Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (RVUUF) Ashland, OR

Sat, Jan 28, 10am-5pm. Led by Selene Aitken, International Trainer,
Certified with the Center for Nonviolent Communication

We long to live into our values and we often don’t know how to do it in the reality of our messy lives. Compassionate Communication (also known as Nonviolent Communication) is a practical and learnable process for communicating with empathy, honesty, power, clarity and compassion. It has a profound effect on relationships and on the quality of our lives. It is a set of principles and specific techniques that allow us to bring our values to life.

In this experiential, interactive and entertaining training you will learn how to:

• Address concerns in the moment with kindness and honesty.
• Hear the feelings of others –without pain, guilt or reactivity.
• Create closer relationships by transforming judgment and blame into mutual understanding.
• Initiate difficult conversations with a sense of calm.
• Remain present, authentic, compassionate and effective even when triggered.
• Be sensitive to others without giving up on your own needs.

Learning will take place primarily through exercises and opportunities to practice. Materials to take home will help support learning. Coaching for follow-up practice will also available. There will be ongoing weekday workshops Wed mornings 10:00 a.m. to noon (led by Selene) or Wed evenings 6:00 — 8:00 p.m. (led by Rev. Leslie).

An Intermediate Workshop Series -- to be scheduled for Spring 2012 based on the availability of interested participants. The above Intensive + Weekday workshops are a pre-requisite for this Intermediate series.

Sun, Feb 5, 3pm. The Humanism Study Group is for everyone, not just Humanists. We study current topics of interest to Humanists, often from a recent book or article. We meet every first and third Sunday under the balcony at 3pm. We usually have an optional short reading related to the discussion topic available in the RVUUF library a week before each meeting. Questions, call Les Jensen at (541) 482-3504.

Feb 5: “Part Two Mormonism” How two presidential candidates relate to their Mormonism and if it effects their political ideas. We will also have excerpts from the Broadway musical production “The Book of Mormon”. Look for a possible reading in the UU Library after 1/28.

Feb 19: “Republic, Lost” This book is about how money corrupts congress and a plan to stop it by Lawrence Lessig. Lessig puts the issues in terms that non academics can understand using real world analogies and real human stories. Look for the reading after 2/11 in the UU Library.