Compassionate Listening + Positive Expression = Moments of Truth
Two-part Series, Sunday May 7 and 21. 12:30 -2:30 (light lunch provided)
Presented by Pam & Charley Rogers
Part One: The Art of
Compassionate Listening
Sunday, May 7, 12:30– 2:30pm, Fellowship Hall
“The shortest distance between two people is story.”
“An enemy is one whose story has not been heard.”
These two quotes capture the need for and power of Compassionate Listening, which is a deep listening experience, not to convert or convince, but to understand and “see” a person beyond any labels.
Compassionate Listening is a skill that was developed many years ago to bring Israelis and Palestinians together, and since has been used for a variety of relationship-building purposes. It is a specific structure and form of dialogue that allows us to hear another’s story and to reach through layers of defensiveness to inquiry and understanding.
The Rogers have been trained in and have facilitated the activity for many purposes during the past five years.
Join us in learning the why and how of Compassionate Listening, and in mastering a tool you can use to deepen any relationship.
Part Two: Words Matter
Sunday, May 21, 2:30– 2:30pm, Fellowship Hall
How people act corresponds to how situations occur to them. How a situation occurs arises in language. Words matter.
In other words —
If we want a change in our culture, the work is to change our conversation – to one that has the power to create something new in the world.
Positive skills will be explored to build a solid foundation for creating increasingly meaningful, respectful exchanges between people. With an approach and language rooted in reason rather than anger, understanding rather than judgment, we can have productive conversations when discussing difficult, emotionally-charged issues.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth.”