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ON BEING GOD
Seeing Perfection
During the month of FEBRUARY Reverend
Glenda and Reverend Judy will help us take a bold step toward realizing the Truth of our own Divinity.
Referring to the work of a variety of master spiritual teachers, the Revs will join us in expanded exploration of the basic principles on which Common Ground is founded ~ embracing our humanity and expressing our Divinity.
To know that each of us is an expression of the energy of God is another way to say that we feel connected with this Universe; that we are an expression of the perfection and ultimate Truth of God.
Together we will work toward an understanding that when we are disconnected from that Truth, when we cannot remember that we are by all means an expression of the energy of God, we become ignorant, agitated and unskillful in our human walk in the world.
This talk series takes us beyond religious dogma into the realm of spiritual understanding of the true nature of Being. One of the key statements made by Jesus in the Christian tradition says: "I and the father are one". When Jesus said this, he didn't mean just himself. We are all the children of God, we are all God, we are all one with God.
Join us this month as we go deeper into what it means to be a 'spiritual Being having a human experience'. This idea of "Being God" may be brave new territory for some. Each week the Revs will share a meaningful message supported by ideas from Alan Watts, Jean Houston, Mark Nepo, Pema Chodron, Marc Gafni, Caroline Myss, and other master spiritual teachers.
Anyone ready to stretch and grow in awareness will find this series of talks important to gaining new understanding and strengthening what is already known.
Please join us at Common Ground for our 10:30 am inspirational service.
Resources
include:Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change, by Pema Chodron
The Wizard of Us, by Jean Houston
Seven Thousand Ways to Listen: Staying Close to What is Sacred, by Mark Nepo
The Essential Alan Watts, by Alan Watts
Your Unique Self: A Radical Path to Personal Enlightenment, by Marc Gafni
Archetypes: Who Are You?, by Caroline Myss
These
titles are available in the Book Boutique. (Quantities Limited)
Sunday Morning Inspiration Service
Weekly:
10:30
am
Kids' Care Program available during service for infants through 5th grade
Talk
titles for FEBRUARY
February 3: God Blinking
February 10: Father Leo Booth, Associate Minister, guest speaker
February 17: Nowhere to Hide ~ Teri Wilder, guest vocalist
February 24: Courage to Be
Watch Recent Talks On Video
Subscribe Today!
Robert Fields: Appearing
Sundays in
February
Thank You for Your Generosity!
Common
Ground is solely supported by the gracious
offerings of its spiritual community and
friends.
2012 Newsletter Archives
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FEBRUARY CLASSES & EVENTS
Sunday Morning Inspiration Service 10:30 am
FEBRUARY SPECIAL EVENTS
MASTER SERIES WORKSHOP ~ FEATURING THE WORK OF ALAN WATTS ~ WITH THE REVS ~ FEBRUARY 10 ~ 1 TO 3 PM ~ LOVE OFFERING
CHINESE NEW YEAR POTLUCK LUNCH ~ SUNDAY ~ FEBRUARY 10 ~ 11:30 AM TO 1 PM
FATHER LEO BOOTH ~ SUNDAY ~ FEBRUARY 10 ~ 10:30 AM INSPIRATIONAL TALK
KID'S CALENDAR
Kids' Care Program ~ ages infant thru 5th grade ~ Weekly, Sundays, 10:30 am
OUTREACH
Santa Ana Armory Cold Weather Shelter Outreach, team lead, Mike Kandel ~ Sunday, February 17, 5 to 8 pm
FOCUS ON THE ENVIRONMENT
COMMON GROUND ADVENTURES ~ Hiking James Dilly Preserve ~ Sunday, February 17 ~ 3 pm
RECYCLE SUNDAY ~ Third Sunday of the Month, February 17
Local Certified Farmers' Markets
NEW!
TED Talks, facilitated by Jamie Lang ~ Friday, February 22, 7 to 8:30 pm ~ Love Offering
ONGOING
A COURSE IN MIRACLES, facilitated by Karen Akers (co-facilitated by Ken Radcliffe) ~ Tuesdays, Weekly, 12 Noon (Okay to bring lunch) ~ Love Offering
EVENING ECKHART TOLLE BOOK STUDY ~ Power of Now ~ Tuesdays, February 5 & 19, 7 to 8:30 pm ~ Love Offering
ECKHART TOLLE BOOK STUDY ~ New Earth ~ Fridays, Weekly, 12:30 to 1:30 pm ~ Love Offering
REIKI HEALING CIRCLE, facilitated by Barbara Fukuda, Usui Reiki Master/Teacher ~ Tuesday, February 12 & 26, 7 to 8:30 pm ~ Love Offering
WOMAN'S WISDOM CIRCLE & Book Study: Still Here, by Ram Dass ~ Tuesdays, February 12 & 26, 10 to 11:30 am ~ Love Offering
VENUE EVENTS
Orange County Holotropic Breathwork Workshop, based on the work of Stan Grof, M.D., Ph.D. ~ Saturday, February 2 ~ 8:30 am to 6:30 pm ~ $150 per person (workshop limited to 12 people)
Recovery of the True Real Authentic Self Group, with Luke Benoit ~ Thursday, February 7 ~ 6 to 8 pm ~ $12 per person
Spiritual, Single.....and Stuck, with Laura Dewey ~ Thursdays, February 14 & 28 ~ 7 to 8:30 pm ~ $20 per person
Orange County Spiritualist Gathering, with Medium Kathleen Vance ~ Wednesdays, February 13 & 27 ~ 7 to 8:30 pm ~ $10 suggested donation
Development 1: Developing your spiritual path & intuition, with Bob Lewis ~ Saturday, February 9, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm ~ $20 per person
Development 2: Advanced students in spiritual and psychic awareness, with Bob Lewis ~ Saturday, February 9, 12:30 am to 3:00 pm ~ $20 per person
Development 1: Developing your spiritual path & intuition, with Bob Lewis ~ Saturday, February 23, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm ~ $20 per person
Calling All Angels Training, with Rika Stelcik ~ Friday, February 22, 5 to 9 pm ~ $64 per person
Be sure to look for updates and details of activities in weekly email notices.
