Greetings, Friends,

Blogging is hard work! And for me, the blogging has fallen on the priority scale as I focus on other NVC-based projects, including radicalcompassion.com, pathwaystoliberation.net and compassionateleadership.com. I've also spent the last year closing up a life's chapter of almost thirty years in Albuquerque and relocating to Haiku, Hawaii on the beautiful island of Maui.

Now, I have found a new way to contribute that seems fun and connecting, like a blog, but less work.

Please check out http://www.scoop.it/t/radical-compassion/

This is my new experiment in curating supportive articles and news that feed my aspirations and inspirations, and hopefully yours, too.

If you would like to connect about this blog (including its current dormant state), please write directly to radicalcompassion@gmail.com

Peace on us,

Jim

DEUTSCH~FRANÇAIS~ESPAÑOL~PORTUGUÊS~MAGYAR
hier unten ici-bas aquí abajo aqui abaixo alábbiakban

Dear Community,

I feel delighted about sharing The Matrix of skill assessment and
development that we have created as well as a dynamic, multi-language online
community discussion forum . These are now available through our Pathways
to Liberation team's website:
http://pathwaystoliberation.net/about

*More about The Matrix of skills and development:*
Many of you have heard that Jim and I have been writing a book on
self-assessment with Jake Gotwals and Jack Lehman. The cornerstone of this
book is The Matrix of 28 skills and their development from unskilled to
integrated. Jim and I have already started using The Matrix in our
Compassionate Leadership program and many participants have reported that
they have benefited from working with it, getting clear about the shifts
they have already had and gaining insight about their path of deepening
their skills and consciousness.

*More about the community forum:*
I am also VERY excited about the community forum integrated into the website
by our very techno-savvy Jake Gotwals, who has been working on a
comprehensive tool for interaction among those "on the path". This forum
provides a resource for multi-language discussions, including about the
skills of the Matrix, areas of application, projects, and also for making
connections, requesting or offering support, and more. Check it out and
start using it at:
http://community.pathwaystoliberation.net

Please forward this to all who could benefit and contribute in any of the 52
languages that google translate offers. Also, we welcome any feedback you
are willing to share with us about The Matrix and the community forum.

In partnership,
Jori - for the Pathways to Liberation team:
Jake Gotwals
Jack Lehman
Jim and Jori Manske

*DEUTSCH~DEUTSCH~DEUTSCH~DEUTSCH~DEUTSCH*
Übersetzung durch Maschine möglicherweise nicht vollständig korrekt.

Liebe Community,

Ich fühle mich sehr erfreut über die gemeinsame Nutzung der Matrix der
Bewertung von Fähigkeiten und Entwicklung, die wir geschaffen haben, sowie
eine dynamische, mehrsprachige Online-Community Diskussionsforum. Diese
werden nun durch unsere Pathways zur Verfügung Liberation-Team der Website:
http://pathwaystoliberation.net/about
*
**Mehr über The Matrix von Fähigkeiten und Entwicklung:*
Viele von Ihnen haben gehört, dass Jim und ich haben ein Buch über
Self-Assessment mit Jake und Jack Gotwals Lehman. Die Eckpfeiler dieses
Buches ist die Matrix von 28 Fähigkeiten und ihre Entwicklung vom
ungelernten zu integrieren. Wir haben bereits begonnen, mit der Matrix in
unserem Leadership Programm Compassionate und viele Teilnehmer berichteten,
dass sie von der Arbeit mit davon profitiert, immer klar über die
Verschiebungen sie schon gehabt haben und Einblick über ihren Weg der
Vertiefung ihrer Kenntnisse und des Bewusstseins.

