Down Under Roundtable: Holding a Space in These Times

Friday, 22 May 2020 from 12:00pm-2:00pm Sydney, AEST

Friday 22 May from 2:00pm-4:00pm, New Zealand, NZST

Friday 22 May from 10:00am-12:00pm Perth, Western Australia, AWST 

(US Thursday 21 May at 7:00pm-PDT; 8:00pm-MDT; 9:00pm-CDT, 10:00pm-EDT)

Times worldwide: convert to your time zone

We are very pleased to offer this new series of Focusing Roundtables at a time friendly to those of us in Australia and New Zealand. We invite you to join us at these virtual Focusing “cafés” in which participants can share their experiences of this time we are currently living in. If you are not a member, please join at http://focusing.org/membership, then return to this page to register. This program will afford members a valuable opportunity to engage in casual peer-to-peer conversation with other members who share Focusing-related interests.

CONNECTION>CONVERSATION>COMMUNITY

‘Holding a Space’, in these times of Covid 19 and physical distancing, is something that calls for our heightened attention. Additionally, in Australia and New Zealand, it follows upon a time when other major events such as fires, droughts, the anniversary of the mass shooting in Christchurch and the lives lost in the Whakaari/ White Island Volcanic eruption to name just a few, have already stretched our capacity for change.

We plan to come together at this Roundtable to hold a space, to allow what is alive in us, now, during this moment of history, to speak, to be heard and to be carried forward into the further unfolding of its story.

Holding a Space suggests an active engagement with the practice of the Focusing Attitude - Pausing, Reflecting and Presence. We are going to bring that attitude into our breakout groups of three, where we will have time for developing a more intimate space, then also in our large group sharing.

To help us deepen our sharing we will explore the ‘crux’ (a term used by Robert Lee in Domain Focusing), creating a short phrase or sentence that captures the essence of our experience in the breakout group. The distillation of each small group’s experience will then be carried back and shared with the whole group.

We recognize that holding an empathic space for another or for oneself requires quiet attention. Finding that inner stillness is particularly challenging during periods of rapid and dramatic change. In this Roundtable we will explore together how we might singly and collectively hold a clear enough space for Life to flow forward.

What to expect from Focusing Roundtables:  Each Focusing Roundtable is designed to promote informal peer-to-peer conversation. Rather than acting as expert presenters, the Hosts will serve as conversation moderators to encourage sharing and exploration of the topics from the participants’ own perspectives.  All participants’ sharings are welcome and valuable, no matter what level of experience or knowledge you have on the topic. The main emphasis is on connecting and listening to each other.

To preserve the nature of informal conversation, the program will be offered live only and no recordings will be available. Participants are encouraged to create follow up opportunities for connection among themselves after the Roundtable.

Focusing Roundtables are presented as a free benefit for members of TIFI. If you are not currently a member, you may attend this Roundtable by becoming a TIFI member at http://focusing.org/membership, and then return to this page to register. By joining at the $25 Friend Level or higher, you will be eligible for this and all future Focusing Roundtables and other benefits of membership during the year following your membership date.

Registration is limited and available on a first-come, first served basis until the spaces fill. Aussies and Kiwis will be offered an early opportunity to register before May 8 AEDT, at which time registration will continue to be open for our Down Under members as well as for the rest of the world-wide Focusing community. Registering early will help us greatly.

We warmly encourage you to register and settle down with us to join other Down Under Focusers passionate to explore topics of interest and get to know each other better. If you have an area of interest, curiosity or passion you would like to see opened up in a future Roundtable, please let us know.

About your hosts:

Heather Rogers is a Counsellor and Focusing Therapist in Private Practice living in Palmerston North, North Island, New Zealand. She is a Focusing Teacher, Certifying Coordinator and member of TIFI’s Membership Committee. She is committed to training and developing the Focusing Community in New Zealand, with passion for incorporating Focusing in her daily life and work.

David Shapiro del Sole fell in love with Focusing when he realized it was asking of him what he doesn't know rather than in what he knows. He is a Focusing Therapist working in private practice in Tasmania.