Focusing Carnival, An Tionol - November 11th 2023
Focusing always surprises! When Marta first raised the possibility of sharing our Focusing skills in a series of workshops, the Focusing Professional Class of 2022-23 was bemused. How did she think we were going to do that? The critical voices and parts were on high alert. Yet, earlier in November, that is exactly what we did. To our surprise (yes, there it is again), a crowd of Focusers, both experienced and new, turned up to our Focusing Carnival in An Tionol, Derreen, East Galway.
After some easy chat and greetings, we settled into that gorgeous upper space of the Barn, bringing hearts, minds and bodies into presence and community. We introduced ourselves and then began the first of our workshops. Kate spoke about the Felt Sense, noting the unknown, the need to pause beyond the first reaction and initial response. Her words resonated and echoed through later sessions of paired Focusing. But, first, Louise, working with her Feldenkrais skills, led us through a meditation in bodily awareness. Slowly and gently, she guided us into deeper awareness of the body, helping us to become more grounded and present to what was awake and alive in us that morning. In a brief sharing, people noted differences between one side and another, how some parts of the body were more alive than others. After a short break, Niamh led a session on Focusing with poetry. Using two poems, Prayer by Carol Ann Duffy and The Peace of Wild things by Wendell Berry, and leaning into guidelines shared by Marie McGuigan, people focused in pairs. It was a freeing way to engage with poetry, allowing the words to awaken the Felt Sense, to spill into the white blank space that surrounds the poem. Lunch was, as always, delicious, wholesome, and served with the love that we have come to cherish from Marta's hospitality. Soon everyone was chatting and getting to know one another.
In the first post-lunch session, Marta Wanczyk brought her musical experience to a workshop with sound, using her beautiful Tibetan sound bowls. During the attunement preceding the Sound Journey, Marta guided us to sense into the Field of Resonance - a space in between that contains and weaves the intricate threads of connection. Again, the attention was on the body, providing another opportunity to encounter the Felt Sense. After the session, people shared how the resonance had traversed, with grace, the expansive silence. We were well set, then, for our final session, which Caroline led. Attending to the 'Self in Presence', she spoke so openly about her experience of Focusing - the importance of holding difficult stuff, without getting lost in the emotion of it all. Her sharing was an attunement, leading us naturally into another paired session. It was amazing to see people earnestly listening, reflecting, sharing, pausing and waiting for a clearer sense of what needs to be known.
We concluded by inviting people to share their sense of the day, leaving us pleased, humbled and, in no small way, surprised (!) by how well it all had gone and how the Felt Sense can become alive through a myriad of ways. We, the class of 22-23 would like to say thank you to those of you who came along and allowed us to practise and share with you. Most of all, thank you to Marta Fabregat, our teacher, who held us together, trusting and believing in us to do our thing.
Caroline, Kate, Louise, Marta and Niamh - The class of 22/23
