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FOCUSING Focusing is the art of tuning into our own wisdom that is present in our body right now. Focusing leads to self-understanding and emotional self-healing, it also helps free us from our programmed responses to situations and people. It’s as simple as tuning in to how you feel about a certain aspect of yourself or your life, and listening to what the body has to say about it. For instance, we might feel uncomfortable and self-conscious in certain situations. Normally we may try and fight this or try to get rid of it, or even pretend it’s not there. But instead of fleeing from it we can turn toward it and hear what it has to say. As we listen to that “uncomfortable part” of us it is able reveal it’s message, and it’s then that the healing takes place. This is not analysis or about voicing opinions about it, but simply about listening to it. It’s simply about giving the body the time and attention it deserves and allowing it to release its treasure Focusing can also help us with making decisions about our lives. If we feel stuck somewhere in our life we can tune into the wisdom and listen to its message, thereby guiding us through the murky waters of decision-making. It can enhance self-acceptance and free us from the paralysing effects of the inner critic. The wisdom that resides within is very powerful but also very subtle and is easily ignored and overlooked. It is ignored because most of the time we are too caught up with the hundred and one voices that are the demands and fears of the ego. Wisdom communicates in “whispers,” in images and felt senses, depending on the individual. It is our job to simply listen, it is our job to be a space for those whispers to arise, it is our job to be receptive to the images and felt senses that are being communicated. On retreats I lead there is an opportunity to learn Focusing, both as a skill in its own right and as part of a meditation practice.
EXPERIENCES OF FOCUSING The focusing technique allowed me to hear truths that I already knew, but was neglecting. It helped me pay attention to my own wisdom, which gave me the strength to be assertive about what I needed to do in life. I needed to take care of and stand up for myself. Focusing in on your own knowledge is not an easy or comfortable process, but if you are brave enough to do it, the rewards come really quickly. Doing these sessions with Suryacitta really was a significant turning point in my life" "When I was introduced to Focusing, my experience was that on a deeper level, it was very familiar to me. Practicing focusing has been a relief and an awakening. A relief because focusing requires that we do not use our minds. An awakening because after many years of struggle and confusion with a meditation practice, I find I have found something, which is invaluable, in that I can relinquish my turmoil to that deeper part of me that is wiser than my mind."
Focusing is a very simple tool that can have profound effects. I see it as a way of opening up a dialogue with oneself, with one’s inner world held as experiences within the body. It’s like entering on an intimate and subtle journey with our own body and all the depth and wealth of experience that it contains, and it’s a healing journey. For me it’s begun to unearth and bring to light a life long dominant pattern of relating which has limited me and caused me suffering. Learning focusing has felt like a blessing. Already, after a few months practising focusing, I feel more congruent, and more vibrant and alive. Focusing has helped me get in touch with a deep holding in the body, and has enabled the beginnings of a letting go. During focusing sessions, it's as though a quiet inner voice communicates a wisdom that is `not me', and when I've truly listened, there's a dropping down into a place of knowing and healing. In my life, I have felt the stirrings of a new freedom from an old way of being. A mysterious process but one which I trust as it comes from within.
FOCUSING & MEDITATION 1 to 1 with Suryacitta Our feelings and emotions carry messages about ourselves, and how we are living our lives, and it’s up to us to listen to these messages. Quite often we want to get rid of our feelings, to ignore them, or to change them into more pleasant feelings. These strategies often lead to illness, unhappiness and even depression. What we can do instead is to be a friend and listen to the wisdom of our feelings, and to see what they have to ‘say’. When we listen in this way instead of ignoring or fighting them we allow the body to move in the direction of wholeness and well being. Focusing can help with feelings of anxiety, fear, loneliness, self-esteem and confidence issues etc. It can help with any area of our lives where we may feel stuck. Suryacitta has been teaching meditation since 1996. He has spent four of those years teaching meditation and Focusing at a retreat centre in North Wales. He now lives and teaches in Brighton. Initial meeting £15 Follow up sessions £30/£20 for 50 minutes Concessions available for low paid. For info or meeting contact Suryacitta 07910 598951 or email me from this web site.
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Just as water receives and accepts everything poured into it without preference or judgment, so we, as we turn to listen to our self, receive and accept everything that arises, free from that same preference and judgment. In this clear open space deep healing happens. |
