    |
Practice Compassionate CommunicationTo practice compassionate communication is to practice mindfulness and positive emotional broadcasting. The purpose of this skill is to enhance well being among people. At a fundamental level, real caring and concern for others’ well being is a way to serve, and service can be a path to making money your way. One of the foremost practitioners of compassionate communication is Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D. Rosenberg is the founder of the Center for Nonviolent Communication, an international peacemaking organization. He is the 2006 recipient of the Global Village Foundation’s Bridge of Peace Award. The introduction to Practical Spirituality, a transcript from one of Rosenberg’s workshops, begins with this: “Whenever Marshall Rosenberg speaks about deeply held beliefs – spirituality, concepts of God, views of love – two themes always emerge: (1) the greatest joy springs from connecting to life by contributing to our own and others’ well being, and (2) spirituality and love are more about what we do than what we feel.” In Nonviolent Communication – A Language of Life, Rosenberg writes: “Nonviolent communication is founded on language and communication skills that strengthen our ability to remain human, even under trying conditions. It contains nothing new; all that has been integrated into nonviolent communication has been known for centuries. The intent is to remind us about what we already know – about how we human beings were meant to relate to each other.” “Nonviolent communication guides us in reframing how we express ourselves and hear others. Instead of being habitual, automatic reactions, our words become conscious responses based firmly on an awareness of what we are perceiving, feeling and wanting. We are led to express ourselves with honesty and clarity, while simultaneously paying others a respectful and empathic attention. In any exchange, we come to hear our own deeper needs and those of others.”
|
