Compassion for Yourself and Others - Three-Month Guided Practice Group

Develop greater self-acceptance, authenticity, and empathy.

To guide this development, we'll follow the 12-week curriculum in The Ongo Book: Everyday Nonviolence by Catherine Cadden and Jesse Wiens. Both authors are certified trainers with the Center for Nonviolent Communication. The Ongo Book combines Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication framework, mindfulness and meditation practices, and teachings from different wisdom/spiritual traditions. The focus is on developing greater self-empathy and mindful presence and using them as foundations for empathizing with others and speaking authentically.

The group consists of three different parts:

1. Weekly online group meetings (approximately two hours each week).
2. Weekly paired exercises done over the phone or computer (approximately one hour each week).
3. Individual practices and reflections done five days a week (approximately 30 minutes, three days a week and 5 minutes, twice a week).

To get the full benefit of the group and to support the learning of other group members, each person is asked to commit to:

• participating in a majority of the weekly online group meetings, including the final gathering,
• talking with another member of the group most weeks for paired exercises,
• doing a majority of the individual practices,
• setting aside 4-5 hours each week for participation in the various meetings and practices.

I recommend this group to people who already have a basic understanding of the Nonviolent Communication framework and who want to better integrate it into their way of being. I also suggest already having an introduction to meditation and/or mindfulness practices.

There will be an information meeting on Wednesday, January 13th to help interested people determine if this is a group that they want to participate in.