Psychology

Focusing

Focusing

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  • Create Date：2021-10-21 09:53:52
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Eugene T. Gendlin
  • ISBN：184413220X
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Summary

The classic guide to a powerful
technique for personal transformation

Based on groundbreaking research conducted at the University of Chicago， the focusing technique has gained widespread popularity and scholarly acclaim。 It consists of six easy-to-master steps that identify and change the way thoughts and emotions are held within the body。 Focusing can be done virtually anywhere， at any time， and an entire “session” can take no longer than ten minutes， but its effects can be felt immediately–in the relief of bodily tension and psychological stress， as well as in dramatic shifts in understanding and insight。

In this highly accessible guide， Dr。 Eugene Gendlin， the award-winning psychologist who developed the focusing technique， explains the basic principles behind focusing and offers simple step-by-step instructions on how to utilize this powerful tool for tapping into greater self-awareness and inner wisdom。 As you learn to develop your natural ability to “focus，” you’ll find yourself more in sync with both mind and body， filled with greater self-assurance， and better equipped to make the positive changes necessary to improve and enhance every aspect of your life。

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Reviews

Leah Merricks ，

Really fascinating and in depth articulation of the process of 'focusing'。 Highly recommend for anyone exploring the value of the mind-body connection。 More interestingly， Gendlin offers a descriptive and instructive manual to facilitate self-identification of solely the bodily signals which can inform our deepest inner emotional states。 It has influenced my own developing therapeutic practice， particularly with the growing desire to work somatically with clients。 Perfect for therapists， counsel Really fascinating and in depth articulation of the process of 'focusing'。 Highly recommend for anyone exploring the value of the mind-body connection。 More interestingly， Gendlin offers a descriptive and instructive manual to facilitate self-identification of solely the bodily signals which can inform our deepest inner emotional states。 It has influenced my own developing therapeutic practice， particularly with the growing desire to work somatically with clients。 Perfect for therapists， counsellors， anyone interested in somatic work， the body-mind connection or anyone who is wanting to better understand their own somatic processes。 。。。more

