This evening’s focus
Conflict and reactivity in a culture of speed

Do you find it difficult to navigate the speed and pressure of modern life?
Does the rise of artificial intelligence make you question the future of relationships?
Do you want to find a balance that helps you thrive and build meaningful connections in real life, while using technology in a way that truly supports you?

In a world of constant messaging, dating apps, and social media, many of us feel paradoxically more lonely, misunderstood, or disconnected. As technology offers increasingly frictionless forms of interaction and even companionship, a deeper question arises:
How do we stay human, alive, and genuinely connected to one another?

While technology shapes the context we live in, the heart of these evenings is about how we relate to ourselves and to each other, especially when things feel difficult, confusing, or stuck.

Alive and Connected is a standalone three-hour evening, aligned with the principles of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), exploring our needs around presence, relationships, community, and self-care in the modern world. It is offered on three different dates.
Each evening explores a unique aspect of connection, so you are welcome to attend one or come back for more.

Themes

18.02.2026. Attention, presence, and distraction in the digital age

04.03.2026. Conflict and reactivity in a culture of speed

17.03.2026. Loneliness, intimacy, and meeting people beyond apps

These evenings are for you if

• you want your relationship with technology to support your life rather than quietly run it

• you want to build deeper, more meaningful connections with real human beings

• you spend more time on social media than you’d like, and those shorts somehow keep winning

• you enjoy using AI and technology to save time, but you don’t want them to replace intimacy, connection, or emotional support

• you want to be with people without constantly reaching for your phone, while still being grateful for Google Maps

• dating apps like Tinder or Hinge have left you tired, cynical, or discouraged, and you’re curious about how meeting people in real life could feel again

• you’re trying to keep up with the speed of modern life, while a part of you quietly wishes for less noise and more space

• you often feel a bit, or very, lonely, even though you’re socially active

• you’re drawn to Rumi’s line
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”

My perspective

I was part of the first generation to grow up with access to the internet. As a teenager, often feeling lonely and growing up in a family environment filled with unresolved conflicts, online forums, chats, and video games became irresistible.

From the mountains where I was living, I could connect with people all around the world, invent the life I wanted, and explore who I was. While this didn’t take away a deep underlying loneliness, screens allowed me not to feel it.

In my late teens and twenties, I travelled widely. I met many people, partied a lot, and experienced strong connections. Yet, as the saying goes, “wherever you go, there you are”. I often covered my inner difficulties with substances. When Facebook appeared, it became the main way to stay connected, and before long I was spending hours there.

Over time, my phone became an extension of myself, linking me to the people I loved, while also pulling a lot of my attention toward things that were not fulfilling. Working as a photographer, Instagram only amplified this tendency.

After living for about ten years in Asia, I returned to London wanting to be closer to my family and feeling challenged in relationships, especially romantic ones. Growing up in an environment shaped by blame and shame had deeply influenced how I navigated conflict, both internally and with others.

Discovering Nonviolent Communication was a turning point. Even small shifts in how I listened and expressed myself made a real difference. But something unexpected happened. In spaces centred on honest, compassionate, and connected communication, my urge to check my phone disappeared. I could spend full days, even a full week, without wanting to scroll.

I realised that much of my use of technology had been compensating for a deep longing for connection, to myself and to others.

I also see how our culture often frames technology in a binary way, either as the solution to everything or as the source of all disconnection. My experience is more nuanced. Each of us has a unique relationship to technology, and navigating it requires self-awareness, compassion, and adaptability.

Sometimes my phone gets in the way of being fully present with my partner. Sometimes I use ChatGPT to find creative ways to navigate conflict.

From this lived experience, my training as a Relational Intelligence Therapist  and my ongoing relationship with Nonviolent Communication, I am offering this series of evenings. Not to teach the right way to live, but as a collective exploration of how we navigate connection, conflict, and presence in the digital age.

What you might leave with

• More clarity about your own patterns, especially how technology, distraction, and avoidance show up in your relationships

• More language to express what matters to you, without blaming, fixing, or avoiding

• A lived experience of being heard and understood, often in a way that feels rare in everyday life

• Practical ways to meet your needs more directly, instead of relying on habits that leave you disconnected or unsatisfied

• A sense of connection and belonging, having shared something real with others who are navigating similar questions

What the evening includes

The evening combines:

• short theoretical inputs
• guided empathy practices
• playful relational exercises
• group reflections
• live demonstrations