Join us on a transformative journey, nestled in the serene beauty of the sierra foothills of a California Retreat Center.  Experience the impact of Nonviolent Communication in liberating your consciousness from social conditioning, standing in your freedom and truth.   
 
“The root of the word courage is ‘cor ‘– the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant “to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart”. ~ Brene Brown

Reclaiming Truth (Self)

“Our lives begin to end the moment we become silent about things that matter” ~ Martin Luther King

Learn how to remove the inner layers of protection and hiding and live fully into your authentic experience, aligning how you show up with your inner reality. Our vulnerable truth holds precious information about what matters most. When we are willing to reveal ourselves to the world, we exercise our full power to co-create and affect what happens next. 
 

Reclaiming Truth (Others)

"Behind all those messages we’ve allowed ourselves to be intimidated by are just individuals with unmet needs appealing to us to contribute to their well-being. " ~ Marshall B. Rosenberg

Learn how to hear people's vulnerable truth behind their protections to fully empower yourself and respond in a way that is likely to care for everyone. We will practice how to create safety using NVC practices for others to trust us with their truth, especially in situations where there are power differences.

Reclaiming Freedom (Self)

“Between stimulus and response there is a space in that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom” ~ Victor Frankel

Learn how to consciously walk towards freedom and choice by strategically embracing discomfort. We will explore the connection between taking full responsibility for our experience, and our sense of power and choice. We will practice how to increase inner freedom by letting go of attachment to the outcome, while passionately inviting what we need.

Reclaiming Freedom (Others)

"No one is free until we are all free" ~ Martin Luther King

Living Nonviolently calls us to shift the way we use our power to care for everyone’s needs in each given situation. We will explore how to support others' freedom by sharing our power and standing up for those who have less access to freedom and choice. 
Retreat Highlights

Participants will have the opportunity, through modeling and roleplaying, to apply this shift in consciousness to situations of interest, from the personal, interpersonal, and collective levels.

The sessions will combine large and small groups. We will use whatever arises in the field to experiment with and embody the consciousness. 

We will learn with and from each other, while in communion surrounded by the beautiful nature of Allsgood Farm.  In addition, the magnificent Yuba River, along with the quaint towns of Grass Valley and Nevada City are each within a 15-20 minute drive away.

TUITION
Sliding Scale: $650-$1300

Creating a sliding scale supports our capacity to sustain our work and continue to serve. It also helps us include those without the financial resources to participate. Please consider contributing at the higher end of the scale and beyond, if you have the resources and willingness to do so.

While we make our request for support known, we invite you to choose an amount within your financial capacity, including below the minimum requested. 

If you need help with discernment please contact Aya or Nora:
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TRANSPORTATION
SMF is 1-hr away, OAK is 2.5 hrs away, SFO is 3 hours away. 
We will do our best to coordinate transportation and ride-share support upon request.

Additional Offerings Led by Nora Heiber

Introduction to the Basics of Nonviolent Communication
Thurs. 9/26,1pm-5pm.
Especially recommended for those new to NVC.
Requested Contribution:
$150-$300

Integration Session 
Sun. 9/29, 3pm-6pm.
We will take some time to digest the learning, do some practice, and care for the transition from the retreat back to our lives. Weather permitting, will include a special trip to the magnificent Yuba River. 
Requested Contribution:
$100-$200

Morning Group  Exercise
Fri.  9/27-9/29, 7am-8:15am
Begin each day with the flowing, rhythmic movement practice of 
GYROKINESIS® led by Master Trainer, Nora Heiber, who has been teaching this system for over 40 years. 
Requested Contribution: $75-$150 (for all 3 classes)

MEALS
$400 each participant total
Includes dinner on 9/26, 3 meals on 9/27 & 9/28, and breakfast and lunch on 9/29. Additional meals may be added depending on how many individuals register for the additional optional offerings. 

We will be providing nutrient-dense, organic meals with vegetarian, dairy-free and gluten-free options. Other food restrictions will be considered to the extent possible. 

A small out-door communal kitchen and refrigerator will be made available for use during the retreat.

ACCOMMODATIONS

On-site accommodations range from a small rustic cabin to guest rooms in the communal lodge, to camping on the 20-acre property, which includes an infrared sauna, outdoor kitchen, solar and on-demand propane showers and easy walking trails.

Fees for the accommodations take into consideration the use of the entire property & range from $40-$125 a night

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Aya Caspi - Based in Northern California, Aya Caspi brings her unique blend of vision, practical clarity, and deep commitment to the transformative power of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) to settings as varied as schools, colleges, parenting, couples counseling, mediation, nonprofit organizations, social change communities, and media. Aya has served as an educational consultant on several preschool series, creating original curricula and advising on show development and scripting. Her client list includes Warner Bros., Discovery Media, 9 Story Media Group, Cartoon Saloon, Field Day Entertainment, the Cartoon Network, and HBO Max.

Aya has been sharing the work of NVC internationally via online classes and in-person retreats. She continually grapples with the joys and challenges of being raised in Israel and finds deep open hope in applying NVC to the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

To learn more: www.reclaiminglifenvc.com

Nora Heiber, CNVC Certification Candidate, Certified Mediator
In her 23 years as a Senior Negotiator for the American Guild of Musical Artists, Nora intuitively strived to find a way to combine compassion and kindness with power and influence as a way of creating a non-adversarial approach to negotiating collective bargaining agreements on behalf of performing artists of the opera and ballet. In addition, Nora integrated her growing knowledge of NVC into her work counseling pre-professional dancers and as a Master Trainer of the Gyrotonic Expansion System®. Currently Nora is offering her mediation services as part of a court program through the Conflict Resolution Center of Nevada County.  

In 2015, Nora and her husband Cliff reached out to Aya Caspi for the purpose of deepening their practical knowledge of NVC beginning an ongoing partnership that has included several collaborative on-line and in-person workshops including at Nora and Cliff’s 20 acres property, Allsgood Farm in Penn Valley CA. In addition to NVC, Nora and Cliff have hosted a variety of workshops and personal retreats, including Permaculture Design, Nutrition, Dance, Gyrotonic and Yoga. Allsgood Farm is dedicated to providing a peaceful environment that is in accordance with nature for the support of life-affirming living. 

Nalini Snell, Certified Mediator
Nalini is passionate about facilitating transformation and authentic connection. After years of prioritizing harmony at all costs, it became Nalini’s living intention to support herself and others to integrate both deep connection and full authenticity in close relationships. Five years ago, Aya became a very influential mentor on this quest. 

With a depth of empathic presence and gentle clarity, Nalini offers mediations, communication coaching, 1:1 sessions and group classes. She is a certified, professional mediator with several years of experience with NVC and is trained in healing developmental and relational trauma. Nalini helps clients connect more deeply to themselves and with life while finding liberation from that which is in the way of thriving. Her 11-week online course called Communication for Higher Consciousness  through Ananda College last year was considered "life-changing" by the participants. Nalini regularly volunteers her mediation services through the county Conflict Resolution Center at both the CRC office and California superior court. As a member of the board of directors of the CRC, she collaborates with the other board members to organize and facilitate the annual mediation certification training.