In every group of people trying to change the world, conflict will erupt. Humans will always have disagreements and differing opinions about how it should be done. Unfortunately, unresolved conflict can tear relationships apart and sidetrack all the goals of the group. People leave, feeling disgusted only to try and find another community of people with whom they can really relate. Our allergies to conflict often prevent us from deepening our rapport with a community or within a workplace. We perpetuate a legacy of human isolation without knowing why we can’t just get along with each other.
One of the most important tools in the modern world is the ability to communicate our needs powerfully with brevity and to give and receive feedback gracefully. It is our human responsibility to become quite skilled in this area. The words we use in our personal and professional contacts carry weight and the feedback that we give to other people has a great impact on them. It is essential that we are able to hear and understand communication from those with who we are attempting to collaborate so that we can improve our effectiveness and create harmony in our relationships.
In this workshop, we engage with the work of managing our own nervous systems so that we can fully participate in these valuable opportunities to hear and connect with others. We examine our past experiences of receiving critique and learn real life tools to release any habits of blaming, withdrawing, giving in or making demands in conflict situations. We draw inspiration from the work of Marshall Rosenberg, Starhawk and other pioneers of the multitude of honest and caring ways that people can interact. By expressing our own universal needs, we learn to ask for what we want and to say and do what really works. Together, we gain more self knowledge about our own communication patterns and make solving problems possible through mutual exploration and deep respect.
