In Episode 054 of A Medicinal Mind, Wisdom and Wellbeing, I welcome a visionary in the field of mindfulness and deliberate, non-violent communication Oren Sofer.   Oren’s background is beyond fascinating. As you will hear in the podcast, he brings years of training in meditation from the Buddhist spiritual tradition as well training seeking to transform the way we communicate and interact with others.   Formally speaking, he has a degree in Comparative Religion from Columbia University, and spent two and a half years of living as an (renunciate) at various branch monasteries. Today, his teaching combines classical Buddhist training with the accessible language of secular mindfulness.   In this conversation, we begin the exploration with a look at Oren’s early childhood, its spiritual roots and his earliest experiences delving into the world of intimate awareness. Getting rather personal, Oren shares one of his most powerful experiences early in his life beginning his push to wanting to further understand the depth of emotion and what it really means to be human.   Oren offers his perspective on the power of loss and sorrow, letting us all see the universal nature of this experience and the beautiful acts of compassion and connection that can happen my allowing ourselves to fully experience it.   Beginning our deepening discussion of violence and non-violence Oren outlines how human beings seek both consciously and unconsciously to meet various needs and that this pursuit often times can lead to needs not being met and interpersonal conflict.   Defining violence as “any avoidable impairment of human needs,” Oren shares insight from Johan Galtung as to what perhaps really underlies an act of violence and how as a society we may be committing more acts of violence than we really know.   Stepping into the practical. Oren provides us with a framework for seeking understanding as well as collaborative clarification in order to address others needs and our own in a unified and non-violent manner.   Drawing from his just released book: Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication, Oren provides some of the most essential practices, techniques and tools for achieving more constructive clarity in our relationships, and ultimately meet your needs.   As you will hear throughout the conversation, Oren’s passion and expertise for the craft of mindful and non-violent communication and I cannot urge you enough to order Oren’s book: Say What You Mean. I have yet to find another book that practically addresses the most challenging aspects of cultivating nourishing relationships and engaging in the sticky, difficult conversations like Oren’s. Check out the show notes for a link to Oren’s page as well as links to order his book!   Oren’s Webpage: https://www.orenjaysofer.com/about/ Get Oren’s Book: https://more.orenjaysofer.com/book/?_ga=2.171256357.424896732.1544539567-371234106.1544539567   Disclaimer: The content at A Medicinal Mind and the content of our podcast are educational and informational in nature. They are not intended to be medical advice, spiritual counsel or a substitute for working with a health professional or a trained spiritual counselor. We cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the recommendations provided on our page or by the guests on our podcast and any statements written or made about any potential outcomes are expressions of opinion only.     And with that let’s dig into the show