From the bedroom to the boardroom, from the classroom to the war zone, Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is changing lives every day. NVC helps us free ourselves and others from the effects of past experiences and resolve conflicts peacefully, whether personal or public, domestic or international.

Through NVC we can express what is alive in us-and hear what is alive in others-in nonjudgmental, non-blaming ways that have a much greater chance of inspiring a mutual connection with others. NVC is now being taught in corporations, classrooms, prisons, and mediation centers throughout the world. While the visionary process of Nonviolent Communication has helped reduce hostility and conflict in some of the most war torn states of the world, it has also brought harmony to the home front-one relationship at a time.

NVC FACILITATES:

• Solutions to conflict that meet everyone's needs
• Clear and respectful exchange of feelings
• Effective and satisfying connections among family, friends, and co-workers
• Improved efficiency, teamwork, and partnership within organizations
  
  

What do you believe are the hallmarks of effective nonviolent activism (in terms of specific strategies, values, vision, etc.)?
I think every situation requires a specific approach. It would be difficult to say that this would work in specific situations and that in another. Gandhi always first studied the problem from all perspectives, even sometimes wearing the shoe of the opponent. Then, when he was satisfied he would start a correspondence with the other to try and reach an understanding. The correspondence would first be private, then he would make it public and then he would say to the person that since we have reached a stalemate I will have to resort to public campaigns to force the issue. However, he did this with extreme politeness and with no intentions of inconveniencing the opposition in any way. Once in South Africa he suspended his campaign against the apartheid government because the workers of the railway went on a strike. He said it is wrong to put pressure on the government at a time when they are occupied with a national calamity. Then once the strike was over he relaunched his movement

January 30th marks the beginning of the 2005 Season for Nonviolence. Why is it important for individuals and organizations to get involved in the Season?
I think it is important because the Season is designed to help people understand the philosophy and implement the culture of nonviolence so that we can transform the world before it destroys itself.

Marshall Rosenberg Keynotes U.S. Department of Peace Campaign Conference

More than 300 U.S. Department of Peace (DOP) campaign lobbyists were introduced to Nonviolent Communication (NVC) November 15, 2004, by NVC founder Marshall Rosenberg. This well-received keynote was a substantial first step in a developing partnership between the DOP and the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC). NVC training programs for DOP activists are now underway. They aim to teach the crucial skills needed to build diverse campaign coalitions - a crucial step in the successful passage of this bill.

Since April 2002, thousands of activists, lobbyists, and government officials have been campaigning for the creation of a formal U.S. Department of Peace. Similar campaigns are now active in other corners of the world, including England, Canada and Australia. A draft of the actual appropriations bill is now under development. The bill would create a cabinet level position and would allocate two percent of the annual defense budget toward the reduction of violence in the U.S. and in global communities.

As drafted, the bill would allocate two thirds of the program budget to fund proven violence reduction programs in the nation's correctional facilities, police and fire departments and to reduce gang and domestic-violence related incidents. The remaining third of the budget would be spent monitoring and preventing violence around the world. A study conducted by the CIA will be used to monitor and address proven predictors of war and violence - so as to reduce these factors before they lead to war or political collapse.

DOP campaign coordinator and CNVC fundraising chair, Lynn McMullen has been training lobbyists since the campaign's inception in April 2002. Nonviolent Communication, says McMullen, provides lobbyists the specific skills they need to ensure the passage of this bill. To cut across party lines, lobbyists will need to develop diverse coalitions of supporters. This means doing away with enemy images, "us versus them" mentality, and the ability to connect with any person of influence from a place of needs.

To support her claim, McMullen quotes Martin Luther King, Jr: "You have no influence over people who can sense your underlying contempt." Having worked most of her life as a lobbyist, McMullen has learned first hand that influence starts with creating a genuine connection from a place of common needs.

"To pass this legislation, we're going to have to work along both party lines," said McMullen. "My hope is that NVC will give DOP lobbyists the skills to enter the conversation with a new kind of diplomacy - from a space of common needs."

Rosenberg's two-hour introduction to NVC was preceded by a formal meeting between CNVC and DOP representatives including Marianne Williamson, Dot Maiver, CNVC Executive Director Gary Baran, and BayNVC's Director, Kit Miller. The leaders discussed strategies for collaboration to support the passage of the bill. The goal is to provide the training/skill development that would help activists "be the bill" even as they worked to get it passed by Congress.

