Registration

You are warmly invited to click here for more details and to register.

Curious, but want to give it a try before registering for the full course? 
You are welcome to sign up for the first session only without any commitment. 

Monday, 14 Dec 2026: Facilitating across power differences – with Aurélia Saint-Just joining Miki

We start with this context because we have a deep conviction that power differences are much more prevalent than many of us are aware of. We also believe that having that awareness and being equipped with clarity about how to respond to these challenges can help us in many different facilitation contexts. 

Our central inquiry here is to learn more fully why it is so difficult to collaborate and form real relationships across differences in power in their many forms. With our focus on the significance of low trust, we want to consider the possibility that the way we orient to our own and each other’s power deepens rather than softens mistrust.

Some of our key areas of focus in relation to power differences are: 

• How can we compensate for the phenomenon of the needs, perspectives, impacts on, ideas, and concerns of those with less power being less visible and thus less likely to influence outcomes?

• What do we need to know to be able to modulate the way we make requests and ask questions of those whose processes we facilitate to support weaving across power differences?

• How can we bring awareness of power differences to those whose processes we facilitate without losing the trust of those with more power?

Tuesday, 15 Dec 2026: Facilitating within families and close relationships – with Arnina Kashtan, Aya Caspi, and Lisa Rothman joining Miki

We take up families and close relationships next because the higher intimacy makes it easier to see and engage with the relational dynamics than when we facilitate within organizations, movements, or communities. These are the people whom we most look to for nourishing our spirits – and these are also the contexts where some of the biggest wounds happen. Facilitating in such contexts calls on us to be open to all the complexities of the heart and mind and bring in all we are.

Our central inquiry here is to understand more fully the painful paradox about our close relationships: they are often full of challenges despite the love people usually have for each other in such relationships. With our focus on the significance of low trust, we want to consider the possibility that at least part of it is because we have been taught to function in ways which pour gasoline on the fire of mistrust, especially within couples and in relation to children. 

Some of our key areas of focus in relation to families and close relationships are: 

• What is it about the family structure that shapes and even interferes with full human intimacy? What can we do when we facilitate, to bring back the human and friendship dimension to families?

• How can we engage effectively with the prevalence of unilateral decision making, especially (though not only!) in relation to children?

• How can we support the individuals whose processes we facilitate to grapple with the ways that living within our present form of families – either now or when they were children – intensifies certain forms of mistrust and stress and leaves them mostly alone to deal with impacts?

• How can we bring in with tenderness all the forms of mistrust which are the result of systemic gaps which are specifically relevant to intimate relationships, such as between adults and children, men and women, class differences, and others?

Wednesday, 16 Dec 2026: Facilitating within organizations – with Verene Nicolas, Julia Sherbakov, and Roni Wiener joining Miki

Within modern societies, most of us are with colleagues, co-workers, bosses, or people we supervise within organizational settings more than we are with our families and friends. In those contexts, more often than not, who we are as human beings isn’t part of the equation and we are expected to hide some parts of who we are as human beings and to function in very prescribed ways. And yet, despite the context being different, we are the same, and we bring with us the same fears and longings, the same patterns of behavior, the same preferences and the same strengths and limitations.  

Our central inquiry here is to understand why working within organizations so often leaves people numb and feeling like robots carrying out instructions. With our focus on the significance of low trust, we want to consider the possibility that at least part of it is because the relationships within organizations are so often instrumental and people are afraid to tell the truth about their experience for fear of consequences, both of which are expressions of low trust. 

Some of our key areas of focus in relation to organizational settings are: 

• What are some of the systemic reasons for deeper mistrust within organizational settings? When and how does it make sense to call attention to them?

• What are the indicators that the situation we are encountering includes elements of low trust? (e.g. information doesn’t flow, people withdraw from collaboration)

• What, if anything, can we do to support trust and collaboration even when potential consequences are still present?

• How much can facilitating processes contribute to increasing trust without there being some structural changes within the organization?

Thursday, 17 Dec 2026: Facilitating within movements and communities – with Paul Kahawatte joining Miki

Our final session is perhaps the most poignant, because it brings to the foreground the way that low trust interferes even when we are consciously taking on changing at least some of the conditions which keep us so separate from each other and actively destroying the life support system of our planet. This is because without understanding the way that low trust easily results in reproducing what we are standing up to, we are likely to continue to drain our energy into dealing with one conflict after another without getting into the deeper layers of where these conflicts arise from. 

Our central inquiry here is to understand why communities (both neighborhoods and intentional communities) and movements are so often torn apart in conflict even when they have shared experience, values and vision. With our focus on the significance of low trust, we want to consider the possibility that at least part of it is because of the combination of the hyper-autonomy that modern living rests on and the deep us/them mindset which persists even when we want to come together.

Some of our key areas of focus in relation to movements and communities are: 

• What leads to the phenomenon of so many times having people say “yes” within movements and communities and then lose momentum over time? 

• In what ways do movements and communities replicate challenges which exist within organizations, even when functioning without any formal hierarchy? 

• How does the prevalence of righteousness, us/them entrenchment and enemy images lead to extra mistrust and what can we do to rehumanize everyone to everyone?

Gift Economy

We are offering this course entirely as a gift! We never charge for anything we offer.  At the same time, we completely depend on financial gifts given to us freely to sustain our capacity to do what we do and continue to offer what is ours to offer.  We provide much more detail about all this in the registration form. 

Ideally, you would think through for yourself how much makes sense for you to give  us, and we are well aware that this is often a difficult task for people who are not used to the gift economy. 

Any step you take outside of considerations of "market value" will support a gradual shift towards needs-based distribution of resources. Which direction will this stretch you toward: Giving more than you imagine such a course would otherwise "cost" (generosity) or giving less than that amount (receptivity)?

We are now doing courses entirely on our own without any outreach support from the NVC Academy. Overall, our sense is to ask for about $25,000 to come to us through this course, and, as always, we release into mystery about what will actually come.  

We want to repeat: we take genuine pleasure in knowing that many people who do not have the means to give us gifts are regularly attending our offerings – usually about half the people don't give anything. At the same time, we depend on others who do have the means to do so to give us financial gifts to keep doing what we are doing. Each time you participate in one of our offerings, we invite you to reflect anew on this request.

*Making your decision about whether and how much to give*

Ideally, you would take time to think through for yourself how much makes sense for you to give to us. We know this can feel unfamiliar, and sometimes challenging, especially if you are not used to the gift economy. As a result, we are offering you guidance in choosing how much to give – and only if it is helpful.

If the options below feel confusing or are a barrier for you to join, and you would like to contribute a different amount, please choose the amount you give. This is actually our preference – that you choose your amount from within and not based on what we say below.

For those who have the means: $1000 

• Many people will not be able to contribute anything, and if there are some who give significant amounts, it makes it easier for the entire group to sufficiently attend to our needs

Average sustainability estimate: $250

• If approximately 200 people register, as we currently anticipate based on responses so far, this would mean an average of about $125 per person. However, since up to half of participants typically do not contribute anything at all due to lack of capacity, this would mean an average of at least $250 per contributing participant for this course, to support our sustainability. We are more than happy for people to make monthly gifts over time, even beyond the end of the course, to make this easier.

Increased Accessibility: $15 

• If you are from a marginalized group; or part of the global south, regardless of where you live, and would like guidance on how much to give, this amount is 6% of the amount above that we just estimated would be generally sustainable for us.

What works for you 

• Just a reminder again that the above are just guidelines to help you navigate, and if you are clear that none of these work for you, then please choose your amount, including, again, zero.

Again, more detailed information about our needs and our approach is offered when you register for the course.