Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Focusing Practice “Town Meeting” - Working with Trauma

Opening: 11:30 AM
Main Event: 11:30 AM
End Time: 1:00 PM

A gathering for conversation on Focusing Practice (see special notes on Trauma emphasis for Feb meeting, below). This session (of one to one-and-a-half hours) typically offers support for Focusing partnerships and other aspects of Focusing Practice. We may actively practice Focusing in pairs or groups.You are welcome to join, whatever your level of experience with Focusing Practice (even none).Learn more at https://novasutras.org/events/#focusing
Join directly via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84732205271?pwd=d1JTUHJCZ0NlY1FpTFFlak1qTjRXZz09 or call in:Meeting ID: 847 3220 5271Passcode: Ubuntu2U2Dial by your location - (669) 900 9128 US (San Jose) or find your local number - https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc5wfU1b49
Fellow Journeyers, There is a monthly "Focusing" Town Meeting that will be be held tomorrow Tuesday February 23rd at 11:30 AM on the Novasutras zoom link. I plan tomorrow to center somewhat on Focusing and trauma . To quote Ann Weiser Cornell (Focusing In Clinical Practice 2013 (FiCP); pp.156-157): "Mary Kay Armstrong in her moving and inspiring book Confessions Of A Trauma Therapist (2010) states flatly: 'The best approach I know for healing trauma is Focusing', and goes on to say: 'Focusing teaches the client to be compassionate and accepting of any information that bubbles up from previously hidden levels of awareness. It works around resistance, which is understood as protection that was needed at one time in the person's life ... The client learns to be her own understanding therapist between sessions and after the therapy is over .' " Bear also in mind David Rome's comments (Your Body Knows The Answer; 2014; p. 63): "In the process of listening to and receiving the critic's fears and wants, you may sometimes need to revisit painful experiences. Because of the ability to center yourself in grounded aware presence and adopt the attitude of friendly attending, you now have the possibility of reexperiencing the painful feelings from a safe distance and with self empathy. This can be a deeply healing process. Remember, however, that when you are dealing with complex trauma rooted in overwhelming threats to survival or personal integrity, a skilled therapist or counselor is often needed to facilitate the process and guard against retraumatization. The following exercise is presented as a brief indication of how the skills you are cultivating through Mindful Focusing can be brought to bear in working with difficult past experiences. It is optional. If at any point painful emotions evoked by this exercise threaten to overwhelm you, stop. Don't go beyond what feels safe for you. By keeping within your present threshold of tolerance you can become comfortable over time in staying present with more painful or threatening material.Exercise 9.3 Reexperiencing Painful Feelings... " Anyone owning the Cornell book FiCP is encouraged to read the several pages addressing trauma work identified in her index. I look forward to Zooming with you tomorrow.LoveKendon