Kpfa - Talk-it-out Radio

When we are unable to imagine solutions that can meet the needs of more people (and other beings), it can be due to a poverty of imagination. Poetry can spark our imagination. It can feed us with the inspiration in our journeys to awaken and in our efforts to make the world a place with more care for all. Host Marlena Willis talks with and shares poetry with Barry Spector, a member of Rumi’s Caravan. Barry Spector writes about American history and politics from the perspectives of myth, archetypal psychology and indigenous wisdom. He is the author of Madness At The Gates of The City: The Myth of American Innocence. He’s been involved with the mythopoetic men’s movement for 25 years. He is also a member of Rumi’s Caravan which performs in Oakland on July 14  as a benefit for the Middle East Children’s Alliance.   Rumi’s Caravan offers live, recited poetry and music performed in the ecstatic tradition, celebrating the art of Rumi, Hafiz, and other mystic poets. The post From Imagination to Inspiration: An Inter

Are you holding the conversations you want to have in your intimate relationships? Do you have transparent dialogues that support connection, closeness, and clarity about the agreements you hold within these core relationships, or do you find yourself avoiding conversations about important issues out of fear of conflict? Are you satisfied with the agreements you have within your relationships? If you are finding it hard to talk with your partner, and rarely feel connected or experience your conversations as easy, host Nancy Kahn can help you learn new communication skills. Nancy shares proven strategies for holding important conversations and sheds light on the common rabbit holes people end up in because they lack essential communication skills to talk about their needs and make clear, direct requests of one another. Nancy takes live calls, inviting callers to share their relationship issues and receive coaching or input. Listeners are invited to call in​ to the show at 7:30 pm (1-800-958-9008) to ask focuse

Are you feeling compelled to make some calls to your elected representatives? Are you wondering how to best “state your case” so that your language and passion combine to make a really effective statement? Host Timothy Regan shares how to make democracy work in 30 seconds of honesty, how to make your case in a way that is more likely to be heard. Using the principles of nonviolent communication, Timothy gives you steps to follow to help you distill what you care about into some meaningful, powerful words, to make a case for what you care about. Timothy helps callers work on stating their case, and receives listener suggestions for effectiveness and impact. The post How to Make a Positive Effective Request of Your Elected Representative appeared first on KPFA.

Host Marlena Willis interviews Ravi Chandra, M.D., psychiatrist, Buddhist and author of the book Facebuddha, Transcendence in the Age of Social Networks, which is the winner of the 2017 Nautilus Silver Award for Religion/Spirituality of Eastern Thought. Ravi Chandra values conversation, relationship and their ultimate goals: love and the feeling of society. He thinks social media puts us in danger. He also thinks mindfulness can help us in navigating social media. Ravi Chandra, M.D., is a psychiatrist and writer in San Francisco.  He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.  Facebuddha is his nonfiction debut.  He blogs regularly for Psychology Today (The Pacific Heart) and for the Center for Asian American Media (Memoirs of a Superfan). His ebook on Asian American Anger is available for free download. He was published in the award-winning anthology of South Asian American poetry, Indivisible, and his first book of poetry, a fox peeks out, won Honorable Mention at the San Francisco B

Host Nancy Kahn interviews guest Randi Bryant, a corporate diversity trainer and author, about proven communication and diversity strategies she has found effective in the workplace. They examine how the principles of Nonviolent Communication Across Differences align or contrast with the strategies Randi has found effective in her corporate programs. In 2001, Randi founded and still operates a corporate training company which allows her to travel the country educating companies, executives and employees on topics including anti-discrimination, communication in a diverse work environment, and how to capitalize on a diverse workforce. Listeners are invited to call in​ to the show at 7:30 pm (1-800-958-9008) to ask focused questions about experiences across differences of race, gender and culture at work that you find challenging, and receive coaching, perspective and empathy from Randi and Nancy. About Randi Bryant   Over the past 14 years as president of her company, Randi has grown it from a small st

Host Nancy Kahn interviews guest Randi Bryant, a corporate diversity trainer and author, about proven communication and diversity strategies she has found effective in the workplace. They examine how the principles of Nonviolent Communication Across Differences align or contrast with the strategies Randi has found effective in her corporate programs. In 2001, Randi founded and still operates a corporate training company which allows her to travel the country educating companies, executives and employees on topics including anti-discrimination, communication in a diverse work environment, and how to capitalize on a diverse workforce. Listeners are invited to call in​ to the show at 7:30 pm (1-800-958-9008) to ask focused questions about experiences across differences of race, gender and culture at work that you find challenging, and receive coaching, perspective and empathy from Randi and Nancy. About Randi Bryant   Over the past 14 years as president of her company, Randi has grown it from a small st

