The Living Process. Practices in Experience and Existence

The Living Process Episode 26 with host Greg Madison  Guest Rob Parker Paradigm Leaping Welcome back to The Living Process. In this episode, Rob talks about his interests in philosophy, especially existentialism, from an early age and it was this interest, combined with his desire to help other young kids like himself, that led him to Gendlin. Rob’s first experience of the Focusing world was a 3-day Thinking at the Edge workshop with Gendlin at Stony Point. Unusually his interest in philosophy was his way into Focusing. We talk about Rob’s interest in ‘meaning’, his journey from the ideas of Gregory Bateson to Maurice Marleau-Ponty and Thomas Kuhn, and how these thinkers brought him to Gendlin and a unique opportunity to drop everything and learn from this new philosopher. In our conversation, we touched on how learning Focusing affected Rob’s therapy practice. He also talks about learning from Mary Hendricks Gendlin how to slow down and work with the felt sense in sessions and we touched upon the political and social implications of The Process Model. Rob mentioned his modification of the EXP scale and his use of Zen and Focusing to work with The Inner Critic.   Rob Parker is well-known in the Focusing world and beyond as a clear thinker representing Gendlin’s A Process Model and Gendlin’s other philosophies to a lay audience. He has a longterm interest in Zen, spirituality, and science. For years Rob was a practicing psychologist, originally in the existential tradition, specialising in psychological trauma. In 2000 Rob found the philosophy of Eugene Gendlin, which he dedicated himself to understanding by meeting Gendlin every week until Gendlin died in 2017.   For information on Rob, his workshops, and his writing on Gendlin’s philosophy, see: www.lifeforward.org Episode 26, The Living Process with guest Rob Parker: https://youtu.be/oAZh5uCe_Yo 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  #Zen  #Experientialpractice  #bodymind   #thelivingprocess #existentialism #psychotherapy

The Living Process Episode 25 Guest Lynn Preston A Group Listening Revolution Welcome back to The Living Process and this episode with my friend Lynn Preston. Lynn had just returned from a Psychoanalytic Self Psychology conference in Rome, having caught covid on the flight back, so you may notice that her voice is a bit husky but only her energy is infectious. In this conversation, we discussed how to translate between her very different therapeutic communities and what she values from Kohut’s psychoanalytic theories of development and the importance of empathy. Lynn mentioned a paper she wrote some time ago which attempts to bridge the different languages of Kohut and Gendlin’s understandings and it went over very well with her psychoanalytic colleagues. The link to that paper, The Edge of Awareness is below. Lynn and I spoke mostly about her Community Empowerment group work. We discussed revolutionary listening and how groups could evolve to allow us to talk about our differences. We mentioned the ‘carrying forward’ of the group process and how we know so little about this but one important principle according to Lynn is that not everyone has to agree. She suggests that we need Revolutionary Talking not just Revolutionary Listening in order to move beyond the dyad model. How can the practice of Focusing be expanded to practices of relating? How can the ‘us’ of the group make the individuals more of themselves rather than less. How can we map the challenges of group interaction in the way that in Focusing we have mapped how to work personally and as a dyad? Is mapping out the group process the next step for us in focusing? Lynn believes this is the year to bring this further development into the world. Episode 25 with Lynn Preston: https://youtu.be/tY0fRybIWcM Lynn Preston is well-known in the Self Psychology community and the Focusing Oriented Therapy community. She has spent years teaching and writing about both forms of therapy and had a long-standing friendship with Eugene Gendlin. Lynn's recent efforts have included her Community Empowerment initiative as well as spearheading the Focusing Therapy Youtube channel. Lynn's contacts: lynpres@aol.com http://www.lynnprestonforp.com The link to the paper we mention is here: The Edge of Awareness: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247527307_The_Edge_of_Awareness_Gendlin's_Contribution_to_Explorations_of_Implicit_Experience Links to all videos and podcasts: https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/ Focusing Oriented Therapies YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx3FqA70kQWuHCHmEiZnkn1VcrRIPbcvk

