William Blake portrayed, in striking and unique ways, his understanding and experience of what our human nature is, and what our potential is. There is a large amount of commonality between Blake's work and the teachings of Zen Buddhism. They both focus on knowing ourselves fully, rather than seeking an external source for wisdom or spirituality.

This (free) interactive webinar, taking place on Saturday August 3rd from 11am to 12:30pm ET, will examine some key quotes and art from William Blake and quotes from Zen tradition, and how Zen and William Blake relate to our human potential.

Born in England in November 1757, William Blake was never financially successful but always, barely, kept a roof over his head and that of his beloved wife Catherine. He had apprenticed for seven years in engraving and was self-taught in poetry.

Blake used his engraving, painting, and illustration skills to earn a bare-bones living, primarily through commissions for work from close friends and followers who believed in his genius. He never reached a larger-scale popularity or recognition during his life.

In his work, Blake portrayed the human being as ultimately what he called Albion, which is an ancient name for the island Britain. For Blake, "Albion" was the original man before the mythological, timeless fall from a healthy and integrated state of being.

The four capacities that have become fragmented from each other are sensation, intellect, desire / love, and imagination. Due to the fragmentation, the capacities are conflicted and are imbalanced in expression, resulting in a lack of fulfillment of the individual's potential.

Carl Jung spoke similarly of mental capacities of sensation, thinking, feeling, and intuition. Psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott pointed out that real progress in psychotherapy occurs when the client grasps a new insight in a manner that unites intellect and emotion.

Blake himself emphasized uniting and freeing the four capacities to act as one in an integrated, liberated human being and society. The result is experience and expression of the individual's and humankind's native ability to love, create, and think in productive ways.

In this session we will examine and discuss several key quotes and artworks from William Blake, and explore their universal meaning, and how they relate to Zen teachings as pointers to an inspired understanding and experience of life.

From Huineng, the sixth patriarch in China of Zen, in seemingly simple words:

Just be true, and there are no barriers.

From Blake's "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell":

If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.

Join this interactive, free monthly workshop dedicated to improving on important relationships and your own awareness and well-being.

What if you could find ways to interrupt old patterns of friction or even conflict, and instead find a way to understand and be understood, creating peace and connection instead?

In this online workshop we will practice using a special approach to empathy and authenticity, for understanding life's communication and relationship challenges and opportunities. We will explore how to improve our handling of a variety of situations, some brought in by event participants.

We will start the meeting with some practice of the NVC basics, and then will explore situations that participants bring in.

The goal in good communication is that all parties in the process can feel seen and heard, and come out with a stronger, positive connection to others.

The event is facilitated by David B. Alexander, LP. In it, we will apply Nonviolent Communication to issues or questions that the attendees bring in, and David will facilitate the dialogue. If there are not enough issues or questions brought by attendees, there will be sample situations provided for discussion.

Nonviolent Communication is an approach to communication and relationships that is based on empathic connection, but that provides a clear understanding of what kinds of communication help bring more joy and vitality into life, and what kinds of communication prolong conflict or separation.

As a psychotherapist, David has seen the great value of these principles, and has guided numerous couples and individuals to improve the quality of their communication and their relationships.

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Note: if any attendee does not wish to join in the discussion, but prefers to observe and absorb, that preference will be respected.

The workshop meeting will take place online via Zoom. The meeting can be joined via ordinary phone, but for a full experience use of a computer will allow seeing all participants more easily.

Explore the wisdom of Zen and Buddhism with long-time practitioner and teacher David B. Alexander. We will look at some well-known and lesser-known expressions and quotes of Zen and Buddhism, and examine what they are communicating.

Two of the quotes we will examine: "What is the sound of one hand?" and "To study Buddhism is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self...."

Zen expression is often about experiences that are not common and not very easy to understand. However, that challenge is sometimes used, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to make Zen seem mysterious. The reality is that these expressions and quotes express important experiences, giving words to our immense potential as human beings. The meaning is often not obvious at first, but can be understood better when discussed with clarity.

Discover more of the profound and liberating meaning of Zen and Buddhism.

In this webinar, David B. Alexander, LP will present some of the primary principles of Nonviolent Communication, and their application in daily life. After the presentation, there will be time for questions and answers.

This will be an enriching, safe opportunity for learning how to deepen relationships of all kinds through better communication, including through authenticity towards oneself, achieving more often the results we desire. As a psychotherapist, David has seen the value of these principles, and has guided numerous couples and individuals to improve the quality of their communication and their relationships.

Topics that will be covered include:

• Compassion vs. Labeling and Judgment

• Observation vs. Diagnosis and Evaluation

• Listening With Empathy

• Feelings, Needs, and Requests

• Expressing Anger's Core

• Protection vs. Punishment

• Liberation From Our Internal Programming

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Note: if any attendee does not wish to join in the discussion after the presentation, but prefers to observe and absorb, that preference will be respected.

The webinar meeting will take place online via Zoom. The webinar can be joined via ordinary phone, but for a full experience use of a computer will allow observing other attendees and those who are speaking.

Join this interactive, free monthly workshop dedicated to improving on important relationships and your own awareness and well-being.

What if you could find ways to interrupt old patterns of friction or even conflict, and instead find a way to understand and be understood, creating peace and connection instead?

In this online workshop we will practice using a special approach to empathy and authenticity, for understanding life's communication and relationship challenges and opportunities. We will explore how to improve our handling of a variety of situations, some brought in by event participants.

We will start the meeting with some practice of the NVC basics, and then will explore situations that participants bring in.

The goal in good communication is that all parties in the process can feel seen and heard, and come out with a stronger, positive connection to others.

The event is facilitated by David B. Alexander, LP. In it, we will apply Nonviolent Communication to issues or questions that the attendees bring in, and David will facilitate the dialogue. If there are not enough issues or questions brought by attendees, there will be sample situations provided for discussion.

Nonviolent Communication is an approach to communication and relationships that is based on empathic connection, but that provides a clear understanding of what kinds of communication help bring more joy and vitality into life, and what kinds of communication prolong conflict or separation.

As a psychotherapist, David has seen the great value of these principles, and has guided numerous couples and individuals to improve the quality of their communication and their relationships.

**********************

Note: if any attendee does not wish to join in the discussion, but prefers to observe and absorb, that preference will be respected.

The workshop meeting will take place online via Zoom. The meeting can be joined via ordinary phone, but for a full experience use of a computer will allow seeing all participants more easily.