*Mehr über die Community-Forum: *
Ich bin auch über die Community-Forum in die Website von unserem sehr
techno-versierte Gotwals Jake, der über ein umfassendes Werkzeug für die
Interaktion zwischen gearbeitet hat integrierten SEHR aufgeregt jene "auf
dem Weg". Dieses Forum bietet eine Ressource für mehrsprachige Beratungen,
auch über die Fähigkeiten der Matrix, Einsatzbereiche, Projekte und auch zur
Herstellung von Verbindungen, beantragen oder Unterstützung anbieten, und
vieles mehr. Check it out und starten Sie es unter:
http://community.pathwaystoliberation.net

Bitte leiten Sie diese an alle, die profitieren und dazu beitragen
könnten. Außerdem
begrüßen wir Ihr Feedback Sie bereit sind, mit uns zu teilen über die Matrix
und die Community-Forum.

In Partnerschaft,
Jori - für die Wege zur Befreiung Team:
Jake Gotwals
Jack Lehman
Jim und Jori Manske

*FRANÇAIS~FRANÇAIS~FRANÇAIS~FRANÇAIS~FRANÇAIS*
Traduction par machine ne peut pas être tout à fait exact.

Communauté Cher,

Je suis très heureux de partager la matrice de l'évaluation des compétences
et le développement que nous avons créés, ainsi que d'une dynamique, un
forum multi-langue de discussion en ligne de la communauté. Ces sont
maintenant disponibles à travers notre site Passeport pour l'équipe de
Libération:
http://pathwaystoliberation.net/about

*En savoir plus sur La matrice des compétences et le développement: *
Beaucoup d'entre vous ont entendu dire que Jim et moi avons été d'écrire un
livre sur l'auto-évaluation avec Gotwals Jake et Jack Lehman. La pierre
angulaire de ce livre est la matrice de 28 compétences et leur développement
à partir non qualifiés à intégrer. Nous avons déjà commencé à utiliser la
matrice de notre programme de leadership de compassion et de nombreux
participants ont indiqué qu'ils ont bénéficié de travailler avec elle, se
claires sur les changements qu'ils ont déjà et de gagner sur leur chemin
pour approfondir leurs compétences et de la conscience.

*En savoir plus sur le forum de la communauté:*
Je suis aussi très excité au sujet du forum communautaire intégré dans le
site Web par notre très techno-savvy Gotwals Jake, qui a travaillé sur un
outil complet pour l'interaction entre ces "sur le chemin". Ce forum
constitue une ressource pour les discussions en plusieurs langues, y compris
sur les compétences de la matrice, les domaines d'application, les projets,
et aussi pour faire des connexions, la demande ou l'offre de soutien, et
plus encore. Consultez-le et commencer à l'utiliser à l'adresse:
http://community.pathwaystoliberation.net

S'il vous plaît le communiquer à tous ceux qui pourraient bénéficier et de
contribuer. Aussi, nous invitons vos commentaires sont disposés à partager
avec nous sur la matrice et le forum de la communauté.

En partenariat,
Jori - pour les chemins de la libération de l'équipe:
Jake Gotwals
Jack Lehman
Jim et Jori Manske

*ESPAÑOL~ESPAÑOL~ESPAÑOL~ESPAÑOL~ESPAÑOL*
Traducción por máquina no puede ser completamente exactos.

Estimada Comunidad,

Me siento muy contento de compartir la matriz de evaluación de competencias
y el desarrollo que hemos creado, así como un foro dinámico, comunidad en
línea en varios idiomas discusión. Estos están ahora disponibles a través de
nuestro sitio web del equipo Senderos de Liberación:
http://pathwaystoliberation.net/about

*Más sobre The Matrix y el desarrollo de habilidades: *
Muchos de ustedes han oído que Jim y yo hemos estado escribiendo un libro
sobre la autoevaluación con Gotwals Jake y Lehman Jack. La piedra angular de
este libro es The Matrix, de 28 de competencias y su desarrollo de
capacidades mentales limitadas integrado. Ya hemos empezado a utilizar la
matriz en nuestro programa de liderazgo compasivo y muchos participantes han
informado de que se han beneficiado de trabajar con él, consiguiendo claras
sobre los cambios que ya han tenido y para el conocimiento acerca de su
camino de la profundización de sus conocimientos y la conciencia.

