• Picture  of Phoenix Soleil Speaking to an Audience

    Phoenix Soleil: Trainer and Facilitator

    Phoenix Soleil helps people bring their values and passions to their connections and conversations so they can make a difference and have more fun making that difference. She is an artist, activist, and educator with a deep interest in the intersections of community, emotional intelligence, and trauma. She teaches and practices Insight Meditation and is a certified trainer in Nonviolent Communication (NVC). NVC is a powerful modality that helps us connect with others and our own emotions and values for more effective and healing interactions. She incorporates art and play in her work, using it as a tool to make the learning experience more engaging and fun.

     

    Since 2018, she has served as a partner and co-owner at LIFT Economy, a worker-owned cooperative consulting firm dedicated to creating, modeling, and sharing a racially just, regenerative, and locally self-reliant economy that benefits all life. As a worker cooperative, all co-owners use Nonviolent Communication (NVC), which is essential to the organizational DNA and theory of change. LIFT has integrated NVC into their conflict resolution policies and utilize these skills to ensure effective and empathetic communication throughout their organization. LIFT Economy's extensive consulting experience with thousands of businesses has reinforced the belief that communication and collaborative skills are essential for sustainability. Phoenix leads LIFT Economy's Nonviolent Communication public workshops (Cultural Offerings).

     

    Additionally, living in intentional communities has been part of her journey. Her experiences have given her an in-depth understanding of the complexities and challenges associated with communal living, collaborative work, and collective decision-making. She is particularly passionate about assisting individuals and organizations in cultivating healthy, thriving cultures. She is also deeply involved in improvisational theater, freestyle rap, dance, and writing. Currently, she is working on an Afrofuturistic sci-fi novel.

     

    Over the years she’s conducted workshops and training sessions on communication, racial justice, and meditation for various organizations, including Google, the Kellogg Foundation, UC Berkeley, the Insight Meditation Society, and the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute. She also facilitates mediations and restorative circles.

  • Upcoming Events

     

    LIFT Cultural Offerings Workshop Series by Phoenix Soleil

    Our online workshops offer you the tools to nurture the soil of effective communication, helping you grow robust connections in the workplace and at home. Plant a seed at any session, or tend to the whole garden by attending the series! Nonviolent communication (NVC) is a philosophy and skillset of communicating that is based on empathy, compassion, and awareness.

    Format: ONLINE

     

    Free Nonviolent Communication (NVC) 1-hour intro

    Thursday, June 20th 2024 | 12:30-1 PM PST

    Friday July 12th 2024 | 9-10 am PST

    Friday August 2nd, 2024 | 9a-10am PST

     

    NVC Basics for Surfing Workplace Waves

    Friday, September 6th, 2024 | Time: 10AM - 1PM PST

     

    Offering Feedback In The Workplace

    Part I: Friday, September 27th, 2024 | Time: 10AM - 1 PM PST

    Part II: Friday, October 11th, 2024 | Time: 10AM - 1 PM PST

     

    Staying Grounded Under Fire at Work

    Friday, October 25, 2024 | Time: 10AM - 1:30PM PST

     

    How To Have Conversations About Racial Justice

    Part I: Friday, November 1st, 2024 | Time: 10AM - 1PM PST

    Part II: Friday, November 15th 2024 | Time: 10AM - 1PM PST

    Find out more about our online workshops and register here.  

     

    Exciting News! In-person workshop Berkeley California!

    We’re thrilled to announce a live, in-person Nonviolent Communication (NVC) workshop on November 3, 2024, from 12 to 4:30 PM in Berkeley, CA. "Speak from the Heart- Build Relationship Skills with Compassion for You & Others." Phoenix will be co-facilitating this special event with her dear friend and fellow Certified Trainer, Eric Huang.

     

    Find out more and register here for our in-person workshop

    Widespread reactivity and polarization often block us from truly connecting with ourselves and others. This workshop offers a powerful alternative: NVC. Together, Eric and Phoenix will guide participants through engaging exercises, role-playing, and real-life scenarios to cultivate empathy, peace, and connection.

