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Robert Gonzales

CNVC Certified Trainer from Portland, Oregon, USA (1949-2021)

Robert’s passion was in the spirituality of the Nonviolent Communication (NVC) process. He saw NVC both as a process that helps people connect more authentically with themselves and others, and as a spiritual practice and way of living.

Robert Gonzales received a PhD in Clinical Psychology in 1989. He met Marshall Rosenberg and was introduced to NVC in 1985, and offered NVC training in some form from 1986-2021. His original professional background and training was as a licensed psychotherapist.

Robert worked with the Center for Nonviolent Communication in a number of capacities, including: past President of the Board, CNVC Certified Trainer, International Intensive Training (IIT) trainer and North American Assessor.

Listen to Leo Sofer speak with Robert Gonzales about NVC & spirituality in this 2010 interview:


The worldwide NVC community mourned when Robert died in 2021. He is greatly missed and his work is dearly appreciated.

Live Courses with Robert Gonzales

Letting Go and Being Free

Robert Gonzales

  • Focus on living from the inside out
  • Bring a field of inner kindness to your inner distress
  • Attend to your inner experience with compassion
  • Cultivate an inner spaciousness of freedom
Details...

A Worldwide Field of Compassion

Robert Gonzales

  • Learn how to cultivate a consciousness of compassion
  • Embark on a journey of compassion-based self-discovery
  • Become more alive and present with yourself and others
  • Liberate yourself by meeting your fears and distress with an open heart
Details...

Library resources with Robert Gonzales

The Embodied Spirituality of Nonviolent Communication

Robert Gonzales

“The Embodied Spirituality of Nonviolent Communication” is an introduction to NVC created from recordings of trainings Robert Gonzales offered in Hawaii in 2007 on the islands of Maui and Kauai. 

This collection is a celebration of Robert's life and one way we can honor his outstanding work.

The original product was a set of DVDs. NVC Academy has converted the original 3 DVD set into 5 mp4 videos. We have taken care to preserve the original product while simultaneously upgrading to HD video and remastering the audio in this new mp4 format.

Details...

Embracing Impermanence

Robert Gonzales

Robert Gonzales shares how embracing impermanence involves continually growing in his ability to accept unmet needs, to be comfortable with discomfort and unwanted experiences. Robert shares a quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about letting it rain, emphasizing the simplicity and wisdom in accepting life's experiences as they come.

Details...

In Robert's Words, A Journey of Gratitude

Robert Gonzales

Robert's passion was in the spirituality of the Nonviolent Communication (NVC) process. He saw NVC both as a process that helps people connect more authentically with themselves and others, and as a spiritual practice and way of living. The worldwide NVC community mourned when Robert died in 2021. He left behind a legacy of work that emerged from a lifetime of inquiry into the intersection between spirituality and human communication.

Details...

The Nature of Your Reactions

Robert Gonzales

Responding to your own reactivity is an inside job. Robert reveals how your reactions are often a secondary reaction to a triggering stimulus, and that accepting responsibility for your reactions can lead to less blame and more inner peace.

Details...

Unconditional Self-Acceptance

Robert Gonzales

Here's a daily self-acceptance practice you can bring into your life whenever you are experiencing pain, tension, contraction, lack of fulfillment, or unmet needs or values. Giving your often undesired experiences space can be a path to greater inner connection and peace.

Details...

Downloadable Courses with Robert Gonzales

Letting Go and Being Free

Robert Gonzales

  • Focus on living from the inside out
  • Bring a field of inner kindness to your inner distress
  • Attend to your inner experience with compassion
  • Cultivate an inner spaciousness of freedom
Details...

A Worldwide Field of Compassion

Robert Gonzales

  • Learn how to cultivate a consciousness of compassion
  • Embark on a journey of compassion-based self-discovery
  • Become more alive and present with yourself and others
  • Liberate yourself by meeting your fears and distress with an open heart
Details...

The Embodied Spirituality of Nonviolent Communication

Robert Gonzales

  • Explore the spiritual foundations of NVC
  • Witness transformational and healing processes led by Robert Gonzales
  • Learn from the questions proposed by participants
  • Gain processes that support a consciousness of the “Beauty of Needs”
Details...

Living the Self-in-Life

Robert Gonzales

  • Deepen your capacity for self-acceptance and self-compassion
  • Bring greater compassion to your relationships
  • Increase your capacity for vulnerability and mourning
  • Enhance your sense of trusting your own place in life, as well as your purpose
Details...

Living Compassion in Challenging Times

Robert Gonzales

  • Strengthen embodied awareness
  • Integrate inner and outer worlds to create a connecting "corridor" 
  • Identify projected images that prevent connecting 
  • Embrace fear and transform reactivity
  • Create a support network where you can express and be heard 
Details...
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