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

"I am only one; but still I am one.  I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.
I will not refuse to do something I can do."

Helen Keller

Dear Friends,

I feel troubled by the divisiveness of these election times.  I hear it at home from my daughter, fuming over a remark some 'ignorant' person made who is supporting a different presidential candidate than her own.   I hear it from neighbors who have had lawn signs ripped down or stolen. And of course I hear it on the media!

Regardless of how happy or unhappy we are with the outcomes of the
elections, I want to challenge you to reach out like my friend Annie
Symens-Bucher did yesterday.  She visited her neighbor, who has a yard sign for a proposition that Annie opposes.  Annie decided to go over to connect with her about it.  When she called me after, she was jubilant. "I didn't try to change her mind!  I just tried to connect with her choice and understanding of the issues, and then I asked her if she could hear how I was holding it and how I saw the issue and she did!  After a half hour of conversation, we ended by saying 'I love you' to each other!  Wow!"

I love that story. And I remember also that sometimes the hardest
people to reach out to aren't those we see as different, but the ones
closest to us.  If this is true for you, check out the couples series that starts this month, stop by our monthly introduction for parents as a refresher, or register for the Foundations I class that starts November
17.  Remember that we offer support to individuals, couples and whole
families too.

Last but not least: If you haven't heard yet, BayNVC's only annual
fundraiser, Speaking Peace, is November 15 from 10:30 am-12:30pm in San Francisco.  If you would like to be part of the celebration, if you want to come and bring someone to introduce them to BayNVC's work, or if you prefer to come as a volunteer, send an email to judith@baynvc.org.  We had a full house last year and we plan to do so again!  Send us good wishes on November 15, that we inspire many people with the wish to support our work in the coming year.

This comes with love,

Kit Miller
Director/Celebrator
Bay Area Nonviolent Communication
2009 NVC Leadership Program
BayNVC's Leadership Program (LP) aims to nurture the spirit of compassion in people who want to live and teach NVC, to support their leadership development, and to contribute to internal, interpersonal, and social transformation.  The program starts in January 2009.  Applications are still being accepted.  More information is available here.

Are you interested in an intensive program and not yet ready perhaps for the Leadership Program?  Check out the Committed NVC Practitioners Program (CNPP). Click here for details and application information for the 2009 program.
grp on grass squareTreat Yourself to a Retreat
Mark your calendar for BayNVC's next Living Peace Intensive Residential Retreat, March 13-18, 2009 in Ben Lomond, CA.

"A teaching whose very roots strike at the heart of compassion - its gifts are endless and evolving and will forever live in my consciousness"
-- March 2008 Retreat participant

puppetsHoliday Gift-Giving
Remember to stop by BayNVC to purchase books, DVDs, puppets, ears or CDs for gifts this year!  Gift certificates for classes are also available.  Call the office at 510-433-0700 to be sure someone is there to help you.

miki teaching portrait NVC on T.V.
Beginning in January 2009, Miki Kashtan will be featured on TV every month!!

Berkeley Community Television will broadcast the Conflict Hotline, a monthly television show featuring Miki. The Conflict Hotline will invite Bay Area residents to call in to the studio in real time to share conflicts from their lives. Miki will guide the show's experienced ensemble through role-plays in order to support callers and other viewers in learning about using NVC for resolving conflicts and for healing. We are very very excited about this program, and have a lot of hope that many more people will find out about the benefits of NVC through this medium.

We are seeking volunteer support in order to make this program happen.  For more information and a list of positions to be filled, click here.

Celebrations

From August 2008 Family Camp/Parent Peer Leadership Program:
"Amazing! I can't believe the depth of community that was created in
one week! I feel sad and yet hopeful as it ends. Sad at parting and so much hope for the world.  Taking home: love, choice, community, my
"roots", empathy, joy.  I really can't imagine any way to make
this camp better!"
-Rhonda Clower



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
Special Series

Starting November 16, Kathy Simon will be leading a 6-week Couples Series in Oakland.  It's a great opportunity to practice giving and receiving empathy,  transforming judgments, translating habitual responses, and much more.

Would you like to expand your capacity to face and transform inner obstacles so you can have more choice?  Dancing in the Gap of Uncertainty: Embracing Discomfort as a Path to True Freedom is a year-long series of once-monthly workshops led by Miki Kashtan.  This series focuses primarily on inner work. Each workshop stands on its own, and together they comprise a journey of self-discovery and inner alignment.  Part 1, Wanting Fully Without Attachment, will be on December 13 in Oakland.

Upcoming
Series

Upcoming Workshops
Intensives / Retreats

3/13 Living Peace - CA
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.
Managing Your Emails from BayNVC
 
If you would like to receive emails from us less frequently than once a month, email BayNVC with YOUR FULL NAME and the desired frequency in the subject line as follows: "BayNVC List - Periodic" (with this option you'll receive 4-6 emails per year; no monthly newsletter, just special announcements) or "BayNVC List - None"
 
If you received this email from someone else and would like to receive our email newsletter each month, please email your full name, address and phone number to BayNVC and include the words "BayNVC List - ALL" in the subject of your email.
 
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/