7/24/2019 Focusing and Buddhism

1/6

The Focusing Connection 2560 Ninth Street, Ste 315-A Berkeley, CA 94710 phone: 510-225-0690 fax: 510-225-0990 website: www.focusingresource

Vol. XXIX, No. 2 March 2012

(continued on page 2

The Focusing ConnectionFocusing & Buddhism

Once we have discovered the depthsand delights of Focusing, it can bedifcult to answer the seemingly simplequestion, What is Focusing? How canwe sum up the subtlety and range thatFocusing brings to our experience?How to easily express what it involves?Quite possibly, wed need to explain awhole new, revolutionary relationshipwith ourselves. There may also bedramatic changes in the way we interactand engage with the world out there.Outlining how Focusing does all that canbe challenging. After all, the felt sense isby denition vague, fuzzy and hard todescribe. Thats the whole point. Weretalking about something which doesnot yet have words, and which doesnteven exist in the fullyformed way wenormally relate to things.

Funnily enough, as a Focuser who isa Buddhist, I have the same problemtwice over. Buddhism, like Focusing,also highlights the importance of ourinner world, and offers practices (suchas meditation) which leads us on ajourney to discover the heart of whowe are, or who we can be. Perhapsthe same is true for anyone describingtheir chosen path; its difcult to dojustice to something whose riches andsignicance affect our lives deeply.Yet Focusing and Buddhism shareparticular problems. Neither has aneasily explicable doctrine (althoughboth have a complex underpinningphilosophy that defy your average cupof latenight cocoa); and above all,both are primarily about a process, orpractice. This alone makes them hardto dene. The chief content is our own,

raw experience, the whole mysteriousrange of it; where we encounter andlearn to embrace the highs and lowsof being all-too-human in this more-than-human world.

The issue is even embedded in thevery word, Buddhism. The Buddhisterm for Buddhism is Dharma, whichpoints again to the primacy processas it means Path. At the same timeDharma means Truth, as in the truthscontained in that path, or the truths wediscover as we traverse it. Once againthis begs the question: what is thapath, and what is that truth?

Trusting our own experienceIn one well-known Buddhist episode

dating back almost 2500 years, theBuddha was asked just this questionby a group known as the KalamasThen, as now, there were manyteachers around, each offering differentapproaches. The Kalamas told theBuddha that they were confused aboutwhat to believe or which method tofollow. Going by his title alone, theywere asking the right person. Buddhais an adjectival title, meaning, someonewho has woken up. It describes aperson who has awakened, or becomefully aware (by implication, anyone canbecome a buddha). Here, as we wilsee, is an overlap with Focusing. Bothare practices based on increasing ouawareness, or attention, with the resultthat different parts of ourselves wakeup, or come alive, as we practice.

In answer, the Buddha tells theKalamas that they should test everything

Can we trust our experience?asks Locana in the lead articlethis issue. Its a key question

for Focusers, what can be trusted.Locana quotes Gene Gendlin as saying,Denitely. It is always trustworthy. Butwhat is trustworthy? Not emotions,surely, and not the reactive states weget into when we are identied with

our emotions. Gene is saying that theprocess is trustworthy, of getting feltsenses and checking with them, beingwith what is emerging there.

I love Locanas writings on the linksbetween Focusing and Buddhism. Thisis the second in a series (the rst wasHow Focusing Can Help BuddhistPractice" in September 2011). Itsfascinating to discover the concept ofthe wisdom of becoming in Buddhism,where we know we are interconnectedwith, and part of, the whole universe,mysteriously neither separate from it,

nor merged and identied with it. Yes,that sounds like a Focusing-compatibleperspective indeed! Ive known Judy Archer for a longtime, and weve seen her in these pagesbefore; you may remember her article,Inner Partnership: Using Drawingand Writing in the Focusing Process,January 2006. When Judy says thatsomething mixes well with Focusing, Ipay attention. I had never heard of TRE(Tension/Trauma Releasing Exercises)so Ive grateful for her interweaving ofTRE with Focusing, found in this issue.