James ，

Contains some solid content， and helped solidify a fuzzy concept that'd been floating around my head for a while。 It's quite short， and so while there's some extraneous stuff you have to skim through， it's pretty limited。 Great tool to acquire， have applied it already in the process of reading the book。Notes:t• Successful therapy patients can usually be identified fairly quickly from audio recordings by experienced therapists。 Once identified， this rule can be quickly taught to inexperienced und Contains some solid content， and helped solidify a fuzzy concept that'd been floating around my head for a while。 It's quite short， and so while there's some extraneous stuff you have to skim through， it's pretty limited。 Great tool to acquire， have applied it already in the process of reading the book。Notes:t• Successful therapy patients can usually be identified fairly quickly from audio recordings by experienced therapists。 Once identified， this rule can be quickly taught to inexperienced undergrads。 The pattern in question is what the author calls focusing， the subject of the bookt• Focusing lets one perceive a "special kind of internal bodily awareness"， which the author calls a "felt sense"。 Distinct from emotions somehowt• Focusing consists of six movements， each of which is accompanied by an unmistakable sense of a shift in the bodytt○ First: push problems to the side temporarily and examine themtt○ Second: make contact with bodily sense beneath the emotionstt○ Third: sense the quality of the bodily sense and put words to ittt○ Fourth: check words against emotionstt○ Fifth: ask the felt sense what is causing ittt○ Six: resolvet• A felt sense is a large， vague， feeling of a ton of details and tiny concerns and pressurestt○ In subagent language， this seems like looking at the whole set of subagents trying to influence GNWtt○ Author emphasizes that the felt sense is not mental but physical， like a taste or a chordtt○ Doesn’t come in words， but as one big block。 Hard to put into wordst• Exercise: query two different felt senses about important people in your life。 The general sensation that comes with thinking about one or the other - not verbal descriptions， just a sensationtt○ In subagent language， paying attention to the heap of associations produced by querying the subconscious association network with a topic。 Way more than can be held in working memory at oncett○ A body shift， then， means a change in the results of the association network - a change in subagent activity！t• The qualitative sense of a body shift is like feeling like you were forgetting something， and then remembering the thingtt○ Author describes this feeling as coming from hidden knowledge becoming consciously accessible。 This is almost in subagent language already - clearly you did remember the thing at some level， and there may be a subagent in charge of pushing it to consciousness。 When it succeeds， the subagent and the pressure it was exerting dissolvet• During the second movement， honing in on the felt sense， it's important to ignore consciously produced analytical explanations of self-lectures。 Get as close as possible to a meditative focus on the feeling itself， and just see what it's qualitatively like。t• Finding the right verbal handle for a felt sense is kind of like a "warmer-colder" kind of processt• Asking a felt sense is very much like asking another person a question。 You ask the question， and then you wait。t• As I look at the examples the author walks through， I think I've been doing something sort of like this recently， and just calling it "examining my feelings carefully"。 I think I started doing this after reading the Sequences， taking a "challenging the difficult" kind of approacht• Can go for multiple consecutive rounds of focusing if it feels appropriate， but it will often be a good idea to let things settle for a day or so before digging deepert• Focusing is not an analytic process （in the sense of doing focused-mode， algorithmic or explicit computations on items all held in working memory）。 It's investigative instead。 Successful focusing reveals what the problem really ist• Some people have difficulty clearing space to focus because they feel obligated to feel badt• To practice getting a felt sense， try retrieving the felt sense around something important to you - a person， experience， object， place， or thing that triggers a strong positive reaction。 Beauty， love， etc。t• Don’t let words get in the way of a felt sense。 If you think you feel X way and can't see past that， ask why or what makes you feel X way， and assess that felt senset• In general， whatever you think is getting in the way of your focusing， just focus on that instead for a bitt• Questions that tend to trigger refinements on felt sense up to handle words。 What is this really？ What's the crux？ What's the worst part？ What would make me feel better？ Etct• I think I'm definitely prone to slipping into analysis mode。 I think for me， the tactic might be to try and implement a Scout kind of analysis。 Instead of "this must be X"， go for "maybe this is X？ How does that feel？" Generating hypotheses consciously seems fine， provided they're checked against felt senset• Focusing is often done solo， but can often be social。 Author says that focusing partners tend to become very close very quickly， and that having another person listening makes it easier to focus， even in complete silenceWhen another person is focusing， don’t offer input。 Only acknowledge that you are listening， and repeat back things they say。 If you don't understand， ask for clarification gently and specifically 。。。more

Rob Hendricks ，

I love this book。 As someone who easily accesses inner worlds of image and concept， but who has needed a lot of help finding the inner treasuries of feeling and sensation， this book is a crystal clear map， offering an approach I have personally found to be sharper than any diamond。 Cannot recommend highly enough。

Linda Cardott ，

Unbelievable， don't waste your time。 Unbelievable， don't waste your time。 。。。more

Kunal Dharamsi ，

DNF。 The first few chapters are enough to get a good grasp on what Focusing is， which can prove to be a very handy tool in one's personal transformation journey。 The idea of felt sense was definitely a useful addition to my concept vocabulary。 However， I believe that Focusing's power as a standalone tool is somewhat limited。 Combining it with something like the Bio-Emotive Framework or Internal Family Systems can make it much more effective。 DNF。 The first few chapters are enough to get a good grasp on what Focusing is， which can prove to be a very handy tool in one's personal transformation journey。 The idea of felt sense was definitely a useful addition to my concept vocabulary。 However， I believe that Focusing's power as a standalone tool is somewhat limited。 Combining it with something like the Bio-Emotive Framework or Internal Family Systems can make it much more effective。 。。。more

