Open Meditation Sessions
Quarterly Community Gathering
Courses
Workshops
Guest Teacher Talks
Meditation Retreats
Yoga and Qigong
Mindfulness in the Twelve Steps
See the Newsletter or visit the Center to learn about more practice opportunities.
Note that some programs require registration—see details in program areas.
Residential Retreat Information & Registration
Open Meditation Session
Open meditation is available on a drop-in basis for anyone wishing to practice silent sitting or walking meditation. Stay for as many 30-minute periods as you would like. Please arrive and depart with the bells, which are rung every half hour.
Monday – Saturday, 7:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Sunday, 8:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Tuesday, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Weekly Practice Groups
Common Ground offers practice groups three times a week: Wednesday and Sunday evenings and Sunday morning. These weekly groups are designed to be a cornerstone for one’s practice by providing ongoing instruction and teachings that help illuminate the simple but challenging practice of mindfulness. The Buddha taught that mindfulness is the way to go beyond habits of distraction and grasping. To walk this path of wisdom and compassion, we need the support of a community that shares this intention. Each session includes a guided meditation, dharma talk, and discussion. Both experienced and beginning meditators are welcome. No registration required. Led by Mark Nunberg.
Wednesday, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, 10:30 – 11:40 a.m.
Sunday, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Sunday Morning Children’s Practice
10:30 – 11:40 a.m.
Please join us for this dharma-focused experience for children led by community volunteers most Sundays. The practice for children ages 2 1/2 through 7 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 feels comfortable. 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 email children@commongroundmeditation.org for more information and schedule.
Pre-Teen Practice
The pre-teen group is for children 8-12 years who want to explore Buddhism, mindfulness, and compassion for self and others. The practice is held during Sunday morning weekly practice group. Parents are expected to join other community members in the meditation hall. Please email preteen@commongroundmeditation.org to register.
Teen Practice
You are not alone! Join others your age who are interested in learning how to be more mindful in daily life, relate to difficult emotions, and show up in a good way for your friends, family and others you care about. This group is held during the Sunday morning weekly practice group. If you are interested or at least curious, contact shelly@commongroundmeditation.org.
Sundays, April – June 3, 10:30 – 11:40 a.m.
Metta Practice Group
This practice group is for people interested in developing the heart by training in the four beautiful emotions of lovingkindness (metta), compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity. Each session includes instruction, a guided meditation, a short dharma talk, and time for questions and discussion. This monthly group meets on the first Friday of each month. No registration required. Led by Mark Nunberg.
Fridays, May 4, June 1, July 6, August 3, September 7; 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Practice Meetings
People interested in meeting with Mark Nunberg to discuss their practice can call to set up an appointment. These practice meetings are usually scheduled for 30 minutes and are available to people with specific questions about their meditation practice or for people who are interested in deepening their practice through regular meetings with a spiritual friend.
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 a.m. 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. 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. No registration necessary
Sunday, June 24, 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
Summer Work Day
Come and join other community members in our commitment to maintaining our place of practice. The Center is in need of our loving touch. We will be cleaning areas that have been less attended to and doing other building maintenance. No skill is required. Contact the Center if you are interested in helping.
Sunday, June 24, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Courses
Please contact the center to register for courses.
Introduction To Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation leads to insight into the nature of our hearts and minds, revealing an inherent clarity, openness, and ease. This course includes exploration of the intention behind practice, an introduction to insight (vipassana) meditation techniques, instructions for working with common obstacles, an overview of the practices of lovingkindness, and a discussion on how mindfulness can be part of one’s daily life. Please register by contacting the center.
Intro Class with Mark Nunberg, Six Tuesdays, July 10 – August 14, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Intro Workshop with Gail Iverson, Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, July 22 , 1:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Buddhist Studies Program
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. Participants will be expected to use the teachings as a focus of their meditation and daily practice. Led by Mark Nunberg.
The Three Refuges
This seven week course examines the three refuges as a central practice of discovering, clarifying, and strengthening one’s spiritual aspiration. Without understanding the purpose or goal behind the practice, we tend to drift. These afflictive states of mind are often regular visitors for meditators. Developing patience and the skill to recognize, abandon and prevent these states goes to the heart of the practice of meditation and skillful living.
Seven Mondays, June 25 – August 13 (no class on July 9), 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Optional sitting period, 7:00 – 7:30 p.m.
