I was fortunate enough to attend the recent in-person focusing gathering in the Dominican Retreat Centre in Tallaght and below follows my personal experience of that day.
The centre itself is a very lovely place and the gardens are a treat. We were 12 in number at the gathering. The morning's session: 'Give it a go - Reading Gendlin together' was fascinating. Margaret Quinn and Tom Larkin read an excerpt from 'Three Assertions About the Body' by Eugene Gendlin and then took some time focusing before reflecting individually, expressing back and forth, how they both sensed their internal reception of the excerpt. To me it seemed like the furtherance of an as yet unknown knowing slowly and gently working its way into the conscious mind. An inspirational demonstration.
It acted also as an urging, to me, to explore with Mary Jennings as facilitator, her on line - 'Reading Freshly: an opportunity to read Gendlin's seminal book Focusing, with others', which starts on zoom through Focusing.org on 3rd October 2023. Margaret's and Tom's demonstration was followed by the attendees focusing in groups of three using the same excerpts from Gendlin's book. The day being sunny and warm this was done in the garden.
Lunch was a time to sit together and chat.
The afternoon's session: 'Invite your inner child to come out and play' was facilitated by Elaine Goggin. Elaine's gentle and definitive facilitation of this workshop was powerful. Elaine first instructed us through simple body movements in the room that seemed to evoke a sense of fun. She then led us through a Focusing experiential exercise which was followed by an exercise with crayons where we were invited to allow the colours to spontaneously flow onto the page, to express whatever memory or event might have come from childhood times.
This was followed by focusing in pairs. Again the warm sultry day offered an opportunity to sit outdoors under the shade of a magnificent tree to listen and share with one another in a focusing way.
The afternoon session concluded back inside where those who were so inclined were invited to share how it was to allow your inner child to come out and play.
The day brought to me a strong sense of belonging, to both myself, and to the wider focusing community. Thanks to Tom, Margaret and Elaine for their facilitating throughout the day.
I will finish with one of my favourite passages from Gendlin's seminal book Focusing:
"Your physically felt body is, in fact, part of a gigantic system of here, and other places, now, and other times, you and other people - in fact, the whole universe. This sense of being bodily alive in a vast system is the body as it is felt from inside".
Maggie Neary
