NVC Community activities
In terms of participating in NVC communities, I have been keen to be part of ongoing connections following significant training experiences. And as I have found my voice in the NVC community, I have been keen to participate in projects. These are listed and described below. In addition, I have joined the CNVC candidates email group and make the occasional post. I am a ‘supporter’ of CNVC, and I contribute to their scholarship fund on a quarterly basis. I also meet occasionally with a NVC trainer and coach in the US who is interested in my linguist view on the language of NVC.
CNVC Oceania Candidates group:
8 x 90 min meetings online from August 2020 until Mar 2022
The NVC Australian community of certification candidates meets on a monthly basis. I started attending these meetings as I wanted to get to meet other candidates, learn from each other and connect over the common interest in certification. I was really saddened when the day changed which clashed with a personal commitment. I couldn’t continue but was grateful for the connections that I made and the learning opportunities the pod afforded.
Certification pod with Anne, Leena and Michelle:
15 x 90 min meetings online from August 2020 until January 2023.
I was invited by Anne Deane to join a smaller pod of candidates to work together on our knowing, living, teaching and sharing NVC journeys. We were a committed group. We meet monthly with an agreed agenda, taking turns facilitating, working through key differentiations, offering and receiving empathy and supporting each other as we celebrated and mourned over the candidates’ experience. I am deeply grateful for the pod. As it became clear that our priorities were shifting, by mutual agreement, we agreed to disband in January 2023. This met all of our needs and in my case, as Anne and I were ready to write our portfolios, we continued meeting fortnightly. Below is a feedback form from Anne and the email string between Anne, Michelle and I as we navigated our respective needs in relation to the pod.
Anne Deane email string between Anne, Elizabeth and Michelle.
NVC Australia Website Project
34 x 90min fortnightly online meetings from July 2021 - January 2023
When Alistair McKinnon sent out an email with a request for volunteers to help reinvigorate the NVC Australia website, I put my hand up. I was keen to experience a team operating within the principles of NVC and I loved the idea of making the website an intertactive hub for the Australian NVC community. I was a member of the core team of Alistair, Chez, Kaz, Shaz, Chris and I. I attended most of the meetings, provided policy drafts for a blogging process for the website, provided blogging examples, assisted with team and task prioritisation, contributed to community meetings, facilitated project team meetings and researched various topics which related to team decision making. It was a valuable experience. However, I decided to take a time out from the project team in January so that I could concentrate on my portfolio writing. I was needing time and space for the writing as it was important to me to be able to reflect in a mindful manner and have time to analyse and collate the documentation which I had accumulated over four years. I expect to return to the team when I feel I have time and space.
I understand and honour the need to care for yourself amidst the various commitments. In your time in this group so far, I have been impressed with your commitment to what matters to you and your integrity in doing what you say you will do. I’m feeling very grateful for your contributions, and I know I will miss you, particularly from the Blog Development Team. (Alistair message)
I want to say thank you for communicating and thank you for your contributions so far and that I will enjoy seeing your smiling face when I next do.
Still part of the team in the space in my heart.... what's 6 months here or there :-)
Best wishes on your NVC certification path and in your writing endeavours. (Kaz message)CALF Home Group:
13 x 90 min meetings online since October 2021 - present
Following the CALF Mini Retreat we were encouraged to self organise into a Home Group. I was invited to join a group of 3, Elke from Canada, Paul from the US and myself, from Australia. We meet monthly and I am finding the experience very satisfying. We offer empathy to each other, share experiences, and cooperate in activities as we prepare for certification. For example, I have acted as a reader for Elke; I have collaborated in a couple of zoom presentations of Key Differentiations to demonstrate our knowledge and presentation skills in order to receive feedback from NVC community; and shared resources. Elke and I would like to collaborate into the future. We will probably address this once we are through the process of certification.
RIMU Home Group:
4 x 60 mins. meeting online since May 2023 - present
Following the NZ IIT, a group of enthusiastic participants requested mentoring. Anna Groves has offered to mentor a large group of us and recommended we divide up into smaller groups. So now there are five smaller groups and all of us form the larger group of mentees. Anna uses What’s App for communication and the sharing of resources. At the moment I am in a group of six, meeting weekly with my small home group called, RIMU. We are practicing the various NVC processes, for eg, self empathy, deep listening, identifying sensations, feelings and needs, as well as picking KD which we want to learn about. I seem to be straddling dual roles of mentor and mentee. I have lots of resources which I’m happy to share, which are being very favourably received. It is a joy to be in this group. We will eventually settle on a monthly meeting but at the moment there is great enthusiasm to learn so we are meeting weekly. Below is feedback from one of the group, Brigid who I roomed with during the IIT NZ.
