Greetings, friends,

The whirlwind of the IIT has subsided, and I continue to bask in the afterglow of a remarkable event. I intend to share some of my feelings, needs and thoughts about the IIT later, but right now I'm back in scurry mode, preparing for a weekend junket to Oakland to participate with the BayNVC US Project meeting. In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some writing from my friend Steve Tumulo who attended the recent IIT. He asked me to give folks the opportunity to share some of his experience of integrating NVC. If you would enjoy connecting with Stephen about what comes alive in you as read it, feel free to make a comment or send him an email @ worldwidetumolo@earthlink.net

Warmly,

Jim

Dwelling in the Energy

At a recent Nonviolent Communication intensive training in Albuquerque, Robert Gonzales led a session called “the Living Energy of Needs.” In this session, I began to make a number of connections between the spirit, intention, and process of Nonviolent Communication and the message carried in Christian scripture.

“Meet the Need”
In his presentation, Robert led participants through an exercise in which he invited us to “meet the need.” The invitation was not to “meet” the need in the sense of acting to fulfill it immediately, but to encounter, or meet it. This was an invitation to bring into my consciousness and dwell in the energy in this beautiful desire within me. Through this exercise I encountered the need for self-respect not out of my sense of its lack, but of its presence.

“Fully Human and Fully Divine”
Meeting a need, encountering a need, for which I am deeply hungering and simultaneously connecting to its fullness reminds me of the Christian understanding of the mingling of humanity and divinity in Christ. Christ is the divine energy incarnate, embracing the limitations and unmet longings of human life, while losing none of the consciousness of who he is and where he comes from and his intention on this planet.

“Dwelling in the Energy of the Need”
As longing and eternal presence are embodied in the person of Jesus, Robert Gonzales invited participants to bring together the pain of a deeply felt unfulfilled need an awareness of that need in its presence and life. Through dwelling in the energy of the need, the energy begins to activate inside that person, not changing their circumstance, but simply adding an awareness of the preciousness of how I am made as human, with this beautiful heart’s desire. This is abiding or dwelling in the Quality, in the presence, behind the need.

“Abide in Me”
Jesus invited his disciples to remain in conscious connection with him regardless of their circumstance. “I am the vine and you are the branches,” he told them. “Whoever abides in me will have life within them. They will bear much fruit. Without me you can do nothing.”

“Don’t prepare what to say”
Jesus encouraged disciples to not prepare long speeches in their defense, but to simply abide in his presence and energy and let life flow. This is what I heard Robert inviting us to in focusing on meeting the need as encounter ahead of attempts to go out and get all our needs fulfilled.

“Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
Out of the awareness of the preciousness of how we are made as human, all with the same powerful desires in each of our hearts, it’s natural to value others needs and my own needs on the same level. Living out of this mutual honoring is living out the great law, to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

“Christ on the Cross”
God is Love. And when Love is crucified, Love responds in a particular way. This is the response of Christ on the cross, experiencing the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual pain in unmet desires for love, friendship, life, understanding, intimacy, and much more with no condemnation. Christ on the cross experiences the raw pain of so many unmet desires for love and connection with his people and does not add to it condemnation. Never in the four gospels do we hear Jesus blaming himself or second-guessing his own choices. Likewise, Jesus does not condemn his persecutors: “Father, forgive them. They know not what they are doing.” He recognizes the tragedy in their choice of strategy and leaves them with forgiveness.

In doing so, Jesus leads humanity in the way out of the cycle of violence. Love incarnate bears the cross, the pain of not being met, and, choosing neither condemnation of self nor other, abides.


Stephen Michael Tumolo, Nonviolent Communication International Intensive Training, Albuquerque, New Mexico, June, 2006

Greetings, Friends,

In the moment I'm feeling some overwhelm as I juggle all of the balls in my life. Organizing the IIT has become the number one focus for me, and I'm choosing to put some other projects on the shelf until July. I hope to continue to periodically update the two websites and make occasional contributions to the Vaestro channel. However, I do not currently have enough time, energy or other resources to continue building the technology and content of the Online Practice Group.

In the meantime, please continue your online exploration of the various NVC and CNVC resources available. Some are listed under the links on this page.

I'm appreciating your support and interest in learning more about NVC. If you have any feelings and needs that you would like to communicate, I feel open to receiving them.

Warmly,
Jim

Marshall training at Findhorn!

