Common Street Spiritual Center

Open Circle Gathering
2024-08-18 10:30 - 12:00, 2024-08-25 10:30 - 12:00, 2024-09-01 10:30 - 12:00, 2024-09-08 10:30 - 12:00, 2024-09-15 10:30 - 12:00, 2024-09-22 10:30 - 12:00, 2024-10-06 10:30 - 12:00, 2024-10-13 10:30 - 12:00 (America/New_York) and 2 more dates
The Open Circle is a weekly gathering of like-minded spiritual seekers who show up to connect authentically, share our truths, and be held in the space of a growth-oriented and loving community.

In the Open Circle, everyone has a chance to contribute as we move around the circle. You’re welcome to bring poems, songs, prayers, and insights to share.

Free and open to the public–yes, you can simply show up!

If you’re new to Open Circle, you’re welcome to register here so you can be in the loop for future gatherings: https://forms.gle/Aa18ZuGfyy4Nv3gq7\n
The Spiritual Center community is holding space for change in the lives of our members and in our world.
*we embrace diverse forms of spiritual practice and artistic expression
*we cultivate a hopeful societal vision built on principles of compassion and justice
*we support the growth of a consciousness of interconnection across human differences and between people and the whole web of life around us
*we build authentic community based on principles like love, respect, kindness, and collaboration

If this resonates, please join us! You’re welcome to become a member simply by filling out the form on this page: www.commonstreet.org/membership

Open Circle and Community Brunch
2024-09-01 10:30 - 12:00, 2024-10-06 10:30 - 12:00
On the first Sundays of the month, we combine our Open Circle Gathering with a community potluck brunch.

We gather and connect in a more relaxed, less structured way, yet with threads of meaning and spirituality tying it all together.

You’re welcome, if it would bring you joy, to contribute a food or drink item to share as part of the community brunch. Another option is to bring non-perishable food or toiletry items for our free mini-pantry.

If you’re new to Open Circle, you’re welcome to sign up here so you can be in the loop for future gatherings: https://forms.gle/Aa18ZuGfyy4Nv3gq7

Our community is finding a creative place in the spiritual world, where new forms of spiritual practice, artistic expression, and self-awareness are emerging to support humanity to meet the challenges of our times. We are finding balance within ourselves, making peace across differences, and stepping up to protect the Earth.

We welcome folks of all beliefs and backgrounds to build community with us as we align around a hopeful sense of common purpose. To become a member, please fill out the membership form here: www.commonstreet.org/membership

Annual Corn Moon Social: Natick Nipmuc Tribe
2024-09-14 13:00 - 17:00 | Common Street Spiritual Center, 13 Common Street, Natick, 01760, United States

Open Circle Gathering
2024-09-29 10:30 - 12:00
The Open Circle is a weekly gathering of like-minded spiritual seekers who show up to connect authentically, share our truths, and be held in the space of a growth-oriented and loving community. WE DO NOT ALWAYS MEET ON the 5th Sunday, but Sept 29th it is on!!!

In the Open Circle, everyone has a chance to contribute as we move around the circle. You’re welcome to bring poems, songs, prayers, and insights to share.

Free and open to the public–yes, you can simply show up!

If you’re new to Open Circle, you’re welcome to register here so you can be in the loop for future gatherings: https://forms.gle/Aa18ZuGfyy4Nv3gq7\n
The Spiritual Center community is holding space for change in the lives of our members and in our world.
*we embrace diverse forms of spiritual practice and artistic expression
*we cultivate a hopeful societal vision built on principles of compassion and justice
*we support the growth of a consciousness of interconnection across human differences and between people and the whole web of life around us
*we build authentic community based on principles like love, respect, kindness, and collaboration

If this resonates, please join us! You’re welcome to become a member simply by filling out the form on this page: www.commonstreet.org/membership

Shavorã: Yawanawá Music of Magic and Revolution
2024-10-01 18:30 - 22:00 | Sanctuary at Common Street Spiritual Center, 13 Common Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Come experience the musical magic, mystery, and revolutionary love of Shavora!

