NonViolent Communications 2024
"My cousin, Alea, and her boyfriend, Mathias, have been involved in NVC (Nonviolent Communication) for years, but I had never tried it myself. That changed in 2024. Their wedding was in December 2023, and there I met two guests, Joachim and Ricardo, with whom I had a long conversation about self-development, communication, and how to handle conflicts more consciously. There was a deep calm and presence about them that fascinated me.
I was curious, where can you meet these kinds of people? They mentioned that they knew Mathias and Alea through NVC, and that it was a place where you could really explore these topics. Needless to say, I signed up for the festival that year.
The festival was filled with workshops, all organized by the participants themselves. Every day brought new opportunities to learn, experience, and develop oneself. I tried a few workshops, but I felt a bit like an outsider. It was as if everyone else was speaking a language I had yet to learn.
I shared my frustration with Joachim, and he immediately said, 'Thank you! ... Thank you for sharing your need with me.' What a strange reaction, I thought... He immediately took the initiative to arrange a beginner's workshop to explain the basic principles of NVC: observations, feelings, needs, and requests, as well as how to distinguish between, for example, observation and interpretation or sympathy and empathy.
Finally, things started to make sense, and I could begin to participate more actively.
We were divided into 'home groups'—small communities where we met every day to share our experiences and reflections. Each person had 20 minutes to talk about whatever was on their mind. It quickly became a safe space where one could land and be supported, especially after some of the more intense workshops
The Life Within
One of the workshops I attended was led by a psychotherapist. Her goal was to connect with our subconscious and create a space where we could express what was hidden deep inside. We formed a circle, and one by one, we could step into the center while the others listened actively and empathetically. It was intense. At one point, a man stepped into the circle, his body began to convulse, and he broke down in tears. There was something in his pain that struck me, as if his feelings found a way into my own inner self.
Suddenly, it all came over me. I began to sob uncontrollably—a feeling that had been trapped inside me for years. I had tried many things to connect with those feelings, even talk therapy, but this moment opened a door I didn't know how to find. I left the circle and sat by a window. At that moment, it began to rain heavily, as if the sky was crying with me. I felt embraced by something greater—it was as if the universe was holding me in an invisible hug. As I slowly stopped crying, the rain subsided. It felt like a kind of mutual understanding; I felt seen.
After the festival, I realized that what I had experienced was more than just self-development or communication tools. It was about creating a deeper connection—to myself and to other people. I now understood that NVC is not just a way of communicating, but a way of being in the world, with more openness and genuine presence. It was an experience that not only changed the way I speak but also the way I listen and exist as a human being.