We-Care: Collective Compassion Practices for Creating Thriving Teams and Communities
Learn proven cross-cultural strategies for creating psychological safety and deep emotional bonding in a group – without silencing anyone's voice.
50% early bird discount until Sept. 25 :
You missed out!
"In the best teams, members listen to one another and show sensitivity to feelings and needs."
– Duhigg, C."What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team."
The New York Times Magazine, Feb. 25, 2016.
Is your group flourishing or falling apart?
As someone who has been in the field of peace and mindfulness for nearly 25 years, I'm continually surprised at how few groups, organizations, and communities know how to practice compassion together.
Despite an explosion of focus on self-care in the last several years, it seems that collectively, we've grown more scared of facing emotions with others. I've watched dozens of groups with good intentions fall apart simply because they didn't know how to be with each other's emotions.
What's odd is that this is happening at the same time that even mega-corporations like Google have come to the conclusion that psychological safety is the number one factor to making a team work. If you create a group where everyone feels safe to be themselves, that group will flourish.
At Baba Tree International, we have helped groups create psychological safety and deep emotional bonding for the last 20 years, all over the world. When people feel safe and bonded, the group thrives. Our practices are used in nonprofits, businesses, schools, activist groups, spiritual communities, and housing communities. I'd like to show you how.
If you're part of a group that is ready to make the shift from the Self-Care Era to the We-Care Era, I invite you to join me for my upcoming course where I will introduce these collective compassion practices, and give you the guidance and materials you need to implement them. All the details are below.
Let's get to work and care for our people – together.
With hope,
Jesse Wiens Chu
Executive Director, Baba Tree International
Center for Nonviolent Communication Certified Trainer
We-Care:
Collective Compassion Practices for
Creating Thriving Teams, Organizations, and Communities
Learn compassion practices that:
- Are able to be used online or offline
- Give space for anger and despair, as well as joy & gratitude
- Work across age & culture in organizations, corporations, schools, activist groups, & housing communities
- Can be integrated immediately into existing group meeting formats, without needing expert facilitators or additional training
Special 67% discount for groups of 5 or more who enroll together!
About the Course Teacher, Jesse Wiens Chu
Jesse is the Executive Director of Baba Tree International, a nonprofit organization that provides programs in practical peace worldwide. He is also an Assessor and Certified Trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication, and co-author of The Ongo Book: Everyday Nonviolence. Previously, Jesse trained for seven years in Zen meditation at Buddhist monasteries in the U.S. and China.
The Course Modules
(Recordings and transcripts of all live sessions are included)
1
Module 1: Your Inner Foundation for Creating Psychological Safety
In the first module, you'll become familiar with the compassion practices on a personal level. We will help you feel safe when being vulnerable, and understand how to create that safety for others. Learn:
- How collective compassion practices can be practiced within oneself
- 2 keys to finding freedom and compassion with internal judgmental thinking
- How to safely explore your feelings
Tue., Oct. 8, 6-7:30pm US ET (click for other time zones)
2
Module 2: Everyday Compassion – Empathy Circles
In module 2, you'll learn a simple and easily adaptable practice for compassionate connection that any group can use, even without prior training. Learn:
- How to create a context where participants can feel safe to share authentically
- An easy way for everyone to hear and value one another, without needing to agree
- How to integrate compassion into common group meeting formats
Tue., Oct. 15, 6-7:30pm US ET (click for other time zones)
3
Module 3: Facing Grief Together – Mourning Circles
In module 3, we'll introduce a powerful way to provide safe space for big emotions like grief and anger to be expressed in community. Learn:
- How deep pain can bring groups together, instead of creating divisions
- The secret to navigating moments of collective crisis
- How to not take expressions of pain and anger personally
Tue., Oct. 22, 6-7:30pm US ET (click for other time zones)
4
Module 4: Sharing Gratitude – Celebration Circles
In the fourth module, we'll look at collective practices for sharing joy and appreciation that bring groups closer together. Learn:
- A way to foster everyone's sense of mattering and belonging, through celebration
- How to acknowledge members' unseen contributions to the group - often a big issue for remote-only teams
- How gratitude can lead to ease of consensus around group decisions
Tue., Oct. 29, 6-7:30pm US ET (click for other time zones)
5
Module 5: Bringing the Practices to Your Community – One-Month Follow-Up Q&A and Troubleshooting Lab
Get confidence-building support for implementing these practices in your group or organization! One month after the course is over, bring any challenges you are having to this live Q&A call where you can get follow-up guidance for your situation.
