BayNVC Bulletin
April 2008
Bay Area Nonviolent Communication is working to create a world where everyone's needs matter and people have the skills to make peace.

Your children are not your children
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself

Khalil Gibran
Dear Friends,

Have you ever played Empathy Tag?  It's the Family Camp version of Freeze Tag...the folks in the photo above are playing at last year's camp.  This year's Family Camp will be held June 22-29 at a ranch in Calistoga.  If you have children or grandchildren and have some NVC experience, consider attending this year.  Personally, this camp meets needs of mine for hope and community in ways that I have not experienced otherwise - it's a highlight of every summer for me and for my daughter.  The priority registration deadline for families who live within the wider Bay Area is April 15.

If you are interested in sharing NVC with parents yourself, consider applying to the Parent Peer Leadership Program (PPLP), which kicks off with a Family Camp in August.  Here's what one program participant had to say:

"As far as how the PPLP helped - it got my butt out the door!  I don't know that I would've started sharing NVC this early (or at all?) if I hadn't been involved in a leadership project.  My primary motive for entering the PPLP was to deepen my own skills.  Now sharing NVC has become the focus of my life." - Erika Jennings

At right is a message from Inbal Kashtan.  For those who don't know Inbal, she is one of BayNVC's founders and a visionary leader of the effort worldwide to integrate Nonviolent Communication into family life.  We're delighted that she is leading our camp again this summer, her health permitting.

This comes with love,
Kit Miller
for BayNVC

gracemainaheadshotNVC and Parenting
Inspirational Offerings in the Bay Area and Beyond
Leadership Program graduate Grace Maina is offering Harmony With Our Children, a daylong workshop in Oakland on April 19.  Learn how to listen and connect with your child (or anyone else) in a profoundly different and deeper way.  Space is limited; please register by April 10.
Also, for young parents (ages 15-22), she is offering Harmony With Our Youth and Children, most Sundays from 3-5 pm starting April 13, in San Francisco.  Contact Maurita at 415-345-6729 or Grace at 510-776-0920 for more information.  If you know any teenage parents, or people who raise or work with them, please let them know about this FREE opportunity.

Wherever you live, you can join trainer Ingrid Bauer's 3-week telecourse, Children's Needs, Parent's Needs: Partnership Parenting in Action, starting Tuesday, April 1.  Ingrid is also leading BayNVC's Parent Peer Leadership Program.
Solidify Your Learning - Join a Series!
Make NVC a part of your week with Foundations 1 & 2 or a Mediation Series.  In addition to our upcoming Foundations series in Oakland and San Francisco, North Bay folks can stay close to home with a Foundations 1 in Santa Rosa, starting April 17.  This is a great opportunity to broaden our NVC circle, so spread the word!

Hone your skills in Foundations of NVC Mediation, a 10-week series starting April 9.  You'll get lots of hands-on practice in mediating conflict in all kinds of situations, personal and professional.


LP08InternationalsA Celebration from Living Peace!
A letter from Chandana Deepal of Sri Lanka, pictured back row at left, with Miki Kashtan and other participants from Sri Lanka and Phillipines:

I take this oppertunity to appreciate BayNVC for giving me the oppertunity to participate Living Peace programme.  I am highly interested in applying NVC concept in our real life.  Starting from me and then integrating to the society we live.  I know it takes time and we need lot of patience.  My dream is to make a significant contribution to bring the peace to Sri Lanka through practical implication of NVC.  For that we have to do lot of ground work here.  I have been doing it at my personal level & hoping to move forward little by little.  We can't find quick solutions for a terrible war which has been dragging on for 25 years.  Everyday I spend at least one hour for my dream of peace in Sri Lanka.  I meet lot of people everyday part of my office work in the Airline and through my social work in different areas.  I use those occasions to build a solid foundation for the peace in Sri Lanka.  Sometime I become failure & get frustrated but I get up and move forward.

Participating this type of training gives me confidence to live with the NVC concept and contribute to the society.  I really enjoyed the Mediation Sessons and learnt a lot.  Further I had to face some unexpected incidents which allowed me to apply NVC and see the outcome.  I felt the positive result through NVC application.  (Reconnection through NVC application).  Therefore each and every incident was a blessing to my learning process of NVC.

In addition to the learning and support, I got the oppertunity to make very good connections with other participants.  Specially I made a solid connection with the two participants from Philipine.  They are actively involving with the peace process in Philipine.  We had healthy discussions regarding the conflicts in Sri Lanka and Philipine.  We are hoping to work together in the future towards peace.

