A few weeks ago a fleeting thought came into my consciousness. Someone wasn’t doing what I wanted, and she “should” have been! I felt angry at that person.
The angry thought was a stimulus for a tightening in my heart.
When I felt the tightening in my heart – the bodily pain of the anger and the suffering that the anger caused, I automatically connected to tenderness for myself. Self-empathy. I mad and sad to not get what I wanted.
The tightening in my heart and the self-empathy was a stimulus for imagining what was going on for this person that she wasn’t meeting my needs. Was she afraid? Was she protecting herself? When I had empathy for her – taking in her humanity, I felt a sweet, softening warmth throughout my body.
Because my anger has not always taken this empathic trajectory :), it was a celebration. I felt joyful that practicing the skills of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) have given me these capabilities. For myself and for others whose lives I touch.
If you’d like to come practice the skills of empathy that I used to make this internal shift, join us for a series of 5 classes on NVC starting on January 7, 2014.
Where: The Congregational Church of San Mateo (CCSM), at 225 Tilton Avenue, San Mateo, 94401
Dates: 1- 7, 1-21, 2-4, 2-18, 3-4 (5 Tuesday evenings – every other week)
Time: 7 to 9 p.m.
Fee: $50 donation for the series or contribute $10/class if that better meets your financial needs (CCSM is subsidizing my usual fee for this class series.)
Registration: The classes in this series build upon each other; so if you register, please plan on attending all the classes. To register you can contact me by email at Teresa@TeresaRoseCoaching.com or by phone at 650 787-6527. Registration is limited to 25 people.
I look forward to meeting you!
In peace and love, Teresa
P.S. Some words about me from Dorothy Kogl, a retired college teacher who was one of the members of the recent Practice & Learn NVC group I led:
“Teresa not only knows the theory of Nonviolent Communication she also modeled how to listen empathetically and showed us how to identify and express feelings and needs. I learned valuable, new skills in her class. Teresa is a compassionate, caring person who practices what she teaches.”
