Notes from June 7, 2019 NY Metro Focusing Meeting
Twenty attendees gathered on June 7 for New York Metro Focusing’s final evening devoted to the words and ideas of Eugene Gendlin, which had been our theme for the past year.
After an attunement led by Jude Cobb, Larry Hurst introduced the theme of the evening, “Focusing in Motion: Carrying Forward the Gendlin Experience.”
To set the theme in context, the Planning Group members read aloud an excerpt from Eugene Gendlin: "...One begins without understanding the parts or the whole very well. Only the whole gives the parts their roles and meanings. But of course we arrive at an understanding of the whole only part by part. A better grasp of any part can change the sense of the whole.... The meaning of the parts is not fixed; they must grow in meaning. " Eugene Gendlin, "The Responsive Order: A New Empiricism", 1997 (referring in part to the work of Wilhem Dilthey, 1833-1911)
Larry structured the evening around three exercises which revisited and deepened basic ideas of Gendlin’s, which had been the subject of previous evenings. These were:
The attendees divided into three groups and all three groups went through the three exercises. We then gathered in a larger group and shared about our experiences.
One person said “each little group was an example of how the whole creates the parts and the parts are created from the whole.”
“Something happened that I didn’t realize. I would have missed a lot if I hadn’t done this tonight. The whole development by parts and parts by whole is very vivid for me right now.”
“Having spent an hour with the same group, gave my inner voice permission to find its expression.”
“It seemed very complicated, but over the course of the evening there was a shift.”
“I feel I am the only person in the world, yet part of everybody else.”
“Something so alive. A wonderful climax to the year.”
Many people expressed appreciation to Larry for facilitating such a satisfying and meaningful conclusion to our evenings with Eugene Gendlin.
SAVE THE DATE for Our Next Meeting:
Friday, September 27, 2019 6pm - 8:30pm –Susan Rudnick LCSW, will read from and discuss her debut memoir, Edna’s Gift: How My Broken Sister Taught Me to Be Whole and will facilitate an exercise in using focusing for writing.
The Notes, Program and Announcement of every meeting are archived at OUR PAST EVENTS.
Twenty attendees gathered on June 7 for New York Metro Focusing’s final evening devoted to the words and ideas of Eugene Gendlin, which had been our theme for the past year.
After an attunement led by Jude Cobb, Larry Hurst introduced the theme of the evening, “Focusing in Motion: Carrying Forward the Gendlin Experience.”
To set the theme in context, the Planning Group members read aloud an excerpt from Eugene Gendlin: "...One begins without understanding the parts or the whole very well. Only the whole gives the parts their roles and meanings. But of course we arrive at an understanding of the whole only part by part. A better grasp of any part can change the sense of the whole.... The meaning of the parts is not fixed; they must grow in meaning. " Eugene Gendlin, "The Responsive Order: A New Empiricism", 1997 (referring in part to the work of Wilhem Dilthey, 1833-1911)
Larry structured the evening around three exercises which revisited and deepened basic ideas of Gendlin’s, which had been the subject of previous evenings. These were:
- Being at One with Nature – Gendlin said that we are human beings, but we are also plants. The exercise involved dwelling on Gendlin’s words and considering their implications for ourselves and the world- “the body that Is the light and Is the water and Is the interaction.”
- Balancing the Inner and Outer Self – the exercise involved first bringing awareness to the outer world of content, then bringing our awareness inside, and finally, while keeping inner awareness, broadening our perspective to include the outer world.
- Calling Upon Our Inherent Knowing – the exercise involved remembering a time when what needed to happen did happen, a time when what needed to happen did not happen, and then allowing a bodily felt sense to help us receive what would have been needed.
The attendees divided into three groups and all three groups went through the three exercises. We then gathered in a larger group and shared about our experiences.
One person said “each little group was an example of how the whole creates the parts and the parts are created from the whole.”
“Something happened that I didn’t realize. I would have missed a lot if I hadn’t done this tonight. The whole development by parts and parts by whole is very vivid for me right now.”
“Having spent an hour with the same group, gave my inner voice permission to find its expression.”
“It seemed very complicated, but over the course of the evening there was a shift.”
“I feel I am the only person in the world, yet part of everybody else.”
“Something so alive. A wonderful climax to the year.”
Many people expressed appreciation to Larry for facilitating such a satisfying and meaningful conclusion to our evenings with Eugene Gendlin.
SAVE THE DATE for Our Next Meeting:
Friday, September 27, 2019 6pm - 8:30pm –Susan Rudnick LCSW, will read from and discuss her debut memoir, Edna’s Gift: How My Broken Sister Taught Me to Be Whole and will facilitate an exercise in using focusing for writing.
The Notes, Program and Announcement of every meeting are archived at OUR PAST EVENTS.