Nonviolent Communication (NVC)
Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is sometimes referred to as compassionate communication. Its purpose is to strengthen our ability to inspire compassion from others and to respond compassionately to others and to ourselves. NVC guides us to reframe how we express ourselves and hear others by focusing our consciousness on what we are observing, feeling, needing, and requesting.
Sunward Cohousing has hosted an NVC workshop in 2005 and incorporated NVC training into our 2006 community retreat weekend. A number of Sunward members are involved in an ongoing Ann Arbor practice group. We have been fortunate to excellent NVC teachers including Karl Steyaert and Martha Young.
The Center for Nonviolent Communication is a global clearing house for supporting this effective communication tool.
Sunward plans to host a public NVC training workshop in Winter 2008. See our events calendar for details.
“The ideal social unit is a group small enough to allow intense face to face interaction, one in which members participate voluntarily, and in which each person can contribute to a common goal by doing what he or she does best.” -Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi