Learn to communicate with compassion

Guest speaker Mala’e Erickson will discuss greater connection and understanding in a talk titled “Compassionate Communication” on Feb. 18 hosted by the nonprofit Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center.

“Let’s stop playing who’s right and who’s wrong,” Erickson said, “because no one wins when connection and understanding are lost. Instead, we can learn ways of hearing each other, caring for each other, and finding ways to get more of our needs met.”

Compassionate communication is another term for Marshall Rosenberg’s “Nonviolent Communication,” which assumes 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.

“More than just a set of communication tools, compassionate communication can shift the way we relate to ourselves and others and truly enrich our lives,” Erickson said.

Erickson has been practicing nonviolent communication since 2000 and has been sharing it through workshops and practice groups since 2011. She also teaches holistic peer counseling and connection parenting. Erickson is passionate about healing our world through personal growth, child-rearing practices and social change.

Ku‘ikahi’s “Finding Solutions, Growing Peace” Brown Bag Lunch Series is free and open to the public. Talks are from noon-1 p.m. the third Thursdays of the month in the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, 655 Kilauea Ave. in Hilo. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch and enjoy an informal and educational talk-story session.

For more information, contact Ku‘ikahi program coordinator Gail Takaki at 935-7844, ext. 9, gail@hawaiimediation.org or visit www.hawaiimediaiton.org.