“For me, living a Focusing life means being able to trust my inner sense of rightness in my choices and my relationships.”
― Ann Weiser Cornell
Be more fully present in your life.
You’ve discovered you love Focusing. After 18 weeks of Path to Lasting Change, you’re living with more presence and possibilities. Old stuck places are starting to shift.
But you also know that you’re just at the beginning. You could use more practice to feel confident and relaxed with Focusing partnership. There are still areas where Focusing hasn’t brought you change. And you’re curious — what would it be like if you could bring Focusing more fully into your life?
Wouldn’t it be great to have support to really live your life in a Focusing way? You’d feel more skillful as a Focusing partner and also be able to do Focusing alone. You’d have a deeper understanding of parts, felt senses, and how to live from Self-in-Presence more of the time. And you’d apply Focusing to areas like making decisions, releasing blocks, pursuing your desires and dreams, and the spiritual dimension of Focusing.
“Nothing that feels bad is ever the last step.”
― Gene Gendlin
What’s different and special about this training:
Living a Focusing Life starts at an advanced level. We build on everything you’ve learned in Path to Lasting Change. It’s one thing to learn the concepts. But to really integrate them takes time and practice. How great to be able to do that in a supportive group, with a master teacher!
Focusing isn’t just for those quiet times with your eyes closed. With practice, you can LIVE Focusing every day, all through the day — in your relationships, your decisions, your actions. You can live from and as Self-in-Presence, all day long.
When you spread that process of integration over seven months, with lots of practice, you end up with an experience of really living in a new way. Priceless!
You’ll gain confidence and ability in:
- all aspects of Focusing partnership
- being better at Focusing alone
- living your life from Self-in-Presence more and more
- following your “inner sense of rightness”
- using Focusing to make decisions, release blocks, go after your heart’s desire
- bringing Focusing to issues in your relationships
The Structure of The Course:
- We meet as an online group on Zoom for 18 two-hour classes every week at first and later every other week.
- You will be paired with a different partner from the course every other week unless you arrange something different. (For example, you could ask to be with the same person each time, or some other arrangement.)
- There’s a new handout each time with a new exercise to try out with your partner. Many of these are “protocols” where you get the precise language to take your partner through the process.
- During class we will have presentations, discussions, group guided exercises, and demonstrations.
- Each time Ann will share an important quote from the philosophy of Eugene Gendlin, and we’ll discuss how it supports us in living in a Focusing way.
- Ann is available in between class meetings for your questions by email.
This course could be right for you if:
- You want to go further with Focusing – and Ann – in a group that lasts 18 weeks so we can really give each other lots of support… and so you can go deeper into your own healing and growth.
- You don’t want to take the two-year certification program to teach Focusing to other people – either that’s not your thing or it’s not the right time – but you do want to work with Ann and go further with your Focusing.
- You’re interested in learning more about Gendlin’s philosophy and applying it.
3 Steps to Living a Focusing Life
About Your Teacher
Ann Weiser Cornell, PhD, is the co-developer (with Barbara McGavin) of Inner Relationship Focusing and Untangling®. Ann learned Focusing in 1972 from its developer, Eugene Gendlin, and was his close friend and colleague to the end of his life.
As the CEO of Focusing Resources, she has taught in twenty countries around the world for more than thirty-five years, as well as online. Ann has written a number of definitive books on Focusing, including The Power of Focusing: A Practical Guide to Emotional Self-Healing, and The Radical Acceptance of Everything.
In Path to Lasting Change, Part Two you learned how to help with blocks to Focusing like “The Feeling about the Feeling,” inner criticizing parts, feeling overwhelmed and feeling nothing. As you learned how to help other people with those blocks, you were also learning about them for yourself.
In Living a Focusing Life we will continue the process of learning how to help yourself and others with specific blocks and specific kinds of issues. Each week there will be a new exercise tailored for that particular area. We’ll learn the theory behind it, practice the process in class with a guided exercise or a demonstration, and then pair up during the week to try it in a session with a partner.
More about the areas we’ll be exploring:
Self-in-Presence
Working with Parts
Focusing with Decisions
Releasing Blocks to Action
Longing and the Heart’s Desire
The Spiritual Side of Focusing
Learn 3 Ways To Bring More Focusing Into Your Day
Watch a replay of Ann’s free webinar. You’ll come away with insights on how to use Focusing to:
- connect with your inner sense of rightness, for example with decisions
- communicate clearly in relationships
- know what you really want and be willing to go for it
You’ll also learn more about the upcoming course, Living a Focusing life.
