The Living Process. Practices in Experience and Existence

The Living Process Episode 16 Zen and Focusing as Personal Practice, with Christian Dillo I’m happy to announce The Living Process, Episode 16 with Christian Dillo. Christian and I were meeting for the first time in this episode. In this episode Christian and I speak about how he, even as an adolescent, would pause while speaking to say what he really meant and his later discovery of Gendlin’s focusing and how it put into words a process that he was already engaged in. He was committed to authenticity and pausing and not talking in a way that alienated him from himself. He asks ‘What does the situation require from me’ to carry itself forward. Christian’s Focusing is self-taught - he Focuses has never taken a Focusing class or workshop. He has also studied Gendlin’s philosophy and during the conversation, it’s clear that he has a deep understanding of how the philosophy relates to the practice. Christian talks about why Zen practice was the way forward for him rather than going into the Focusing world and how he remains open to further collaboration with us. He also discusses his depression as a kind of shying away from intensity and how his Zen Buddhist practice was helpful in his discernment of ‘field’ awareness and ‘focused’ awareness. We touch on phenomenology as a transformative practice and both Focusing and Zen Buddhism as examples of that. We explore whether Focusing is a spiritual practice and about the possible drawbacks of thinking of Focusing as a ‘method’. Meeting Christian has made me wonder how many ‘Focusers’ are out there on their own, without any connection to the larger community! Thank you to Iain Murdoch for suggesting Christian as a guest.  Zenki Christian Dillo Roshi is the Resident Teacher at the Boulder Zen Center. He started his practice at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1996. For 20 years, he practiced monastically at the Crestone Mountain Zen Center. In 2013, he received dharma transmission from Zentatsu Baker Roshi. Since then, he has been the Boulder Zen Center Guiding Teacher. In 2020, he moved to Boulder full-time, where he now lives with his wife and son. Zenki Roshi teaches Zen on the understanding that, fundamentally, Buddhism is an embodied investigation of human experience with the intention of realizing liberation from suffering, wisdom, and compassion. He is the author of The Path of Aliveness: A Contemporary Zen Approach to Awakening Body and Mind (Shambhala, 2022). Episode 16 with Christian Dillo:  https://youtu.be/AEXpOUkmLO8 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 #Focusing #Gendlin #Zen #ChristianDillo #buddhist  #Bodytherapy #Experientialpractice #Awareness  #Somaticwork #Zenmeditation #authenticity #bodymind 

The Living Process Episode 15 Using Parts Work to Untangle Stuckness, with Barbara McGavin. I’m happy to announce The Living Process, Episode 15 with Barbara McGavin. I first met Barbara in 1988 when she was co-leading a workshop in Focusing with Rob Foxcroft and since then we have developed a friendship as fellow Canadians and Focusing teachers. Barbara has been practicing Focusing since 1983 and she was a main developer of The British Focusing Association (BFA). She is a Certifying Coordinator for the International Focusing Institute and has a varied background in humanistic psychology, and art and design, and has developed workshops for creatives called Spark to Beacon, originally located in Bath, England. Since 1991, Barbara has a creative partnership with Ann Weiser Cornell developing Inner Relationship Focusing which later developed into the well-known Treasure Maps to the Soul. This work is now under the title of “Untangling”, which will be the title of a new book they have co-authored due to come out in August 2024. In this episode Barbara and I talk about her journey into Focusing and her eventual partnership with Ann, which continues to develop fruitfully. We talk about the importance of Self-in-Presence, Parts-work, and different forms of attention. Barbara touches on some of the upcoming contents of the book Untangling including their view that there are three kinds of parts and a distinction between parts and a felt sense. Near the end we also talk a bit about using this model for relationship work and what is similar and different in the professions of psychotherapist and Focusing Guide. More information about Barbara and her work with Ann: https://focusingresources.com/learning/treasure-maps-to-the-soul/ Episode 15 with Barbara McGavin: https://youtu.be/f3Cxap0f0-U 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, and 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. #Focusing #Gendlin #Selfhelp #Bodytherapy #Experientialpractice #Treasuremapstothesoul #Somaticwork #Partswork

