Focusing Guided Inquiry

This recording contains guided instructions on inner listening and mindfulness inspired by focusing. Focusing is a kind of compassionate and accepting inner listening grounded in bodily awareness originally developed by Eugene Gendlin. This natural human capacity can be further developed by following steps of paying attention in a friendly way to the moment-to-moment emerging sense of something important to you, as it is felt in your body. These instructions are intended to help you to nurture this skill by exploring a situation, or just the sense of how your life is going right now, as a way of getting a fresh perspective and perhaps even a new way of moving forward.

Transcript

This guided focusing practice can be used to help you explore a challenging situation in your life,

Or as a more open self-inquiry about your life right now.

You can use these instructions either way to explore whatever might like to emerge.

The instructions will guide you in coming into closer contact with your whole sense of the situation,

And to gently explore different aspects of how you're feeling,

Allowing for greater clarity to emerge about how you feel,

And how you might wish to move forward with this situation in your life.

It can be helpful to see this as an ongoing exploration,

And as best you can to let go of any preconceived ideas about how you should feel,

Allowing whatever shows up to be acknowledged and accepted as just part of how you're experiencing the situation and yourself right now,

Allowing space and time for more to come.

The recording will allow time for reflection in between guiding suggestions,

And you may wish to pause from time to time to explore something more fully before moving on to the next suggestion.

Of course,

The suggestions may not follow exactly your experience,

And if you find that so,

Please feel free to drop below the words and into your own experience,

Most importantly being kind,

Attentive,

And gentle with whatever comes.

So,

Beginning this practice now by taking your seat in a position that's comfortable for you,

In a place where you won't be interrupted,

And just making yourself as comfortable as possible.

And if it would be okay for you,

Allowing your eyes to close gently,

Or just allowing your gaze to rest and be soft.

And then maybe beginning by taking some nice full deep breaths,

Feeling the breath as it enters your body and the abdomen expands gently on the in-breath,

And feeling the breath as it leaves your body and the belly sinks back gently on the out-breath.

Just noticing if it would be okay for,

With the exhalation,

To allow your sense of the day so far to just be let go.

Not with a sense of getting rid of anything,

But just in the sense of letting things be,

Of gently clearing some space for whatever might freshly come to your awareness,

Allowing this to be a time that you've set aside for yourself,

Just allowing your body to rest and to breathe,

And with each out-breath,

Feeling your body settling more fully.

And as you breathe,

Beginning to notice other sensations in your body,

Sensations where you're being supported by where you're sitting,

Just noticing the outer parts of your body,

How they feel in contact with the chair or the cushion that you're sitting on,

Noticing where your feet meet the floor perhaps,

And how your feet feel,

Noticing your hands,

What they're touching,

And how they feel,

Just resting here.

Just feeling your body resting,

Supported,

Nothing else to do right now.

Just noticing your breath as it comes in and your breath as it goes out.

And then very gently allowing your attention to begin to shift to the inside of your body,

Perhaps allowing the breath to guide your attention in,

Into the whole middle part of your body,

The part of your body that includes your throat,

Noticing just how your throat feels right now,

The area of your chest,

Ribcage,

The area of the heart,

Just how it feels right now,

And the area of your stomach,

And just how it feels in your stomach right now.

And dropping your attention further down into the pelvis,

And noticing any sensations in the pelvis right now.

Feeling this whole core center part of your being from the throat all the way down into the pelvis,

Perhaps breathing with these sensations in this area.

And then as you've brought your attention inside,

Maybe noticing if it would be okay to ask,

How am I?

How am I in this moment?

And perhaps there's a particular situation that you wish to explore,

And you could bring that situation to mind right now just as you ask this question,

How am I?

How am I in this moment?

Or just simply allowing a broader inquiry,

Asking,

How do I feel about my life?

How do I feel about this whole thing?

And as you ask these questions,

Allowing yourself to be really open to whatever might come,

Including the possibility that you might be surprised,

That you might feel very different than you did just,

Say,

Half an hour ago.

Asking these questions and just attending with the body,

The throat,

The chest,

The abdomen,

The pelvis.

How am I feeling right now?

How is it in the body?

And when you become aware of something in the body,

Or perhaps in words,

Images,

Emotions,

A combination of things,

Maybe just acknowledging it,

Acknowledging what's come.

And you could do this by saying,

Oh,

I see you,

Hello.

And noticing if you're drawing a blank,

If nothing seems to be coming,

Or if it's quite subtle,

Acknowledging that.

Oh,

Kind of blank right now.

Very subtle sensations,

Just noticing maybe where they are.