And then there is Roger Cunningham.Roger is quietly transforming lives inan inner-city college by introducingFocusing and listening partnerships.Focusing is revolutionary and not onlybecause once we know Focusing, wecan never again categorize people bywhat they wear or how they look. Weare interested and curious in how theintricacy of life shows up uniquely in thisperson. Its so great to know this kind ofthing is going on.cd

Explorations in Focusing and Buddhism: Can we trust our experienceby Locana (Elizabeth English)

by Ann Weiser CornellEditorial

7/24/2019 Focusing and Buddhism

2/62 March 2012 The Focusing Conn

is described as a type of wisdom thamay come rst through hearing aboutsomething, then reecting on it, andnally, from becoming. This thirdwisdom of becoming means theway we develop as people. Its notso much about what we do on thesurface, but about becoming differentunderneath, in ourselves. In Buddhismthis becoming refers to the roo

experience of being human, where weknow we are interconnected with, andpart of, the whole universe, mysteriouslyneither separate from it, nor mergedand identied with it.

One reason we come to trust thiswisdom of becoming is becausewe begin to notice changes, perhapssubtle at rst, in how we are affectedby people and things. This graduallyaffects everything about us outhoughts, feelings, behaviors, attitudesresponses, impulses and so on. Thenour trust in our practice grows. This

trust brings with it a sense of meaningpurpose and direction. Its rm groundto stand on. We know, increasinglyand instinctively, where we t within theuniverse; we feel our intrinsic belongingin a world which is not really otherthan us. Its a kind of coming home toourselves.

A key Focusing tenet is that becausewe instinctively feel whats wrongpainful or not-wanted, we thereforealso know the direction towards what isgood, right and life-giving. This directionis implicit, held in our wider being o

body as a sort of knowing. If we areable to listen out for it and to followit, we naturally move towards growthand expansion. Focusing practiceinvolves nding this sense of rightnessover and over again. We look for a ta resonance, a freshness we listento that wide, though innitely accuratebodily held response to a situation todiscover whats needed, to know whatour next step may be.

In Focusing, trust in our experiencegrows as we discover how the feltsense not only applies to our inneworld, but implicitly knows and takesaccount of our wider situation andthose around us. A felt sense is oufelt response to the fact that we areutterly relational and interconnectedIn this way, a felt sense is never purelypersonal. It moves us naturally from aself referential perspective into atranspersonal realm. As I see it, if a felsense is right for me; its right for theworld; that distinction itself dissolvesThrough regular Focusing, we learn

Focusing & Buddhism from Page 1

against their own experience. Whenyou know for yourselves that apractice or approach leads to harm andsuffering, then dont do it. When youknow for yourselves that something iswholesome, and leads to welfare andhappiness, then do it. According tothis, the Buddhas denition is wide andinclusive. Similarly, on another occasionhe explains: Whatever conduces topositivity, to freedom, ... to simplicity, tocontentment, to individuality, to energy,to delight in the good that is myteaching.

Is there a real basis for trust?While I love these descriptions, Im

aware they come with a slight problem.To the Kalamas, the Buddha also addedthat one way of determining what todo, or which path to follow, is to notice

whether wise people blame or praisethose approaches. So we still need tond some basis for trusting experience either our own, or that of someone wend wise. And if we look for positivity,happiness, freedom (and so on) as thebasis for following a particular method,it again raises the question of to whatextent we can trust ourselves to knowthat is where the practice will lead.

For example, if I were a susceptibleteenager, I might be persuaded bycooldude peers that taking drugsis about freedom, individuality and

energy. And that may be true on onelevel; its just that the implications ofdrugtaking are disastrously morethan that. Similarly, we might decideto trust our bodies to know what toeat, or to get enough sleep only tond were munching chocolate overlate night movies. So how do we knowwhen to believe our experience? Howcan I know for certain that somethingleads towards delight in the good;towards greater life, love and wisdom?These questions often emerge whenwe are learning Focusing. How can

we be sure we are in touch with a feltsense? How do we know that a felt shiftis leading us towards more wholenessand happiness? Wouldnt a bomber feela felt shift of happiness when he or shehas successfully released a bomb? Sowhat, if anything, can I rely on?

