Compassionate Listening Project

A non-profit organization dedicated to empowering individuals and communities to transform conflict and strengthen cultures of peace

ABOUT US

Gene Knudsen Hoffman, international peacemaker and Quaker, developed the concept of Compassionate Listening. She was influenced by her teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, who she worked with in the 1970s. We created the curriculum and teach world-wide. 

GET INVOLVED
JOURNEYS

Join us for profound immersions: Journey to the Heart of Israel and Palestine, Stay tuned for post-Covid dates!

Journey to Alabama, 

stay tuned for post-coved dates!. 

"Deep listening is the kind of listening that can help relieve the suffering of another person. You can call it compassionate listening. You listen with only one purpose: to help him or her to empty his heart...

Because you know that listening like that, you give that person a chance to suffer less. If you want to help him to correct his perception, you wait for another time...You just listen with compassion and help him to suffer less. One hour like that can bring transformation and healing."

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-Thich Nhat Hanh

Upcoming Events

  • CL Practice Group: Wed, Apr 21 (4-6pm PST)
    Wed, Apr 21
    Online Session
    Apr 21, 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM PDT
    Online Session
    Join with kindred spirits to deepen your skills for connection in these increasingly divisive times.
    Details/Register
  • Intro to Compassionate Listening: Healing Our World from the Inside Out with Yael Petretti
    Sat, May 08
    Online 6-Session Workshop Series
    May 08, 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM PDT
    Online 6-Session Workshop Series
    Humanity is waking up to our interconnectedness as never before - to one another and to the Earth. We believe that learning to listen with compassion to ourselves and others is a key to this awakening, and that our evolutionary capacity is directly linked to our ability to navigate conflict.
    Details/Register
  • Taste of Compassionate Listening
    Mon, May 10
    Online Workshop
    May 10, 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM PDT
    Online Workshop
    with Susan Partnow & Rachel Eryn Kalish
    Details/Register
  • On Judgements and Labels: A Four-Session Online Workshop Series with Amalia Phillips and Liz Spitzer
    Tue, May 11
    Online
    May 11, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM PDT
    Online
    Use the powerful practices of Compassionate Listening to reflect on your own labels, the labels you’ve given others, and their influence on your identity.
    Details/Register
  • Compassionate Listening in Polarizing Times
    Mon, May 17
    Online 4-Session Workshop Series
    May 17, 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM PDT
    Online 4-Session Workshop Series
    Practicing Challenging Political Conversations with our Hearts Open and our Wisdom Intact
    Details/Register
  • -SOLD OUT- Cultivating Compassion for Ourselves and Our Planet: 4-Day Nature Retreat at Lake Umbagog
    Tue, Aug 24
    Umbagog Lake, New Hampshire
    Aug 24, 2:00 PM EDT
    Umbagog Lake, New Hampshire, Umbagog Lake, United States
    Staying grounded and compassionately connected to ourselves, each other, and this planet we call home is an essential practice of our time.
    Details/Register

Introductory Videos

An enemy is one whose story we have not heard. 

~ Gene Knudsen Hoffman