June Practice Period
This will be an intensive practice period for those interested in integrating daily life with more formal practice and study. In addition to a commitment to mindfulness throughout all daily activities, participants are asked to commit to three Monday evenings and as many of the 6-9 a.m. morning practice sessions as possible. There are additional practice suggestions for those participating. The practice period ends with a daylong retreat on Thursday, June 21. Please contact the center for more information. Led by Mark Nunberg
Monday, June 4-Thursday, June 21
Conscious Dying, Mindful Living
In this four-week experiential workshop, we will explore how we relate to death and dying- our own and that of our loved ones. We will investigate some end-of-life rituals and care, and practice relating to death as a great teacher who awakens us to the preciousness of each moment of living. We will learn together how we care for our own at and after death, practically and spiritually.
Four Thursdays, May 17-June 7, 6:30-9 p.m. Led by Kyoko Katayama and Linda Bergh
Linda Bergh wanted to share insights from her experience after losing her daughter in an auto accident in 1996 and two husbands: Paul in 1995 and Jack in 2005. She teaches workshops on death and dying, and supports families to care for their own at death. She is a founding member of Minnesota Threshold Network. Linda is a publisher of She Would Draw Flowers, an anthology of her daughter’s poetry and art, and distributes An Ethical Will by her late husband, Jack Heckelman, and the DVD, The Most Excellent Dying of Theodore Jack Heckelman by Nancy Poer. A psychotherapist and educator for many decades, she currently teaches Biography Work in the Waldorf community locally and internationally.
Kyoko Katayama, a psychotherapist for over 30 years, has made an intention and practice of integrating her spiritual life, her professional work, and personal experiences towards ease and integrity in all that she does. She has been a student of dharma, practicing at Common Ground since 1999. She has completed a two-year study and practice on Satipatthana (The Foundations of Mindfulness) with Matthew Flickstein. The recent loss of her beloved husband has deepened her understanding of the truth of impermanence, suffering, and love.
Workshops
Please contact the center to register for workshops.
With Rita Gross: How the World Works-Interdependence and the Twelve Nidanas
In this day long workshop, we will discuss the Buddha’s teaching on karma, cause and effect, or conditioned genesis. We will explore what it means to say that nothing exists independently, that things only arise interdependently.
Teacher Rita Gross is an internationally known feminist scholar-practitioner, a senior teacher in Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche’s meditation center, Lotus Garden, and a senior teacher of Shambhala Buddhism. She is professor emerita of comparative studies in religion at UW, Eau Claire.
Saturday, May 19, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
With Gail Iverson and Ramesh Sairam: 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. Gail Iverson has been practicing mindfulness meditation since 1987 and currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors at Common Ground. Ramesh Sairam is a practicing psychiatrist in St. Paul who has been practicing mindfulness meditation at Common Ground Meditation Center for five years.
Saturday, June 2 and Sunday Sept. 9, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
With Craig Vollmar: Transforming Anger
This half-day workshop seeks to bring relief to those of us who suffer from anger and resentments. With practice, this powerful energy can be transformed from anger to kindness and joy. All are welcome. Craig Vollmar is a founding board member of Common Ground and leader in the Twelve Step group.
Saturday, June 9, 1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
With Mark Nunberg: Living the Practice
These workshops include talks, guided meditations, guided reflections, and large and small group discussions designed to open up our understanding about the essential art of awakening wisdom and compassion in our lives. The lunch break will allow for informal discussions and social time. Mark Nunberg is the guiding teacher at Common Ground.
Cultivating Wholesome Relationships
Whether one has a partner or is relating to friends, work colleagues, and relatives; our lives are often dominated by the ups and downs of relationships. We can learn to better recognize, understand, and transform the self-centered grasping that characterizes our habits when relating to another. It is possible to train the mind to relate to others free from grasping, denial, and struggle.
Saturday, June 23, 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
With Ajahn Jotipalo: Skillful Use of Devotional Practices
Ajahn Jotipalo became interested in Theravada Buddhism after sitting several Goenka retreats. While on staff at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, he met Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Punnadhammo. After leaving IMS, he spent three months with Ajahn Punnadhammo at the Arrow River Hermitage in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. He requested the “Going Forth,” taking anagarika ordination on July 8, 1998 and ordained as a bhikkhu with Ajahn Pasanno as preceptor in 2000. He is presently living at the Pacific Hermitage, a branch of Abhayagiri in the Pacific Northwest.