One month later: Tue, Nov. 26, 5-6:30pm US ET (click for other time zones)
Plus:
Weekly Guided Small Group Practices
Learn by doing! Each week, you will meet with a small cohort of 5 participants to practice the learning from that week's course module. Your cohort will be provided complete video and written guidance for what to do during your practice session to support your success. Small group practices will be scheduled according to each member's time zone and availability.
Signing up with four or more colleagues? You can have your own cohort group to begin applying the learning to your organization or community.
+
Bonus Modules
For this course, I invited colleagues with years of experience in bringing collective compassion practices to large organizations, like Greenpeace International and Toyota, to share some of their wisdom. When you sign up for We-Care, you will also receive these 3 bonus modules:
Conscious Facilitation
with Leonie Smith
Leonie is a first-generation Canadian of Jamaican heritage who supports people from traditionally and historically marginalised populations to show up in the places where they live, work, and play in their full humanity. She is the founder of The Thoughtful Workplace, dedicated to providing people-centred ways of working to organisations and nonprofits, People of Colour for Nonviolent Communication (POC4NVC), and Necessary Trouble Collective (NTC), which offers training in the principles of nonviolence, Nonviolent Communication, inclusive facilitation and conflict engagement. Leonie's clients include Greenpeace International, The Embodiment Project, Hollyhock, Blacspace Cooperative, 350.org, and the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AMSAT).
Elevating Human Connection within Your Team When There's Tension
and
Live Q&A on Creating Cultures of Compassion in Corporations
with Gregg Kendrick
After being co-owner & CEO of a software technology training firm for almost 20 years, Gregg has been a full-time consultant/trainer since 2004. Using human needs-based frameworks and processes, he supports conscious leaders to create conscious cultures where people and purpose matter. He teaches skill sets and a mindset that inspire, empower and build trust among people. Gregg's work focuses on both leadership development through training and coaching as well as full-scale culture transformation projects that include assessments, facilitated conversations, and supported implementation. He is a Certified Nonviolent Communication (CNVC) Trainer whose clients include the University of Virginia, Toyota, Dancing Classrooms, Electronic Controls Design, NCIS, Kent State University, PLICO, Deschutes County Health Services, and Bosch.
Testimonials
What course participants are saying:
"the structure and guidance I've been searching for"
First, I want to tell you that I was overjoyed... I have been in search of a process that is easy to participate in and leads to the type of connection that is found in 12 step groups or communities undergoing crisis. What you've been able to do is capture important guidelines that ... provide the structure and guidance I've been searching for. More than 30 years ago my hope was that NVC was that guidance. But, as you know, it takes quite a bit of practice, learning and then communicating with someone who hasn't had similar training. I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself and have too many expectations but your work is thrilling.
Jeff Joslin
Resilience Building Action Team Chairman, Citizens' climate lobby
"helping me to take care of myself and my community"
Thank you for your series of courses helping me to take care of myself and my community as well. I have practiced with my study group classmates and my MBSR students and they found presence through the amazing circles. Although we don’t know how it works, it works! The more we are present, the more healing power we have experienced. Thank you for the simple (but not easy) and powerful modules.
Debra L.
mindfulness based stress reduction facilitator
"useful in my daily practice as a trainer & coach"
THANK YOU FOR THE “WE CARE” meetings 😊.
The exercises were helpful and useful in my daily practice as a trainer & coach.
It felt great to experience that people across continents find the same things essential and are therefore connected to each other.
I felt connected to the bigger picture. Thank you for this!