And most importantly,

Being patient,

Just resting back with the breath,

Feeling it coming into your body,

Allowing this time,

Whatever wants to come,

As you rest here.

At any time,

Feeling free to refresh with a simple question,

Just how am I right now?

How am I feeling about my life right now?

Being patient and gentle with your attention.

And when you become aware of something,

Just acknowledging it,

Just saying,

Oh,

I see you.

And if it's a physical description,

A physical sensation that's come,

You might just see how you might describe it.

And taking those words and bringing it to back to your body and just seeing whether that seems just right,

Or if there are more,

There's more to the description that might describe it more fully.

Or if there's an emotional quality that's come,

You might see if,

As you bring that description of the emotional quality to the sense in your body and see just what might describe or emerge physically.

And you can do the same thing with an image that arises,

Any kind of images that arise,

You can see as you sense into that image,

Sensing into the body,

As you hold it in your mind.

And just whatever you become aware of,

Just acknowledging,

Oh,

That's how it is right now.

Hello.

And then just noticing if it would be okay,

If you could imagine sitting down with whatever's come,

A sensation in the body,

Emotions,

Images,

If it would be okay to keep it company,

To be curious about what it might like you to know,

As if you're just sitting down with it,

Whatever distance feels comfortable,

Noticing if it's possible to have an attitude of friendliness towards whatever might come.

And there might be parts of you that don't agree with what comes or don't like what comes or have some other judgment about it,

That it doesn't seem interesting enough or not sure how it's related or maybe even it seems scary.

We just want to bring curiosity,

As if to say,

Well,

That's interesting.

Oh,

Isn't that interesting,

As if we can receive whatever comes and be open to the more that might want to come from moment to moment.

And then maybe noticing if it would be okay to ask this place or whatever it is that you're aware of,

If there's something more that it might really like you to know or hear.

So if there's something that's saying,

Oh,

I'm a little bit uncomfortable right now or a little bit excited or whatever it is,

You could just let it know that you're happy to let it expand on this,

To share a little bit more with you.

And again,

Just noticing what comes,

Having curiosity and as much as possible a friendly attitude to whatever comes.

Just allowing whatever space it might need to just be seen,

Just be heard.

Noticing just what's here for you right now in the realm of sensations in the core of your body,

Checking in with the throat,

The chest and heart area,

The area of the abdomen,

The pelvis,

Being curious,

Being patient about just what's here for you from moment to moment.

You might want to ask it just,

How is it from its point of view?

What more would it like you to know?

And then just listening,

Just feeling.

And in a few more minutes we're going to be coming to the end of this practice,

So just checking what more might want to be known,

What more might like to be shared with you about what's come.

Maybe there's something that your insides just want you to know.

Maybe something from deep inside your being,

How it wishes for things to be for you.

Perhaps sensing into how you might like to carry something about what's come forward in some way in your life.

And then acknowledging again what's come,

Noticing how it is in the body,

Maybe noticing any shifts in how the body feels now compared to how it felt at the beginning of the practice.

Perhaps just breathing with whatever's here in the body.

And seeing if it might feel right to offer some appreciation for your body and for this process.

And then to gently say goodbye inside for now.

And in your own time beginning to allow your awareness to shift to include the sense of your whole body sitting here.

Feeling the perimeter,

The envelope of the skin.

The feeling of where your body contacts the surface that it's resting on.

Feeling the breath flowing in and flowing out.

And perhaps even with your eyes closed,

Taking in your sense of the surroundings.

Taking in sounds.

And then when you're ready to,

Ending this practice,

Allowing your eyes to open gently as you're ready to.

Reviews

Thank you very much for making this available! I’ve been learning inner relationship focusing and this is a very helpful resource to have. I hope you upload more variations soon.

This was wonderful. I am in the process of developing a personal practice of focusing and it was so lovely to be led and companioned in such a gentle, inviting, curious way. Thank you! <3

Perhaps a few more gaps in the audio would be good but found this practice really useful. Thanks.

Focusing is a very useful tool for self awareness. Grateful to hear it used in a guided experience. Thank you.

Very helpful. Thank you.

Soothing voice. Perfect timing. Very helpful.

Clear instructions, right rythme for me. A great supporting journey of awerness into ourself

An interesting meditation, allowing whatever arises from the body or thoughts or feelings to be observed without judgement. A new pathway for me that bears fruit In my practice. A tool for me to use each day. Definitely. Also noting the gentleness of her voice, its cadence, warmth, encouraging one to explore. Thank you. Namaste

Found great depths within this guided meditation. Thank you.

Just what I needed. Thank you.

Thankyou so much..

Calming and centering meditation, thank you! 🙏