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

How can you give honest feedback and still keep or improve a good relationship? What if your partner asks you "Do I look good in these pants?" and you think "No"? If a friend has started a business and is about to invest a lot of time and money into it, but you feel it is a bad idea: what do you say, if anything? What if someone you care about is entering into a romantic relationship that seems unhealthy to you: what do you do or say?

These are typical of what can be difficult but important choices in how we communicate, making a relationship deeper or creating stress in a relationship, and potentially helping others and ourselves along a good path in life, even through small interactions.

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. But honesty is a consideration that can complicate that process. On one hand, William Blake said "A truth that's told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent." On the other hand, authenticity in communication is crucial for strengthening the profound connections that are part of a well-lived life.

The event is facilitated by David B. Alexander, LP. In it, we will discuss communication principles, and will also apply Nonviolent Communication (NVC) to issues or questions that the attendees bring in, and the facilitator will help guide the dialogue. There will be prepared scenarios to discuss, as well as time to look at situations that participants may bring in.

What is "nonviolent communication", and what is violence in communication? Violent communication can show itself in subtle ways that are hardly noticed, so the word "violent" might be surprising. However, the theme is that violent communication tends to disrupt empathy and relationships, while nonviolent communication is a win/win kind of communication that brings people together.

Nonviolent Communication is an approach to communication and relationships that is based on empathic connection, but that also provides a clear description and 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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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.

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 experience, think, love, and create 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 have been having a good time recently with your partner, or your child or parent? How do you express that? What if someone in your life takes a chance and is vulnerable (doing something with which they are not comfortable but that is positive) with you? How do you respond to fully support the moment of their sharing?

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 discuss and experiences the principles and examples of good communication. We will also apply the Nonviolent Communication approach 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.

So-called "violent" communication can show itself in subtle ways that are hardly noticed, so the word "violent" might be surprising. However, the meaning is that violent communication is any communication which tends to disrupt empathy and relationships, while nonviolent communication is a win / win kind of communication that brings people together.

Nonviolent Communication is an approach to communication and relationships that is based on empathic connection, but that also provides a clear description and 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.

Most of us know karma as, basically, the concept that our thoughts and actions have consequences, whether immediately or at some future time. Although that statement captures the basic principle of karma, there is significantly more to karma than that.

Another important teaching is the Four Immeasurables, which can be seen as a solution for creating good karma, leading to liberation. To find our true freedom we need to use our higher capacities as human beings, which help us break free from limitations. Actions that are "clean", and do not create bad karma, help us toward our own and others' liberation.

Our higher capacities allow us to cultivate a mind that frees itself from following past negative karma, gradually breaking those chains. By connecting to one's unlimited mind rather than to the narrow mind, we can help free ourselves and others from painful complications in living.

During and after the presentation we will discuss and practice these principles, and enjoy community.

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The teacher, David B. Alexander, has practiced Zen and studied with leading teachers for more decades than he would like to declare. With approval from recognized Zen masters, he is offering these talks on Zen and Buddhism.

Good communication makes for more enjoyable and enduring relationships, and more personal fulfillment. In this webinar, David B. Alexander, LP (licensed psychotherapist) 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. Discussion will also be invited as a way to engage those attending in a more direct way. See some testimonials below.

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

• Liberation From Our Internal Programming

There will also be interactive exercises allowing participants to share connection with each other while becoming more aware of their own ability to communicate more fully.

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David's workshop on Non-violent Communication was insightful, practical and interactive. I especially appreciated the time he took to listen to and respond to people's real-life communication challenges. Practical and thoughtful workshop especially relevant in today's turbulent times.

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.