*Más información sobre el foro de la comunidad: *
También estoy muy entusiasmado con el foro comunitario integrado en la
página web de nuestro muy techno-comprensión Gotwals Jake, que ha estado
trabajando en una herramienta completa para la interacción entre los "en el
camino". Este foro constituye un recurso para los debates en varios idiomas,
incluidos alrededor de las habilidades de la Matriz, áreas de aplicación,
los proyectos, así como para realizar las conexiones, solicitar u ofrecer
asistencia y otros. Compruébelo usted mismo y comenzar a usar en:
http://community.pathwaystoliberation.net

Por favor, transmita la presente a todos los que podrían beneficiarse y
contribuir. Asimismo, damos la bienvenida a cualquier comentario que están
dispuestos a compartir con nosotros acerca de The Matrix y el foro de la
comunidad.

En asociación,
Jori - para las Vías para la Liberación de equipo:
Jake Gotwals
Jack Lehman
Jim y Manske Jori

*PORTUGUÊS~PORTUGUÊS**~PORTUGUÊS~PORTUGUÊS*
Tradução por máquina pode não ser totalmente precisos.

Comunidade Dear,

Sinto-me feliz em compartilhar a matriz de avaliação de competências e de
desenvolvimento que nós criamos, bem como uma dinâmica, multi-linguagem
online fórum de discussão da comunidade. Estes estão agora disponíveis
através de nosso website Caminhos para a Libertação da equipe:
http://pathwaystoliberation.net/about

*Mais informações sobre a matriz de habilidades e desenvolvimento: *
Muitos de vocês já ouviu falar que Jim e eu fui escrevendo um livro sobre
auto-avaliação com Jake Gotwals e Lehman Jack. A pedra fundamental deste
livro é The Matrix, de 28 de habilidades eo desenvolvimento de inábeis
integrada. Já começou a utilizar a matriz em nosso Programa de Liderança
compassivo e muitos participantes relataram que tiverem beneficiado de
trabalhar com ele, ficando clara sobre as mudanças que já tiveram e ganhar
insight sobre seu caminho de aprofundamento dos seus conhecimentos e
consciência.

*Mais informações sobre o fórum da comunidade: *
Também estou muito animado sobre o fórum da comunidade integrada no nosso
website por muito techno-esclarecido Gotwals Jake, que vem trabalhando em
uma ferramenta completa para a interação entre os "do caminho". Este fórum
fornece um recurso para as discussões multi-idiomas, inclusive sobre as
habilidades da Matriz, as áreas de aplicação, projetos e também para fazer
ligações, pedindo ou oferecendo suporte e muito mais. Check it out e começar
a usá-lo em:
http://community.pathwaystoliberation.net

Por favor, envie isto a todos os que poderiam se beneficiar e contribuir. Além
disso, congratulamo-nos com todo o feedback que você está disposto a
compartilhar conosco sobre The Matrix e do fórum da comunidade.

Em parceria,
Jori - Caminhos para a Libertação para a equipe:
Jake Gotwals
Jack Lehman
Jim e Jori Manske

*MAGYAR~**MAGYAR~MAGYAR~MAGYAR~MAGYAR~MAGYAR *
Gépi fordítás nem teljesen pontos.

Kedves közösségi,

Úgy érzem, boldog megosztásról A Matrix a skill értékelését és fejlesztését,
hogy hoztunk létre, valamint egy dinamikus, többnyelvű online közösség
vitafórum. Ezek már kapható keresztül vezető utak a Felszabadító csapat
honlapján:
http://pathwaystoliberation.net/about

*Többet a Mátrix készségek és fejlesztés: *
Sokan már hallottam, hogy Jim és én már írt egy könyvet önértékelési a Jake
Gotwals és Jack Lehman. Alapköve ez a könyv a Matrix 28-képességek és
fejlődés képzetlen az integrált. Már elkezdtem használni a Matrix a mi
Együttérző vezetés program, s egyre többen arról számoltak be, hogy azok
részesültek dolgozik vele, egyre tisztában a műszak, hogy már nem volt, és
egyre betekintést a saját útját elmélyítésében készségek és tudatosság.

