ABOUT US
What is Great Lakes NVC?
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GLNVC is deeply invested in sharing skills for authentic connection, conflict resolution, and improved understanding of different points of view. GLNVC supports individuals, couples, families, and organizations to use practical problem-solving tools to ensure everyone's needs are valued by utilizing the protocols and consciousness of Nonviolent Communication.
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History of NVC
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Nonviolent Communication, sometimes referred to as Compassionate Communication, was created by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, a clinical psychologist, who studied Humanistic Psychology along with Buddhist principals and conflict resolution. He was profoundly impacted by the 1948 race riots in Detroit, MI, where his family had recently relocated when he was a teenager. His desire for peace, equality, and respect for all led him to found the Center for Nonviolent Communication, which now has over 500 certified trainers and facilitators in over 65 countries around the world.
Rosenberg was a student of the psychologist Carl Rogers, who is known for his person-centered approach to counseling with the philosophy of “unconditional positive regard” for clients, which dramatically changed mental health fields.
Rosenberg's study of Buddhism led him to embrace the concept of nonviolence as a way to describe living life free of unhelpful judgments, and instead of looking for who is wrong or who is to blame, the focus is on empathy, compassion, and the belief that all humans have the capacity to understand each other, work together to solve problems, increase affiliation and connection, and create a world where everyone’s needs are valued, and everyone belongs.
"The lamps may be different, but the light is the same.”
~ Rumi, Sufi poet
Sadly, as we manage the challenges of our culture and the world we live in, powerful influences can lead us to focus on the differences in our beliefs or strategies, which can exacerbate conflict and widen disagreement.
It's as if we are only seeing the outside of the lamps, and we overlook the light.
Sometimes we even unconsciously sort the lamps by shape or brightness of color, as in...
"I like this one...", "I don't like that one...", or, "It would be better if the designer had..."
The framework of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) helps us see a more profound truth: beyond our perception of how things look on the outside, we can tune into the shared qualities and longings that we have in common with other people.
Simply put, when we develop our attention to hear our own and others' universal human needs, it naturally moves us from judgment to understanding.
From this perspective, conflicts diminish or dissolve much more ready, and some never even materialize because we are seeing past the outside, and into the realm of what matters.
We cross the divide into the light in our common humanity.