What if you feel your emotional states easily, but it’s hard to feel your body? Read on…
Gene writes:
When I look inside, I am used to looking for emotion, not sensation. I can sense fairly quickly if I’m angry, or sad, or lonely, or tired. Your method focuses on searching for body sensations, which I find difficult to do. Is it OK to simply sense my emotions and start there, or is there some benefit to focusing on body sensations?
Dear Gene:
It is fine if you start by looking for emotion inside. That is a great way to start Focusing.
But then, look for the body feel of the emotion.
By the way, the felt sense we are looking for in Focusing is not really a “body sensation.” If you fasten your belt too tight, and it pinches, THAT is a body sensation. A felt sense is more the “whole feel of it,” the aura, the gut feeling.
It’s the same way that an artist can feel that a painting isn’t done yet. That is a felt sense.
So if you notice that you are sad, next pause and feel in your body for the “feel” of the sad. Heaviness in the heart? Tears forming in the eyes?
And what often happens is that, when you do that, you can start to feel that it is sad AND… Like sad and disappointed. Or sad and melancholy. Or sad and something indefinable you can’t put words to.
And that’s what happens in Focusing, we go to the place where we can feel there is more than the words we have used. This is exciting because from this place of “more” really new discoveries can come.
Other helpful Focusing Tips
Focusing Tip #401 – What gets in the way & what to do about it.