    Find out more and register here for our in-person workshop: https://www.meetup.com/bayareacc/events/303386156/?eventOrigin=group_events_list 

     

    Coaching

    I offer organizational consulting and coaching services, focusing on communication and collaboration. I also offer personal coaching services in communication and mindfulness meditation. I also offer mediation services tailored to guide individuals and groups through the complex terrain of conflict resolution, fostering a harmonious and constructive environment. Check out my coaching packages : https://www.strikingly.com/s/sites/11070255/edit?uid=60148182-2bf8-49d6-93d1-9f44eca873f5 To book a free half-hour consultation meeting with me to discuss how I can best serve your needs follow this link:

    https://calendly.com/phoenixsoleil/consultation-meeting-with-phoenix

    Should you wish to reach out to me directly, please feel free to use the contact form below. And for a regular sprinkle of inspiration and updates, why not sign up for my newsletter? It's just a click away, also found below. Let's cultivate a thriving garden of communication and mindfulness together!

     

     

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  • Past Events

     

    Awareness and Improv Half-day (Online Only)

    Saturday, February 17th, 9:30am - 1:00pm PST

    How Play Can Brighten the Present and Broaden Awareness

    With Phoenix Soleil and Dawn Neal

    This event interweaves formal meditation and improv games in an accepting, encouraging, environment.

    Presented in cooperation with Santa Cruz Insight and San Francisco Dharma Collective.

    Find out more and register here.  

     

    Offering Feedback In The WorkplaceMarch 24th 2023| 10:00 - 2:30 PM PST | (Virtual)

    Giving and receiving feedback can be one of the more complicated and stressful parts of relating to other people. In this workshop, we’ll be practicing how to offer feedback in a way that is authentic, honest and helpful. This is a four-hour workshop on offering feedback using Nonviolent Communication (NVC), a modality that helps us attune to others' feelings and values for more generative interactions. No experience is necessary. To view details and register follow this link.

     

    Integration I Program

    March - June 2023 | Santa Cruz, CALIFT Partner Phoenix Soleil is joining NVC Santa Cruz to offer Integration I, an four-month program starting in March exploring advanced NVC tools, and practices that support compassion, authenticity, and intentionality in your relationships. Interested in attending this in-person workshop? To learn more and register follow this link.

     

    Mindful of Money - Community Wide

    with Phoenix Soleil

    Sponsored by Portland Dharma House, Open Door Sangha

    Four Part Series: Wednesdays, May 7th-28th 7-9pm

    Good Medicine - 231 York st Portland, ME 04102

     

    This is similar to the course I will be leading in March, mentioned above. Because of the history of racism and class in this country we are offering a version of this course exclusively for People of Color for those that would prefer that space in March 2020.

     

    In this four-session course, we’ll explore our relationship with money in community. Bringing spirituality and mindfulness practice to one's financial life can be incredibly fruitful and effective.

     

    How to Have Difficult Conversations About Racial Justice

    with Phoenix Soleil

    April 4th 9am-4pm

    First Parish UU Church in Kennebunk

     

    How do we embody our values and ideals in conversation where we advocate for justice or speak with people across challenging differences? You will learn and practice skills for communicating authentically, finding common ground, and connecting across differences. Ever thought: "Oh No! I can't believe they just said that, now what do I do!?" or "How do I say this so I don't lose my job or friendship?" then you are ready for this daylong.

     

    Mindful of Money - People of Color Cohort

    with Phoenix Soleil

    Sponsored by Portland Dharma House, Open Door Sangha and Black Artists Forum

    Supported by Indigo Arts Alliance

    Four Part Series: Wednesdays, March 4th-25th 7-9pm

    Good Medicine - 231 York st Portland, ME 04102

     

    In this four-session course, we’ll explore our relationship with money in community. Bringing spirituality and mindfulness practice to one's financial life can be incredibly fruitful and effective. Because of the history of racism and class in this country, we will convene this version of the course for People of Color to have a safe space to discuss their particular challenges. Later this year we will convene a multiracial version of the course for the larger community. This event is underwritten by generous donors so that People of Color can attend at a low cost.

     

     

    Finding Joy in a Complex World

    Daylong Retreat with Phoenix Soleil

    Saturday, December 7, 10am-4pm

    Good Medicine Collective, 231 York St

     

    How do we experience joy when it feels like the world is crashing all around us? Buddhism supports developing a relationship to both joy and suffering that allows one to hold these two intense and fundamental aspects of life with equanimity and wisdom. In this day of silent sitting, walking, metta (lovingkindness) practice and relational practice in dyads and groups, we will be exploring our capacity to hold our pain and joy so that we can increase our resiliency and vibrancy in the midst of engaging with our world.

