Quick Connect e-Newsletter January 2007

January 2007

Our Gratitude to Each of You
As we start the 2007 year, each of us at the PuddleDancer Press team wanted to take a moment to express our deepest, heart-felt gratitude to the thousands who live, teach, and spread the NVC consciousness each day.

To Marshall Rosenberg and NVC trainers around the world— We are grateful for your creativity and commitment, teaching a combined 250,000 people around the globe these life-changing skills each year. You are our partners, providing the experiential, creative, connective learning experience that is essential to create a world grounded in compassion.
To groups, teams and organizations aimed at bringing NVC training and learning materials to others in your area — Your commitment and willingness to volunteer hours, days and even years from your life to this important cause supports us in countless ways. We continue to be inspired by your passion, your ability to leverage the inertia of grassroots outreach to reach thousands each year, and by the unequaled power that NVC communities like yours have in generating lasting peace.
To NVC project coordinators — Thank you for your willingness to generate interest, excitement and training in specific high-need geographic areas of the world, as well as topic areas like education, prison populations, and parenting. We acknowledge that this job can be difficult and taxing. Your work meets our needs for equitable access, hope, and inspiration — knowing that each day this vital work reaches populations and individuals who need it most.
To The I AM Foundation— Thank you for your continued partnership, ensuring equitable access to PuddleDancer Press books to individuals and groups in financial need throughout the United States.
To parents who practice and learn NVC each day with your children — In doing so, we parents are building the foundation for a conscious culture where individuals know how to get their needs met in life-serving ways, and where empathic connection is integrated into all aspects of our lives.
To teachers inspired to integrate NVC into your daily classroom experience — Your work inspires us to hold the vision that one day all classrooms, child care centers and other learning environments will be first and foremost spaces of emotional safety, where children have the skills and emotional support they need to express their feelings and get their needs met peacefully.

A Quick Connection to the PuddleDancer Team
Over the past year, we've had many occasions where people within the NVC network wanted to know a bit more about the people behind PuddleDancer — to provide a personal connection to the team behind the books we produce, our website and this e-Newsletter. In this first issue of the year, we'd like to meet this request with a brief story about each of us. Enjoy!

Meiji Stewart, Founder/Publisher
Meiji Stewart founded PuddleDancer Press in 1998 out of a desire to improve access to high-quality NVC learning materials around the world. After attending a International Intensive Training (IIT) with Marshall Rosenberg, Meiji realized how a publishing company focused on NVC works could help significantly in spreading NVC consciousness into mainstream culture.

Over the past 8 years, Meiji has participated in a 10-day IIT, several 1-2 day NVC workshops, and has helped organize Marshall’s visits to San Diego. Prior to founding PuddleDancer Press, Meiji owned a gift book publishing company called Keep Coming Back. Meiji lives just outside of San Diego with his wife, Claudia, and their 4 dogs. He has one 13-year-old daughter, Malia, and one 15-year-old stepson, Tommy.

Neill Gibson, Director of Operations and Foreign Rights
Neill Gibson has been learning and practicing the consciousness of NVC, and has participated in over 1000 hours of training, since 1993. In 1998 he helped Meiji transform Keep Coming Back into PuddleDancer Press, and has since served as a consultant directing business operations and foreign rights. From 1999 through 2005, he served as a volunteer area coordinator for San Diego NVC, helping plan and promote events and training opportunities in the San Diego area. In 2003, he coauthored the NVC-based booklet, What's Making You Angry? Ten Steps to Transforming Anger So Everyone Wins.

From his desire to share the great value NVC brings to his life, he partnered with Beth Banning four years ago to form Focused Attention Incorporated, which designs and delivers experiential seminars and consulting services offering the consciousness they see underlies the NVC process, but complemented with a unique blend of additional insights, principles, and practices. He lives in San Diego with Beth. He has three grown children of his own, and a stepson.

Tiffany Meyer, Marketing Director
Tiffany Meyer is President of Numa PR and Marketing, and has worked as a consultant marketing director for PuddleDancer Press since 2004. She attended her first 3-day NVC training in 2001 in Portland, Oregon, and has since acquired over 100 hours of workshop and practice group-based NVC learning. She is also a co-founder and former board member of the Oregon Network for Compassionate Communication, and has helped organize and promote Marshall Rosenberg’s workshops in the Portland area for 3 consecutive years.

In 2000, she created the NVC promotion toolkit to aid NVC volunteers to create a life-serving experience promoting Marshall’s visits to their area. In 2006, she founded Giraffe Journals, hand-made journals based on the NVC consciousness. She lives in Vancouver, Washington with her 11-year-old daughter, Lydia.

Use the NVC Starter Kit to Lead a Group Book Discussion
A Season for Nonviolence — January 30 - April 4, 2007

Purchase the NVC Starter Kit at 50% list price from PuddleDancer Press. Form a book club or discussion group and read and discuss these inspiring books together during the Season. Your group can include friends, colleagues,
like-minded individuals, representatives from your affiliate organizations, or whatever group you’d like. Use the NVC Companion Workbook in the kit to lead your discussions.

Starter Kit Price: Just $25.95 — 50% off list price

Attend the National Gandhi King Peace Train and Living Legends of Nonviolence Conference

Space is running out — secure your spot now to join an international lineup of Gandhi King contemporaries at the Gandhi King Peace Train and Living Legends of Nonviolence Conference April 18-21, 2007 in Los Angeles and San Jose, California. Partial registration payments are accepted to reserve your spot.

This once-in-a-lifetime event celebrates the 10th anniversary of A Season for Nonviolence and is produced by the Association for Global New Thought. Over 500 Season task force leaders, community leaders, policymakers, faith-based organizations, youth delegates, and activists will sit as peers with internationally recognized legends including Arun Gandhi, Yolanda King, Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, Ela Gandhi and Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr.

Using a unique, highly-interactive conferencing format — including custom chartered railcars hosting a moving conference from LA to San Jose — the Gandhi King Peace Train and the Living Legends of Nonviolence Conference are designed to explore best-practices in nonviolent activism by putting local grassroots leaders and Living Legends of Nonviolence at the same table. The conference will culminate in the creation of a new model for omni-local, spiritually based nonviolent governance.

Due to the unique nature of this event, registration is expected to fill quickly. For more information and to secure your registration, visit www.agnt.org/peacetrain

Distribute our FREE NVC-Based
e-Card!
Inspire compassion in your colleagues, board members, church members, school communities, family, friends, and anyone else on your list with our NVC-based eCards. Simply select your card, enter in the recipient(s)’ email address, add your personalized greeting, and send. It’s that easy!

Become a Local
SNV Task Force Leader
Sign up on the Season for Nonviolence website as a local task force leader so others in your area can partner with you, swap ideas, and lead SNV activities together. Become a Season for Nonviolence Task Force Leader Now with AGNT >>

Teach NVC this Season
If you’re an NVC trainer, consider creating a workshop or workshop series during the Season this year. You could even partner with other area peace organizations, churches, or socially-conscious businesses to present your workshop to a new or wider audience.

Key Facts About the NVC Process, The 4-Part NVC Process, Feelings and Needs We All Have, Benefits of NVC

Play Inspiring Video of Marshall Rosenberg Now!
Hear Marshall speak about the impact of the Nonviolent Communication process in transforming world conflicts, creating extraordinary relationships, healing emotional pain, and contributing to lasting peace in this 10-minute video.