Bridget ，

Recommended by friends who participated in group practice for years。 Intriguing and approachable ideas to incorporate into self-care routines。 Great for spiritual and health questers seeking to improve mental and emotional wellness。

Conor McCammon ，

Focusing is the most original and useful self-development book I have read in a long time。 This shouldn't be a surprise; it's written by a therapist and researcher， and spends its length succinctly outlining a very simple experiential process which， if followed， seems very promising at achieving far better results than talk-based therapy。In short， the process of focusing is a process of moving your awareness to the holistic， bodily 'felt sense' that arises behind your mere emotions and physical Focusing is the most original and useful self-development book I have read in a long time。 This shouldn't be a surprise; it's written by a therapist and researcher， and spends its length succinctly outlining a very simple experiential process which， if followed， seems very promising at achieving far better results than talk-based therapy。In short， the process of focusing is a process of moving your awareness to the holistic， bodily 'felt sense' that arises behind your mere emotions and physical sensations。 It is expansive and initially unclear， and is decidedly NOT what you would normally refer to as your feelings， gut， or intuition。 It is something that all of us have but hardly any of us have connected with。 Once in touch with this felt sense of a particular issue in our life， we are instructed to find a linguistic or imagistic 'handle' which resonates with the felt sense， and to follow this resonance into a bodily 'shift'， a decisive sense of your body changing。 This， Gendlin tells us， is the root of all successful talk therapy， whether people know it or not。Focusing hits a sweet spot for me。 It is succinct but complete。 It is philosophical （Gendlin is very well versed in philosophy of mind） but pragmatic。 It is clear but beautifully written。 Gendlin's authorial voice is at once warm and authoritative。 It is。 remarkable for such a small， unassuming book to hold such a powerful evolution of psychotherapy。 And yet， it does。 。。。more

Elizabeth Dorfman ，

must read。 straightforward strategy for becoming connected to yourself。 i hope to practice it daily

Rif A。 Saurous ，

The OG "Focusing" book。 Gendlin was a philosopher by training who developed a deep interest in psychotherapy， working with Carl Rogers for many years。 He listened to a bunch of therapy records， and "figured out" that therapy was usually worthless， and when it was going to work， he could predict it early， by noticing a certain way successful clients had of working by looking inside their bodies and feeling for a "felt sense" of situations。 He decided to try to systematize and teach this， and Focu The OG "Focusing" book。 Gendlin was a philosopher by training who developed a deep interest in psychotherapy， working with Carl Rogers for many years。 He listened to a bunch of therapy records， and "figured out" that therapy was usually worthless， and when it was going to work， he could predict it early， by noticing a certain way successful clients had of working by looking inside their bodies and feeling for a "felt sense" of situations。 He decided to try to systematize and teach this， and Focusing was born。Self-help and therapeutic techniques are deeply personal。 What works for me may not work for you， and what works for me this year may not work for me last year or next year。 That said， Focusing is working for me this year， and it's working for me bigtime。 I've been meditating daily for nearly four years， and the positive changes from that have been enormous， and this is bringing some deep important stuff that meditation wasn't doing for me。That said， this book is "fine"。 It's an easy fast read。 Focusing has changed and in my mind improved a lot since this book was written。 If you're going to read a ton of books on Focusing I do recommend this， but if you're going to read just one book I'll suggest Cornell's The Radical Acceptance of Everything。， which I've also reviewed。 。。。more

