COMING ALIVE

2 IDEAS FROM ME

• One of the most powerful ways to come alive is to integrate the principles of “RAIN” (Tara Brach) and “Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships” (Marshall Rosenberg).

  • RAIN is a Mindfulness skillset that:

    • Recognizes the opportunity to respond with wisdom and compassion in harmony with your true nature and highest values.

    • Accepts the reality of the experience without resistance.

    • Investigates the felt sense of the experience and best way to respond.

    • Nurtures with self-compassion and Non-Identification using “Non Violent Communication.”

  • Nonviolent Communication is a skillset that clarifies what is:

    • SEEN: Shares what happened without judgment or evaluation

    • FELT: Expresses the Emotions experienced as a consequence of what was seen.

    • NEEDED: Clarifies the underlying NEEDS connected to those feelings.

    • ASKED: Asks for specific action to be considered as an opportunity to come alive through compassionate giving.

• Nonviolent Communication asks “How can I come alive and contribute to the wellbeing of myself and others?” It is a compassionate giving opportunity fueled from the heart rather than egoic greed, aversion, or delusion.

2 QUOTES FROM SAGES

• “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive. What the world needs is more people who have come alive.”—Howard Thurman

• “As we’ve seen, all criticism, attack, insults, and judgments vanish when we focus attention on hearing the feelings and needs behind a message. The more we practice in this way, the more we realize a simple truth: behind all those messages we’ve allowed ourselves to be intimidated by are just individuals with unmet needs appealing to us to contribute to their well-being. When we receive messages with this awareness, we never feel dehumanized by what others have to say to us. We only feel dehumanized when we get trapped in derogatory images of other people or thoughts of wrongness about ourselves.”
  ― Marshall B. Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships

1 QUESTION FOR YOU TO EXPLORE

• What are your wellbeing needs to live in harmony with your true nature and highest values?

Namaste,

Duane Nelson