About Compassion Camp
Compassion Camp is a four-day event for adults and children where we create a community of people who learn, play and celebrate together, empowered to then send each other back into the world to spread these seeds of justice and love. Our time together is designed to foster community among the growing number of people in Western North Carolina and beyond who are passionate about living and promoting compassionate consciousness. Located at Earthaven Ecovillage, it is an opportunity to have fun, enjoy ourselves, learn together, and connect deeply in a beautiful natural setting.
Compassion Camp is inspired by the life and work of Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, the creator of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). We believe that the theory and practice of NVC is a life-changing tool for cultivating compassion in our hearts, communities, and the world. In addition to NVC, other topics may include: social justice, ecology, circling, restorative circles, healthy relationships, feminism, families and children, eco-sexuality, community, economics, and authentic movement.
Compassion Camp combines experiential and traditional approaches to learning, including professionally led classes, small-group conversations, hands-on practices, movement, self-reflection, and interactive activities, to provide an intimate, well-rounded, and powerful experience. Through Open Space sessions, Compassion Camp seeks to concentrate the creativity and inspiration of participants into an ongoing, life-serving energy for the community and create networks among affinity groups such as educators and social activists. Compassion Camp also features relational activities centered around singing, dancing, storytelling, and silence, which cultural anthropologist Angeles Arrien has identified as the four most common ways that humans create wellness, community, and connection.
Compassion Camp participants will likely experience:
Increased connection to self, others, and nature
A deeper commitment to being of service
A broader understanding of the ways you can live compassion
More skill in creating supportive community in your life
More practical tools and resources to inspire yourself and others