This will be a 12-week mindfulness and Nonviolent Communication practice group using Catherine Cadden's and Jesse Wiens's The Ongo Book: Everyday Nonviolence as a guide. Catherine and Jesse are both certified trainers with the Center for Nonviolent Communication. The structure includes weekly meetings with the whole group, weekly exercises in pairs, and individual practices like meditation and journaling a few times per week.
The overall goal is to help participants better recognize and understand their feelings, express what's important to them, and respond to others with presence, curiosity, and kindness. This process emphasizes paying attention to breathing and body sensations as a way to create space around thoughts and judgments and then shift attention to feelings and needs. Catherine and Jesse's book offers a variety of other reflections and practices that complement Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication framework.
There will be an informational meeting on Sunday, February 11th to go over the structure and expectations of the group. We'll begin the 12-week curriculum on February 18th.
Please contact Josh by Saturday, February 10th if you're interested in participating.
Josh has been offering Nonviolent Communication practice groups, classes, and workshops in Eugene since 2017. In 2021, he has also hosted practice groups online.
Josh first read 'Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life' in 2005. Three years later, he attended an International Intensive Training in New Mexico with Marshall Rosenberg and CNVC Trainers Rodger Sorrows and John Kinyon. Josh has also participated in classes and workshops with several other CNVC Trainers, including Jesse Wiens Chu, Catherine Cadden, LaShelle Lowe-Charde, Robert Gonzales, and Sandra Amiry.
Josh has a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy from Portland State University and a Bachelor's degree in Music from the University of Oregon. Some of Josh's other interests include Buddhist meditation and mindfulness practices and healthy masculinity.