The Living Process Episode 14, Series 2. The German Focusing Institute: How They Teach, with Klaus Renn. Klaus Renn, Director of the German Focusing Institute (Deutsches Focusing Institut DFI) describes details of how they teach FOTs. I am very grateful to Klaus for speaking with me in English. He put in a lot of generous effort to speak with me. The first Focusing Institute was formed in Germany and they hosted Gene Gendlin on many occasions. They started the first Focusing Summer Schools and they continue to run with large groups of participants. Most of our conversation explores the structure of their training and some of the exercises they do with their classes. For this reason, I suspect that the episode will be of special interest to FOTs and those of us who teach Focusing oriented Therapy classes. In this episode, we also talk about how Klaus first encountered Gendlin’s work while engaged in his client-centred therapy training and he immediately knew that this was the right path for him. He pursued training in Focusing and then worked together with Dr Johannes Wiltksho. Due to the sound quality and difficulty in translation, I have added voice-overs to some sections so that the listener can get a clear sense of the important details Klaus is sharing with us. You might find that this episode is easier to enjoy with the video. Klaus has written a book “The Magic Moments - What Focusing Is”, but the only English version is via an online translation service. Their group also has an English translation of Gendlin’s workshop teachings so many years ago, collated by Gerhard Cieslak. If you are interested in seeing either of these and perhaps helping to make them more widely available, contact Klaus. An excerpt from the book “The Magic Moments”, by Klaus Renn: “Writing this book has given me a lot of pleasure over 3 years. The book project gave me the opportunity to reflect on my 30 years of practice and teaching. I understood many things in a new and more essential way. Focusing inspired me while writing - so that the book actually wrote itself. With this book I want to let Gene Gendlin speak: his way of seeing and interpreting the world, experience, philosophy and psychotherapy. The rich treasure of his view goes far beyond my "carrying on" and interpreting. My wish is to point to him as an inspirer of new thinking…”https://youtu.be/MDssyD9ScgA https://www.deutsches-focusing-institut.de You can contact Klaus Renn directly at: k.renn@t-online.de 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. Most of these platforms now offer free transcripts of each episode.

This is Part 2 of Episode 13. Donata Schoeller and I are doing a series of these shorter episodes on specific topics in embodied thinking and experiential practice. Part two explores questions of subjectivity and 'inside/outside' in our understanding of Focusing. In this episode, we address the misunderstanding of Focusing as merely a private and subjective practice. Donata offers an understanding of Focusing that is radically different from the old model of subjective/objective. This takes us towards our next topic of 'inside/outside' and whether the body can be thought of as having its own subjective 'inside' that is separate from the world. The episode is about 30 minutes and will, I think, be of relevance to anyone who focuses and how they understand their experience in fresh ways. Many thanks to Donata who proceeded with the episode despite struggling with the flu! Dr Donata Schoeller is a philosopher who teaches internationally and is the academic director of the program "Training in Embodied Critical Thinking". In addition to her work on Gendlin’s philosophy, Donata 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. See Donata's website to keep up to date with her publications and courses: https://www.donataschoeller.com https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/

This is Part 1 of Episode 13. Donata Schoeller and I are doing a series of these shorter episodes on specific topics in embodied thinking and experiential practice. Part one explores the kinds of thinking usually associated with philosophy and especially how we can welcome more embodied critical thinking into philosophy. Part two, which follows, is entitled 'What do we find when we Focus?' and explores questions of subjectivity and 'inside/outside'. In this episode Donata introduces Embodied critical thinking, and how to include more of our experiences into all that we are thinking. We learn positions, arguments, and texts, but it is harder to integrate into thinking what we are experiencing from our own living. We discuss how Focusing and TAE are revolutionary methods to enter into the experiential ground from which our thinking grows. But that move is considered to be private, subjective, or therapeutic. The philosophical culture does not readily allow this feeling of thinking. How can philosophy open up to the felt experience without being accused of becoming therapy? How do we soften the boundaries between the disciplines of philosophy and psychotherapy? Donata names three competencies for this embodied critical thinking. We need a kind of reflective care and experiential listening rather than critical thinking to process our deep thinking. 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 work on Gendlin’s philosophy, Donata has also worked in depth on Meister Eckhart. She has published extensively 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. She lives with her family in Switzerland and Germany. See Donata's website to keep up to date with her publications and courses: https://www.donataschoeller.com https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/

