"Without some people who listen, it is hard to hear oneself." Gene Gendlin
Our Focusing Refresher course got off to a flying start in September. Our purpose in offering this course is to provide an opportunity to pause and explore what is important when Focusing with another person. We hope that providing a space to sense into the vital aspects of partnership will deepen and enrich each person’s practice and develop our Focusing community.
Each Focusing Refresher evening is facilitated by a trainer from our network. Each month we explore a particular theme. Marta Fabregat started us off in September with an evening devoted to grounded aware presence and deep listening. In October Kay McKinney developed the theme of listening, invited us to sense into how it feels to be a listener and how to look after ourselves while listening.
On November 25th Elaine Goggin invites you to join her and explore how to look after yourself when you feel uncomfortable with your partner’s approach to listening. It’s no surprise that discomfort might arise when people who have trained differently in Focusing come together in partnership. But how might such a situation be managed and even become an opportunity to grow as a Focuser?
Each Refresher evening begins with a little teaching and discussion around the theme. Participants are then invited to Focus in breakout rooms paying particular attention to this theme. The time to Focus is shorter than in our regular zoom sessions. Afterwards there is time to reflect on the theme and share insights and/or experiences.
We warmly invite you to join a refresher session whenever you can. All members of the network are welcome — whether you’ve attended the weekly zoom sessions regularly, occasionally or not at all. They take place on the last zoom session of the month and will continue until at least March. You’ll be notified by email in advance of each evening.
We would love some feedback about the Refresher evenings. Are they helpful? What do you appreciate about the evenings? Is there a theme you’d like us to explore? Please get in touch.
Here are the dates and themes for the rest of 2024.
Monday 25th November 2024
Mind Yourself Now!:
Exploring your own way of looking after yourself and your parts when you feel uncomfortable with a different listening approach.
Elaine Goggin
Monday 9th December 2024
Taking in & Saying Back:
Exploring how the Listener can support and enrich the Focuser's process by reflecting.
Therese Ryan