This is a different sort of episode of The Living Process where the usual host, Dr Greg Madison, swaps seats with Prof. Mia Leijssen and enters into a conversation about his own passions, experience, and history of Focusing. There were a few interruptions during the conversation which were edited out but referred to again at the end of the discussion, showing the importance of being able to find our way back from distractions to the felt sensing flow of a conversation. And of course, Elliott ensures he makes an appearance! The conversation turns out to be surprisingly personal while also commenting on Focusing oriented therapy and the uncommon integration of Focusing into existential practice. We touch on learning about self-disclosure from working in an acute hospital setting, the hope that listening skills can save our democracies from political polarisation, and the challenge of facing the end of life with awareness and presence. Thank you to Mia for her generosity in reaching out with this idea and her skill in deepening our conversation. Episode 24. Consistent Existence with Greg Madison: https://youtu.be/yke9KJttfFI All episodes of The Living Process: https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/ FOT Youtueb channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx3FqA70kQWv_jrEOS0luVPVhiS5T1pus Dr Greg Madison is an existential psychologist, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, Focusing-oriented psychotherapist, and Coordinator for The International Focusing Institute. For some years Greg enjoys creative collaborations as an independent lecturer, contributing to various academic, community, and professional trainings internationally. He has written and co-edited books and articles on Existential Migration, Focusing Oriented Psychotherapy, Existential Therapy, and contemporary topics related to psychology and society. He is the founder of The London Focusing Institute, and maintains a client practice, teaching commitments, writing, and hosts The Living Process podcast. https://www.gregmadison.net https://www.londonfocusing.com Professor Mia Leijssen is the academic director of the massive Open Online Course: Existential Well-being Counseling: A Person-centered Experiential Approach. You can discover more about this course and contact Mia at these addresses: https://focusing.org/resources/mia-leijssen-fot-2023 www.existentieelwelzijn.be https://existentialwellbeing.com #focusing #gendlin #somaticexperience #existentialism #psychotherapy #existentialtherapy #experiential #gregmadison #thelivingprocess #death #focusingtherapy #personalgrowth

Delighted to welcome Judy and Nikos to this, episode 23 of The Living Process. Our guests are well known for their achievement of editing Senses of Focusing Volume 1 and 2, two fantastic resources featuring new writing and diverse perspectives on Focusing and FOT. In this episode, we discuss critiques of focusing, what is coming next for them both, and positive developments they would like to see happen in therapy generally and in the Focusing world. In our 3-way conversation, we touch on the way that other approaches like the person-centered approach, Internal Family Systems, or Emotion Focus Therapy might incorporate focusing as a technique without fully integrating the fundamental importance of the experiential response, felt sensing, and carrying forward. We touched on different words and understandings for theories of the body, for eg the Ancient Greek terms like 'pathos' and the difference it offers if we allow ancient philosophy to be experienced freshly. We raised questions regarding what we can do to be better understood by other traditions and to translate some of our discoveries so that therapists from other orientations can think further with them. How do we in FOT deal with abrupt or cathartic changes? How do we engage with theories? How can we build bridges with other therapeutic communities and philosophies? What is our view of the person? Is there a spiritual context for our understanding of human being? Can we stay open to other ways of thinking so that they stay open to us? What is the future of FOT and therapy? How to keep developing FOT ourselves after the work of Gendlin… In response to this Judy and Nikos are planning a series of seminars or a symposium to welcome critical thinking and deeper exploration of Focusing, FOT and our relationship to other ways of understanding. Nikolaos Kypriotakis has studied Physics and has been trained in Person-Centred & Focusing-Oriented Psychotherapy, Person-Centred Supervision and Children Focusing. He works as an FOT therapist and Focusing Trainer for the Hellenic Focusing Center and he is a Certifying Coordinator with The International Focusing Institute, New York. Together with Judy Moore he edited the collective work Senses of Focusing, Vol. I & II and has translated into Greek the book Focusing by Eugene T. Gendlin. He was the editor-in-chief of the magazine Εποχή-Epoché (Phenomenological Psychotherapies), for the issues n.1 to n.16. Judy Moore was originally trained in the classical Person-Centred Approach on the first PCA professional training in the UK. She taught on the postgraduate Diploma in Person-Centred Counselling at the University of East Anglia (UEA) throughout the 1990s before, thanks to the work of her colleague, Campbell Purton, finally discovering the extent of Gendlin’s contribution to the development of Client-Centred/ Person-Centred Therapy. As Director of the Centre for Counselling Studies at UEA she worked with Campbell to develop Focusing and FOT training at UEA in the early 2000s. UEA also hosted several conferences, including colloquiums on Gendlin’s philosophy. Judy is a Certifying Coordinator of The International Focusing Institute, working in private practice and as a freelance trainer and consultant. In 2021 she co-edited (with Nikolaos Kypriotakis) the two volumes of Senses of Focusing. https://sensesoffocusing.weebly.com Focusing book in Greek translation: https://bit.ly/3Y9BtwM #bodytherapy #focusing #gendlin #experientialpractice #somaticexperience #psychotherapy #counseling #psychology #personalgrowth #rodgers