Finding a touchstoneBoth Focusing and Buddhism offer

answers. Each suggests that we lookwithin at our experience, and nd atouchstone there that we can learn totrust. In Buddhism, this touchstone

The FocusingConnection

is published six times a year by FocusingResources. It is written by and for peopleusing Focusing in their lives. Letters andarticles are invited on any subject ofinterest to focusers.

Editor: Ann Weiser CornellDesign & Production: Shannon Crossman

Editorial Board:

John Amodeo, Graton, CAMary Armstrong, Toronto, ON, CanadaReva Bernstein, Oceanside, CARev. Peter A. Campbell, Sonora, CAFrancesca Castaldi, Oakland, CABarbara Dickinson, Denville, NJGlenn Fleisch, Mil l Valley, CARob Foxcroft, Glasgow, ScotlandDana Ganihar, Upper Galilee, IsraelEugene Gendlin, New York, NYMary Hendricks Gendlin, Wesley Hills, NYBala Jaison, Toronto, ON, CanadaMary Jennings, Dublin, IrelandElmar Kruithoff, Copenhagen, Denmark

Larry Letich, New Market, MDBarbara McGavin, Bath, EnglandRev. Edwin M. McMahon, Sonora, CASuzanne Nol, San Jose, Costa RicaPatricia Omidian, Karachi, PakistanBebe Simon, Oak Park, ILWilja Westerhof, Ruinerwold, Netherlands

Electronic and Print subscriptions are

available. For pricing or to order, please

visit: http://www.focusingresources.com/

materials/tfc.html. Back issues are $3.00

each ($3.50 overseas airmail). A back issueindex and quantity discounts are available at:

http://www.focusingresources.com/materi-

als/tfcbackissues.html

Authors of published letters receive a six

month subscription; authors of published

articles receive ten free copies of the issue

in which the article appears, and a one year

subscription.

(continued on page 4)

7/24/2019 Focusing and Buddhism

3/6The Focusing Connection March 2012

(continued on page 4

When I learned Focusing in theseventies I began a different relationshipwith my internal life. I began to notice thefeelings underneath the story that eitherI or another person was sharing. I beganto tune into the feeling layers and howfeelings affect the whole body. When Ilearned TRE in 2010, it reminded me ofthe energy and aliveness that comeswith the stretching in Bioenergeticexercises from the seventies. There is akind of bodily sinking into, remembering,almost re-accessing the felt experienceof skills I had previously left behind. Atsome point I realized that these twopractices relate beautifully with eachother, and in this article Id like to show

how.

TRETRE is a set of seven exercises drawn

from Yoga, Tai Chi and Bioenergetics. Inthe exercises we stretch the muscles offeet, ankles, legs and iliopsoas muscles,which evokes the naturally occurringtremoring response. The tremoringallows a grounding experience, which inturn allows a release of tension.

We do these gentle exercisesstanding except the last one, which isdone lying on the oor. For example, we

start with our feet shoulder width apartand knees soft, and our feet roll over onthe outside of one foot and the insideof the other foot and breath. Then weroll our feet over in the other directionagain remembering to breath and backand forth about ve or six times. Aswe work our way up the legs with theexercises we gradually allow a softeningand a blood ow. The goal is to tire outthe muscles in the feet, leg and psoasmuscles to a level of efforting of 7 outof 10. With practice and over time wecan allow an experience of allowing

movement- vibration, tremoring, orshaking.The operative word here is allowing.

What is fascinating about tremoring isthat we cannot make it happen. Withpractice, at some level the body beginsto learn what it feels like to evoke atremoring response by letting go. Oncethis experiential allowing is practicedrepeatedly it begins to be a positive habiton a cellular level. The more I practiceand teach this work the more easily Inotice when I am not grounded andreturn to being grounded. This means I

Focusing & TRE-Tension/Trauma Releasing ExercisesThe Interweaving of Focusing and TRE-Tension/Trauma Releasing Exercise

by Judy Arche

learn to practice grounding the everydaytensions, rather than carry them aroundas baggage. What a huge relief!

It seems as though when I ampracticing TRE regularly I am deepeningmy felt sense of my bodys innatewisdom without necessarily havingany emotional content connected to it.Something in me loosens up, softensand reconnects to the rest of me. Iexperience myself as lighter and fuller atthe same time and more relaxed.

