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NVC Resources on Needs

Going Deep: Understanding Your Own and Others’ Deeper Motivations

Going Deep: Understanding Your Own and Others’ Deeper Motivations

Going Deep: Understanding Your Own and Others’ Deeper Motivations

with Alan Rafael Seid

Practice Exercise • n/a •

Practice Exercise
n/a

One of the premises in NVC is that behind all behavior and expressions are Universal Human Needs as the deeper motivators. And one of the key distinctions in NVC is that between Needs and Strategies. Try Alan's exercise called "Peeling the Layers of the Onion, " a process for uncovering these needs — the deeper motivations — that underlie words and behaviors we may find disturbing or puzzling.

The Needs Underneath a Need for “Fairness”

The Needs Underneath a Need for “Fairness”

The Needs Underneath a Need for “Fairness”

with Miki Kashtan

Trainer Tip • 2 - 3 minutes •

Trainer Tip
2 - 3 minutes

Ask the Trainer: "I'm practicing with 'transforming the pain of unmet needs into the beauty of the need.' In identifying my unmet needs, I come up with 'fairness.' However, fairness isn't on the needs list! I'm wondering what needs might be underneath 'fairness.'"

Needs, the Third Component of Compassionate Communication

Needs, the Third Component of Compassionate Communication

Needs, the Third Component of Compassionate Communication

with Mary Mackenzie

Trainer Tip • 1 - 2 minutes •

Trainer Tip
1 - 2 minutes

Trainer Tip: In Compassionate Communication, we consider needs to be universal. That means that while we all have the same needs, such as for love, support, shelter, food, joy, caring, etc., we choose different ways to meet our needs.

Distinguishing Universal Needs from Strategies

Distinguishing Universal Needs from Strategies

Distinguishing Universal Needs from Strategies

with Kathleen Macferran & Jared Finkelstein

Trainer Tip • 10 - 15 minutes •

Trainer Tip
10 - 15 minutes

In this book excerpt, Kathleen and Jared offer a path to reach deeper clarity, distinguishing between universal needs and strategies.

Tips for the Road Series: Tip 12. Connect to the Living Energy of Your Needs

Tips for the Road Series: Tip 12. Connect to the Living Energy of Your Needs

Tips for the Road Series: Tip 12. Connect to the Living Energy of Your Needs

with Eric Bowers

Trainer Tip • 1 - 2 minutes •

Trainer Tip
1 - 2 minutes

For many, the word “need” is associated with lack, neediness, and scarcity. These associations are the opposite of the meaning of needs in Nonviolent Communication (NVC). In NVC, needs are the motivational energy of our innate wholeness and desire to grow, like the energy of a plant pushing it up through the soil and toward the sun.

Needs Consciousness

Needs Consciousness

Needs Consciousness

with Jim & Jori Manske

Video • 1 hour, 35 minutes •

Video
1 hour, 35 minutes

Jim and Jori discuss the root of Nonviolent Communication, needs consciousness. Participate in guided processes to deepen your own needs consciousness.

A List of Needs We All Have

A List of Needs We All Have

A List of Needs We All Have

with NVC Academy Staff

Learning Tool • N/A •

Learning Tool
N/A

In a Nonviolent Communication model, we believe that everything someone does or says is an attempt to meet a need. That means that all actions or words are in service to a deep internal need. The following list of needs is neither exhaustive nor definitive.

Universal Needs

Universal Needs

Universal Needs

with Mary Mackenzie

Trainer Tip • 1 - 2 minutes •

Trainer Tip
1 - 2 minutes

Trainer Tip: Every human being has the same universal needs -- even as each person may choose different strategies to meet those needs. Notice the universal needs you share with other people today.

Can Needs Be Harmful?

Can Needs Be Harmful?

Can Needs Be Harmful?

with Rachelle Lamb

Article • 7 - 10 minutes •

Article
7 - 10 minutes

Rachelle Lamb invites us to consider how our well being is impacted by what we choose to put at the center of our narrative regarding our needs. And how that affects whether or not we get closer to truly serving life and compassion...

Life Force and the Spirituality of Human Needs (6 Session Course)

Life Force and the Spirituality of Human Needs (6 Session Course)

Life Force and the Spirituality of Human Needs (6 Session Course)

with Robert Gonzales

Audio • 6 - 9 hours •

Audio
6 - 9 hours

Your needs and your values are your Life Force: the river that flows through your spirit and your life, giving life and light to your being. Explore this river with Robert, and map out routes that support your growth. Gain a deeper understadning and acceptance of the spirituality and beauty of needs and values.

