Ku’ikahi Mediation to Present ‘Compassionate Communication’

Mala’e Erickson. Kuikahi Mediation Center courtesy image.

Ku’ikahi Mediation Center will host its next “Find Solutions, Growing Peace” Brown Bag Lunch Series talk on Thursday, Feb. 18 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Mala’e Erickson will present “Compassionate Communication” for greater connection and understanding. 

“Let’s stop playing who’s right and who’s wrong, because no one wins when connection and understanding are lost,” said Erickson. “Instead, we can learn ways of hearing each other, caring for each other, and finding ways to get more of our needs met.”

Another term for Marshall Rosenberg’s “Nonviolent Communication” is compassionate communication, which assumes that everyone is compassionate by nature and that violent strategies, where it be verbal or physical, are learned behaviors that are taught and supported by the prevailing culture.

“More than just a set of communication tools, compassionate communication can shift the way we relate to ourselves and others and truly enrich our lives,” according to Erickson.

Since 2000, Erickson has been practicing nonviolent communication and sharing it through workshops and practice groups since 2011.

In addition, Erickson teaches holistic peer counseling and connection parenting.

Ku‘ikahi’s “Finding Solutions, Growing Peace” Brown Bag Lunch Series, held at the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney at 655 Kilauea Ave. in Hilo, is free and open to the public.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch to the informal and educational talk-story session.