Sandy ，

The myth of human bodies and feeling。

Beth ，

This book was recommended by none other than Viktor Frankl in the endnotes of his book Man's Search for Meaning and it’s been popular enough to merit a 25th Anniversary Edition。Psychotherapist Eugene Gendlin’s argument is that one can largely sweep aside all traditional psycho-analysis and therapy in favour of this technique that he calls ‘focusing’。 There are six steps:1。tClearing a Space。 – Relax。 Pay attention inwardly， in your body， perhaps in your stomach or chest。 Now see what comes there This book was recommended by none other than Viktor Frankl in the endnotes of his book Man's Search for Meaning and it’s been popular enough to merit a 25th Anniversary Edition。Psychotherapist Eugene Gendlin’s argument is that one can largely sweep aside all traditional psycho-analysis and therapy in favour of this technique that he calls ‘focusing’。 There are six steps:1。tClearing a Space。 – Relax。 Pay attention inwardly， in your body， perhaps in your stomach or chest。 Now see what comes there when you ask， “How is my life going？”2。tFelt Sense。 – From what came， select one problem to focus on。 DO NOT GO INSIDE IT。 Pay attention to where you usually feel things until you get a sense of what all of the problem feels like。3。tHandle。 – What is the quality of this unclear felt sense？ Let a word， phrase or image come up。 Stay with the felt sense till something fits just right。4。tResonating。 – Go back and forth between the felt sense and the word （phrase， or image） to see if there is a bodily signal that lets you know they fit。 Let the felt sense and/or the word change until they feel just right in capturing the quality of the felt sense。5。tAsking。 – Now ask: What is it about this whole problem that makes this quality （which you have just named）？ Be with the felt sense till something comes along with a shift， a slight ‘give’ or release。6。tReceiving – Receive whatever comes with a shift in a friendly way。 Stay with it a while， even if it is only a slight release。Mmm！ The way I see it， if one has even a modest measure of self awareness such introspective instructions shouldn’t be necessary to determine one’s feelings about a problem， though I do concede that it isn’t always easy to own up to vulnerable emotions such as jealousy， humiliation or loneliness。 Those who do not have much self awareness won’t have the first idea what Gendlin is on about， so the book won’t be of much use to them either。 I am also puzzled by Gendlin’s assertion that nailing the right word for a deep feeling， of itself， triggers a ‘release’， though， for sure， a problem that is not understood cannot be solved。About three-quarters of the book is taken up with the technicalities of applying this technique with or without the support of a friend。 It is extremely boring。It is my great privilege to have read this book when my life is calm and peaceful。 Perhaps someone who is caught in life’s inevitable turbulence， or is feeling a bit stuck about something， will get more out of it。 。。。more

Freya ，

This book isn't 'amazing'， but still gets five stars - I simply can't find any major fault YET。 Focusing is not flashy， but satisfyingly adequate。Learned first about focusing in a uni course （client centered psychotherapy） - where it was touched upon fairly briefly， yet stood out as an unusually effective technique。 This book read like a proper introduction， made easy to understand for therapists and laymen alike。 Gendlin does a good job in guiding us along， helping out with practical tips， obvi This book isn't 'amazing'， but still gets five stars - I simply can't find any major fault YET。 Focusing is not flashy， but satisfyingly adequate。Learned first about focusing in a uni course （client centered psychotherapy） - where it was touched upon fairly briefly， yet stood out as an unusually effective technique。 This book read like a proper introduction， made easy to understand for therapists and laymen alike。 Gendlin does a good job in guiding us along， helping out with practical tips， obviously speaking from his experience as a therapist。 Personally， I'm never sure if whatever result I seem to get isn't merely placebo， but there are several ways he describes both a felt sense and a shift， that form a steady base to fall back to。 They function as an objective anker point， in the sense that these reference points are shared by everyone。 E。g。: the feeling you get when you 'realise' you forgot something， but you don't know what， whereupon you keep resonating with that felt sense until it 'clicks'， that's when you realise what you had forgotten。Furthermore， I appreciated his take-it-or-leave-it style of writing。 He didn't go out of his way to try and convince us of anything。 As a reader of psychological literature， you should do your due diligence and see what recent literature/research findings have to say， and not just swallow anything that looks nice。 Therefore， I'm glad Gendlin didn't waste his nor our time doing just that。 Please go and check recent research literature for yourself。 。。。more