Somehow the process of being more

grounded seems to tap into a cellularmemory of creativity, and resourcesI once learned and am reintegratinginto my life. I feel like I am sinking intomore of me physically, spirituallyand emotionally. How surprising anddelicious.

FocusingThis feels similar to focusing when

I sense into my core about an issue.When I experience a sensation, I senseinto it, describe it until I get a felt sensethat feels right. As I am being with it just

as it is, it softens. I experience a physicaland energetic melding into all of me anda sense of release or relief. This is anotherway I would describe how I experiencethe process of integration in focusing.There is also an energetic feel of beingmore inclusive or more accepting of allmy experiencing as I release somethingand sense it as energy owing throughme as I do it in TRE and other energywork. It seems as though what I havereleased is the story, or judgment that Ihave made up in order to make senseof what happened at the time.

Then something about the Focusingprocess helps me drop down further into trying on, exploring more of what thisall means or feels like on the inside. It iskind of like tingliness all over my skin thapermeates right into the centre of meThere is a very subtle something that ispercolating, moving thriving right at thecenter of my core.

TRE deepens my practice of groundingwhich is a foundation for all my otherwork. And Focusing helps me deepeninto more a subtle felt sense of all thatwork. The two intertwine and amplifythe value of each other. In some waysusing language to differentiate the twopractices is an articial division of wha

I experience as one process.In both TRE and Focusing we learnto embody a curiosity in how we workwith people to support and follow thebody knowing. The modeling of thisin TRE is in sync with Focusing in twovery distinct ways: First the curiositythat we bring to the body, and secondlyfollowing the body. No matter what ouskills are these are two fundamentabases for the work.

Curiosity and presenceFirst, implicit in embodying the

curiosity is to be in presence in thepresent moment. Presence is theskill we keep deepening into practiceand through every Inner RelationshipFocusing learning/teaching experienceincluding Treasure Maps to the Soul. Inparallel with both practices the more weembody presence with our clients themore safety we create both for our owninner experience and that of our clients

Implicit in both TRE and Focusingis a deep respect and trusting thatevery area/emotion/situation that isinitially experienced as difcult holds

the seeds of its own recovery intosomething integrated and whole withineach of us. We are evoking, releasingor tapping into something more of whowe are as we embody either practiceIn my practice of both I am sensinga deeply felt experience of freedompossibility and expansion that is difculto put into words. And that includesthe willingness to be with my ownexpansion/ contraction continuum aswell as those of my clients.

7/24/2019 Focusing and Buddhism

4/64 March 2012 The Focusing Conn

to trust that sense of life direction andforward movement. Its like discoveringour own inner compass.

Awareness and presenceWhether meditating or Focusing,

the key to these insights lies in our

awareness or presence. When I amsimply aware of what I contain andexperience when I am present withit I begin to feel the extraordinaryresponsiveness of a living being (me) tomy whole environment. Both practicesthrow into relief the way in whicheverything is constantly shifting; howthe minute I interact with something, itchanges and I change. Just by beingpresent with what is here, we stumbleupon the truth, so well described inboth Focusing and Buddhism, thateverything follows a process; everything

is in process.In Buddhism this is known as

conditionality (or dependent arising pratityasamutpada). It means onething follows another; events ow fromeach other, a result always followsfrom (is contained in) a cause. Withawareness, we discover the freedom tocreate different causes, and experiencedifferent outcomes. In Focusing,Gendlin describes something similar inhis Philosophy of the Implicit. He showshow one single moment contains thepast, present and future, in that are all

implied and known in that moment in aunique implicit intricacy.

Change happens anywayThe idea here is that change happens

anyway. Our inner path or journey issimply what follows when we choose toinuence the direction of change. Exactlyhow that change happens is a majorquestion within both Buddhism andFocusing. Buddhism has developed acomplex array of answers, varying fromethical precepts, to study, to mantraand prayer, to many different types of

meditation, based sometimes on quitedifferent inner premises. In Focusing,as in some Buddhist approaches, wesee change as something that happenswhen we can be present with (awareof) what is happening, without askingit to change. Presence itself is enough;just as in the presence of sunshine,moisture and oxygen, a plant growsnaturally healthy.

