Nonviolent Communication (NVC)

Examples of past work:

1. Restorative Conversations – when you can’t pull the family back together easily

Families can implode or explode around many types of issues – one-time events, caretaking decisions and issues, differences in values and experiences, long-term issues and concerns, unresolved issues, such as addiction or abuse, and growing polarization.  Often, I can help you move through a difficult conversation or event, identify new ways to work together, and begin to rebuild relationships – we celebrate this growth and reconnections.  Other times I can help you understand where the family is at, low capacity for change or unwillingness to engage – we benefit from mourning and grieving unmet needs.

2. Communication as a Spiritual Practice – Living Compassion, Finding Divine Sparks and Liminal Space of Grief and Loss – Kabbalah, Mussar, and Jewish rituals

The Dynamic Flow of Life, originated from the work of Robert Gonzales:  is a dynamic rhythm between and in-between contraction and expansion ~ three spaces. There is a steady pulse of movement between these two spaces in our daily lives, stages of life, and more. These two points pulse or flow as spiritually neutral spaces, supporting us in moving towards greater wholeness. Sensing where I am is a form of consciousness, not a skill. When I am in a relationship with these particular beats or cadence, a sense of interconnectedness and light is revealed.

3. Extricate yourself from a Conflict and move through Difficult conversations (learning to co-parent or Level II Court Ordered parenting program)

Providing a way out of the lockdown that happens between those parents – from everyday issues of living and raising a family to divorce and custody issues.

4. Finding Empowerment and Choice in Our Work Lives – Effective Communication in the Workplace (or for Congregational Life too).

Building relationships within teams and across teams is vital to healthy organizations.  Google’s epic research into what makes a good team revealed many aspects, especially the importance of empathetic listening and speaking as “a high average of social sensitivity”.

The transformation of conflict and difficult conversations allows for greater problem-solving, supporting more needs with less conflict over strategies, and a growing capacity for higher-quality communication.

5. Understanding Power: Building Relational Trust with those you serve and Shifting Power with those we work or live with

For those in Human Services, teachers in classrooms, and staff within organizations, community organizations, and movement leadership teams, unlearning power over and power under and learning power with is a vital systemic change.  Power is a practice of shared leadership that breaks patterns that separate and disconnect us in our daily lives.

6. Creating a Culture of Care: Racial & Social Justice & Nonviolent Communication Coaching and Training Series

“To cultivate a culture of care is to be in relationship with humanity with a wise heart. . .

we understand and aspire to live by three principles of social harmony: Interdependence in that we are a part of something larger than our individual selves; the practice of Compassion as a weapon of mass healing; and Harmlessness as the practice of nonharming in body,
speech and mind is essential for respect and safety.”

~ Ruth King, Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out

A vibrant program that includes:

1. Racial & Social Justice Framework through NVC Lens
2. Practice of Power With for teams and leadership
3. Training and Practice in NVC Skills
4. Support of Inclusivity Cohorts
5. Specific Coaching for difficult conversations

7. The Power of our Stories and where we get stuck – Storytelling and NVC

Where are you in your specific story – beginning, middle, or end?  In thinking about your life narrative, what is changing, and what is staying the same?  The stories we tell are the pathways that we walk down.  Stories about ourselves and our identity markers, along with the stories we tell about others  – can create compassionate presence, love, joy, or a sense of interconnectedness or take us into smaller boxes of beliefs, judgments, and other things that result in separation, disconnection, and discontent.

8. Healing Differences and Re-building Relationships – Restorative Conversation and Emergency Mental Health for organizations, congregations or community groups

There is great despair in watching a community or team that you love and value implode and/or explode.  This is slow, intentional work to rebuild your team and community, the work of both the mind and the heart.  Training facilitated conversations, and revisiting your values and mission statement, we will work towards restorative pathways to re-engage with each other.