Beloved Divine Energy

When people ask me about Nonviolent Communication (NVC), I usually begin by describing the four basic components of the process -- observations, feelings, needs, and requests. But that kind of introduction fails to convey the real essence of NVC.

Blog-Encouragement from a Friend, Part 2

On my walk back from the Chapel service I described earlier, I got a text from another of my best friends, asking to catch up on Skype. My mind, marveling, fluttered back to the moment in Chapel when we were asked us to think of a person who has different ideas from us, with whom we have trouble communicating

A Surprising Sermon: Nonviolent Communication in the Old Testament

The other events that prompted me to revive this Peacewaves blog happened yesterday. First, I heard what was quite possibly the best sermon of my life at Marquand Chapel, given by a guest preacher, the Reverend Timothy L. Jones, a Baptist pastor from Virginia, currently studying, as did the great Rev. Dr. King, at Boston University's theological seminary. After breaking the ice

Encouragement from a Friend, Part 1

My first bit of encouragement to revive this blog came on Monday, after I shared a video on Facebook of Marshall Rosenberg presenting his Nonviolent Communication (NVC) technique at a workshop.

A New Wave of Peace

Why I'm keeping this blog

A confluence of lovely events this week made me decide to revive the Peacewaves blog so that I can share my experiences and reflections about Nonviolent Communication, Internal Family Systems, religion, and other parts of my life that someone might find helpful. It's also a way to encourage my  pursuits of the things I care about. When I can't find the motivation to do it for myself, I might still manage to meditate, or journal, or speak nonviolently to a bothersome person for your sake.

On smiling, happiness and dignity

I have recently reaffirmed my commitment to smiling less. Maybe I am always reaffirming that commitment when it occurs to me, but I was thinking about it in relation to a few things recently.

Last Saturday K and I went to see LHO's Candide, and not only was it a fantastic production (singing, acting, set, orchestra, supertitles, were all right on), the opera itself (or "operetta," perhaps) is quite a moving and fantastic piece of art. Credit is perhaps foremost due to old Voltaire, who wrote the original story of Candide. But its power would have been significantly less without the brilliantly clever and articulate rhymes of Richard Wilbur (and a number of other collaborators, as well, apparently) and the stunning composition of Leonard Bernstein. I was particularly fascinated with the music

Important things

Last night I was reminded and provoked to really get down to doing what's important. I only have so long, you know.

I met Lai-yan and Meghan for dinner last night. We had been meeting weekly for a few weeks there, until spring break and some other things made us take a 3-week hiatus. Our custom was to eat (after they said a brief prayer of thanks), chat about life and random things, and then read aloud some Bible verses selected by Lai-yan and discuss their possible meaning, with me offering an uncertain conjecture, and then them providing a more certain conjecture.