Experience the transformative power of the Yawanawá indigenous traditions with sacred music, cultural ceremony, and spiritual sharing.

We are honored to collaborate with @savanahealerchurch in bringing this offering to our community.

Tuesday night Oct 1st, doors at 6:30pm!

Call of Love Yoga
2024-10-06 08:00 - 17:00, 2024-10-06 08:30 - 21:30, 2024-10-13 08:30 - 21:30, 2024-10-20 08:30 - 21:30, 2024-11-03 08:30 - 21:30 | Sanctuary at Common Street Spiritual Center, 13 Common Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Call of Love
Channeled song and messages from the Divine
Experience channeled sources of Love into song while you relax at the end of a gentle yoga class. Your practice will include guided breathing, chair or mat asana, restorative poses and meditation. Coming home to the oneness in our hearts, we can cultivate a sense of unity that brings us together into wholeness, solace, peace and hope
8:30-9:30, Sundays mornings (except for the last Sunday of the month)
Common Street Spiritual Center Sanctuary
Donations welcome
Cash or Venmo: @Judith-Thapa
Judy O’Leary Thapa is a channel, energy healer, yoga teacher and yoga therapist. She has certifications in Sivananda yoga, Prenatal yoga, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy (Pryt.com) and with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT.org). Judy has over twenty years of experience teaching students of all ages.
You can follow Judy on FB at Varunayoga

Peace Vigil for Love and Unity
2024-10-08 20:30 - 22:30 | Common Street Spiritual Center, 13 Common Street, Natick, 01760, United States
This past year has seen so much violence, hatred, and division. Since the horrific attack on Oct 7th, in which many innocent Israelis were murdered, Gaza has been decimated and countless Palestinian lives have been lost. Children are starving and being murdered. Many Israelis and Palestinians are still in captivity. All people deserve to be free. Genocide is being perpetrated in many places around the world, in Sudan and in Congo. Our government continues to deny its responsibility for the suffering in our global human family.
Bring your hearts and the pain, grief, medicine of your authenticity to be held in safety. We are coming together to touch this great suffering, to grieve together, and to find hope and purpose through the cultivation of compassion, wisdom, and love.
People of all beliefs, backgrounds, and spiritual paths are welcome. We will build a common altar and create a non-judgmental and loving container where healing can take place. All will be welcome to share poems, songs, and prayers, and to speak their truths in a sacred circle. All voices are needed in this movement for liberation of all people.
We are a diverse community, and we need to listen and learn from each other, and to find enough unity to work together for peace and justice.

The Book of Bob
2024-10-10 19:00 - 21:30 | Sanctuary at Common Street Spiritual Center, 13 Common Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
Let’s get together and feel alright, in this experience of the love, wisdom, and power of Bob Marley’s story.
Alex DeGroot and friends will create a vibe of celebration, learning, and spiritual seeking through music, history, truth-telling, open sharing, dance, and many other ways of connecting with the Book of Bob, the revelations that he brought for humanity through his music.
Everyone is welcome, of all backgrounds, lifestyles, beliefs, and even music tastes. The event is free and open to the public.

Self-Love Sacral Chakra Retreat
2024-10-13 14:00 - 19:00 | Common Street Spiritual Center, 13 Common Street, Natick, 01760, United States
Join a community of like-hearted souls in a powerful Self-Love Journey. In our second monthly chakra retreat, we will explore the powerful qualities of the Sacral Chakra: the energy center of creativity, sexuality, emotions, family, relationships, desire, movement, pleasure, innocence, openness to others, boundaries, transformation, and more. We will experience how this chakra supports our ability to create self-love through a variety of meaningful and fun chakra-supporting activities including yoga, guided meditation, journaling, community music-making, dance, and more!

