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

"We must strengthen every choice and be responsible to the point of no
return, until forgiveness, compassion, and understanding become habit."

Nelson Mandela

Dear Friends,

As I write I can hear the presidential debates in the background. In this moment I feel concern as I listen to both candidates. I so want leaders who make decisions based on human needs, who have skills to connect across differences, and, importantly, who have skills in empathy and self-empathy! Both John McCain and Barack Obama look and sound pretty careworn to me, understandably so.

In the last couple of days I have spoken with several people who have expressed overwhelm and confusion regarding current events, particularly the economic news. I imagine many of you are having the same experience. I'm so glad that each of you reading this message (which usually means you've had some training in Nonviolent Communication!) now possess skills to support yourself during difficult times, and perhaps have skills to support others. I know many of you are busy working or volunteering in political arenas this fall. I hope your NVC practice is serving you there.

This summer I had a memorable tea date with Joanna Macy. One of the last things she said to me that day was "Keep talking to people about the future, Kit. If people aren't willing to think about the future, their intelligence can't be released to work on it." As I recall her words, I want to remind you that we are here as a resource, to support you and to help you unleash the creativity and intelligence that dwells in you. Can you remember a time after receiving empathy when your whole perspective was able to shift and new possibilities emerged? Stop by a practice group, call an old empathy buddy, or schedule an individual session for yourself with one of our trainers, live or by phone.  Schedule a trainer to work with a group of friends, neighbors or colleagues. Take a walk. Play a game.  Take advantage of all your resources.  And please, keep in touch.

This comes with love,

Kit Miller
Director/Celebrator
Bay Area Nonviolent Communication
Dominic BarterRestorative Circles Trainings
With visiting trainer Dominic Barter
In Minneapolis and Oakland

Dominic Barter has developed a process, Restorative Circles, through which communities can compassionately handle conflicts, heal from these conflicts, and learn what conflicts have to teach us. His work has been informed by his experience in the Restorative Justice movement and his exploration of NVC. Restorative Circles have been used with exciting results in Brazilian schools and Brazil's juvenile justice system.  Click here to learn more about Dominic and his work in Brazil.

Trainings In Minneapolis:

Oct. 24: An Evening with Dominic Barter

Oct. 25 - 26: An Introduction to NVC-Based Restorative Circles

Oct. 27 - 28: Two-day Facilitator Immersion Training in NVC-Based Restorative Circles

Trainings In Oakland:

Nov 1 - 2: Building a Compassionate Justice System: An Introduction to Restorative Circles

Nov 3: A 1-day Restorative Systems and Circles Practicum

"I'm a NVC trainer in Santa Cruz, CA. I attended Dominic's workshops in Oakland and left inspired with the vision of creating a similar program in the Bay Area. NVC Santa Cruz has just launched a one-year pilot program in a small local school and we are training students and parents to facilitate Circles. So far, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and teachers are already using the process in their classrooms. I'm thrilled to be part of this endeavor and encouraged about the success we have already experienced."
- Christine King, M.A.

SP07 Maria Torres medSpeaking Peace!

Please mark your calendars for our 4th annual free fundraising brunch on Saturday, November 15, at Hotel Nikko in San Francisco.  

Would you like to invite friends, colleagues, and community and host a table for 10 at this event? Please contact Judith via email or at 510-433-0700.

We'll be needing volunteers as well, to greet and direct guests, sell materials, collect donations and more.  Please contact Judith or call 510-433-0700.

MikiKashtanTrainings With Miki Kashtan
By telephone or in New England - tell your East Coast friends!

The Twain Shall Meet: Connection and Effectiveness in the Workplace Using Nonviolent Communication
, is a 5-week telecourse starting October 19.  The first session is free!  You will find out what you can do even when none of your colleagues embrace or even know about NVC. You can benefit from this course whatever your role or title is within the organization where you work.  Offered through NVC Academy.

Peace, Power, and Connection in Everyday Life, October 24-26 in Rowe, MA.  With practice, each moment and each interaction become an opportunity for connecting with self and others, and for creating partnership with others in reaching for strategies that attend to everyone's needs. Along the way we expand our capacity for inner freedom, care, authenticity, and personal power.

This workshop focuses on the principles and tools that make this practice a possibility through fun activities, large group discussion, personal reflection, and small group practice.  To learn more, click here or contact the Rowe Center directly to register, 413-339-4954.

