Non-violent Communication in North Hatley
Apublic workshop on the topic of “non-violent communication” (NVC) will be held at Uuestrie, the local Unitarian Universalist community in North Hatley on Sunday, June 10, at 10:30 a.m. It will be led by NVC trainer Simon Stankovich.
"Non-violent communication is a way of communicating, but it's also almost like a philosophy or world view where you examine the essence of what it means to be compassionate," said Stankovich, "but it's also practical, because it gives you all the steps to do that. It provides a sort of framework to apply that compassionate philosophy in life, in conversation, with yourself."
Stankovich is a Bishop's University Psychology student going into his final year of undergraduate studies. With the aid of a Bishop’s Exceptional Student Talent (B.E.S.T.) grant, he followed a NVC training program in Denmark with a group of 40 people from around the world. He lives at the Tierra del Fuégo community in Lennoxville, where he also leads an ongoing NVC group with 13 participants.
"We're living quite closely, so non-violent communication is a requirement, almost, or to have the willingness to try to communicate more effectively," the trainer said.
In the workshop on Sunday, Stankovich hopes to introduce the basic framework of NVC while also leading small-group activities.
"When they talk about having peace in the world, they always talk about having peace in your home, in your own environment," said Uuestrie President Phyllis Baxter. "So in our spiritual community we want to practice communicating in a way that everybody feels heard, and when we have conflicts, that we learn ways of expressing ourselves so we don't feel blamed for doing things. I've heard that non-violent communication can be a real life-changer."
Baxter said that Uuestrie hopes to expand the NVC workshops to meeting at least monthly, as part of its emphasis on compassion.
Participation is open and free of charge. The workshop will take place at 201 Main St., North Hatley, in the lower level.
For more information, see www.uuestrie.ca, the Facebook page UU Estrie, or call 819-842-4146.