Guest João da Fonseca Psychedelic-assisted Embodied Therapy. E12S02 of The Living Process with Dr Greg Madison. Our guest this time is Lisbon existential psychotherapist João da Fonseca. João is well-known as an existential psychotherapist and psychologist, supervisor and lecturer, and a pioneer in combining what he has learned from Focusing with his interests in spirituality and psychedelic therapy. He is also a Focusing Institute Coordinator in Portugal. João is at the leading edge of the use of psychedelics in therapy and he currently works at the ‘Liminal Minds’ ketamine clinic in Portugal. João has also contributed to the first book in Portuguese on psychedelic-assisted therapy, Psicadélicos em Saúde Mental (2023). www.liminalminds.pt https://joaodofocusing.com More information on using psychedelics in psychotherapy: https://youtu.be/TIVIfQaqVG4?si=Drrx8sb5EIzLL3NL In this episode, João and I discuss his work at Liminal Minds and the principles of psychedelic-assisted therapy as well as the different impacts that different substances can have on the client. João talks about how Focusing can be used to support psychedelic-assisted therapy from the stage of preparing for a session to the post-integration of the psychedelic experience. João emphasises how the body can be a guide for therapist and client and how psychedelics can offer another avenue into the body's spiritual nature. Join us in this conversation about the place that substances like MDMA, LSD, ketamine, ayahuasca, etc. might have in therapeutic healing and what role a Focusing-oriented therapist might have on this journey. The work João refers to in the conversation is by Alicia Danford: Focusing oriented psychotherapy as a supplement to preparation for psychedelic therapy. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2009, Vol. 41, No. 2 #psychedelicresearch #Focusing #Gendlin #TheLivingProcess #counseling #counselling #psychology #existentialtherapy #personalgrowth #Psicadélicos #focusingorientedtherapy #MDMA #lsd #ketamine

Guest Professor Mia Leijssen: The Subtle Energy of Embodied Awareness, E11S02 of The Living Process with Dr Greg Madison Our Guest this time is Mia Leijssen, Ph.D. - Professor (Emeritus) Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the University of Leuven, Belgium. Prof. Leijssen learned Focusing early in her training many years ago at Leuven University. She is well known in the worlds of Focusing and Client-centred Psychotherapy as well as existential wellbeing and has published widely. Some of her best-known work is on Focusing microprocesses, spirituality, and professional ethics. She is a longtime Focusing Therapist, Teacher, and Coordinator for the International Focusing Institute. Mia 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://www.edx.org/course/existential-well-being-counseling-person-kuleuvenx-ewbcx www.existentieelwelzijn.be https://existentialwellbeing.com  In this episode, we talk about Mia’s initial introduction to Focusing early in her training at Leuven U and how meeting Gendlin and participating in a demo with him was a turning point for her. Throughout our conversation, Mia emphasises the subtle energetic connection between the focuser and listener and the powerful impact this can have on the quality of the interaction. We explore the essence of living forward and its knowing of how we should develop, the art and discipline of therapy, and the issue of directivity in client-centred therapy. We also touched on the question of ‘parts’ and not getting too concrete about parts and how living forward is asking for new organising, beyond structure. At the very end, we acknowledge the mystery of life itself in a way that respects its mystery. #existentialism #gendlin #psychology #counselling #existentialtherapy #personaldevelopment #focusing #selfcare

Experiential Wholebody Therapy with Glenn Fleisch, PhD. The Living Process S02E10 with Greg Madison, PhD. Dr. Glenn Fleisch has been a psychotherapist in private practice in California for over 35 years. Glenn trained with some of the leading figures in American existential and Buddhist psychology, including David Michael Levin, Rollo May, and John Wellwood. He also trained with some of the most experienced teachers in the Focusing world including Ann Weiser Cornell, Kevin McEvenue, Janet Klein and Gendlin himself. Glenn studied and teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies and remains active as an adjunct professor and supervisor in psychotherapy as well as a Wholebody Focusing trainer. In this episode, Glenn and I review how he encountered Focusing in his early 20s as part of his therapy training and then went on to learn Focusing in order to explore his own personal growth. He completed his training with Ann Weiser Cornell in Berkeley before studying and working with Kevin McEvenue for many years. He also learned Interactive Focusing with Janet Klein. Glenn talks about how his own practice and understanding of Focusing began to diverge from Gendlin’s original descriptions. He goes into some detail in exploring his version of wholebody Focusing and how he offers it in a creative and expressive style with his clients. Glenn also shares many examples from his client work to show his attention to all bodily phenomena, his creative work with trauma, and his development of animistic psychology. I was glad to hear that we can look forward to a book outlining Glenn’s work soon. Glenn offers online WBF seminars/classes for personal growth and professional development and trains other therapists to learn this method of therapy. For more information on his professional practice and courses, see: https://glennfleisch.com The Living Process can be accessed on Youtube as a video series or as audio podcasts at: Greg Madison’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/@gregmadisontherapy/playlists The Focusing Oriented Therapy channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx3FqA70kQWuHCHmEiZnkn1VcrRIPbcvk Or search on any podcast channel if you prefer audio-only. If you have trouble finding it, all the links are here: https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/ The Living Process is hosted by Greg Madison, PhD. An existential psychologist and Focusing Coordinator living and working in the UK. www.gregmadison.net

