“I love NVC but I always forget to use it in the moments when I most need it.” Over the years I’ve heard variations on this statement from many workshop and practice group participants. A related question I frequently hear is “How do you stay calm...
Dear Friends, Like so many of you, I’m stirred up about this election. I have felt anxious, afraid, sad, hurt. I have been seeking sources of guidance wherever I can. As a Jew, I look to Judaism, particularly what I take as its central message: love...
Short version BayNVC is beginning a process of creating an ethics policy for our trainers, facilitators, and coaches. We want to find ways of supporting clarity for ourselves and those we serve about how to engage in relationships that support all involved, recognizing that we are...
by Azzam Talhami, Guest Journalist and BayNVC Intern The Sunday morning of the mass shooting in Orlando, I woke up in my apartment in Berkeley, California, and began my ritual prayers in ancient Arabic. I hadn’t yet read the news. I heard the melodies of the...
Thoughts on Making, Keeping & Changing Agreements with Care PRINCIPLE: HOLD EVERYONE’S NEEDS WITH CARE This principle can be a beacon to co-creating meaningful and satisfying agreements. I take it to mean being willing to dig inside to discover what your needs may be in the situation....
Over the years I’ve encountered many people—friends, colleagues, clients—who are put off by the language of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). It’s too jargony, they say. Too artificial. And way too “woo-woo.” And I get it because sometimes I don’t like the vocabulary of NVC either. Because...
A student of mine wrote me, agitated, that she thinks she's about to jump into the abyss. Jumping into the abyss is a major part of what I've been living and teaching for many years now. It is an integral part of what I have come...
Have you noticed how creative people can be? We constantly makeup stories to explain people’s words and actions, rallying our best efforts to make sense of the world. As meaning-making animals, we have elevated story-telling to an art. After retiring from her career, my step-grandmother sewed...
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]BayNVC has two new interns! Our interns, Azzam Talhami from Palestine, and Sadhana Vornberger from Germany, are both passionate and experienced social justice activists. We were excited about the work they are already doing in the world. We asked them to interview each other...
Cross-posted from The Fearless Heart, a guest post by BayNVC outreach manager Anna Barnett: How would your life change if you knew that your basic needs would be met no matter what? If earning money wasn’t necessary to keep a roof over your head and food in...
Of all the various things one might learn in this modern age of information, getting a handle on our communication can be one of the most rewarding and potentially transformative. Why? For two simple reasons: it is our primary medium for interfacing with other human...
Last week I was in the intensely uncomfortable position of breaking the news about the shootings in Charleston to a number of people taking part in one of BayNVC Leadership Program’s retreats. While contemplating how to do it, I was painfully aware of the exquisite...