Ann and Barbara Untangling on The Living Process with Greg Madison. Episode 22  I am excited to launch the new season of The Living Process with guests Barbara McGavin and Ann Weiser Cornell, a very well-known partnership within the Focusing world and beyond. Barbara and Ann are both accomplished Focusing teachers, having developed the model of Inner Relationship Focusing and Treasure Maps to the Soul,  but they are also writers and in this episode, we talk about their first book together, Untangling. Untangling offers a very helpful description of the experience of being caught within some of life's most difficult and stuck patterns. The book then offers some specific skills and attitudes we can develop to help us release even these seemingly intractable dilemmas.   In this episode, we talk about how we get stuck inside of 'a tangle' and how we cannot solve or think our way out of it. Many of us can spend our lives within tangles, with no full sense of who we are. We talk about how these tangles always involve other people and how the key to loosening their grip is to develop 'self in presence'. Tangles are seen as a stoppage in process not a problem in understanding. It is a fascinating take on felt sensing and working with parts which I am sure Focusing people and those new to experiential approaches will find valuable.  Barbara McGavin and Ann Weiser Cornell have been discovering the processes of change that became Untangling® since 1994. Since then they’ve had the pleasure of offering Untangling® retreats and online classes for people seeking transformation all over the world. They are also the co-developers of Inner Relationship Focusing. Barbara has a background in humanistic psychology, teaching, fine art, and graphic design. Ann has a background in linguistics and humanistic psychology. They are both Coordinators with The International Focusing Institute. The Book: Untangling. How you can transform what's impossibly stuck. By Barbara McGavin and Ann Weiser Cornell https://focusingresources.com/learning/untangling-how-you-can-transform-whats-impossibly-stuck/ Courses on Untangling: https://focusingresources.com/learning/the-untangling-intensive/ Untangling with Barbara and Ann. Episode 22 of The Living Process: https://youtu.be/wUnvAlYHaGk The Living Process - all episodes and podcast links: https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/ The Living Process on the FOT Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx3FqA70kQWuHCHmEiZnkn1VcrRIPbcvk  #somaticexperience #trauma #Focusing #Gendlin #Bodytherapy #Innerrelationship #Experientialpractice #parts #ifs #untangling #annweiser #barbaramcgavin #thelivingprocess 

The Way of Curiosity with Peter Gill. E21 of The Living Process with Greg Madison I’m very happy to offer episode 21 of The Living Process with guest Peter Gill, a UK Focusing teacher and Coordinator. Peter came across Focusing in 2003, and he teaches Focusing as an approach to living, much more than just a therapeutic tool. Peter became a Focusing teacher in 2005 and is certified with the British Focusing Association (BFA) and a Coordinator with the Focusing Institute. Peter trained with Ann Weiser Cornell in "Inner Relationship Focusing" and Peter Afford in the UK. Peter also has a background practising and teaching awareness and meditation skills to groups and individuals in a Buddhist context. Peter is qualified in  Somatic Experiencing (SE), and has more recently been training in nature connection and in holding grief circles with Azul Valérie Thomé in Devon. He is currently training to be a Forest Guide. This episode centres around Peter’s wonderful new book, The Way of Curiosity but Peter also teaches Focusing to individuals and groups - for more information on his teaching and his new book see: https://www.livingfocusing.co.uk In this episode Peter and I talk about his entrance into Focusing and how from the beginning it was a natural form of living practice for him. We touch upon his deep engagement with ecological and environmental work including facilitating nature connection, forrest bathing, and work on Focusing and climate change. We also discuss his interest in death awareness and openness to the everyday grieving implied in life. We touch upon his training in Somatic Experiencing and trauma. Many of these topics are covered in his beautifully-written book where he introduces the practice of Focusing to the general public in a way that feels natural and not like a special technique. I highly recommend it!  #somaticexperience #trauma #Focusing #Gendlin #Bodytherapy #buddhist #Experientialpractice #grief #environmentaltherapy #ecologicalwork #natureconnection #thewayofcuriosity #thelivingprocess 

