What Is Focusing?

Kye Nelson

Focusing is a way of accessing a bodily knowing called the felt sense.

The felt sense is the body’s wisdom.  It occurs at the interface of body and mind.  It’s your deep intuitive knowledge. 

The felt sense is always of something: ‘all that’ which you can sense, without actually having any words for it yet, about something you’re experiencing (or have experienced in the past).

The felt sense starts out unclear, but as you focus your attention on it, it can "open" into a whole field of intricate detail.  Learning to Focus, is learning the moves that make this opening happen.

Often what comes in Focusing is surprising, but surprising in a special way; as you sit with a felt sense and the intricacy of it opens up, there is a sudden moment of insight which comes with an ‘of course!’  There is a sense of having ‘always’ known this, and also a sense of having just learned something new. 

Not only insight about the past comes in Focusing.  New steps you can take in your life right now, come as well.  Steps like this come from your own body’s knowing about your situation, and have a characteristically ‘organic’ quality to them.  They fit you, by definition.

Focusing is supported by many research studies.  Eugene Gendlin was the first person to name and point to the felt sense.  His research at the University of Chicago, and a long series of studies since, have established that therapy is more effective when clients know how to access a felt sense. 

Clients who know how to Focus don’t get caught going around and around in thoughts and feelings about the situation.  As they attend to the felt sense, new aspects of their experience emerge. 

If you would like to begin to learn to Focus, you can access steps for the process at this link:  http://www.focusing.org/sixsteps.html 

Though the steps above will help you begin to get to know the process, if you want to become proficient in the process it’s recommended that you find a Focusing teacher or Focusing oriented therapist who can guide you.  You can probably find a teacher near you by consulting the database of teachers on the Focusing Institute website, at www.focusing.org