Picking up the thread entries with brushstrokes of the International Conference Focusing which it took place in Cambridge (United Kingdom) of 20 to the 24 July 2016, Interest Group Community Wellness Focusing (Focusing the Community Wellness) It was for me one of the points destados. It was an experience of creating a community of shared manner by listen out, the translation, our previous communities and the Focusing attitude.

It's been a few months, and I've been writing about my experiences (All entries appear in the final index this entry), and it arises me a warm and tender feeling when I remember to this Group. Each morning of the conference participants a whole we joined one of the fifteen Stakeholders. These were groups that wanted to be an open space to share personal and professional points of view on focusing in specific areas. To me they tempted me many titles (There was even a “No Specific Interest Group Interest”, although the joke sounds better in English). I am very satisfied with my choice, while I regret not being able to divide myself for being able to attend many others…

Interest Group Community Wellness Focusing on the International Conference Cambridge (RU), julio de 2016.

The Interest Group Community Wellness Focusing (Focusing the Community Wellness) It was coordinated by Nina Joy Lawrence, Pat Omidian and Heidrun Essler, who created the container space so that we could participate and, as they had already anticipated, for “introduce the skills and attitudes Focusing on our daily lives and community groups” even in our own group of interest-. Thank you!

The first element was the listen out. We were sixteen participants from six different countries (Afghanistan, Germany, China, Spain, United States and United Kingdom), and not everyone was fluent in English, so the first step in building our community was to ensure that everyone could express themselves and understand anything we said: That meant just using three different working languages (English, Chinese and Spanish). What it could have been a burden (translate, for example, what a Chinese participant said English, and then to Spanish, and then answer in English, and then translate the answer into Chinese and Spanish, etc) It became a precious gift: the ability to listen to each person from a profound attitude of Focusing, even before they had translated the words. So we cultivate a way of being in company with a leisurely pace, a space in which each person was listening to others who spoke foreign languages ​​and, somehow, in the end, we begin to understand the experiences of those who spoke before translation.

The second experience, which it was especially poignant for me, was the translation In herself. I've been in different situations and translating between different languages ​​more than two decades, and very often in professional environments (for example, forming translating foreign Focusing here in Spain). But for me translate a conversation Focusing always a special effort, to be aware of translating both the words and the implicit experience in these words chosen.

That led me to another level: the fact of being translated (between English and Spanish, in both ways) in a group I felt like a community reminded me of my translations of immigrant adolescents to build a partnership group that no longer exists. When I shared this double experience, on the one hand, satisfaction of being able to translate in a community setting and, for another, mourning the defunct association, other group members also shared on communities that had lost their part-and how our previous communities They were present and had a room in what we were creando-.

During those four sessions talk, We tried exercises, commented… As I shared in the final round closing, I had come to the group with the main objective to get ideas, techniques and exercises to create a community that uses the Focusing. However, I take a very different: a Focusing attitude which favors the presence, It is allowing the group and each of its members to pay attention to a quality other than be feeling, a connection that remains from the body.

Here are some lessons that will stay with me for a long time (in fact, I have already visited Focusing Initiatives International, the organization that helps spread the Community Wellness Focusing, and I've subscribed to Community Wellness Focusing Discussion List, mailing list that reports this current, English), like deep gratitude to our host and each member of the group. now it “carry forward” all these experiences by creating communities that have these attitudes Focusing.

I wish you read to me many profound experiences of community building like this.

F. Javier Romeo Biedma

Note: The image is published with the permission of the group members. No names are given out of respect for your privacy, except those of the host-moderator who publicly offered Interest Group.

Read this post in English.

The Community Wellness Focusing Interest Group was for me one of the highlights of the International Focusing Conference in Cambridge (UK) July 20th-27th 2016. It was an experience of co-creating a community through listening, translation, our previous communities and Focusing attitude.

Some months have passed, and I have been writing about my experiences at the Conference (all posts indexed in this post in Spanish), and a warm and tender feeling comes to me when I remember this Group. Every morning during the Conference all participants joined one of the 15 Interest Groups. These were groups intended to be an open space to share personal and professional perspectives about Focusing in specific domains. I was tempted by many of the titles (there was even a “No-interest Interest Group”!) and I am very happy about my choice, while I regret not being able to split myself in order to attend to many others…

Community Wellness Focusing Interest Group at the International Focusing Conference, Cambridge (RU), July 2016.

