Practice: A Full Session, or Double Wing, of Interactive Focusing

by Barbara Dickinson

If you would like to listen to the audio version of this blog post, you can find it on YouTube.

Gratitude! Look in almost any direction and you will find advice that says, “Practice gratitude! Make a list!” I would like to take this moment to add to my gratitude list by thanking you for staying with these blog posts up to the present! 

At last, here we are with a full description of an Interactive Focusing session in 10 blog posts. The Developers called it the “Double Wing” of Interactive Focusing, where each of two partners has a complete turn. The 10 blog posts follow an outline for a series of Lessons on Interactive Focusing, showing you how the full Double Wing unfolds. Scroll to the bottom of this post for a list of the Lessons by date of the post. 

In this post, we are going to take a look at what we have accomplished up to now, and what we have to look forward to in the coming months. 

And that makes this the perfect time to review. Why Interactive Focusing? Because it might just be the answer to much of what plagues us in our personal relationships. 

• It teaches compassion and how to apply it. 
• It teaches empathy and how to employ it. 
• It teaches respect mutually. 
• It teaches us to listen to our own inner wisdom. 
• It teaches us to use our imaginations for good. 
• And so much more.

It is important to note that Interactive Focusing, like traditional Focusing and all its derivatives, and like many other practices, is best learned by direct interaction with an instructor and at least one partner. Yet, this is not always possible. In order to keep this vital form of Focusing top of mind, we are producing this series on Exploring Interaction, including written posts, in-person (virtual) Meetings in the “Changes” tradition, and an upcoming on-demand video course. 

We welcome any suggestions you have for how to continue to raise interest and spread the word about the work of Janet Klein and Mary McGuire in helping us all to have healthier, more fulfilling, more productive, compassionate and empathic interactions. 

Up Next

This is an expanded version of our “Up Next” feature because we have more than the usual exciting news to share.

Our next Changes Meetings for Exploring Interaction are scheduled for: 

• Sunday, July 21, 2024, at 11:00 am New York time
• Sunday, July 21, 2024, at 7:00 pm New York time 
• The link to register appears at the bottom of this post.

Getting Ready for On-Demand Video Course

In the Fall of 2024, we will begin production of an On-Demand Video Course in Interactive Focusing, including approximately 8 videos providing “on demand” lessons in Interactive Focusing. We are working on offering this so that a person who completes viewing all the videos would be entitled to a number (TBD) of sessions with the Instructor to demonstrate proficiency, pass an evaluation, and receive a Certificate of Proficiency in Interactive Focusing Partnership.

Watch Parties Coming Up 

During the pandemic, I was on Zoom with a friend. She is on the West Coast of Canada; I am on the East Coast of the United States. So we can't really meet up at the movie theater! She said, “I sure do miss going out to the movies!” I said, “Why don't we have Watch Parties?” For many months that is what we did. We had such a fun list of things to watch together and it filled some of that space — that pandemic loneliness.

Because we Focusers are spread out across the globe, a “Watch Party” is the perfect solution to bring everybody together to "watch a movie"! In this case, the movie is the video produced by Nada Lou of Janet Klein and Mary Maguire explaining the Interactive Focusing method. 

When summer comes to a close, we will announce a schedule for Watch Parties. Our tentative plan is to offer this feature at the close of each Changes Meeting for Exploring Interaction.

If, however, you want to watch the video sooner, you can purchase it from Nada Lou on her website. 

“THE INTERACTIVE FOCUSING”, Mary McGuire Ph.D.and Janet Klein Ph.D.

Our Next Blog Post For Exploring Interaction 

We will be back in August. Wishing you peace, health, and good Focusing until we meet back here to continue our Explorations of Interaction. 

Seen on a Road Sign

Hideo Tanaka is a scholar of Gendlin’s Philosophy and Psychology. He has written on his Blog about the background of Gendlin’s famous “interaction first” viewpoint. 

“While Gendlin used the term ‘interaction’ in many of his writings, he used the term ‘interaction first’ in ‘A Process Model’ (Gendlin, 1997/2018). I outlined some historical background of why he felt that ‘interaction’ alone did not sufficiently convey what he meant and that it was necessary to add ‘first.’ ”

You can read more at the links below for Hideo’s Blog Post, Blog Home Page, and Biography on The International Focusing Institute website.

Gendlin’s “interaction first” and Dewey’s “transaction”

Hideo TANAKA, 2024 March 28

Hideo’s Blog

About Hideo

“Hideo Tanaka, Ph.D., is a lecturer at Kansai University, Japan. He has been focusing for nearly 30 years. He spoke with Eugene Gendlin about the background of “Experiencing and the Creation of Meaning” (Gendlin, 1962/1997), such as the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, Wilhelm Dilthey, John Dewey, George Herbert Mead, and Susanne Langer in a TAE workshop (2004) in New York.”

Hideo’s profile at The International Focusing Institute

Lessons in Interactive Focusing in Ten Blog Posts 2024

1. Blog Post (Lesson 1) “Highlights of Exploring Interaction with Focusing” (29 January)
2. Blog Post (Lesson 2) “Introduction to Felt Sensing from Our Story - the Focuser as Storyteller” (29 February)
3. Blog Post (Lesson 3) “Empathic Listening, or Listening in a Focusing Way” (15 March)
4. Blog Post (Lesson 3 continued) "Interactive Focusing In The House!" (30 March)
5. Blog Post (Lesson 4) "What is a Double Empathic Moment?" (20 April)
6. Blog Post (Lesson 4 continued) Continuing with “What is the Double Empathic Moment?” (4 May)
7. Blog Post (Lesson 5) “Introduction to the Interactive Response” (18 May)
8. Blog Post (Lesson 6) “The Interactive Focusing Sandwich” (7 June)
9. Blog Post (Lesson 7) “The Relationship Check” (22 June)
10. Blog Post (Lesson 8) “Putting It All Together” (6 July)

Questions? 

If any of this prompts a question or a comment, we would love to hear from you. Use our Contact Form at the bottom of the page to reach out.

Until next time!

• Our Monthly Virtual Changes Meeting schedule and Registration is here.
• Watch our Demonstration of Interactive Focusing with Sandy and Barbara here.
• Read more about Exploring Interaction here. 
• Resources about Interactive Focusing are found here. 
• You can read the latest from Sandy about Smartview Conversations here.