I recently returned from Mexico. It was an honor to be part of the training team for the first Nonviolent Communication (NVC) International Intensive Training (IIT) in Latin America — which was also the first ever not in English and the first in Spanish.
We had participants from Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Spain (I’m probably forgetting a country or two).
This is perhaps the hungriest group I have EVER experienced! They gave themselves over totally to the work, and it was so fulfilling and gratifying to see!
Equally surprising and inspiring was the commitment to personal practice: how many people were up early meditating, doing yoga, exercising. It was common every morning to see a group of 10-20 meditating together or doing yoga.
One of my highlights:
One day I did a role-play, with about 20 or 25 observers, with a woman who nearly five years ago came home to find her husband’s corpse after he had hung himself. I role-played the husband who had committed suicide. It was SOO powerful!
As the husband I gave her empathy for the agony of the loss and the severe discomfort of being questioned as a wife by people close to her, but also by the police as a suspect.
There had been no sign that he had been depressed or struggling.
There were long moments of silence, gazing into each others’ tear-filled eyes.
As the husband I wept my deep mourning for the impact.
Then she wanted to know why I did it!
I was SO grateful for this gift Marshall Rosenberg passed on to me and many others. I don’t know how these magical role-plays work, I just know that they do! I channeled something from somewhere and shared what came up for me as the husband.
In the end she had a life-transforming healing!
It’s one of the most intense sessions I’ve ever had. Many participants reported afterward having also experienced deep healing from being there for the process.
I extend my gratitude to the staff at the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC) for inviting me to be part of this incredible event.
Here are some photos from the retreat center and the participants.