Representatives from CNVC and the Department of Peace Campaign will continue to work together to provide NVC training to campaign lobbyists. For more information about training in your area, please contact Lynn McMullen today.

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To learn more or to get involved in the U.S. Department of Peace campaign, visit www.dopcampaign.org.

A Letter from Sri Lanka:
Jeyanthy Siva Responds to the Tsunami with Compassion and Inspiration

January 2, 2005

It's been a week since the Tsunami hit my beloved Island of Lanka, along with several other places in South and South East Asia. After a week of alternating between states of denial, numbness, despair and activity, today I had an incredible experience of grace. An experience of complete acceptance of everything, without blame, without any expectation of things ought to be different, etc. Since the 26th, I spent the first couple of days of being numb and trying to keep going with my planned activities, then being active in responding to the crisis (working with people trying to coordinate relief supplies reaching those who were not getting them through the regular channels), then feeling discouraged at the sluggishness/inefficiency of the bureaucracy of both the government and the larger NGOs. Then getting some empathy from some friends.

The Broken-Hearted Warrior "It is only through letting our heart break that we discover something unexpected: The heart cannot actually break, it can only break open...To live with a broken-open heart is to experience life full strength...When the heart breaks open, it marks the beginning of a real love affair with this world. It is a broken-hearted love affair, rather than the conventional kind based on hope and expectation. Only in this fearless love that can respond to life's pain as well as its beauty can we be of real help to ourselves or anyone else in this difficult age. The broken-hearted warrior is an essential archetype for our time." -- John Welwood. From his book Love and Awakening

Then this morning, after spending a restless night in bed, I woke up with this voice in my head shouting at me "Shut UP!" "Do something or shut up"- intense pain and self judgment, thoughts like, "I am not being effective, so many people are in need and I am just spinning in circles," etc. Since the disaster happened, I had been aware of holding a lot of grief in my body that I didn't find a way to release. Then a friend of mine from Berkeley (Hi Maja) called me this morning - we had set up the time to talk so she can lend me her expertise on trauma to support a program I am working on - trauma/disaster counseling incorporating Nonviolent Communication principles, etc., So she called and asked me the simple question "how are you?" and I started sobbing. And I didn't stop for an hour and a half. My heart broke open and the grief came pouring out- words and thoughts like, there is no meaning to this- why did the most vulnerable people, living on the fringes of society, eking out a living the ones to be hit, why not those of us with better resources to rebuild our lives? Why this part of the world which is already lacking in resources, why this poor, beaten up Island, just taking a breath from the bombardment of war for 20 years, now hit with this? Why, why, why?

At some point in the grieving process, the phrase "there is no meaning to this" went from an expression of despair to one of freedom. Grief for those who died, grief for those whose lives have been devastated and esp. for those precious children who had to witness the death of their family members or who are orphaned... A counselor friend in Jaffna peninsula where he works, said one child from Point Pedro area refuses to go outside the shelter he is in, saying "the ocean is outside, and its going to take me too" and other child staring mutely except for saying "the ocean swept away appa (father)". Then I remember that in some places, whole villages have been swept to sea and I imagined what I would feel if everyone I knew, every building that I had memories in, everyone I loved, every person that made up the fabric of my life, were swept to sea... gone in the space of 5 minutes.

Nothing to do but sob my heart out. No illusion of safety, no pretense that there is stability, that there is reason or fairness or reasonableness to life. It just is. There is no reason tragic things happen. The moment of Satori or grace was the complete acceptance of life/death, of people, of everything. Wonderful hearts pouring out their love and offering their resources wholeheartedly, others having lost everything with no fault of their own, still others looting or siphoning off from the material relief arriving, all sitting next to each other. No judgment on any of it, just being with it- this is what's happening. Acceptance without judgment or expectation it ought to be different. A 15-minute period of complete, unconditional acceptance. My body felt completely relaxed like I never ever remembered - places that habitually carry tension and tightness, melted and felt soft as butter.

Of course, right now I am reporting it, not feeling it. Now, some of those "should" thoughts are coming back, thoughts that say, "I should be doing more..." or "NGO's and government should be coordinating their work more efficiently" or "The government is so unorganized and chaotic, how can they..." As far as I am concerned, these thoughts are a sign that there is more grief work to be done... Not because there isn't truth in the thoughts but because there is a blame and anger and attachment that things ought to be different rather than the softness of the acceptance of where things are- and from that place of acceptance, ok, where do we go from here and what do we do next... which is empowered action from a place of connection to self/sprit.

