Author Archives: Barbara Wiebe

March 2015 – Remembering Marshall Rosenberg, 1934-2015

As many of you may know, I had the privilege of training with Marshall Rosenberg, founder of Nonviolent Communication, NVC. In 2007, and again in 2009 together with Foster, I attended the 10-day NVC International Intensive Training in Santa Barbara, CA. This inspired our on-going immersion in NVC and my joy of sharing workshops and coaching based on NVC.

On February 7, 2015, Dr. Marshall Rosenberg – international peacemaker and creator of Marshall-Rosenberg-1934-2015Nonviolent Communication  – died at age 80 in his home in Albuquerque, NM, surrounded by family members.

The third annual Alberta NVC Conference, March 7th & 8th, was an inspiring weekend of cultivating compassion through communication – with a full house in the Calgary venue. Stay tuned for the next NVC conference in March of 2016… See photo below. And please visit the Alberta NVC Facebook page.

I am honored to share the principles and practices of Marshall’s life work and I invite you to join upcoming events to carry on his passion for personal and social change.

April 2014 – Newsletter excerpts

Dear Reader,

The amazingly huge icicles hanging off the eaves-trough have finally melted, so I’m thinking SPRING…  I want to share a few photos of my garden last year… Could it ever have looked anything like these pictures?

 

 

Great books!  I’m often asked about reading material. I read a lot of books and would like to share a few titles I highly recommend for added inspiration, insight and practical help in the journey of being more conscious in our everyday living.

  • When the Past is Present: Healing the Emotional Wounds that Sabotage our Relationships, David Richo
  • Perfect Love – Imperfect Relationships: Healing the Wound of the Heart, John Welwood
  • Parenting Without Power Struggles: Raising joyful, Resilient Kids While Staying Cool, Calm and Connected, Susan Stiffelman
  • Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, Marshall Rosenberg
 

 
 “People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have living things about us.” Iris Murdoch

HAPPY SPRING!

Love and gratitude,
Barbara   xo

January 2014 – Newsletter excerpts

Hello Reader,

I’m happy to invite you to NVC events here in Calgary this spring. More and more I regard NVC, Nonviolent Communication (also called Compassionate Communication) as a most effective way to integrate relational skills for meaningful daily living. Dr. Marshall Rosenberg’s internationally acclaimed approach opens the door to healing and harmony, freedom and fulfillment. I’m discovering how, in deed, acting on the awareness of needs is fundamental to our well-being.

“This exploration of NVC has spoken deeply to my desire to transform my own consciousness and to enlarge and deepen my connection with others. I feel supported, heard, and warmly connected… and open-hearted. I appreciate your skill and the safe container you offer.” – Heather Compton, workshop participant 

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 Additional notes:

1. 17th Annual Season for Nonviolence (SNV) commenced on January 30th, 2014 in cities across the globe. It is an educational, media and grassroots awareness campaign spanning the January 30th and April 4th memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For Calgary events, https://www.facebook.com/CalgaryNewThoughtAlliance

2. Please check out “Conscious Community Event Series,” February through June, hosted by Eily Aurora, . I’ll see you there!

3. Last month a friend gave me a wonderful book, Tools for Sanity, by Kiran, an awakened teacher who recommends the communication tools of NVC. Here’s the link to a brief video clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zjs2-Ddbwg

4. Another beautiful spiritual teacher is a woman in Vancouver, author of In Search of the Miraculous. Here’s a taste for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBb-D5BjIto
Eliza Mada Dalian explains how our repressed thoughts & emotions create pain.  Your responses?

I look forward to seeing you at some of the events mentioned here. Together, with conscious intention, we are co-creating a world we want to live in!

Love and gratitude,
Barbara   xo

November 2013 – Newsletter excerpts

Barbara+FosterConvI continue to be inspired in my on-line study with Thomas Huebl on Transparent Communication, an exploration of practices to embody our spiritual potential. Please enjoy this 4-minute YouTube video clip of Thomas on Natural Flow www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCsBeVVshFU

And… I celebrated my 65th birthday last month, a lovely gathering with my family and friends. Here’s a photo of myself with Foster at the event.

Article in Womanition Magazine, 2013-2014

Barbara Wiebe

Coaching for Transformation
Article in Womanition Magazine, 2013-2014

 Transformation: the miracle of the bud becoming a blossom; a human being flowering as love.

I am passionate about empowering myself and others in the exhilarating – and challenging – journey of self-transformation. My recent training to be a certified Coach for Transformation has expanded my awareness and resourcefulness in contributing to personal and social change, bringing skill and beauty to our togetherness…

 For full article, click to view PDF

September 2013 – Newsletter excerpts

And finally, I’d love to share a very special 3-minute video clip on Compassionate Listening, where Thich Nhat Hanh brings clarity on the power of listening: “You listen with only one purpose. Help him or her to empty his heart. And if you remember that, you are helping him or her to suffer less.”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyUxYflkhzo

June 2013 – Newsletter excerpts

Summer reading? Here’s a list of some of my best books these days:

  • Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation, Daniel Siegel, 2011
  • Parenting Without Power Struggles: Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids While Staying Cool, Calm and Connected, Susan Stiffelman, 2012
  • The Wizard of Us: Transformational Lessons From Oz, Jean Houston, 2012

Empathy as Direct Love in Action

And here’s an inspirational video clip – for you – featuring Catherine Cadden on YouTube, “Empathy as Direct Love in Action.” She quotes Dr. Marshall Luther King, “True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar,” and then she proceeds to clarify from her own experience..

Peace Begins with Me – and You – NOW

I love the words of Sakyong Rinpoche: “Enlightened society is created one conversation at a time.”

I also deeply appreciate how Nonviolent (or Compassionate) Communication© inspires the shift in consciousness required to co-create enlightened interactions. And this beautiful movement of peace in our every conversation is possible for me – and for you – now!

In fact, on Tuesday, July 17th, from 7:00 to 9:00pm we will engage in building peace one conversation at a time – in a free workshop, “Peace Begins with Me.” To support this flowering within and without, we will employ the transformative 4-step process of Nonviolent Communication, or NVC, the masterwork of Dr. Marshall Rosenberg. NVC is a spiritual practice that opens the heart, employing a concrete set of skills that facilitate peaceful connection. With these principles and practices we come home to what is authentic and vital in ourselves – and in each other.

The process of NVC helps us in learning the art of deep listening and skilful speech. On Tuesday you will get a taste of specific skills that unleash the power of conscious communication in your everyday interactions. For example, the fundamental skills for daily practice are:

1) Observing the facts without interference of reactive judgments

2) Tuning in to feelings rather than thoughts about an interaction

3) Becoming aware of genuine needs rather than conditioned wants

4) Making requests to meet needs instead of demands or complaints

This 4-step approach of NVC supports the intention to connect, releasing compassion and peace. This is the very process of transforming ourselves, our relationships, and our world. The empowerment arises in the focus on self-awareness. Then we can learn how to skilfully connect with each other in conversation, creating an enlightened society.

Peace is possible for me – and for you – in every moment!

Love and gratitude,

Barbara Wiebe