. Workshop this Saturday, June 7
|
“Communicating
to Connect Compassionately”
Imagine
more clarity, connection and cooperation in all your relationships!
This workshop introduces the respected communication process called
Nonviolent Communication (NVC), based on the work of Marshall Rosenberg,
Ph.D. NVC strengthens our ability to inspire compassion from others
and respond compassionately to others and ourselves. Shared in an
interactive manner, these tools will help you confidently express your
needs and dreams, and work through conflict with compassion and success
leading to healthy, satisfying relationships. Bren Hardt has been studying and sharing
NVC since 2004. 9:30am to 5pm, at the Galleria area campus for Leisure
Learning Unlimited. Fee for class $70. More info & to Register:
www.llu.com
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|
Dear Friends,
I’m so excited to tell you that the Compassionate Communication
Committee has re-created and now looks like this:
Clockwise from the Left: Syrrus Powell,
Stephen Scholl,
Bridget Jensen
,
Bren Hardt, Lynn MacDonald, and
Marjorie
Kirby-French
.
Our third meeting will be June 28
where we plan to continue the work of creating a network of people intent
to create a planet where everyone’s needs matter and all people have the
skills and consciousness to make peace. Our new co-created vision
statement is:
We
make a difference by living and sharing a learnable process of
communication that fosters authentic and empathic interactions leading to
mutual respect across all relationships. Our joy comes from increased
awareness of choice in each moment and our understanding of our shared
humanity.
We are really jazzed by our outreach plan
for the second half of this year. The plan we’re working on is: September
and October –lots of NVC intros all around
Houston
(we would appreciate your help
in hosting a few of these!) followed by two November workshops
with certified trainer, Ike Lassiter, a lawyer and specialist in mediation
using NVC as well teaching this skill to people in all kinds of
relationships.
Would you be willing to host a
"house party for NVC" for at least 10 people, and we will send a
trainer? Email me at the address below and we’ll provide lots of support. It could be a
free intro presentation of just 75 minutes up to a full day class. Best ‘08
months to set up: Sept, October & early November.
I was inspired to work toward
certification from The Center for Nonviolent Communication because I am
seeing more and more each day how Nonviolent Communication has the
potential to empower all people to be more effective in resolving internal
conflicts, family conflicts, and the struggles we see in our communities
daily. When sufficient numbers of people have the skills to
consciously connect at the heart level, what would this mean?
Less violence, lower rates of divorce, happier families, emptied prisons
and jails, increased resources for education and the arts, higher measures
of wellbeing and happiness in the population as a whole. I want to
live to see this happen!! I know you do, too. Would you
like to join hands with us in creating a large learning and living NVC community?
There’s much we can do together! Call us today! 713-303-3403 or bbhardt @gmail.com (no space).
Warmly and with much hope,
Bren Hardt
Compassionate Communication Core Committee member
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Testaments of Appreciation for NVC from Core Committee members
NVC is teaching me to see
non-judgmentally into myself and others. There I always find the
universal essence we all share. Only true love resides in that
place. How, then, can we be enemies? — Lynn MacDonald
NVC has great healing potential in
business, family and community. I am honored to participate in teaching and
sharing this learnable process of communication. –
Stephen
G. Scholl
Studying Nonviolent Communication has
been hands-down the most important thing I've ever done. It gives me a
concrete avenue to travel my spiritual journey of creating compassion and
peace in my own life and in the world at large. I truly believe it is
the thing that can help us all create the world we want to live in. – Syrrus Powell
In my efforts to employ NVC, I have
become more grounded with who I am and have found my interactions with others
more meaningful and productive. –
Bridget Jensen
Non-Violent Communication has changed my life in such positive
ways. I can now connect heart to heart, listen with all my attention,
help and support people. I’m dedicated to spreading this peaceful language.--
Marjorie Kirby-French
Celebrations
|
2007
– A Very Good Year
We’d like to celebrate that even though the Compassionate Communication
Committee was small in 2007—just four of us: Bren Hardt, Marylinn
Schwanitz, Syrrus Powell and Ruth Seeliger, we did amazing things with a
little help from a few friends and volunteers. We miss Marylinn as she and her husband relocated to
Finland
earlier this year—she
took an armload of NVC materials with her!
In 2007, we conducted over 20
workshops or presentations. We reached diverse groups such as Thoreau
Unitarian in Sugarland, the Link-Up sponsored by City of Houston and
HISD, School of the Woods Montessori, KPFT,
Wiley
College
,
St. Paul’s Lutheran in Brenham, a national Methodist conference in Ft.
Worth, a TIKKUN group in Corpus Christi, a Yoga Rasa gathering in Pasadena,
and many more. We also hosted two trainings by certified trainer Gregg
Kendrick from
Virginia
. We’re
sure he’ll be coming back in 2008. See http://nvc.basileia.org for his trainings.
Facilitator Syrrus Powell is planning a summer
wedding and a relocation right in the midst of intense learning in the BayNVC Leadership Program. She & Garrett will start
their married bliss in
Evansville
,
Indiana
!
Syrrus taught an 8 week course last fall that everyone enjoyed. So it is
both a celebration and a mourning to see her leave
Houston
. We will miss Syrrus’s warmth, support, commitment, and leadership.
Syrrus has a wish to staff an Empathy Booth at the local Farmer’s
Market before she leaves
Houston
!
Go Syrrus!
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A passionate Request
|
Help us by answering
our 10 Question SURVEY
We
want to create the local workshop offerings that you want! Giving
us feedback would help TREMENDOUSLY with clarity about specific local
trainings to offer. Click here to take the survey.
