Never connect yourself with the other person's pain. Just hear their need. Leave yourself out of the other person's feelings and needs.

This objective of getting what we want from other people-or getting them to do what we want them to do-threatens the autonomy of people, their right to choose what they want to do. And whenever people feel that they're not free to choose what they want to do, they are likely to resist, even if they see the purpose in what we are asking and would ordinarily want to do it.

Never question the beauty of what you are saying because someone reacts with pain, judgment, criticism. It just means they have not heard you.

The number one rule of our training is empathy before education.

It's really a spiritual practice that I am trying to show as a way of life.

Peace requires something far more difficult than revenge or merely turning the other cheek; it requires empathizing with the fears and unmet needs that provide the impetus for people to attack each other. Being aware of these feelings and needs, people lose their desire to attack back because they can see the human ignorance leading to these attacks; instead, their goal becomes providing the empathic connection and education that will enable them to transcend their violence and engage in cooperative relationships.

I don't think you can have an authentic connection when one person is diagnosing the other.