How to Embody Nonviolent Power

What does effective, nonviolent power look like?

Do you ever find yourself wishing that you had a roadmap to help you navigate the complex issues of violence, inequity, and domination that currently surround us?

Do you wish you had more clarity on what exactly each of us could do that would actually impact meaningful change?

I know I’ve been wishing that.

Last week, I wrote about the various ways we can each respond to and cope with triggering global events.

So much of the work of dealing with what’s happening “out there” comes back to what’s happening “in here” — in each of our hearts and each of our minds.

It all comes back to

Our everyday relationships
Our moment to moment choices
Our intentions

How we use our words
How we listen to others
How we stand up to protect life

The events in Ukraine that motivated me to write that post last week continue to unfold in such heartbreaking ways. It’s prompted me and many others to do more than wish for change, but to wonder:

How can we make change happen? What can we do?

And I’m hearing that question come up more and more on my group coaching calls.

We may not have all the answers, but the principles of nonviolence can be a guide:

This video clip was taken from a recent session of Conversations from the Heart. Someone was having an issue with a leader in her spiritual community who was using domination tactics. She wondered how to work with that and how to change the culture there.

My response got into the bigger questions of how to have influence and how social change can be made effectively.

In case it’s useful, here are some timestamps for the video:

• 0:00 — Tools for navigating difficult conversations
• 3:33 — The importance of doing our own healing work and not judging ourselves
• 5:00 — Embodying nonviolent power to change the world

The world needs as many people as possible who are willing to do this kind of profound healing work. We need each other.

I’m so glad we’re on this journey together.

Dr. Yvette Erasmus is a psychologist, teacher, and consultant who specializes in transformative education for human healing and growth. Synthesizing mind-body medicine, somatic experiencing, diversity and inclusiveness, nonviolent communication, and integral-relational-cultural psychology, Dr. Erasmus integrates core insights from multiple wisdom traditions and offers various programs for community learning as well as one-on-one consulting. To learn more, visit yvetteerasmus.com.