SACRAL CHAKRA RETREAT SCHEDULE…

* Opening Circle (2 – 3 pm)
* Self-Love Sacral Chakra Yoga with Inbal (3:15 – 4:30 pm)
* Snack Break & Community Connection Time (*Featuring Sacral Chakra supporting snacks!) (4:30 – 5 pm)
* Guided Meditation with Desiree & Self-Love Journaling (5 – 5:30 pm)
* Small Group Discussion (5:30 – 5:45 pm)
* Sacral Chakra Celebration & Empowerment: Community Music & Ecstatic Dance! (5:45 – 6:45 pm)
* Closing Circle (6:45 – 7 pm)

(*Exact retreat timing subject to change! Participants may choose which activities they would like to participate in and are welcome to opt out of any retreat activities they wish to!)

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SACRAL CHAKRA RETREAT DETAILS & REGISTRATION…

Date: Sunday, October 13, 2024

Time: 2:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Retreat Location: “Common Street Spiritual Center” (13 Common St, Natick, MA 01760)

Parking / Transportation: There is a parking lot behind the spiritual center and lots of street parking within walking distance that is free on Sundays! If you would like to come in by train, The Natick Center Station is only a 6 minute walk from the spiritual center! (If you are in need of a ride to Natick, please let us know, and we will attempt to put you in touch with someone in your area who is driving!)

Cost: $60 – $80 (*Sliding Scale!)

(Additional Financial Aid Available! We believe in making this retreat accessible to all who wish to participate. If you are in need of any additional financial assistance, please contact Desiree & Inbal at RavensongRetreats@gmail.com and we will happily work something out with you!)

Registration & Payment:

1) To sign-up, please email Desiree & Inbal at RavensongRetreats@gmail.com.

2) Please send a payment of $60-$80 prior to the retreat through Venmo to @inbaldagan or use this link to send a payment through credit card / PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/X62TZJ3KTZ5XL.

Cancellation Policy: There will be no refunds available for this retreat, but you are welcome to use your payment as a credit towards a future Self-Love Chakra Retreat! (See below for upcoming retreat dates!)

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UPCOMING SELF-LOVE RETREATS!

Solar Plexus Chakra Retreat: Sunday, November 17, 2024 (2-7 pm)

Heart Chakra Retreat: January, 2025 (Date TBA!)

Throat Chakra Retreat: February, 2025 (Date TBA!)

Third Eye Chakra Retreat: March, 2025 (Date TBA!)

Crown Chakra Retreat: April, 2025 (Date TBA!)

(*You are welcome to attend any or all chakra retreats! You may wish to use your intuition to see which chakras you are most drawn to strengthen at this time and determine which retreats would be most helpful for you to attend!)

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ABOUT INBAL DAGAN…

Inbal Dagan (she/her) is a yoga teacher, occupational therapist, and Reiki practitioner with a passion for supporting others in their journey of healing & embodiment. She believes that our self-love journey can be deeply strengthened by learning to be present and at home in our body, and is excited to share her yoga & creative movement practices with our self-love retreat community.

ABOUT DESIREE DENNIS…

Desiree Dennis (she/her) is a spirit medium, Reiki Master, and life-long musician who has facilitated spiritual workshops & retreats around the country. As a person who has spent many years in dedication to her own self-love journey, she is overjoyed to have the opportunity to continue exploring & deepening self-love within the supportive container of our conscious retreat community. (To learn more about Desiree, please visit www.spiritguidanceandhealing.com.)

The Uncommon Cafe
2024-10-19 09:00 - 11:00 | Sanctuary at Common Street Spiritual Center, 13 Common Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
The Uncommon Cafe offers simplicity, quality ingredients, love and intention. Grab a drink, learn more about your drinks ingredients, and build a deeper relationship with your morning brew. We will offer Prophecy Chocolate’s own ceremonial cacao. ethically sourced coffee from Karma Coffee, and a homemade tea blend made by Colleen Puzas. Share a drink, open your heart, and build community while starting your morning with intention. Come and visit us this Saturday at the Common Street Spiritual Center in Natick, MA from 9-11am!

