So I'm not going to provide a presentation. I loved all of the speakers before me the presentations they provided. I'm going to focus on rather more personal talk today. So good morning. Before we begin, I'd like to invite you all just to take a moment to slow your breath and try to breathe together. As I, for one, personally find Saturday mornings kind of hectic and very busy. Feel your feet on the ground, let your shoulders soften and notice your breath. These are the things I have to remind myself every morning, to remember to actually breathe. That might sound silly, but I realized that some of the times in my hairiness that it felt like I forgot to breathe, something that's very innate, something you shouldn't have to think about. But as I've been learning breath work from my mentors like Jana wise, I realized that breathing is something that we need to do more of with intent. So I start, it started here because this presentation is about listening, and pardon my voice little scratchy, listening, not just to others, but to ourselves. It's about navigating sometimes those tender, sometimes turbulent spaces where in a world and outer world connections meet. There's a quote by Carl Rogers, when someone really hears you, without passing judgment on you, without trying to take responsibility for you, without trying to mold you. It feels damn good. I'll attest to that empathy is a special way of coming to know another in ourselves. So today I want to explore how self empathy, intra personal conflict and non violent communication woven into the empathy circle process can help us live that kind of deep Listening, starting from within. So empathy as a foundation self. Empathy is more than being nice to ourselves. It is the conscious practice of turning inward with curiosity and care, especially when we're struggling, and I have been struggling, I've learned sometimes the hard way that I can't truly listen to others When my inner world is in chaos, interpersonal conflict is a tug of war between different parts of myself. Can be loud and exhausting. It sounds like I should have handled that better, battling. I did the best I could. I. Because really, I did do the best I could in that moment. I'm fine. This was what I say. I'm fine, covering over. I'm actually hurting because I was raised to be a strong black woman, but I don't feel it really had an option to be anything else. When we neglect self empathy, we risk emotional detachment, not the healthy kind that allows perspective, but the kind that numbs us to our own needs, and this I've been guilty of doing. I only started my self empathy journey when I joined this empathy movement and I started learning more about myself through that Marsha Goldberg, the founder of nonviolent communication, reminds us we are dangerous when we are not conscious of our responsibility for how we behave think and feel, self empathy acts asks us to take that responsibility, not to shame ourselves, but to honor our feelings and needs as valid. It's the pause where we ask, What am I feeling right now? What am I needing right now? So when I look into a deeper dive into interpersonal conflict as an invitation. It is not a flaw. It's a sign that more than one part of us cares deeply about something. I've come to see my inner disagreements as signals, not failures, as I'm here today, as I felt, you know, frustration of being in pain today, which is a typical day, but I wanted to be perfect. I wanted to be able to do everything just right. But I recognize that my body has other plans sometimes. So for example, one part of me wants to rest, another wants to prove my worth, typically, by overworking. One part of me longs for closeness. Another is afraid of being hurt, and I'm learning how to think a little bit differently in nonviolent terms, nonviolent communication terms, these are simply different needs vying for attention. When we listen to each other, we listen to each voice within us, without trying to silence or win, we begin to restore internal trust you hear of you know, the naysayers you hear the critics, the empathy circle process provides a space for this kind of listening, even with ourselves, With all that noise, it's hard to hear ourselves. So look at empathy circles as a bridge. An empathy circle is a simple yet profound structure. One person speaks, another person reflects back what they heard. It does not need to be perfect, and a speaker can confirm or clarify until he or she feels heard, then it will switch. I love that, because everyone gets to feel hurt, and feeling hurt is very powerful indeed when we bring self empathy into an empathy circle, sometimes powerful things happen. This too, I can attest to we can speak from the heart, aware of what's alive in us and. We listen, not only for words, but for feelings and needs. We receive reflection, not as correction, but as companionship. So you're not alone. Over time, empathy circles helps us, will help us reconnect with parts ourselves. We've kept at a silence, living in silence that you I acknowledge my own journey. I've experienced moments where someone's reflection uncovered an emotion I didn't know it was carrying grief,