Compassionate communication and empathy's awakening booklet

AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT
C OMPASSIONATE
I want to acknowledge Linda Wemhoff. She gave me
support in 2002 when I first thought to do a booklet. She
proofread, offered suggestions, simplified all of my heady stuff,
C OMMUNICATION
and helped keep the layout open and light. Six years later, when
I set about this revision, once again she generously gave
support. I shower her with heartfelt thanks.
If you appreciate this booklet, kindly go express it by visiting
her website: www.RecipeForPeace.com.
As always, I close with gratitude.

A ND
To contact John:
PO Box 2011
Nevada City, CA 95959
E MPATHY ’ S
phones: (home) 530.274.2356 (cell) 541.210.1553
email: john@empathy-conexus.com web: www.empathy-conexus.com A WAKENING
The Center for Nonviolent Communication
For further information on the work of Marshall Rosenberg,
visit the website at www.cnvc.org
By
John Cunningham

© Revised in Spring 2008
2008 John Cunningham

FOR FURTHER REFLECTION
Through training we can become aware of the subtle clues which are hidden in the form
of a sense object and which reveal the way in which it came into being. The form then
begins to reveal its motion of becoming, its gesture. Our vision shifts out of space and
into time, the stage of the ongoing work. With a time vision we can experience all
sense objects as verbs instead of as nouns. Each object becomes itself in time.
Dennis Klocek, Seeking Spirit Vision
When the will becomes receptive, then consciousness becomes participative. It is when
Dedicated to Marshall Rosenberg the will is assertive that the scientist is separated from the phenomenon, and
consciousness ‘becomes onlooker consciousness.’ Participative consciousness means
conscious participation in the phenomenon.
Henri Bortoft, The Wholeness of Nature
It is that man can in his soul dive down into sense-perceptible reality and experience
…in the future no human being is to find peace in the thereby the spiritual aspect of sense-perceptible phenomena in such a way that he
enjoyment of happiness if others beside him are grows together with this spirit creatively living and weaving everywhere in nature.
That is the greatness of Goethe’s way of looking at the world—that it is directed
unhappy…Every human being shall see in each and all
towards this diving down into reality, and has the conviction that, insofar as one dives
of his fellow-men a hidden divinity… that every human down into this reality, one arrives at its spiritual aspect and thus discovers the spirit
being is made in the likeness of the Godhead. When that
inherent within it…
time comes…every meeting between one man and
Rudolf Steiner (lecture on 11.10.1919)
another will of itself be in the nature of a religious rite, a
sacrament… Now the time has come to enliven and spiritualize the intellect which is already
hardening again. The time has come to transform the formal power of thought through
Rudolf Steiner, The Work of the Angel in Man’s Astral Body
love into its intuitive form and to intensify the power of will, active in thinking, into
clairvoyant thinking (Imagination). ‘Upon this fact, that the ideas of the human being
There is more to seeing than meets the eye. do not remain only thoughts but become a seeing within thinking, immeasurably
Norwood Russell Hanson, Patterns of Discovery depends.’
Sigismund von Gleich, The Sources of Inspiration of Anthroposophy
He rose to his feet again and asked, “Uncle, what is it that ails thee?”
Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival

ANTHROPOSOPHICAL RESOURCES
Dieter Brüll, The Mysteries of Social Encounters
Baruch Urieli & Hans Müller-Wiedemann, Learning to Experience the Etheric World
Nigel Hoffman, Goethe’s Science of Living Form
Harry Salman, The Social World as Mystery Center
Henning Köhler, Difficult Children: There is No Such Thing
Baruch Urieli, Male and Female: Developing Human Empathy
Margreet Van Den Brink, More Precious Than Light
Michael Luxford, Loving the Stranger
Georg Kühlewind, Star Children

