Common grounds visitor in Minnesota, coming out of the lurker closet.

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Ryan J, modified 9 Years ago at 10/7/14 7:01 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/7/14 6:58 PM

Common grounds visitor in Minnesota, coming out of the lurker closet.

Posts: 121 Join Date: 2/19/14 Recent Posts
Hey, so I've been meaning to post here for awhile, I was hanging around the BuddhistGeeks community sparingly a few months ago. But I was at the local IMS affiliate Common Grounds in Minnesota today with a 1-on-1 interview, and the teacher Mark Nunberg mentioned at the beginning about the person who had their 1-on-1 interview just before me, "so and so was talking about your friend Daniel Ingram..." Which Daniel doesn't know me as I've never posted here or contacted him, but I mentioned him and the DhO when being interviewed about practice at this center previously and have recommended this place to quite a few people IRL.

So I figured that person might be lurking or posting here, so in case I don't see you at CG as I don't go there too often, what's up? It would be great to meet like minded people to talk about practice.

Also, seeing as this is my first post, I'm open to questions about my practice if there are any. I've basically been using MCTB and googling "thing I want to know about" + dharma overground via google to find questions pertaining to my current confusion. Shinzen Young is my largest influence in terms of how I think about practice and what techniques I choose. I've been meditating coming up 3 years, the first year was casual MBSR stuff, then after I found Shinzen just under 2 years ago I really stepped up time investment, usually 2 hours or so a day. For various reasons I would guess I am at equanimity pre-stream entry in terms of MCTB maps, but it's hard to say.

And also thanks to Daniel and this community, it has been a huge help to getting serious about practice and from what I can tell doing it right/skillfully/etc., I'm tremendously grateful as a now ex-member of the lurker legion.
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Mind over easy, modified 9 Years ago at 10/7/14 11:20 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/7/14 11:20 PM

RE: Common grounds visitor in Minnesota, coming out of the lurker closet.

Posts: 285 Join Date: 4/28/12 Recent Posts
Greetings from the Twin Cities! emoticon (no, I was not that guy)
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Not Tao, modified 9 Years ago at 10/8/14 12:01 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/8/14 12:01 AM

RE: Common grounds visitor in Minnesota, coming out of the lurker closet.

Posts: 995 Join Date: 4/5/14 Recent Posts
Minnesota here too (down south though). emoticon
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Daniel M Ingram, modified 9 Years ago at 10/8/14 4:22 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/8/14 4:22 AM

RE: Common grounds visitor in Minnesota, coming out of the lurker closet.

Posts: 3268 Join Date: 4/20/09 Recent Posts
I am glad you have gotten something out of the community and its related communities and that your practice sounds like it is going well. Give my best to the IMS kids. Despite a long and rocky history with them, perhaps one day perhaps we will all figure out how to bridge some of the things that divide us and realize more about our commonalities.
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Laurel Carrington, modified 9 Years ago at 10/8/14 8:37 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/8/14 8:36 AM

RE: Common grounds visitor in Minnesota, coming out of the lurker closet.

Posts: 439 Join Date: 4/7/14 Recent Posts
Another Minnesotan here! I know Mark Nunberg well (was even on retreat with him and two other people at IMS last summer) and would love to get together with others nearby, if you all are so inclined. I also will be going to Buddhist a Geeks the weekend after next. I've talked with Mark about Daniel's work, and he has positive things to say about pragmatic dharma. So, maybe that bridge is not too far off in the future. 

And BTW, Common Ground is one of my favorite places in the world. Not kidding. 
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Ryan J, modified 9 Years ago at 10/8/14 1:01 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/8/14 1:01 PM

RE: Common grounds visitor in Minnesota, coming out of the lurker closet.

Posts: 121 Join Date: 2/19/14 Recent Posts
Thanks for for the warm responses.

@Jane,

I would definitely be down to meeting up with other practitioners in Minnesota. Common Grounds is pretty well run from what I've experienced. Anyways, Let me know what you think in terms of a Minnesota meetup. 

@Daniel, 

I can only hope so. I personally skirt the edges of openness about practice with people and talking about attainments, magick, and such at common grounds, some are into it and many aren't. It may be simply my own bias (As someone who is 26), but it seems from what I can tell the younger people at a place like common grounds, are more serious about practice on average than the baby boomers, but that could be my self-selection bias in who I socialize with. But I have found decent receptivity towards the more open, serious, pragmatic attitudes. That bridge isn't there yet, but I think it has a good chance to happen in time.

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