| TABLE OF CONTENTS |
An Energy Attraction Point
Letter from our Director
Dear friends,
The International Focusing Institute is a lot like a plasma ball – those little globes, filled with gas and an electrical conductor which interact to create sparks of color which dance all over. When you put your hand against it, you create an attraction point and the energy inside surges toward you.
An Energy Attraction Point
Like those delightful plasma balls, The International Focusing Institute is an attraction point for all of the amazing Focusing energy that is out there in our little globe called earth. When someone in Morocco wants to know how to bring more Focusing to northern Africa, the Institute is a focal point that she knows she can contact for guidance and support. When someone who teaches Thinking at the Edge wants to talk to other teachers of TAE, he knows that through the Institute he can gather those people together to carry TAE forward. When a person from Spain is interested in conducting a research study on Focusing and anxiety, he knows to write the Institute about the possibility of a Gendlin Grant.
Because of all of our energy coming together in this “attraction point,” great things are happening!
Please donate to keep it going! Your gift will be doubled during December!
Equity for our world community
We are thrilled to announce that we have developed a new membership scheme, which takes more careful account of national economies. We have gone from 3 levels based on your country to 6 levels, so that those in the countries with the poorest economies pay much more equitably for their membership.
More equity in our membership prices is made possible by the generosity of your free will donations. Please give now. All donations in December are matched!
Many colorful sparks in teaching and learning
Look at focusing.org/events and see the amazing variety of teaching and learning that is happening all over the world! One of our Coordinators recently told us, “The new website is a game-changer.” She is now teaching several times a week online, finding many more students by listing her courses on focusing.org.
We featured 14 different teachers in our Facets of Focusing Online Summit, teaching the use of felt sensing in philosophy, architecture, therapy, children and more!
Our two Focus-a-thons this year featured almost 40 different teachers, offering Focusing in 18 different languages.
We do our best to make sure that all our classes and conferences are accessible financially. In order to do so, we depend on donations from those who have a little extra to give. Even very small donations make a big difference, especially right now, when they are being doubled!
Please give what you can while all gifts are doubled!
Significant research
The Gendlin Research Center has sponsored two different research projects, one of which has already brought in results, showing that the Focusing attitude reduces existential anxiety. This research resulted from your donations, which make the Gendlin Grant possible.
Please give now to keep this momentum going!
Social relevance
Our Felt Sense Conference in early December had the theme of “Embodied Liberation: the Felt Sense and Social Justice.” We considered the relevance of felt sensing in facing the societal issues of race, gender and climate change. These are three of many pressing issues where bringing a Focusing attitude could “move mountains” by the tiny movements that can come when we choose to attend to our concerns and fears.
With your donations, you help us to share our energy to confront with honesty and compassion the issues that face our globe.
Please give today. Your donations of ANY size are deeply appreciated, greatly needed, and in December, they are doubled! May your year end with hope, joy, health and peace,
Catherine
The International Focusing Institute during December, up to $10,000.
Every donation is truly helpful, no matter the size.
www.focusing.org/donate
EQUITY IN MEMBERSHIP
Lower Levels of Membership Added
Great news!
Starting in January, The International Focusing Institute will add three new lower levels of membership fees. We are doing this in order to have a more equitable structure for our membership rates. We have always had 3 levels of fees: one for the United States, a somewhat lower rate for other countries with good economies, and a third rate for countries with struggling economies. The lowest rate has been around half the cost that the US pays. However, even this lowest rate is far too high for people in countries where the annual average income is much less than half of the US annual average income.
We also sought a way to have a somewhat more objective standard for which countries belong in which categories. Our new system looked at an objective measure of average annual incomes for each country, and used that to assign the country to one of the six levels. We also created a category for members of indigenous (First Nations) communities within richer countries.
Watch for updates when we are ready to launch the new fees.
Thank you to the Board, the International Leadership Council, and the Membership Committee, all of whom have expressed their enthusiastic support for this commitment to equity and inclusion.
相約星期二：生命自覺者在疫情中的六十次網上聚會 /
An Anchor in the Waves: Over 60 Online Sessions
Click here for English
Building a Framework for 2022
Board Update
from Nelle Moffett
The Board is discussing what goals in 2022 will allow us to best achieve our mission with the resources we have. Since each Board member has a "portfolio" area of responsibility, we discussed these various areas in particular: goodwill (outreach), website, diversity, finances, Gendlin Research Center, governance and nominating. These goals will set a framework for the 2022 management plan and budget which are developed by the Executive Director.
It's been satisfying and gratifying to me to do my part as president to set processes in place which allow us to act with efficiency and integrity, and in a Focusing way. We've recently agreed upon a written procedure for annual planning and accountability, and created an annual calendar to help ensure that we are staying on top of all the responsibilities that we hold. We remain conscious of the trust you place in us to promote Focusing in this world.
Our dreams are grand, and of course, resources are necessary for those dreams to be realized. Thank you so very much for the resources you contribute: your membership, your participation, and your donations.
Best wishes to you and yours as this year winds to a close.
MILESTONES
We are pleased to congratulate the following new Coordinator and Coordinators-in-Training
and welcome them to the International Focusing Institute.
We wish them all the very best in his ongoing endeavors!
New Coordinator
 |
Liat Gross, Israel (Hebrew) Mentoring Coordinator: Liora Bar-Naton Liat is a psychologist and psychotherapist specializing in relational, client-centered and experiential approaches. She is certified by the International Focusing Institute as a Focusing Oriented Therapist (FOT). Her work also includes facilitating courses and training groups at the Focusing Professional Training Center headed by Liora Bar-Natan in Tel-Aviv. I feel fortunate to have focusing as a main part of my personal and professional life. |