Mark ，

Gendlin's techniques helped me gain more accurate awareness of and influence over my emotional states and how they affect my moment-to-moment resilience and resourcefulness。 The technique is not easy to describe or explain concisely。 It involves bringing to mind any circumstance or recalled event that is troubling in some way。 It could be， for instance， a situation of interpersonal conflict that， when considered， makes you anxious or sad。 Focusing involves you learning to subtly modify your perc Gendlin's techniques helped me gain more accurate awareness of and influence over my emotional states and how they affect my moment-to-moment resilience and resourcefulness。 The technique is not easy to describe or explain concisely。 It involves bringing to mind any circumstance or recalled event that is troubling in some way。 It could be， for instance， a situation of interpersonal conflict that， when considered， makes you anxious or sad。 Focusing involves you learning to subtly modify your perception of the event through a specific 'visualization' approach。 I put 'visualization' in quotes because the technique involves multi-modal sensory （images， sounds， textures， scents， tastes， internal sensations， etc。） imagined scenes。 The outcome of effective focusing （in Gendlin's usage of the word） is a felt sense of a shift。 It's a physically felt change within your body， usually involving a noticeable release of tension and an opening of the mind to see new possibilities for moving forward in the challenging areas of thought and emotion。 I recommend reading the book （it's short） through once and then listening to the audio version while trying to practice the method。 You can stop the audio at each step， rewind， etc。 until you become more fluid with the technique。I regard Focusing being a neurolinguistic technique with emphasis on modulating the sensory elements of problematic memories and thoughts。 An example of sensory modulation could be imagining someone （boss， lover， bully， etc。） berating you and letting yourself feel what you usually feel。 Then， use your imagination to make the abuser's image black and white instead of color。 Then change the person's vocal pitch to sound like they inhaled helium or like Minnie Mouse or another cartoon character with a silly voice。 Then notice how your feeling shifts a little。 You're amused。 You keep manipulating your habitual， controlling thoughts in this way。 At some point， you experience the shift that comes from physically processing the fact that your reactions that limit and torment you are responses going on inside you， in your body and imagination， and you can take control over those influences by rewriting them。For me， Focusing was a great technique。 I docked the book one star because the method is not easy to initially grasp， especially if you have difficulty visualizing scenes vividly。 I can easily visualize fully sensorial scenes， so this method works well for me。 If you can't easily visualize， look for other semantic or neurolinguistic therapeutic methods that work well when facilitated by a professional counselor。 It's worth trying。 The results can greatly improve your quality of daily life。 。。。more

Fergus ，

Spiritual awakening takes place in a timeless moment。 In everyday life， though， we are obstinately and hopelessly timebound。Caught up in fractious arguments， guilt trips， and the eddying of mood swings in response to the gravity of demands and the grace of love。。。 timebound。But in 1985 I still hoped for quick fixes。 This book promised one and delivered on that promise - or more correctly， it gave me an easy way to access the memory of my earlier years。Which was a start。I am naturally intuitive - Spiritual awakening takes place in a timeless moment。 In everyday life， though， we are obstinately and hopelessly timebound。Caught up in fractious arguments， guilt trips， and the eddying of mood swings in response to the gravity of demands and the grace of love。。。 timebound。But in 1985 I still hoped for quick fixes。 This book promised one and delivered on that promise - or more correctly， it gave me an easy way to access the memory of my earlier years。Which was a start。I am naturally intuitive - I am a great hypnotic subject - and fell quickly into the slower pace that focusing demands。I remember my initial delight。I began， with excellent results， to explore my hidden past。 But I had to be relaxed yet alert， which was impossible save on weekends - which of course had demands of their own。So my “hits” were piecemeal; and nowadays， when our overall pace of life seems to have increased exponentially， they are even more so。But the method demonstrated in this book gave me the groundwork I needed for reconstructing some of my preschool life。 And isn’t that normally a result that only a good psychotherapist can produce？Extrapolating from that groundwork I was in time able to draw general conclusions for ordinary behaviour that had always been illegible to me。Constructing psychological laws - with the help of my books and religious beliefs - was the final step。So that now， with that ace of these solid well-considered laws up my sleeve， a foul mood or feeling will rarely detain me in its gloom for too long。In conclusion then， you could say this one book had shown me the first glimpse of my eventual healing。It’s quite an admission， I know， to say that。For there are no quick fixes， but at the beginning only:Hints and guesses -Hints followed by guesses。。。But it was those initial hints and guesses - and much hard work - that led me firmly back to myself！ 。。。more