Did you know that there are men who meet regularly to practice the art of deep compassionate presence with one another? Host Timothy Regan welcomes five men of a Berkeley NVC practice group. They show you what it’s like when men get together and extend compassionate understanding toward one another. They express the value of empathy in their lives and being there for one another. The men share about the benefits of NVC in their lives and take you with them as they together practice compassionate listening, understanding and honesty live on air. The post Men Practicing Empathy and Nonviolent Communication appeared first on KPFA.

Host Marlena Willis talks with Jill Nagle, a widely published author on personal growth, parenting, and social issues. Jill founded Wisdom of the Body: Beyond Talk Therapy to provide multidimensional counseling that includes the possibility of intimate, nonsexual restorative touch. She works with individuals, couples, communities and groups who want to get past the what’s tripping them up, to the deeper connection, flow, and ease that’s always underneath. She also provides mediation and training to individuals, couples, and groups, including a nine-month Immersion each October.   The post Our Bodies are Wise: A Conversation with Jill Nagle appeared first on KPFA.

What is implicit bias? How do we become aware of implicit bias, and how does implicit bias unconsciously affect our behaviors and attitudes towards other people? Recently in the news, there have been two trending stories across the country reporting on the impact of implicit bias resulting in law enforcement being called by employees of public businesses. The employees called the police to have male patrons of color removed from the premises, believing they had not acted lawfully, but who in fact, had not broken the law or the policies of the respective establishments. As people, we harbor implicit bias without being aware it is occurring. When people holding positions of power are unaware of their own active implicit bias, their thinking and behavior may result in discrimination, racism, prejudice, and/or even cause in physical harm. Host Nancy Kahn talks with Lisa Dettmer, co-producer of Talk-it-Out Radio, about how the tools of Nonviolent Communication can first, empower people to hold self-compassion if/

Be delightfully inspired, play some peacemaking games and listen to some positive music live from the KPFA studios – with the leaders and kids of the Mosaic Project from Oakland, California. Timothy Regan hosts Khemnes Fisher and Emily Abad with young students and musicians from Mosaic. Experience some powerful and compassionate “gametivities” that have helped over 39,000 children and 9,000 adults since 2001 build their capacity and skills in empathy and conflict resolution, so they can help create the diverse, inclusive, and peaceful communities that they envision, and that we envision! [Rebroadcast] The post Conflict Resolution can be Fun?! appeared first on KPFA.

In order to be happy and productive in making the world a better place, we need to be free of the ways we avoid and numb out using alcohol, drugs and other behaviors. Many have been helped by the 12-step programs but many do not resonate with these God-centered programs. Host Marlena Willis talks with Vimilasara (Valerie) Mason-John, co-author of the award-winning book Eight Step Recovery – Using the Buddha’s Teachings to Overcome Addiction, and Shahara Godfrey, core teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center, who has initiated events there for people in addiction recovery center programs. Vimalasara Mason-John (Valerie) is president of the Buddhist Recovery Network and cofounder of a secular mindfulness program for addiction. She is also the author of the new revised edition of Detox Your Heart – Meditations For Emotional Trauma. She is a leading African Canadian voice in the field of Mindfulness for Emotional Trauma and Addiction. Shahara Godfrey is a core teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center who has in

Nancy Kahn hosts a discussion between guests Leo Mercer, a self-described “Rapitivist,” and Savander Parker, a higher education professional, who hold divergent perspectives on Hip Hop.  Hear how it is possible to dialogue across differences through the practice of Nonviolent Communication, despite holding conflicting perspectives. How can we talk about issues we are passionate about when the people we are talking with hold perspectives that are radically different than our own? So often, we fall into the trap of wanting to be right, or we become so focused on proving our case, we miss the opportunity to hear the other person fully, typically end up not feeling heard, and find ourselves in a verbal battle. Nancy facilitates a live dialogue and supports both guests in slowing down to integrate and practice Nonviolent Communication. Learn how to remove the mask of defending one’s position and choose to intentionally connect with someone who does not agree with your perspective. The communication skills that a

Host Timothy Regan explored the nature of empathic dialogue and shares examples of where this is happening–from a first-of-its-kind event in Berkeley with political competitors to our own personal relationships. Edwin Rutsch of the Center for Building a Culture of Empathy is a special guest for the first half-hour. The post Good News! Where Empathy is Happening Locally appeared first on KPFA.