THE ARCHETYPAL SOCIAL P HENOMENON INTRODUCING COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION
The archetypal social phenomenon is our social organ of cognition.
Dieter Brüll, The Mysteries of Social Encounters
This quality of inner interest, which demands a kind of ‘turning’
The social aspect of the spiritual life demands that I open myself to the other person, toward another, is to be found in its most archetypal form in
invite him to express himself in me. In this way I am able to experience his questions Parzival’s words, ‘Uncle, what is it that ails thee?’ Whenever one
of inner development as my own. Dieter Brüll, The Mysteries of Social Encounters human being is willing to take an active interest in the existence
When man faces man the one attempts to put the other to sleep and the other and destiny of another, to turn toward him, a glimmer of Parzival’s
continuously wants to maintain his uprightness. But this is, to speak in the Goethean question breaks through and enables the person asking the question
sense, the archetypal phenomenon of social science... [This sleeping-into] we may to extend part of his own being beyond its usual boundaries.
call the social principle, the social impulse of the new era: we have to live over into Baruch Urieli, Learning to Experience the Etheric World
the other; we have to dissolve with our soul into the other.
Rudolf Steiner (11.10.1919)
Now it is a question of whether I can carry over into waking up what the other entrusted Where I’m Coming From
to me. To the degree to which I can hold this in my consciousness, I come to insights The purpose of this booklet is to provide you with support in your
that I can bring into conversation by taking the word and putting the other to sleep. understanding and practice of Compassionate Communication. It includes an
It involves practicing two skills: freeing a space for the other so that he or she can
overview of Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication, a sketch of the
speak undisturbed, and the ability to hold in awakening what the other said… The
archetypal phenomenon of social life only leads to this meeting when we learn to participatory and onlooker modes of consciousness, lists of feelings and needs,
manage it in consciousness, that is, when we can consciously follow the movement and sample dialogues.
of the pendulum between falling asleep and awakening and find the way to the heart Waldorf education has been a central part of my life for over thirty years as
of the other. We must develop abilities of soul like having a strong interest, listening, a parent, class teacher, and student of Rudolf Steiner. I have devoted myself to
presence of mind, objectivity, and the skill to understand the other from the inside. seeing this education thrive for our children and our future. Coming out of this
Harry Salman, The Social World as Mystery Center
anthroposophical background, I have included some quotes and resources that
In the act of accepting that the other person puts us to sleep, freedom and love are both have given me quickening insights into the essential nature of Marshall
involved. Surrendering our consciousness is a sacrificial deed of love: it can only be Rosenberg’s work. I am particularly interested in the similarities I see between
offered up in freedom… “Compassion and love enable us to come free of ourselves
the activity of empathy and Goethe’s scientific way of seeing.
and to live within the other being.” Dieter Brüll, ibid.
In our time the asocial drive presents itself automatically. In contrast, the social drive—to Changing How We See
provide the opportunity for the other person to be resurrected in our soul—is
something that ‘needs to be consciously nurtured.’ Dieter Brüll, ibid. If other people can make me angry, I am not master of myself—
or better stated, I have not yet found my “inner ruler”. In other
A socially sensitive person will not leave to his own judgment the permission to put words, I must develop the inner faculty of allowing impressions of
another to sleep with his thoughts, feelings and impulses. Such a person will wait to
the outer world to reach me only in ways that I have myself chosen.
be invited in by the other… And when the invitation is offered, he will make modest
use of it. He will not strive to extend the ‘sleep’ of the other, but rather allow him to Only if I do this, can I become a student of higher knowledge.
return to the unsocial, the ‘wakeful state’ in a timely manner… He accepts a great Rudolf Steiner, How to Know Higher Worlds
responsibility, namely to answer not based on his own opinion but on his fellow
human’s situation… His own view (‘myself in your place’) is appropriate only when To develop a practice of Compassionate Communication is to empower our
his fellow human asks him to share the problem from his point of view, in other
inner ruler and to awaken this inner faculty. Through its awakening, we discover
words, when he invites him to put him, in turn, to sleep. Dieter Brüll, ibid.
how to choose the meaning we see, particularly in our relationship to ourselves
The ego-sense is the Archetypal Social Phenomenon in us. and others. Through that choice, we find we learn to increasingly suffuse our
Karl König, Man as a Social Being and the Mission of Conscience daily lives with greater understanding, equanimity and compassion.
16 1