Karli Sherwinter ，

I think I would benefit from working on this with an experienced practitioner。 The technique does not need to be done with another person， but it seems like it might be helpful at first。

Dickson Tan ，

Why does therapy work on some people but not others？That was the inspiration for conducting the research presented in Focusing。 For patients which were helped by therapy， they were intuitively tapping into their bodily awareness of the problem / situation。 This book aims to teach readers systematically how to tap into this sense。The Focusing technique is very applicable to everyday life， and is not just for use in therapy。 Briefly， the premise is that the body is a giant supercomputer which is a Why does therapy work on some people but not others？That was the inspiration for conducting the research presented in Focusing。 For patients which were helped by therapy， they were intuitively tapping into their bodily awareness of the problem / situation。 This book aims to teach readers systematically how to tap into this sense。The Focusing technique is very applicable to everyday life， and is not just for use in therapy。 Briefly， the premise is that the body is a giant supercomputer which is able to take in a lot of information （which would overwhelm us if we try to process it cognitively） and with that information， it may be able to help us move forward when we're stuck with problems。I've been able to intuitively tap into this sense before and have experienced its benefits， although I did not know at the time what I was doing。This is just a first reading。 I'll update this review with more details once I succeed in deliberately recreating the experience。 。。。more

Chris ，

Don't have time to really write a thorough review， so it's gonna be so-so， sorry about that。 It helped me let my background emotions towards my problems come through more clearly so that I could get a sense of what my heart needed to take the next step forward。 Don't have time to really write a thorough review， so it's gonna be so-so， sorry about that。 It helped me let my background emotions towards my problems come through more clearly so that I could get a sense of what my heart needed to take the next step forward。 。。。more

Vahini ，

This technique is quite a good way of analyzing and addressing the problems。 Eugene is wonderfully clear and right on point in describing the steps to encounter the inner conflict。 This felt like a kind of meditation， but instead of going into stillness， this technique of focusing deals with deeper introspection of the problem at hand。 I have practiced the steps twice and I could understand the experience and the good outcomes of this practice。 The only thing I did not like in this book/techniqu This technique is quite a good way of analyzing and addressing the problems。 Eugene is wonderfully clear and right on point in describing the steps to encounter the inner conflict。 This felt like a kind of meditation， but instead of going into stillness， this technique of focusing deals with deeper introspection of the problem at hand。 I have practiced the steps twice and I could understand the experience and the good outcomes of this practice。 The only thing I did not like in this book/technique is how Eugene calls the feeling "Failed sense" throughout。 It is indeed a powerful technique and with constant practice can definitely yield unwavering benefits。 。。。more

Andreea ，

An actually useful technique borne out of analysis of hundreds of hours of therapy sessions to figure out what works and what doesn’t; lots of good advice for how to help yourself and others by being better listeners obscured by too much repetition and tone of voice （though it helps to imagine Bob Ross narrating to get through it）， as if it addresses someone very naive with the introspective range of a teaspoon。

