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words. Keep shifting back and forth until the "handle" seems to
fit the problem perfectly well. Don't mentally ask, "Is this
right?" but rather look for the bodily signal--the "felt shift" that
says "this is right." Relish this accomplishment. (Just a couple
of minutes, unless your "felt sense" of the problem keeps
changing, which is good, then it may take three or four
minutes.)
Ask your "felt sense: "What is it about this whole problem or
situation that causes me to have this overall feeling quality (the
"handle")? Wait patiently for an answer. Beware of quick, well
rehearsed self-lectures and pseudo-intellectual explanations;
you've heard these ideas before; tell your "Freud" to go away.
Listen to your body.
If that basic question doesn't fit or work, try questions
like this:
o
What is really so bad about this situation?
o
What about this quality (the "handle") that is so terrible?
o
What needs to be done so you (or the "felt sense") will
feel OK?
Don't ask your mind to answer these questions. Don't let
your inner critic upset you; don't awfulize. Stay calm,
concentrate on looking for answers from this new source of
wisdom you are investigating. Stay with your "felt sense" until
you get an answer which seems right (you will feel the "felt
shift").
Carefully attend to any answers or images or solutions from
your "felt sense" that give rise to the bodily sensation of "that's
right" or "that fits." These insights are instantly relieving, they
change you automatically and your body feels better right
away. The new awareness may need to be acted upon by using
conscious self-help efforts also. But, on the other hand, you
don't have to agree with the "felt sense" nor follow its advice. It
may ask for the impossible. Just listen.
Decide if you want to go another round of "felt sensing” a
problem, giving it a "handle," and asking the body to help you
understand your feelings or possible solutions. Often the next
focus is on your last body-wisdom--the answer or view or
feeling given you by your "felt sense." That is, you now "felt
sense" your last "felt sense" that produced a "felt shift." The
sequence from one "felt sense" to another is not logical or
orderly, it just happens. You keep on trying to get under or get
into the last "felt sense" until the problem is resolved. Or until
you want to take a break.
Focusing is not stressful and hard work. Yet, it takes lots of
practice to learn to focus. It is honest talk with your body, something
most people don't do much. It is not an instant cure. Like meditation,
