THE RECORDINGS - TAE Academy

Please join us for the 2024 Thinking at the Edge (TAE) Academy! 

This online Academy will allow you to both take a deep dive into TAE, and also to get a broad experience of outstanding teachers from all over the world.

TAE is a practice developed by Gene Gendlin and Mary Hendricks-Gendlin.  It is related to Focusing but has a different emphasis.  Both are grounded in the felt sense, that murky sense of something you know which is not yet in words.  With TAE, we intentionally and systematically build upon that not-yet-articulated place to allow for something new to be brought into the world.  You can read more about TAE on this page of our website.

You’ll choose one teacher to study with for an intensive class in TAE, and also have the chance to attend workshops with other teachers.  The schedule is designed so that no matter where you are in the world, you should be able to attend one Main Class each day for four days, and one Workshop each day.  You’ll also have recordings of everything available to you through April 30, 2024.

This is an extraordinary chance – don’t miss it!  Read details below.

The heart of the TAE Academy will be your “Main Class.” When you register, you will choose to work with one of the three Main Teachers (Evelyn or Bea or Monika). Note the time of their class, as not all might be doable for you in your time zone!

You will be with your teacher for all four days of the Academy, 2 1/2 hours each day. Live attendance is required.

Evelyn Fendler-Lee (Thursday - Sunday 1:00pm  to 3:30pm  NY Time  Your time here- note that in Asia/Oceania, this will be late night or early next morning)
MAIN CLASS: A Creative Journey with TAE - This workshop will open your creative thinking by playfully applying the main TAE movements. We will go on a journey to explore what might be lurking inside you, waiting to be expressed.

Whether you come with or without a topic to the workshop, images will encourage you to get a first glimpse of what you know implicitly but cannot say yet. We will trace any tensions and contradictions in the images and wonder to what extent they are relevant to your topic.

Once we’ve found the central crux of your topic, we will be inspired by colors, sounds, and textures to discover as many facets of what still needs to be explored as possible.

After this exploratory phase, we will deepen our understanding of the facets by finding precise words for their meaning. Then, there will be the time when you draw your picture of your journey so far. This will help you discover connections between and within the facets.

During the last episode of our journey, we will capture the new findings by writing a poem.

Please bring something for taking notes and for drawing.

Read Evelyn's bio

Beatrice Blake (Thursday - Sunday  10am to 12:30pm NY Time - Your time here- note that in Asia/Oceania this is very late night)
MAIN CLASS: Pausing, felt sensing and listening: the foundational practices of Thinking at the Edge -

Day One:  Many body-oriented practices concentrate on the emotions, but Focusing concentrates on felt sensing. You’ll learn how to distinguish felt senses from emotions, starting with the fact that emotions are fairly easy to name, whereas a felt sense is the wholistic bodily feel of a complex situation.  Before the class, you’ll get a copy of Gendlin’s article "The Crucial Bodily Attention." This will form the basis for our discussion. To prepare for the next three days, we’ll go over the guidelines for safety and confidentiality, and we’ll do a little felt sensing

Day Two: We ’ll continue to explore safety and confidentiality, and you’ll be introduced to Domain Focusing, a clear-cut and easy way to navigate among three aspects of the Focusing process: the Thinking Domain, the Felt Sensing Domain, and the Self-Empathy Domain. We’ll learn the importance of reflecting back what the Focuser says, instead of interpreting, advising, trying to solve problems, making comparisons, brainstorming, etc. Bea will do some demonstrations and you’ll have time to practice.

Day Three: After several demonstrations, you’ll practice tracking a Focusing session, so that you develop a feeling for each Domain.

Day 4: Here we’ll put everything together with Gendlin’s Six Steps of Focusing. You’ll continue partnering with your classmates in order to gain more experience in Focusing partnership so that you’ll be able to get the most out of a TAE course.

Read Beatrice's bio

Monika Lindner  (Thursday - Sunday 4:00 am to 6:30am NY time -  Your time here - note that for those in Asia/Oceania, this will probably be the best choice, as it is same day afternoon/evening)
MAIN CLASS: A search for meaning with Thinking At the Edge

Thinking At the Edge (TAE) is a language-sensitive exercise with which we can approach meanings in order to check their topicality and coherence. We use terms such as "peace", as simple as they are abstract, that touch our longing as well as our despair. When you allow such a word to resonate within you, what becomes perceptible that can only be lived and expressed through you? How can this unfold in your life in a way that is right for you and gives you creative power?

In this workshop, we will start from concepts that are important to us and engage together in the thought movements of TAE in order to move along an individual edge. Your inner place where speaking needs special attention, where something is tangibly meaningful, where something new and unique wants to form and express itself and unfold in your life.  We will immerse ourselves in all 3 phases of the TAE process. In addition to the individual path, we will also work together to weave a network of meaning inspired by each other. One of the aims of this workshop is to make it possible to experience "thinking where words are still missing" in an easily accessible way so that you can continue to practice and live it with others in your own environment.