*További információ a közösség fórumban:*
Én is nagyon izgatott a közösség fóruma integrálni a honlap a mi igazi
techno-hozzáértés Jake Gotwals, aki már dolgozik egy átfogó eszköz
kölcsönhatás közül "az úton". Ez a fórum biztosít forrást többnyelvű
tárgyalások, többek között arról a készségeket a Mátrix, alkalmazási
területek, projektek, és a csatlakozások, és kérte, vagy segítség nyújtását,
és így tovább. Check it out, és elkezd használ ez-on:
http://community.pathwaystoliberation.net

Kérjük, továbbítsa ezt mindenkinek, aki előnyeiből, és hozzájárulnak. Is,
szívesen látjuk minden visszajelzést akkor hajlandó megosztani velünk a
Mátrix és a közösség fóruma.

Partnerségben,
Jóri - az utak, hogy Felszabadítási csapat:
Jake Gotwals
Jack Lehman
Jim és Jóri Manske

NVC Mediation and Conflict Resolution:

A Telephone (Telecourse) Program

with CNVC Certified Trainers Jori Manske and Jim Manske from Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

6 nearly consecutive Thursdays, February 18 – April 1, 2010 • 5:00 - 7:30 PM PST/PDT
(1:00 AM/12:00 AM GMT/next day)

Class size will be limited to 24 participants.

Join Certified Mediators and Facilitators Jori and Jim Manske in an exploration of using Nonviolent Communication in the context of Mediation and Conflict Resolution. Opportunities for practice will be woven with lessons covering the essential elements needed in order to begin to use the NVC process during conflict situations. There will be extensive coaching and feedback offered. To maximize practice opportunities, each trainer will facilitate a smaller group during portions of the program and the class size will be limited to 24 participants.

Connect with others in a 6-week workshop series integrating the skills and consciousness of empathy, honesty and self-connection in the context of becoming a "third presence" with others who are in conflict.

This course is ideal for parents, people in partnerships, business people, or anyone who wants to improve their relationships with others.

• Focusing on observations, feelings, needs and requests to support people in taking responsibility for their own experience, and being compassionate with themselves
• "Pulling by the ears" to help people hear the observations, feelings, needs, and requests of the other parties in the dispute, and build compassion for each other
• Offering "emergency first-aid empathy" when emotions are intense and people do not have the resources to listen to each other
• Tracking and balancing the process to clarity that everyone's needs are heard and acknowledged
• Identifying and using needs as a guideline to craft agreements
• Using requests to find strategies, and checking to see if they work for everyone

Course Schedule:
Thursdays, February 18 – April 1, 2010 • 5:00 - 7:30 PM PST/PDT

February 18, 2010 • 5:00 - 7:30 PM PST (1:00 AM GMT, 2/19)—My Time Zone?
February 25, 2010 • 5:00 - 7:30 PM PST (1:00 AM GMT, 2/26)—My Time Zone?
March 4, 2010 • 5:00 - 7:30 PM PST (1:00 AM GMT, 3/5)—My Time Zone?
March 18, 2010 • 5:00 - 7:30 PM PDT (12:00 AM GMT, 3/19)—My Time Zone?
March 25, 2010 • 5:00 - 7:30 PM PDT (12:00 AM GMT, 3/26)—My Time Zone?
April 1, 2010 • 5:00 - 7:30 PM PDT (12:00 AM GMT, 4/2)—My Time Zone?

