Focuser as Teacher means that the Focuser lets the Listener know how they would like to proceed. For instance, would they like a "Lead In" (or attunement, as some call it)? How would they like to be heard, reflected? Would they like any suggestions or guidance? And so forth. The Focuser “teaches” the Listener what they prefer, what works best for them.

As we prepare for our first gathering to explore interaction, let us take a look at the first practice distinguishing interactive Focusing from basic or traditional Focusing: Focuser as Storyteller.

We are getting ready for our first gathering (online) to explore interaction on March 17, 2024! In this blog post, we start with the basics of Focusing -- Felt Sensing -- and Highlights of the process we use for exploring interaction, the method called “Interactive Focusing”.

This blog post is called “Highlights of Exploring Interaction with Focusing", and you can find it in the News section of our LearnFocusing.org website.

One of the first things we can explore about interaction is cultural norms around listening.

Do our norms support healthy relationships? If we are talking about the cultural norm of listening to respond, then the answer may be “No”.

What do we mean by listening to respond? And what is the alternative?

For so many, there may be no holiday celebrations, only loneliness, fear, isolation, even hunger, danger, and loss. Here, we are embarking on an exploration of interaction -- relationships between people. And one of the things we hope is that these explorations might help us strengthen our skills in getting along, in pursuing peace.

One of my favorite group closing activities is inviting something we appreciate about ourselves during our time together. When we show up for ourselves and others authentically, there will be appreciation back from our inner team. In class, we stay with this feeling, possibly sharing something from what came with those around us. Brief pauses like this to savor what is going well for us is a powerful resourcing and rewiring practice. We can literally flip the cultural emphasis we've learned that worries how others might judge this, toward feeling a bit safer in following our own sense of inner rightness.  When people outside of Focusing read this suggestion quickly, they might assume we are stroking our egos here. It's not at all...

Having people in our lives that can naturally access felt senses and communicate them with us, essentially, with Hearts to the Horizon is precious indeed. Thank you for being one of the hearts linked to our horizon!

April 3, 2020

I say this a lot in classes. Space is a real thing. Space matters. How you set up your space, within, among and around you, is YOU, actively creating in this world. Many of us, much of our time, do not give space much attention. We alternate between taking it for granted as in “I want” or “I need” (and therefore it’s mine) to assumptions that ‘this’ space has no room for me.

January 15, 2019

I teach Focusing because it is the most direct route I have found to experiencing peace and positive momentum in my life and as a way to contribute to the conscious evolution of life. I teach by building community because it is my experience that all of this is easier and we are more powerful, when we join together.

September 27, 2018

Forest Therapy is happening in Floyd, probably has been practiced here for centuries, however, what’s new is we are giving it a Focusing twist. Forest Therapy, also known as “Shinrin-Yoku,” refers to a practice of spending time in forested areas for the purpose of enhancing health, wellness, and happiness.