Why all the hype about empathy? Why is it so important?

It reduces stress and fosters resilience, trust, healing, personal growth, creativity, learning and nourishes connection. Empathy also transforms conflict, and supports sustainable collaborative action and positive social change. And if that’s not enough, it also feels really good. The pleasure centers of the brain light up when we are empathically heard and understood.

What exactly is ‘empathy’ and what will I get from attending this event?

Empathy is a quality of connection wherein we reach to touch what is alive in someone’s heart at the present moment, the life energy moving through them. 

We also use the word “empathy” to refer to the actions we take as we move toward that quality of connection: focusing our attention on sensing, understanding, and connecting with the person’s feelings and/or needs. 

The gift of our empathy can be conveyed to another in several ways, some with words and some without. We choose the level based on what is available to us as well as our assessment of what is most likely to contribute to the quality of connection and understanding we are aiming for and the context within which we operate. During the day, we will use a variety of individual and group processes, games, exercises and meditations to explore the following approaches:

   > Empathic Presence
   > Empathic Understanding 
   > Empathic Reflection
   > Empathic Expression
   > Empathic Action