This month’s Sangha gathering: Tuesday, April 26th @ 5:30-7:00pm MDT (click HERE to view in your time zone)

April: Practicing Inclusion + Nonviolent Communication

Treating people of all backgrounds and identities with fairness and respect is an ongoing journey for most of us, including our team at Namchak. We share our experience with the practice of nonviolent communications, which teaches us how to listen deeply to our own needs as well as those of others, helping us connect to our innate compassion.

Each month, we come together as a community to meditate, share, and connect around our practice. Each gathering is facilitated by a different Namchak peer, staff member, thought leader or teacher around the theme of the month. The agenda closely follows our Learning Circle model, which includes check-ins, a Dharma talk or shared resources around the theme, journaling, small discussion in break-out rooms, full group discussions and group practice. The culture of this event encourages active participation, but participants always have the right to pass.

We will share the monthly theme, resources, and discussion questions with our community ahead of time. We invite you to submit ideas for monthly themes and discussions that you would like to explore as well!

Zoom link will be provided upon registration. Please note: Confirmation emails from Eventbrite often end up in spam/promotions tab. Please check there if you do not see the confirmation email with the Zoom info.

Our Community Commitments

In order to co-create a brave, inclusive, anti-oppressive and learning centered space, in our community we each agree to:

• Be inclusive of diverse opinions and backgrounds through treating each other with respect and appreciation.
• Commit to words and actions of non-harm within our group interactions.
• Learn by immersing in these practices and giving them a real test drive.
• Hold personal sharing in confidence.
• Be present, practice mindful listening, and do not offer unsolicited advice.
• Allow and invite for equal sharing of voices as well as the right to pass.
• Take care not to speak for others in the group.
• Assume good intent and come from a place of curiosity and care.
• Come as we are with permission to be “raggedy.”
• Be mindful of and take personal and collective responsibility for our own biases including the use of language that may “other,” “cancel,” or dehumanize any person, groups of people, and/or their experiences.
• Perfection is not expected although personal and collective responsibility always is. Use the “Ouch/Oops” tool to address hurtful comments and language in the moment and to allow space for repair.*

We aspire for this sangha to be a place of refuge

*Ouch/Oops . This is a tool for addressing hurtful comments/language in the moment. If someone says something hurtful, anyone can bring attention to it in the moment by saying “Ouch” and then explaining what was hurtful. If it is a word choice issue, be sure to give the first speaker the chance to rephrase and try again (remember, it’s okay to be raggedy, and we are all assuming good intent!) When someone says something that comes out wrong or hurts someone else, they should start with “Oops” – first, acknowledge the impact of their words, and then try again. This can also be done outside of the event if someone feels an “Ouch,” but does not feel comfortable sharing it with the group at that time. We aspire for this sangha to be a place of refuge.