Five Core Principles of Living Compassion and the Relationship of Needs to Spirituality

Five Core Principles of Living Compassion and the Relationship of Needs to Spirituality

Five Core Principles of Living Compassion and the Relationship of Needs to Spirituality

with Robert Gonzales

Audio • 8 minutes •

Audio
8 minutes

Listen to Robert describe the five core principles of Living Compassion and the relationship of needs to spirituality. Great material for reflection and reference!

Moving Beyond Needs as Met or Unmet

Moving Beyond Needs as Met or Unmet

Moving Beyond Needs as Met or Unmet

with Peggy Smith

Article • 5 - 8 minutes •

Article
5 - 8 minutes

Sometimes when we regard needs as something that could be met or unmet by another person or by a situation we unconsciously hold the belief that our needs should be met. Or we end up holding blame or implying wrongdoing. People are more likely to resist a request made from this stance. Instead, here are practices to increasingly losen any remaining attachment or demand energy -- and open our...

Experiencing the Energy of Your Needs Meditation

Experiencing the Energy of Your Needs Meditation

Experiencing the Energy of Your Needs Meditation

with Mary Mackenzie

Audio • 4 minutes •

Audio
4 minutes

Mary Mackenzie leads listeners through a guided meditation to experience the energy of needs. This meditation will support you to connect to your feelings and needs in the moment, and to experience the unique and deep energetic quality of that primary need.

The Heart of the Matter: Connecting More Deeply to Your Feelings and Needs

The Heart of the Matter: Connecting More Deeply to Your Feelings and Needs

The Heart of the Matter: Connecting More Deeply to Your Feelings and Needs

with Miki Kashtan

Audio • 2 hours, 21 minutes •

Audio
2 hours, 21 minutes

Do you want to increase your capacity to identify and connect with feelings and needs? Would you like to enhance your ability to translate judgments? Join Miki for this deep dive into feelings and needs.

The Needs of the Many

The Needs of the Many

The Needs of the Many

with LoraKim Joyner, DVM

Audio • 11 minutes •

Audio
11 minutes

LoraKim Joyner addresses the sense of overwhelm that can accompany holding the needs of the many. Practicing self-empathy is a pathway to living in the tension of mutually holding my needs and the needs of others.

Introduction to the Living Energy of Needs

Introduction to the Living Energy of Needs

Introduction to the Living Energy of Needs

with Susan Skye

Audio • 1 hour, 5 minutes •

Audio
1 hour, 5 minutes

Join Susan Skye in this hour-long audio recording to learn how to experience the NVC consciousness as an embodied, living practice of the 'Living Energy of Needs." This recording includes a supportive learning exercise and tips for expressing needs in a non-mechanical way. "Over the years, I have noticed that people -- including trainers and facilitators -- use the words of the NVC process...

Differentiating Needs from Strategies

Differentiating Needs from Strategies

Differentiating Needs from Strategies

with Mary Mackenzie

Trainer Tip • 2 - 3 minutes •

Trainer Tip
2 - 3 minutes

Trainer tip: When we focus on needs further possibilities are more likely to open up. When we focus on a particular strategy, our world can feel scarce and conflicts can arise. Resolution comes when we value everyone’s needs and seek mutually satisfying solutions. We can ask for support towards this outcome.

Needs: A Foundation of Inner Freedom, Empowerment and Peace

Needs: A Foundation of Inner Freedom, Empowerment and Peace

Needs: A Foundation of Inner Freedom, Empowerment and Peace

with Eric Bowers

Article • 3 -5 minutes •

Article
3 -5 minutes

The human needs that we all share are the foundation of the Nonviolent Communication (NVC) process because it is in connecting to needs that we find inner freedom, empowerment and compassion.

Some Ideas for Using the Feelings & Needs Cards

Some Ideas for Using the Feelings & Needs Cards

Some Ideas for Using the Feelings & Needs Cards

with Peggy Smith

Practice Exercise • 4 - 6 minutes •

Practice Exercise
4 - 6 minutes

This guide features three activities that use feelings and needs cards: two verions of "Feelings and Needs Poker" and one for "Self-Empathy". Great for practicing alone, with a partner, or in a group.

Considering the Needs of Other People

Considering the Needs of Other People

Considering the Needs of Other People

with Mary Mackenzie

Trainer Tip • 1 - 2 minutes •

Trainer Tip
1 - 2 minutes

Trainer Tip: Mary expands on one of the basic principles of Nonviolent Communication: valuing everyone’s needs equally.

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