I so much want to believe that this can be an opportunity for us, to break us out of the habits of seeing each other as different, separate, enemy and instead seeing each other as part of the same human/divine energy, all in the same boat together called the Island of Lanka, called mother earth. No Sinhalese, no Tamil, no Muslim. No woman, no man, no victim, no oppressor, no categories at all but human beings subject to the same nature, same life energy flowing through all of us.

And I AM celebrating all the stories I am hearing about people, common people from the unaffected areas who have normally been paralyzed and silent and turn the other way during the war devastation, getting involved, collecting things and taking them to people they know, etc., Its the civil society that seems to have kept most of the survivors fed and clothed, esp. on the first days of that disaster. And the heroic stories of people who helped others when the waves hit them, risked their own lives many times over to save others, etc., are still inspiring me.

At the official and professional levels, there is still suspicion and lack of trust- the hearts haven't (yet?) broken open I suppose. The elite areas have not been affected much, only the poorest of the poor, the fishermen caste living on the edge (literally). The ruling class in Colombo has not felt the direct impact of this at all. So the divisive thinking continues... I feel despair when I see the continuation of division (e.g., government and government supporting media accusing LTTE of blocking their attempts to deliver relief, LTTE and LTTE supporting media accusing the government of using this as an excuse to gain access to areas under LTTE control, etc., my despairing question is: if this disaster doesn't break open hearts and help the divisions to dissolve, then what will? As others have said, if not a 10-meter wall of water, then what would it take? A 20-meter wall of water? Being submerged entirely? Then I remember that I am hearing this wail from many others I talk with - and if many people feel this way then there is still hope...

The celebration of seeing the way the common person is been galvanized into action gives me the most hope. Now the challenge is to encourage it so please don't run out of steam, to encourage the energy of unity, the sprit of open hearted giving that seems to have come out in the common person of this country. I remind myself that the "powers that be" whether its government or large NGOs or whoever the holds the institutional structures are of course the last ones to get this and not to be discouraged by that. There IS something different happening here in this beautiful and tragic Island of ours- it's happening at the level where it counts, at the grassroots level, at the level of the hearts and minds of the people. Where it leads will be up to all of us- esp. those of us who help to shape what kind of stories get told about it and which stories become prominent for example, the ones about the incredible outpouring of generosity of so many or the ones about looting and theft from the few... or the many stories of people coming together to help those in need, without regard to their ethnicity/caste or any of those divisions that normally might separate them vs. the few stories of camps being formed along ethnic lines and each camp not sharing with others camps, etc.,

I see how much power stories have - I saw how it inspired others to act the same way first hand. People who were in shock and numb state and habitually pulling back and letting the "authorities" deal with it, when they heard that some young people (19 -23 year olds) had gathered together and collected supplies from their families and friends and hired a van and driven the supplies to be delivered to the affected areas, they seemed inspired and the next day, they did the same. The acts of generosity and helping spirit of just a few people is inspiring others. Hearing the stories of these acts inspire others to act in a similar way. Hearing stories of looting or worse acts of people harming each other even in time of disaster discourages people and makes them sink into their familiar cynicism and lack of action. And of course it becomes a self-reinforcing loop and there is less and less inspiring acts to inspire others and we all sink into cynicism and fear and wait on the authorities to act (then blame them for not doing their job, etc.,). NO, I do not want that to happen. So, where is the point of intervention? I am thinking, the story tellers- we can tell a different story, we can notice, talk about, spread and report on the inspiring stories...

Also, I have been spending time and energy working on translating my enemy images, trying to humanize those in power in the south. I have spent the first few days of this week volunteering at the psychosocial desk of the SL government disaster relief task force. Not sure I am spending my energy in the most fruitful way (given how chaotic and ineffective the government bureaucracy tends to be) but trying to think of the long term as well as the current crisis and my long term vision is to help create connections across the divisions between the different communities of Lanka (Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim, etc.,). I want to contribute to healing the pain of that division which I think is essential for Sri Lanka's long term well being and this might be one way to do that. So, between working with the small group trying to bring supplies and services to the places its not reaching (mostly in the north and east but few places in the south as well), and trying to contribute to an attempt to create a national level coordination and plan of psycho social response, I am trying to get as much wholeness and integrity with my vision as possible...

Saturday afternoon, I am doing a training on "Compassionate Listening" for some young people going to do relief work in the east coast- for them to offer not only relief supplies but their hearts and listening as away of helping people to speak about their experiences with the Tsunami. Kind of a trauma counseling in groups...