In an interview last year (for Tricyclemagazine), Gendlin was asked whetherwe can always trust this. Is this

process always moving toward thegood? His reply: Denitely. It is alwaystrustworthy. But this comes with acaution. Since this is a living process,its not something we can determine inadvance. He adds: What trustworthymeans, though, depends here: it is yourliving forward, that it moves toward. Itmoves toward being able to breatheif you cant breathe. It moves toward

relaxing when youre tense. It movestoward more life. And yet what thatmeans varies.

It varies, this movement towards life,because we are never the same personin the same situation (as Heraclitus said:you can never step into the same rivertwice). And perhaps heres the key tohow or why we can trust our experience.Trust grows with practice; with thesafety to get it wrong, to experiment,to nd what works for us. Gradually, welearn to feel, follow and trust our innercompass in every new landscape.

As a Buddhist-Focuser, my practice isto understand the natural order of thingsmore fully. I may think (as a Buddhist) interms of a dependently arising ow ofreality, or (as a Focuser) of living forward and there are no doubt other equallyrelevant frameworks and approaches,which are meaningful to people indifferent traditions. However we frameit, the point for me is to experience itmore completely to gradually alignmyself with it. To be alive in the verymoment to whatever is implied in thatmoment. Then, following that living

forward energy becomes a natural,joyful and spontaneous response toliving. Perhaps one day, the whole of lifewill feel like that. In the meantime, Imhappy to experience just tiny moments;those small, precious steps whichFocusing, meditation and just beingalive so gracefully grants me.cd

Dr. Elizabeth English is also knownin the Focusing community by herBuddhist name, Locana. She is anordained member of the TriratnaBuddhist Community, and author of a

book on Tantric Buddhism, 'Vajrayogini'( 2002, Wisdom Publications). She s acertied trainer in both Focusing andNonviolent Communication and ateacher of Mindfulness. She has aFocusing blog for Focusing articles:ht tp :// li fe atwo rkf oc us in g. blogs pot .com/). And a Communication Tipsblog too: http://lifeatworknow.blogspot.com. You can also sign up for hermonthly Communication Tips on: www.lifeatwork.co.uk

Focusing & Buddhism from Page 2 Focusing & TRE from Page 3

(continued on page 5)

Following the BodySecondly when we are teaching TRE

we are following the body and honingour observation skills. We are noticingand sensing before we intervene tosupport the clients recognition of whathey are experiencing. We may sense

into what is needed to facilitate the clientdiscovering their movement. We mightsimply be inviting the client to tell uswhere they are noticing movement andhow they might describe it.

In Focusing this means we are willing tobe with an unwanted or wanted feelingimage or sensation with curiosity, andpresence. We are reecting the clientswords in a language that allows forforward movement. There is somethingabout the interweaving of these skills thatallows more potential of transformationfor the practitioner as well as the client

Interweaving What I am noticing is a greater

experience of feeling more grounded a more consistent experience of beingin my legs and my core almost like afoundation, a connection to the groundSince I am doing the TRE groundingexercises regularly it is easier to accessthis as a more consistent positive habit

My Focusing practice helps me be intouch or aware of the felt sense of mybody as a more ongoing process. Andbeing more grounded and in presence

is an invitation or an opening to sinkdown further in my body, an experienceof lling myself up from the inside, fromthe ground up and be more curiousabout the world around me includingmy clients process. A trained observemight also notice that clients feel safedoing TRE when the TRE practitioner ismore grounded and in presence

Both Eugene Gendlin PhD, foundeof Focusing, and David Berceli PhDfounder of TRE, encourage theirmethods to be combined with othemodalities. Inner Relationship Focusing

developed by Ann Weiser Cornell PhDand Barbara McGavin, also encouragesapplying Focusing in our daily livingThe effect for me of the interactionbetween the two is experiencing adeeper integration within me of all thework I have done previously. In fact experience a sense of coming full circlewith my work. There is something aboutthe knitting or weaving together of thesetwo practices that opens me up, createsa more porous receptivity, a bringing

7/24/2019 Focusing and Buddhism

5/6The Focusing Connection March 2012

forward to embody and integrate moreof past learning/teaching experiences.

