Sunrise Center Compassionate Communications Trainers (2010-09-08)
Interviews of Sunrise Center Compassionate Communications Trainers talking about empathy. Scott Catamus and Christy Michaels.
 

Scott Catamus and his Experiences with Empathy

• Introduction

• first introduced to NVC 10 years ago

• writer producer director

• made videos for Marshell Rosenburg  and NVC

• Experiences with Empathy

  • With marriage -have differences but learned to listen with empathy

  • Professional stories of counseling and empathy

    • person with difficult marriage

    • each side having empathy before processing

    • starting in the heart

    • I lead with empathy

    • can process endlessly - empathy is what's alive for you

• Empathy is compassion in actions - caring for another

• great teachers all taught compassion

• is not sympathy or apathy - it's in the middle

  • apathy - I don't care

  • sympathy - poor you

  • empathy - let me feel you

Scott Catamus a Story of Empathy
 

• husband - with young wife

  • has narcissistic disorder

  • is addicted to pornography

  • hires prostitutes

• therapists have judgments

• children want more attention

• I try to have compassion and not judgment

  • translate my judgments into compassion

  • acknowledge my judgments, access what's gong on with him with compassion

• the practice of empathy is a practice, like yoga,

  • join practice groups

  • DVDs, books, practice in what ever way you can

• practice empathy because it feels good

Scott Catamus - Giraffe as Metaphor of Empathy


 

• Four qualities like empathy

  • 1. Tall - see the big picture

  • 2. Largest heart of land animal - see all needs

  • 3. Vegetarian , eat leaves from trees that have thorns

    • the saliva dissolves the thorns

    • is like judgments that get dissolved

  • 4. Boundaries - can defend themselves and set boundaries

    • being empathic is not about being nice

    • setting boundaries is important

    • being compassionate is not week

Christy Michaels - Empathy is Unbelievably Powerful

• Introduction

  •  Wanted a connection with people

  • Found Nonviolent Communication

• Empathy is Unbelievably Powerful

• Something so simple can have such a dramatic effect

• empathy can shift to another space, gave freedom

• there is another way - you don't have to stay in the suffering

• judgments seem so overwhelming

• empathy is the greater truth

• How did empathy become important to you?

  • difficulty of rising a daughter -

  • a wall

  • Marshall Rosenberg - NVC - connecting with the heart of another

  • empathy is the doorway in

  • Rosenberg story of teaching unruly class

  • did teaching through empathy

• found way to connect with daughter, with humor

  • didn't have to pretend about being the perfect parent

  • non judgmental

Scott Catamus and his Experiences with Empathy

Scott Catamus a Story of Empathy

Scott Catamus - Giraffe as Metaphor of Empathy

Christy Michaels - Empathy is Unbelievably Powerful