Marshall Rosenberg, author of Nonviolent Communication: A Language of the Heart and several other books, arrived in Findhorn in Scotland recently to offer NVC training to a group of about 150 folks from 23 countries. Findhorn is offering extensive daily reports on the training. If you would enjoy learning more, click on http://www.findhorn.org/content/nonvio/archives/000662.php

UPDATE ON ONLINE PRACTICE GROUP

Greetings, Friends,

I feel excited to report that the Radical Compassion online practice group is taking form as I work out the details of a variety of strategies. Read on for some ways you can choose to participate! I'm hopeful this group will meet needs for connection, learning and community.

INTERACTIVE POSSIBILITIES

One way to begin is to read my two websites: http://connectionnow.blogspot.com/
and http://radicalcompassion.squarespace.com/ (or whatever parts of those that you enjoy reading!)

I would enjoy it if you would respond with comments to any portions of those offerings that move you.

Also, you can listen to my first offerings on the Vaestro Audio Forum if you have computer speakers/headphones.

If you have a microphone, you can respond and interact with one another as well. Its kind of like audio email. Very cool!

First step there is to sign up (free) online at Vaestro.com http://vaestro.com/mail
The Radical Compassion forum is http://vaestro.com/viewforum-84

Please let me know if you have any problems with any of these pieces!

LIVE PRACTICE GROUP COMPONENT

I'd like you to consider signing up for a skype.com account (also free). This will allow us to talk together in real time in a free conference call.

Skype is a way to talk to others using your computer. You need a computer, an internet connection and a microphone and speakers/headphones. Most computers come with them built in. Once the software is installed, using Skype is as easy as making a phone call.

To get connected via Skype, first download the software for your PC. Follow this link and choose the software written for your computer:
http://skype.com/download/

There is a "how to guide" to help you with the next steps @ http://skype.com/help/guides/howtoskype/

Secondly, when you have done this, I'd like it if you send me your send me your Skype id. This will enable us to communicate in real time via Skype.

(As an added bonus, all Skype users can make free long distance calls using Skype throughout the US and Canada until the end of 2006. Skype to Skype calls are always free anywhere in the world!)

The third step is to let me know your preference for our first meeting. Please send three possible "windows" of time. (For example, Wednesday evening, 6-8 pm PDT)

I'm envisioning a 2 hour "call" via skype where we can begin to connect "in person" and "live". If possible, please translate your request into Pacific Daylight Time (UTC -7).

In a few days I intend to announce our first meeting after receiving your requests.

REQUEST FOR FEEDBACK

As this is an experimental group, your feedback is vital to me. Throughout your participation, I would enjoy hearing about what works about the online practice group and any problems that arise (either technical issues or any other needs of your that are unmet.)

I am hopeful that together we can all refine this idea into an effective strategy to make NVC available easily to anyone with an internet connection!

I am offering this group as a gift, although I remain open to receiving your support. If you would like to donate to the online practice group, you can do so via paypal @ http://radicalcompassion.squarespace.com Simply click the "make a donation button" and follow the instructions. I'm grateful for your support of my sustainability!

Warmly,
Jim

NVC in Chinese Prisons!

I received the following from my colleague, Liz Gay in Singapore:

Dear Friends

I am delighted to share the content of an email sent to me by a
contact in China.

Yinhua writes:

"Tony Trepasso and his wife in Yunnan have presented NVC inside
prison. The first event a few weeks ago was for 1800 inmates and
staff at a prison in Yunnan.

It was filmed by CCTV and when I asked when it will be broadcast, I
just got the following from Tony

The CCTV1 program will be aired on May 22nd. I'm not sure of the time
but will let you know when I find out. We did another presentation at
the Kunming womens prison. There were over 4000 prisoners this time
and it went very well, tears and laughter from everyone, quite
amazing!"


I have already written back to Yinhua to ask if he can put me in touch
Tony Trepasso, whose name is unfamiliar to me.

Meanwhile, if any member of this list knows anything more about these
activities, I will be delighted to make an enormous song and dance
about them in front of people I know who make decisions about training
activities in Singaporean prisons!

Warmest regards meanwhile

Liz Gay
Singapore

PS. Yinhua, who is working on a translation of Marshall's book,
NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION: A LANGUAGE OF LIFE into Mandarin, considers
it unlikely he will be granted a travel visa that would allow him to
join our Leader-full Gathering in Queensland, Australia this coming
September. Anyone with information that might help us to get around
this is most welcome to contact me via liz@nvcinbusiness.com.

