Liately I've been studying the techniques of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). While it may sound like a no-brainer to yogis who are familiar with satya, it's more challenging to put into practice than I had expected.
The beauty of NVC is its theory that conflict doesn't exist between people; it exists between the strategies that people use to get needs met. According to NVC philosophy, behind potentially intimidating messages are simply people appealing to us to meet their needs.
When we receive messages with this awareness, we never feel dehumanized by what others have to say to us. The trick is to not take the message personally, and to connect empathetically with the other person.
