— Martha Lasley, Founder and Certified Coach, Leadership that Works
Are you interested in developing skills to keep your heart strong in the face of the immense challenges of our times? The tools of Nonviolent Communication can support us to keep ourselves healthy in turbulent times and to make a difference for everyone whose lives we touch.
Join us for this special online retreat where we’ll delve into NVC as an embodied practice for transforming our lives, relationships and world. During this four-day retreat, you’ll learn ways to:
This online retreat includes two interactive sessions per day with teaching, practice and discussion: from 9 – 11 am and 1 – 3 pm PST, plus the option to join a one-hour empathy practice group each day (empathy groups will be offered at various times to accommodate times zones and work schedules).
Certain sessions will focus on applying Nonviolent Communication (NVC) at home and with friends, while others will focus on using NVC in the workplace. Typical topics include:
Being in a partnership or being single
Parenting or connecting with children in other contexts
Communicating across any kind of divide
Collaborating at work
Helping others work through conflict
Participants may apply to continue their learning in the BayNVC Immersion Program, an 8-month intensive program that meets in Berkeley one weekend per month in 2022, February through September.
“There is no replacement for working with this material in an interactive group field with a grounded and spiritually mature, capable instructors. It’s been invaluable!”
— Dawn Neal, Life Coach, Berkeley CA.
This retreat is appropriate for those new to Nonviolent Communication as well as for experienced practitioners seeking to bring their practice to a new level. Previous retreats have drawn therapists, activists, teachers, health care providers, parents, writers, artists, engineers, life coaches, and many more.
The Living Peace Retreat will be co-led by Certified Nonviolent Communication Trainers Roxy Manning, Ph.D. and Oren Jay Sofer, and will be supported by a team of experienced NVC assistants. Our leadership team is designed to provide significant coaching in small groups.
Roxy Manning, Ph.D., a CNVC Certified Trainer, has co-led various BayNVC’s depth programs since 2008. A passionate champion of social justice, she brings NVC to her work as a licensed clinical psychologist, and has supported groups around the world interested in causes from LGBTQ rights to equity and transformation of social structures related to race, ethnicity and social class.
Oren Jay Sofer, a CNVC Certified Nonviolent Communication Trainer, teaches workshops and retreats on meditation and communication nationally. His teaching emphasizes how awareness practice and communication training deepen one another in a synergistic manner. He holds a degree in Comparative Religion from Columbia University, is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner for healing trauma, and is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. Oren is also the author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication.
This retreat is offered on a sliding scale with scholarships available. People who contribute at the top of the sliding scale support our ability to offer spaces at a cost below the bottom of the sliding scale to those who would otherwise be unable to participate.
Our sliding scale is intended to make this retreat accessible to people of a wide range of income levels. Please choose an amount that reflects your ability to contribute. If the requested sliding scale is not sustainable for you, we invite you to apply for a scholarship below.
We wish to support all people who are passionate about this work to have access to it, independent of their current access to financial resources. We recognize that, because of various social and economic systems, some people experience financial barriers to participating in events with cost-based attendance.
We are explicitly inviting participation by people who come from any of the following communities. We know that when these people are included, all communities benefit:
People with visible or invisible disabilities
People who do not have white skin privilege and/or who come from communities who have been targets of racism
Low-income/Poor or Working class people (please refer to this definition as a guideline when self-identifying in this category)
If you identify as part of one of the communities listed above and would like to be considered for a low-cost space, please apply for a scholarship. Preference will be given to those who are new to this work and who have not attended past events at reduced or no cost.
Scholarship requests? Please complete this form to request a scholarship.
Questions about this retreat? Feel free to email us here.
“Roxy is a natural healer with a huge capacity to hold pain and and create space for deep healing. I love the way Roxy facilitates groups; there’s something about her energy and the way she leans forward that inspires me and gives me hope.”
— Martha Lasley, Founder and Certified Coach, Leadership that Works
“I was blown away by Oren’s ability to clearly, consciously, and potently articulate and bring to life so many teachings. The organization of his retreat was flawless, which made it much easier for me to see the connections between various ideas and practices. I would be thrilled to spend another retreat with Oren.”
— Retreat Participant
— Kitty Costello, Author and Psychotherapist, San Francisco, CA
— Laura W., Middle School Teacher, Oakland, CA.