These are the skis
that will take me
—not down
—not up
but out
into that Greater Place
that-holds-us-all-
in-Its-loving-embrace
I want to know.
To experience
It
directly.
Not just to know about
It.
To sit in the
silent hum of my being
To sit in the
silent hum of that
Transcendent Being
The One I choose to call
God
Father
That’s what’s needed
that’s what’s important
to me
I don’t want to settle for less
for writing a beautiful piece
for creating an amazing painting
or sculpture
or for giving something needed to another
All those are Good
But not enough—for me
In a time of climate upheaval and warlike posturing that threaten human extinction, we believe that intentionally being with each other in a Focusing way is a gift to ourselves, and to present and future generations.
Many of us value our Focusing partnerships as a place where we can be in Grounded Presence with ourselves and another human being from a very deep inner place. A Focusing partnership is a beautiful path of committed practice of witnessing and being witnessed, and over time can permeate even the most challenging aspects of life with a sense of openness to new possibilities.
A long-term Focusing partnership or a solo Focusing practice imply their own next step – a carrying forward into Felt Community. In this spirit we are inviting you to consider joining us next summer for a Wholebody Focusing Retreat where we will co-create activities that support the forward movement of life in each of us.
A free, undammed river flowing down a mountainside and into a floodplain will naturally spread out in many streams and rivulets that join and separate in an ever-shifting pattern. Hydrologists call this natural way of being a river a “braided river”. A Focusing Retreat is just like a braided river: many streams of felt sensing flowing together, flowing apart, whirling around deep pools, moving alluvial soils to a new place to create fertile ground for new growth.
“Co-created” is the operative word: unlike a Focusing workshop or week-long with a set program, the retreat is what we -you and I and he and she and they – make together. What does that look like? There will be learning activities facilitated by participants who wish to do so; time for partnerships and time alone; opportunity for vigorous movement assisted by canoes and bicycles; and many, many Heartfelt Conversations. ‘Smores and campfires are a definite possibility!
For more information and to reserve your spot please click here.
The retreat will take place on the shore of a lake on beautiful Vancouver Island in British Columbia, nestled within extensive gardens and a second-growth fir forest. We will invite our bodies to sense into the presence of nature and how it may support our Grounded Presence and well-being.
In a time of climate upheaval and warlike posturing that threaten human extinction, we believe that intentionally being with each other in a Focusing way is a gift to ourselves, and to present and future generations.
Ana Simeon, with Barb Fotta, Joya D’Cruz and Melinda Darer, the 2020 Retreat Planning Committee. Please contact Melinda@focusinginternational.org if you would like more information.
There is an invisible world and a kingdom of spirits: that world is round us, for it is everywhere; and those spirits watch us, for they are commissioned to guard us; and if we were dying in pain and shame, if scorn smote us on all sides, and hatred crushed us, angels see our tortures, recognize our innocence. — Charlotte Bronte
There is a kingdom of spirits that protects you. Do you not see them? –Charlotte Bronte
I wish I could see them—the spirits, the angels that surround us, waiting, longing to help us. I believe—with my mind—that there are such things; it’s consistent with the great saying God is Love which, I’m told, can be found in the gospel of John. I’m not a big follower of the bible, and I’m not a believer in the creeds of the world’s great religions. But I do believe in Divine Love—that It’s all around us, and available to us.
I can’t see the ‘angels’ that could easily be around me—around each of us—waiting to help us in our struggles, or perhaps wave some of that fairy dust off their wings onto our aching hearts—at least, most of the time I can’t see them. I’ll admit that sometimes I do have a sense of the Love around me. It’s just that it disappears so easily.
YongWei Xu lives in a small village, Wu Xi, outside of Shanghai, China. She has been studying Wholebody Focusing with Karen Whalen and her team since 2009. YongWei talks about how WBF has helped her to stop over-thinking her decisions. Her new ability to connect to the physical body and pay attention to physical symptoms, like tense shoulders, helps her connect to her emotions. Instead of running from one goal to another, she pauses to be with what each goal means to her. This process brings her to the question “Is this the life I really want?”
For YongWei, Heartfelt Conversation is “not just a little chat… It really comes from my heart.” It is the way that she and her friends feel united with each other and it helps her to feel less lonely.
In her small village, YongWei teaches Wholebody Focusing. What her friends, her group and her clients learn is a WBF lifestyle to support their daily life. The focusing community provides a warm place to use their curiosity to explore new things about themselves and each other together.
YongWei also offers us a New Year’s wish that, if you have not already learned focusing, you have an opportunity to learn. This will help you have more fun and happiness in your life.
Bruna Blandino and Rosa Catoio, two Italian Wholebody focusers, met to discuss how Wholebody focusing and Heartfelt Conversation has changed their lives. Rather than being who society and their families want them to be, Wholebody Focusing and Heartfelt Conversation has given them a mechanism to live more fully in their own truth. Watch their video to hear how this has come about.
“What is in it for me!” How selfish! Good experience in self loving and so much more….
Going Back to Basics – Why do I want to do this thing called Focusing – Wholebody Focusing.
What is in it for me?
I am very surprised what came in me when I asked myself this question, especially “What is in it for me!” How selfish! Good experience in self loving and so much more….
But just the right question?
It is about me, the felt sense of me! Finding me….thank you Gendlin for framing this experience for us.
Does something come for you too as you feel/hear/see me say this?
Our bodies’ inherent ability to heal waits for us to give our attention to what is present, continuously observing what is truly there with equal regard and accompanying our bodies as they explore their own healing in their own time and their own way.
This blog is based on the work of Kevin McEvenue. It is dedicated to those who seek healing by connecting to available abundant, benevolent energy to support the body’s healing wisdom. Stories of practitioners’ and teachers’ experiences lead us through their own healing through this method.
The Blog is a resource with followers from over 60 countries and posts in English, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Norwegian, and Swedish. One can find examples of how Wholebody Focusing can support your special emotional needs. At the same time, it is also a source of beauty. The authors use prose, poetry, art, photography, music, and video to help you understand their work. Each author plans and designs their posts to express the power of their experience of this practice.
Resources on the Blog
You can find out how to participate and learn about Wholebody Focusing through Upcoming Events. It is easy to pick posts that suit you by searching on keywords that match your needs. If you like a particular author’s post, you can click on their name and read all other posts by that author. You can also use the search function to find a topic that is important to you.
We have resources for certified trainers and videos under Wholebody Trainers’ Corner in which certified trainers discuss how they approach working with clients.
How Wholebody Focusing Works
Our bodies’ inherent ability to heal needs us to focus on what is present, continuously observing what is genuinely there. We do this with equal regard for whatever we find and accompany our bodies as they explore their own healing in their own time and their own way. This healing is deep and lasting. It doesn’t cause trauma, and we can experience new parts of ourselves emerging as they find their way.
We invite and welcome contributions from this community of self-healers to continue to build this shared space. It can be with stories, art, poetry, prose, thoughts, theories, and experiences that will reach around the world to those who need support to heal.
Subscribe today to become part of this community. As a result, the blog will send out notifications when new material is posted.