The Community Wellness Focusing Group was hosted by Nina Joy Lawrence, Pat Omidian and Heidrun Essler, who created a holding space for all of us to participate and, as they advanced, “to bring Focusing skills and attitudes into our daily lives and into community groups” –including our own group. Thank you!

The first element was listening. We were sixteen participants from six different countries (Afghanistan, China, Germany, Spain, UK and USA), and not everybody was fluent in English, so the first step to build our community was to ensure that everyone could express themselves and understand anything that was said: that meant that we ended using three different working languages (English, Chinese and Spanish). What could have been a burden (translating, for example, what a Chinese participant said to English, and then to Spanish, and then replying in English, and then translating to Chinese and to Spanish, and so on) became a precious gift: the possibility to listen to each other from a deep Focusing attitude, even before the words were translated. So we cultivated a slow-paced way of being together, a space where everyone was listening to people speaking in foreign languages and, somehow, at the end, we were starting to understand each other’s experience before translation.

A second experience that was very moving for me was translation itself. I have been translating in different settings and from different languages for over two decades, and very usually in professional settings (for example, translating foreign Focusing trainers here in Spain). But for me translating a Focusing conversation always brings a special effort, how to translate both the words and the implicit experience in those words.

That took me to a different level: the fact that I was translating (English and Spanish, both ways) in a group that felt like a community reminded me of how I used to translate immigrant teenagers for group-building in an association that no longer exists. When I shared that experience of both satisfaction about being able to translate in a community setting and grief about the disappeared association, other fellow members shared about the communities they had lost too –and how our previous communities were present and had a space in what we were creating.

During those four sessions we talked, tried exercises, commented, discussed… As I shared in the final row, I had arrived to the group with the main goal of getting ideas, techniques and exercises to create a community that uses Focusing. However, I have taken away something very different: a Focusing attitude that fosters presence, that allows the group and each of its members to attend to a different quality of feeling, a connection that is kept in the body.

Those are some learnings that will stay for me (in fact I have visited Focusing Initiatives International, the organization that helps spread Community Wellness Focusing, and I have joined the Community Wellness Focusing Discussion List), as well as a deep gratitude toward our hosts and every member of the group. Now is the time to carry all these experiences forward creating communities with this Focusing attitude.

I wish for those of you who read me deep experiences of community-building like this.

F. Javier Romeo-Biedma

Note: Picture posted with the permission of the members. No personal names are given in respect for their privacy, apart from the hosts that publicly offered the Interest Group.

Read this entry in Spanish.

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.

Gratitude, awe and humbleness – those feelings stand up among all the rest after attending the latest course with Gene Gendlin and Ann Weiser Cornell about Focusing, the Philosophy of the Implicit and Gendlin’s work.

I am deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to join “Conversations at the Edge with Gene and Ann” during these past weeks of September and October 2016. Ann Weiser Cornell has been organizing these “Conversations at the Edge with Gene and Ann” several times a year through her platform Focusing Resources as a phone course by Gene Gendlin and herself in which participants can ask whatever they want: questions for Gene Gendlin, requests for ideas and even to be accompanied through a Focusing process by Gendlin himself.

Gratitude, awe, humbleness… I had already listened to audio and video files of Gene Gendlin, and I have found them very inspirational. But being with him in a conversation over the phone is something profoundly different. Even if I did not dare to ask anything during the first three sessions, listening to him interacting live with other people has a special quality. His presence, his openness, his clarity are very moving, and he shares his wisdom with some pearls of his knowledge and his attention.

