Intentions

At the beginning of each Empathy Cafe meeting, we ask everyone to take a few minutes to write down on a 3" x 5" card, their intentions for coming to the meeting. We then go around the circle and everyone shares the intention with the group. Below are some of the intentions that came up.

Our Overall intention

Our intention for the circle is to foster an expanding empathic community. That is to nurture empathy for ourselves (self-empathy), empathic connection in the circle, as well as, in the larger society & world.

Build Community

  • I want to build a local empathic community. keep the flow and energy going and building. meet with my empathy buddies.

  • I want to build a local empathic community. I've been doing a lot online and now want a local in person community.

  • Keep the empathy community building ball rolling.

  • Right at this moment I want to explore how to build community based on empathy. Meeting people and embrace them without judgment.

  • Community

  • I want to get serious about empathic community building

  • Develop empathic abilities to help build a community that includes my important interest

Empathy

Get Empathy

  • Get empathy, rework issues, to get more clarity

  • get invigorated through empathic exchange

Learn about empathy

  • To really get a deeper understanding of how to practice empathic communication personally, professionally - move past my frustration with the process of impatience.

  • My intention is to gain a better understanding of empathy.

  • empathy - building connections and skills to build connections, experimentation - what works and what works better

  • Getting near true and genuine empathy, because it is easier to feel empathic with people from Chile who I can relate to more but true empathy must be with all people so experience it with people from different cultures will be good for it.

Practice and do Empathy

  • to practice empathic communication

  • Cultivating sense of empathy, better listening.

  • lubricate empathy muscle and consciousness

  • To empathize with people.

  • empathize not analyze

  • hold the empathic space for others within the boundaries set.

  • learning/build empathic skills

  • empathized with aggressive, insulting, hostile, disrespectful behavior. Learn not to take it personally. Find ways to transform from listening to solutions

Develop Empathy

  • Develop empathic abilities to help build a community that includes my important interest

Self-Empathy

  • self-empathy: when shit happens I rarely give myself much empathy when in a stressful situation.

  • Self Empathy for not being perfect, for having inadequacies and having perfect patience for my patients

Listening

  • Listen

    • listen empathically

    • Experience a space of earnest engagement with fellow people. listen to others

    • To learn to be truly receptive to the experiences ol others without necessarily "responding"

    • to just listen and not analyze the situation at hand and provide an answer. just be there

    • to listen to others attentively and with an open heart and stay present as much as possible

  • Learn to Listen

    • to just listen and not analyze the situation at hand and provide an answer just be there

    • to listen to others attentively and with an open heart and stay present as much as possible

    • To put my needs aside for a couple of hours to listen to others .

    • Listen - better and active

    • Listen, share, be heard and be seen

    • to learn how to listen more deeply to people so they really feel heard and understood by me

    • listen: actively and generally better. speak: be heard, communicate well

    • My personal intention is to be more empathic towards myself and towards others. I want to learn useful techniques and be a better listener.

    • Listen better - particularly active listening and empathy. Share better - thoughts, feelings, concerns.

    • to practice listening skills

    • being able to be a better listener and not make it about me

  • Practice Listening

    • practice active listening, empathy, generally better listening, talking

    • my intention is to practice and be nourish and be nourished by listening with the fullest presence I can bring in each moment.

    • practice a communal form of spirituality base on communication. intend to fill my spiritual cup and practice the important skill of listening fully and presently: COURAGE

    • Practice better empathic listening - active listening, etc, connections and sharing.

    • Listening practice: do it 'better'. active listening/reflection

Connection

    • Connection to self

      • Self connection and inner peace

      • Get more in-tune and in-touch with my own compassionate and empathic potential

      • Self-connection

      • Connect deeply with my inner truth

      • Get more into and in touch with my own compassionate and empathic potential

      • Self-connection

      • To gain greater self connecting

    • Connection to others

      • Have warm connection with everyone here.

      • To connect and listen to people.

      • Connection with others

      • To connect with other participants

    • Connection to self and others

      • To Know and be Known by this group tonight

      • Build connection with others and myself

      • To connect

      • To connect with myself more deeply and provide as clear of a space to others as possible. Emotional honesty

      • Self-connection

Speak and communicate better

  • Speak: be heard, communicate well

  • Speak my truth

  • Speaking - better active speaking

  • To be able to better communicate with my son and daughter in law

  • Deeper communication and connection

  • My intention was to learn from the moderator on how to better communicate in a non-confrontational way

  • Share/talk: more effectively

Sharing, self expression,

  • Share with you all my Celebrations from today of needs met for, friendship, contribution, relaxation, inspiration, love

  • Learn, share and discuss with other people on a subject which is vey important (and I didn't know before this circle)

  • To express myself, specifically about my frustration with my health problems,.

Learn NVC

  • my intent is to understand NVC better for myself and my curiosity and the get more empathy that also allows free expression without anything withheld.

  • Getting more in touch with NVC and the NVC community. Seeing how NVC can enrich my personal life and growth.. Finding out how NVC can help the local community in the East Bay and how we can use NVC practices to replace aggressive and violent tendencies in the world.

  • to learn how to apply NVC principles to the conflict I'm in.

  • share NVC community

  • reason - connect and practice nvc

  • to build a nvc basis for building community including 'cosmic democracy'

Hearing

  • being heard and hearing others

Authenticity

  • Have emotional authenticity in expression myself and warm in listen.

Healing

  • to be able to offer empathy healing to other and gain insight and empathy for myself

Nurture

  • Bring forth from within spirit of nurturance for myself and other

Conversation

  • To participate in some empathetic conversation

Peace

  • establish peace thru empathy

Presence

  • Get present with feelings and needs

  • To stay present

Overcome Judgments

  • To not fear the judgment of others

  • to not fear the judgment of others

Get support

  • To stop obsessing about some things and get support

Care

  • surrender into care for myself and what I've been going thru

Friendship

  • Foster friendships and get relief from self-imposed pressure, develop trust

Enjoy

  • really enjoy my time with wonderful people in this table and find love, pace and hope

  • have a good time

  • to play

  • fun

Relax

  • relax

  • Slow down and be less reactive

Boundaries

  • work on saying 'no"

  • work with the vulnerability that it brings up-fear that my 'no' will endanger my connection with that person

  • I very much care about feeling /experiencing that people care about my boundaries, my feelings and needs.

  • dare to hope for support w boundary setting

Respect

  • To learn more about respect. to share empathy

Other

  • Diagnosed with ADD, problems with communications in symptomatic. NVC was recommended

  • To Address my chronic discomfort, particularly while sleeping

  • Bring forth from within spirit of nurturance for myself and other

  • Learn about things that are essential in life. I want to be able to make the people around me comfortable with the relationship, express more freely.

  • Meet new people, find new ways of looking at things

  • To be open to learning