New Meaning GOING FORWARD
What do you see in the graphic below? A chaotic pattern of black and white
blotches? That's usually the first impression. At some moment, however, we What I want in my life is compassion, a flow between
myself and others based on a mutual giving from the heart.
Marshall Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication

We use the four phenomena of communication—observations, feelings,
needs and requests—in order to be understood, in order to understand others as
they want to be understood, and to create the quality of connection that enables
everyone to get their needs met through natural giving.
At first, the step-wise structure of Compassionate Communication might
seem a bit awkward. I would like to suggest a couple of ways to think of the
model in the beginning. If it seems formulaic, think of it as a scaffolding that
you’ll use to build the temple; once the structure is secure, you can take it down,
and move inside. We speak of it as the transition from ‘classic giraffe’ to ‘street
giraffe’. Each of us who seeks to learn this language longs for the day when we
can begin to speak it with some fluency. When it sounds stiff and clunky, you
can remind yourself you’re learning a new language which at first, of course,
you’ll speak with a very thick accent. Think of it as empowering you to first visit
and then reside in this new, compassionate land. I assure you that as you master
suddenly see something else. We see a giraffe. The sensory information hasn’t these elements, you will naturally foster greater compassion in your life.
changed but we see it differently. We see meaning, meaning that was at first
You saw in the parent-teacher examples given earlier that there are two
hidden. This meaning reveals the giraffe that was at first hidden. This revelation
reciprocal activities involved in a conversation—expressing what lives in us and
arises by way of an organizing idea—the concept giraffe—an idea we bring to our
seeking to read what lives in the other. At any moment we can choose to listen
perception.
for feelings and needs. Every conversation becomes a weaving back and forth.
TheE MPATHY , S ELF -E MPATHY & C OMPASSION
same idea holds true in our speaking and listening. Compassionate We move from a self-connected inner emptiness to giving our presence unto the
Communication gives us the new organizing ideas that enable us to see and read other, seeking to connect our becoming to their becoming, and participating
new meaning in our encounters with others and in the dialogues we have with together in the unfolding moment. As we weave this dance of presence, those
ourselves. It gives us greater capacity to foster understanding, connection and core needs we have for understanding, connection and meaning come to be met
compassion. That is its intention, goal and possibility. with greater simplicity and ease. And for that, we celebrate. I hope this booklet
has opened a door as you go forward in your life.
The Phenomenology of Communication
To keep that door open and develop a fluency in Compassionate
At the genesis of Compassionate Communication is an intention—the Communication, I recommend taking a moment, three or four times a day, to
intention to connect such that everyone’s voice matters, and what is alive for practice self-empathy. I encourage you to attend workshops with a variety of
each is sacred. We focus on the basic phenomena present in our everyday trainers, find a local practice group, watch Marshall Rosenberg’s videos, or study
communication. If we’re clear and present, we discover four aspects, whether on your own. If you want to create your own practice group, many find Lucy
spoken or not, that are present: observations, feelings, needs and requests. Leu’s book, Nonviolent Communication Companion Workbook, a useful
Something happens that matters in our world, a feeling is stirred, we're aware resource.
that a need is calling, and we make a request. We language our becoming. We
speak. May empathy awaken in our hearts—not I, but the other in me.

