A monthly gathering to practice authenticity in community

Each gathering is a structured space designed to create safety in authentic vulnerability: paired shares, group reflection, and Authentic Relating activities (honest, in-the-moment connection, practiced on purpose). We draw on Nonviolent Communication, Internal Family Systems (parts work), and embodiment alongside it.

Everyone is welcome, no experience necessary. Come monthly or drop in as you like.

Schedule

• Doors open at 6:30pm. Please arrive between 6:30 and 6:55pm. There will be healthy snacks :)
• Workshop runs from 7:00 to 9:00pm, with a break around halfway through.
• Social hour is 9:00–10:00PM. You're invited to stay after for snacks. This is where the community-building happens!

Why?

Most of us are yearning to feel seen without being treated like our discomfort needs to be fixed or solved. And yet we struggle to stay deeply present without jumping in to “help” when someone else expresses discomfort.

We long for a close-knit community of people who lean on each other for support. And at the same time, we struggle to ask for help without feeling like a burden.

We want to stay collaborative through conflict. To disagree and still feel close. And yet we struggle to stay soft when things get heated, speaking from defensiveness or smoothing it over before it's resolved.

Most of us weren’t ever taught the skills that cultivate this kind of connection. We tend to blame ourselves for these patterns, but they were installed by systems that profit from our isolation and our compliance. Therapy and journaling can take us only so far on our own, because the skills we're missing are relational… we need other people to practice with. This series is a place to practice the skills that let us stay in connection, speak our truth with softness and clarity, and cultivate stronger relationships.

I believe this is how we're going to survive what’s happening and build the world we actually want to live in. The inner work and the relational work are love-driven activism from the inside out.

Who this is for

You might recognize yourself here if you:

• rush to fix things when someone is hurting, and ache to know how to just stay close
• carry too much on your own and find it hard to let people help you
• over-apologize, or struggle to say what you want
• have done the personal growth work and know the tools, and want more opportunities to practice them with like-minded, like-hearted people
• dream of being part of a community that can stay connected through inevitable rupture and repair

Do I have to share or participate in everything?

Not at all! Participation is always invitational. We'll create a space where it's perfectly okay to pass, observe, and choose your level of engagement at every step. You're welcome to choose how vulnerable you want to be, and honor your own edges throughout the experience.

Your Facilitator

Amy Whicker (she/they)

Amy has spent the past six years helping people communicate more collaboratively, set more effective boundaries, and build relationships that feel honest and alive. She co-founded Connection Collaboratory and Open Love Forum and has worked with Elar Institute and Authentic Revolution to design and facilitate transformational learning experiences.

Amy’s approach integrates Authentic Relating, Nonviolent Communication, somatics, and parts work (IFS) to support nervous-system safety, courage, consent, and connection. Her facilitation is playful, collaborative, and grounded in her own journey with perfectionism, people-pleasing, and late-realized neurodivergence.

www.amywhicker.com

"Creates a very safe and liberating practice environment"

"I truly sense Amy's genuine offering of empathy to each and all of the participants, her passion for and felt need to protect the integrity of the work, and her loving friendliness. This creates a very safe and liberating learning and practice environment."

—Gene

"Very enriching"

"Amy is an amazing facilitator! She naturally provides a very warm, supportive presence that allowed me to feel "held" in class. Her attention to detail and ability to respond to the needs of the individuals in class were invaluable for the class to run smoothly. I really appreciated her insightful wisdom when she responded to questions. Her class was very enriching for me and she is very warm, friendly, and kind."

—Bethanne