Willamette Valley NVC

Category: Learning

  • Should We Be Concerned About Toxic Empathy?

    —

    by

    Mathew Hudson
    in

    My Concerns In the last couple of years, it appears that an apprehension about “toxic empathy” has blossomed, raising my concern that one problematic form of empathy is being over-scrutinized without clear differentiation, possibly causing a vital form of empathy to be condemned along with possibly problematic form. The discussions seem to stem from a…

  • Empathy or Sympathy?

    —

    by

    Mathew Hudson
    in

    One phrase we often loathe to receive, yet may find ourselves resorting to when comforting a friend, is, “I know exactly how you feel.” While we share the same fundamental human needs and understand the joy or suffering that results when those are met or unmet, each person’s context and personal experience remain completely unique.…

  • Can We Become Unoffendable?

    —

    by

    Mathew Hudson
    in

    I have this character goal to be a person that can’t be offended, like I imagine Jesus or the Dalai Lama to be. But how much can I really control such a reaction to a person’s strange or unpleasant behavior? Being offended has something to do with perceiving a threat to our values, beliefs, or…

  • Is Play-Teasing Useful?

    —

    by

    Mathew Hudson
    in

    In our recent practice group, an intriguing little discussion/debate arose about joking or teasing comments when one person makes a disparaging comment about another in what was intended to be playful humor. How are such teasing comments meeting a need or violating a need? Would the NVC perspective take a stance against these? Though we…

  • What is the Benefit of Learning to Make Observations Instead of Value Judgments?

    —

    by

    Tim Buckley
    in

    In Nonviolent Communication (NVC), the first skill set involves the ability to distinguish between a value judgment and an observation. We make value judgments all the time: whether to scramble my eggs this morning or whether to fry them, whether to take I-5 to Eugene or 99 West, whether to watch TV or go to…