What is your workplace culture like? In your place of employment, how often do you experience colleagues, supervisors and upper management responding to you and others with judgment-free active listening (empathic presence)? A leading corporation in Silicon Valley shared research findings that presented empathy as the single most important workplace practice for effective teams. Work-based teams that operationalize empathy as a workplace tool, and prioritize connection between members of the team, are proven to be the most successful. Host Nancy Kahn offers insights into the stigma commonly associated with prioritizing empathy in the workplace as a core practice and explores workplace communication challenges and scenarios. Practice along with Nancy to transform habitual conversational responses into empathic responses. Call in for coaching on situations at work in which you would like help in learning how to offer yourself and others empathic presence. The post Creating a Culture of Empathy in the Workpl

Host Marlena Willis talks with E.N. Hill, who describes themselves as a black, gay, gender non-binary, Christ-loving non-Christian. They practice a family of religious diversity: God as father, the earth and earth-based practices as mother, Buddhism as lover, and African spiritual practices as grandparents. From a military background, now called to be a minister, they see their role as modeling unapologetic loving of themselves.   E.N. (pronounced as ee-ahn) is a second-year Masters of Divinity student focusing on Buddhism & Unitarian Universalist Ministry at Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, CA. They are also working as the Founding Director and Spiritual Care Advisor of SPARK Collective Living, a housing commune based in East Oakland. The post Full Acceptance of Self – A Conversation with E.N. Hill appeared first on KPFA.

Host Nancy Kahn invites us to explore how domination systems thinking lives inside us, how we can become aware of it, transform it, and disrupt unconscious patterns of communication that maintain systems of power and privilege. Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, founder of Nonviolent Communication, said that “in domination systems, you have to train people to think a certain way to support the system, so the people fit in the system.” Nancy shares the core ways domination systems thinking permeates our thoughts and conversations and offers strategies and practices to help discrupt and deconstruct these systems within us. The post Deconstructing Oppressive “Domination Systems Thinking” from the Inside Out appeared first on KPFA.

What matters to you and how are YOU going to speak up today? Tune in for a tune up on your next rant! Host Timothy Regan takes us on an exploration of how to speak up and speak out nonviolently and effectively so that people will more likely hear us, relate to us, and maybe even join our cause. Whether we are sad, mad, scared, or disgusted, these feelings point to what is most important to us, and speaking up with the tools and language of Nonviolent Communication can help get the message through to where it needs to go. Timothy explains the basic building blocks of a nonviolent rant, and offers several examples from real life. The post The Nonviolent Rant: Bringing the Compassion back into Passion appeared first on KPFA.

We live in a time where the policies of the right are having harmful affects on many, but what about how we harm one another in our interactions among ourselves in the progressive left? If we can acknowledge and clear up some of these harms we can be more effective in our work for change. Host Marlena Willis explores how we can use the Nonviolent Communication tools of empathy and of healing and reconciliation to be heard for harm we have received as well as to express regret for any harm we have done. We also explore celebrations and appreciations. The post Appreciation and Regret appeared first on KPFA.

Too often in our attempts to raise awareness of injustices, we end up calling out each other in ways that do not increase trust and cooperation, but often result in shame and judgments. We explore the differences between Calling Out and Calling In. Host Nancy Kahn provides skills and examples for the practice of Calling In, aligned with Nonviolent Communication. The post The Practice of Calling In, a Nonviolent Approach for Social Justice Work, the Workplace, and Relationships appeared first on KPFA.

Be delightfully inspired, play some peacemaking games and listen to some positive music live from the KPFA studios – with the leaders and kids of the Mosaic Project from Oakland, California. Timothy Regan hosts Khemnes Fisher and Emily Abad with young students and musicians from Mosaic. Experience some powerful and compassionate “gametivities” that have helped over 39,000 children and 9,000 adults since 2001 build their capacity and skills in empathy and conflict resolution, so they can help create the diverse, inclusive, and peaceful communities that they envision, and that we envision! [Rebroadcast] The post Conflict Resolution can be Fun!? Experience the Mosaic Project! appeared first on KPFA.