Read Monica's bio

We’ve arranged the schedule so that no matter what time zone you live in, there is at least one Main Class that is at a reasonable hour for you (be sure to check the "your time here" link!), and at least one Workshop that is at a reasonable hour for you. You are expected to attend your Main Class live. All sessions will be recorded, so you will not lose out on the sessions taking place at other hours. Read the Schedule

When you complete your registration you will indicate your first and second choice for your Main Class teachers.  Note that each Main Class is at a different time of day (morning or early afternoon New York time), and that your choice might be determined by your time zone.  As of 1/16/2024, all first choice teacher requests can be honored.  Please remember that you will have access to videos of all 3 teachers’ classes through April 30, 2024, so you won't have to miss any of them.

The Main Classes are intended as live experiences, so please block out the time for those in your schedule.  Classes will be recorded, and made available as soon as possible, but TAE requires lots of interaction among participants and the teacher, so you are expected to be fully present.  If you know that it is impossible for you to attend any part of the 10 hours (2 1/2 hours a day for 4 days), please discuss this with your teacher in advance. If a last minute emergency comes up, then please be sure to watch the missed session before attending the next session.

We have a wonderful variety of additional workshops. These are optional, will also be recorded, and do not have to be selected in advance.

Teresa Dawson - Using TAE for the Not-knowing of Dealing with Climate Change
Externally, we know how to deal with the climate crisis: behave in an environmentally friendly way, take care of our feelings about the climate crisis, be socially active and politically vigilant.

Implicitly, we know even more. Our body is part of the living earth body and capable of creating something new from this earth knowledge. With a TAE exercise you will find your personal contribution, your creative expression.
Read Teresa's bio

Nada Lou - GENESIS and TASTE of Thinking at the Edge
Thinking at the Edge - TAE is the second philosophical practice created by Dr. Gendlin. Nada participated in early formation of this practice and will first share some history and development of the steps and practice Gene Gendlin named  Thinking at the Edge. Following this brief introduction, Nada will take you on a short experiential path in which you will discover how thinking from the felt sense is possible and how your body discovers new language to express it. This exercises will be experiential so be prepare to do some writing. There will be time at the end for some questions and comments.
Read Nada's bio

Hanspeter Mühlethaler - A Focusing-/TAE-Approach to Looking at Art

In an exciting and playful exercise, participants will experience how the power of Focusing and TAE it can enrich their everyday lives. They will sense into their interaction with a piece of art, instead of perceiving it as an external object. The wonderful result is the emergence of new and unexpected meanings of the piece that may cross with an issue in life. The approach opened Hanspeter a touching new way to visit art museums.
Read Hanspeter's bio

Satoko Tokumaru - Making a Bouquet: An experiential introduction to TAE
“Making a Bouquet” is a popular exercise from Satoko’s book Writing with TAE.  It is a fun way into the TAE process by drawings colorful flowers on paper. In this online workshop, participants will get to experience this bouquet exercise.  Satoko will guide participants throughout the process.  Then, we will discuss the exercise and how it relates to Gendlin's Philosophy of the Implicit. You will gain a deeper understanding of TAE and Gendlin's philosophy through an enjoyable exercise.  Satoko will present mainly in Japanese with translation into English.  If you are a Japanese-speaking participant, you would be welcome to ask questions in Japanese during the workshop and we can translate into English for the other participants. Please prepare a sheet of paper and a pencil or pen. If you have crayons or colored pencils handy, that would be ideal.
Read Satoko's bio

Dana Ganihar and Baruch Brenner - Seeds of a "new humanity"
Can the interactions we live now reflect our implicit unique human qualities?

Through TAE steps, we will explore ways to enable us to go out into the world in these times, basing our actions on the unique qualities or sensitivities which we have kept hidden (sometimes even from ourselves). We will explore how to gently touch these qualities and to wisely explicate them, in order to plant what we're calling "seeds of a 'new humanity.'" 

Dana Ganihar and Baruch Brenner - Between what "supports me" and what "supports life"
The living edge in times of distress
Throughout this workshop, we will pay attention to the foundations of support that arise from our real-life experience. The invitation is to go beyond the usual categories of the concept of "support" and listen to the "first-person" intricacy and richness of one another's lives.  The intention is to discover new dimensions of what it can me to "support me" and to "support life."
Read Dana and Baruch's bio

We welcome all levels of experience in felt sensing.  Our teachers are skilled in working both with new people and with those who have been Focusing or studying TAE for many years.

The Academy will be in English.  Most of our teachers are bilingual, so if you speak their language, they can give you a little support (such as receiving your questions in that language).  If they happen to speak your language, you could ask them if they happen to have materials in that language..  You will need to be proficient in English to participate fully in the Academy.  If you are interested in attending, but need translation to your language, please let us know.  If we get enough requests from one language group, we will do our best to see if translation is possible to that language.  If not, we will know for future TAE Academies to try to have translation to that language.

All classes will be recorded.  Recordings of all sessions will be made available within a few hours of the end of the session (except in the case of technical difficulty).  You will have access to recordings of all sessions through April 30, 2024.  As stated above, our expectation is that participants will attend their selected Main Class live.  Recordings are intended for reinforcement of what you learned, or a chance to experience the teachers whose Main Class you did not take.  See above for guidance if you know you must miss parts of the 10 hours of the Main Classes.  For Workshops (as opposed to Main Classes), attendance live is optional.