What if you want to use Focusing to explore a particular issue? Read on…
Mary writes:
Sometimes I’d really like to use a Focusing session to explore a particular issue. But life is so intense these days, there’s always something more immediate. Do I always have to be with what comes up the strongest? Or…?
Dear Mary:
This is a question that many people encounter… and the answer is something like, “Yes… and…”
So before you even start your Focusing session, you have an intention to explore “that particular issue.”
Then, when you bring your awareness into your body, you invite that issue: “I’d like to invite my body’s sense of the whole thing about __.”
And then you wait… something comes…. And there are three possibilities.
- One: What arises in your body is clearly about the issue you wanted to explore.
- Two: What comes in your body is clearly about something else.
- Three: What you feel in your body is something that might be about your issue, and it might not!
In all three cases, your next step is the same: To accept that this is what came, this is what wanted your attention… and you go ahead and do the rest of the process what whatever this is.
Your body is your partner. You can invite, but you can’t compel. It’s perfectly fine to set an intention and invite what you want to explore… as long as you go ahead and spend time with whatever comes.
In my experience, it all evens out in the end. I get to explore whatever needs my attention, and over time, that includes most of what’s important to me, whether it’s urgent or not.
