My name is Hernán de Jesús Aguilar Medina. I was born in the city of Mexico on January 2, 1956. I have a professional background as an actuary from the Faculty of Sciences at UNAM. I am a father, along with Rosalía Castañeda, who studied Philosophy and is a therapist with several diplomas. We have two children: Santiago, who is 35 years old and works with migrants and refugees in Guadalajara, and Edith, who is 33 years old and works with girls and adolescents who have experienced abuse.
Between 2008 and 2010, my wife and I experienced a marital crisis due to our communication style. Although I perceived myself as a non-violent person when my wife gave me a brochure about violence and later handed me Marshall Rosenberg's book "Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life," I realized how violent I was with myself and with the people I loved the most: my wife and children. I remember crying a lot because I became aware of the passive violence that serves as the "fuel" for physical violence, which we are all familiar with from the news.
After reading the book, I wanted to live in Nonviolent Communication (NVC), so I searched for places to practice NVC during those years. I found a place, took the NVC course, and was promised practice sessions that never materialized. It wasn't until I found the certified trainer, Antonio Kuri, that I retook the workshop, and it was so good that I had the joy of having my whole family participate in NVC.
That's how I began to practice NVC and attend workshops and courses, such as Intensive International Trainings (IIT), and it was in September 2019 that I registered to seek certification as a Certified Trainer by the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC).
During this time, I have been a facilitator and co-facilitated different workshops, including Basic, Advanced I, Advanced II, and select topics in NVC. I have done this in schools, parishes, rehabilitation centers for women, and in over 60 workshops via Zoom since March 2020. I have had the opportunity to meet people from nearly all of Spanish-speaking America, Spain, and Poland.
My greatest desire is to live NVC in every moment of my life and to be able to transmit it to as many people as possible. Just like I was once disconnected from life and am now aware of my feelings and needs, I want to connect with other people and contribute to creating a less violent world and try to change the violent social structures in which we live today.