Thank you so much!
|
With Love from
Costa Rica
|
Unity
Church
to host BePeace Workshop (3 hours)
Sunday,
June 8
Rita
Marie Johnson is an American who moved to
Costa Rica
fifteen years
ago to help strengthen its national model of peace. She is the founding
director of the Rasur Foundation, whose main
project is the Academy for Peace of Costa Rica, previously known as
the Peace Army. The mission of this academy is to insure that the skills of
“feeling peace” and “speaking peace” will be passed from generation to
generation. These skills are transmitted through the school system using
the practice of BePeace, an
approach based on Johnson’s discovery of the synergy between HeartMath and Nonviolent Communication. In 2005, the
Academy for Peace received the prestigious Changemakers’
Innovation Award: Building a More Ethical Society. The workshop will
include a short summary of
Costa
Rica
’s model of peace and its new
endeavor to establish a Ministry for Peace that will work with the Academy
for Peace. In addition, Rita Marie will share how BePeace is being applied in the school system and the plans to upscale it to
the national level. Cost: $20 per person. 1:30 to 4:30 pm in the sanctuary
of Unity Church of Christianity,
2929
Unity Dr
(at Hillcroft). Get tickets on-line at www.unityhouston.org or call 713/782-8320. http://www.unityhouston.org/events/168)
|
A view of some long-necks and one jackal in the bunch
|
We look forward to seeing you at a workshop in the near
future. – Steve, Bren, Lynn, Margie, Syrrus, and Bridget |
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Your participation
Invited on the
Peace Education in Schools Committee
Consider joining this committee! Judith Hoffhein has set the meeting time Wednesday, June 3 at
7pm at
Houston
Mennonite
Church
,
1231 Wirt Rd.
Bring your ideas and suggestions to share. judithhoffhien@sbcglobal.net. Please let her know you are interested even if
you can’t come.
Peace Camp will be held at The
Houston
Area Women’s Center this year in late July, for K-6. Theme is
“compassion”. Contact
Judith for more info.
NVC PRACTICE GROUPS
Nellie
Gross and Margaret Kallsen host local practice groups so that our skills
stay fluid for living from the heart. When: First and
third Wednesday of the month from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm at the Westcott
Bldg., 230 Westcott,
Houston
,
TX
77007
.
Contact Nellie (email).
Margaret hosts a NVC practice
group at First Unitarian Universalist. Call (713)
869-0820 or mkallsen@yahoo.com
|
Full
day NVC Workshop
June 7
, 9:30- 5pm
Register
at www.llu.com
See more info at top of this bulletin.
To learn more about what people are doing with Nonviolent
Communication worldwide,
sign up for the CNVC
Network News e-newsletter.
The
Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC)
Phone: 505-244-4041 or 1-800-255-7696
Address:
5600 San
Francisco Rd. NE
Suite A,
Albuquerque
,
NM
87109
Web: http://cnvc.org/
Introductory
Evenings (1 to 2 hours)
None
are set up at this time. Would like to set one up for us to come
present? Call 713-303-3403
The UN's
International Day for Peace - Sunday, September 21, 08
Violence is a
tragic expression of unmet needs.—M. Rosenberg
Mediation
Workshop
Coming
in Nov ‘08
--watch for details soon—
Please
take our survey! (see request to the left)
Family
Pledge of Nonviolence
Making
peace must start within ourselves and in our
families. Each of us, members of the
_____ family name___
family, commit ourselves as best we can to become nonviolent and peaceable
people.
1) To
Respect Self and Others
To
respect myself; to affirm others; and to avoid uncaring criticism, hateful
words, physical attacks, and self-destructive behavior.
2) To Communicate Better
To share my feelings honestly, to look for safe ways to
express my anger and to work at solving problems peacefully
3) To Listen
To
listen carefully to others’ feelings and needs rather than insist on having
my own way
4) To Forgive To apologize and make amends when I have hurt another,
to forgive others, and to keep from holding grudges.
5) To Respect Nature To treat the environment and all
living things, including our pets, with respect and care.
6) To Play Creatively To select entertainment and toys
that supports our family’s values and to avoid entertainment that makes
violence look exciting, funny, or acceptable.
7) To Be Courageous To challenge violence in all its forms whenever I encounter it,
whether at home, at school, at work, or in the community, and to stand with
others who are treated unfairly, even if it means standing alone
This is our pledge. We will check ourselves every ____
days for the next twelve months so that we can help each other become more
peaceable people. Add
signatures
____________________________
The
above Pledge is available in 13 languages from The Institute of Peace
and Justice
www.ipj-ppj.org
Restorative
Justice
NVC
Teleclass Goes
Multi-National
People
from all over the world have signed up for Dominic Barter's restorative
circles telecourses! In addition to
people from all over the
United States
,
including
Alaska
and
Hawaii
,
the other countries represented are
Cambodia
,
Australia
,
New Zealand
,
Iran
,
England
,
France
,
Canada
,
Philippines
and
India
|
Restorative
Justice
Teleclass Goes Multi-National
People
from all over the world have signed up for Dominic Barter's restorative
circles telecourses! In addition to
people from all over the
United States
,
including
Alaska
and
Hawaii
,
the other countries represented are
Cambodia
,
Australia
,
New Zealand
,
Iran
,
England
,
France
,
Canada
,
Philippines
and
India
|
Thank you for reading to the end
our very first Compassionate Communication
Houston
Bulletin!
|
|