2 15

A CHOICE BEFORE US The Onlooker Matrix
Often, however, we’re neither present nor clear about these four aspects.
O NLOOKER P ARTICIPATORY It’s as if we’re embedded in a matrix of language that mixes and muddles these
basic phenomena and we end up languaging what’s happening in ways that
I NTENT TO C ORRECT—Goal is to I NTENT TO C ONNECT—Goal is to separate us. We’re ‘born into’ a matrix of language—our cultural default setting—
analyze situations, find what’s wrong create mutual understanding, where evaluations mix with observations, thoughts with feelings, strategies with
and correct it. enabling all needs to be met. needs, and demands replace requests. We end up with expressions that focus on
L IFE -A LIENATING —Tends to L IFE -S ERVING—Tends to right/wrong, good/bad, spiritually tactful appropriate/inappropriate and the
alienate us from what is alive in the reconnect us to what is alive in the love affair with being right, defectivism and pathologizing. We excel at
moment in ourselves , in others and moment in ourselves, in others and diagnosing what’s amiss, analyzing, labeling, blaming and criticizing. In the
in the world. in the world.. onlooker matrix we’re often left with crippled understandings, sabotaged
connections and the fractious friction of all against all.
H EAD—Thinking, speaking and H EART—Thinking, speaking and
listening from the head. Making listening from the heart. Sustaining A Participatory Vocabulary
judgments. connection. In being human, each of us is gifted with universal human needs. An
D EFY OR C OMPLY—Reacting to C HOICE—Self-initiated activity in awareness of these needs grounds us in our common human experience and
external pressure. Conditioned to line with my own feelings, needs offers us a vocabulary to unlock a hitherto hidden dimension of human
authority. and values. experience. It is a vocabulary that reveals and celebrates that each of us is
simply in the process of becoming, and doing the best we can.
A LREADY B ECOME—What’s already B ECOMING —Life is a process of
become is intellectualized into discreet becoming. We participate in the Individuality is always in the process of coming to be. The closer we
‘Its’ and bits. We’re spectators of life. coming-into-being of the life. can get to this sense of individuality, the more possible it becomes to
E XTRINSIC M OTIVES — I NTRINSIC M OTIVES —Creating also experience the world as always in the process of coming to be... The
challenge of encountering the world through individuality is to meet the
Conditioned to act for reward and our own meaning and purpose
world through what we are coming to be, not through what we already
approval, or to avoid punishment. while honoring others’ choices.
know. This challenge is particularly acute in the domain of relationships.
P OWER O VER O THERS —Creating P OWER W ITH O THERS —Creating Robert Sardello, Love and the Soul
relationships where one exerts power relationships where everyone’s needs
over another through fear, guilt or matter and are considered. From our first breath to our last, these human needs are rising: the need for
meaning, understanding, connection; for safety, autonomy, integrity; the need to
M ORALISTIC J UDGMENTS— V ALUE J UDGMENTS —Based matter, to be seen, to be heard, as well as the profound need we have to serve
What’s good/bad, right/wrong. upon values and needs. life, to enrich life and to contribute to others; and, of course, the need to play.
These needs come to presence in, and form a vocabulary for, our becoming.
“J ACKAL”—Packs are organized “G IRAFFE ”—Has the largest heart of They are alive within us at all times and stir us to action. As we gain literacy in
based on the “top dog” enforcing a any land animal; its long neck suggests reading these needs, we see with new eyes.
dominator/dominated hierarchical courage, vulnerability and a broad
social structure; us/them gang or view; and its saliva digests thorns into Our feelings are rooted in our needs and let us know how our becoming is
faction mentality. life! going. They ground us in the present and, with practice, can become cognitive, a
way of self-knowing. Together with needs, they form an archetype of human
A change in the way of seeing means a change in what is seen. experience. As we practice Compassionate Communication, we discover that
when seen in terms of our feelings and needs, we feel understood and
connected. In that, empathy awakens.
14 3

Empathy’s Awakening LISTENING WITH EMPATHY
Baruch Urieli defines empathy as “interest in and compassion for our fellow
human being; it enables us to extend our inner being into that of the other When you observe (see, hear, etc.)…? O BSERVATIONS

