Description
This program will be held in person at our Center in Cambridge. Please bring a vegetarian lunch or plan to go out during the lunch break.
Building on our introductory workshop (June 14, 2025), this session delves deeper into Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a support to Wise Speech. NVC is a consciousness and skillset based on awareness, empathy, and connection. We will expand on the basics learned in our June workshop, exploring skills that we don’t usually have time to cover thoroughly in a day-long introduction – such as self-empathy and making requests. The workshop includes interactive presentations and discussions, paired and small group activities, and brief guided exercises.
Some of what you’ll practice:
- Self-empathy as the foundation for connecting with others
- Making clear, specific requests that are more likely to be heard
- Staying self-connected during challenging conversations
Is this workshop for you? Yes, if you have ONE of the following:
- Attended the June 14 daylong workshop at CIMC
- Completed 5+ hours of online or in-person NVC training
- Read Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life within the last 2 years
Why these prerequisites? Prior exposure to NVC fundamentals allows us to delve deeper into core concepts and explore practical applications, rather than repeating introductory material.
Bonnie Mioduchoski and Philippe Daniel are seasoned practitioners of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and Insight Meditation with two decades of experience each. Both have practiced intensively for many years at Spirit Rock and the Insight Meditation Society (IMS). They began studying NVC in 2006, seeing it as a practical tool for embodying wise speech. Having applied NVC in their 30-year marriage and other relationships, they understand firsthand its transformative power. Bonnie has facilitated NVC workshops for diverse audiences, including at CIMC, and applied NVC principles as a Harvard Mediation Program small claims mediator. Together, they’ve led NVC workshops for the general public, meditators, and organizations. As graduates of a two-year NVC program, the Spirit Rock Two-Year Dedicated Practitioner Program, and David Treleaven’s Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness Program, they bring a profound depth of knowledge, sensitivity, and practice to their teaching.
Their interest is in integrating ancient wisdom and contemporary healing practices. By addressing both spiritual and psychological aspects, they help participants move beyond the cycle of perpetual self-improvement and uncover their innate freedom and compassion.
Attending an in-person workshop
- CIMC is a refuge. Out of compassion for those with chemical sensitivities, please avoid using scented products like lotions, deodorant, after-shave, hair products, perfume, clothes laundered with scented detergent or dryer sheets—before you come to the Center.
- Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to check in and to find a comfortable place in the meditation hall.
- Parking at CIMC is limited; we suggest taking public transportation to the Center whenever possible.
- All phones, pagers, beeping watches, and other electronic devices must remain completely turned off while you are at the Center.
- Please leave your shoes on the shoe shelves on the first floor and keep your valuables with you.
- Lunch will not be provided. Participants are invited to bring a vegetarian meal to the Center or may buy lunch in the neighborhood. A list of local restaurants and food stores will be available.
- No food or beverages, including water, are allowed in the meditation halls.
- We strongly recommend that you dress in layers since the temperature in the meditation hall varies throughout the day. The hall thermostat is set to a comfortable temperature range; however, we recommend you give yourself a range of clothing options, as individual preferences for warmth or coolness differ widely and cannot be accommodated.
- Masks are optional. Some masks are available at the entrance of the Center.
- CIMC provides zafus (round cushions), zabutons (large mats), meditation benches, blankets, and chairs. At the end of the program, we request that you brush off your zabutons and plump up your zafus. All other items should be returned neatly to where they belong.