This program is co-sponsored by CIMC and offered through the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (BCBS). When registering, please write “CIMC” in the “Program Application” box. CIMC will receive dana from BCBS for each person who does so.
The vital importance of training ourselves in skillful communication and wise speech was highlighted by CIMC’s Guiding Teacher Narayan Helen Liebenson in her talk The Place of a Dharma Center in These Times offered at CIMC on February 21, 2024. To support this practice and training for members of our community, CIMC is co-sponsoring this online program through BCBS.
CIMC’s Resident Teacher, Madeline Klyne, is also offering an in-person Wise Speech, Wise Listening practice group on Thursday evenings, July 11 to August 1, at our Center.
Communication sits at the heart of our lives – personally, professionally, and spiritually. This six-week online program offers training in the foundations of an integrated approach to communication. Drawing upon the Buddha’s teachings on the Noble Eightfold Path, mindfulness, and Right Speech, plus the modern disciplines of Nonviolent Communication and trauma healing, the curriculum offers concrete tools to hold one’s own while still hearing others and to engage effectively and efficiently in collaboration. You will learn to:
- Engage in effective dialogue
- Feel more confident in conversation
- Strengthen your capacities for empathy and resilience
- Identify and stay focused on what really matters in any interaction
Through a combination of mindfulness practices, guided reflections, and interactive exercises, you will develop a stronger sense of presence, greater access to compassion, and more versatile, clearer communication. This program is appropriate for both experienced and newer students, therapists, school teachers, chaplains, and other helping professionals. Weekly practice assignments and journal topics, optional weekly calls with a practice buddy, and access to program recordings are all included.
This class will meet June 18, 25, July 2, 9, 23, 30.* Meetings will be recorded and uploaded within 48 hours for those who cannot attend.
This program is freely offered on a "pay what you can" basis. Learn more and register here. Please remember to write “CIMC” in the “Program Application” box when you register. CIMC will receive dana from BCBS for each person who does so.
*(Please note that there is no class session on July 16.)
Oren Jay Sofer teaches meditation, mindfulness and Nonviolent Communication internationally. He holds a degree in Comparative Religion and is the author of the best-selling book Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication, and Your Heart Was Made for This: Contemplative Practices to Meet a World In Crisis with Courage, Integrity, and Love.