At its simplest focusing is asking yourself how you feel about a particular situation as if it is a real question. This involves
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- healing - feels healing to own our “real” feelings - growth direction - can come to sense a new way forward; way opens - New light - Comes with a sense of discovery - feels new or fresh and like a gift For example
American philosopher Eugene Gendlin had a thesis about where new “meaning” comes from. The book based on that thesis is called Experiencing and the Creation of Meaning. Gendlin wanted to try out his thesis on psychotherapy as he figured that successful psychotherapy involved altering current meaning construction. He worked with a research group at the U. of Chicago centered around Carl Rogers who was developing what became client-centered psychotherapy. What the group at Chicago found was that college freshmen could learn to identify who would have a successful experience in psychotherapy after 2 sessions. They discovered that success didn’t correlate with the therapist or the theory behind the therapy; rather it correlated with a kind of skill, something some clients already knew how to do when they entered therapy. Gendlin wanted to know if you could teach that skill to people who didn’t already know how to do it - the crux was that they seemed to be validating their words against some kind of internal “experience”.
Focusing is the result of that effort to try to teach that skill that successful psychotherapy clients already seemed to know how to do. It was designed to give therapy away for free. Focusing is a (1.) Scaffold for learning how to do this - Gendlin’s 6 steps; (2.) An accumulated wisdom of helps and hindrances in doing this. (3.) A skill/resource you can call on as needed and that becomes more skillful with practice. Focusing points to, describes, and facilitates the kind of experience/epistemology that is the basis of Quaker faith and practice. This epistemology is strange, counter to the way that we normally operate. Focusing highlights that it is indeed strange, provides a clear explication of it, and provides a way of teaching it.
The testimonies and declarations which are given forth in obedience to the Lord's requirings, are to bring everyone of you to a sense and feeling of the inward testimony of truth in your own bosoms, to the feeling of the work and operation of the Lord's Spirit upon your hearts, to give to everyone a clear sight and understanding of those things that tend to their souls profit, and to their spiritual advantage and divine growth in grace. Richard Ashby, sermon 1693, from a book published in 1694 meant to show the unity and basic agreement among Friends (1.) Read Gendlin’s book Focusing. Available used for $4 or less. This is written for a popular audience
(2.) While there are a lot of different flavors of focusing and it’s worthwhile exploring them for their different emphases, most of what I know, outside of Gendlin, I’ve gotten from Ann Weiser. I’d especially recommend her The Radical Acceptance of Everything. (3.) Visit websites - Focusing Institute and Focusing Resources. http://www.focusing.org/ http://focusingresources.com/ http://carlislefocusingfriends.weebly.com/ (4.) View numerous videos on YouTube. E.g. http://www.nadalou.com/Nada_new/DVD_YouTube_links.html (5.) Do a workshop over the phone or in person. (6.) Use me or Carlisle Friends Focusing group as a resource. We can provide training or answer any questions you might have. Why do focusing with a partner?
(1.) It’s easier with a partner! (2.) Model for friendship because it’s the best gift someone can give you. What does a partner do? (1.) Primarily monitors how you are in relation to your experience (different way of listening). They don’t need to know the content of what you are focusing on.
Focusing is a practice. To make it work as a practice, you need a partner. Finding and keeping partners is the hardest part of focusing. How do you listen in a focusing partnership? What is primary is the person’s relationship to their “experience.” (1.) Caring, feeling, presence - focusing is hard; what comes up are things that are difficult to be with and difficult to share (2.) Start by noticing the “feeling” word, the word(s) that carries the meaning, that is most alive and then saying that back. [or, the focuser is in charge, and say back what the focuser asks for.] (3.) Identify when other issues come up, especially a feeling about a feeling, a wanting to fix something, or the “critic” - at least acknowledge that. Or the not being okay to be with that. (4.) Helping them to relax and find the right distance - “I’m sensing something in me that feels …” (5.) Keeping them connected to the “body” or “experience” - Is that the best word for all that? What kind of angry are you feeling? Where do you feel that in your body?” (6.) Silence is generally good - need time to investigate like in Quaker meeting (7.) Keeping them on task - when they get distracted, what came up right now, that got you going in this completely different direction? Is it okay to be with that? (8.) Not your problem. Focuser is ultimately responsible and in charge. |
AuthorI am Andy Hoover. I was first exposed to what would later become focusing as a college freshman in 1972. I can't say that I understood then what it was about. About a decade later, when I came across the Focusing book, I was researching "right-brain" practices as the key to religious experience. Focusing was a perfect fit. I became a Quaker because I came across Quaker writings that sounded a lot like Focusing. Archives
May 2019
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