Deeper Still: Speaking and Listening with Compassion

“What I want in my life is compassion, 

a flow between myself and others 

based on a mutual giving from the heart.”  

― Marshall B. Rosenberg

 

Nonviolent Communication, as developed by Dr Marshall Rosenberg, is known as the ‘language of compassion’. It is the lost language of humankind, the language of a people who care about one another and long to live in harmony.

In this online training, which follows from ‘Speak Your Truth, Listen Deeply’, we will learn to translate self criticism into self empathy and compassion, and then explore how to use these qualities in our relationship with others.

This online workshop is based on the framwork of mindfulness, where we learn to be in the present moment, with as kind and open-hearted attitude as possible. When giving empathy, we want to offer a deep and still sense of presence for the person you are listening to.

But how do we do this?

This workshop integrates practices and foundational principles of NVC to help us to connect and listen deeply, with compassion and empathy.

We will:

• Practice compassion for ourselves and others.
• Explore the three possible forms of connection within Nonviolent communication.
• Take a deeper dive into the relationship between mindfulness and NVC.
• Look at how neuroscience can help support our intentions for NVC.
• Explore empathy within the NVC framework.
• Have the opportunity to break-away into dyads and practice our skills.

Retreat Participants

We wish to offer support to anyone who wants to explore language and communication that encourages connection, compassion and empathy. It is a skill to be able to speak our truth in a way that allows others to hear what we have to say. Equally, we can develop deepening levels of listening, so that we do not simply confirm the facts we already know, but find that through the listening process, we develop a deeper relationship with others, and indeed, with ourselves.

We hope that by the end of this mini-retreat, you will:

• Be aware of the three possible forms of connection within the NVC model, focusing specifically on  self- empathy and the capacity to listen empathically to others.
• Understand the different qualities of empathetic listening, why empathic listening is difficult and look at potential blocks we may encounter when attempting to listen deeper.
• Have super tips to help with empathic listening, including ways one can start an empathic guess and stay curious.
• Feel inspired to commit to a compassion practice for yourself and others.

Practices

The practices we will offer in this workshop centre around growing self-awareness, compassion, and empathic listening.

Our intention is to work with the principles of Nonviolent Communication with respect, but also with a light touch. 

A simple summary of the process is given here

We also invite you to view the video by Dr Brene Brown below. She offers a very compassionate perspective on blocks to empathic listening: Brene Brown on Empathy

Facilitators

Lucy Draper-Clarke has a PhD in mindfulness and has practised yoga for 20 years. Her light-hearted approach to teaching allows participants to learn through a joyful, yet transformative practice.

Felicity Hart is a life coach, yoga teacher and mindfulness facilitator. She has a PGC in Mindfulness-Based Interventions from Stellenbosch and offers life coaching that is mindful of you as a whole person, facilitating a deep and integrative process.

Bookings and Payments

To book, please register here. The cost is R450 per person and we will donate a percentage of the income to the Tara Rokpa Centre.

If you would like to attend, but cannot afford to do so, please apply for a bursary place. You can book as normal, and click Manual Payment, then email me to arrange the contribution that is affordable for you at this time.