By the end of the IIT will NVC be "second nature" to me in my daily connections with other humans?

Question: Dear Jim, I'm still thinking about attending the upcoming IIT in Albuquerque. Here's my problem. I'm still unsure that I'll walk away from this training with any higher level of skill than I have now. Can you, or anyone you know, give me an assurance that by the end of the training NVC will be "second nature" to me in my daily connections with other humans?

Signed:
Unsure

Dear Unsure,

I hear your hesitation and need for reassurance that somehow the IIT will really give you the tools, skills and consciousness to make the kind of difference you would enjoy making in the world. I'm guessing that by "second nature" you're wanting NVC to become more of a "default" or automatic response, is that right?

Can I guarantee that? No. Because the responsibility for integrating NVC remains yours. We can only offer the context within which you can experience NVC consciousness. The IIT is designed to support others in living in a consciousness of needs. For me, integration is a life-time project characterized by remembering and forgetting, then forgiving myself for forgetting-and that's remembering!

I can say that the IIT is the best laboratory I currently know for learning to live in NVC Consciousness. I'm guessing that over the course of the 9 days, you will go through a roller coaster ride of feelings and needs ranging from exhilaration to despair. Some moments you will think, "NVC is IT! I'm so glad I decided to do this. I really feel that I'm getting it." Other moments will be characterized by depressing thoughts like, "I'll never get this. I just don't seem to have the capacity." Or perhaps you may feel angry, telling yourself, "Marshall and the trainers are just bull shit artists making up stuff as they go. They don't understand what its like in the real world." And a million variations on these themes. Of course, all of these things you tell yourself are clues about the state of your needs on a moment-to-moment basis.

And that's the (potential) "magic" of the IIT and NVC in general: to become focused, more and more, on Life, on feelings and needs, on the joy of contribution and the power of stimulating that joy in others. On dismantling the domination structures inside our own heads that paint an untrue picture of us as PPPPPPT (piss poor protoplasm poorly put together).
The IIT is also an opportunity to move from the first level of integration of NVC, intellectual understanding, and move into a conscious experience of the choice we have in each moment to create the world we want to live in, characterized by self-connection, relationships built upon a foundation of empathy and honesty, and the hard work of reorganizing social systems to reflect a connection to Life and meeting basic human needs.

I wonder if this helps?

Warmly

Jim

05/11/2006

Press release from: Alliance for Sustainability

Press release from: Alliance for Sustainability

Request for Nominations for Second Annual Sustainability Awards

(CSRwire) MINNEAPOLIS – The Alliance for Sustainability is requesting nominations for the Second Annual Sustainability Awards to be given at a Gala Celebration at the Historic Fitzgerald Theatre, home of Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion, in St. Paul, Minnesota on Monday evening, September 25, 2006.

“The Second Annual Sustainability Awards and Symposium provide the opportunity to recognize individuals, organizations and communities that have been exemplary leaders and made significant contributions to sustainability—creating a world that is ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just and humane,” said Alliance for Sustainability President and Event Co-Chair Terry Gips.

A distinguished Awards Advisory Board will review the nominations and make recommendations to the Alliance Board which will announce the recipients on World Environment Day, June 5.

“Our previous recipients demonstrate the impressive diversity of sustainability,” said event Co-Chair Dawn Erlandson. “We hope people will consider nominating their favorite heroes and sheroes.”

Previous recipients inspiring author Frances Moore Lappé, artist Peter Max, Aveda Corporation Founder Horst Rechelbacher, Native-American activist Winona LaDuke, Seventh Generation Corporation, musician Larry Long, Minnesota Sustainable Community Network, University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, the Green Institute and The Intervale.

Nominations may be submitted by Friday, May 19 by any individual, organization or community (including self-nominations) at www.afors.org. Nominees can address any aspect(s) of sustainability, including Food, Agriculture, Business, Labor, Government, Nonprofit, Community, Media, Arts, Culture, Philanthropy, Education, Academia, Faith/Spirituality, Health, Design, Planning, Architecture, Environmental Justice and Law.

Recipients will be expected to attend the award ceremonies and the half-day Sustainability Symposium held the next morning. All costs for travel, food and lodging will be covered.