In Focusing as in TRE practice isthe key. My sense is that even as abeginner with 16 months of regular TREpractice that the two practices are so insync that there is a natural, progressive

amplication and inter-twining of oneand another.cd

Ju dy Arche r, MA Sc is an In ne rRelationship Focusing Trainer, TREPractitioner and Certified BodyTalkPractitioner who practices in Orillia,ON, Canada. She can be reached atjudyarcher@rogers.com Her website is

by Roger Cunningham

Hoodies are in the news here a lotlately. Rather interesting, I think. I havebeen wearing a hooded sweatshirt since

I was a kid in the fties. Have a greatpicture of my brother, probably about5:00 in the morning, sitting in my parentsliving room, feeding a new-born pig witha baby bottle, wearing a hoodie!

Then, in the 70s, for certain residentsof Greenwich Village, it seemed theiruniform included a green hoodie. And, formost of America the most hated hoodie inAmerica is a middle-aged, middle-class,Caucasian male, Bill Belichik, the hoodiecoach of the New England Patriots.

So, one might wonder why does JerryRivers (aka Geraldo Rivera) think wearing

a hoodie is asking to be killed?Well, social scientists will have to gure

all of that out. This is a paper aboutFocusing.

I have taught Focusing as part of myclasses in Introduction to Psychologysince I began teaching in 1995. I do notknow how one can teach Psychologyout of a book; the text is ones ownbody, ones own unconscious, not sometextbook. So, Focusing is my mostimportant tool.

A few years ago this tall, 64 blackmale came into class, looking rather

ominous. I could only tell he was black byseeing his hands. His face was coveredwith his hoodie! He had on dark rimmedglasses, and he had pulled the stringson his hood until only his glasses wereexposed, no mouth, no nose, no nothingbut glasses. He sat apart from the class,arms crossed, demonstrating by hisposture complete hostility to the world.

I began the class with a close youreyes, get in touch with your breathingrelaxation exercise, some guidedmeditation and then had the class pairup, face each other and simply take inwho their partner was. No talking, justobserving your partner, taking in whatevercomes up and noticing not only yourpartner but your response to your partnerobserving you. The student participatedand then isolated himself from the class,sat cross armed and closed.

The next week, we paired up and onepartner could speak, while their partnerremained silent. After two weeks ofFocusing pairings, I noticed that thehoodie was opening a bit and a face

Hoodies & Focusing

was appearing. After a few more weeksthe hoodie was opened and then in thefollowing weeks the hoodie was not

covering the head and nally, the studenwore no hoodie at all. He was actually avery nice looking, very amiable humanbeing that became more and more activein the class and brought a lot of insightinto our discussions.

He revealed that he had been raisedin foster care, been neglected and wasreally struggling. It was suggested tha

after pursuing his degree he shouldwork in the foster care system to createreforms so that more children would nohave to suffer the indignities that he had

suffered. He seemed very inspired by thathought.

As with most college students, I havenever heard from him again, although am kind of convinced that he completedhis degree and has moved on in lifemaybe in the foster care system.

And, I am most amazed how Focusingallowed this student to strip downundress, get naked as it were, in frontof this class of strangers and let us learnwho he really was.

The most divine words remain DrGendlins shut up and be human! Simplyworks miracles, hoodie or not.cd

Roger Cunningham is a Focusing traineand Focusing-Oriented Therapist in NewYork. He also makes found sculptures ouof rocks and wood in nature. His articleAdventures Offering Focusing to InnerCity College Students appeared in TFCJanuary 2009. He may be reached ajeff@access.net.

