Focusing and Dzogchen Practice with Ken Bradford. E02 The Living Process with Greg Madison

The Living Process is a series of Focusing conversations with Focusing people. In this episode, I talk with Dr Ken Bradford. Ken combines Buddhist psychology & meditation, existentially-robust therapy, and the nondual awareness of Dzogchen.  He began a dedicated practice of insight meditation in 1975, and Dzogchen. After earning a Ph.D. in Psychology at Saybrook University, Ken trained in Focusing with Eugene Gendlin followed by a decade-long apprenticeship in Existential Psychotherapy with James Bugental including co-teaching with him for several years. During this period, Ken developed a contemplative-existential approach to therapy intertwining Buddhist and experience-near psychology, enhanced through training in Nondual Therapy. Ken recently closed his psychotherapy practice and retired as an Adjunct Professor at John F. Kennedy University and California Institute of Integral Studies, devoting himself to Dharma teaching, personal retreat, writing, and the contemplative life. His teaching is now primarily occurring at Mountain Stream Meditation, in Nevada City, CA, as a member of the Mountain Stream Teachers Council. For more information about Ken's current work, see: www.authenticpresence.net In this episode, Ken and Greg have a far-reaching discussion beginning with his correspondence with Gene Gendlin for about 5 years in the early 80s. In these letters, Ken and Gene wrote about their mutual interest in what they called ‘the openness’ having met at a Buddhist retreat where Gene was teaching Focusing. Ken emphasises the meditative quality that focusing offers to the therapist and how Focusing addresses problems and Buddhism addresses the 'whole thing' but that this can cause a spiritual bypass that focusing catches. We discussed how each person has their own capacity to be present. And we practice a bit of what we are talking about during the conversation…. Ken mentions his training with James Bugenthal and how this could be considered an early form of FOT. Ken also discerns the difference between 'Understanding the experience and experiencing the understanding'. We touch on authenticity, Winnicott, and the importance for therapists to have their own experiential practice. About 10 minutes in you can see my dog, Elliott, re-making his bed. Usually, Elliott is an attentive listener but on this occasion, he was distracted...