Sponsors of the Awards and the Sustainability Symposium the following morning include Utne Magazine, Aveda Corporation, Seventh Generation, Piper Jaffray, CSRwire, E – The Environmental Magazine, Gift Works by Mission Research, Mal Warwick Associates, Ayurceutics, Eureka Recycling, Portfolio 21, Indigenous Designs, Jedlicka Design, Baltix Furniture, Rancho La Puerta Spa, Dolphin Blue, Progressive Asset Management, Gegax Family Foundation, University Bank, and Sustainability Associates. Additional sponsors are welcome.

The Alliance for Sustainability was founded in 1983 and has been one of the original proponents of sustainability, developing a widely used four-part definition. Its mission is to bring about personal, organizational and planetary sustainability. It has partnered with diverse business, government and non-profit groups to create the CERES Principles, Living Green Expo, and Congregations Caring for Creation, as well as numerous public policies. It offers trainings on Sustainability and the Natural Step Framework and has an e-newsletter Manna, website www.afors.org, numerous publications, a Sustainability Resource Center, and an excellent internship program.

For more information or a free membership, contact Event Coordinator Karen Engelsen at the Alliance for Sustainability, In the Hillel Center at the University of Minnesota, 1521 University Ave. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414; 612-331-1099, karen@afors.org, www.afors.org

In the Hillel Center, University of Minnesota, 1521 University Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414

612-331-1099

Launching Radical Compassion: Online Practice Group

Greetings Friends,

I am entering a new chapter in my life. In a few days, I'm heading to Atlanta for a wedding and a workshop. Then, soon thereafter, I head back to Albuquerque to organize and train at the Albuquerque IIT. Right now I intend to return to LA until early July. When I return, we will continue our series on Radical Compassion and I will also contribute to others wishing to form practice groups in the LA area.

In the meantime, I am launching 2 new web-based projects to support folks in integrating NVC. I am experimenting with an "online practice group" composed of three elements:

1. A new website: Radical Compassion http://radicalcompassion.squarespace.com/welcome/
2. An interactive Podcast, also called Radical Compassion http://vaestro.com/viewforum-84
3. My ongoing blog, Connecting With Compassion http://connectionnow.blogspot.com/

I hope you participate! And I'd love to hear your feedback!

Warmly,

Jim

Well-Being as a Predictor of Health
A new public health initiative in Scotland


I subscribe to a google service that snatches headlines from keywords and sends me links to stories. One of the keywords I enjoy watching is "well-being". I discovered this article today and send it along to inspire you to move toward creating the world you want to live in. http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/61521.html

If you enjoy connecting through stories like this, would you be willing to subscribe to my blog? I'd love to create community and connection there. Simply enter your email address here on the lefthand side of the page. I have no intention of sharing your email with anyone else.

Stay tuned for the launching of a new online practice group via my Vaestro channel, http://vaestro.com/viewforum-84

Greetings, friends,

What is alive in you, right now, as you receive this blog? What feelings are stimulated? What are those feelings telling you about the state of your needs?

And, having connected with yourself, right now, what would make your life more wonderful? What needs would you enjoy meeting?

If you're continuing to read, I'm hopeful that you will meet needs for information, learning and connection!

INFORMATION: The best source for updated NVC information continues to be cnvc.org

LEARNING: I received the following in my inbox from (I)An-ok and I wanted to make the list of resources available to you:

An NVC video that BayNVC put out: http://baynvc.org/video.php

Marshall Rosenberg interview video: http://www.big-picture.tv/index.php?id=17&cat=&a=24

Marshall Rosenberg mp3s: http://www.cnvc.org/sbytes.htm

Miki Kashtan radio show archives: http://baynvc.org/new_announcement_details.php?announcement_id=14

Free NVC telephone class first Thursday of every month: http://www.growingcompassion.org/moreinfoclass.php?classid=152

Free NVC telephone weekly practice group every Wednesday: http://www.growingcompassion.org/moreinfoclass.php?classid=142


And a couple of additions that I enjoy: Peace Talks with Marshall: http://www.goodradioshows.org/peaceTalksL36.html

Changing Your World Through What You Say with Marshall Rosenberg: http://www.newdimensions.org/dimensions/MBRosenberg032806.ram

Preview Marshall's new CD based course: http://store.yahoo.com/soundstruestore/hh01022d.html

CONNECTION: In order to integrate NVC Consciousness, we need a supportive community. How would you like to get involved? Would you like to start your own practice group? If so, please write to me and I will help you get one going in your community!