Also did Compassionate Listening/grief support training for speech and occupational therapists from Colombo general hospital- who is going to volunteer primarily with children in affected areas.

For those of you who have been writing and asking me how you can help. I have two specific requests. One, we need funds for our Sri Lanka Leadership program (to create that core group of people who have deep understanding of the consciousness of Nonviolent Communication) which you can send to CNVC, with note that its for the Sri Lanka Leadership program. And two, I would like some people to come to Lanka for extended time (at least 3 weeks to a month and ideally more) and to help me develop programs for addressing the long term conflict- as we respond to the Tsunami and the current crisis: people with coaching skills, grant writing and proposal development skills, and of course in depth NVC skills. If you want more information about this, please feel free to email me at . Also see our website for more information: www.sandhi.org

Jeyanthy Siva

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An Alternative to Violence: NVCBrazil

Since 2001, the NVCBrazil team has reached into the shantytowns, schools, prisons and hospitals of Brazil's most tumultuous regions, offering an effective alternative to the violence that is their norm. More than 45,000 people are victims to violence each year in Brazil that's more individuals than were killed annually on both sides of the Vietnam war. With daily challenges of extreme poverty, armed gangs, the constant threat of a destabilized currency, a legacy of militarization, and a diminished educational system, Nonviolent Communication is arming individuals with a powerful, effective alternative.

The NVCBrazil team, led by CNVC trainer Dominic Barter, coordinates the CNVC Portuguese Language or Lusophone project out of Brazil. The project intends to create access to NVC compassionate consciousness and skills in countries and communities that speak Portuguese. While Portuguese is the sixth most commonly spoken language in the world, Barter realized in 2001 that access to NVC training and educational materials in Portuguese was virtually nonexistent. As a network, the team offers mediation and training in Portuguese, and an organizational structure that offers an inspirational model of NVC principles.

"I don't see any other alternative around us that has the scope and depth that NVC has," said Barter. According to Barter, NVC can help people translate their societal dream into a specific strategy - a huge step toward realizing the development of a democratic, peaceful culture.

For those outside, the daily challenges faced by Brazilians and other Portuguese speaking countries may seem unsurpassable. The principles of democracy in social institutions is still very new and fragile in Brazillian culture. In fact, most organizations the team interacts with are based on a dictatorship model. The "normal" police are actually a subsection of the military, and citizens witness the presence of this military force mixed in with daily life as they work to fight organized crime and drug trafficking.

Even with these enormous challenges - and in fact because of these challenges - NVC training and community offer invaluable alternatives. With each step toward democracy, it becomes even more crucial that citizens can embrace and model nonviolent strategies that do not counter these steps. In addition to mediation and workshops, NVCBrazil offers experiential learning experiences where individuals learn via their immersion into an NVC community. By working on a particular application of NVC or an NVC project, individuals learn by doing.

NVCBrazil and the Lusophone Project are a perfect example of the importance of planting small seeds of change.

"It's difficult to say if there's a specific relationship between the exchange of NVC skills or consciousness and the end results - a specific reduction in violence for instance," said Barter. "But we can't underestimate the empowerment when we offer in the possibility of another option. Those moments when one person's pain is finally understood - the edge is taken off the possibility that violence will be the strategy they choose."

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For more information about NVCBrazil or the Lusophone Project, please contact Dominic Barter The Lusophone Project http://www.cnvbrasil.org/ is now in the process of refocusing their efforts to ensure their financial sustainability and the further expansion of the project to outlying countries. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to CNVC to support the continuation of this vital work.

NVC Eastern Europe Project

Since it's formal inception in 1999, the Eastern Europe Project has made Nonviolent Communication (NVC) training available to more than 30,000 school children and thousands more adults. The project, coordinated by CNVC Certified Trainer, Eva Rambala, aims to create a network of NVC trainers to expand NVC educational offerings in the area on a sustainable basis.

Regional CNVC projects like this exemplify the powerful reach of personal connections. Trainings are primarily offered and developed to respond to specific word-of-mouth requests. Rambala's primary objective is to find and train local NVC organizers in a variety of countries in the region. In addition, she aims to support the certification of several additional NVC trainers in the area. These established NVC communities will help sustain NVC educational offerings. Communities also provide the support that is so crucial to the continued development of a compassionate consciousness.

Using her established connections in Romania, Croatia, Poland and Yugoslavia, Rambala has continued to utilize one-on-one connections to further spread NVC awareness and training.