Ben Serviss ，

Remarkable。 Every human should read it。

Ishvani H ，

I actually picked this up because a friend was constantly bitching about how annoying this book was and I wanted to see for myself whether I agreed with him or not。 I only managed to read like 65% of this book and now I can totally see where he was coming from。 The beginning seemed promising but gradually， it became unbearable。 The book felt super repetitive and became boring after "focusing" was talked about。 The author came off as slightly condescending， especially in the way he asserts that t I actually picked this up because a friend was constantly bitching about how annoying this book was and I wanted to see for myself whether I agreed with him or not。 I only managed to read like 65% of this book and now I can totally see where he was coming from。 The beginning seemed promising but gradually， it became unbearable。 The book felt super repetitive and became boring after "focusing" was talked about。 The author came off as slightly condescending， especially in the way he asserts that there is no other way of solving these problems。 Moreover， the method felt like an obvious thing that your body anyway does。 Anyone who is aware enough about their own body would know this isn't anything profound。 Clearly， this method is great for people who otherwise don’t try to get to the root of their problems and I could see why so many people would resonate with this approach。At some points， I seemed to like the author for his honesty and passion for psychotherapy。 But this one-true-method condescension was very off-putting。 。。。more

Harmless ，

The stories certainly are inspiring， and the whole idea of tapping into your bodily sensations makes sense to me， but I have yet to verify if the psychoanalysis experiment at the start is credible or had a successful focusing session。

Karin Blomqvist ，

Interesting

Gary Martin ，

I found it very helpful。

Taylor ，

Describes a technique for understanding unconscious feelings。I think it probably works and could be useful but it seems like it takes a lot of practice before it starts paying dividends。 I don't plan to start learning this now but I may come back to it later。 Describes a technique for understanding unconscious feelings。I think it probably works and could be useful but it seems like it takes a lot of practice before it starts paying dividends。 I don't plan to start learning this now but I may come back to it later。 。。。more

Marius ，

A fine read ！ The author describes a method "focusing" which is the felt sense we all have。 This is the way for one to reconnect to ones body， in order to truly grasp the whole of the problem。 He correctly points out that without coming to touch with the felt sense we can not expect change。 Analyzing， disputing and introspection are not particularly helpful to bring change， which is why many psychotherapies do not work。 The felt sense is the the whole reality， and cannot be reduced to words， it A fine read ！ The author describes a method "focusing" which is the felt sense we all have。 This is the way for one to reconnect to ones body， in order to truly grasp the whole of the problem。 He correctly points out that without coming to touch with the felt sense we can not expect change。 Analyzing， disputing and introspection are not particularly helpful to bring change， which is why many psychotherapies do not work。 The felt sense is the the whole reality， and cannot be reduced to words， it carries the whole information， the feelings， the thoughts，the physical sensations etc。 To give you an exemple from the book， the author wants you to think about someone you know， let's say her name is Jane， now if you keep Jane in mind， you have a felt sense about her， you do not employ a list of traits， describing Jane， going like "Ahh。。 Jane， she is such and such， and " 。 The human body and mind already has the knowledge， one does not need to analyze， think， and so on。 So， if you have a problem， the idea is to get to the felt sense of it， and wave as the feelings unfolds。 Eugine gives clues and 6 steps for the focusing to occur。 The reward is worth it， the change that occurs is felt as a relief， a body shift。 Change is not painful， it is empowering 。 Pain cannot erase pain。 I am pretty sure this is an old book， somatic therapies are exactly like this。Considering the year it was published， this is a very good little book， and for me it was a great reminder that change feels good and you know you change when you feel it。Also， it definetely empowered me， bringing awareness to the fact that attending to what is， is the way for change。I recommend this book， and I want to point out to Jiddu Krishnamurti。 He was an Indian philosopher， a truly great human being， who knew the important fact of living mindfully and respectfully to the "what is"。 。。。more

Renate ，

Heel toegankelijk， praktisch， leesbaar en daarna dus toepasbaar。 Fijn boek en aanrader。

Clivemichael ，

Some good advice

Miikka ，

Didn’t really work for me – maybe I should have tried harder？

Kolya Kalinin ，

I read 10% of the book and could not continue。 It was soooo booooooring。 I understand that this is partly professional literature。 But what I read could fit in 3 paragraphs。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Focusing

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Focusing&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Focusing&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0