EPISODE 20 - "THE WORLD WE ARE", WITH DONATA SCHOELLER, PHD. THE LIVING PROCESS WITH GREG MADISON, PHD.  I’m happy to announce The Living Process, Episode 20 with Donata Schoeller. This is the 4th, theme-based, conversation with Donata. This time we are picking up where we left our last conversation and talking about whether a person has an ‘inside’. Topics we cover include “what words do”, what is visible and invisible and how even the invisible can still be perceived. We touch on the interaction of symbols and body, the different spaces we live in, Gene’s Process Model, the meaning of gestures, how this all works in the act of felt sensing. Later in the conversation we discuss how felt sensing is a dance and a primary process of making meaning. The general question we are exploring is whether people are separate? Donata expresses this in the beautiful statement:  “we are immersed in a common world net”. Near the end, Donata asks, “What makes this practice so beautiful?”  Where does the sincerity and integrity come from? We conclude the episode by agreeing on our topic for the next conversation.  Episode 20: ‘The World We Are’ with Donata Schoeller, PhD. https://youtu.be/n1k3LrwnUck Dr 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.com 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 The Living Process is available on all podcast platforms, with free transcripts of each episode. #focusing #meditation #mindfulness #experience #Gendlin #existential #therapy #somatic

The Living Process Episode 19 Neuroscience and Felt Sensing with Peter Afford I’m pleased to share the next episode of The Living Process with guest Peter Afford. I’ve known Peter for many years as one of the “founding fathers” of the British Focusing Association and a well-known organiser and contributor to Focusing worldwide. Peter has been Focusing for most of his adult life, integrating it into psychotherapy, teaching workshops on dreams and TAE, and writing numerous articles as well as his recent book Therapy in the Age of Neuroscience. A Guide for Counsellors and Therapists (2019). Peter has recently closed his therapy practice but he remains interested in teaching felt sensing to organisations and groups, especially those involved in addressing climate change. Peter is a Certifying Coordinator for The International Focusing Institute and has served as a consultant at Board level. Peter is about to move from London to a new home in rural Devon in the south western region of the UK where he will continue to write and teach about Focusing.  In this episode Peter and I talk about his early discovery of Focusing as well as his recent work specialising in neuroscience and its application to therapy. We discuss the differences between right and left hemisphere approaches to situations, the use of neuroscience as a support to therapists as well as clients as well as the overlooked importance of felt sensing and how it could be applied in many different settings to help us creatively address human challenges, especially the impending climate catastrophe. Peter makes many fascinating distinctions in our conversation, for example the difference between handle words that arise from the left vs the right hemisphere. More information on Peter’s work, writing and workshops: http://www.focusing.co.uk Episode 19. Neuroscience and The Felt Sense https://youtu.be/JUwUjrqzmC0 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 The Living Process is available on all podcast platforms. Warmly, Greg Madison #FocusingInstitute #focusingorientedtherapy #bodymind #Somaticwork #Bodytherapy #Gendlin #neuroscience #Focusing #trauma #somaticexperience #neurotherapy 