The Nonviolent Communication Model
person and directly experience something of his essential nature.“ Surprisingly, Here we’re listening for what may be triggering the other’s reactions.
the word empathy has only recently entered our language. Originally coined in What are they noticing?
1912 as a translation for the German word Einfühlung—”to feel into”— Carl
Rogers introduced the expression into the wider culture in the 1950s when he
Are you feeling …? F EELINGS
used empathy to describe a capacity he saw emerging in the younger Here we’re sensing what they might be feeling and checking to see if we
generation. understand. We participate in their present moment.
If we can track the evolution of consciousness through the emergence of Because you’re needing/you value…? N EEDS
new words in a language—as Owen Barfield suggests in History in English Here we’re seeking to identify the needs that lie at the root of their
Words—the arrival of the word empathy in our everyday language marked the feelings. What needs matter in the moment?
arrival of a new reality in our midst. This new reality—empathy—is now opening
up within our human community a new threshold in how we can meet, interact I’m wondering if …? R EQUESTS
and inter-recognize each other. As a result, we can take this nascent capacity in Here we’re guessing what they might be requesting. What might meet
hand and develop it into a social craft, becoming craftsmen of the heart. This is their needs?
the threshold before us.
Compassion is the radicalism of our age.
Dalai Lama AN EXAMPLE OF A TEACHER AT CHOICE
TEACHER SAYS TO PARENT: “It seems like Jason is spending way too much time
The Pioneer watching screens and he can’t focus at all in class.”
Marshall Rosenberg’s life work, laid out for us in his basic book, Nonviolent TEACHER REPHRASES:
Communication: A Language of Life, has pioneered the means to language this • When I see how Jason struggles to stay focused on his school work and he tells me
threshold. He uncovered the secret that enables us to accelerate the he spends a lot of time at home watching TV or on the computer, and I reflect on
development of empathy. He did this by realizing that, at the heart of every what I’ve read about sensory-integration and child development. (observations)
packet of communication, there lies a universal human need. He then modeled • I feel concerned and helpless, (feelings)
for us how, by gaining fluency-E MPATHY &of needs, we can change our
EMPATHY, S ELF in the vocabulary COMPASSION • Because I need support for my efforts to protect this process of human
way of seeing and co-create a participatory reality in becoming. We can see development that happens in childhood. (need for support)
human becoming in its arising, and meet on that basis. • Would you be willing to tell me what you’re hearing me say? (a request)
P ARENT BLAMES HERSELF: “I’ll never be a good enough Waldorf parent.
In empathy lies the seed for a new imagination of how we can meet in our I just can’t do it all. ”
shared humanity. Rumi spoke of the “land beyond right and wrong”.
TEACHER EMPATHIZES:
Compassionate Communication offers us the languaging to meet and live in that
• When I share my concerns about Jason and his difficulty staying focused in
land as we forge empathy, the art of leaping beyond oneself. class and how it might be related to his screen time, (observations)
• Are you feeling overwhelmed and discouraged? (feelings)
...man is beginning in our time to cross the threshold of the spiritual world in • Because you’re needing some acknowledgment for your efforts, and some
the natural course of his development. This means that our present-day understanding for how difficult it might be to make some of these changes
consciousness, which is limited in its perception to the physical world alone, is at home? (needs for acknowledgment and understanding)
gradually supplemented by a capacity to perceive the world of living process. • I’m wondering if you’d like to schedule some time for us to talk about how
we might work together to support Jason? (request)
Baruch Urieli, Learning to Experience the Etheric World

4 13

EXPRESSING WITH COMPASSION BEGINNING A PRACTICE IN EMPATHY
When I observe (see, hear, etc.) … O BSERVATIONS We can choose how we listen to, and make sense of what comes to us. If we
reflect a bit, we see that our choices have quite different results. For most of us,
The Nonviolent Communication Model

