Five finds of the fortnight: Edition 4

Words that liberate: the movie

Dear reader,

I’m excited this particular newsletter because it links to a short documentary I watched recently. Many of us are introduced to, and experience NVC largely in the workshop format; this movie talks about the application of this work in prisons, and shows us what is possible when we can see each other’s humanity.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the movie, please leave a comment or reply to this email to share.

Warm regards,

Ranjitha

1. Quote of the fortnight

Empathy requires both the capacity to be fully present within ourselves, living our own lives, as well as the capacity to reach out and transcend our own self to enter into the other person’s experience. The gift of empathy is that it integrates mind and heart in the very same act as it brings together self and other.

~ Miki Kashtan,

Spinning Threads of Radical Aliveness

2. Bringing mindfulness into everyday moments

How do we bring mindfulness into everyday moments of our lives? How can we be more present to our own experience? John Kinyon offers a set of 4 guided meditations to bring awareness to the four steps of the NVC process. You can access them here. (Requires a free sign-up).

3. Commitments for empowered living

I came across an article by Yvette Erasmus yesterday, in which the author lists her five commitments for empowered living, and it has left me thoughtful. You can read the article here. The author also intends to expand on each of these over the next few weeks, so if you’re interested, follow the site for more.

4. Words that liberate: the movie

This is the story of Dow Gordon, who was incarcerated and came across NVC during his time in prison, and how it changed his life (Gordon is now a certified trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication and works with prisoners, sharing NVC with them). This is also the story of possibilities; of what can happen when we learn to bring mindful presence and compassion to our experience.

You can watch the movie on youtube (embedded below). If you’re interested in knowing more about Gordon and his work, here’s an interview published by PuddleDancer Press.

5. Upcoming event alert

The Center For Nonviolent Communication’s second worldwide global gathering will be held on March 24 & 25, and the theme is: How do we get along in extraordinary times?This is a fundraiser event and registration is free. You are invited to contribute towards CNVC’s sustainability; CNVC’s main source of income are the International Intensive Trainings (IITs) that are held across the world every year. Since COVID hit, all IITs have been cancelled, and CNVC has been left with a significant loss of revenue.

If you have benefited from learning NVC, would you to consider making a contribution—whatever the amount of money you would like to give—to help CNVC keep funding its operations and support the growth of NVC & NVC projects in the world?