Session 1 — In the Fertile Soils of Conflict, We Can Create Compassion, Gentleness, and Love
Ron De Brito · 75-minute experiential session
The pains we carry show up in behaviors that stimulate pain in ourselves and others. Conflict is often the tension between the self trying to protect from pain and the same self longing for connection. Through grounded, embodied awareness and the language of Nonviolent Communication, soften into self-compassion for the needs you long to meet — embracing grief for unmet needs and gratitude for the body that opens to receive the world.
Session 2 — Boundaries: An Unappreciated Antidote to Conflict
Stephen Kotev · 75-minute experiential session
Acceptance and yielding are often praised, but the value of clear boundaries is underacknowledged. Healthy boundaries nourish self-esteem and build resilience. Veteran conflict resolver Stephen Kotev leads an interactive session on how healthy boundaries fortify conflict competence.
Session 3 — Loving Justice: An Essential Skillset for Conflict Transformation
Kai Cheng Thom · 75-minute experiential session
In a time of global strife and political polarization, new models for conflict transformation are urgently needed. Qualified Mediator and Somatic Coach Kai Cheng Thom presents her Loving Justice model — rooted in Transformative Justice and grounded in both metaskills ("how to be") and microskills ("what to do") for addressing conflict with strength and compassion. Leave with practical tools for working through complex relationship issues.
Session 4 — Harmonizing Our Inner Conflicts: Somatic Consensus and Practices for Embodying Nonviolent Communication
David Weinstock · 75-minute experiential session
There is harmony to be found at the center of every conflict. David Weinstock shares a physical, emotional, linguistic, and energetic practice that transforms old reactions into resources for self-healing, relationship building, and finding your voice. Build coherence between what you say, feel, intuit, and do — and turn historical reactions into pathways for connection.
Session 5 — Understanding How People Work Helps Us Work Well with People: The Neural Basis of Conflict and Communication
Tim Hicks · 75-minute experiential session
Conflict is shaped by what we know, what we believe, and how we perceive others — all embodied in the neural structures of our nervous system. Tim Hicks explores the roots of conflict in the neural characteristics of knowing and identity: why conflicts happen, why they're so hard to resolve, and how perceptual biases like confirmation bias, implicit bias, naive realism, projection, and in-group/out-group behavior shape our experience.