Focusing & TRE from Page 4

24th International Focusing Conference24th Congreso Internacional de Focusing

June 6 - 10 Junio 6-10 2012Argentina

Conference

Awakening ConsciousnessDespertando Consciencia

Coordinator's Meeting: 5 June

Encuentro de Coordinadores: 5 de Junio

7/24/2019 Focusing and Buddhism

6/66 March 2012 The Focusing Conn

dren Focusing Conference: Focusing With

Children & The Child Within, Sept 27-Oct 2.www.focusinginthelearningzone.com BERKELEY, CA: Level Four, Oct 27-28,Ann Weiser Cornell. 510-225-0690 or www.focusingresources.com

Phone & Skype Classes(Skype is a free to use online software) Level 1 for Healing Professionals and Level2 both start in Apr, Lucinda Hayden. 510-225-0690 or www.focusingresources.com Felt Sense In Action startsApr 30, DavidRome. www.mindfulfocusing.com Level 3, Level 3 for Healing Professionals,Level 4 & Focusing Alone all start in May,Ann Weiser Cornell. 510-225-0690 or www.

focusingresources.com Working with Special Populations:Deepening Your Practice as a Focusing-Oriented Therapist starts May 24,.Helene Brenner 510-225-0690 or www.focusingresources.com How the New Can Come in Philosophy,and in Practices Like Therapy & Art starts May8, Gene Gendlin & Ann Weiser Cornell. 510-225-0690 or www.focusingresources.com Levels 1-4, including Level 2 & Level 4for Healing Professionals, all start in Sept,from Focusing Resources. 510-225-0690or www.focusingresources.com Module 1 of Teaching Focusing, Focusing

Alone & Demonstrations of FacilitatingFocusing all start in Sept, from FocusingResources. 510-225-0690 or www.focusingresources.com Focusing: The Second Year starts Sept10, Ann Weiser Cornell. 510-225-0690 orwww.focusingresources.com

Changes Groups & Associations VIRTUAL CHANGES GROUP: 2ndSunday of each month at 7pm EST & 2ndmeeting (day varies) at 11am EST. All dates& registration at http://askmehouse.com/offerings/freebies/virtual-changes-group ARLINGTON, MA: meets one Sunday

afternoon a month. www.arlingtoncenter.org/events NEW YORK, NY: Union Square area.Marsha Lipshitz, 212-734-9004 orsyoung5@juno.com NEW YORK, NY: Westside, 1st Sundayevening each month. Larry Hurst larry.hurst@focus-in-touch.com or 917-595 6884 NEW YORK, NY: NY Metro Focusingthemed community meetings. http://www.nymetrofocusing.org CHICAGO, IL: Meets the 3rd Thursdayevening each month. Chel Ferraro,chelferraro@comcast.net OAK PARK, IL: Chicago-area group meets

CONNECTIONS is a free bulletin board for announcements of Focusing workshops, classes,

and events. Send us advance notice (in English, please) of your workshops and classes including

specic dates. Changes groups are free of charge.

In-Person Classes & Retreats

STONY POINT, NY: Level Two & How toTeach Level Two,Apr 13-15, Ann WeiserCornell. 845-362-5222 or www.focusing.org HAMBURG, GERMANY: Nearer to theHearts Desire: How Focusing Allows WhatYou Want & What is Real to Come Closerto Each Other,Apr 21-22, Ann WeiserCornell. Contact Elmar Kruithoff for details:ek@focusing-center.com or www.focusing-center.de/awc2012 NEW YORK, NY: Focusing-Oriented Psy-chotherapist Training, May 5-6, CharlotteHoworth. 845-362-5222 or www.focusing.org STONY POINT, NY: Thinking at the Edge(TAE) - Levels One & Two, May 10-13, NadaLou. 845-362-5222 or www.focusing.org BERKELEY, CA: Level Five: Guiding NewPeople, May 18-20, Ann Weiser Cornell. 510-225-0690 or www.focusingresources.com NEW YORK, NY: Focusing-OrientedTherapy & Complex Trauma, Jun 2-3, ShaunPhillips. 845-362-5222 or www.focusing.org

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA: 24thInternational Focusing Conference:

Awakening Consciousness, Jun 6-10.http://www.focusing2012ba.com.ar

NEW GERMANY, NOVA SCOTIA, CAN-ADA: Embodied Listening: Unbinding theBody, Finding the Felt Sense, Jul 13-15,

