Marshall Rosenberg is a world reknowned and gifted psychologist, who during his life worked tirelessly towards the evolution of human consciousness, social change and world peace.

He developed his work out of his insightful view into how interpersonal communication is directly linked to understanding and harmony between people, psychological well being, and peace in the world. It is the foundation of what I offer in my trainings, support groups and coaching.

Marshall was interested in creating peace and well being

Marshall understood that “unskilled” human communication causes pain, suffering and disconnection.

He formulates guiding principles and tools to cultivate compassion, consideration, understanding, connection, resolution of conflicts, and healing between people. He called these principles and tools Non Violent Communication.

Marshall did not mean to infer that most of us are intentionally violent. Marshall was referring to the ways that we communicate that create disconnection and conflict. Ways that “shut us down” by “discounting”, “discrediting” or simply not being supportive of each others truth and connection to our most precious inner feelings, needs, and vulnerabilities in a loving kind and caring way. He saw these way of relating as a subtle form of violence to the precious nature of our humanity.

That is why he chose the name Non Violent Communication. The essence of NVC is that it teaches us how to relate with respect to oneself, others and all of life using the consciousness of compassion. That is why it is also called Compassionate Communication. Compassionate Communication is taught and used all over the world by people to bring peace and harmony to issues, relationships and circumstances in all areas of life.

(To see a course outline click here)

Why I was inspired to learn Compassionte Communication

About twenty years ago I began to study communication skills. Not just the realm of personal expression but what happens between people in relationships – the interpersonal – how we think, speak, listen, and act with each other.

I had already had a lifetime of therapy, healing and personal growth work. I thought I knew my inner workings well and that I was good at sharing my truth and listening to others. I had cultivated loving presence and had learned techniques to help others get in touch with themselves more deeply.

However, I still had chronic difficulty in various situations in relationships. I often felt that I just couldn’t get my point across and frequently came away from conversations feeling disconnected. I yearned for deep connection with others but did not know how to really communicate with my words in a way that actually created what I yearned for.

Even though I had lofty ideals about relationships and did my best, somehow the way that I was communicating did not match the values and personal ethics that made up my ideals. The way that I was communicating was not helping me to create the life circumstances and relationships that truly expressed who I was. I knew that something had to change.

These are some of the issues that kept me from having truly satisfying connections.

Unable to think or speak clearly in the midst of strong differences of opinion.

Emotional overwhelm in the face of conflict.

Witholding truth for fear of hurting others.

Tonguetied in the face of strong emotions.

Judgments of others getting in the way of empathy.

It was through learning Compassionate Communication skills that I transformed these stumbling blocks and became capable of communicating in a way that met my yearning for depth of connection and meaning.

Now I can easily –

Enjoy hearing different opinions and have conversations that encourage diversity and understanding.

Can appraoch conflicts calmly and with an open mind and heart.

Share my truth with kindness and compassion in the most dificult of communications.

Express how I am feeling with clarity.

Transformed my judgmental tendency into authentic interest in understanding others and myself.

Compassionate Communication Skills showed me the path to fullfilling relationships by learning how to fully and skillfully communicate with my words the beauty, love and care for others that I felt in my heart.

Now my life is filled with the joy of love and the richness of connection. This transformation has inspired me to share these skills with you.

Most of us want to be seen, heard and responded to. More often than not, we leave conversations with the pain of “not being heard”, “understood” or “seen for what really matters” to us. Can you remember the pain or frustration resulting from a conversation gone sour? Perhaps even if you spoke with the best of intentions, the other person, or you, did not feel heard.

Here are some other common communication issues.
Which ones can you relate to?

You fear conflict, feel stuck around differences, and avoid certain important conversations and the people you need to have them with.

You are emotionally reactive and get bottled up when someone asked you whats going on.

You feel love in your heart but can’t quite seem to get the words out that match how you feel.

When strong feelings arise you loose the ability to stay connected with the ones that you care about the most.

You don’t know how to interrupt that person who goes on forever and takes over the conversation.

You don’t know what to say when someone tells you their woes.

You have trouble listening because you are too preoccupied with what you’re going to say.

You go blank, get upset or defensive in the face of someone elses needs.

If you can relate to any of the above issues then you can greatly benefit from learning Compassionate Communication skills!

Here are just a few benefits that you can gain –

Express yourself effectively and with confidence.

Listen in a relaxed manner and really hear what others are saying to you.

Face disagrements without getting angry.

Open yourself to the people in your life.

Talk about what is really going on.

Set boundaries without creating enemies.

Be peaceful inside yourself

Release the stuck energy and stress of unexpressed truths.

The results of mastering Compassionate Communication skills are that you express yourself with honest authenticity and integrity, listen with real empathy, act in alignment with what is true for you, and become effective in building loving and supportive relationships. Since all of life functions within the context of relationships, that is a big benefit!

Your life is filled with the pleasure of conversations that are deeply meaningful, connecting and result in everyone feeling heard, understood and seen!

Compassionate Communication groups are designed for a deeply enriching time together with others. The level of sharing is rich and the connections deep. These trainings are a wonderful opportunity to be in a nurturing group of people receiving and giving support, sharing vunerablility, understanding and care.

There is a strong emphasis on embodying the principles that are the core of compassion and developing the tools that help us to think, speak and live compassionately. Being in a group allows us to learn, practice and grow with each other so that we can effectively take your new self out into the world with confidence and love.

Last but not least in any way is the spiritual dimension of Compassionate Communication skills training. That is that the love and the radiance of your inner light get liberated because you become the source of love that you seek. The layers of defensiveness that keep you separate from others melt away and love, compassion, kindness, understanding and connection become the field of being from which you relate to yourself, others and the world at large.

If what I have shared here inspires you and you want to take a deeper dive, book a Complementary Consultation with me. At no financial cost to you. It’s a great way to gain a deeper understanding of yourself and how best you can be served by this evolutionary work. Just fill in the form to the right and you will be on your way!

To see a course outline click here