ReConstructive Conflict Practice Space

• Please note this is a 2 paged Form
• Everything on Page 1 is informational or optional
• Estimated Time for completion: 5 - 25 minutes depending on how deeply you read & how much detail you wish to share about your interest

Who This is For

You are a community organizer, healer, artist, systems builder, educator, culture worker, and/or spiritual activist. You are committed to becoming more effective and sustainble in how you develop and share your energy and your offerings.

You have repeatedly seen how interpersonal conflicts deplete efforts to move towards a liberatory world. You know some of these conflicts are rooted in the systems we are trying to dismantle. You feel a yearning in your body for a better way, a transformative way that leads to the liberatory world you seek. You dream of compassion, understanding, a sense of possibility, and harmony to be part of your everyday experience. For your communities to embody their visions of a liberatory world.

And maybe you have a nagging sense we must learn to navigate conflict skillfully in our own personal relations to better support peace and conflict engagement around the world.

You are a Trans and/or Queer Muslim OR you feel the immense liberatory power of supporting and becoming a beloved community member/ally of Trans/Queer Muslims.

You are longing for a community to learn with, practice with, grow with, deepen explore your own values with, and/or build a liberatory world with.

What You'll Experience

This series is an opportunity to build the much needed skills and community to address conflicts. We will actively practice a large variety of skills that help us transform situations. We will mostly practice with low difficulty tensions to strengthen our conflict engagement muscles. 

This series draws on a mix of practices, including mindfulness (based in Zen), compassion-based approaches (steepd in Sufism), and equitable nonviolent communication. We will also explore how power & privilege, wider contexts, and history shape our interactions, relationships, and the potential for more effective communication.

You don’t need any prior experience—this space is open to beginners, and there will be extensive opportunities for those deepening their practice.

Join a conflict mediator and experienced facilitator for this deeply engaging 8 week journey! Each session both stands alone & builds on previous sessions. You are welcome to join as many session as you can, even if just one.

Experiences of Past Participants

Past experiences of these workshop series led to a strong mutual-aid group that cared for each other's material well-being and hearts. A strong family unit was created from the regular participants. And everyone found their material lives drastically changed from finding stable housing, getting off welfare, to a very quick career promotion to a career transition. The group came together to address and act on some of the most difficult issues in the group's lives at the time.

Past participants said:

• "I feel revived after the sessions, unlike after many [online] meetings, which deplete me."
• "[This is a] warm, welcoming space but also a place to discover new aspects of yourself."
• "If you're really looking to do effective group work, this is the place"
• "[The workshops] helped me so much, in discovering and understanding myself, and even help me realize some gaps in some of the things I might need to learn more."

 

 

Additional Details

 What we will cover in the workshops:*

1. Acknowledge harm without blaming others - simple tricks for generative conflict
2. Avoid blow-ups to address conflict with compassion - Pause and exit
3. Understand the people who judge you without feeling judged - get clear on discernment, judgments, feelings, and stories
4. How to safely ask for what you want - making helpful requests
5. How to prepare for difficult conversations - Getting clear on what you need
6. Finding a plan that works for everyone - convergent facilitation
7. Navigating intersectionality in community - attending to power and privilege
8. Hearing what others really mean when they are hurting - empathy skills

* All of the material & practices are beginner friendly with deeper practices available.

Past participants also say:

• "There was a situation with [my friend] where I found myself pulling out [these skills], and after the conversation she kept saying thank you, and expressing how grateful she was for HOW I was able to make her feel heard."
• "The sessions are a great way to practice... and bring ideas you've read about into action... The sessions... can teach you how to connect authentically."
• "The sessions bring [communication skills] to life in a challenging but facilitated way..."
• "[The workshops] will fulfill your needs for authentic connection, support and empathy"

Timings / Logistics:

• Mondays 6:15-8:15pm EDT, online
• Starting May 11th and including all of June.
• If you donate for the entire series & plan to miss some sessions, please let the facilitator know. This supports the group's facilitation

Requested Energy Exchange

**No one turned away for lack of funds**
- You are strongly encouraged to join if you have sincere interest in conflict engagement skills
- Requested donation: $19/single session OR $129 for all 8 sessions
- Additional donations supports the sessions staying available for those who cannot donate as much
- Venmo: @nvcdesi     PayPal: https://paypal.me/nvcdesi
- Add the note "reConstructiveConflict"
- Non-monetary energy offerings are extremely welcomed! Email me~ nvcdesi@proton.me