Gendlin’s technique of Focusing primarily focuses (hehe) on problems or negative felt senses. Something I have not seen discussed much is that one can apply the concepts of Focusing to many different felt senses that are not problems, or even negative in any way.

At least in my experience, you can equally investigate good feelings with Focusing as you can problems. And, much as Focusing on a problem improves your understanding of that problem, Focusing on a positive felt sense can improve your understanding of what makes you feel good. By repeatedly investigating feeling good in this way, I think it makes it much easier to piece together an accurate picture of what really makes you happy.

The idea of positive Focusing may be unclear, so I’ll try to describe how one might go about it, although it is very similar to standard Focusing.

Upon noticing, “Hey, I feel amazing right now,” take a moment to feel that sense in your body. Where do you feel amazing? Is it a sort of warm glow in your stomach and chest? Is it a prickling of excited jubilation along your skin? This is finding the “handle” of the feeling.

Once you have found the feeling stay with it and ask “what is this amazing feeling all about?” And then, here is the critical part, do not answer. At least not with an analytical response. Make that part of your mind stay quiet, or if you cannot quite do that, at least ignore its suggestions, regardless of how correct they seem.

Just feel the sense of this amazingness and try to allow images, words, phrases, or sensations to come from the feeling. Some word or sense will arise from the feeling, and your understanding will shift. Maybe from the felt sense of amazing, you find the word “whole”. Try to check the word against the feeling, to see if it feels right. If it does, but the sense still feels unclear, or feels as though it has shifted to something slightly different, trying asking again. What is it about this feeling that is wholeness? Maybe you see a flash of the people you have been talking to all day. Reflect that image against the feeling, is that right?

You might learn you take more joy in social interaction than you previously thought, you just had never found the right dynamic before.

This connection may seem obvious, as though one could clearly have figured this out just with normal reasoning. And absolutely one could, however, people have

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Pengux

Pengux