Clearing A Space: A Guided Felt Sense Practice

This video offers a guided introduction to Clearing a Space, the foundational first step in Focusing practice. You’ll be supported in slowing down, grounding in your body, and gently setting aside worries and concerns to create inner spaciousness. By identifying what is weighing on you and placing each concern at the right distance, you’ll connect with your body’s felt sense as a pathway to mental clarity and nervous system calm. This practice may support stress relief, emotional grounding, mental clarity, and a sense of inner peace.

Transcript

Hello everyone. I want to do a practice with you today called clearing a space. And this is the first step in Eugene Gendlin's focusing practice of working with the felt sense. So the first step is around preparation. It actually came about because Gendlin went to Japan. And he met a lot of meditation teachers there. And he realized that this step, This mindfulness step in focusing, Would be really a helpful way to begin the process of then coming down into working with deeper felt-sense process in the body. So step one, Clearing a space that we're going to do now, Is preparation for that. And you can simply do clearing a space, Even if you don't feel like you want to go on and do the rest of the steps of focusing. So in preparing then, We just want to pause. And slow down a little bit. Maybe feel your feet on the floor. You might want to stand up. Some people really like to move when they're coming down into the body. So just getting a sense of. Connecting in. Feeling your sense of grounding. Feeling Mother Earth under the soles of your feet. Coming into your space. And then. If it feels comfortable for you. You can slowly soften your gaze. And bring your awareness somewhere down. Into the center of your body. And in clearing space. We're going to take. Each of the issues that are roaming around in your mind and your body right now. Usually people have four or five things that are talking to them a little bit. Maybe distracting you a little bit. And we're going to take each of those and we're not going to go in there. We're just going to find one for now. And just name it to yourself. It's like, Oh, There's all about that thing that I have to do. Or the worry that you have, Whatever that is. And just gather it up in some way inside yourself. Don't go in there. Just staying at the surface of it. You might gather it up into a basket. Some people. Put it in a balloon. And what we're going to do now is just get the right distance between. This issue in your life. And where you can place it or you can just put it down for now. We're not trying to get rid of it. We're going to come back there at some point in another practice. But just for now. Just to clear some space inside yourself. And just check and see. It might want to go right beside you. It might be a tender issue. Or it might feel like, Oh, This is a big one, And you need a lot of distance from it. So you're going to. Put it. Up into a balloon and floated up into the sky. Toss it into the ocean for now. Or maybe. Just out into the street. So you're just getting a sense. Down in your body. How far away you need to put this. To be able to settle it. You don't have to carry it around all the time. And then as you begin, Just let it go for now. We're going to come back inside. And see what else is in there. Usually there's several things inside. And just find another one. And again. Name it for yourself. It's a bit like making a list. The things that are tugging on you. So you find this second thing. And again, Gather it up. And just for now. You're going to feel into how much space you need. Between you and it. In order to just put it down. In this moment. If you feel a little tug there, You just remind it that you'll come back there. In another practice at another time. But just for now, You really want to be able to clear. Some space inside. And as you begin to put these two bigger things down, Let's come back into the body and notice what's it like in there now with a little more wiggle room. Yeah, Just in this moment I can let those things go. And begin to settle down a little bit more and notice, Well, What else is in here? Maybe you can name it to yourself. And then again. Checking to see. How far away it needs to go. Where's a safe place to put it just for now? Now there is more room inside. To breathe a little more cleared space in the body. And then let's just check and see what else is in there. Something else that needs some attention. When the time is right. Gathering it up. And placing it just at the right distance. So that you know it's still there. But you have cleared space around it now. And then bringing attention back into the body. And there's just much more of a sense of Ah, An opening in the center of the body. Just checking once more, Just keeping this process going. Asking, Is there anything else in here? That. I need to just put down for now. And I'll just be quiet for a moment while you. Continue that process of clearing space. And then coming back into your body. And as you're doing this, Bringing your awareness now. Into this more and more cleared space. In the body. And let's see. We can get I handle a word or an image. Or maybe it's a gesture in your body. Something that helps you. To capture the essence of what it feels like in here now. With more room to move. Ah, Maybe there's a nice image that comes. I just got a cleared field. With the sun rising. So notice what comes for you. What we're doing here is creating your felt sense in your body. Of a cleared space. And you might just want to put your hands where you feel that in your body. And maybe there's a movement that goes with it, A stretching. Just really letting yourself savor. This cleared space inside. Just for now. In this moment.