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Bridget O'Donnell
I have been fascinated by human behaviour and relationships ever since I can remember. I live in an Eco-village with my husband of 29 years, and I am the mother of a gorgeous 28 year old son. I enjoy long distance hiking, beach walks, creating sculptures and textiles, and I have been practicing Iyengar yoga for over 3 decades.
I am an ex-General and Psychiatric Registered Nurse, with most of my Psych. experience nursing mothers with post-partum psychosis and depression at both Glenside Hospital, and Monash Medical centre. I have been exploring various learning and healing modalities since leaving the medical field in 1994, including Reiki, Touch for Health, Thai Yoga Massage, Family Constellations, Art Therapy, Nonviolent Communication, NVC Coaching, and Restorative Circles - to name a few.
Since my first training in NVC in 2006, I have been furthering my exposure to this transformational work via trainings in Scotland with Dominic Barter and Kit Miller; in Byron Bay and Sydney with Dorset Campbell-Ross, Liv Larsson, Mukti Jarvis, Shari Elle, Karl Steyaert, and Sarah Peyton; in Brisbane with Cate Crombie and Kate Raffin, in Melbourne with David Weinstock, paddling in a canoe with Kate Raffin, and online with Miki Kashtan and many others. I have been developing my empathy skills and supporting people to understand themselves and make positive changes in their lives using NVC principles for the past 15 years. I provide effective tools that not only help enhance relationships and support conflict resolution, they also have a positive impact on mental health.
I design and create products to support people with their learning, including props and demonstration tools, as well as NVC practice workbooks, jewellery, games and journals. In 1992 I visited the Findorn Foundation in Scotland, an intentional spiritual community founded around 60 years ago, where everyday life is guided by the inner voice of spirit, working in co-creation with the intelligence of nature and taking inspired action towards a vision for a better world. After attending Experience Week, I was so profoundly moved that I stayed on for a 3 month short-term membership program at Newbold House in Forres - an affiliate of the Findhorn Foundation. While there, I meditated 3x daily, working in the garden and kitchen, experiencing many spiritual growth practices such as daily group work, sweat lodge rituals, re-birthing, tai chi, women’s groups, chanting, Taize singing, journalling, and journey work.
Living at Findhorn fostered my interest in continued spiritual growth. I have visited several times since leaving in 1993 to attend various workshops, and I am still in awe that this community continues to exist and thrive to this day, hosting workshop leaders and visitors from all around the globe. I was inspired by the agreement within the Findhorn community that if a conflict arose between people, that they were encouraged to meet up and have a “clearing” (an honest conversation where we both would be heard and work through the issue together). These agreements around conflict brought me much relief and a sense of safety, because I no longer felt compelled to walk on egg shells to try not to upset other people knowing that if I did or said something that was unpleasant for another, that they had permission to approach me about it.
Experiencing the ease and joy in that environment had me longing to live in a community where there are agreements like that in place. When looking for a similar opportunity to live in community in South Australia, we found The Aldinga Arts Ecovillage where I now live and work. Living in an intentional community based on Permaculture and Arts, is quite a different experience to living in a spiritual community. I have found many challenges living in such close proximity to neighbours who do not neccessarily hold the same beliefs and values as me. My life here brings a smorgasbord of opportunities for self-reflection, tolerance, learning and growth.
“My mission is to share NVC in a fun, engaging way, so that it is accessible for people from all backgrounds, and supports life long learning. Being a visual learner myself, it was important to me to find ways to anchor the NVC principles and concepts, to make trainings hands-on, interactive, and memorable, so I designed and developed a variety of props and teaching aids to enhance understanding. I relate NVC principles to everyday experiences (such as navigating traffic), helping you to recall the concepts more easily, supporting integration into your life. My one-on-one sessions include attention to mindfulness, and bringing regular supportive practices into your life.”
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TRAINING FOCUS:
- Conflict Resolution
- Counseling & Coaching
- Education
- Mind-Body-Spirit
- Parenting & Family
- Social Change