Focusing Roundtable: Playing things out: a Wholebody Focusing process for recovering our inner spirit

Wednesday, June 12, 2024 - 2:00 pm-4:00 pm New York Time

Times worldwide: convert to your time zone

Free for members.

Live attendance required - no recording.

The TIFI Membership Committee is pleased to offer this series of Focusing Roundtables, designed especially for members of the Institute. If you are not a member, please join at this link and 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.

Roundtable Topic:

Let us start with something quite commonplace- the awareness that we often repeat certain patterns or themes in our living. And while there may be numerous patterns we live out, let’s say that there is one central or core pattern that persists, a body-set or embodied way of being that operates as if it has a life of its own. This bodily patterning, to say it another way, is already playing out in our everyday and relational living. The inner one living out this pattern carries an undercurrent of powerful energies, feelings, and intentions- i.e., an aspect of our body’s inner spirit. I have found that if we can identify this kind of core pattern, we can then embark on a journey of replaying the pattern, inviting and allowing it to play-out imaginatively, physically, and/or relationally.

The key aspect to this wholebody process is that of letting the body lead the way, more precisely, entering wholebody space and allowing spontaneous, self-generated energy and knowing to guide and move of its own accord. In this process, we can begin to reawaken and retrieve the energy of spirit, allowing for more freedom and aliveness of being. I would like us to experiment with this wholebody process of playing something out, as an enactive, experiential and expressive journey toward awakening and birthing our body’s inner spirit- toward transforming into a new way of embodying our being-here.

What might we do together in the gathering?

I would like to offer an initial wholebody attunement, an invitation for wholebody presence, grounding the body in our physical and relational space- and invite the body to come alive, to awaken, to move itself of its own accord. Then we can share a bit about what has emerged.

I encourage participants to reflect on at least one pattern that they might want to explore in the space we will co-create. I could then imagine demonstrating this wholebody energy process with myself or perhaps with a participant. Then we can either further explore this process through guided exercises, or form break-outs and explore/experiment with playing something out- and then reconvene to discuss, and share our experiences.

I would love to then open to any discussion, questions, concerns about this process- and perhaps its application to various life issues- and how to integrate in our Focusing/ WBF process.

Who might be particularly interested in attending this Roundtable?

This presentation is for anyone who seeks a more embodied, expressive style of Focusing and WBF. It can be for personal and spiritual growth, for a way to co-create partnerships and for those in the healing professions.  This session can give us a taste of how to let something play out, as a part of deep personal and spiritual transformation. We can enter this play, the flow of living energy, and all play together….

Here are some possibilities for how we can use our time- and who/how we might benefit from this presentation:

• Are you at a threshold, ready for a big step that seems hard to take?
• Have you often noticed that a core pattern of reacting, behaving, relating recurs?
• Might you sense that a more embodied, energetic, expressive process could help break through and open new possibilities for bodying forth your ways of living?
• Would you like to explore a wholebody process that integrates the deep inner body awareness of Focusing with letting the body play out its energy, feelings and life force?
• Can you envision a shared space in which we can play-out, dance, move, vocalize and interact together to allow our whole body to come more alive to itself?

CONNECTION>CONVERSATION>COMMUNITY

What to expect from Focusing Rountables:  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. To preserve the nature of informal conversation, the program will be offered live only and no recordings will be available. Registration is limited and on a first-come, first served basis. Participants are encouraged to create follow up opportunities for connection among themselves after the Roundtable.

About your hosts:

Glenn Fleisch has been a practicing WBF oriented psychotherapist for decades. He also has lead retreats, workshops, online programs in WBF and soma-drama work. This offering will allow us to co-create a safe, supportive space in which the natural arising energies and sensitivities of our whole body (and the beings who inhabit our body) to be invited, allowed and welcomed to come more alive and lead/show the way. This process has evolved from his own journey, and in the relational space of embodied transformation of trauma-based patterns.