What am I observing? Is it muddied with evaluation? Is there spin? Can I we respond out of habit, and as onlookers to the other. Through Compassionate
frame it so I can create common ground? Communication, we have a choice to participate with them.
I’m feeling … F EELINGS For example, suppose someone says to us, “Do you have any idea how
What am I feeling? Is it a feeling or a thought? Is it a faux feeling? Am I thoughtless you’ve been?” What are our choices?
sharing myself with the other? When I hear this comment, I can choose to respond by...
Because I’m needing/I value… N EEDS Taking it personally. I internalize the judgment, blame myself for being
thoughtless, tell myself I should be more thoughtful and begin a free

As an onlooker...
What am I needing? What needs are calling for attention? Am I confusing fall toward shame, guilt and depression. I choose, “I’m at fault and to
it with a strategy?
blame.”
Would you be willing…? R EQUESTS Concluding I’m under attack. I interpret what’s been said as a critical
Am I asking for what I want? Do I want understanding, or do I have a judgment and react defensively. “That’s not true. What about what
specific, presently doable request? Am I open to either yes or no? you did!” I choose that the other person must be wrong and
therefore to blame.
AN EXAMPLE OF A PARENT AT C HOICE Or I have another option. I can choose to respond by...
Sensing my own feelings and needs. I can take a breath and connect to
P ARENT SAYS TO TEACHER: “The class is out of control
whatever might be stimulated in me when I hear what the other

Participating in the life of…
and my daughter’s miserable.”
P ARENT REPHRASES: person is saying to me. I ask myself, “What am I feeling: frustrated,
confused, scared? What am I needing: consideration, understanding,
• When I see how unhappy my daughter is when she comes home and tells me
about some things that happen to her at school, (observations) respect?” I choose to empathize with myself. This is self-empathy.
• I’m feeling heartbroken and alarmed, (feelings), Sensing the feelings and needs of the other. I seek to sense what the
• Because I need clarity about what’s going on for my daughter. I need to know person is feeling—frustrated? What the person is needing—
that she is safe and supported at school. (needs for clarity and doing what’s consideration? I might guess to see if I understand them as they
best for one’s children) would like. If my guess lands, the person will feel understood. If not,
• Would you be willing to share with me what you see happening and the steps they will say it again, or give me more information. It’s not about me
you’re taking to foster harmony among the children? (request) guessing correctly. I can try again. I am choosing to empathize. This
TEACHER REPLIES IN FRUSTRATION: “Parents expect teachers to work miracles. is empathy.
Parents are so busy they’re barely involved.”
P ARENT EMPATHIZES: As we bring our intention into how we choose to participate in life’s arising,
we cultivate the “inner faculty of allowing the impressions of the outer world to
• When I bring my concerns about Emily’s unhappiness in school and some of
the behavior she has described (observations), reach [us] only in ways [we] have chosen” (Steiner). We gain self-mastery.
• Are you feeling overwhelmed and frustrated? (feelings)
• And needing some understanding around the challenges you face as well as ...[participatory consciousness] can be entered into by plunging
support for your efforts? (needs for understanding and support) into looking, which means by a redeployment of attention into
• I’m wondering if I’ve understood you the way you’d like and whether there’s sense perception and away from the [onlooker] mind.
something more you’d like to share? (request)