Ready For The Next Step?
BayNVC's Leadership Program may be right for you.

The BayNVC Leadership Program (LP) is now in its 7th year. Each year we train intensively 25-45 individuals to integrate NVC principles into their lives and to have the skills necessary for
sharing NVC with others at a high-integrity and effectiveness level.  Graduates of the program are now sharing NVC with others all around the US and Canada, as well as in Sri Lanka,
Cambodia, Thailand, Germany and Estonia. Current students are sharing NVC in Japan and South Africa.  Next year's program starts in January 2009. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact us immediately.

Are you interested in an intensive program and not yet ready perhaps for the Leadership Program?  Check out the Committed NVC Practitioners Program (CNPP). Application information for the 2009 program will be available later this week.

"In [LP] I have experienced a wonderful balance of both challenge and support in growing and stretching myself in a very holistic way. I have been challenged to examine and understand my most basic assumptions and world views... to open my heart and be fully in touch with all that I have found therein... to learn new ways of listening and being that are steadily increasing my capacity for empathic connection with myself and others.  And because the program provides a structure that fosters the development of a supportive, like-minded, like-hearted community, I have found myself deliciously challenged and supported to integrate all that I am learning into every aspect of my daily life, every relationship that is a part of my world.  In short, I am now experiencing the opportunity to learn how to be fully human in myself and with others so that I am better able to "walk the talk" as I work with others to transform our world to a place that is "heart centered" and welcomes our full humanity."
- Edmundo Norte, United States
2005 Leadership Program
Education Consultant/Diversity Trainer and Instructor,
Urban Teacher Leadership Masters Program, Cal State East Bay

Celebrations

From August 2008 Family Camp/Parent Peer Leadership Program, for volunteers on the children's support team:
"I'm wishing I could clone you all and reproduce this level of care all over the country!!! It would meet my need for tenderness for all children (and mine beyond this week). I'm imagining it meeting their needs to be understood, known and seen, and for their care, well-being, emotional health and emotional safety."
-Tiffany Clark


Announcements

Experienced Cat Caretaker and Housesitter Available
Lois Rosewood, an assistant at BayNVC, is also an experienced cat caretaker and housesitter. She is available for short term or long term overnight stays in the East Bay, San Francisco and Marin County. For more information, click here.

Wishlist

BayNVC is in need of the following:
  • We've outgrown our phone system!  And we're looking for a small business system with a minimum 8-line capacity.  A new system will cost us over $4000!  If your company or organization is growing and looking for a new phone system, why not get a tax write-off and donate your old system to us?  If you think you have a potential solution for us, email newphonesystem.   Thank you!

  • New loveseat for breakout room
  • New or gently used office chairs
  • Extra large doorstops for workshop and breakout room doors
  • Three new desktop computers, PC platform
  • Latest version of Microsoft Office
  • Six 17-inch flat screen monitors
  • Frequent flyer miles
  • DVD player
  • -please contact BayNVC.

  • A laptop PC, less than 3 years old, for trainers to use at retreats - please contact Francois
Don't Miss Our Visiting Trainers

Arnina Kashtan, sister of Miki and Inbal, is here for her annual visit from Israel. 
Specializing in consciousness breakthroughs, she has been teaching NVC for 15 years in Israel and the Bay Area, and also teaches "The Work" of Byron Katie and "The Bowen Therapy Technique".  She's offering The Finale of Suffering, a special 2-day workshop, October 11-12 - a deep, exciting process towards liberation from blocking patterns which cause us suffering.

Dian Killian, PhD, is founder and director of Brooklyn NVC and the Facilitate Change program.

Her passions include NVC for social change and organizational development/support, NVC and creativity, and a kinesthetic/body-based approach to NVC/empathy.  Dian's offerings include Red State/Blue State: Connecting Across Political - and Other - Divides, October 24, and Embracing the Body: A Kinesthetic/Sensation-Based Approach to Practicing Nonviolent Communication, October 25.

Upcoming
Series

Upcoming Workshops
Outside the Bay Area

10/24 Peace, Power & Connection in Everyday Life - Rowe, MA
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


To learn more about what people are doing with Nonviolent Communication worldwide, sign up for the CNVC Network News e-newsletter.
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/