Embodied Nonviolent Communication
Mondays 6-7:30pm EDT/3-4:30pm PDT
July 6, 13, 20, 27 • Online via Zoom
with additional practice sessions
Thursdays, July 9, 16, 23 5:30-6:30pm EDT/2:30-3:30 PDT
All Ages with a focus on young people ages 15-25
Radical Honesty
“Out beyond ideas of right and wrong, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” – Rumi
“Our survival as a species depends on our ability to recognize that our well-being and the well-being of others is in fact one and the same.” – Marshall Rosenberg
In this moment of collective heartache, grief and rage over the continued police killings of black and brown people, the coronavirus pandemic, political polarization, and the growing impact of climate devastation, how can we use communication as a tool for peace building and compassion?
Nonviolent Communication, or NVC, is a philosophy and practice that supports us to speak with radical honesty, cultivate empathy for ourselves and others, and work towards transforming conflict in real time.
Grounded in the awareness of what’s alive in our hearts and minds in each moment, we will learn and practice the art of Nonviolent Communication in order to connect more deeply with our family, our friends, our community members, and even with those we passionately disagree with.
This dynamic workshop includes small group and one-on-one dialogue practices, guided meditation, journaling and role-playing to practice integrating and embodying Nonviolent Communication in our own lives and in the world.
Teachers
Jessica Morey
Jessica Morey began practicing meditation at age 14 in the Insight Meditation Society teen retreats. She returned every year for 6 years and then participated for 10 years in an IMS young adult mentoring group. Jessica has attended longer (1-3 month) retreats in Asia and the US and is a founding board member and lead teacher for iBme teen retreats. Before joining iBme, Jessica worked in clean energy and climate policy and finance. She holds a BA in Environmental Engineering from Dartmouth and Masters degrees in Sustainable Development and International Affairs. She wrote an article in the February 2014 Mindful Magazine, “Finding My Way,” about her experience learning and benefiting from mindfulness throughout her young adult years. She is an avid yoga practitioner and skier and loves dancing in any form.
Shea Riester
Shea has been practicing Nonviolent Communication (NVC) for over 10 years and offering NVC & mindfulness workshops to schools and community groups for 4 years. He is a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher, a long-time Zen practitioner and ordained member of Thich Nhat Hanh‘s Order of Interbeing, and is currently training as a Somatic therapist. Shea is also an activist and organizer who works at the interconnection between personal, interpersonal and global peace and views NVC as an integral part of transitioning Western civilization from a patriarchal, domination culture towards a regenerative, life-sustaining one. Shea was born and raised in NYC and now lives with his partner in Brooklyn.
Cost and Accessibility
The sliding scale for this 4-week Contemplative course is $40 – $150.
If your family earns $75,000 or more per year, then we request that you pay the full price. If your family earns less than $75,000/year, you may self-select an amount to pay. If you are in true economic hardship (e.g, recently lost job, health situation, etc.) we are offering the discounted rate of $40. If you cannot afford the discounted fee please email registrar@ibme.com and we’ll make it work for you. No teen will be turned away for lack of funds.
Application Deadline
July 6, 12pm ET/9am PT
Cost
$150 suggested tuition for families making over $75,000 a year • $40 – $150 sliding scale
Duration
90-minute sessions, 4 times; additional practice sessions
Ages
All Ages, Adults ages 26+ are encouraged to scale back participation to allow us to center on teen and young adult voices