Exploring the vibrant, lived experience of words

In this workshop, we will closely examine Gendlin’s philosophical focus on "transitions."

We will experiment with different types of transitions to observe how meaning shifts based on how we connect words and what we do "between" them. While this may seem theoretical, it can be a profound experience to realize how meaning transforms through our engagement with language. Random words can take on significant existential meanings, and under certain conditions, the meaning of each word can reveal vast landscapes sourced by personal life stories. In this way, words serve as lenses into the tacit dimensions of the intricate fabric of our lifeworlds.

In this workshop we will enact simple exercises with words, and will jointly witness the journeys of insights that arise, even if those words initially seem insignificant or are chosen at random.

We will read passages from Gendlin’s philosophical work to help us understand what is happening.

The exercises have rich philosophical implications that will become more tangible. They will let us get in touch with the experiential, embodied, embedded, ecological and affective roots of meaning. This will allow us to recognize the shortcuts of polarization better, and unveiling the intricate web of meaning that underlies our understanding of linguistic units, as well as our understanding of ourselves and one another, and the more-than-human-world.z

Note from Donata: This workshop is part of a research I am conducting right now. I would be very grateful if some people would volunteer to record their processes in the breakout rooms. Everything that will happen with this material will be anonymized and only published with your consent, once the research has come to fruition (which is never guaranteed!). Those who consent will be partnered in breakout rooms. If you consent to participate, the consent is between you, the participant, and me. The International Focusing Institute is not involved in nor responsible for activities in my research study. 

This workshop is intended for those already familiar with Focusing though all are welcome to attend.

Class will be recorded for all registrants and available for viewing for one month after the course concludes. Breakout rooms are not recorded. 

Format
We use Zoom videoconferencing for our online classes. The session will be held in meeting format so that all participants can see the presenters and each other. You will need to have a computer/mobile device. Calling in by phone is also possible but not preferred as participation in breakout rooms will be limited.

Bio
Professor Donata Schoeller is the conceptual director of the international research project Freedom to Make Sense (makesense.hi.is), the name of which originated during her philosophical conversations with Eugene Gendlin. She is a research professor in philosophy at the University of Iceland and serves as the academic director of the Embodied Critical Thinking and Understanding project (trainingect.com). Recently, she has been nominated as an Honorary Professor at the University of Koblenz. With her broad philosophical background, Professor Schoeller has become a pioneer in the emerging approach of Embodied Critical Thinking. She is a leading expert on the philosophy of Eugene Gendlin (University of Chicago), as well as an expert on the philosophy of Meister Eckhart. After completing her PhD on the concept of humility, she introduced the idea of “close talking” to explore the gradual, non-predictable unfolding of meaning from experiential backgrounds in the context of creative, therapeutic, and scientific work (funded by the Swiss National Science Fund). Alongside her theoretical work, she has undergone extensive training in Focusing, Thinking-at-the-Edge, Micro-phenomenology, and meditation practices. Based on her research and years of practical training, she developed Embodied Critical Thinking and Understanding in collaboration with Sigridur Thorgeirsdottir.  She has fostered a vibrant and motivated community dedicated to interdisciplinary research of embodied, experiential and mindful thinking practices and has published extensively (donataschoeller.com). This summer she will lead TAE tracks in two summer schools: at the TECTU summer school in Germany (trainingect.com), as well as at the Interfaith Retreat in France (https://www.institutvajrayogini.fr/en/practice/retreats/retreat-intercontemplative-radical-love/). 

For more information:
Contact Elizabeth at [email protected] or (845) 480-5111