No, you didn’t miss one! I did have to skip a week when I was in Europe, away from broadband. And I had such a good time teaching in Hamburg and at the International Focusing Conference in the Netherlands!
The Difference One Session Makes
Many of you are reading these Weekly Tips because you’ve taken some Focusing training and you want tips to keep your practice going. Others are subscribing to find out about Focusing. I welcome both kinds of subscribers.
Today, I have a message for both of you: There’s no substitute for actually Focusing!
I’m telling you this because I tend to forget it myself sometimes… I need this reminder as much as you do! I can get caught up in my busy world, which in my case is a lot ABOUT Focusing–planning future workshops, teaching workshops and classes now, writing, thinking, etc.–and I can forget to actually DO it.
And when that happens, I get a vague, growing sense of unease, as if I’m parting company with myself little by little. There’s a backlog of little worries, little hurts. And living is just that little bit more a burden instead of a delight.
Focusing! When I sit down to do Focusing at last, the tide turns, I come back to myself, I feel a sigh of relief at re-establishing that inner contact. My shoulders lighten. Life is good!
Focusing Now
Some people can focus alone easily. I admire them. Me, I need a partner. There’s something so supportive about that other person’s quiet presence, even if they say nothing.
So if I get behind on my Focusing, I email my Focusing partner and make sure we’ve got a session scheduled. Let’s say it’s next week. What can I do till then?
I can say a friendly hello to my feelings. I can put a gentle hand on the place in my body where I’m feeling something. I can remember that everything is temporary, and everything I feel has a good reason to feel that way… even if I have no idea what it is.
And usually that is enough to get me through the night… or to my next appointment with my Focusing partner.