Saturday, May 2 · 11am – 1pm ET

Most of us were never taught how to actually communicate.

We were taught to be polite. Or, to make our case. To defend our position. To manage how we come across. But somewhere in all of that, something gets lost — the real conversation that is waiting to be had. The one where both people actually feel heard and can fully express themselves. And when there are positive experiences to share, do we say and convey the feeling fully, so others can join us in appreciation and joy?

Nonviolent Communication is a framework that helps with genuinely connecting with others. Developed by psychologist Marshall Rosenberg and now used in everything from couples therapy to Fortune 500 boardrooms to international conflict mediation, NVC gives you a way to say what you actually mean — and to hear what the other person is really saying — without defensiveness or shutdown getting in the way.

In this two-hour live, interactive webinar, licensed psychotherapist David B. Alexander will guide you through the core principles of NVC and how to put them to work in your real relationships and real conversations. You can participate as much or as little as you wish.

In this interactive webinar you'll explore:

• How we default to judgment and diagnosis — and how to shift to genuine observation
• Identifying and expressing what you're actually feeling (not just what you think)
• The difference between a request and a demand — and why that is so important
• How to listen with real empathy and respect, even when you disagree
• How to make appreciation and joy a shared experience
• Inner conditioning that keeps us stuck in old patterns — and how to start moving differently

This isn't just a presentation. There will be short guided exercises, live discussion, and space to practice. You'll leave with tools you can use immediately — in your closest relationships, at work, and in the conversations with yourself that no one else hears.

About David

David B. Alexander is a licensed psychotherapist based in Roslyn Heights, NY, with a practice that draws on principles of gestalt therapy, existential therapy, and Nonviolent Communication, as well as drawing on decades of Zen Buddhist and Tai Chi Chuan practice and teaching.

He has guided individuals, couples, and leaders through the challenges that we all face in experiencing a better life despite what are felt as external setbacks or our own mental blocks. He brings to this work not just clinical expertise, but the kind of depth that only comes from a lifetime of practice and a life fully lived.

Psychotherapy sessions are available online across New York State, and in person in Roslyn Heights, NY. A free 15-minute consultation is available for those curious about individual therapy. All inquiries are confidential.

Saturday, May 30 · 11am – 1pm ET

Something is pulling at you. A calling to find peace, or meaning... or both.

Maybe it's a quiet restlessness beneath a life that is fine in many aspects. Maybe it's the sense that you're moving through your days a bit too quickly — busy and productive, but feeling that there is something more. Maybe you've heard the word Zen a hundred times and wondered what it actually means, beyond the coffee mug messages and the corporate wellness posters.

This workshop is for people who want to find out.

Zen Buddhism is one of the oldest and most practical wisdom traditions in human history — not a religion you have to believe in, not a set of rules to follow, but a way of seeing clearly and living fully, even in the middle of the noise and changes of daily life.

The lotus flower, one of Buddhism's enduring symbols, grows from mud and through muddy water. And yet, it appears suddenly above the water and opens clean and pure.

In this two-hour live workshop, David B. Alexander — a licensed psychotherapist who has practiced Zen for over 50 years — will walk you through the core teachings of Buddhism and what they actually mean for the way we live, think, and relate to ourselves and others.

In this interactive webinar you'll explore:

• A brief, accessible history of Buddhism — where it came from and how Zen emerged from it
• The Middle Way — the art of finding peace and fulfillment without rigid extremes or rigid ideas
• The Four Noble Truths — Buddhism's foundational insight into why we suffer, and the genuine possibility of moving past that
• The Eightfold Path — a practical framework for living in a way that benefits yourself and everyone around you
• The Three Treasures — the supports that keep a practitioner grounded and moving forward in a healthy way

This isn't a philosophy lecture. It's a living conversation about how ancient wisdom applies to modern life — your relationships, your work, your inner world, your search for meaning. There will be space for questions and genuine dialogue throughout.

About David

David B. Alexander is a licensed psychotherapist who has practiced Zen since 1970 — studying with teachers at the New York Zen Center in the '70s and '80s, and more recently as an active practitioner at Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt. Tremper, NY. He has been personally encouraged to offer public teachings by Enkyo Roshi (Pat O'Hara) of Village Zendo and Zen Master Wu Kwang (Richard Shrobe) of Chogye Zen Center.

He is also a 40+ year practitioner and teacher of Tai Chi Chuan, and a licensed psychotherapist whose clinical work draws on principles of gestalt therapy, existential therapy, and Nonviolent Communication.

When David teaches Zen, he isn't translating something he read. He is sharing something he has lived.

Psychotherapy sessions are available online across New York State, and in person in Roslyn Heights, NY. A free 15-minute consultation is available for those curious about individual therapy. All inquiries are confidential.

