The Living Process. Practices in Experience and Existence

Gugga was introduced to Focusing by philosophers at The University of Helsinki. She is a part of the Embodied Critical Thinking and Freedom to Think projects and teaches Focusing and Thinking at the Edge to academics and artists. Gugga came to philosophy after years of being a musician and photographer. Her love of nature made environmental aesthetics and landscape studies an area of philosophy that felt applicable to how she understands the world. In this episode Gugga discusses her interest in the concept of beauty and how it is often narrowed down to something superficial but she redefines beauty as something at the core of being human, an experience that allows us to sense our connection to the world. For Gugga the subtle everyday experiences of beauty can be profound, offering a glimpse of our deep connection to the world. We discussed the meaning of landscape as an interaction between the person and the land and how to be a tourist so that our relation to places is not superficial, taking selfies, but deeper and aesthetic. Guðbjörg (Gugga) Rannveig Jóhannesdóttir is an associate professor at Iceland University of the Arts' department of art education. Environmental philosophy, environmental ethics, phenomenology and aesthetics, and the study of beauty and sensuous knowledge are at the centre of her work. She is a expert group member of the Icelandic government's Masterplan for nature protection and she is an active member of the Embodied Critical Thinking research team and the Freedom to Make Sense research project. She has training in Thinking at the edge and is a certified Focusing trainer. In her teaching at the IUA she has been developing ways to integrate ECT methods into research practices in art and education.  Gugga on The Living Process:https://youtu.be/E6WrG8SfP8wA link to one of Gugga's chapters: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-41344-5_7A video of Gugga's workshop to a group of artists: https://vimeo.com/1053356564The Living Process - all episodes and podcast links: https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/TLP YouTube video channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC0TgN6iVu3n9d9q2l43z1xBMYY3p9FQL

THE EVERYDAY SYSTEMS OF HOME FOCUSING with Annat Gal On. The Living Process with Greg Madison. E35In this episode I have the pleasure of speaking with Annat Gal On, Focusing Coordinator and Systemic and Family Constellations facilitator. Annat describes her interest in everyday systems of relationships, trauma and criticism, as well as the importance of sibling dynamics. Annat touches on her own story, her development as an only child, experiences of therapy, and how she integrates Focusing into her closest personal relationships. She has taken these interests and influences and developed what she calls Home Focusing. We end the conversation with a few comments about life in Israel and her experience of conflict between and within national systems. I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did. Episode 35 with Annat Gal On: https://youtu.be/CKxIXCwpXxMThe Living Process - all episodes and podcast links:https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/TLP YouTube video channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC0TgN6iVu3n9d9q2l43z1xBMYY3p9FQLThe Living Process on the FOT Youtube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx3FqA70kQWuHCHmEiZnkn1VcrRIPbcvk#Familytherapy#Constellations#BertHellinger#Bodytherapy #trauma #israel #warzone #psychotherapy #thelivingprocess #Experientialpractice #Gendlin #Focusing #somaticexperience #Somaticwork #couplestherapy #CriticismAnnat Gal On is a TIFI certified Focusing Trainer and Coordinator. Annat accompanies individuals, couples, and families in the HomeFocusing processes, but she emphasises teaching and spreading the word internationally about Home Focusing. She is available to travel and teach this model that integrates Focusing, systems and relationships. Her website includes an interesting blog with accessible articles on various everyday topics. For information on Home Focusing see: https://homefocusing.com/eng-home/Upcoming training in the Netherlands - https://homefocusing.vp4.me/Utrecht

I’m happy to announce The Living Process, Episode 34 with Schema Therapist Janis Briedis. In this episode Janis and I discuss the ways in which the body and the level of immediate experience can enhance the schema therapy approach and psychotherapy in general. Janis talks about the usefulness of having a ‘top-down’ theoretical approach that interacts with a ‘bottom-up’ experiential resonance and confirmation. He also speaks about different ‘modes’ of experiencing - what we often refer to as ‘parts’ in FOT. We can each have ‘healthy adult’ modes, ‘child modes’, as well as established schemas (life patterns, habitual ways of feeling and perceiving) that often develop in early life. We notice that there is a lot of familiarity between a FOT and a body-based schema approach, sometimes with different language yet often pointing at similar phenomena. Janis and his colleague, Dr Helen Startup, are co-directors of The Schema Therapy School, offering training in body-based schema therapy for therapists across Europe.Janis BriedisJanis was originally trained in the UK as an existential psychotherapist. He has also completed training in Somatic Experiencing and Sensorimotor Therapy. He was previously trained as a massage therapist so his interest in body approaches is long-standing. He has a personal passion for dance, 5 Rhythms, and Movement Therapies. He is experienced in various theories and approaches to trauma work and includes training in this area. For more information on training programmes see The Schema Therapy School: https://schematherapyschool.co.ukEpisode 34: Janis Briedis. https://youtu.be/GSqXsnYeDbUThe Living Process - all episodes and podcast links: The Living Process - all episodes and podcast links:https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/Living Process on the FOT Youtube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx3FqA70kQWuHCHmEiZnkn1VcrRIPbcvk#experiential  #thelivingprocess #focusing #trauma  #gendlin #schematherapy #CBT #Bodytherapy #somatic experiencing

