[CRNMC] Decolonization of Mind - Discussion Group - Meeting Notice

[Charles Cresson Wood]

Event Notice: “Decolonization of Mind” Discussion Group
Schedule: Meeting Notice – 12:30PM, Tuesday, December 9th, 2014
(Brown bag lunch; we meet every second Tuesday of the month.)

Topic: Non-Violent Communication (NVC)
Details: Discussions about mass beliefs, brainwashing, and propaganda are bound to provoke some people. How can you best deal with these and the many other conflicts that are a part of ordinary life? Our next meeting's topic will be communication with greater authenticity, increased understanding, deepening connection, and the intention to resolve conflict by using the tools of Nonviolent Communication. NVC (also called compassionate communication) is a set of communication tools that is based on the principles of nonviolence -- the natural state of compassion that exists when no violence is present in the heart. NVC begins by assuming that we are all compassionate by nature, and that violent strategies—whether verbal or physical—are learned behaviors taught and supported by the prevailing culture. NVC also assumes that we all share the same, basic human needs, and that each of our actions are a strategy to meet one or more of these needs. To start the conversation we will explore the importance of observation without judgment, and finding the feelings and needs underneath our normal communication. In this way we can find ways to communicate our actual feelings and needs more clearly. Our presenters and facilitators will be Kelly Larson and Sandy Marshall, both of whom have studied NVC for years.

Location & Directions: The location of this meeting will be Linda’s house in Fort Bragg. Consistent with the nature of our discussions -- which are not approved or endorsed by any government or corporate entities -- there's no official address that you could look up on Google maps, since Linda lives in an alley. To get there, drive east on Oak Street for about a mile from Hwy 1. Wall Street is on the right side and her house is in the alley right after Wall Street (between Wall and Sanderson). There's a fire hydrant at the alley. Make a right into the alley (you can't make a left) and her house is the first (and only) house you come to. The house number is 139-1/2. 

Background: The decolonization of mind discussion group is an outgrowth of Mendocino Coast Transition Towns and the Community Rights Network of Mendocino County. Specifically, the discussion group was a spin-off from a weekend workshop that local activist Paul Cienfuegos facilitated a few months ago. That workshop, dealing with community rights, and the powers of people versus those of corporations, included a challenge from Paul that the participants not only understand how our minds have been colonized, but that we escape from that colonization. The decolonization of mind group seeks to go beyond the propaganda from government, the indoctrination of the public school system, the brainwashing of corporate advertising, and also the myths created and perpetuated via movies, TV, newspapers, Facebook, and other modern media. The discussion group seeks to empower participants so as to help emancipate themselves and others from all that, and to come back to our own personal power to live the life we feel called to live. Questions about the group can be directed to Charles Cresson Wood at 707 937 5572 or ccwood at ix.netcom.com.