Jolanda L.
communication trainer and coach
"always powerful and supportive and well received"
What I remember from this last program was a feeling of receiving more impetus to be bold. To take the [practices] out into the world. They are going so well! I host a circle once a month within an online community. I have a regular group of between 5-8 people attend. It is always powerful and supportive and well received. I noticed I used the ideas [you shared] in a mediation I was guiding. On Wednesday I will be offering an adapted version of the circle in a funeral ceremony. The more times I work with you... the more I am learning the language, applications, fluency of what you are offering. I am grateful.
Wendy Haynes
celebrant and MBSR facilitator
"there's great healing in participating in these circles"
For me, there's great healing in participating in these circles...because I'm coming from a background where I don't belong, and I'm not good enough. For me to experience that I'm included in the group, and I can share from the heart in the presence of others without being judged. and also hearing others sharing from the heart honestly and vulnerably, that helps something in me to understand "well, actually, you are good enough. You know you're in this circle. You're experiencing equality with the others". And grief is close to my heart because I had a lot of grief in my life, and to be able to honestly talk about it just brings a relief. It's not hiding in there anymore. It's being out in the open and witnessed. So, thank you Jesse for showing us a way.
Maria N.
course participant
"there will be fear but do it anyway!"
The course and this closing session were wonderful! ... I was so grateful for your vulnerability in naming the fears of stepping in as a 'guide' ... What invariably arises in me is seeing quite clearly what is needed and then almost immediately thinking ... "I know people that would be much better at it than me". A kind of imposter syndrome arises that has me retreating to play a supporting role. The thing is, in order to bring this process back into the ownership of each of us as our individual and collective birthright, some kind of modelling has to happen. I loved that you named the fear of stepping into that role and admitted that the echo of it persists even now. That made it real for me and called me to account in a gentle way. There will be fear but do it anyway! Many thanks to you and Catherine for all the work you've done in building this model. ❤️
Michelle D.
course participant
Be part of the shift to the We-Care Era.
Learn the practices that can help make your community more compassionate and safe for everyone's voices. Even better, bring your community with you: if you sign up together with at least 4 others from your community, every one of you gets a 67% discount!
Early bird
(Save $300)
(until September 25 only)
$
295
595
"be the change"
for Groups of 5+
(Save $400)
Sign up with at least 4 others in your organization or community and each of you gets the rate below.
$
195
595
Who is We-Care for?
This course is for anyone who wants to create a culture of compassion within their team, organization, family, or other community.
This course is intended for:
- Those who want everyone's humanity to be seen and valued
- People who are interested in collective change
- Organizations that value emotional intelligence and psychological safety
- Groups that want to learn how to facilitate authentic connection among themselves
- Anyone who is ready to be the change that they'd like to see in their organization or group
- Nonprofit organizations
- Front-lines activist groups
- Corporate teams
- Cohousing communities and cooperatives
- Families
This course is not intended for:
- Those who can't tolerate opinions and beliefs other than their own
- People who are only interested in their personal healing, and not a collective change
- Organizations that believe emotions should be dealt with in private
- Facilitators who want a certification
- Anyone who is not willing to engage in the practices being offered
- Businesses looking for a cut-and-paste DEI solution
Frequently asked questions
Yes, all live course modules will be recorded and you will be able to watch the replays at your convenience. Even if you can't attend the live course modules, it is strongly recommended that you join the weekly small group practice, in order to get the hands-on learning.
Right now, there are no plans to offer this course again, but that could change. If you do choose to sign up, the recordings from this course would be available to you for one year.
No. While having some background in mindfulness or Nonviolent Communication can be helpful, the practices in this course are designed to be used by anyone, without prior training.
Download and replay links will be provided to you by email within 2 days of the live course modules. Transcripts and audio recordings of the modules will also be provided at that time.
Currently, there are deep discounts of 50% for individuals and 67% for those who join as part of a group of 5 or more. If the discounted price is still beyond your means and you are passionate about the topic of this course, please contact us to discuss alternative arrangements.
100% Satisfaction-Guarantee.
If, for any reason, you're not 100% satisfied with this course, you can get a full refund anytime within 30 days after your purchase.
©2024 Baba Tree International (ZENVC is a program of Baba Tree International)