Nonviolent Communication

I had the great pleasure and privilege of attending a nine day international training event with Marshall Rosenberg. He is the founder of the Nonviolent Communication movement. Check out the web-site www.cnvc.org Nonviolent Communication is a compassionate way of expressing ourselves and listening to the voices of others. NVC teaches us how to be present and authentic in the moment, how to respond rather than to react when we receive a difficult message, how to recognize our own and others' feelings and needs, how to make requests rather than demands, how to be truly grateful and how to honor the energy of anger without stealing peace from our relationships and the environment. During the training event, I made new friends from around the United States and around the world: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Wales, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland. There were forty-eight participants in the program. We lived together at the Madonna Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we enjoyed inspiring views of the Sandia Mountains and the Rio Grande River. We were well fed while we bonded, shared our gifts and enjoyed being truly alive together. I had opportunities to tell some of my favorite stories and the group was delighted to receive them. This, as always, delighted me in return! We engaged in role-play, taking turns being giraffes and jackals. We practiced, practiced, practiced the art of receiving difficult-to-receive messages with an open heart. We poured vessels of empathy on each other and learned how to give empathy to ourselves. We danced. We sang. We allowed each other to cry; tears were part of our communication. We laughed the kind of hearty laughter that knocks the dust off the walls. We made room for whatever came to life within us. The world is a better place for our efforts and our learning. I like to imagine all of us, back in our towns and our homes, listening with compassion to the people around us. This is the way to start a new year.

I will be offering spirituality retreats this year, offering stories and inviting others to share their stories. As a part of everything I do there will be compassionate communication. We have the power to make our worlds more peaceful.