NVC Life with Rachelle Lamb

Mourning is cited as a need on the Nonviolent Communication needs list, paired with its counterpart: joy. Rachelle believes we have largely lost the capacity to mourn, and that this loss costs us more than we realize, including in our most intimate relationships. In this episode, Rachelle draws on the work of environmental anthropologist Sophie Chao, whose Aeon essay *How to Mourn a Forest* docume...

There is often an assumption running quietly through much of how Nonviolent Communication is practiced, including how Rachelle practiced it when she first encountered the work 27 years ago. It is the unspoken assumption that our needs are above questioning. In 27 years of working with NVC, in her own life and with others, she has found it useful to challenge that assumption. Human beings, after al...

He always. She never. I can't trust you anymore. These aren't simply complaints; they are the architecture of a story. And the degree to which a couple is committed to that story is, in Rachelle's experience, very close to the degree to which the couple suffers inside it. In this episode, Rachelle explores one of the most consistent patterns she encounters in couples work: the pull tow...

After two years, Rachelle returns to revisit the foundations of Nonviolent Communication. What Nonviolent Communication Was Meant to Be, and What It’s Become Beginning with the opening page of  Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life  by Marshall Rosenberg, this episode centers on two defining questions: • What disconnects us from our compassionate nature? • What allows us to remain connected...

An exploration of the sometimes tumultuous relationship between mothers and daughters Mentions: After 37 Years My Mother Apologizes for My Childhood by Sharon Olds https://www.writersalmanac.org/index.html%3Fp=7034.html Bloodroot: tracing the untelling of motherloss by Betsy Warland https://www.betsywarland.com/project/bloodroot-tracing-the-untelling-of-motherloss/

In this episode: different names for the moon, Earth Day mission statement, excerpts from an interview with Martín Prechtel by Derrick Jensen, a poem titled: Where Am I? (Strange World) https://derrickjensen.org/dreams/martin-prechtel/

Thoughts on yesterday's solar eclipse and the act of people gathering in large numbers for an awe inspiring celestial event.

"Even to think that we're separated from nature is somehow a thought thinking disorder. You can't be separated from nature." These are the words of the great Jungian psychologist James Hillman. Listen to this episode to hear more about how we're going crazy. Referenced video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tAtDaO8Qdw

Meeting Marshall Rosenberg was life changing for me. It completely altered my way of seeing and understanding the world as well as how I interacted with others.

Nonviolent Communication is often described as a process that, when put into practice, can support people to live in a world where everyone’s needs matter and are met through natural compassionate giving. Is this even possible? Mentions: A Balanced Understanding of NEEDS https://www.rachellelamb.com/blog/a-balanced-understanding-of-needs NonViolent Communication as an Evolutionary Imperative-An In...

May the one you long for long for you .. and other words of love and longing for Valentine's Day.

Remembering Marshall Rosenberg who left our beautiful planet on this very day in 2015. To view or purchase Marshall's books: https://puddledancer.bookstore.ipgbook.com/

Reflections on modernity's lack of cultural cohesiveness and intergenerational trauma.

According to The Gottman Institute, contempt is the single greatest predictor of divorce. And certainly, it indicates the end of love, the end of kindness, warmth, and decency.  Understanding how truly destructive contempt is to our relationships might motivate us to learn to speak differently about our frustrations and disappointments within a relationship. Listen to Gottman Method's 4 Horsem...

A glimpse into Alain de Botton's insightful book: The Course of Love (Simon & Schuster 2016) about a married couple's relationship struggles. Highly relatable! Buy the book: https://www.amazon.ca/Course-Love-Alain-Botton/dp/1501134515 Alain de Botton | The Course on Love Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj2m31gekYc

Did you know that according to market analysis reports, the global personal development market size was estimated at USD 43.77 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.5% to 2030. Are we better people I wonder as a result? Are we better listeners?  Book Resource: The Exquisite Risk by Mark Nepo https://marknepo.com/books_theexquisite.php

A message for listeners as we step into 2024 ..

Stop, be still, make room for the darkness Links: O Night : https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=778236623110531&set=a.573965980204264 Praise to the Holy Dark : https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=776085349992325&set=a.573965980204264 Dark Still by Stephen Jenkinson: https://orphanwisdom.com/2014/12/20/dark-still/

This episode reexamines the concepts of duty and obligation as referenced in Nonviolent Communication. Might there be merit in rehabilitating these terms and understanding them as a meaningful way to contribute to life? "We don’t want people to do things out of obligation or duty, or out of guilt or shame, or to buy love. With some consciousness, I’m confident we would each see that we only w...

In today's episode I speak with Dr. Joshua Coleman who is a recognized expert on the rapidly growing phenomenon of parental estrangement. He has written two books on the subject and provides ongoing support to parents, as well as grandparents, who struggle with being cut out of their adult children's lives. In Dr. Coleman's words: "While there’s nothing especially modern about fam...

This episode features an excerpt from a conversation with relationship coach Dolphin Kasper who invited me to his podcast The Better Relationship Podcast. The subject: our learned separation. Link to full episode on The Better Relationship Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/47S67umOuttRTNWsuu5Cyw?si=BGVTS2ovQ5-g7cJm_PXrpw

Last week I shared Part 1 of a conversation I had with Sofie De Wulf, Outreach & Programs Coordinator for NVC Academy. Here is Part 2 of our conversation where Sofie and I discuss ecology, our relationship with nature, our lived separation from nature and from each other, how we speak about needs, as well as how people concretely benefit from learning Nonviolent Communication. Learn more about...

In this episode, I share a conversation I had recently with Sofie De Wulf, Outreach & Programs Coordinator for NVC Academy. NVC Academy offers hundreds of online courses and resources to learn Nonviolent Communication from home and they have invited me to present a course in February and March of 2024 titled  Bridging Differences, Building Bonds: A Revolutionary Approach to Resolving Conflict....

In this episode, I explore one of my all time favourite books by psychologist and author David Richo titled The Five Things We Cannot Change .. and the Happiness We Find by Embracing Them. (Shambala Publications 2005) Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/Five-Things-Cannot-Change-Happiness/dp/1590303083

In this episode I share some of my own feelings, thoughts and wonderings after viewing "Investigating Buffy Sainte-Marie’s claims to Indigenous ancestry" produced by The Fifth Estate. Links: Investigating Buffy Sainte-Marie’s claims to Indigenous ancestry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMsqCWNCUc4 Buffy Sainte-Marie and who gets to claim Indigenous identity https://www.youtube.com/watch...