Warmly,

Jim Manske
nvctrainer@gmail.com

Greetings, friends,

I made many wonderful new friends at the recent IIT in Santa Barbara. One of them sent me the following poem recently, which I liked and wanted to share with you!

Warmly,

Jim

A poem from Ishana

Hi there Folks,
Giraffe's my name,
My long neck is what gives me fame.
You know what else is special 'bout me?
I have the largest heart outside of the sea!
'Cause my heart is so big, my name has been given
to a language that speaks from the life within.
When we speak Giraffe,
We speak truth from the heart.
Listening for needs can be quite an art -
And feelings too - you know
Sometimes they hide,
But with my long neck,
I can see inside.
And then I can see what's Alive in you -
And that helps me see how much I'm like you!

by Ishana Ingerman - Santa Cruz, CA, USA

NVC Research Launches Vaestro Channel


Greetings friends,

I'm feeling excited to share with you a new resource for keeping track of developments in the field of NVC research. Tom Caruso, chair of the CNVC Research Project (tcaruso@vt.edu) has opened a Vaestro channel to discuss NVC research projects. If you would like to listen, check out his channel: http://vaestro.com/viewforum-87

Listening to Tom's brief explanations of the two projects currently underway met my needs for understanding, clarity and inspiration.

I'd like to hear how you feel after listening, if you'd enjoy sharing then,

Warmly,

Jim

5 Practices for Deepening NVC
part 2

1. Stopping
2. Observation
3. Emergence
4. Savoring
5. Cradle of Compassion



Observation

Recollecting the Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti, Marshall calls the capability of distinguishing observation mixed with evaluation from observation, "the highest form of human intelligence." A useful exercise for me in practicing observation skills consists of mindful walking.
First, setting an intention to connect with myself, I begin walking, preferably with no set direction in mind. Then I take turns opening to my senses, noticing what I see, hear, smell, taste and touch. I also notice thoughts and evaluations as they arise. The practice is to simply notice the difference between observing, which is a "thoughtless" reception of information from the world, and evaluating, which is the "play-by-play" commentary running in my mind.
I enjoy doing this for various periods of time.

5 Practices for Deepening NVC
Part One
At the recent IIT in Santa Barbara, I offered a workshop in some practices to assist folks in integrating NVC Consciousness more deeply. Over the next few days, I intend to offer brief descriptions of the practices. I'd love to hear your responses and experiences.

1. Stopping
2. Observation
3. Emergence
4. Savoring
5. Cradle of Compassion

1. Stopping

In Marshall's suggestions for working with anger, his first step is to "Stop and Breathe". I have found it useful to practice this strategy when I'm feeling otherwise than angry. This has contributed to cultivating more choice when angry feelings and thoughts are stimulated.
To practice, find a comfortable sitting position with eyes open or closed. Set an intention to connect with yourself.
I like to enjoy a few deep, conscious breaths; then focus on my breath, noticing the rise and fall of my abdomen on the inhale and the exhale. Notice the feelings in the body.
If I become aware of a thought, I "label" it, then let it go, returning to my breath and the feelings in my body. By labeling, I simply mean to notice the thought, then say "thinking" to myself. If the thought persists or returns, I label it again. It is not unusual to completely forget that you are doing this process, especially when you are first learning. We habitually become entangled in our thoughts in an unconscious way. This practice is designed to add more choice to the thinking process.
I continue like this for 5-35 minutes.
At the conclusion of the practice, I enjoy connecting with any needs met and savoring them and attending to any unmet needs.

Remembering

I don't often remember dreams, but last night I was awakened during the darkest part of night before the dawn, feeling desperate and bereft. In my dream, Jori had "shut down" completely, and seemed to cast me into the role of enemy. Nothing I could do could crack her open again. I felt flummoxed because I did not know "what I had done" to stimulate this response. Nothing I said or did "worked" to re-connect us.

This reflects a deep core fear in me around helplessness to influence others in order to support my well-being. It reminds me that we come into the world alone, we will leave the world alone and that loneliness is one aspect at our core. I suppose at some absolute spiritual level we are all one, but that awareness seems distant when I touch my aloneness and the grief and the mourning I feel around that.

As I write that, I connect with the anniversary tomorrow of my brother's birth. He would have been 59.