Natick Open Studios
2024-10-19 11:00 - 17:00, 2024-10-20 11:00 - 17:00 | Sanctuary at Common Street Spiritual Center, 13 Common Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
We’re proud to be hosting some of Natick’s finest artists on Saturday and Sunday in our sanctuary, from 11am-5pm. Please swing through and take the whole tour around town as well. We are so excited to celebrate all the amazing artists and their work!!

Heart Mandala on Gaza
2024-10-21 20:30 - 22:30 | Sanctuary at Common Street Spiritual Center, 13 Common Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
When twelve hundred Israelis have been killed by Hamas, over eight thousand injured, and over two-hundred taken hostage; when over forty-two thousand Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, and over ninety-eight thousand injured; when hundreds of thousands of Gazans are starving and living amidst rubble, in tent cities without sanitation, in terror, despair and hopelessness; when Israelis are also living in constant fear of attack; when over sixteen thousand Gazan children have been killed; when many credible experts and humanitarians believe that the threshold of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza has been met*: there are no sides.

Our community members do not all agree about whether the Israeli government’s military campaign against Gaza constitutes a genocide, but we are all horrified by the suffering of the Palestinian people. We have also been mourning the victims of the heinous October 7th attack and are concerned about the safety and well-being of Israeli citizens who are caught in the crossfire of this conflict.

There are no sides in a crisis like this. This gathering is not about who is to blame, or which side is better or worse, it is about paying attention to the suffering that is taking place, truly feeling the horror of it. This spiritual practice is about finding our sense of purpose and agency to stop this downward spiral of hatred and violence and to move instead towards a loving, just, and peaceful solution, one that allows both Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace and safety, with equality and justice.

Why would we at the Spiritual Center community be concerned about events happening seemingly so far away from us? Because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Because our own government, the United States, is the primary funder and supplier of the weapons being used to kill Gazans. The U.S. military-industrial complex is profiting immensely off of this war and others. U.S. militarism in general is a highly relevant moral problem in our national politics: we have a right and duty to raise our voices in protest when the precious resources that our nation gathers via taxation are being spent primarily on wars that destroy life rather than on programs like education and healthcare that uplift and support human flourishing.

As an essential part of the civil discourse and moral evolution of this nation, religious and spiritual communities have always risen up to call for justice in the face of injustice, to call for peace in the face of war, to call for equality in the face of racism, sexism, and poverty, and in general to call for humanization in the face of dehumanization.

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On Oct 21st, we will gather as one human family, as equals, without distinctions, to experience and hold our truths together. We welcome all perspectives, all expressions, all the love and truth and feeling we can muster to meet this moment together in unity and integrity.

Following the spiral process of the Work That Reconnects, we will ground in gratitude, honor our pain for the world, see with fresh eyes, and go forth with purpose.
In the Heart Mandala, the central ritual of the evening, all are welcome to share their fear, their anger, their sadness, their emptiness, and whatever other feelings want to be expressed. Without cross talk or criticism, we will witness each other in a sacred circle of trust, confidentiality, and love.

The process will be facilitated by Rev. Dr. Ian Mevorach, director of Common Street Spiritual Center.

This sacred gathering is offered free and is open to the public. All are welcome, without distinction.

You are welcome to bring candles, flowers, incense or other sacred objects to place on the altar table at the beginning of the process.

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*According to the March 2024 report of Francesca Albanese, the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories, “[T]here are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating Israel’s commission of genocide is met.”

