Communication Trainings and Peace-making Services
Introduction
Thérèse and Kendra offer an evening class called Ways to Connect that focuses on skills and practice in listening and speaking with heart. Therese also offers a unique service called Listening Council to people who are seeking support for resolving a conflict or handling a deeply challenging life-situation, developed with Brian Berman of Berman Healing Arts in 2001-2002. Read on for more information about both of these opportunities to learn 'communication arts' and resolve conflict in relationships.
Ways to Connect: Listening and Speaking with Heart
Training & Practice GroupLearn new skills and have an opportunity to practice them in a safe container. Each evening will include instruction and practice in compassionate listening, compassionate speaking, and/or tools for developing self awareness and personal accountability in relationship.
Open to men and women. The current three-month session will meet seven times, every other Monday evening, 7-9:30pm, from Jan 14 to April 7. Participants are asked to commit to at least 5 of the 7 evenings. Suggested donation: $20 per evening, $125 for the full series.
Overview of Curriculum
• Compassionate Listening Skills such as Reflective listening, paraphrasing, listening for Facts Feelings Values, Open Sentences, Statements that connect
• Compassionate Speaking Skills such as Non-Violent Communication, Using ‘I-Language’
• Tools for developing self awareness and personal accountability: Defenses, judgments, triggers, Byron Katie’s “The Work”,Walking in Another’s Shoes
Listening Council
is a unique model for conflict resolution and peace-making, applicable for couples, families, friends, work environments, and organizations. At its core, it is about creating a 'container' for deep, full-hearted listening for those in conflict or in challenging situations. Because our conflicts--whether inner or outer--affect others in our families and communities, the support and compassion of these others can be a healing force for the evolution and resolution of the situation.What Listening Council looks like
When called by someone requesting a Council, first Therese listens deeply in order to understand the situation. Then she proposes a plan of action which, when conflict is involved, probably includes meeting with the individuals involved separately prior to bringing them together. Tools in compassionate listening are taught, strategies are discussed, a short list of trusted friends, family and/or co-workers is generated, people who feel 'safe' for everyone involved in the conflict. When the time is right and the groundwork laid, a Listening Council is called (sometimes more than one is necessary). During the Council, those involved in the conflict can speak their story, each from his/her own perspective, and be fully heard by the others involved and by the 'sacred witnesses' in the Council. Full hearted listening generates healing, transformative energy that results in reconciliation and forgiveness, which is the intention of the Council.
Compassionate Listening
The Compassionate Listening Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering individuals to strive for peace through the cultivation and practice of powerful listening skills. Thérèse is a Certified Facilitator with The Compassionate Listening Project and has been integrating its tools and teachings into her community healing work for several years. She believes that Compassionate Listening can strengthen our sense of community, help resolve personal and domestic conflicts and reduce the fragmentation and isolation of our modern world.
Listening Council helps when:
• You want support and encouragement for conflict evolution, resolution and reconciliation
• You need to be fully 'heard' rather than given advice from those around you.
• You want 'understanding' rather than costly legal battles in a divorce situation.
• You want help finding a way through suffering to greater peace of mind
Values
Listening Council is not aligned with any particular religion or brand of spirituality; it is not therapy. It is built on what we believe to be universal truths:
• Personal freedom and inner peace come from forgiveness and reconciliation
• Feeling fully listened-to can shift perception and open the heart to healing and re-connection.
• Challenges and conflicts provide an opportunity for self-discovery
• An "attitude of gratitude" for EVERYTHING that happens to us creates an energy flow that brings abundance and interconnection into and through our lives