We were never as close as I would have wished (he was eight years older than me). As I grew up, he was always my inspiration. He seemed to move through life like a super-hero to me, boldly confronting the mystery, showing me glimpses of my future as I watched him navigate. I motivated myself in many respects trying to "earn" his respect and approval. A part of me longed for acceptance from him and a quality of connection I craved. I don't remember ever revealing any of this to him. This stimulates profound sadness in me.

We touched depth occasionally, sweetly. Once, about a month before he died in 1993, he called to express his concern and condolences over the recent death of my best friend. Remembering that now I feel warm, tearful; touched by his willingness to reach out to comfort me in the face of his own overwhelming pain. I was not ware of the depth of his anguish in that moment, and I regret deeply not having more skill in being able to invite, connect with and listen mindfully to his suffering. I tell myself that if I had been proficient in NVC then, it might have made a huge difference. I feel sad connecting with that, a sweet sadness around contributions I wish I could have made, longing for his well-being and our connection.

Greetings friends,

I would like to share with you some celebrations of how CNVC has enriched my life and make a clear and present request for support.

As the coordinator for this year's IIT in Albuquerque, I am hungry to make the training available to the largest number of people. We have priced the training to be basically a break even proposition in order to make it as affordable as possible. It is the least expensive IIT, as far as I know, in North American history.

And still it is out of reach for many with a passion to use NVC for social transformation. I want to help others to be able to attend the IIT and am proposing that you send a donation to CNVC earmarked for the IIT Scholarship Fund for Albuquerque. Scholarship deadlines are April 17, and I pray to have enough funds to say yes to every request.

Would you be willing to look into your heart, right now, and connect with whether you can joyfully give some money for this purpose?

Then if it is yours to give, would you make the donation, right now?

I would enjoy gifts of any amount, and what would really make my heart sing is gifts of $100 or more from those who want to acknowledge how NVC, CNVC, and NM-NVC have enriched their lives. To donate, go online to http://cnvc.org/donation.htm or call 818-957-9393 or write CNVC, 2428 Foothill Blvd., La Crescenta, CA 91214.

You can also donate to NVC-NM at http://nvc-nm.org/donations.htm and specify it is for IIT Scholarships.

With Gratitude,

Jim

More than 50 ways CNVC has contributed to me:

1. Sponsored the training where I first met Marshall (a golden oldie!) (and a life transforming event!)
2. Organized the IIt I attended (another golden oldie)
3. Sent me Newsletters for free to distribute for the past several years, including last year
4. Provide a website with a listing of me and my training offerings, accessible by anyone anywhere with a computer
5. Give me a logo and a "brand" with ever increasing recognition
6. Give me a community wherever I go in the world
7. Open doors for me because of MBR's reputation
8. Answer the phone whenever I call for support
9. Answer an email whenever I need support
10. Act as a warehouse for my book and material sales
11. Ship me books and other materials whenever I want, at a discount that helps to support me
12. Certify me as a trainer, and thus open doors for me
13. Offer me the opportunity for a tax deductible donation to a cause I believe in
14. Make and keep agreements to protect the NVC service mark and copyrights
15. Make and keep agreement to provide me with an ever-increasing number of materials: books, cds, videos, cassettes, pamphlets, newsletters, puppets, ears, etc
16. Give me a list of skilled people in every part of the world to connect my friends and family with NVC
17. Give me a network of people to support me in growing myself, my practice, my training business
18. Give me a source for inspirational stories, testimonials, etc
19. Provide me with sound bytes of Marshall
20. Built a network and community of 200 Certified trainers of which I am a part
21. Built a network of hundreds of local NVC supporters around the world
22. Organize and implement Marshall's schedule which continues to be a primary way NVC is spread throughout the world
23. Offers scholarships to folks to assist them to attend training when they do not otherwise have the means to do so.
24. Act as a central clearinghouse for information and other resources.
25. Offers and provides supportive services to a Board of directors to direct the mission and vision of CNVC and NVC
26. Maintains tax exempt charity status in the USA
27. Offers free materials to those who have a need but not the ability to pay
28. Forges and maintains synergistic relationships with other organizations with missions and visions in harmony with my values
29. Offers access to webcasts
30. Offers resources for my students to access on the website
31. Fosters connection through e-groups
32. Helps to sponsor events like giraffe conventions, festivals, camps and conferences
33. Helps to publish QuickConnect e-newsletter 4 times per year
34. Struggles to create a life serving system within a domination structure
35. Offers a gateway for increasing awareness of NVC through media connections
36. Offers IIT's around the world
37. Offers to connect trainers with requests for training throughout the world
38. Offers a community of trainers connected through yearly reports
39. Does fundraising to continue to support the work
40. Updates a directory every month of contacts within the NVC Network
41. Protects the copyright and service mark for my use as a certified trainer
42. Provides resources that I can use to make my own materials in my training
43. Provides resources that I can use to continue to deepen my practice of NVC
44. Helps to fund research showing the efficacy of NVC in schools, prisons and other places
45. Provides inspiration and support to spiritual seekers in many traditions
46. Sponsors the gratitude project
47. sponsors projects in geographic locations
48. Sponsors projects related to themes, eg parenting
49. Sponsors projects related to language groups, eg lucesphone
50. Introduced me to open space, sociocracy and many other valuable tools and technologies
51. Created and fostered a training network that fulfilled my need to learn NVC by providing me with quality trainers (especially Jorge Rubio, Eva Rambala, Wes Taylor, Robert Gonzales, John Cunningham, Towe Wildstrand, Sura Hart, Sylvia Haskvitz, Lucy Leu and Susan Skye)

