Wednesday’s April NVC Awareness Victoria doesn’t disappoint

Once again Victoria responds with interest by attending The Church of Truths Oneness Wednesdays offering of topics with a  Nonviolent Communication perspective.  Yesterday evening the topic was ‘Resolving Conflicts and presented by Michele Favarger.

Michele offered a deeper connection to the four basic steps of Nonviolent Communication; observations, feelings, needs and requests and their relationships to the first part of any dialogue – self connection.  She stressed the importance of choosing to connect to ones own personal need replacing habits of seeing others in what Marshall Rosenberg calls, ‘enemy images.’  The reference is to how we hear hard to messages being about us rather than hearing what the other persons is needing.

Michele guided last nights group through  this process with ease and humor, including personal stories on how this style of communication has supported her own changing consciousness and outcomes during her own experiences of conflict.

Judi Morin who opened April’s series introducing NVC  joined us again last night and found herself involved in a spontaneous role play with Michele resulting from an audience question that was a highlight of the evening.

Questions of where to go from here came from the audience  with request expressions of personal preferences for their own personal safety in learning.  If this interests you as well, more connection  contact information is listed below.  As a grassroots organizer for the Gandhi, King Seasons for Peace and Nonviolence and this month-long Nonviolent Communication Awareness Campaign  event together as an example of creating peace in your world, I want to acknowledge that there is a number of Victoria people offering a variety of opportunities to experience Nonviolent Communication throughout the Greater Victoria Communities that were unable to participate.  Teachings and practice groups are happening in Sidney, at two of our local Unity Churches, one in West Saanich and one in Victoria,  at a local Jewish Community Centre, at the Crystal Pool, in James Bay at New Horizons, and others in private offices such as Inside Awareness for Healthy Living and some homes to meet the needs of sharing, learning and connection.  Others are taking this into their schools and I know of some in government and professional organizations that  have intensified their NVC training to make change from within their society.  We have one local who presented an NVC theme at the United Nations in 2011!  (Marion Little shared her UN experience with us at  the showing of Heart to Lead, Women as Allies for the Greater Good)

NVC inspires people to change their world and those who connect to it long to share through teaching and practice and want others to interact with in this particular way.  Marshall Rosenberg has designed this system to go beyond right and wrong thinking and encourages it’s integration to spread outwards therefore you will find a vibrant grassroots community locally for in person meetings and on-line globally.

Last year I heard someone personally frustrated with Nonviolent Communication express  this in their own style of communication group classes that resulted in a closed statement  that ‘it didn’t work.’  I was shocked,  surprised and somewhat curious about this statement and yet knew that since beginning to practice in 2000/2001 that it can be a challenging process to integrate into everyday living.  I believe it was our own local Selinde Krayenhoff, co-founder of Island Parent Magazine in 2001/2002 who began sharing Nonviolent Communication for Parents who stated, ‘this is a lifestyle choice and a practice.’  It’s true, it is and one that I believe is more than talking about it and involves a commitment and willingness to make personal changes that results in clarity of our owning thinking process.  It can be an amazing journey into self discovery  that can lead to success in our relationships.  Yes in the learning and beginning a practice of doing NVC we may drive others a bit crazy, yet getting beyond the doing into being, they are just as rewarded as we are! Therefore folks, if you are looking for a way to improve how you do relationships whether with your boss, your employees, your parents, children or beloved this is a form of connecting that is being in relationships that improves the quality of experiencing our connectedness that leads to inner content.

Appreciation to all of you for your support, interest and attendance in coming to meet and hear more about these topics.  As promised for more can be found at:

These sites are not local, yet you may be able to get access to upcoming local events

• Season for Peace and Nonviolence – http://www.agnt.org
• B.C. Network for Compassionate Communication – http://www.bcncc.ca
• Centre for Nonviolent Communication – http://www.cnvc.org