Empathy Circles

1st Tuesday of every month. See our Calendar for
related links.

5:30pm PT/ 8:30pm ET and all times in between.

This is a 1 hour and 30 min call. The zoom room will be closed to admittance 15 min after the start so please be prompt.

“Empathy is the lifeblood of a vibrant democratic society…When we ignore empathy, we pay an enormous price in the form of depression, apathy, victimization, and anger on an individual level; and crime, neglect, alienation, bullying, even war, on a societal level. When we cultivate empathy…[we cultivate hope], and our capacity, both individually and collectively, to act as moral agents in addressing the enormous challenges facing us today”  Miki Kashtan

What is an Empathy Circle?

“An Empathy Circle is a structured dialogue process based on mutual active listening. The process increases constructive dialogue and mutual understanding by ensuring that each person feels fully heard to their satisfaction.” Edwin Rutsch

Empathy Circles as Imaginal Cells for a Regenerative and Co-creative Future:

Hearing One Another into Being

From one perspective, the small-group format of Empathy Circles can be seen as an effective way for individuals to learn and practice what has been known in the past as “active listening skills”. Yet Empathy Circles are much more than a training tool; they are a powerful way to connect experientially with the deeper reality of our inter-being. As we do so, we begin to shed some of  the dysfunctional cultural conditioning that keeps us feeling isolated and alienated from one another; and, we begin to transform ingrained communication patterns of vying with one another for attention, that are the understandable outcome of a culture of scarcity and competition.” Rosa Z.

References:

The Fearless Heart: Search results for Empathy (baynvc.blogspot.com)

Empathy Circle Website – 1. What is an Empathy Circle?

Empathy Circles as Imaginal Cells for a Regenerative and Co-creative Future | The Listening Arts

If you are already an empathy circle facilitator, or would like to engage in a free training to be a Peace Alliance Empathy Circle Facilitator, please contact [email protected]

National Monthly
Peacebuilder Calls

2nd Tuesday of every month and livestreamed on Facebook. See our Calendar for related links.

5:30pm PST/8:30pm EST and all times in-between

Come to be educated, inspired, and motivated to act on the most pressing issues of our time. We invite speakers at the forefront of peacebuilding to share the work they are doing in the world. These visionaries cultivate and create the conditions for peace: personally, nationally, and internationally.

Infuse yourself with stories of positive work in the world, organized around peacebuilding principles. Gather with others who find their strength in knowing that peace is possible. Our calls confirm that peace is being generated in our personal lives and in our local and global communities, every moment of every day.

If you happen to miss a call, no worries! You can listen to an audio recording of each Monthly National Action Call by going to our Peace On Podcast page. Or, you can check us out on Facebook Live.

Consciousness-Raising
Book Club

4th Tuesday of every month. See our Calendar for related links.

5:30pm PT/ 8:30pm ET and all times in between.

Our focus will be on multicultural literature, both fiction and non-fiction, to increase cultural awareness and encourage dialogue around this topic.

What is multicultural literature? Multicultural literature includes literature about people who are considered outside of the mainstream of society and have been in some manner marginalized. This includes people from diverse cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds. Multicultural literature increases cultural awareness, humility, knowledge, and appreciation of cultural diversity and differences.

What is culture? An integrated pattern of thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions associated wholly or partially with race, ethnicity, or linguistic groups, as well as with religious, spiritual, biological, geographical, or sociopolitical characteristics. Culture is a dynamic and evolving construct. Individuals may identify with multiple cultures over the course of their lifespan.

What is cultural diversity? Differences in race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, physical ability, language, beliefs, values, behavior patterns, or customs among various groups within a community, organization, or nation. 

What is cultural awareness? The reflective process of continued self-examination of our own cultural biases. Cultural awareness also involves being aware of the documented impacts of oppression of other cultures. It means we increase our cultural knowledge by being a lifelong learner of other cultures. We are open to changing our biased cultural attitudes.

What is cultural humility? A life-long process of self-reflection and self-critique whereby we learn other cultural beliefs and identities, starting with an examination of our own beliefs and cultural identities. Cultural humility also encourages developing a respectful attitude toward diverse points of view. In order to practice true cultural humility, a person must also be aware of and sensitive to historic realities like legacies of violence and oppression against certain groups of people. 

Feedback on the Fifth!

5th Tuesday of the month on the few occasions when the month contains five Tuesdays.  See our Calendar for related links.

5:30pm PT/ 8:30pm ET and all times in between.

Do you have suggestions, or a great idea for the Peace Alliance, and not sure who to contact? Are you new, with lots of questions, and not sure how to get your questions answered? Maybe you have been on Peace Alliance calls and didn’t see an opportunity to ask questions about our history and our vision. This call is for you! Whenever there is a fifth Tuesday in a month, we will have a Fifth Tuesday Feedback Call.  Join us!!