     

    Nonviolent Communication, Improvisation, and Mindfulness

    3 week Series with Phoenix Soleil

    Wednesday evenings in November - 6th, 13th & 20th, 6:30-8:15pm

    Good Medicine Collective, 231 York St

     

    This 3-week series is for people on a self-development or spiritual path to improve their presence and communication skills. We will draw on Nonviolent Communication (a self-connection and collaboration framework), mindfulness, and improvisational exercises to build our capacity to express ourselves more freely and connect more deeply with others. The series will focus on role play and embodied practice so that we connect with parts of ourselves that may not show up in our everyday personality. The intention is for embodiment, authentic connection, and courage to be more accessible in our regular lives. We ask that you commit to all three sessions of the series.

     

    Interfaith Open Mic

    Featured artist Maya Williams, emceed by Phoenix Soleil

    November 3: 7-8:30pm

    Dharma House

     

    Please join us for our second interfaith forum to share ideas, stories, inspiration, and solidarity with regard to socially-engaged practice across spiritual traditions. In these gatherings, we aim to highlight the richness and beauty of our community by featuring artists of color in a predominantly white area such as Portland. The (optional!) theme for this open mic is redemption. When have you experienced salvation and/or witnessed salvation of others? What supports forgiveness and healing in your life? How have you experienced redemption as a vehicle for transformation? What do our spiritual practices offer as an antidote to the harsh and divisive interactions we often see in the landscape of media and politics?

     

    Day-long retreat with Phoenix Soleil, co-hosted with Open Door Sangha and Portland Dharma House

    October 5: 10 to 4 pm

    Portland Maine

     

    Liberating the Heart, Dismantling Dominant Culture through our practice of Dharma

    A Retreat with Arinna Weisman, Phoenix Soleil, Lyn Fine & Joshua bee AlafiaIn

    September, 13th to the 22nd 2019

    Dhamma Dena, Joshua Tree, CA

     

    Our intention in this ten-day retreat is to support increasing our resilience and internal resources so that we may better partner across differences and navigate complex situations in alignment with our values.

    Follow this link for more information Liberating the Heart

     

    Metta in Community

    Experiments in Buddhist Inspired Relational Practices, with Phoenix Soleil

    Saturday, September 7, 1-5pm

    Portland, ME

     

    In this 4 hour workshop, we will be experimenting with how to make the community support more palpable, so that we may experience more support with the difficult challenge of loving ourselves and each other. We will have traditional Metta (lovingkindness) practice, relational practice in small groups and diads, and walking meditation.

     

    Please email portlanddharmahouse@gmail.com for more information and to register.

     

     

    Nurturing a More Playful Relationship to the Present Moment

    Daylong Retreat with Phoenix Soleil

    Sunday, August 25, 10 am – 4 pm

    Brattleboro, VT

     

    In the teachings on Right Effort, the Buddha gave clear guidance on how to abandon unskillful mind states and develop more skillful ones. The cultivation of joy and loving-kindness are emphasized repeatedly as supporting factors on this path. Follow this link for more information: Playful Relationship 

     

     

    Anti-Racism Evening with Phoenix Soleil (in English)

    Frankfurt, Germany Thursday, June 19, 2019

     

    We explore some uplifting concepts and developments in US Anti-Oppression work and discuss how that can apply to German struggles. Follow this link (antirassismus-abend-mit-phoenix-soleil) for more information.

     

     

    Tension, Conflict & Creativity

    - Tools for collaboration and choice -

    Sunday, May 26, 2019 at 12:30 PM – 8 PM

    Beatrijsstraat 10, 2531 XE The Hague, Netherlands

     

    The artist collective, Helicopter, is excited to host a Nonviolent Communication workshop taught by Phoenix Soleil for cultural workers interested in learning new skills and tools for collaboration. Follow this link (Workshop) for more information about it or use the contact form below for more info.

     

    Women's Retreat

    April 27th - May 1st, 2018

    West Cork, Ireland

     

    Phoenix Soleil led an all women international nonviolent communication 4-day retreat. Offering an opportunity for women to deepen their communication skills. Follow this link for more information about it: Women's Retreat