12 5

ONLOOKER CONSCIOUSNESS:
The first request I call the “air traffic controller’s request.” It’s about
BEING RIGHT, AT ODDS & ALONE message sent, message received. We might frame it thus (and there are a
variety of ways to phrase it): Would you be willing to tell me what you’re
This language is from the head. It is a way of mentally hearing me say? We have taken some care in how we’ve spoken and we
classifying people into varying shades of good and bad, want to check to see that we’ve been heard as intended.
right and wrong. Ultimately, it provokes defensiveness, The second is an “invitational request.” We’ve shared what’s going on
resistance, and counterattack. It is a language of demands. for us in the moment and with this request, we invite the other to share
Marshall Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication what’s alive for them. It sounds something like this: Would you be willing
to tell what’s coming up for you in hearing what I’m saying? Or more
• Moralistic Judgments colloquially: What’s coming up for you now? With this request, we are
JUDGING • Good/Bad & Right/Wrong saying that, yes, we have something coming up for us and, at the same
• Either/Or Binary Thinking time, we’re interested in what’s coming up for the other. In making this
request, we prepare inwardly to give empathy.
• Fault-Finding
BLAMING • Deviance Detecting
Gratitude
• Classifying & Categorizing
Marshall Rosenberg has said that all we say is “please” and “thank you.”
LABELING • Sexist, Racist & other Stereotypes
When we speak we either have a request arising out of one of our needs,
• Making “You” into an ”It”
or we are expressing our gratitude for something someone has done.
• Denying Choice Compassionate Communication enables us to deepen and bring
OBEYING • Denying Responsibility precision to the practice of gratitude. We do this by being specific about
• Conditioned to Authority what was done or said (the observation), we share the feelings that were
• Punishments & Rewards stirred in us, and identify those needs that were met.
DESERVING • Behavior Modification For example: When you arrive at the kindergarten whenever it
• Dominator/Dominated Mentalities snows and shovel a path for the children and families (observation), I
feel relieved and grateful (feelings), because it meets my need for
• Measuring, Testing, & Grading
COMPARING • Competing for Winners & Losers
support and consideration (needs). Thank you!
Rather than the positive evaluation—”You’re so thoughtful”—we say
• Convincing & Persuading what they did or said. We give them useful information. Through this
BEING RIGHT • Debating & Arguing practice, we come to recognize the many and various ways that we
• “Enlightening” Others Proactively contribute to each other’s lives. We also come to realize the power of the
• Interpretations, Analyses & Diagnoses smallest deeds. When we receive such a gratitude we know exactly what we
ASSUMING • Jumping to Conclusions said or did that worked for the other person, and we tend to feel joy.

The view that evaluates and assesses always does It is important to develop the life of feeling. Gratitude,
harm, whether it leads to positive results or not… The reverence and holy awe are feelings that in later life come to
judgmental view forces a “You” into the world of “It.” expression as the power of blessing, as out-streaming human love.
Henning Köhler, Difficult Children: There is No Such Thing Rudolf Steiner, Rosicrucian Esotericism

6 11

PRACTICAL SUPPORT PARTICIPATORY CONSCIOUSNESS:
FOSTERING UNDERSTANDING & PARTNERSHIP
Self-Empathy
...we learn to ‘dwell’ imaginatively in the form
Compassionate Communication begins with self-empathy, when we
of living beings with a thinking that participates
self-connect. Whenever a feeling arises, we can ask ourselves these two
rather than remains as the external observer.
questions: What am I feeling? What am I needing?
Nigel Hoffman, Goethe’s Science of Living Form
When we are able to self-empathize, we create a space of freedom
between the stimulus and response. We deepen our presence in the •
moment. In relationship, when something happens and we take a moment OBSERVATIONS Are discriminated from evaluations.
• State what is, without spin.
to identify our own feelings and needs, we become freer to choose whether
• Are factual, observable phenomena.
to express ourselves compassionately, or empathize with the other.
• Are what a video camera might record.
To learn Compassionate Communication, developing a daily practice of • Support seeking common ground.
giving oneself empathy is an effective way to become literate in the • Welcome clarification from the other person.
vocabulary of feelings and needs, and disentangle from our habitual
thinking and ways of reacting. Through self-empathy, we stay responsibly FEELINGS • Are discriminated from thoughts.
present to our own needs, and thus present for our life as it comes into • Give us information; thoughts interpret.
being. • Voice how our becoming is going.
• Are not caused by outer impressions.
Geography of Presence • Are not “I feel that…” & “I feel like…”,
or “I feel you/she/they etc…”
Where is our presence in the moment? Is it in our thoughts, or in our
perceptions? In Compassionate Communication, there is a geography of NEEDS • Are discriminated from strategies.
presence. When we give ourselves self-empathy, our presence is here with • Are universal; strategies are personal & specific.
ourselves. When we meet another person and give them empathy, our • Language our human becoming.
presence is over there. This is the geography of presence. • Are at the root of our feelings.
Our work in groups can foster deeper connections when we
EMPATHY, S ELF-EMPATHYshared humanity.
• Connect us to our & C OMPASSION
• Foster compassionate connection
consciously choose where we are giving our presence. When we are able,
as a community, to give our undivided presence to the speaker until they REQUESTS • Are discriminated from demands.
have been understood, healing, simplicity, connection and efficiency will • Have conditions; requests don’t.
follow. When the speaker is complete, we can move our presence either to • Best be positive, concrete & presently doable.
ourselves or another. • Strive to meet everyone’s needs.
• Clarify what’s been heard, what feelings are
Requests present, or what action might meet the needs.
For requests to be effective, they need to be concrete, presently
doable, and framed in positive language. When we think about making a The social aspect of the spiritual life demands that I open myself
request, we usually think of requesting an action that would meet our to the other, invite him to express himself in me. In this way I am
needs. However, there are two helping requests that are very useful in able to experience his questions of inner development as my own.
serving the intention to connect. Dieter Brüll, The Mysteries of Social Encounters

