Gratitude, admiration and humility - these feelings stand out among all others after having participated in the last course with Gene Gendlin and Ann Weiser Cornell on Focusing, the Philosophy of the Implicit and Gendlin's work in general.

I am deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to attend “Conversations from the Edge with Gene and Ann” (“Conversations at the Edge with Gene and Ann”) during these last weeks of September and October 2016. Ann Weiser Cornell has been organizing these for a long time “Conversations from the Edge with Gene and Ann” several times a year through its platform, Focusing Resources, in the format of a phone course (or by computer, but only with voice) by Gene Gendlin and herself in which those of us who participated could ask for whatever we wanted: Gene Gendlin's answers to our questions, ideas for our proposals, and even that Gendlin himself accompanied us in a process of Focusing.

Gratitude, admiration, humility… I had already heard Gene Gendlin on audio and video recordings, and it had been very inspiring. But talking directly to him on the phone is something profoundly different.. Even though I didn't dare to ask anything during the first three sessions, hearing him interact live with other people has a very special quality. Your presence, its openness and its clarity move me, and Gene shares his wisdom in little pearls and especially with his attention.

And I would like to share some of the ideas that I have enjoyed the most.:

• The concept of “Cross”, summarized by Gene: “[The process of] crossing makes it possible to say something and understand it in a new way by expressing it from a new system, saying ‘How is it (or it could be) this an example of that other?'”. We can always say something by expressing it from another point of view. Metaphors consist of saying one thing in terms of another (“A is, in some way, B”).
• A fascinating conversation between Gene and a person on how to define Focusing, and Gendlin's objection to definitively defining the conditions “necessary and sufficient” to say that something is Focusing. One of the many ideas that appeared in that “Focusing is being with an 'it', even when no relief has yet occurred”.
• Focusing as a way of listening to our internal movements: “There is much within us that wants to be heard and that has not yet been heard. What is it in me that wants to be heard?”.
• A message full of hope: “Focusing does not require confidence in the process beforehand”, with the sense that we can begin a process of focusing even when we distrust something inside ourselves, and throughout the process we will come to trust it.
• Gene sharing what is considered “very biased in favor of keeping the good things and leaving aside the bad”, meaning that you prefer to focus on the enjoyable aspects of each process and not insist on trying “understand” (from the head) the painful aspects once the process has resolved them: “You don't need to go in there”, He said.
• “Focusing is a technique, but it's not just a technique”.
• Focusing is always an internal process, even when focusing on external objects (trees, landscapes, paintings…): there is always a bodily sensation.
• Formulation “We will spend a minute with that“, allowing the word “that” contains all meanings, no specific words, so when words appear, are new and fresh.
• Talking about how a culture can shape a person's experiences, Gene said: “Every human being is always much more than his culture”.
• “The felt sense is always more reliable than emotion or logic or reason alone”.

And I have a special memory of talking to Gene about how I approach finding a foothold for violence with Focusing, so that we can detect and prevent it, just as I usually teach in my training to Child Protection professionals (of Social Work, Psychology, Education…) and families. A memory of your interest and of receiving your support and encouragement to continue exploring.

There were also many other interactions full of interesting ideas and experiences., with the presence of Gene and Ann. I keep them warm, and in private.

So i feel gratitude, admiration and humility for having spent these hours listening to Gene Gendlin live, with its warmth, its opening, your curiosity, their deep interest in what each participant wanted to ask or share. A real lesson. An inspiration. And a celebration.

From here I send my gratitude to Gene for being available and to Ann for making it possible at all levels.

With gratitude, admiration and humility,

F. Javier Romeo

Click here to read this post in English.