NVC from the Inside Out: Clarity, Compassion, and Power, in YOUR Voice

NVC is a powerfully effective tool for improving the quality of our relationships with others and ourselves. Changing lifelong habits of speaking, listening, and especially thinking is no small feat. For most people, the process of learning NVC is plagued with awkwardness, frustration in the learner, and irritation in others. Many get bogged down in learning the tools of NVC (language, four step model, key distinctions, etc.).

Join us in this series designed support a graceful transition from old communication and thinking habits to new ones. Toward this end, we will learn and practice NVC "from the inside out." Rather than starting with the tools & techniques and then struggling for fluency, we will focus on helping you create and deepen clear awareness of the inner and outer realities with which you live. As these foundational clarities emerge, we will then help you to express them in ways that are natural, comfortable, and authentic for you. In the process, we will learn, try out, and integrate the many tools and insights of the NVC process, while avoiding the pitfall of turning the tools into rules.

Location:	Center for Peaceful Communication (map)
When:	Mondays, February 19th thru March 19th, 6:30 to 9:30 pm
Who is it for?	This series is for anyone who longs to enrich and empower their relationships with themselves and others. People new to NVC are welcome, as are those who know a bit about NVC and are interested in finding out how to use the tools in a way that is authentically their own. We especially encourage couples to attend together. We recommend reading "Nonviolent Communication; A Language of Life" by Marshall Rosenberg prior to class. Although not required, you may find that you get more out of the class with this foundation.
Registration and Cost:	Requested donation is $150 for the series. Visit our PSNCC page for this training to register online. Please call Conal and Holly at 206.364.5063 with any questions about the class or registration. Class size is limited to 15. Your $40 deposit reserves your place to play and explore with us! If you register by February 5th, receive a 10% discount.
What to bring:	Your energy and aliveness, your emotions (up or down), your personal experiences, are all welcome! Coffee and tea are provided. You may wish to bring a notepad and pen or pencil if you enjoy taking notes to help you remember new ideas.

In this class you will have the opportunity to:

Try role plays to experiment with new ways of approaching a situation, all in a thoroughly nurturing environment with lots of support and as much guidance as you like.
Work with Conal or Holly role playing a person with whom you have a lot to say, but would never dare to. We'll receive you with deepest empathy and caring so you get heard and understood, and perhaps are able to gain some new inspiration around your relationship.
Bring your own personal experiences for transformation and exploration in a variety of exercises, role plays, and empathy sessions.

At a 9-day NVC intensive retreat with more than seventy people in attendance, about half the participants said acquiring fluency and ease in speaking NVC was their main goal for the retreat. They said they wanted to sound "natural, not mechanical," or "like myself," or they worried they sounded "robotic" when using the language of NVC. At times people can get so bottled up and frustrated when they don't know how to say what they want to say "the right way" in NVC that they don't express themselves at all.

We've heard Marshall Rosenberg emphasize repeatedly that NVC process itself (learning the four step model, mastering all the feelings and needs words, etc.) is not the goal. The goal might be expressed as nurturing a quality of connection in which all needs can be met through joyful giving. Marshall tells a story based on a Buddhist parable of a beautiful, sacred place where you can be at peace, happy, connected to the Divine. You want very badly to reach this place, but there is a river between you and it. You can see that once you make it across the river you can easily walk the rest of the way. You search until you find a raft and are able to cross the river. The raft is a wonderfully useful tool to get you within reach of that place. However, the parable ends with the warning that, "One is a fool who continues on to the sacred place carrying the raft on his back."

We love this emphasis on the goal of NVC rather than the technique. Join us and explore your own unique path to that beautiful place!