Communication Trainings and Peace-making Services

At Sacred Groves we believe that….

direct, authentic and compassionate communication is essential for healthy relationships, families, communities and our global village. The following services are our way of supporting others who want to learn from their conflicts and develop heartfelt listening and speaking skills. Our intention is to create a more peaceful world for our children and our children’s children.

2012 Compassionate Listening–Introductory Intensives at Sacred Groves

May 5-6 Facilitated by Therese
December 1-2 Facilitated by Therese

Become a more powerful peacemaker in your family, community and workplace. Explore the Five Core Practices of Compassionate Listening:

* Holding Compassion for Oneself and Others
* Suspending Judgment
* Maintaining Balance in the Heat of Conflict
* Listening with the Heart
* Speaking from the Heart

Compassionate Listening is a practice that reaches deep into the heart of discord or disconnection, teaching people to listen with a different “ear” to those around them. Its powerful tools help transform the energy of conflict into opportunities for understanding, intimacy at home, healthy relations, productive teamwork, and positive action. It is a practice that provides a road-map to what sages from all ages and cultures have taught: cultivating the wisdom of the heart is the key to real peace “from the inside out.”

Sacred Groves is a unique, healing place, ideal for doing this heart-opening work. The group will meet in our magical sacred space, the round house Great Room. We have several charming lodging options available for those who live at a distance. There is a Bed’n'Breakfast up the lane (Holly Lane Gardens) that is available if we run out of space here. Please contact us for more information. Lunches Saturday and Sunday are included in the cost of the training.

This training will be notable and special with Therese and Leah co-facilitating. Their special complementary talents will make this training memorable for sure.

This Intensive will provide many opportunities for personal sharing within the context of structured exercises. Come with an open heart, willing to share your stories and practice new skills with a small group of dedicated learners and listeners.

For more information and to register for the January training with Leah and Therese click here. This particular training is being sponsored by The Compassionate Listening Project.

Suggested donation for the workshop is $190-350 includes lunches both Saturday and Sunday. Lodging and Saturday night dinner and Sunday morning breakfast an additional $50 (shared room). If these amounts are a hardship, let us know and offer what you can afford. We’re always negotiable but do have a minimum.

Pre-registration is required. Click this link to register for the January training. Contact Therese directly to arrange lodging at Sacred Groves.

Couples Counseling using Compassionate Listening

Therese offers herself as a coach and facilitator for couples who are having difficulty listening to each other and speaking from the heart. Compassionate Listening skills are taught and practiced during these private sessions. Therese creates a safe container for each person to speak openly as well as listen compassionately. She helps each person understand when she/he is triggered and how to interrupt reactive responses that result in separation and distance. Through her coaching, couples have moved into deeper intimacy, more harmony and enhanced personal growth through the relationship.

Listening Council

is a unique model for conflict resolution and peace-making, applicable for couples, families, friends, work environments, and organizations. At its core, it is about creating a ‘container’ for deep, full-hearted listening for those in conflict or in challenging situations. Because our conflicts –whether inner or outer–affect others in our families and communities, the support and compassion of these others can be a healing force for the evolution and resolution of the situation. “Listening Council” was co-created with Brian Berman of Berman Healing Arts in 2001-2002 and has been used successfully in a variety of settings ever since. Contact Therese for more information about how this works.

Compassionate Listening

The Compassionate Listening Project (TCLP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering individuals to strive for peace through the cultivation and practice of powerful listening skills. Thérèse is a Certified Facilitator with The Compassionate Listening Project and has been integrating its tools and teachings into her community healing work for several years. She believes that Compassionate Listening can strengthen our sense of community, help resolve personal and domestic conflicts and reduce the fragmentation and isolation of our modern world.