More About Compassionate Communication

We define our experiences in life by what we think about them.

Although this may seem obvious at first, it is not obvious that we have to believe what we think about our life.  Indeed, when we look at it more closely, what we tell ourselves about our life has an uncanny sameness over time, a familiar ring.  Perhaps what we are telling ourselves about our life has something to do with ourselves as much as what is happening out there?
Our thoughts tend naturally to manifest as judgement, perhaps of others, perhaps of ourselves.  So when we unquestioningly accept what we think, our experience of life is coloured by a series of interpretations and judgements which determine both how we feel in ourselves and how we respond to others.
The basic principle of Compassionate Communication is that there is another place from which to live.  This is a place which recognises that everything anyone does or says is rooted in a value.  These are the values of our heart.  It may not always be obvious or easy to see, but we do not have to accept the interpretation of our thoughts.  There is another interpretation available, another choice.
Compassionate Communication provides a practical guide for connecting to this place of values and, with practice, increasingly both hearing and speaking from it. We long to be heard and understood.  The capacity to draw out and listen empathically to what is longed for rather than what is being thought about opens up the possibility of a different quality of connection - and a different possibility in how I myself am seen and heard.
Our teaching of Compassionate Communication draws on the work of Robert Gonzales in the United States who developed many of the processes we use as a means of bringing new meaning to relationship in our life. It also draws deeply on Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and on Stephen Schwartz's Compassionate Self-Care.
The Centre provides regular courses ranging from introductory to more intensive practice catering for all levels of experience.  No prior experience is required for introductory courses.  Mediation, couples counselling and one-to-one interaction may be available by appointment, generally for those who have completed an introductory course. 
If you would like to find out more about the courses we offer, Click here. Or you can Contact us if you would like to know more about the work of the Centre.