10 7

CORE FAMILIES OF FEELINGS NEEDS: A VOCABULARY OF B ECOMING
JOY & CONTENTMENT SUBSISTENCE AFFECTION
Clean Air & Water Companionship
Adventurous Curious Giddy Loving Satisfied Food Intimacy
Affectionate Delighted Glad Moved Stimulated Rest Kindness
Alive Determined Grateful Overjoyed Surprised Shelter To Matter to Someone
Amazed Eager Happy Peaceful Thankful PROTECTION/SECURITY IDENTITY/MEANING
Amused Ecstatic Hopeful Pleased Thrilled Fairness Acknowledgement
Astonished Encouraged Inspired Proud Touched Honesty Appreciation
Calm Excited Intrigued Refreshed Tranquil Justice Challenges
Confident Fascinated Invigorated Relaxed Trusting Honoring Agreements Clarity
Content Friendly Joyful Relieved Upbeat Nurturance Integrity
ANGER & SADNESS & Openness Learning New Skills
FEAR & ANXIETY FRUSTRATION GRIEF Order Privacy
Safety Self-Development
Afraid Aggravated Bored Stability Shared Reality
Alarmed Agitated Depressed Trust To Be Seen For One’s Striving
Anxious Angry Disappointed PARTICIPATION To Be Seen For One’s Intentions
Apprehensive Annoyed Discouraged Accomplishment To Be Seen In One’s Biography
Bewildered Appalled Disheartened Action To Be Someone
Cautious Cranky Dismayed Belonging To Make Sense of One’s World
Concerned Disgusted Despairing Capacity LEISURE
Confused Exasperated Exhausted Community Celebration
Disconcerted Frustrated Helpless Competence Comfort & Ease
Disturbed Furious Hopeless Connection Play & Fun
Dubious Impatient Hurt Dependability Recreation
Embarrassed Indignant Lonely Encouragement FREEDOM
Impatient Infuriated Melancholic Harmony Autonomy
Nervous Irritated Sad Mutuality Choices
Overwhelmed Resentful Tired Opportunities to Help Others To Speak One’s Mind
Panicky Upset Troubled Power Within One’s World UNDERSTANDING
Perplexed Recognition Consideration
Puzzled FAUX FEELINGS Interpretations Respect
masquerading as feelings Empathy
Reluctant Support Peace of Mind
Restless Abandoned Ignored Neglected To Enrich Life To Be Heard
Scared Abused Intimidated Put Upon To Serve Life TRANSCENDENCE
Shocked Attacked Invisible Rejected CREATION Beauty
Stressed Betrayed Let Down Rushed Creativity Love
Terrified Bullied Manipulated Unappreciated Expression Peace
Worried Cheated Misunderstood Used Inspiration Rhythm
8 9

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