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Announcing “Sundays with Gene - A Memoir”
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by Barbara Dickinson
If you would like to listen to the audio version of this blog post, you can find it on YouTube.
We interrupt our regular blog posts on exploring interaction for a special announcement! “Sundays with Gene - A Memoir” by Barbara Dickinson is now available right here on the LearnFocusing.org website.
From early 2011 to late 2012, I volunteered to the International Focusing Institute as a consultant on strategic planning. It was meant to be a short engagement, but it was extended by an invitation from Dr. Eugene Gendlin (“Gene”) to work with him on a list of ideas he had for projects. That time is one of the most valuable experiences of my life, and led directly to writing “Sundays with Gene”.
How does this relate to “exploring interaction”? It relates in many ways. Here are just three:
- “Interaction first” is an idea of Gene’s that sets us on the path of examining everything in life from the perspective of interaction -- the internal interactions of our body’s systems, the interactions between our body and the environment, interactions with other people, and more. Interactive Focusing is designed to help us with the skills required for successful interactions with other people.
- The Memoir recounts a series of interactions between the two protagonists and how they navigated innovation, frustration, harnessing imagination, conflicting viewpoints and more.
- In one particularly memorable episode, a conflict arose that made them pause in their work until they could devise a way to communicate -- to interact -- that could lead them to common ground -- empathy, compassion, and acceptance. The story of that interaction is worth repeating.
Here is an excerpt from the memoir…
“Almost every Sunday for over a year, I had a discussion with Gene, either on the phone, or at his home. I was constantly reminded of Mitch Albom’s lovely book, “Tuesdays with Morrie” by what became the regular rhythm of “Sundays with Gene”. Just as Albom hoped to preserve some of what he took away from his time with Morrie, I hope to share some of what was said between Gene and me, especially what may not have been said elsewhere, so far as I know.”
You can find the full memoir here.
“Seen on a Road Sign”
The particularly memorable episode I mention in the essay is documented in a presentation I gave to the International Focusing Conference in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 2013.
What came of this experience, I call “the one sentence method”, with these features:
- Recognition that anger and hurt were too powerful for long Focusing – each party could not withstand a full Focusing turn if it was full of recrimination
- Understanding that each partner’s point of view would evoke strong reactions in the other partner
- Space to hold both requires going very, very slowly
You can find that presentation here: Presentation on Focusing for Interpersonal Conflict Resolution.
Up Next!
Conflict! Janet Klein and Mary McGuire used the Interactive Focusing method to resolve conflict. In our next blog post, we will examine the possibilities for applying this method.
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 for Exploring Interaction 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.
- You can read Sandy’s latest newsletter here.
- Read Sandy’s latest blog post on how Relational Neuroscience Compliments Focusing.
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