Recommended: For an introduction to NVC, the NVC Academy offers a course in the Foundations of NVC.

Fee: $180.00
Class size will be limited to 24 participants.

Curious about our pricing? Click here for more information.

TO REGISTER:
Returning NVC Academy Student? Login and Register
New to NVC Academy? Sign-up and Register

Questions? Contact our Help Desk

Greetings, Friends,

I hope your New Year is filled with joy and you are all remembering to attend to the life within you and balance self-care! Breathe!

Ahhh....

And I feel excited as I consider you joining Jori and me for a wonderful opportunity to deepen your NVC learning and practice.

Beginning on January 6th, we will begin an innovative new practice group via NVC Academy. We will focus on building the consciousness of NVC and Radical Compassion by focusing on specific skills featured in the book we are co-authoring with Jack Lehman and Jake Gotwals, the other 2 CNVC trainers living in New Mexico. The group will be experiential and interactive!

The foundational skill of Presence will open the new practice group and be our focus for at least the first two sessions. I feel intrigued about utilizing new teleconference technologies to provide an experience that is the next best thing to being together in person.

For complete details and to register for this inexpensive program, please see more details below, then register here:

Returning NVC Academy Student? Login and Register

New to NVC Academy? Sign-up and Register

Radical Compassion: A Weekly NVC Global Practice Group (fee varies) with Jim Manske and Jori Manske, CNVC Certified Trainers

Meets every Wednesday for 6 Months
January 6, 2010 - June 30, 2010, 12:00 Noon - 2:00 PM PST/PDT (8:00 - 10:00 PM GMT)

Fee: In order to make it possible for the greatest number of people to participate, we are offering four options for payment:

$10.00 USD per month for 6 months, or
$20.00 USD per month for 6 months, or
$40.00 USD per month for 6 months, or
$60.00 USD per month for 6 months

Sign up for this ongoing Practice Group and expect to:

• Enhance your intention and ability to live from NVC consciousness
• Explore and practice various skills to enhance quality of life
• Deepen your self awareness and connection to life energy
• Cultivate your capabilities of empathic connection and honest expression
• Foster community based on nonviolence with a shared intention to build connection and inspire compassionate giving and receiving
• Enjoy an ongoing opportunity to integrate NVC consciousness in a safe and supportive environment

We are excited about using the telephone and internet technology available to us to practice Nonviolent Communication with the global diversity of our NVC community! People from all around the world participate in this group.

Together, we will co-create a community to live nonviolently amid a rich field of practice and integration!

We invite you to participate in learning and integration activities designed to utilize the potential for emerging telephone and computer technology:

• Two certified trainers (Jim and Jori Manske) anchor this weekly practice group
• Weekly lessons with practice opportunities, grounded in skill development
• Two breakout groups to maximize practice and coaching (each group is facilitated by either Jim or Jori. Participants choose which group they want to participate in each week)
• Opportunities for dyads and small group work with roaming coaches
• Self-assessment Matrix to increase learning
• Audio/visual aids for greater clarity
• Meeting weekly to enhance integration

To REGISTER >

Returning NVC Academy Student? Login and Register

New to NVC Academy? Sign-up and Register

Dissolving Enemy Images

An Experiential Workshop of Radical Compassion

with CNVC Certified Trainers Jori and Jim Manske

Maui, December 19, 2009

9:15 am - 1:30 pm

Upcountry Maui

Enemy images breed resentment, anger and violence. The costs of sustaining enemy images include physical pain, mental contraction, fear, and isolation. The skills and consciousness of Nonviolent Communication are powerful antidotes to the poison of enemy images.

During this mini-workshop we will:

❖ Explore the source of enemy images

❖ Learn and practice skills of self-compassion to dissolve enemy images

❖ Experience befriending the enemy with transformative empathic connection

❖ Gain insight into proactive next steps to forge workable relationships

By donation...suggested amount $40-$80. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Questions? Connect via Comment

Greetings Friends,

Every year, CNVC asks their trainers to prepare a trainer report. Usually, it is due around the beginning of the year, but this year the request was that the 2008 report would be completed by November 30. Here is my report for 2008.

