Speaking My Truth, Hearing Yours
Workshop # 37
Dorothy Henderson
We will engage the practice of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) to connect deeply with that of God in ourselves and with that of God in others. NVC goes beyond conflict resolution, taking us to the heart of compassion, while teaching us to more fully speak our truth and more clearly hear the truth of others.
Percentage of time:
Worship/worship-sharing 20; Lecture 20; Discussion 10; Experiential 50
Open to all
Full Description
My objective for this week is to share a powerful, deceptively simple tool that challenges us to fully engage with our belief as Quakers that there is that of God in all beings, including ourselves! I expect our time together to have the potential to make the practice of our faith more real and available.
Topics:
How can I touch that of God within myself and really see it in others? How can I be present to another’s pain in a way that truly helps them? How can I tell people what I really think in a way that they can hear? How can I bring more aliveness and more trust in spirit to my committee meetings? How can I create peace in the world when I have trouble with some members of my meeting? How can I stop pretending to listen to someone when I am really bored or irritated with what they are saying? These are examples of the queries that arise as we try to live our faith. In this workshop we will learn and practice NVC by using real queries and situations from our lives.
Format:
We will spend 30 minutes in worship. There will be some didactic with most of the time spent practicing NVC. This may include role play, small groups and dyads, and exercises.
Recommended readings are two books by Marshall Rosenberg: Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, and Speaking Peace in a World of Conflict. If you only read one, I suggest the first one. In addition, for the really ambitious, reading and using the companion workbook to Nonviolent Communication would be very helpful. These are available from CNVC.org.
Bring your queries/issues about how to live more authentically, effectively, and compassionately as a Quaker in the world today. We will work with what we bring.