Report from the Santa Barbara IIT

I am enjoying the glow of living in NVC Community in Santa Barbara, CA at the International Intensive Training. We have folks here from all over the planet, including someone from war-torn and tsunami ravaged Sri Lanka.

We have virtually the same training staff here as will be in Albuquerque. I have particularly enjoyed connecting with John Kinyon from BayNVC, enjoying the focus he brings to self-emapthy and attention to the messages our bodies send us to alert us to the state of our needs.

I am thrilled seeing how community, intimacy and connection are rapidly building because of the power of NVC to cultivate a needs centered consciousness. The glow of empathy and the light of honesty are permeating the beautiful grounds of Casa de Santa Maria in the hills above Santa Barbara.

I hope you will all consider helping us to bring this experience to our community in New Mexico and attend our IIT in Albuquerque this June.

If you have any questions about the IIT experience, I'd love to hear them to assist you in deciding to join us!

Warmly,
Jim

Support for the Gratitude Binge

This morning I received a wonderful gift in my email from my dear friend Juli... poem by Rumi:

the net of gratitude

giving thanks for abundance
is sweeter than the abundance itself
should one who is absorbed with the Generous One
be distracted by the gift?
thankfulness is the soul of beneficence;
abundance is but the husk,
for thankfulness brings you to the place where
the Beloved lives.
abundance yields heedlessness;
thankfulness brings alertness:
hunt for bounty with the net of gratitude.

From E-mail to "G"-mail...

My new morning ritual in my spiritual practice is to read my e-mail, working to receive the feelings and needs of the sender and then responding to them from the heart. Framing it as a spiritual practice has moved email, the chore, to "G"-mail! That's "Gratitude mail" or "Generative mail". After all, email at the root level is a strategy for connection, right?

I begin with my intention: what are my hopes and dreams as I open my laptop and log on? What needs am I fulfilling? I want to pay attention to the presence of any demand energy within me that says I "have to" do anything related to this practice. If I notice that, I want to train myself to pause in self-empathy, connecting with the deeper feelings needs under the surface of the "have to" thoughts. I want to savor the life behind that demand energy, than choose once again, opening my self to the vast possibilities of how I might want to move forward in this moment.

If "G"-mail is alive in me, I want to move there with an openness to connect. Scanning through the inbox, who calls to me?

Reading the first mail, imagining what this person looks like as they wrote it, reaching out with empathy across cyberspace and time to connect with another human being who has chosen to send me a "love note", an offering of connection or gratitude, all with the potential to contribute to someone's well being. I have seen and felt the power of words delivered to my inbox. Some "G"-mail moves me to laughter, others, to tears, a few to despair. I want to savor the feelings and needs that come alive in me as I connect.

If the "G"-mail I'm reading ends on a clear and present request, I am likely to respond immediately. Otherwise, I choose to either "let it go", silently thanking the person for considering to include me, or I "flag" it for later response. I usually tuck all received "G"-mails into folders in case I want to re-connect later.

When responding to "G"-mails, I am working to begin with whole-hearted, sincere gratitude, wondering and connecting with what need or needs of mine have been met in relation to this email, either right now in the present moment, or echoing from the past into the present. I start by expressing this gratitude, imagining in my minds eye the person on the receiving end of the "G"-mail savoring with me how they have contributed to my well-being. I tell them specifically what they have done that contributed to me, what need of mine they helped me to meet, and how I feel about it right now. I move from this resourceful space into the body of my g-mail, expressing with honesty what is alive in me, perhaps related to my unmet needs, ending on a clear and present request.