Posted December 1st, 2009 by Jim Manske

Language:

English

Year of Report:

2008

A. Approximately how many training days did you have this year?:

100

B. Briefly list the groups and organizations you worked with this year as a trainer.:

Hospitals, medical clinics, Unitarian-Universalist and Methodist Churches, Noetic Science organizations, mediation/conflict resolution organizations, coaching organizations, city/county councils.

C. Approximately how many people did you offer NVC training to this year?:

10000

D. What are you celebrating about your training experiences this year? What was significant for you? What touched your heart?:

I’m appreciative of the many diverse opportunities we enjoyed this year, and the chance to travel to share NVC in new places. I’m especially grateful for the experience of Compassionate Leadership Training. Working with Rodger Sorrow, Kathi Aichner and Jori has been a remarkably fulfilling and enriching experience on many levels. I also enjoyed working with Marshall and Valentina at the Special Session and the March IIT. I continue to savor the practice group via NVC Academy that celebrated its second year in 2008, (and still continues as of Dec 09!) I enjoyed offering our first training via NVC Academy as well, focusing on Conflict.

E. Would you share some difficult experiences you had while training this year and how you handled them?:

Its difficult for me to connect in the moment with any difficult experiences involving training, per se, mostly because so much time has passed.

In late March, we were just finishing a workshop in Texas, doing a closing round when my cell phone buzzed in my pocket. Generally, I ignore such interruptions during training. However, knowing that my Mom had been ill the last time I spoke with her, I glanced at the phone and saw that it was my Dad. I chose to leave the workshop to attend to the call, caring for my Mom, my Dad, and worried about what the call might mean. Of course, it was the call no one likes to receive, and the one we all face at some time. I learned that my Mom’s condition had seriously deteriorated, that she had “died” on the way to the hospital and had been resuscitated. Somehow, I stayed present, listening to my father and the doctor as they explained what had happened and the likely course of events, requesting that I get to Atlanta as soon as possible.I returned to the workshop, giving myself tons of self-compassion, working to stay present in the face of knowing my intentions to leave as soon as possible. I shared with the group what was going on as authentically as I could and received a bath of concern, sympathy, empathy and offers of support.

I did have difficulties with my relationship with CNVC’s Admin Team, specifically around the change in form of my relationship as an IIT organizer, LT member and GCC coordinator. I’m mourning how my need for connection and inclusion was not met, especially how I did not “advocate for the Universe" I would like to live in (thanks Jorge for the quote) as well as I would like.

I mourn my own tendency to become hynotized by Authority. I mourn how much life energy I squandered perseverating and suffering about people and situations I had no control over. For me, now, its “water under the bridge”, although I’m sad that I do not feel as connected to “CNVC” as I once did. I still relish the sense of connection with the trainer network, especially trainers I get to connect with and play with on a regular basis!

F. How do you teach the spiritual basis of Nonviolent Communication in your workshops and training programs? :

For me, the essence of NVC is the radical intention to stay present to my feelings and needs from moment-to-moment, to cultivate choice in responding to the messages I receive from others and to honestly, authentically share my experience with others while remaining open to receiving their responses with an empathic heart. I work to convey this spiritual clarity in my training through the natural modeling that occurs as a result of my ongoing integration of NVC and by sharing this intention verbally through the spoken and written word.

I don’t believe that you can teach the spiritual basis in any “real” way, since the spiritual basis is our very nature. Teaching implies imparting something that was previously absent. How can you teach something that is eternally Present?

My job as a trainer seems to be to remind people of their birthright: who they are, delicious, juicy ever-changing human beings; what they know, deep in their hearts; and to offer tools to help folks remove the barriers to the Presence of their own spiritual clarity that is always here and now and integrate that consciousness more fully into their lives.