Ongoing weekly classes continue as scheduled. Check our At-a-Glance Calendar for information.
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MASTER SERIES
The Essential Alan Watts
One Sunday a month during 2013 Reverend Glenda and Reverend Judy will present a 2-hour Master Series workshop featuring an exploration of the teachings of a Master spiritual teacher.
These Sunday afternoon experiences are intended to expand upon and support the general theme of talks for the month.
All workshops will be integral experiences combining audio/video presentations of the work of the Master (when available) and discussion. The workshop experience will be designed to reflect the life and times, worldview, and philosophy of the teacher.
The first in this series will focus on the work of Alan Watts, one of the foremost interpreters of Eastern philosophies to the West.
Watts served as an Episcopal priest for six years before leaving the Church, after which he never became a member of another organized religion, although he wrote and spoke extensively about Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism.
By the late sixties he had become a counter culture celebrity, and traveled widely to speak at universities and growth centers across the US and Europe. He shared his personal philosophy, a model of individuality and self-expression, with complete candor and joy.
For those familiar with the work of Alan Watts, this will be a delightful refresher. Those new to his teachings will discover that his presentations are never dull and are often full of surprises. It is said that he is one of the most interesting philosophers of our times.
"We do not "come into" this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree. As the ocean "waves," the universe "peoples." Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe."
Alan Watts
Don't miss this opportunity to join with the Revs in exploration of the teachings and ideas that have helped form the foundation of Common Ground and a spiritual perspective that is not dependent on the rigid structure of any particular religion.
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FOCUS ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Go Green Week
It only takes a mindful look around us to gain an understanding that we are living in complex and often critically insecure times.
We see general concerns on our planet that reveal four major areas that tend to be unstable. These four trends are enmeshed and interconnected with the others:
war and violence
poverty and hunger
environmental degradation
human rights abuses
Each threat increases the severity of the others.
As spiritual community and as individuals we are called to Think Global and Act Local, which means that we must each be actively engaged and focus awareness on the interconnection and interdependence of all aspects of our planet.
We must be mindful of our connection to the Divine, to ourselves, to everyone and everything, to the local community and to the global community. We must express this awareness for the benefit of all through service that improves life for all creation.
Paying attention to what is happening in the world around us is a vital first step. Learning new things, opening to new discoveries, and seeing things in a new way all help us be informed and ready to take action on our own.
Taking time to pay attention and look for ways to take action in our own lives often opens us to new information. For example,
most of us probably had no awareness that February 11 through 17 is Go Green Week, the annual International week of Action on Climate Change.
This idea took birth as part of the vision of People and Planet, the largest student network in Britain campaigning to end world poverty, defend human rights and protect the environment. This student-led movement empowers young people with the skills, confidence and knowledge they need to make change happen, at home and globally.
Please take time during Go Green Week to take whatever action you are called to take that will help create a more sustainable planet, help protect our environment and help stem the trends toward violence, poverty and hunger, and human rights abuses.
Every act, local and global, makes a difference to the whole.
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TITHING 2013
May All That We Give and All The We Receive Be Blessed and Multiplied. As We Give, So Shall We Receive ~ Common Ground is truly blessed and in turn becomes a blessing in the world
Common Ground
reaches
out to the global community through our
spiritual
practice of conscious giving.
Giving back
to the
world
is an important aspect of our mission and
vision. A
balanced integral approach is reflected in
conscious
selection of 501c3 qualified programs and
institutions
to which Common Ground provides tithes each
month.
Recipients of Common Ground 2013
tithes
include:
IONS
(Institute of
Noetic Sciences), advancing the science of
consciousness and human experience to serve
individual and collective transformation; Kiva,
empowering people to lift themselves out of
poverty;
Project
HOPE School, (Homeless
Outreach Program in Education), helping
children without permanent homes transition
into the mainstream educational system;
Walking
Shield, helping to improve the
quality of life for American Indian families;
and, The Humane Society of Dover-Stewart County, a not-for-profit organization rescuing abused, abandoned and neglected animals and placing them into good homes.
The organizations to
which
Common Ground tithes are meaningful programs
where people from the spiritual community and
its
friends are already serving with heart and
hand, and
supporting with time and treasure.
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TED Talks
Ideas Worth Spreading
Common Ground is pleased to present a new opportunity to come together in open conversation about the cutting-edge ideas of some of the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers.
Every fourth Friday evening of the month from 7 to 8:30 pm Common Ground will offer a unique opportunity for spiritual community to share TED Talks about science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world.
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.
TED's Mission Statement says:
"We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other."
TED gives communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through the TED website with the goal of giving everyone on-demand access to the world's most inspiring voices.
The TED community is comprised of world-changing innovators from around the globe and, with its help, the impact of their remarkable projects and activities is amplified. They are drawn from many disciplines that reflect the diversity of TED's members: technology, entertainment, design, the sciences, the humanities, the arts, NGOs, business and more.
Mark your calendar now!
Plan to join us for these creative and casual evenings. Be part of a community of curious and energetic people who share an interest in watching TED Talks, engaging in inspiring conversation, exchanging ideas, and taking action around ideas worth spreading.
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Common Ground is a Teaching-Learning
Center where people bring their very
souls
where people grow one another by sharing what
they
know where people learn spiritual
practices to
support them in working with the complex
possibilities
of today's world
May you remember that you are an expression of the perfection and ultimate Truth of God
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