BEING RELATIONAL GAZETTE
BALTIMORE MEDIATION’S NEWSLETTER AND TIPS – November 2018
A MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDER

Happy November! November is one of my favorite months because of Thanksgiving! A time to be grateful, appreciate everything and everyone around you, and give back to those in your community. It is such a relational holiday if you think about it, right?!

We are also thrilled to announce the launch of our Being Relational 7 Ways 7 Weeks Winter Series! Follow along on our Being Relational Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily tips, examples, videos, and more! The series will begin November 19, 2018!
GRATITUDE…. ACCOLADES, HIGH FIVES!

Louise is thrilled that she has been invited to present via video at the Rakmo Institute Third International Congress in Slovenia later this month. She will present on Relational Practices.
"I CAN RELATE!" BLOG

"Whether you read this on the eve of a general election or in consideration of upcoming elections, midterm election season is upon us in towns and cities across the US. Consider the right to vote . It’s a radical relational right . It’s a relational right because it is both self and other motivated, intended to foster individual expression and well-being for the whole."

Read the full November "I Can Relate!" Blog  here .

OUR TRAININGS

Our October training was amazing because of those who were there! Our participants came from Safe Streets Baltimore, Maryland Courts, and even all the way from Rwanda! Louise taught extensively on the transformative and relational approaches, self awareness, and how to avoid transactional tendencies. She gave participants several strategies to add to their mediation skill set. Baltimore Mediation Coaching Team


Our next training is our first ever 20-Hour Advanced Training focusing on blended families, with an understanding of trauma and resilience. We are so looking forward to launching this new training.

October Training Participants
TRAINING PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING…  

“I researched 40-hour mediation programs and I thought, this one looks good. So here I am [retiring from law], and my intention was to go off and mediate civil cases, and it’s kind of what I’m doing now. The transformative model, to me, is exclusive in its ability to elicit results. The tools are just amazing. I had no idea this existed. I have been in two room mediations for 25-30 years and it bears no resemblance to this. I am going to try and use my skills and this relational approach when I mediate a case, and that's the first step I’ll have to do. But I would never have imagined that I could get something like this that I could use in my own work."
– Bill Keneally , Kentucky Attorney
IN A RECENT…

In a recent Mediation Training Role Play, in which one of our participants played the part of a disputing party, he recognized that by talking directly to each other, rather than just to the mediator, it lowered his hostility towards the other person. The relational approach encourages people in conflict to engage one another with the guidance of a mediator, rather than using the mediator to separate the parties in a transactional approach.
TIP OF THE DAY:

AVOID TRIBE THINK
What is Tribe Think? First of all, finding your tribe and having the experience of being part of a tribe is a very warm, comfortable and often inclusive experience. So what’s wrong with that? Nothing. Nothing at all…until…. the coziness of the tribe becomes resistant to views outside the tribe or not held by the majority of the tribe. These views might not only better inform the tribe but they could help with better problem solving within the tribe, and just as importantly, with better relations between those in the tribe and those not in the tribe. This is critical to society. Being Relational is about awareness of Tribe Think. 

Notice your tribes. Notice if you are part of a tribe that has lost its ability to think independently within the tribe. If so, maybe you have the courage to challenge your tribe to opening up to new ideas and views.
SPEAKING EVENTS
Louise and other IAM Distinguished Fellows at Case Western Reserve Law School speaking to students and faculty about commercial mediation during the International Academy of Mediators (IAM) Conference in Cleveland Oct. 4-6. Louise also keynoted on TRUST. Trust is often built as a result of qualities of Being Relational, especially Being Clear, Truth, and Disclosure.
A group of pioneers who lingered on after Louise's talk at PISLAP
The workshop at the Project for Integrating Spirituality, Law and Politics (PISLAP) Conference in Washington DC on Oct. 11-14 was fantastic! Louise led a highly interactive session, discussing the differences between relational and transactional approaches in politics, and the challenges and opportunities of each. Finding inner alignment and translating that into everyday interactions was the main focus of the workshop.
Mutima Imani & Louise at PISLAP
Louise will be traveling to Tacoma, Washington next month to speak at MultiCare Hospital to 1,300 medical leaders.
CLIENT HIGHLIGHT – Lillian Johnston

As a long-time supporter of Baltimore Mediation and Being Relational , Lillian Johnson has taken her mediation and conflict transformation skills she received at one of our 40-hour trainings, back to the Chicago Public School system . They have incorporated the transformative mediation into their school in how they lead and deal with conflict with families, children, and staff!.

TEAM HIGHLIGHT - Andrew Fontanella

Andrew Fontanella has been a member of the Baltimore Mediation team for almost a decade! Andrew is a mediator and attorney whose practice focuses on families. Andrew is also the Director of the Eastern Shore District Court ADR and shares his wisdom at our trainings, helping to form quality practice mediators.

In addition to mediation, Andrew is trained in conflict-coaching, and collaborative practice. In conflict-coaching a party can come to a robust understanding of the nature of a conflict when the other party does not engage or cooperate. Collaborative practice is a team approach to conflict, where parties prefer to avoid litigation and instead, create a durable agreement that focuses on their common goals and interest.In addition to Baltimore Mediation, Andrew is a contract mediator with the Circuit Court for Baltimore City in their Family Law Division, a roster mediator with Baltimore CountyCivil Division, a roster mediator for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, the District Court of Maryland, and the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights.

Andrew lives with his partner of 15 years near the cultural arts section of Baltimore City. In addition to taking care of his family, which includes 2 beautiful dogs, Andrew is part of a community group that maintains Fitzgerald Park, in the historic Bolton Hill neighborhood. He continues to participate in making Baltimore city a great place to live.
QUOTE FOR THE MONTH:

"It's painful to face how we harm otheres, and it takes a while. It's a journey that happens because of our commitment to gentleness and honesty, our commitment to staying awake, to being mindful."
- Pema Chödrön

For copies of the Amazon best seller Being Relational: The Seven Ways to Quality Interaction & Lasting Change visit
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