G. Please describe your social change goals...:

My dream is to continue to work creating trainings and opportunities for the next generation of NVC leaders. I’m also intending to continue our social change projects in the medical field, the restorative justice arena, and through community building wherever we go. NVC remains the language, the skill set and the consciousness that anchors my work. Reframing power dynamics through peeling layers of submission and domination remains the framework for my work in social change.

H. Please describe your efforts to create, or join, an NVC circle or organization.:

My term as co-leader of the GCC concluded at the end of June. For the previous year and half that dominated much of my time, averaging over 20 hours per week on a volunteer basis. I intended to continue to support the GCC as a consultant, and there were other requests that made it clear that was not desired, at least not initially.I shifted my attention to other projects, focusing on building a circle of NVC leaders via Compassionate Leadership. I also continue to participate in NVC communities, fostering connection and mutual support in various locations, especially New Mexico, southern California, Texas, Georgia, Edmonton and Hawaii.

I. Summarize participants’ evaluations, and how their feedback resulted in new learning or growth for you this past year.:

People continue to express appreciation for the contribution of our work.If you want to hear or see more, see the testimonials on compassionateleadershiptraining.com

Since so much time has elapsed since 2008, its hard for me to recall specifics as I (hopefully) have integrated the feedback that I have received.

I have learned to more enjoy making mistakes. It continues to be a challenge to co-train, even though Jori and I have done that for several years. Talk about an ever-receding edge! Adding two new trainers to the mix (Rodger and Kathi), acted like an accelerant to my own integration. Working with the CNVC leadership provided ample opportunities for me to discover how easy it is to get addicted to a strategy and how powerful NVC can be to become liberated from addictive patterns!

J. What are your current growing edges or challenges as a trainer that you will be working on in the future?:

My edges are around balancing self-care, saying “no”, and cultivating the willingness to express my needs and requests.

K. If you found opportunities to work with other trainers this year, please share the most meaningful experiences for you.:

I have shared training in 08 with many folks. I’m most touched by how Kathi, Rodger, Jori and I created a working relationship that fostered mutuality, interdependence and remarkable ease as we planned and implemented our first extended training community.

L. Is there anything else you would enjoy sharing with the CNVC network?:

I remain grateful to be sharing the mission and vision of CNVC with a growing cadre of “family”. I mourn how slowly our organization seems to respond to the needs of the training network. I wish folks pivoting social change project in regions of the world with less access to resources (eg Brazil, Aftica) received more direct support from CNVC in the form of grant-writing and flowing resources from wealthy countries to less affluent nations and areas. I wish the CNVC leadership teams (Admin Team, Board, Office staff, etc) will easily receive an abundance of the empathy, understanding and love that they need in order to thrive!

Dear Friends,

Greetings from the Heart of the Pacific! We've arrived in Maui and are beginning to settle in here for the next few months. I'm adjusting to the various differences in lifestyle. One challenge is the rain, the apparently incessant rain here in Upcountry Maui. Since we arrived about a week ago, I'm guessing there has been at least 10 inches of rain, more than we get in an entire year in Albuquerque.

We finished CL09 earlier this month andI'm still savoring the De-Lights of Compassionate Leadership-the community, the connection, the integration, growth and learning...

And, I'm looking forward to next year's program, even as the communities from 08 and 09 continue!

One skill that we intentionally include in CL is the Compassionate Leadership Plan. For me, having a plan at various points in my life has deeply supported my intentions and motivated my movement toward creating the world I want to live in. I was inspired this morning by an article I read in the NY Times about how transformative a plan can be. I wonder how reading it will affect you.

I'd love to hear your responses!

Peace,

Jim

Triumph of a Dreamer

• 
  
• 
  CLOSE

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Published: November 14, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/opinion/15kristof.html?_r=1

Any time anyone tells you that a dream is impossible, any time you’re discouraged by impossible challenges, just mutter this mantra: Tererai Trent.

