Speak Compassion

One piece of literal readings of the bible that get me is the idea that the earth was created, including man, in just 6 days.   The idea that in the year 2008, anyone still believes this to be true shocks me every time I hear it.  ABC news is running this great series about the fossil records of man.  I would urge you to take a look as just the record shows that this 6 day, 10,000 year old earth story is outlandish.

The story walks you through much of the evidence for the evolution of man.  I think one of the reasons that religious folks don’t want to accept this evidence is that it means they need to reject a part of the bible.  In their eyes, if one piece of the bible is wrong, it is all wrong.

ABC NEWS

Photo: Frank Franklin II / AP file

Those of you who visit this site often know that I have taken a life journey into the philosophy of nonviolence.  I have studied the theory as it has been presented by Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi and Thich Nhat Hanh.  As of late, my journey has led me to learn and now what to teach others the process known as Nonviolent Communication (NVC).

Yesterday, I was made aware of a great tool for others to learn NVC online, for free.   Of course, being the bookworm that I am, I would suggest you read the book, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life or the book, Speak Peace both by the creator of Nonviolent Communication, Marshall Rosenberg, PhD, but this online course is a good start for beginners and certainly won’t take long to read through the basics.

This new site I discovered yesterday via a listserv I am on for NVC supporters was created by a man named, Mark Ravitz and I like the young, hip feel he has given NVC.   I invite you to take some time and give the basic course in NVC a try.  Try it and see if it resonates with you.   I would also request that after looking at the process, if you would return to this forum and tell me what your thoughts are on the process.

You can find the basic course here.

In December, I will have the pleasure of spending 9 days in New Mexico doing a residential, International Intensive training in Nonviolent Communication led by Marshall Rosenberg.  I am excited to do this as I truly believe this philosophy can help change the way people connect with each other.