And I want to share some of the ideas that I enjoyed the most:

• The concept of crossing, summarized by Gene: “Crossing makes it possible to say anything and be understood in some new way by saying it in a new system, saying ‘How is this (or can be) an instance of that?'” We can always say anything by expressing it from another point of view. A metaphor is possible by saying one thing in function of another: “A is, in a certain sense, B.”
• A fascinating discussion between Gene and a participant about how to define Focusing, and his objection about defining the necessary and sufficient for something to be Focusing. One of the many ideas is that “Focusing is staying with ‘that’, even when there is no relief yet.”
• Focusing as a way to listen to our inner movements: “There is a lot in us that wants to be heard and has not been heard yet. What is in me that wants to be heard?”
• A bright message of hope: “Focusing does not need trust [in the process] in advance,” meaning that we can start a Focusing process even distrusting something in us, and through the process we will arrive to trust it.
• Gene sharing that he considers himself “very biased in favour of keeping the good things and leaving the bad things apart,” meaning that he prefers to stay with the pleasant aspects of each process and not insisting and trying to “understand” (in the head) the painful aspects, once the process has solved them: “You do not need to go there,” he said.
• “Focusing is a technique, but not only a technique.”
• Focusing is always an inner process, even when we are Focusing on external objects (trees, landscapes, paintings…): there is always a body feeling.
• The formulation “Let’s stay a minute with that,” letting the word “that” contain all the meanings, without specific words, so when words come, they will be new and fresh.
• Talking about how a culture can configure a person’s experiences, Gene said: “Every human being is always more than their culture.”
• “The felt-sense is always more reliable than emotion or logic/reason alone.”

And I have a special memory of talking with Gene about my approach to find a handle for violence with Focusing, so we can all detect and prevent it, as I usually teach in my trainings for Child Protection professionals (social workers, psychologists, educators, teachers…) and families, and feeling his interest and receiving his support and encouragement.

There were many other interactions plenty of interesting ideas and experiences, with the presence of Gene and Ann. I keep them with care, and private.

So I feel gratitude, awe and humbleness for having spent these hours listening to Gene Gendlin live, with his warmth, his openness, his curiosity, his deep interest in what each participant had to ask or share. A true lesson. An inspiration. And a celebration.

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

With gratitude, awe and humbleness,

F. Javier Romeo

Click here to read this post in Spanish.

Continuing in the line of the previous entry, and closely related to her, is my appointment as a member of International Relations within the Board of Directors of the Spanish Institute of Focusing, one more element of the calls to action that have emerged from my participation in the International Conference on Focusing in Cambridge (United Kingdom) last july 2016.

As commented in that entrance, in the Focusing Spanish Institute we understand that, as well as the action of teaching and accompaniment with Focusing is mostly individual, each with his style and sensitivity, and always within the publicly agreed criteria and competencies, However, all organizational and participation action must come from collegiate structures.

Therefore, when they invited me to participate in the International Focusing Institute Membership Committee based in New York (The International Focusing Institute), I put this position at the disposal of the Spanish Institute of Focusing, to be occupied by anyone as representation from Spain. What would be my surprise when I was invited to assume a vowel linked to International Relations within the Board of Directors and to accept that same international position. I accepted the proposal, the appropriate steps contemplated in the statutes have been taken and I have recently been appointed a member.

I am very excited to be able to contribute to the Focusing community in Spain, from which I have received so much. Since the beginning of my training in 2009, the National Days, Summer School, the supervisions, the Diploma and titles of Certified Trainer and Certified Focusing Guided Psychotherapist and all contacts and growth contexts, I have definitely been set up as a Focusing professional (and as a person).

And in this series of invitations to action (as it says Isabel Gascón, my referral coordinator, the “seventh step” de Focusing: “And what does all this invite you to?”), It seems to me that it is time to also contribute from this position, as long as my work is useful and constructive. It is a challenge to work with and at the service of so many people I know, with riches inside that place me in a situation of humility and learning.

So also from this new position I am at your service, hoping to contribute to the international knowledge of the richness of the Focusing that we do around here, and also to contribute ideas and suggestions from other places that come from this condition of international relations.

F. Javier Romeo

As I already commented in another entry, have participated in the Focusing International Conference in Cambridge (United Kingdom) last july 2016 has meant many new openings, new ways, new ways to incorporate Focusing into my life and to share it. Consciousness, and also calls to action.