Of all the people earning university degrees this year, perhaps the most remarkable story belongs to Tererai (pronounced TEH-reh-rye), a middle-aged woman who is one of my heroes. She is celebrating a personal triumph, but she’s also a monument to the aid organizations and individuals who helped her. When you hear that foreign-aid groups just squander money or build dependency, remember that by all odds Tererai should be an illiterate, battered cattle-herd in Zimbabwe and instead — ah, but I’m getting ahead of my story.

Tererai was born in a village in rural Zimbabwe, probably sometime in 1965, and attended elementary school for less than one year. Her father married her off when she was about 11 to a man who beat her regularly. She seemed destined to be one more squandered African asset.

A dozen years passed. Jo Luck, the head of an aid group called Heifer International, passed through the village and told the women there that they should stand up, nurture dreams, change their lives.

Inspired, Tererai scribbled down four absurd goals based on accomplishments she had vaguely heard of among famous Africans. She wrote that she wanted to study abroad, and to earn a B.A., a master’s and a doctorate.

Tererai began to work for Heifer and several Christian organizations as a community organizer. She used the income to take correspondence courses, while saving every penny she could.

In 1998 she was accepted to Oklahoma State University, but she insisted on taking all five of her children with her rather than leave them with her husband. “I couldn’t abandon my kids,” she recalled. “I knew that they might end up getting married off.”

Tererai’s husband eventually agreed that she could take the children to America — as long as he went too. Heifer helped with the plane tickets, Tererai’s mother sold a cow, and neighbors sold goats to help raise money. With $4,000 in cash wrapped in a stocking and tied around her waist, Tererai set off for Oklahoma.

An impossible dream had come true, but it soon looked like a nightmare. Tererai and her family had little money and lived in a ramshackle trailer, shivering and hungry. Her husband refused to do any housework — he was a man! — and coped by beating her.

“There was very little food,” she said. “The kids would come home from school, and they would be hungry.” Tererai found herself eating from trash cans, and she thought about quitting — but felt that doing so would let down other African women.

“I knew that I was getting an opportunity that other women were dying to get,” she recalled. So she struggled on, holding several jobs, taking every class she could, washing and scrubbing, enduring beatings, barely sleeping.

At one point the university tried to expel Tererai for falling behind on tuition payments. A university official, Ron Beer, intervened on her behalf and rallied the faculty and community behind her with donations and support.

“I saw that she had enormous talent,” Dr. Beer said. His church helped with food, Habitat for Humanity provided housing, and a friend at Wal-Mart carefully put expired fruits and vegetables in boxes beside the Dumpster and tipped her off.

Soon afterward, Tererai had her husband deported back to Zimbabwe for beating her, and she earned her B.A. — and started on her M.A. Then her husband returned, now frail and sick with a disease that turned out to be AIDS. Tererai tested negative for H.I.V., and then — feeling sorry for her husband — she took in her former tormentor and nursed him as he grew sicker and eventually died.

Through all this blur of pressures, Tererai excelled at school, pursuing a Ph.D at Western Michigan University and writing a dissertation on AIDS prevention in Africa even as she began working for Heifer as a program evaluator. On top of all that, she was remarried, to Mark Trent, a plant pathologist she had met at Oklahoma State.

Tererai is a reminder of the adage that talent is universal, while opportunity is not. There are still 75 million children who are not attending primary school around the world. We could educate them all for far less than the cost of the proposed military “surge” in Afghanistan.

Each time Tererai accomplished one of those goals that she had written long ago, she checked it off on that old, worn paper. Last month, she ticked off the very last goal, after successfully defending her dissertation. She’ll receive her Ph.D next month, and so a one-time impoverished cattle-herd from Zimbabwe with less than a year of elementary school education will don academic robes and become Dr. Tererai Trent.