Funding for this project is entirely dependent on the generous support of grantees and individual donors like you. If you know any person or group who would enjoy working in partnership with the project, please contact Eva Rambala Donations can be made to the project through the Center for Nonviolent Communication. Your tax-deductible donation will help fund the project's travel expenses, administrative costs, and training scholarships.

Social Change, Two-by-Two:
California-Based Project to Improve Activist Effectiveness

A new joint project of the Bay Area NVC and the Center for Nonviolent Communication Social Change Project began offering intensive Nonviolent Communication training to social change organizations beginning January 2005. The Two-by-Two Project aims to influence positive organizational shifts by providing intensive, focused training to two organizational representatives. This pilot eight month session includes representation from the U.S. Department of Peace Campaign, San Francisco State University and the San Francisco Health Department.

BayNVC Director, Kit Miller and CNVC Social Change Project Coordinator, Miki Kashtan organized this program to respond to recurring challenges facing social change organizations throughout the world. Social change organizations often attempt to model the empowering, democratic organizational structures their activism supports. While traditional organizations like corporations put their primary focus on the content produced (products, services, profits), these social change organizations put their focus on the process used to generate this content (leadership structure, organizational communication, consensus decision-making, etc).

Unfortunately, the reality is that most of us lack the skills to successfully balance our focus on process and content. The result, as Kashtan and Miller have observed, is a false organizational efficiency. If too much time is spent analyzing the processes we use to achieve our goals, we may lose sight of the goals altogether. Conversely, many traditional organizations spend so much time focused on the end result that they overlook the significant organization problems inherent in the processes they use.

Kashtan and Miller have observed many organizations simply lack the skills to deal with issues relating to their organizational processes. The Two-by-Two Project provides concentrated training for two organization representatives who can in turn influence significant training and growth in their colleagues. The project intends to help organizations achieve their goals, reduce burnout and internal strife, and improve their ability to work synergistically with other organizations.

"Nonviolent Communication offers practical skills that can literally transform the effectiveness of an organization," said Kit Miller. Graduates will have intermediate NVC skills to deal with conflict, mediate work team crises or conflicts, and allow them to model specific skills like making clear requests, offering empathy, and keeping people connected to needs.

The eight-month program includes two sessions of weekly Nonviolent Communication classes and a five-day residential intensive retreat. Participants are invited to participate in ongoing practice groups during the eight-month period to support their continued learning. In addition, the Center for Nonviolent Communication will provide a 50% scholarship to any program graduate who wishes to attend an International Intensive Training with Marshall Rosenberg.

Demand for this unusual yet highly effective professional development opportunity is increasing daily. While the first pilot session is now full, the program has started a waiting list for the second session. If you would like to nominate two people from your organization to participate in this program, please contact Kit Miller, as directed below.

To ensure optimum learning, each session will remain small (10 organizations represented). Additional sessions can only be offered with the support of your tax-deductible donations and program sponsorships. Fees for each course session are approximately $25,000, which will help shift the organizational effectiveness of ten organizations. For more information on becoming a program sponsor or making a tax-deductible donation to support the expansion and continuation of this program, please contact Kit Miller, Managing Director, Bay Area Nonviolent Communication, at 510-433-0700 or at kit@baynvc.org.

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Carter Center Interns Introduced to NVC

Cynthia Moe and Mark Feinknopf, partners in the Atlanta-based NVC-focused, Sacred Space Inc, presented the first-ever NVC introductory workshop to eleven Carter Center interns on September 29, 2004. Founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, The Carter Center works in partnership with Emory University to advance human rights and alleviate unnecessary human suffering. Moe and Feinknopf will reconnect with the organization in 2005 to discuss additional training and program enrichment options.

In both 2003 and 2004 Marshall Rosenberg offered two days of public NVC workshops at The Carter Center . The training for interns is a result of the budding relationship with staff there.

Intern participants were extremely responsive to the introduction. They expressed interest in how NVC might enhance their professional peace work as well as help them stay compassionately connected with their associates at The Carter Center. They speculated that understanding their own feelings and needs in a situation could greatly enhance their ability to be present in their professional work.

"Many people talk about NVC in terms of communication - a style of communication or an approach to communicating," said Feinknopf. "But many people don't think of communication as consciousness. I think this is the most critical component of what we're doing - building a compassionate consciousness with which we approach communication."

Feinknopf and Moe discerned that even this brief introduction offered interns a unique tool that can help them maintain a compassionate and empathic connection during professional negotiations and mediation as well as in personally stressful situations.