Saturday, July 8, 1 p.m – 3:30 p.m.
With Ajahn Chandako: The Teachings of Ajahn Chah and the Thai Forest Tradition
Ajahn Chandako was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1990 in the Thai Forest Tradition in the lineage of Ajahn Chah. Born in 1962 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, his interest in the teachings of the Buddha grew as he studied towards a BA degree in Religious Studies from Carelton College (1984). After practicing intensive meditation in various monasteries in Thailand and traveling in Tibet, Nepal and India, he settled in Wat Pah Nanachat, The International Forest Monastery, Thailand. Ajahn Chandako is now the Abbot of Vimutti Forest Monastery, near Auckland, New Zealand. He is the author and translator of several books.
Saturday, July 14, 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
With Craig Vollmar: Healing through Forgiveness
The practice of forgiveness is a key to open our hearts to authentic happiness. So why do we resist it so intently? Perhaps we are stuck in the stories of our resentments and disappointments and how they stunted our growth. In working with our feelings toward others and toward ourselves, we will come to forgive ourselves for not being better than we are, and begin to accept and appreciate ourselves for what we already are. The goal of the workshop is to help us use the wisdom of our experience and practice to work through difficult emotions. In time, with practice, the negative emotions that lock our hearts will dissipate of their own accord and we will begin feeling contented and responding to life without hostility and ill will. Led by Craig Vollmar, a founding Board Member of Common Ground and leader in the Twelve Steps group.
Saturday, August 18, 1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
With Kevin Griffin: The Practice of Recovery, A Buddhist Approach to Living Free from Addiction
This daylong workshop will focus on Buddhist mindfulness practices that can support recovering addicts, alcoholics, and anyone else who is dealing with addictive behaviors. We will connect the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path with Twelve Step recovery using meditation, lecture, dialog, and interactive exercises. All are welcome, those new to recovery and those with long experience, as well as recovery professionals. Introductory meditation instruction will be offered. Please contact the Center to register for this workshop.
Kevin Griffin is the author of the newly released book: A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery as well as One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps. He was trained as a Community Dharma Leader at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and is a co-founder of the Buddhist Recovery Network, an international organization supporting training and research into the uses of mindfulness and Buddhist teachings in addiction treatment.
Saturday, August 25, 9:30-4:00 p.m.
Guest Teacher Talks
Please join us for these special evenings of dharma (spiritual teachings) and connection with the Common Ground community. These drop-in programs are an opportunity to hear guest teachers and experienced community members speak about their practice. The evening begins with a 30-minute meditation period followed by a talk and discussion. The evening concludes with informal social time, tea, and treats.
With Myoshin Kelley: Appreciating Goodness
Myoshin Kelley attended her first meditation retreat in 1975. She lived at the Insight Meditation Society for 15 years where she trained as a teacher. She is a long time student of Mingyur Rinpoche and travels internationally leading meditation programs for the Tergar Meditation Community. Myoshin will lead the Weekly Practice Groups on
Sunday, May 6, 7-8:30 p.m. and Wednesday May 9, 7:30-9 p.m.
With Mark Berkson: Confucians and Daoists on Self, Time and Death
Mark Berkson is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Religion at Hamline University. Mark’s scholarly work has addressed topics such as Chinese religious thought, death and dying, animal ethics, and interfaith dialogue.
Thursday, May 10, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
With Franz Mockl: Dual Cultivation of Body and Mind
“If the body is not cultivated the mind can not be cultivated. If the body is cultivated the mind can be cultivated” says the Buddha.
Franz Mockl has practiced Qigong and Tai-ji for more than thirty years and is a long-time practitioner of vipassana meditation. He has been a monk in Burma and Thailand and has trained and taught at Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) clinic in MA.
Saturday, June 2, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
With Steve Armstrong and Kamala Masters: Buddha-Dhamma Nature
Kamala Masters and Steve Armstrong are the co-founding teachers of the Vipassana Metta Foundation’s dharma sanctuary and hermitage on Maui. Practicing since 1975, Steve and Kamala are both long time teachers at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA.