Russell Delman, a respected teacher in Zen Buddhist meditation and Feldenkrais, shares profound insights on living a meaningful life. He explores the quest for significance beyond survival, discussing how our identities and connections shape our experiences. The conversation highlights the transformative power of presence and gratitude in everyday moments. Additionally, Russell emphasizes the value of embracing both joyful and painful experiences fully, advocating for a holistic understanding of identity that transcends physical limitations.

AI and the process of thinking with Donata Schoeller. The Living Process with Greg Madison. Episode 32. This, 5th conversation with Donata, tackles the huge topic of AI - artificial intelligence, something that has now exploded into almost every area of human life. In our conversation, Donata stresses the importance of the process of thinking not just the outcome of thinking. Below are some points that feel most important and a link at the bottom to a document Donata offers as a summary. We both used chatGPT to help generate the points and the document and then refined what was produced so that it resonated with what we wanted to say, an instance of the use of AI that Donata is advocating! * AI discussions often compare it to human intelligence, but we need to improve our understanding of human thinking to use AI for our benefit.* Education should focus on understanding the process of thinking, not just output.* Teachers need to create assignments that imply real engagement and can’t be easily done by AI, encouraging students to think. But how?* Thinking is often seen as vague and hard, making AI a handy tool to avoid it.* Eugene Gendlin’s methods show a grounded, embodied way of thinking that connects with real experiences.* Hannah Arendt's political thinking stresses the need to use real experiences for clarity, encouraging engagement with life’s complexities, including emotions.* Developing inclusive thinking needs courage and openness, with Gendlin’s methods helping with this.* Joint attention and embodied resonance are key for cognitive growth, making thinking more inclusive, joyful, and trustworthy.* Embodied thinkers are connected to the earth and other living processes, a concept educators should promote.Episode 32. AI and the process of thinking, with Donata Schoeller: https://youtu.be/rBMkUm1hO_kDr Donata Schoeller is a philosopher who teaches internationally at various universities and is the academic director of the program "Training in Embodied Critical Thinking. In addition to her extensive work on Gendlin’s philosophy, Donata has also published on Gendlin’s philosophy and was involved in translating Gendlin’s text A Process Model into German. She teaches Thinking at the Edge and is a Focusing trainer offering courses in Switzerland, internationally, and online.https://www.donataschoeller.comThe Living Process - all episodes and podcast links:https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/Living Process on the FOT Youtube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx3FqA70kQWuHCHmEiZnkn1VcrRIPbcvkDonata's document is here:http://youtube.com/post/Ugkx1VV5L6mVxdVZa61ybP3wQijRBa071O_4?si=DiFoqe-SA8aFgDhq#focusing #AI #thinking #Gendlin #The Living Process #Embodied #Philosophy of Embodied Critical Thinking

