Do hackers have hearts?

If my computer was hacked, what would I do? Get angry? Yes! Despair that anyone would choose to inflict such damage? Yes! Curse? Yes, in no uncertain terms! But engage in a dialogue with the hacker? Surely not. Who would take up that challenge? And what would happen if they did? Here are two examples [...]

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If you lost an arm and an eye, would you feel bitter towards your attacker?

It was a sunny day. I was in a sunny mood. Ahead lay a country walk with a sociable pack of dogs and their owners. The voices on the car radio were background noise – until something caught my attention. ‘I couldn’t hate. I wanted to but I couldn’t.’ The speaker was Albie Sachs, the [...]

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The power of attention

A little boy snuggled into the safety of his grandfather’s arms and waited. The old man looked fondly at his grandson. Then he began to speak, choosing his words with care. “Sometimes it’s as though I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is vengeful, angry and violent. The other wolf is

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What do you say to someone who’s just suffered a bereavement?

I was moved by this quote in the Guardian newspaper (6th September 2011) from a young man whose father died in the 9/11 tragedy.

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Truth comes from the heart, not from the head

‘Speak your truth’ our presenter said. ‘Let it come from the heart, without filtering.’ Fifteen of us – coaches of every persuasion – listened and reflected. ‘I’m not entirely happy with that’ I said. ‘There are things I would want to filter.’ And a domestic analogy popped into my mind. It was like sieving stewed [...]

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Nonviolent Communication: Does it work?

When I talk about NVC, people often say  it wouldn’t work with ….’. and then describe something they’ve mentally filed in the ‘impossible to change’ drawer. When I started out with NVC, I too was thinking about where it would ‘work’  But I soon realised that this came from a different mindset.

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What can we learn from Gordon Brown?

What has an embattled prime minister, fighting for his political life, got to teach you and me?

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Don’t be reasonable! Try Nonviolent Communication instead

I see myself as a reasonable person. I would describe my friends as reasonable people. I guess most of us would like to be seen as reasonable people. You too? Right. We’re all in the same boat. And so we’re all afflicted with the same curse – the curse of reasonableness.

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