Connection arises from a symphony of mutual understanding, where everyone is "gotten" and we feel an authentic joy filled with harmony and love.

• because we have a longing for connection - to know that we’ve been gotten, and we get the heart of what is being expressed
• to find emotional liberation supporting the discovery, connection to and expression of our authentic self — freeing ourselves from violent reactivity and appeasement to an egocentric culture
• to re-discover our innate participation, dependence and belonging to an evolving world in desperate need of eco-awakening, fully accepting our Earth-rooted humanity
• to discover, cultivate and contribute our unique gifts to our communities and our shared ecology
• to fully engage in the conversation of life that arises through the dream of the Earth, remembering our individually unique place in the emergent universe
• to share the stories worth remembering

• Unfortunately, most of us have been educated from birth to compete, judge, demand, diagnose, to do things out of guilt/shame, and to think and communicate in terms of what is “right“ or “wrong“ with people. Our "implicit bias" fosters the creation of "enemy images" of those who look and behave differently than us.
• We also blame others for our feelings, as if they caused them. Even worse, we might blame ourselves for other people's unpleasant feelings. The habitual ways we think and speak hinder communication, and perpetuate a culture of comparison, guilt/shame and punishment.
• Without wanting to, even people with the best of intentions generate needless conflict because of the lack of clear boundaries of personal responsibility.
• At work especially we are encouraged to wear a mask to pretend everything is okay even when it’s not. Conflict arises when different positions are expressed, people’s emotions get triggered and usually blame others for them. The loudest voices and bigger titles usually win. It isn’t safe to be real; instead we are encouraged to be “nice.”
  

• With Nonviolent Communication (NVC) we learn to hear our own deeper needs and those of others. Through its emphasis on deep listening—to ourselves as well as others—NVC helps us discover the depth of our own compassion. This language reveals the awareness that all human beings are only trying to honor universal values and needs, every minute, every day.
• NVC can be seen as both a spiritual practice that helps us see our common humanity, using our power in a way that honors everyone's needs, and a concrete set of skills which help us create life-serving families and communities.
• The form is simple, yet powerfully transformative.
• Through the practice of NVC, we can learn to clarify what we are observing, what emotions we are feeling, what values we want to live by, and what we want to ask of ourselves and others. We will no longer need to use the language of blame, judgment or domination. We can experience the deep pleasure of contributing to each others' well being.
• NVC creates a path for healing and reconciliation in its many applications, ranging from intimate relationships, work settings, health care, social services, police, prison staff and inmates, to governments, schools and social change organizations.

1. Introduction to NVC, Observations vs. Evaluations
2. Needs vs. Strategies, Empathy
3. Requests vs. Demands, Conversational Context
4. Feelings Awareness, Responding to a Request, Self-Empathy
5. Honest Expression, Request to Understand Someone Else
6. Requesting/Offering Feedback
7. Street Empathy, Giving Appreciation
8. Facilitating a Flow of Connection
9. Flow of Connection Practice, Interrupting for Connection
10. Review of Processes, Flow of Connection Practice
11. Practical Applications Practice
12. Practical Applications Practice