We Are Nature. Focusing and Ecotherapy with guest Adrian Harris and host Greg Madison. Episode 31In this episode, Adrian and I share an intriguing conversation about how the body is our connection to the other-than-human and how this embodiment can lead to a deep form of eco-appreciation and activism. Adrian describes what he means by ecopaganism, ecopsychology and lists the 3 keys to ecotherapy self-practice. We also touch on the question of how therapy might expand if it is practiced in nature rather than within four walls. Adrian’s work compliments Gendlin’s statement, ‘In sensing ourselves, our bodies sense our physical environment and our inter-human situations’ (Gendlin, 2003. p.101).Episode 31 with Adrian Harris: https://youtu.be/0xu6x9u0bl4?si=ruRtFeGq9iQ1m_lSThe Living Process - all episodes and podcast links:https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/TLP YouTube video channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC0TgN6iVu3n9d9q2l43z1xBMYY3p9FQLThe Living Process on the FOT Youtube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx3FqA70kQWuHCHmEiZnkn1VcrRIPbcvkDr Adrian Harris is based in Exeter, UK, and works as a person-centred, FOT and Ecotherapist in person and online. He also has a blog, Bodymind Place and the podcast Embodied Pathways. He has worked as a psychedelic retreat facilitator, lead editor of The European Journal of Ecopsychology and has published numerous academic and popular articles. His PhD research was on The Wisdom of the Body: Embodied Knowing in Eco-Paganism and the Embodiment Resources website has more information on his academic work and his website below has information on courses and offerings. https://adrianharris.orgHarris, Adrian. 2013. ‘Gendlin and ecopsychology: focusing in nature' in Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies Volume 12, Issue 4, 2013.Fisher, A., 2002. 'Radical Ecopsychology: Psychology in the Service of Life'. State University of New York Press, Albany.Ecopsychology: restoring the earth, healing the mind, 1995, edited by Theodore Roszak, Mary E. Gomes, and Allen D. Kanner. Sierra Club Books. San Francisco, CA.This book includes Robert Greenway's chapter: ’The Wilderness Effect and Ecopsychology'  and Chellis Glendinning on 'Technology trauma and the wild'.Ollagnier-Beldame, M., (2025) 'Experiencing life and belonging to nature with Focusing', European Journal of Ecopsychology:https://ecopsychology-journal.eu/v9/EJE_v9_Ollagnier-Beldame.pdf'The Embodied Pathways of Connection' is Adrian’s ongoing overview project:https://embodiedpathways.org/

In this engaging discussion, Russell Delman, a respected Zen Buddhist meditation teacher and Feldenkrais expert, explores the transformative journey of embodied living. He emphasizes the importance of physical awareness and the power of 'not-knowing' in personal growth. Listeners learn about Moshé Feldenkrais's influential methods and the delicate balance between outrage and constructive action in activism. Delman also highlights compassionate listening and navigating life's uncertainties, urging us to embrace both joy and suffering on our paths to self-discovery.

Focusing during wartime with Dan Schachter on The Living Process with Greg Madison. E29 Welcome to this episode of The Living Process, following quite soon on the last episode because of the topical nature of my conversation with Dan.  In our conversation, we speak mainly about the experience of living within the conflict between Israel and Palestine. We also talk about Dan’s gradual transition from psychoanalysis to experiential therapy back in the early 1990s. Dan has trained in Somatic Experiencing and EMDR and works in a trauma clinic as well as privately.  We touched on what it is like to work as a clinical psychologist with clients who might have a very different perspective on the war going on around them. What it is like to be living in a society that is undergoing such a deep crisis which all clients and therapists are affected by on a daily basis? Dan talks about how crucial felt sensing, TAE, and Gendlin’s underlying experiential philosophy have been as a resource in his attempts to navigate the complexity of feelings and attitudes amongst Israelis. We acknowledge how difficult it is to hold the tension between one’s own truth and wanting to remain open to the nuances of other opinions with an awareness that even in this podcast we are inevitably stepping into this minefield of judgment and criticism. Dan mentions his participation in PsychoActive, a mental health group for human rights opposed to the occupation of Palestinian territory, and how taking such a stance does not close him to being curious about other ways of experiencing all that is happening in his region of the world.   Dan Schachter,  Is originally from Norway and has lived in Israel for many years, speaking English, Hebrew, and Norwegian fluently. Dan is a Focusing coordinator, a Focusing Oriented Therapist, and a clinical psychologist in private practice. He teaches Focusing, TAE (Thinking at the Edge) and the philosophy of the implicit and is well known in the Focusing community for his contributions to various projects including the International Focusing Institute Certification Weeklong core faculty. You can contact Dan at: DanS545@gmail.com  Episode 29 of The Living Process with guest, Dan Schachter. Focusing during wartime:  https://youtu.be/-jOAy_vYgPE The Living Process - all episodes and podcast links: https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/ Greg’s YouTube video channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC0TgN6iVu3n9d9q2l43z1xBMYY3p9FQL The Living Process on the FOT Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx3FqA70kQWuHCHmEiZnkn1VcrRIPbcvk #somaticexperience  #trauma  #Focusing  #Gendlin  #Bodytherapy  #warzone #israel #gaza #existentialism   #Experientialpractice  #bodymind   #thelivingprocess #psychotherapy #mindfulness

