NVC session for Students of ‘Living Routes’ at Fraternity

Let me first elaborate some of the words in the title. NVC stands for Nonviolent Communication and I am passionate about it because it is helping me to remain connected to my inner self and others in a compassionate way even in trying situations. ‘Living Routes’ believes that we must learn to live sustainably and offers programs that are academic as well as experiential to help you grow on academic, professional and personal levels. Fraternity is a charming, green community in Auroville.

When Martin requested me to do an introductory session on NVC for the students of the Living Routes program, I was very excited with the opportunity to share NVC. Besides, I value the ideals and goals of Living Routes. But, the time is one and a half hours; yes, 1.5 hrs. I remember it was Pascal who said “If I had more time I would write a shorter letter’. I did not have more time, but I saw it as an opportunity to grow and decided to give it a try. Then, Bindu told me that the session is organized immediately after screening of the NVC Basic video of Marshall. That made it simpler to prepare and I thought that I would give a little time for any questions etc and then work on forms on life-alienating communication (4-D in NVC parlance) and do an exercise to deepen the understanding.

I was very happy when I met the young group of 14 students from US and one Indian, Karthik. Karthik attended an earlier NVC program facilitated by me and I celebrated the re-connection. The students could not watch the video fully because it got stuck after about 30 minutes and were waiting for me. This gave me an additional 10 minutes but I felt shaky about my plan. But, the students responded with enthusiasm to my approach and after a brief over view, we jumped into the four types of life- alienating communication i.e Diagnoses, Deserve Oriented language, Denial of Responsibility, Demand Language. When I recall the questions and comments from the students, I feel delighted because my need for sharing NVC and mutual learning was met. It was the first time I went inside Fraternity and I liked the greenery and the beauty of this place. After the session, I had the joyful opportunity to chat with Priya, one of the students for US.

After the program, I used a rest room with the sign ‘ BOYS’….. after a long, long time.

I am inspired by Living Routes and look forward to more opportunities to participate and contribute in the Living Routes programs