Salon Co-leader Training

Interested in starting your own salon? Prefer to hold hands and jump in together with others? This training will focus on the basics of salons and how to successfully facilitate them.

This training is required for new salons.
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A Common Ground salon is a small group that meets in an intimate setting to deepen spiritually and in relationship with one another through exploring something inspiring, such as a text, an idea, or a work of art or music. Salons are organized and facilitated by volunteer co-leaders. They meet regularly around a specific theme or locale.

Salons share the broader objectives of other forms of small groups meet for support, meditation, prayer or study, while differing in the particulars. Salons focus on the inspirational as the vessel to promote wellbeing and devotion. In contrast, support groups, for example, focus more directly on the wellbeing of the individual. Study groups focus on gaining knowledge and understanding over time from a text.

Common Ground has experimented with some salons and is now ready to let loose the first wave of public events this February. What we have learned so far is that it is best to organize the first event as an “open house” that is mainly social and then see who is attracted. The energy that emerges from this first event guides and inspires the co-leaders and the group as to what comes next.

Some salons are about a theme such as arts and spirituality. Others vary in theme but are organized around a specific geographical area. Here’s an example of how the group energy led one salon to select a theme. The participants in this salon noticed that one of the big themes emerging from dialog was wanting to be more present in their lives. At the same time they were also attracted to the fun of a dinner party. The idea of finding inspiration in the experience of tasting food evolved and gave birth to the “mindful dinner party.”