"I feel extremely confident that NVC offers a simple, easy to remember, easy to use and reliable approach for more gracefully negotiating differences," said Moe. "So under extreme pressures they can feel assured that they have a simple tool they can remember and that will work. While other models get stuck in story for so long, the NVC mediation approach gets to the underlying needs so people can connect on a human level."

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SACRED SPACE INC offers a varied schedule of NVC trainings, including 2005 & 2006 IIT's, which can be tracked at www.SACREDSPACEINC.com . Mark can be reached at 770-938-1558 and Cynthia at 770-934-2787.

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I AM Foundation and PuddleDancer Press Gift 25,000 NVC Books

Thanks to generous donations from NVC book publisher, PuddleDancer Press (PDP), in 2004 The I AM Foundation gifted more than 25,000 books to organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada. The Foundation's mission is to inspire millions of children and adults worldwide by gifting them with educational books and music. Hundreds of Unity churches, Head Start centers, schools, prisons and other organizations in need have received NVC books. Organizations can acquire these books through the I AM Foundation by going to their website at www.IAMFoundation.org.

PuddleDancer Press is a small publishing company specializing only in Nonviolent Communication works. Book giveaways like this provide the organization an opportunity to reach key decision makers and organizations that otherwise would not learn about NVC.

PuddleDancer Press plans to continue working in partnership with The I AM Foundation in 2005 gifting books to organizations in need. To continue this valuable program, we need your help. Your tax-deductible donation to CNVC, earmarked to the Promotional Giveaway Campaign, will help us continue to make NVC books and materials available to key decision-makers and individuals in need. Please consider making a donation today.

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2005 Season for Nonviolence

January 30 through April 4 marks the 64-day 2005 Season for Nonviolence (SNV) -- an event founded to celebrate the visions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. Across the country, SNV task force leaders, peace and activist organizations, churches, schools and more will coordinate activities to celebrate, teach and promote a vision of peace during the Season. The Season for Nonviolence marks the perfect opportunity for you to promote or share Nonviolent Communication LEARN MORE / GET INVOLVED in your area. NVC helps individuals "become the change they wish to see in the world" by giving them practical skills to affect lasting, peaceful change - one conversation at a time.

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In this important booklet, Marshall Rosenberg outlines his modern theory of social change and restorative justice. Rosenberg’s theory compliments the vision of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. by focusing on creating an internal culture of nonviolence. Social change and peace need to permeate all aspects of who we are and what we support. From the manner in which we communicate, to the intention we bring to every interaction, to the organizational structures we support, social change “begins with me.” This is an excellent resource for activists, community leaders, and anyone who wants to make a difference in the world.

$7.95 | Order 5 copies and save 30%!


The Compassionate Classroom
Relationship-Based Teaching and Learning
by Sura Hart and Victoria Kindle Hodson
(7.5x9.25, 190 pages) • $17.95

When Compassion Prevails, Learning Thrives
Emotional safety is taking the lead as one of the most pressing issues among educators and psychologists alike. The Compassionate Classroom provides the practical tools to put this research to action. Two teachers with 45 years combined education experience have partnered recent findings in brain research with the practical skills of Nonviolent Communication to create this comprehensive educator tool. Finally – the tools you need to create a safe, cooperative and compassionate learning environment!

Complete, ready-to-implement classroom curriculum
The Compassionate Classroom is a concise and comprehensive resource book for educators of elementary age students, including classroom teachers, after-school program directors, and home-school parents. Exercises, activities, charts, and cutouts make it quick and easy to create lesson plans for a day, a week, or an entire school year. And you’ll find that the principles for creating a compassionate classroom will also help your entire school community transform itself into a model for learning to live responsibly, effectively, and compassionately in all areas of life.

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Practical Spirituality:
Reflections on the Spiritual Basis of Nonviolent Communication
Marshall B. Rosenberg
(6x9, 48 pages) • $7.95

Many of us crave a richer and more meaningful connection to the Divine, and at the same time find it hard to apply the dictates of our faith, like turning the other cheek, avoiding judgments, or loving our enemy.

According to Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D., our most basic spiritual need is to contribute to the well being of others and ourselves. His brief, unscripted reflections on the spiritual basis of Nonviolent Communication will inspire you not only to connect with the Divine in yourself and others, but to begin to create a world of empathy and compassion, where the language we use is the key to enriching life.

$7.95 | Buy two get one Free!

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