In specific, the Special Rapporteur identifies three genocidal crimes against Palestinians, which together meet the threshold of genocide: (A) “Killing members of the group,” (B) “Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group,” and (C) “Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

To read the full report, please use this link: https://commonstreet.org/…/2024/10/a-hrc-55-73-auv.pdf

**The University Network for Human Rights has also determined that a genocide is taking place in Gaza and published a report to this effect on May 15, 2024: “In partnership with students and experts at Boston University, Cornell, University of Pretoria, and Yale, the University Network published Genocide in Gaza: Analysis of International Law and its Application to Israel’s Military Actions since October 7, 2023. The report is the most thorough legal analysis to date of the “crime of crimes” expressed in the 1948 Genocide Convention and the related international jurisprudence, as applied to the facts on the ground in Gaza since October 7. It concludes that Israel’s actions meet the legal threshold of genocide, producing legal obligations for Israel and the international community to end the slaughter.”

***There are many within the Common Street Spiritual Center (CSSC) community and the wider Natick-Metrowest community who do not agree that genocidal acts are taking place in Gaza, or who believe that the language of “genocide” in the context of this political discourse is at least at times being used in antisemitic ways. We are aware that there has been discomfort about this event in particular, and its framing in the original event description; we have received and reviewed considerable feedback from our neighbors about this, and so we have amended the description to be more inclusive and sensitive to their concerns. Our community stands against antisemitism, Islamophobia, and racism of any kind. Also, we love, respect, and accept people of various views and warmly welcome people of all perspectives, including various political orientations and religious backgrounds, to participate in this particular event and in general to be a part of the life of our community. CSSC is an inclusive, love-centered community.

Annual Diwali Celebration
2024-10-27 10:30 - 12:00 | Common Street Spiritual Center, 13 Common Street, Natick, 01760, United States
Diwali is a celebration of light overcoming darkness and good triumphing over evil.
During this gathering, members of the local Indian community will share traditional songs, prayers, and art, and invite us all to reflect together on the meaning of Diwali.
The Spiritual Center thanks Swati Dave for her leadership in organizing this special celebration.

Groove Lab - Dancing Through the Chaos
2024-10-27 19:00 - 20:30 | Common Street Spiritual Center, 13 Common Street, Natick, 01760, United States
These times call for dance. Dancing through the chaos.
There has been a call in our community to come together and dance. This is for us, all together, to create what we want. To gather in community as we envision.
Send in your song requests to add to our playlist. Plus we will have some live drumming too! Kat will share just a few prompts to help us all to drop in and dance it out. And before we leave, there will be time to rest–on the ground if you’d like–while gentle percussion sounds fill the air. Maybe, just maybe, you will feel this all land in your body like a nourishment.
Only together can we create the kind of gatherings that bring strength, healing and connection to our communities. Let’s do this!
Register through Maggie at learn2relax@yahoo.com or Kat at kathleensuwalski@gmail.com so that we know you are attending and know how many people to expect (or so that we can let you know if anything changes).
Investment: $25 if pre-registered and $35 at the door. If cost is prohibitive, please reach out.
Bring your friends, neighbors and family too. Spread the word!

Intro to Qi Gong
2024-11-02 08:00 - 09:00 | Moon Room @ Common Street Spiritual Center, 13 Common Street, Natick, 01760, United States
Intro to Qi Gong
How to cultivate balance in body and mind and improve your life energy (Qi)
Time: Saturdays from 8am – 9am

Qi Gong is a centuries-old system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. These practices help cultivate concentration, peace of mind, strengthen and tone your body all at once.
All are welcome. No prior experience required.
Suggested donation: $5-10
Meets in the Moon Room on the 3rd floor. Enter through the school street door and come upstairs to find us.
About the Instructor:
Wei Li grew up in Mainland, China. She earned her Ph.D. in Biology at Tufts University in 2005. Since 2010, she has been studying Qi Gong and Tai Chi with Master Ming Wu and Master Shi Zhao. She finished her Fengyang Qi Gong Associate Instructor training in 2020 and has been teaching Qi Gong since at Wu Healing Center and Morse Institute Library.
