“It is through our speech that we are known, for it tells a
story of our thought life and essential self. How we speak can
open or close doors, heal or hurt, create joy or suffering, and
ultimately determines our own degree of happiness.” This quote,
from the foreword to Dr. Marshall Rosenberg’s book Speak Peace
in a World of Conflict: What You Say Next Will Change Your
World, kicks off a series on non-violent communication, or NVC.
I first encountered Rosenberg’s work at the Chopra Center. I was
there for the meditation practice, but as a lawyer dealing with
conflicts every day, I was intrigued by Rosenberg’s book
entitled Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. A
clinical psychologist, Rosenberg has applied NVC in conflict
zones ranging from Rwanda and Serbia/Croatia to corporate board
rooms to interactions between family members. NVC is premised on
the concept that everything we do is to enable us to meet some
need. Yet we’ve been raised in a world where we’re discouraged
from identifying our needs a