand the complex nature of pain and provide tools to reduce the suffering associated with it. This half-day workshop will include guided meditation, lectures, and group discussions. It is open to everyone, but may be especially useful for people experiencing physical pain and those (professional and otherwise) who help people in pain. Led by Gail Iverson and Ramesh Sairam. Saturday, February 13, 1:00 –5:00 p.m.
MONTHLY EVENING DHARMA
Ajahn Punnadhammo Ajahn Punnadhammo began practicing and studying Buddhism under the direction of Kema Ananda at the Arrow River Forest Hermitage near Thunder Bay. In 1990, he went to Thailand to seek ordination, taking the higher ordination in February 1992 at Wat Pah Nanachat, in the tradition of Ajahn Chah. He took over direction of the Hermitage when Kema Ananda passed away in 1996. He frequently leads meditation retreats at Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts. Friday, December 11, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Shoshana Alexander: Be Happy: Following the Buddha’s Injunction in the Face of Challenge and Suffering Shoshana has been a student of Buddhist meditation and philosophy since 1970, and studied with various Tibetan and Zen teachers before settling into vipassana in the mid-seventies. Her primary teachers were Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, and S.N. Goenka. She has co-taught daylong retreats at Spirit Rock with James Baraz, and worked in and directed the Family Program there for two years. She is co-author with James Baraz of the book Awakening Joy: 10 Steps on the Path to Real Happiness, which will be published in January, 2010. Wednesday, December 23, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m
Myoshin Kelly: Honoring the Fire of Truth Each of us has an inner yearning to know true happiness and to live in alignment with what is true. This often gets lost in confusion, apathy, and despair. We will explore aspects of the Buddha's teachings that help us to clarify truth and work with factors that undermine our heart's deepest longing. Myoshin Kelley attended her first meditation retreat in 1975. Through the ensuing years, she practiced intensively with several renowned Buddhist meditation masters in the Theravada, Zen, and Vajrayana traditions. She lived at the Insight Meditation Society for 15 years where she trained as a teacher. From 2003 to 2009 she was the teacher in-residence-at the Forest Refuge, the long-term practice center at IMS. She is in the process of moving to Minneapolis to assist Mingyur Rinpoche in carrying forth his worldwide vision. Saturday, January 16, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Ajahn Punnadhammo See bio above . Friday, February 19, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
James Baraz: Awakening Joy James Baraz has been teaching meditation since 1978 and the Awakening Joy course (www.awakeningjoy.info) since 2003. He is a founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California and leads retreats, workshops, and classes. James is a co-author with Shoshana Alexander of Awakening Joy, a new book based on the course. In addition, James is on the International Advisory Board of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. He lives with his wife in the Bay Area, has two sons and three grandchildren. Wednesday, March 3, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.
MEDITATION RETREATSFor Common Ground retreats, call or email the Center: (612) 722-8260, info@commongroundmeditation.org. Or drop in and sign up.
The Practice of Tranquility and Insight Retreating from the distractions of daily life is an essential part of the path of awakening. Please join us for these important opportunities to deepen mindfulness. Those who are new to meditation should attend the intro class or several weekly practice groups before their first retreat. Please contact the center to register for retreats, unless otherwise noted. Half-Day Retreats with Mark Nunberg: Saturday, December 5, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. Saturday, January 9, 9 a.m – 1:00 p.m. Saturday, February 6, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. Daylong Retreats (please bring a lunch) with Ajahn Punnadhammo: Saturday, December 12, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. (see bio under Workshops) with Mark Nunberg: Saturday, January 30, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Annual Year-End Retreat at the Center Begins Sunday, December 27 at 7 p.m. and ends Thursday, December 31 at noon. Registration begins November 16. Residential Retreat at Holy Spirit Retreat Center with Mark Nunberg Thursday, February 11 at 5 p.m. to Monday, February 15 at noon; for info or to register: commongroundretreats@gmail.com. Registration begins December 11.
TCVC Residential Retreat with Ajahn Punnadhammo February 12 – 15 (or 19).Visit www.tcvc.info for more information.
COMMUNITY PRACTICE GROUPS
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Copyright © 2009 by Common Ground Meditation Center. All rights reserved. Use of this site is permitted only for personal, non-profit, and educational gain. Go to the Contact Us page for detailed directions to the Common Ground Center. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments about this web site, we welcome and encourage you to email us. We will make a strong effort to reply as quickly as possible. Thank You. |
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