Focusing and Self-Discovery with Jeffrey Morrison on The Living Process with Greg Madison. Episode 28 In this episode, I welcome Jeffrey Morrison who is well-known in our community as a Focusing Oriented Therapist and Teacher of Focusing. Jeffrey and I outline his interesting journey from philosophy and theology through existential-phenomenological therapy into the world of Focusing and Gendlin’s philosophy. We discuss the importance of structure when teaching a natural process, as well as psychedelics and the role of death awareness in developing spirituality. We touch on Jeffrey’s interest in trauma, neuroscience, the role of the physical body, and also how Focusing can help us avoid joining the polarised conflicts that are plaguing our world. Jeffrey studied philosophy, and religion before concentrating on psychology after being exposed to Focusing. He has worked in various settings with adolescents, parents, and teachers. He has trained in Family System Therapy, Adlerian Psychology, meditation, aspects of Feldenkrais, Zen, and recently co-wrote a chapter on Polyvagal Theory and trauma. He operates his clinical practice as well as offering certifying courses in FOT in Seattle and Vashon Island, Washington, as well as online. He is a Certifying Coordinator with The International Focusing Institute. Episode 28, The Living Process with guest Jeffrey Morrison https://youtu.be/l9eLZ6pfg3k The Living Process - all episodes and podcast links: https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/ YouTube video channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC0TgN6iVu3n9d9q2l43z1xBMYY3p9FQL The Living Process on the FOT Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx3FqA70kQWuHCHmEiZnkn1VcrRIPbcvk For more information on Jeffrey and his work: Seattle Focusing https://seattlefocusing.org Morrison Therapy https://morrisontherapy.com Focusing-Oriented Therapy for the Treatment of Trauma (Jeffrey Morrison and Riley Patterson) in the edited book Experiential Therapies for Treating Trauma (Eds. Senreich, Straussner, Dann, Routledge 2025). #somaticexperience#trauma#Focusing#Gendlin#Bodytherapy#Zen#Experientialpractice#bodymind #thelivingprocess#buddhist #psychotherapy#mindfulness #spiritualawakening #experientialpractice #thelivingprocess

The Living Process episode 27 with guest Jonathan Foust Energy Flow and The Pathless Path I’m very happy to welcome Jonathan Foust to this episode. Jonathan has a lifetime of spiritual practice to share. He has dedicated his life to yoga practices, Buddhist meditation, mindfulness practice as well as Focusing. In our conversation we touch on how Focusing fits with these various somatic practices and the spiritual understanding of energy flow in the body. Jonathan shares his own personal journey and questions such as what body are we working with and what does it mean to heal? We discuss Focusing as pointing to the pathless path and how close it is to the RAIN model as used by Jonathan and his wife, meditation teacher Tara Brach. We wondered whether therapy really offers much more than these other effective and compassionate approaches. Jonathan offers a weekly talk on his website and is working on guidance for being with physical pain. We end by talking a bit about how to respond to the uncertainties and suffering in contemporary societies.  Jonathan Foust, MA, CSA, is a guiding teacher with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington and a founder of the Meditation Teacher Training Institute in Washington. A senior teacher and former president of Kripalu Center, he leads retreats, trainings and classes around the United States and works individually with those interested in healing and spiritual awakening. He’s trained in a wide range of healing modalities, including Focusing (Certified Trainer), Kripalu Yoga, Trager Work, Cranio-Sacral, Reiki and Polarity Therapies to name a few. He has a Master of Arts in Education and certifications in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Focusing and Dharma practices. He has spent decades in Ashram and spiritual communities and now offers body-centred inquiry on retreats and intensives. For many years he has lived near Washington DC with his wife psychologist and mediation teacher Tara Brach.  Episode 27, The Living Process with guest Jonathan Foust: https://youtu.be/Fz19hg-4oVc The Living Process - all episodes and podcast links: https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/ Greg’s YouTube video channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC0TgN6iVu3n9d9q2l43z1xBMYY3p9FQL The Living Process on the FOT Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx3FqA70kQWuHCHmEiZnkn1VcrRIPbcvk For more information on Jonathan, his talks and retreats, see his website and YouTube videos available at: https://www.jonathanfoust.com #somaticexperience  #trauma  #Focusing  #Gendlin  #Bodytherapy  #Zen  #Experientialpractice  #bodymind   #thelivingprocess #buddhist  #psychotherapy #mindfulness #jonathanfoust