Ready to Live a Focusing Life?
Join us and bring Focusing more fully into your life in a multitude of ways!
Pay in full or in six installments.
Scholarships
We’re committed to making this course as diverse and accessible as possible.
To learn more about scholarship options in detail, click here.
Living a Focusing Life
$1,697.00
September 16, 2024 to May 19, 2025
2024: September 16, 23 & 30, October 14 & 28, November 11 & 25, December 9
2025: January 6, 20 & 27, February 10 & 24, March 10 & 24, April 7; May 5 & 19
18 Mondays; 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM Pacific
Taught by Ann Weiser Cornell
Last Day to Register: September 9
Click Here for Information About Payment Plans
Installment plans include processing fees. To set up your payment plan, choose the option labeled “PAYMENT PLAN OPTION” during checkout, then the Place Order button.
Additional details
This is advanced training: You’ll need four Levels of Focusing (now taught under the name Path to Lasting Change, Parts One and Two) in order to join
Not sure? I’d love to chat with you about it! Just click here to set up a free 20-minute call or Zoom meeting with me.
What People Are Saying
How Online Courses Work
We use Zoom, an online video conference platform, to connect you to other students and the teacher. Before the class starts you will receive a Zoom link to use each time the class meets. You can join us via your camera-equipped computer, tablet, or smart phone. Prefer not to be on video? You can turn off your camera. Don’t want to call via computer? You can call in by phone. Zoom is free and easy to use. You will be able to sign on in advance to make sure you can access it, but we’ve had very few problems with it. Students also receive access to a private webpage where course materials can be found.
Prerequisite
Path to Lasting Change Part Two (or Focusing Level Four) with an Inner Relationship Focusing Teacher
Continuing Education Credit & Record of Completion
Course meets the qualifications for 36 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Focusing Resources, CAMFT Approved CE Provider #62524
Focusing Resources is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs. Focusing Resources maintains responsibility for this course and its content.
There is a $25 administrative fee for CE Credits. Records of Completion are awarded at the end of the course upon completion of all requirements and the course evaluation. (If you don’t want CE Credits but would like a Record of Completion, the $25 fee does still apply.)
Eligibility for CE Credits requires at least 80% live attendance. Missed classes must be made up.
Cancellation and Refund Policy
Up to 14 days before the first day of class: Just let us know and we’ll refund your course fee. Or you can choose to apply the entire course fee towards a future class with us.
Cancellations received 13 days or fewer before class begins: No refund, sorry.
When Something Doesn't Go As You'd Hoped...
We are always open to discussing experiences with our courses that didn’t work for you or didn’t go the way you expected. Depending on the circumstances, you may want to email your course instructor, the staff member in charge of your course, or Ann Weiser Cornell. Email addresses for all these people will be supplied on registration. We will work with you to find a way to meet your needs.
Do I have to be present for every class? What about recordings?
This is a participatory partnership class and your presence at most of the classes is important, but there is no precise number of classes you need to attend — unless you want CE Credits, in which case you need to attend 80% of the classes and make up any missed classes. Every class will be recorded and the recordings will be available to every registered participant.
To respect the confidentiality and privacy of our participants we do not provide video recordings of our classes. All recordings are provided as audio files.
I’ve taken Getting Free or Treasure Maps; will this be the same?
People who have taken the Getting Free course or the Treasure Maps to the Soul retreat will recognize Self-in-Presence and parts, but there is lots of material in this class that wasn’t covered in those courses, including specific work with action blocks, decisions, the inner sense of rightness, and the heart’s desire. In addition, we’ll be spending time on bringing Focusing into daily life.
I’ve not taken Treasure Maps yet, is that OK?
Of course! The only pre-requisite for this class is Path to Lasting Change, Part Two (or four Levels).
What’s the relationship between this course and Certification Training?
Living a Focusing Life could be taken before, after, during, or instead of certification training. (It does not lead to certification itself, but certainly enhances practitioner skills.) If what you want is to deepen your own Focusing practice (with a partner), then Living a Focusing Life is the most direct route.
What is the format? How does the partnership work?
Each class you’ll get new teaching, including theory, examples, and specific language for taking a partner through the process we are learning about. There are also handouts each week written especially for this course. There’s an experiential component to every class. You’ll have an assigned partner each week, and you can tell us if you’re not available that week, or if there is someone particular you’d like to work with.
You’re certainly welcome to bring what you’re learning to your other Focusing partnerships outside the course. And feel free to bring the new skills to your clients if you’re a healing professional—it’s meant to be shared!
Other questions? Let me know by clicking here.