Vulnerability, Difference and Belonging

by Miki Kashtan

Any of you who’ve been reading this blog for a while or know me otherwise have heard me talk countless times about how vitally important the path of vulnerability has been for me. I’ve been walking this path for twelve years now, about as long as I’ve been using and sharing Nonviolent Communication in the world. The vulnerability path has been the occasion for profound liberation for me and I can say without exaggeration that it is the foundation on which I continue to do all of my learning about being human, about leadership, about power, about interdependence, and even about social change.  

So it has been a great treat for me to discover a fellow traveler. Some time ago, I watched Brené Brown’s first TED talk, The Power of Vulnerability, and was astonished and delighted by the content. This past Sunday I watched her recent talk,Listening to Shame. I was spellbound. First, I found the content captivating, because it is so aligned with my own experience and what I teach. My most favorite quote is that “vulnerability is the most accurate measure of courage,” which fits entirely with my own efforts to re-frame vulnerability from an expression of weakness to a source of strength. I was also completely taken, again, by her personality and presentation style, which I found engaging, warm, and entertaining, even as she spoke of sensitive and painful subjects.

Restorative Circles

What are Restorative Circles?


A Restorative Circle is a community process for supporting those in conflict.


It brings together three parties to a conflict:
- those who have acted,
- those directly impacted and
- the wider community


The circle is organised as a dialogue of equals.
Participants invite each other and attend voluntarily.
The dialogue process used is shared openly with all participants, and guided by a community member.
The process ends when actions have been found that bring mutual benefit


Dominic has been organising those circles in Rio de Janeiro - one of the most challenging environments on the planet - with astonishing results. Please check out the 8 minute video and judge for yourself.


As you will see the principles of Authentic Communication play a key role in the process.


Enjoy

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Nicole Foss in New Zealand

Dunno much about Nicole... at the same time i have listened to her presentation and it dramatically changed my outlook on our possible immediate financial and social future as a civilization.

Her interview with Kim Hill on National Radio New Zealand is here.

Even Kim struggled to keep a pace with the 'Foss Machine Gun' :)

On the other hand I struggled to get engaged with her website, yet we all like different things.

Here's some blurb about her I found on the web as well as the schedule of her presentations in New Zealand: