Welcome!
Welcome to the brand new page for the Nanaimo Compassionate Communication Practice Group!
Membership
We started meeting on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 at 7pm. We decided as a group to continue meeting on Wednesdays from here on out.
Meetings are between 2 and 2.5 hours long, once a week, to be decided finally by the group's agreement.
We are currently accepting members in the group.
We ask that prospective members contact us, and before attending, have read the book, participated in a workshop or express some other dedication toward peaceful living that can be communicated clearly.
Contact us through the contact page here.
This group is based around the principles taught by Marshall Rosenberg, founder of the Center for Non-Violent Communication.
What Makes A Good Practice Group?
Having participated previously in the North Seattle NVC practice group (still running- contact my good friend and former roommate Michael if you'd like to participate in that group) with some rather amazing positive consequences for me personally, and have learned a lot about what makes a group do well as a result.
To this end, we limit our practice group to around 8 members, and it's my experience that if the group is more or less evenly split between men and women, this creates a nice energy.
Some of the qualities in an NVC group member include:
1) Is committed to non-violence and compassion (called ahimsa in yoga terms) and extending that compassion in their communications as well as other areas of their lives.
2) Committed to feeling a life-affirming quality of connection with others, one wishes to repeat it regularly in the hope of being able to receive empathetically as well as speak with empathy and compassion.
3) Have read the book, workbook, or listened to workshops (on cd or dvd) by Marshall Rosenberg, or have attended a workshop.
4) Have a need to contribute to peace in one's Self and in others.
Is It A Workshop?
No.
This group is primarily intended, however, to create an environment in which one can focus tightly on both the technical aspects of how NVC works and develop the heart connection with the other members, and one's Self- regardless of the formal structure or schedule.
In my experience, however, it's interesting to learn in a 'workshop' sort of way to periodically have a facilitator or licensed NVC practitioner in attendance, or to spend the odd week focusing on breaking into small groups or other configurations.
My previous group tried a formal paid and credentialed facilitator for a time, but we ended up choosing to reduce the expense involved in bringing one in. We found it to be just as connecting with just the regular members. This is not entirely ruled out as a possibility in this group, however.
What You Can Expect In A Meeting
Some points of order we "tend" to follow, with flexibility, depending on member needs (which sometimes means we abandon the schedule and focus on a member's needs exclusively):
1) Check-Ins (depending on size of group- 3- 5 min each)
2) Empathy from Check-Ins for approx 45 min-1 hour
3) Break of 10 min
4) Educational Piece (for example, a chapter of the book, an exercise,
or something else relevant decided by that week's leader.)
5) Finish with a Reflective Round of Appreciations - Appreciations of members to other members or outside person/situation, followed by another member's reflection of what that member said, demonstrating understanding.
We start and finish precisely on time, to respect the host's and member's needs to return to their homes. We have found it best for everyone's schedule typically to meet starting right at 7:00pm and going until 9:30pm, once a week.
Why Once A Week?
Some other groups have met on every other week or on another schedule entirely. I understand that less meetings tends to result in a feeling of a lack of continuity, and more often doesn't give the breathing space needed for our own internal growth, plus is more difficult to arrange with members.
I hope to welcome you into our group soon, and look forward to meeting a new friend.
Thanks,
Regis Chapman (DurgaDas)
Welcome to the brand new page for the Nanaimo Compassionate Communication Practice Group!
Membership
We started meeting on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 at 7pm. We decided as a group to continue meeting on Wednesdays from here on out.
Meetings are between 2 and 2.5 hours long, once a week, to be decided finally by the group's agreement.
We are currently accepting members in the group.
We ask that prospective members contact us, and before attending, have read the book, participated in a workshop or express some other dedication toward peaceful living that can be communicated clearly.
Contact us through the contact page here.
This group is based around the principles taught by Marshall Rosenberg, founder of the Center for Non-Violent Communication.
What Makes A Good Practice Group?
Having participated previously in the North Seattle NVC practice group (still running- contact my good friend and former roommate Michael if you'd like to participate in that group) with some rather amazing positive consequences for me personally, and have learned a lot about what makes a group do well as a result.
To this end, we limit our practice group to around 8 members, and it's my experience that if the group is more or less evenly split between men and women, this creates a nice energy.
Some of the qualities in an NVC group member include:
1) Is committed to non-violence and compassion (called ahimsa in yoga terms) and extending that compassion in their communications as well as other areas of their lives.
2) Committed to feeling a life-affirming quality of connection with others, one wishes to repeat it regularly in the hope of being able to receive empathetically as well as speak with empathy and compassion.
3) Have read the book, workbook, or listened to workshops (on cd or dvd) by Marshall Rosenberg, or have attended a workshop.
4) Have a need to contribute to peace in one's Self and in others.
Is It A Workshop?
No.
This group is primarily intended, however, to create an environment in which one can focus tightly on both the technical aspects of how NVC works and develop the heart connection with the other members, and one's Self- regardless of the formal structure or schedule.
In my experience, however, it's interesting to learn in a 'workshop' sort of way to periodically have a facilitator or licensed NVC practitioner in attendance, or to spend the odd week focusing on breaking into small groups or other configurations.
My previous group tried a formal paid and credentialed facilitator for a time, but we ended up choosing to reduce the expense involved in bringing one in. We found it to be just as connecting with just the regular members. This is not entirely ruled out as a possibility in this group, however.
What You Can Expect In A Meeting
Some points of order we "tend" to follow, with flexibility, depending on member needs (which sometimes means we abandon the schedule and focus on a member's needs exclusively):
1) Check-Ins (depending on size of group- 3- 5 min each)
2) Empathy from Check-Ins for approx 45 min-1 hour
3) Break of 10 min
4) Educational Piece (for example, a chapter of the book, an exercise,
or something else relevant decided by that week's leader.)
5) Finish with a Reflective Round of Appreciations - Appreciations of members to other members or outside person/situation, followed by another member's reflection of what that member said, demonstrating understanding.
We start and finish precisely on time, to respect the host's and member's needs to return to their homes. We have found it best for everyone's schedule typically to meet starting right at 7:00pm and going until 9:30pm, once a week.
Why Once A Week?
Some other groups have met on every other week or on another schedule entirely. I understand that less meetings tends to result in a feeling of a lack of continuity, and more often doesn't give the breathing space needed for our own internal growth, plus is more difficult to arrange with members.
I hope to welcome you into our group soon, and look forward to meeting a new friend.
Thanks,
Regis Chapman (DurgaDas)
How to get to our house, the meeting spot in
South Wellington, according to Google:
2021 Brothers Road, Nanaimo, BC V9X 1R8
Website Design by Regis Chapman Design.