It has been very surprising for me to have been invited to be part of the Membership Committee (Membership Committee) of International Focusing Institute based in New York (The International Focusing Institute). This committee is a merely advisory body (does not make decisions) and basically made up of volunteers, that advises the governing bodies on all matters that have to do with being a member of the Institute: how to favor membership, how to make its value visible, how to facilitate participation between members. Their task is to look at the members and discover emerging needs and spaces for collaboration.. It is a very international committee, with videoconference meetings and specific work teams. It is such a new group that it still does not have its own section in the Institute website. And me, that I have enjoyed the benefits of membership since 2010, first as a Trainer in Training, and later as a Certified Trainer (2012) and as a Certified Focusing Guidance Psychotherapist (2014), I receive as an honor to be able to contribute to other people and to the structure of the Institute.

For me it is essential to follow the line of work of the Focusing Spanish Institute, in which we work in training, accompaniment or other fields of Focusing on an individual level, but in which relations with other groups and entities are decided collectively. Thus, I sent the invitation to the Board of Directors of the Instituto Español de Focusing and recently I have also been appointed vowel for International Relations, to be able to assume the position in the Membership Committee.

So that, I have already started reading the materials (a lot has been generated in just over a year of existence) and I have participated in a meeting. I hope to continue contributing to the world of Focusing in this way. And if you have recommendations or suggestions regarding membership of the International Institute of Focusing, I will be happy to hear them.

At your service in a new way,

F. Javier Romeo

This summer I had the pleasure of participating in the 27ª International Conference on Focusing of 2016 Cambridge (United Kingdom), organized by the British Focusing Association, and open to members of the International Focusing Institute (The International Focusing Institute) of all the world, an experience that has marked me for several reasons.

Overview of the International Conference on Focusing Photo Collection 2016. In general they include the most playful aspects, but they also reveal the moments of depth. And a magnificent photo appears that Blanca Ruiz has taken of me, from Spain, and that I have adopted for my profile (thanks, Blanca!).

To give some figures: we have been more than 250 participants of 30 countries at Robinson College, almost entirely dedicated to the Conference. Except in plenary meetings, where most of us were, during the workshop time we divided (each according to his choice) in more than fifteen simultaneous activities. And all orchestrated by a dedicated organizing team (of British Focusing Association,) what, before trying to solve my problems, first they listened to me, with typical focusing attention.

So the first experience has been to discover people and create community., in a very Focusing environment. I have met people who were participating for the first time in an international event like this, just like me. I have also put face, voice tone, relationship… to people I knew from references (their books, your articles, your web pages, your messages on the Focusing lists, the recommendations you had received…). Y, to my surprise, I have also been recognized by the Japanese psychotherapist Madoka Kawahara (Kawahara circle) who had read my article with great interest “Combining Focusing and Nonviolent Communication”, What a find! [And finally here it is translated into Japanese with the suggestive title Intersection of the focusing and the non-violent communication, thank you very much, Madoka!].

Anyway, what struck me the most was the kindness and fluidity of the treatment, both in group activities and in more individual interaction, at meals, in the breaks, in other activities. And the feeling of continuing to discover new and interesting people every time I began to have the feeling that “we had already seen everyone”. On a deeper level, now that a few weeks have passed, the first experience that I want to preserve is the sense of community within differences (And there were many differences, I assure!). Is to feel that we are working, doing research, suffering and enjoying to develop each our understanding of Focusing, and how to share it with other people.

The second experience, linked to the previous, has been experience creative connections with a lot of people. For our common interests. For understanding Focusing in a similar way or, Unlike, for understanding it in such different ways that they are complementary. For our areas of action. By simple connection personally. Now it's time to carry out the famous Aristotle quote, “the desire for friendship arises quickly, but friendship itself takes time”. I am already in contact with some people, I have others in my long list of pending contacts, but the intention to continue cultivating new ways for Focusing is there. It will be a bit like the relationships I already have in the Focusing community in Spain, but internationally.

The third experience has been an invitation to action. An invitation to action that arises both from within and without. Possible projects, collaborations to explore, new reading list, exercises to delve into, areas to discover… For the moment, things are lending to movement, and I'm flowing with them. I will talk about these and other things in other posts.

With the commitment to tell you more in future entries I leave you, with the recommendation that you visit the official website of the Conference while it is active, because it has many resources to explore (English).

Xavier

Upgrades (subsequent entries related to this):

Inside calls to action:

• My appointment to the Membership Committee of the International Institute of Focusing.
• And my appointment as a member for International Relations at the Spanish Institute of Focusing.