David Rome. www.mindfulfocusing.com BIG SUR, CA: Getting Unblocked, Jun15-17, Ann Weiser Cornell. 510-225-0690or www.focusingresources.com NIJENHOLTPADE, HOLLAND: Children Fo-cusing Training (in English), Jul 15-21, RenVeugelers & Harriet Teeuw. venv@orange.nlor www.ftcz.nl GRASMERE, CUMBRIA, UK: MeditativeListening, Jul 30 Aug 6, Rob Foxcroft &Suzanne Noel. Email rob@robfoxcroft.comfor details. SANTA ROSA, CA: Focusing-Oriented ArtsTherapy (FOAT) Trainings: Level 1 & Level 2,

Aug 4-8, Laury Rappaport. 845-362-5222

or www.focusing.org WANTAGE, OXFORDSHIRE, UK: TreasureMaps to the Soul Retreat, Aug 8-15, AnnWeiser Cornell & Barbara McGavin. 510-225-0690 or www.focusingresources.com GARRISON, NY: 7th Annual FocusingInstitute Summer School,Aug 18-24, AnnWeiser Cornell, Joan Klagsbrun, Nada Lou,Kevin McEvenue & Ren Veugelers. 845-362-5222 or www.focusing.org GARRISON, NY: Level One & Level Onefor Healing Professionals,Aug 18-24, AnnWeiser Cornell. 845-362-5222 or www.focusing.org TORONTO, ON, CANADA: 8th Annual Chil-

Tuesday eves. Bebe Simon, 708-524-1114or http://lgrossman.com/bebe EVANSTON, IL: Sunday nights 7-9 pmMarsha Smith, 847-491-1062 BERKELEY, CA: 1st Friday evening o

each month, 7-8:45pm. Francesca Castaldifrancesca@focusingpathways.net SANTA ROSA, CA: 4th Friday evening oeach month, 6-8pm. Laura Dickinson M.A.laura@innerlifestream.com or 707-527-7352 EUGENE, OR: 2nd & 4th WednesdaysLinda Prier, 541-345-9672 CORVALLIS, OR: 2 Sunday afternoons/month. Nina Joy Lawrence, 541-745-5377or 9ajoy@comcast.net. PORTLAND, OR: 1st and 3rdTuesday evenings, in Hollywood Distfocusinginportland@yahoo.com. RENTON, WA: 3rd Monday. Gail Beck 425226-9139 or Merry OBrien 425-271-6417

SEATTLE, WA: Meets 2nd Mondaymost months, 7:30-9pm. Jane NelsonJaneWN@aol.com VANCOUVER, BC: Every third Thursafternoon Katarina Halm, HappyBones@telus.net or 604-263-9123 MONTREAL, PQ: English Group, 3rdTuesday evening each month, 7-9:30pmKit Racette, 514-968-0927 or kit@amindfulmoment.com MONTREAL, PQ: Solange Saint-Pierre at514-384-3233 OTTAWA, ON: Last Thursday of everymonth. Shulamit Day Berlevtov shulamit@inbox.com or 613-868-9642 SASKATOON, SK: Focusing Community

Practice Group meets once a monthNew members should have training andexperience in Focusing. Contact Dr. EstherStenberg at stenberg.gpp.asr@shaw.ca oSherry McDonald, RN, MAPPC (C) at sherrymcdonald@sasktel.net SIMCOE CO/MUSKOKA, ON: OneSunday a month. Judy Archer, Orillia, ON705-325-2055 judyarcher@rogers.com LEEDS/HUDDERSFIELD, UK: Regulameetings, all focusers welcome. Contactsimon@reect.fslife.co.uk for details REP. OF IRELAND: The Irish FocusingAssoc. Quarterly meetings. Phil Kelly 01-4513207

UNITED KINGDOM: For information aboutFocusing in the UK, and for workshoplistings, please go to www.focusing.org.uk WORLDWIDE: Memberships, Focusingpartnership service, worldwide support foFocusing. The Focusing Institute, 34 EasLane, Spring Valley, NY 10977. Phone/Fax845-362-5222, www.focusing.org

Connections

We only list workshops, Changes groups, andFocusing associations. To find a Focusing teacherin your area, see www.focusing.org/trsearch orwww.focusingresources.com/irf/directory.htm