March 18, 2017
 
 
We live in difficult times. We have lived in difficult times for a long time, and in recent months, I experience an acceleration of the challenges. It's getting clearer to many of us that the vision of a world that works for all is even more needed now, and is in some ways more elusive.
 
dinnerA few days ago a friend and colleague came over for dinner.
We hadn't seen each other in years, and naturally the conversation focused on the times we live in, and what we each are doing in response. Of all that we shared, I was most struck by his statement that he was still calling representatives, and yet he was close to burnout.
 
This stayed in my mind because it symbolized for me what I've been sensing now for a while: the path to the vision my friend and I share cannot be more of the same. As I see it, calling representatives rests, implicitly, on the assumption that the basic political system, in the US in this case, is fundamentally sound, and all that's needed is to get politicians to make better choices, to represent their constituency better, to operate with more integrity as individuals.
 
For me, however, the issues go far deeper. They start, as far as I can tell, some thousands of years ago, with the advent of patriarchy and accumulation. Without these two, there wouldn't be separation and scarcity, the foundation on which war, racism, capitalism, and environmental degradation are built. 

sustainWhile I don't know what we can do from here to transcend and transform thousands of years of devastation that have completely changed how we approach life, I do know two things that sustain me.
 
One is that our species has existed for 160,000 years or so in its "modern" human form. 6,000 years of patriarchy is a small window within it, and our evolutionary makeup remains the same. We evolved to collaborate and to share. This is still an imprint, and explains why time and time again people's faces light up when they remember or share a time when they gave something to someone without any expectation of receiving back.

Editor's note: handprints now identified as female show many prehistoric artists were women, as in this famous mural in the 25,000 year old Pech Merle cave.
 
The other thing I know is that while we are figuring out how to transcend the logic of the world as it is, we can begin where we are and divest ourselves of its effects on us and around us. We can choose to consciously overcome the focus on safety and comfort that keeps us separate and powerless. We can choose to work for change, when we do, in ways that demonstrate the vision and values we hold dear. More than anything, we can adopt the orientation of caring for the whole, everywhere we are.

This way, whether we make it or not, we are living proof of the possibility.
 
While I engage, within and without, in the tricky terrain of how to create systemic change, I am dedicating all my energy now to supporting everyone I work with to step into that radiant possibility of envisioning a radically different world, caring for the whole, and willingly letting go of comfort. My most recent blog post in two parts, "If I Were a Rich Man," grapples with the imaginary scenario of having much more access to power than I do, and thinking through how I would respond then, both externally and internally.
 
Last month I turned 61. I am well aware that my days are numbered. Like everyone's days. I keep asking myself what is mine to do, now. Every day, every moment: what's the most creative, loving, courageous, and authentic way that I can show up now? And now? And now? I am grateful for the immense support that allows me the ongoing opportunity to reach ever closer to that goal.
 
in peace and hope,
Miki
 
celebrationsP.S. If you want to hear more of what's been happening in the last month, click here for both work and personal celebrations and mournings
including news about how my sabbatical is unfolding, what's happening with various projects, and more.
 
Image credits: top: 2017.02.04 No Muslim Ban 2, Washington, DC USA 00521 by Ted Eytan, cropped, Flickr, (CC BY-SA 2.0). Below: public domain.
Online at the NVC Academy
February 10 - September 24, 2017, 12:00-2:00pm 
Pacific 
Leadership isn't always about the position you hold. Whether you are a CEO, parent, waitress, board member, spiritual leader, mail clerk, manager, volunteer, or teacher, you always have the challenge and opportunity of taking responsibility for the whole. And whatever your challenges may be, this program will give you the opportunity to approach life from the driver's seat, able to respond to what life presents with heart-felt care for all.  Info and registration. 
At the White Privilege Conference, Kansas City
A workshop during the April 27-30 WPC conference: time TBA
The Marriott, Kansas City, Missouri 
Social justice work struggles with the enormous difficulty of creating productive conversations about privilege. This workshop presents a simple conceptual framework for distinguishing between privilege as a structural system that confers unchosen benefits on some at the expense of others and attitude, an individual attribute. The premise is that while privilege is not chosen (for the most part we are born into it), we all have ample choice about how we engage with it. In this workshop, participants can learn about how to shift from negative to positive ways of engaging with privilege. Information here.
Passing the Baton
May 13 @ 10:00 am - 6:00 pm PST at Canticle Farm, Oakland, CA
Aya and Jihan are former students, friends, and colleagues. I am inspired to see what they are offering, which is based on applying the Core Commitments to everything from the inner work all the way to how we relate to the world in these times. They have a packed plan that gives room for using live situations, doing role plays, and engaging the body while learning. Anyone who's been inspired by LYI or by the commitments is likely to find much deepening in this one day that is likely the beginning of more. Info and registration. 
Save the dates! July 22, and December 11-12
For the first time, Roxy Manning is teaching Convergent Facilitation in Oakland, as Miki is no longer planning to offer it locally. Roxy has been studying and applying CF since its inception, and teaching it since 2011. Miki says: "I am excited to have someone I trust so much locally to take over CF and bring it to more communities than I possibly could." 

The idea behind Convergent Facilitation is that a few people can learn a system that embodies NVC wisdom and enable groups to use it to make more collaborative and efficient decisions together. You may have read about CF's remarkable success in the resolution of a longstanding child custody fight in the Minnesota legislature. Others are applying it now every day, in many countries.  Info and registration TBA.
Free Teleseminars


Sunday, March 19, 10:30 am - noon 
Monday, March 20, 5:30 pm - 7:00pm
Sunday, April 9, 10:30 am - noon
Friday, May 12, 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Sunday, May 14, 10:30am - noon
You are invited to join Miki and others in the next   Fearless Heart Teleseminars.  On these calls you can engage in conversation about her latest blog posts, "If I were a Rich Man," "If I were a Rich Man - the Inner Dimension," earlier posts, or other topics of interest. 

Saturday, March 25, 12:00 - 1:30pm
Sunday, Apr 16, 9:00 - 10:30am
Saturday, May 6, 5:00 - 6:30pm
Sunday, May 21, 1:00 - 2:30pm
The Facing Privilege Conference Calls are an opportunity for people to engage with themselves and with others on the deep questions that arise as we reflect on the question of privilege. 

Principle-Based-Teaching Coaching Calls
Sunday, Apr 16, 11:00am - 12:30pm 
Sunday, May 21, 3 - 4:30pm
The Principle-Based-Teaching calls are designed for people who have been integrating NVC for a while, who are now sharing NVC with others in various forms, and would like to engage with others and with Miki in deepening our collective capacity to bring NVC to the world in this particular way.
2017 Upcoming Programs with Miki
in Israel, Poland, Czechia, Spain, California, Chicago
Do you have family and friends living in any of these places? Tell them about these opportunities. 

March 28
Collaboration in the Workplace, in Israel, in Hebrew
April 3-4
Convergent Facilitation, in Israel, in Hebrew

June 12-18 

June 19 -22

June 23-25 in Madrid, Jun 26-29 in Barcelona, Spain. Both Convergent Facilitation, in Spanish.


November 11-13
Convergent Facilitation, 3-day training  in Chicago.