How do you deal with conflict, at home, with friends, at work, and in the wider world? Do you behave more like a jackal or more like a doe?  We live in a polarized environment in which confrontation or withdrawal seem to be the only options. 

This 6-week course, led by The Rev. Tricia de Beer, takes the principles and practices of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) developed by Marshall Rosenberg as we learn to become responsive, not reactive, in conflictual situations. We will discover more options so that we can mean what we say, and say what we mean.  In the intervening weeks, we will practice skills in our day-to-day context. We will engage in meditation practice that highlights our need to experience how it feels to be held in love and compassion, to extend love and compassion to others, and to be seen in our unconditional worth, in order to see it in others.

We will explore:

• How our connection with Source can help us befriend ourselves and others
• The internalized beliefs about conflict that constrict our relationships
• How to start an important conversation without sliding into the blame game
• How to take responsibility for our feelings
• How to listen for the core values and needs underneath our feelings and the feelings of others
• How to open up problem-solving by making concrete requests, not demands
• How empathy can build a bridge to what really matters in our personal and public lives

Recommended reading (not required): Speak Peace in a World of Conflict by Marshall Rosenberg Say What You Mean by Oren Jay Sofer

“Be honest in what you say and do… Say what you mean and mean what you say, so that you may walk upright before the people, deserving their trust in every way. Deceive no one, especially yourself, for the honest path is the only way out of the forest.”

 

Bishop Steven Charleston, Ladder to the Light, p. 117 Choctaw elder and leading voice for Indigenous peoples, the environment, and spiritual renewal in North America

As part of an effort to help those that are facing financial difficulties, we announced a price decrease for 2026 workshops and course offerings. The price for this course was originally $225, but we are now offering it for $75. We think this reduces the barrier for those that are facing economic challenges and also fulfills our desire to swing our doors wide open, be here for the world as it is, and be a place for folks to come to in this time.