Other experiences:

• brush strokes (2) International Conference Focusing: the interest group Community Wellness Focusing.
• The Community Wellness Focusing Interest Group at the Focusing Conference in Cambridge (UK) 2016.

I love to recommend works that are originally targeted to the general public for training in disciplines such intimate and profound as the Focusing and the Nonviolent Communication. This trilogy falls into that category.

“Human: The movie” It is a documentary trilogy as shows fragments of interviews with more than two thousand people (although in the final version of a selection of some two hundred people it appears) talking about all the things that make us “humans”. People of all ages (although very few children appear, and adolescents in proportion, and all of them very hard stories), of all kinds, from all continents. It is a sobering experience, very direct: no questions from interviewers, without dubbing (all interventions appear with subtitles, so you can hear the original voice), no source data of each person (In some cases only mentioned his country, but in most cases you can only intuit their continent, unless the subtitles are activated), bottomless (All interviews were made with the same dark background, although sometimes surrounding sounds are introduced). With people who listen and look at the camera while others speak, and nothing more. And occasionally, aerial views of breathtaking landscapes, natural landscapes and human landscapes, with world music (that are especially evocative when using without relation to the image: an African landscape with distinctly Asian music, for example, again underlining the universality of human).

Photographer and filmmaker Yann Arthus-Bertrand, He is known for his long career defending ecological and social causes, It has embarked on this magnificent trilogy, It intended as a further contribution to a portrait of a human being in its various dimensions. With its lights, and also with major shadows. The look of the film encompasses everything: from the best to the worst, freeing and enslaving, what it gives meaning and absurdities of modern life…

some thematic structure is perceived, which may be mentioned by way of guidance:

“Human: The movie (volume 1)”: love (in its various forms), work and poverty. Intense from the first minute, a reflection on these three elements of human life.

“Human: The movie (volume 2)”: war, homophobia, death and difficulties in the family. More clearly positioned in favor of human dignity in all situations, although it is difficult to recognize.

“Human: The movie (volume 3)”: the happiness, The education, disability, the relationship with the land, The meaning of life, justice and social action. A look at specific aspects that require our position (better for humanity, lets understand the message selection).

It is a work that deserves to be seen calmly, fragments of twenty or thirty minutes, to digest depth. It raises many questions and invites us to respond from the inside. you can also see extensive fragments of some of the people, which can be selected by their subject or message, and they include people who sometimes fail to appear in the film.

And those who see every film we can choose: ¿We classify each person according to the snippet of it? Or will we be able to hear opening, trying to see it with your feelings and your needs, with the feelings that must have in your life to talk like, with his humanity and his mystery?

I invite you to see movies and you to discover a little more of our shared humanity, and the human of each particular.

Xavier

4 September 2015 past I had the honor of attending the premiere of the documentary “new girls 24 hours”, (@girlsnew24h) directed and co-produced by Mabel Lozano (@LozanoMabel). From Spiral Consulting Children, of which I have been a founding member since 2009, we have been working on prevention for years, detection and intervention in cases of treats children's, girls and adolescents for the purpose of sexual exploitation. so i wrote this blog in which I explain why I consider it to be a documentary shocking, uncomfortable and essential.

WalkFree.org, entity that fights against all types of modern slavery, has released this image to raise awareness today 23 September against sexual exploitation.

And I was left with the feeling of having more to say, somehow. Today, 23 of September, is he “International Day Against Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Women, Girls and boys” (The, rather technically, “against sexual exploitation and human trafficking”). So today may be a good day to make a second comment..

The weeks after seeing the documentary I was left with the special feeling. I became aware of all the possibilities offered by the Focusing and the Nonviolent Communication to help all people who have been trafficked for sexual exploitation, be women or men, girls or boys, the teenagers. Evidently, reparation for sexual exploitation is very complex and requires extensive social resources, and within psychosocial resources and therapy, you need a large availability of tools. What I offer here is a specific reflection of the contributions of these two processes that I know and that serve me to accompany people who have suffered some type of violence, especially sexual violence.

