Focusing
is not just for problems! You can also do rich and productive Focusing
sessions on non-problematic issues, such as special life milestones.
Read on…
Focusing lets us go beyond assumptions and cultural norms
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today
is Focusing Tip #200… and it's also my 60th birthday. Which makes me
want to reflect on life's special milestones and how Focusing can be so
very empowering, especially when we want to go for our own uniqueness
and go past cultural assumptions and norms.
I can pause and get a felt sense of me at 60…
…and
the first thing I sense is wonderment, and an image of a blank slate.
There are no expectations that I ever had for being 60 that fit how I
feel right now! It feels like I'm "off the charts," moving outside
known territory.
There is an inner sense of excitement,
adventure… And a smile as the words come: "If there are no rules for
how to be 60, that means I can create it myself!"
I realize that
when I was growing up, I looked all around me to try to understand how
I was "supposed" to be. In my small midwestern town, there seemed to be
patterns and norms for every age and gender.
What I didn't learn
until I learned Focusing was to include a flexible inner sense of
rightness. Sure, I can learn from the examples of others. But I don't
have to be bound by them. Our ever-changing world needs us to create
new patterns out of our talents and needs and connections. How we live
our lives will not be exactly like anyone else, even those we choose to
take as models.
Not Knowing doesn't have to be scary
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There's
something that Barbara McGavin and I realized as we were teaching
Treasure Maps to the Soul last week. When you're Self-in-Presence, not
knowing isn't scary.
From Self-in-Presence, we can feel the known and the not-known, and both are OK.
I'm
feeling this "how it feels to be 60" felt sense, and it feel like
"having climbed." Not knowing how much more there is to the climb, or
when it levels off, or starts to head downward. Exhilaration, is the
feeling.
As for what the specifics are, I don't have to know. I
don't need rules or norms or guidelines. I have friends… and my inner
sense of rightness.
Thanks to all of you, faithful readers, for being with me on this happy day.