I was supported by BayNVC trainers in my previous NVC trainings too.  I have learnt from Jeyanthy during my basic NVC training in Sri Lanka.  After that I got the NVC training from John in IIT Santa Barbara.  Nancy, Roxy & Edmundo supported me during my Diversity & NVC training in New York.

Specially Edmundo supported me a lot to enhance my NVC skills.  I met him in Oakland after the Living Peace programme & discussed a lot of issues related to Sri Lanka and areas I struggle with NVC applications.  I got a lot of empathy from him.

All the above mentioned NVC trainers are products of BayNVC and they have contributed to my NVC learning process directly & indirectly.

Therefore my special gratitude to Miki & BayNVC for the significant contribution towards my learning process of NVC which will definitely lead to social change projects in the future including war in Sri Lanka.

Finally I take this oppertunity to thank all the donors who have supported & are supporting BayNVC to make a significant change in this world.  I am sure their contribution is meaningful since it's not only to teach NVC in USA but practical implication of NVC outside USA such as Asia, etc.

Take care
With Love
Chandana - Sri Lanka

Requests

Miki's Monday Night Practice Group Needs a New Home.  We need to relocate by June 2, and are looking for a space that is:
-Available every Monday, 6:45-9:00pm;
-Free or low-cost;
-Ideally in South or Central Berkeley (but could be elsewhere);
-Ideally near BART or other public transportation (also not a requirement);
-Can hold up to 20 people (on occasion; usually less).
If you have or know of such a space, please contact Carol Wolfley at [email protected].

Volunteers Needed:  Join us in the BayNVC office, at events or out and about.  Whatever your skills and availability, we can put them to good use.  Click here to see the current list of job descriptions, but feel free to come up with your own!  Contact Erica or call the office at 510-433-0700.

Announcements

Jazz For Peace
Saturday, May 10 from 6-8:30 pm at King Middle School in Berkeley.
Tickets:  $35 at the door, $25 if ordered by April 15.
For more information:  www.jazzforpeace.org.
BayNVC is a co-sponsor of this benefit for the Metta Foundation, founded by Michael Nagler.

Wishlist

BayNVC is in need of the following:

  • A new phone system, minimum 8-line capacity - please contact [email protected]
  • A laptop PC, less than 3 years old, for trainers to use at retreats - please contact Francois, [email protected].
A Report From Inbal
SP07Inbal

"I completed the course of chemotherapy I chose to do and since December have been recovering and getting stronger.  My energy is not fully back, so I am resting, doing yoga, walking, etc. while I recover.  I'm relieved to be focused on healing now, excited about the ways I'm growing, and feeling lots and lots of gratitude and love for my family and community.

"My blood tests and scans have been clear so far, a great relief.  I will continue to get blood tests every 2 months for a while, and abdominal scans 2-3 times a year for a couple of years.  If there is a different health status to report, we will notify you through the Bulletin.

"Currently my plan is to return to sharing NVC in late June with the BayNVC Family Camp; I'm slated to co-lead the parents' program with my life partner, Kathy Simon :-) !  However, I will continue to gauge my energy (physical and emotional) and remain open to taking a longer leave if I find I need to.  I'm finding it vital for me now to continue to prioritize my health and wellbeing, and I'm celebrating my willingness to do that.

"My gratitude for your interest and support!

With love,
Inbal"

Upcoming
Series

Upcoming Workshops
Upcoming Retreats

6/10 Living Peace - British Columbia

6/22 Family Camp - California

Practice
Groups


For a list of practice groups in the bay area and beyond,
click
HERE

More Information & Registration

 Since many of our
events fill quickly,
please consider pre-registering to ensure your space.  You may
pre-register by clicking the "Register Now" button at the bottom of most event descriptions, or by calling our office at 510-433-0700.  You will receive a confirmation email with driving and public transit directions.
Parking is free on all of the streets around BayNVC's wheelchair accessible
 building in the Piedmont area of Oakland. 
 


Click
HERE for a complete, up-to-date listing of
our retreats, study series, workshops
and practice
 groups in the Bay Area and beyond.
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Thank you.  We look forward to seeing you at some of our events! 
 
Contact Information

Click here to email us: BayNVC

Phone: 510-433-0700 or toll-free at 1-866-4-BAYNVC (1-866-422-9682)
Address:  55 Santa Clara Ave., Suite 203, Oakland, CA 94610
Web: http://www.baynvc.org


For information about NVC beyond the Bay Area, contact The Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC)
Phone: 505-244-4041 or 1-800-255-7696
Address:  5600 San Francisco Rd. NE Suite A, Albuquerque, NM 87109
Web:  http://cnvc.org/