Focusing, which is a process of gentle listening to bodily felt sensations, It is a very powerful tool so that the person who has suffered sexual exploitation can recompose the relationship with their body. That body that has suffered so much damage and humiliation may have ways of expressing its pain that are harmful, both in the impulsive responses and in their blockages as well as in the relationships that it establishes. Focusing, with his “go step by step, to the rhythm that the body wants to show”, allows emotions to find a healthier way of expressing themselves and to gradually heal. At the same time, the person can recover their experience of the body “from inside”, little by little overcoming the barriers and dissociations that his body built in order to survive. You can read more about how I understand Focusing, and seeing some of the entries about Focusing that I have published in this blog.

On the other hand, the Nonviolent Communication It seems to me an enormously powerful tool for the person to recover the word. Person (woman or man, girl or boy), who has been denied the right to assert their opinion, to decide on your life, about his body and about his affectivity, can find support in two processes. On the one hand, Nonviolent Communication can accompany you in the way you narrate your story to yourself, to reformulate your life. This way you can prepare the necessary duels, and making decisions in a conscious and empowered way. On the other hand, Nonviolent Communication is also very useful in the field of relationships, and can help the person to communicate more authentically and assertively, and at the same time more respectful with herself and with other people. In this way you can empower yourself to reweave, with awareness, his network of affections. You can expand this information by reading about my understanding of Nonviolent Communication and some entries about CNV from this blog.

My memory goes to all the people who suffer sexual exploitation, and to those who work for their liberation and healing.

And my offer also goes to accompany in the repair of these processes, from the psychological accompaniment and the psychotherapy (en Madrid, for now).

With hope and awareness,

Xavier

Mary Hendricks-Gendlin, photograph of The Focusing Institute.

Last 28 March 2015 Marion died (better known as “Mary”) N. Hendricks-Gendlin, an essential reference for the Focusing. I am among those who, without having known directly, We receive the inheritance of his work and his spirit.

Mary Hendricks-Gendlin fue, among other aspects of your life, psychologist, Focusing psychotherapist Orientation, founding member The Focusing Institute (Focusing Institute of New York) and director of it for many years. It has also been the partner of Gene Gendlin, who shaped the focusing process and continues to live, and the mother of Elissa, the daughter they had together.

For me the reference of Mary Hendricks-Gendlin comes mainly through Isabel Gascón, Focusing Spanish coordinator and my trainer Reference (after I certificate, I'm still learning it in every contact we have, personal or professional). Isabel Gascón, for its long history and its representation Focusing Institute Focusing Spanish for international issues (especially as vice president), He has had much contact with Mary, even in recent years, when Gene and Mary have left the address The Focusing Institute (Focusing Institute of New York). Precisely, a week before the death of Mary, in the National Conference Focusing 2015 Miraflores de la Sierra, Saturday 21, Isabel Gascón was commenting us several participants their experience of Mary and Gene, with love and tenderness, and from the admiration of all who have made both, supporting each other. I recommend reading the tribute of Isabel Gascón on their website.

Inheritance we receive not have known who directly takes many forms:

• A Focusing Institute solid, Mary and Gene have led to a transition to a new organization adjusted to the reality of international and multidisciplinary Focusing.
• Focusing international distribution, that she has been instrumental during his time as director. It seems essential to your article “Felt Sense Literacy” (also available in Spanish as “Literacy felt sense”), Focusing a moving vision as a force for social transformation.
• Support for the creation of such important aspects for Focusing and groups “Changes” (“changes”), Focusing groups sharing between practitioners.
• His current research in various areas of Focusing, Counseling and psychotherapy with Focusing and “Thinking At the Edge -TAE” (“Thinking From the Edge – PDB”).
• His concept “Revolutionary pause”, that is to give us time before acting, before to answer, to stop and see how our body lives every situation. In this way we can achieve greater authenticity of decisions. You can read his impressive article “Focusing as a Force for Peace: The Revolutionary Pause” (English only for now), wherein the first lines are poignant in its simplicity and depth, and where the rest of the text develops from different points of view the concept of “Revolutionary pause”.

From here goes my gratitude to Mary Hendricks-Gendlin and my tribute to his life and his work, who have also touched my life. And my love and care to Gene Gendlin and to all those who have loved Mary, and they have lost not only an essential professional, but also to a master, companion and dear friend, as revealed by the comments of the tribute page The Focusing Institute.

With respect and care,

Xavier