Episode 18 The Living Process Living the Focusing Journey, with Nada Lou I am happy to share this conversation with Nada Lou as Episode 18 of The Living Process. Nada is well known throughout the Focusing world as a Coordinator, teacher of Focusing, a contributor to Biospiritual Focusing and early developer of Thinking at the Edge along with Gendlin. She brought Focusing to many new regions of the world and she has documented countless workshops and presentations by Eugene Gendlin and other Focusing teachers through her valued DVDs (see her website). Nada talks about growing up during a turbulent time in Yugoslavia and though not mentioned in the interview, Nada was on the gymnastics national team for Yugoslavia and was a long-time coach of gymnastics when the emigrated to Australia and then Canada. It was in Montreal that Nada was recommended the Focusing book and then met Ed and Pete from whom she learned and then taught Biospiritual Focusing. In the episode we touch on many of these events and her deep resonance with Ed and Pete’s teaching of how to be ‘religious’ or spiritual ‘with both feet on the ground’. This embodied spirituality echoed her own theological studies. She talks about meeting Gene, her video work,  and how for her the video documents represent her self-expression of Gene’s teaching. Nada talks about her natural connection with Gene, the history of TAE and other fascinating points that will interest many of us in the Focusing Community.  Her website and DVD list… https://nadalou.com/about/ Nada is a prolific video maker of more than 45 DVDs featuring Gene Gendlin and other Focusing luminaries. Since co-presenting TAE workshops with Gendlin, Nada evolved a personal approach to the TAE course called THINK DIFFERENT – (TAE), and she remains in the forefront of spreading the “method” of this practice around the world. Nada is the author of  “The Grassroots Manual Introduction to TAE”. Nada is available to give workshops and presentations to groups around the world by invitation. In her teaching of TAE and Focusing, Nada highlights Gendlin’s philosophical ideas and in this way, awakens interest for the wonderful complexity that this philosophy is capable of drawing out. CONTACT NADA:  nadalou@nadalou.com Episode 17 with Nada Lou: https://youtu.be/erYgpnDbQMs 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 The Living Process is available on all podcast platforms: For example, Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Pocketcasts, Youtube Podcasts. Most of these platforms now offer free transcripts of each episode. Transcripts are also available on Youtube videos.  Please spread the word about Focusing and The Living Process.  Warmly, Greg Madison #Focusing #Gendlin  #Bodytherapy #Experientialpractice #Awareness  #Somaticwork #bodymind #focusingorientedtherapy #TAE #Biospirituality #Focusingvideos #NadaLou #FocusingInstitute 

The Living Process Episode 17 Relating from an Authentic Heart, with John Amodeo, PhD I am very happy to share with you The Living Process Episode 17, with John Amodeo. John has practiced and studied Focusing since the late 1970s when he completed his doctoral work on Focusing and meditation. Over the years John has also worked and studied with well-known luminaries at the intersection of psychology and spirituality, including John Wellwood, John Bradshaw, Ed McMahon and Pete Campbell of Biospirituality, and of course Eugene Gendlin. John himself is well-known for his many books, The Authentic Heart, Dancing with Fire, Being Intimate, Love and Betrayal, as well as his widely-read regular column in Psychology Today. In this episode John and I talk about his experiences as a Marriage and Family Therapist, especially related to his work on shame, intimacy in relationships, how to receive, and the importance of staying with embodied experience. We also touch on his deep understanding of Buddhist practice and Taoism.   John Amodeo. PhD, LMFT, holds graduate degrees in both Clinical Psychology and Transpersonal Psychology. He has been a licensed marriage and family therapist for over 40 years in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices in San Rafael and the Sebastopol area.  He is the author of four books and was a writer and contributing editor for Yoga Journal  for ten years.  He co-authored a chapter on EFT and Buddhism with Dr. Sue Johnson in her edited book, The EFT Casebook. John is a Certified Focusing Trainer and Certified Focusing-Oriented Therapist. He has lectured at universities internationally, including in Hong Kong, Chile, Thailand, and Ukraine. John has featured on national television and radio programs, including CNN, Donahue, and New Dimensions Radio.  He has led workshops at Esalen Institute, JFK University, The Omega Institute, and The New York Open Center, and was an adjunct faculty member at Meridian University.  He has written blogs for the Huffington Post and is a blogger for Psychology Today, with over 5 million total views of his 140+ articles.  He resides in Sonoma County, California. For more information on John and his work see: https://www.johnamodeo.com Episode 17 with John Amodeo: https://youtu.be/810vDOgn0i8 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 The Living Process is available on all podcast platforms: For example, Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Pocketcasts, Youtube Podcasts. Most of these platforms now offer free transcripts of each episode. Transcripts are also available on Youtube videos.  #Focusing #Gendlin #Zen #johnamodeo #buddhist  #Bodytherapy #Experientialpractice #Awareness  #Somaticwork #Zenmeditation #authenticity #bodymind #buddhist #shame #couplestherapy #focusingorientedtherapy