The Living Process Series 02, E09. Guest René Veugelers In this episode of The Living Process, René Veugelers met me from his home in The Netherlands. René specialises in teaching Focusing with Children to anyone working with young people in any setting. He emphasises the non-verbal world as a route into deeper experiences. René started out as an Art Therapist, a Psychiatric nurse, and a group social worker before training with Marta Stapert and others in Focusing. He immediately saw the potential to make his work 'focusing-oriented' and he began teaching parents, therapists, teachers, and others, how to be with children in a Focusing way. René also teaches adults how to (re)connect to their own inner child experiences, and how to integrate creativity and flexibility into their life and work - this training is called 'Being Seriously Playful'. His experiences as an art therapist embrace an expanded richness of creative elements and support a natural unfolding of the creative process. René works internationally and is well-known in the Focusing world. He offers The Children's Focusing Training along with Harriët Teeuw and their Team. Information on their training and resources at: ⁠https://www.childrenfocusing.org⁠  In this episode René and I speak about his main way of working with children and especially how the child's 'No!' is not a dead end to working more deeply, but is actually the best way to connect and relate more deeply. As René talks about his work it becomes clear that it is deeply relational and not in any way formulaic. I found the conversation inspiring and exciting. You'll notice that Elliott, my dog, once again makes an appearance and it shows a glimmer of René's style that he immediately incorporates Elliott into our relating and ending of the video. The Living Process page, with links to all videos and podcast platforms, is at this link:⁠https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/⁠ ⁠#counselling⁠ ⁠#existentialism⁠ ⁠#focusing⁠ ⁠#psychology⁠ ⁠#existentialtherapy⁠ ⁠#childtherapy⁠  ⁠#reneveugelers⁠ ⁠#gregmadison⁠⁠#thelivingprocess⁠ ⁠#therapy⁠ ⁠#somaticexperiencing⁠ ⁠#somatic⁠ ⁠#embodied⁠ ⁠#gendlin⁠  ⁠#personalgrowth⁠ ⁠#personaldevelopment⁠⁠#selfimprovement⁠ ⁠#selfcare⁠ ⁠#innerchild⁠ ⁠#innerchildtherapy⁠ ⁠#adolescents⁠ ⁠#counseling⁠

Wholebody Conversations. The Living Process Series 02, E08 with guest Kevin McEvenue In this episode of The Living Process, Kevin McEvenue speaks to me from central Toronto where he lives. I first really got to know Kevin many years ago when he and I were on the faculty of the Focusing Institute Summer School in Garrison NY - we taught together there for a few years and it was great fun, joking around and sampling the local beers. We hit it off and have been Focusing partners ever since. Kevin started originally in financial services but that never suited who he was as a person, so many years ago he took the brave decision to change his life and he moved to Europe to train in Alexander Technique before finding Focusing once he moved back to Canada. Kevin’s unique combination of what he learned from Alexander and what he learned from Eugene Gendlin became known as Wholebody Focusing (WBF) for which he is now internationally known. At the age of 85 (we spoke just a few days before his birthday) Kevin continues to maintain a small practice and to contribute to the world of Focusing, and especially his community of WBF. The latest development of that practice is what Kevin calls Heartfelt Conversation. In this episode, we speak about the emergence of Wholebody Focusing and how Kevin came into the world of Focusing, and his first meetings with Eugene Gendlin. We go on to talk more about the practice of WBF and its slightly different interpretations of ‘body’ and ‘felt sense’. This discussion leads us to a description of Heartfelt Conversation and some exploration of what it is that animates and moves the body when we have a felt shift. Heartfelt Conversation, like a few other recent developments, seems to highlight an increasingly relational aspect of Focusing practices. This episode is a warm and deep conversation that I think you will enjoy. More information on Kevin and his work can be found here: https://wholebodyfocusing.blog Kevin’s publications and Wholebody Focusing manual, plus his book, Dancing the Path of the Everyday Mystic can be found here: https://wholebodyfocusing.com/publications The Living Process page, with links to all videos and podcast platforms is at this link: https://www.londonfocusing.com/the-living-process/ #counselling #existentialism #focusing #psychology #existentialtherapy #wholebodyhealth #wholebodyfocusing #kevinmcevenue #gregmadison #thelivingprocess #therapy #somaticexperiencing #somatic #embodied #gendlin #alexandertechnique #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #selfimprovement #selfcare