Then, I want to train myself to stop, if even for a moment, to savor. My intention was to meet my need for contribution when I pressed "SEND". I want to feel that feeling that comes with intending to contribute to another's well being. From this space of generative empathy for myself and others, I scan my needs, and choose once again...

And, in this moment, I am imagining you reading this, hoping that it has contributed to your well-being. Would you be willing to let me know by making a "Comment" or writing to me at nvctrainer@gmail.com?

INTL PEACEMAKER Receives Major Award, Leads Local Workshops
by Bay Area Nonviolent Communication

International Peacemaker Marshall Rosenberg is receiving a Bridge of Peace Award from the Global Village Foundation in Los Angeles just before he arrives in the Bay Area next week.
Presenting the award to Dr. Rosenberg will be Michael Nagler, founder of the Peace and Conflict Studies Center at UC Berkeley.
Following the award ceremony, Marshall Rosenberg will make a rare visit to the San Francisco Bay Area to present workshops open to the general public, March 28th through April 2nd.

International Peacemaker Marshall Rosenberg is receiving a Bridge of Peace Award from the Global Village Foundation in Los Angeles just before he arrives in the Bay Area next week.

Presenting the award to Dr. Rosenberg will be Michael Nagler, founder of the Peace and Conflict Studies Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of Is There No Other Way? The Search for a Nonviolent Future.

Following the award ceremony, Marshall Rosenberg will make a rare visit to the San Francisco Bay Area to present workshops open to the general public, March 28th through April 2nd.

"No army is able to prevent terrorists from poisoning our streams or fouling the air. We are getting to a point where our best protection is to communicate with the people we're most afraid of."
- Marshall Rosenberg

Dr. Rosenberg will be leading workshops on overcoming prejudice, healing emotional pain, and improving relationships.

These workshops will take place March 28-31 in Oakland at the Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Avenue, and April 1-2 in San Francisco at the Women's Building, 3543 18th Street.

Through Dr. Rosenberg's work, thousands around the world have found new avenues to peace--within their families and communities, in schools, prisons, and between warring factions in some of the most violent places on earth.

Rwanda, Nigeria, Burundi, Croatia, Serbia, Russia, Ireland, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Israel, and Palestine are examples of countries where Dr. Rosenberg's nonviolent communication (NVC) is taught.

"We have lived traumatic moments over and over again--moments of fear and panic, incomprehension, frustrations, disappointment, and injustice of all sorts, with no hope of escape--which made it even worse. The NVC process offers us a peaceful alternative for ending this interminable Rwandan conflict."
- Theodore Nyilidandi, Rwandan Dept. of Foreign Affairs; Kigali, Rwanda

This event is sponsored by Bay Area Nonviolent Communication (BayNVC) a nonprofit organization in Oakland which offers ongoing classes in Dr. Rosenberg's nonviolent communication process throughout the Bay Area.

BayNVC also facilitates programs such as the Restorative Justice Project at San Quentin and other area prisons and jails, and the global Peaceful Families, Peaceful World Project, supporting families in living with compassion and connection.

All contributions go toward furthering Dr. Rosenberg's work. Online registration is available at http://www.baynvc.org

SOURCE OF MARSHALL ROSENBERG QUOTE IN THIS NEWS RELEASE
http://www.cnvc.org/diankillian.htm (article discussing Restorative Justice; gives a good introduction to Marshall Rosenberg)

LINK TO THE BRIDGE OF PEACE AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT: http://www.globalvillagefoundation.org/news.html

MORE ABOUT BAY AREA NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION
http://www.baynvc.org/mission.php

MORE ABOUT MARSHALL ROSENBERG'S UPCOMING BAY AREA WORKSHOPS http://www.baynvc.org/marshall_rosenberg_visit_spring_2006.php

"Marshall Rosenberg provides us with the most effective tools to foster health and relationships. Nonviolent communication connects soul to soul . . . It is the missing element in what we do."
- Deepak Chopra, author, Ageless Body and Timeless Mind

To read more about what Deepak Chopra has said about Marshall Rosenberg: http://www.wilddivine.com/DeepakNovemberLetter/

Article republished from http://www.indybay.org/