by Robert Lott Lee, Ph.D.
© 2026, Robert L. Lee, Ph.D.;
In the last chapter of Gendlin’s philosophical masterpiece, A Process Model, Gendlin has a section called Holding and Letting which describes felt sensing beautifully, where you hold an issue or situation, or theme, or puzzle or dilemma or problem (that you have chosen to work on,) and you “Let” a felt sense form. I find this to be the most elegant of Gendlin’s many descriptions of Felt Sensing.
Experienced focusers eventually learn that you can also go the other way. You can start with a felt sense and you can hold that feeling tone and let the issue or situation come -- which the felt sense is about.
In early focusing there were lots of discussions about the importance of “the focusing attitude”-- being kind to yourself, and to your thoughts and feelings you are exploring, for example. Might this work on “Focusing Attitude” be a third “domain” in addition to Issue-Situation domain and “Felt Sensing” domain? I name that third domain, “Self-Empathy”.
Domain Focusing articulates ways of starting focusing from Issue-Situation (Thinking) domain, or Felt Sensing domain or Self-Empathy domain. For continuing a focusing session, DF (Domain Focusing) emphasizes Holding and Letting between domains by carefully sensing “what next?” Domain Focusing gently builds or asks for an awareness of which domain I am functioning in, and which domain might I go to next in this focusing session.
In DF there are 3 key principles?
1. Do I have sufficient self-empathy for exploring this situation or felt sense? If not is there a careful way forward which would keep things safe? The question about sufficient self-empathy can lead to “the Safety Protocol” which is relevant to very difficult issues -- even trauma, terror, black holing, bi-polaring etc.
2.Do I have sufficient entry to the felt sense, to ask a shift question? Learning how to ask a shift question well is important in DF.
3. Has a felt sense shift forward occurred, and, if so, how do we receive the shift such that the shift fills out, insights can be welcomed, and, sometimes even a state of new possibilities can arrive?
In Domain Focusing, there are 24 avenues into the Felt Sensing (Domain), many of which you will know and usually a few that even experienced focusers are not aware of. There are many ways into the Issue or Situation (Domain) (including a few “Thinking at the Edge” type moves). These Thinking paths are NOT avoidant of felt sensing but rather preparing for felt sensing by specifying further about the key dilemma. There are many ways into the Self-empathy domain. Those are often familiar and comforting. You are learning to love yourself there… even with a them where that may not be so easy. Of course, you will find your own words and ways of entering these domains as you become more familiar with Domain Focusing.
DF builds a bridge between Gendlin’s 6 Steps and his 7th step (Acting into the Situation).
