Saturday, June 13 · 11am – 1pm ET

The influence of the family we grew up in tends to stay with us. And in turn, who we are helps shape 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.