Saturday, June 13 · 11am – 1pm ET

The family we grew up in never fully leaves us. And in turn, who we are deeply influences the world around us.

Our inborn temperament and our early family life affect dramatically how we perceive and act in the world. This includes the way we handle differences or conflict; how we express affection and love; what is able to stimulate anger in us; and how we handle needing something from another person, whether it is love, respect, or getting a business report. We learn early on what is safe to say and what "has to" stay quiet.

We carry all of it — into our relationships and marriages, our friendships, our workplaces, and ultimately, into the families we may build ourselves. We are all doing the best we can with what we were given. And most of us, at some point, find ourselves wanting to give something different, that is, better.

This workshop is for anyone who has ever thought seriously about what it means to be a conscious, healthy influence on the people in their lives, including children, and on society as a whole. We will explore how early experience shapes the way we see ourselves and respond to the world — and what becomes possible when we begin to understand that shaping.

We will look at what it actually means to model the values we want to pass on, especially in a time when the world outside our homes is sending so many competing messages. This includes answering one of the more pressing questions of this particular moment: when we encounter people — including people we love — who seem to have moved toward ideas we find harmful or confusing, what is the most skillful way to respond? Not the most reactive. The most skillful.

In this interactive webinar, you'll explore:

• How our earliest experiences shape our habitual responses — and how unfolding awareness can change them
• What conscious influence actually on others looks like in practice,
• The difference between the values we hold and the values we model — and how to close that gap
• How to stay in genuine relationship with people whose worldviews feel foreign or even alarming
• Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a practical tool for the hardest family and social conversations

This is not a parenting technique workshop. It's something closer to the root — an exploration of how we became who we are, and how that understanding opens up more freedom in who we get to be for the people around us as adults.

About David

David B. Alexander is a licensed psychotherapist based in Roslyn Heights, NY, with a practice that draws on principles of gestalt therapy, existential therapy, and Nonviolent Communication, as well as drawing on decades of Zen Buddhist and Tai Chi Chuan practice and teaching.

He has guided individuals, couples, and leaders through the challenges that we all face in experiencing a better life despite what are felt as external setbacks or our own mental blocks. He brings to this work not just clinical expertise, but the kind of depth that only comes from a lifetime of practice and a life fully lived.

Psychotherapy sessions are available online across New York State, and in person in Roslyn Heights, NY. A free 15-minute consultation is available for those curious about individual therapy. All inquiries are confidential.

What if the way you perceive and communicate could change everything?

Not just the words you choose — but the awareness that guides those words. The ability to say what you actually mean. To hear what someone else is really saying. To move through conflict without shutting down or blowing up. To fully express love and appreciation. To show up in your relationships, your work, and your inner life with more clarity, more presence. In short, more of your true, best self.

That's what this series is about.

Over three Saturday mornings this spring, licensed psychotherapist David B. Alexander brings together two of the most powerful frameworks for human transformation available today: Nonviolent Communication and Zen Buddhist wisdom. Separately, each is profound. Together, they form something rare — a thorough understanding and principles for how to live and relate with authenticity, compassion, and true inner freedom.

The Series:

Session 1 — Introduction to Nonviolent Communication (NVC) Saturday, May 2 The practical foundation. Learn how to move from judgment and defensiveness to genuine expression and empathetic listening — in your closest relationships, at work, and in the conversation you have with yourself.

Session 2 — Modern Zen and Buddhism 101 Saturday, May 30 The deeper ground. Explore the core teachings of Zen and Buddhism — the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Middle Way — and what they actually mean for your everyday life, your suffering, and your search for something more.

Session 3 — Our Family, Our Inner World, and the World We Are Shaping Together Saturday, June 13 Our inborn temperament and our early family life affect dramatically how we perceive and act in the world. This includes the way we handle differences or conflict, how we express affection and love, and more. And through the messages we carry with us, we contribute to the nature of the society and world in which we live.

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Each session stands on its own. Together, they start to build something larger: a living understanding of how to communicate from your heart, from your wisdom, and not just from your surface.

Each session includes:

• Engaging presentation of core concepts
• Guided interactive exercises
• Live discussion and Q&A throughout
• Practical tools you can apply in your daily life

About David

David B. Alexander is a licensed psychotherapist based in Roslyn Heights, NY, with a practice that draws on principles of gestalt therapy, existential therapy, and Nonviolent Communication, as well as drawing on decades of Zen Buddhist and Tai Chi Chuan practice and teaching.

He has guided individuals, couples, and leaders through the challenges that we all face in experiencing a better life despite what are felt as external setbacks or our own mental blocks. He brings to this work not just clinical expertise, but the kind of depth that only comes from a lifetime of practice and a life fully lived.

Psychotherapy sessions are available online across New York State, and in person in Roslyn Heights, NY. A free 15-minute consultation is available for those curious about individual therapy. All inquiries are confidential.