Sunday, June 17, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
With Ajahn Jotipalo: Preliminary Steps for Metta Practice
See bio under workshops.
Friday, June 22, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
With Nicole Taras: Appreciating Difficult People
Nicole Taras has been practicing the application of Buddhist principals for over 20 years.
Friday, June 29, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
With Rebecca Bradshaw: Being Ordinary
We come to meditation hoping something special will happen. What if the deepest happiness is all about ordinariness?
Rebecca Bradshaw teaches at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, at other locations in the United States, and at Kyaswa Monastery in Sagaing, Myanmar. She is a psychotherapist and the guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Center of Pioneer Valley, MA.
Monday, July 9, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
With Kevin Griffin: Everyday Addiction, Letting Go of Destructive Habits
See bio under workshops.
Thursday, August 23, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Meditation Retreats
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.
Half-Day Retreats
with Mark Nunberg:
Saturday, June 9, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 14, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 4, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Day-Long Retreats (Please bring a bag lunch.)
Saturday, May 26, 9 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. with Gail Iverson
Saturday, June 30, 9 a.m. – 6 00 p.m. with Mark Nunberg
Saturday, July 21, 9 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. with Mark Nunberg
Saturday, August 11, 9 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. with Mark Nunberg
Common Ground Residential Retreats
Heart of the Forest Retreat with Ajahn Chandako.
July 21-29. Registration opens 2 months prior to retreat. Info about registration will go out in weekly email updates. (To receive these, sign up on our mailing list.)
At Holy Spirit Retreat Center with Mark Nunberg
Thursday, August 30 at 5:00 p.m. to Monday, September 3 at noon. Or Sunday, August 26 at 5:00 p.m. to Monday, September 3 at noon. Registration begins June 30.
Please register online for this residential retreat.
TCVC Residential Retreats
June 8-17, 2012 with Steve Armstrong and Kamala Masters. Visit www.tcvc.info for more information.
Yoga and Qigong
All yoga and gigong classes and workshops are drop-in, no need to register. All yoga classes this quarter will be taught by Nancy Boler.
Mindful Yoga Weekly Practice
In these sessions we practice yoga poses in a way that promotes ease in the mind. Open to adults of all ages and all levels of experience.
Tuesdays (Level II), Wednesdays (Level I); 5:30 – 6:45 p.m. & Fridays (Level I), 9:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Yoga Nidra Workshops
The workshop includes explanation of Yoga Nidra, a short practice of yoga poses, then 45 minutes of being guided into deep relaxation and Yoga Nidra.
Sundays, May 6, June 3, July 1 & 15, August 5 & 19; 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. Attend one or all.
Restorative Yoga Workshop
Restorative yoga focuses on relaxing the body in restful postures. This workshop is appropriate for all ages and levels of yoga practice.
Sundays, May 27 & July 29, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Building a Healthy Spine Workshop
Proper alignment of the spine in our yoga poses and seated meditation practice leads to greater peace and clarity. In this workshop we will gain mechanical knowledge while creating strength and flexibility in the spine.
Sundays, June 24, and August 26, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Yoga Teacher, Nancy Boler was certified in 2000 at the Kripalu Center for Yoga in Lenox, Massachusetts.
Drop-in Qigong
Qigong is a deeply satisfying healing practice that integrates mindful awareness, breath, and movement. This practice develops relaxation, concentration, and vitality. Please join us. Led by Mark Nunberg and Merra Young.
Wednesdays, 9:05 – 10:05 a.m., ongoing.
Mindfulness in the Twelve Steps
Weekly Practice Group
This ongoing program is for those seeking spiritual development by practicing the principles of the Twelve Steps and the Buddha’s teachings in everyday life. This program supplements recovery and is designed to reveal to us that consistent mindfulness practice is vital to spiritual progress. This practice group is open to all who have an interest in mindfulness and the Twelve Steps. Led by Patti S., Emil J., and Elene L, Gail I, Ollie S. and Craig V.
Fridays, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. The group now meets every Friday of the month.
Twelve-Step Recovery and Mindfulness Meditation Retreat
These four hours without distractions provide a unique opportunity for self-discovery and seeing, through mindfulness meditation, how we contribute to our own suffering. If you have a yoga mat, please bring it for the gentle stretching exercises. No previous meditation retreat experience necessary. Led by Craig V.
Saturday, July 7, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
