Reading Freshly

Reading Freshly
An opportunity to read Gendlin’s seminal book Focusing with others

Starting point for July:
Part 3, Chapter 11, The Listening Manual

Tenth session - July 2, 2024
2:00 - 3:30 pm Eastern (NY) time
Times worldwide: convert to your time zone here

New registrants welcome each month
(Previous registrants must register freshly each month)

Online
Live attendance required - no recording
 

12 monthly sessions on Tuesdays
October 3 2023 - September 3 2024
2:00 - 3:30 pm Eastern (NY) Time

This offering is a membership benefit - free to paid-up members.
You can join TIFI here

Gene Gendlin once advised that the way to read philosophy was “many times”! The same might be said of his easily accessible and seminal book, Focusing, first published in 1978. It continues to be a resource for experienced Focusers and those coming to Focusing for the first time. It merits reading many times. On re-reading, there always seems to be something fresh, or freshly understood, no matter how long you have been a Focuser.

The invitation now is to read this book together, in community; to sense freshly its nuanced depth on human experiencing, its for-and-from-life  suggestions, its gems of frequently quoted wisdom.

Note: Participants are asked to bring a copy of Focusing to the sessions. The revised edition of the book Focusing is a reference point for the project (Gendlin, Eugene T, Focusing, 25th Anniversary Edition, Rider, 2003). You may have a different edition of the book and are welcome to use that, but please note that page numbers may vary. If you need to purchase a book, you can order here: https://store.focusing.org/products/focusing

FORMAT
Over the next year, starting October 2023, every month on the first Tuesday of the month (the second Tuesday in January and April) over 1.5 hours, we will read sections of the book, starting right at the beginning and felt-sense our way through it, ‘going as fast as the slowest process’.  We will listen to each other in small and larger group discussions on the given text on what it means to us now. The language of this reading group is English.

We will read at the pace of the group, with no set expectation of how far we’ll get. We’ll start at the beginning and read in a Focusing way until we stop.  Who knows what will emerge!

There is no obligation to attend every session, nor to begin with us from the beginning, but this is advised in order to get the full benefit of the reading which will continue month to month. 

We will send a new email each month to register for the next session. We will indicate for each session where we left off, so if you have not been with us from the beginning, you catch up on your own to join a later session.

The sessions are live and not recorded.
 

Dates and times Eastern (NY) time 

1. October: Tuesday 3rd October, 2:00 - 3:30pm

2. November: Tuesday 7th November 2:00 - 3:30pm

3. December: Tuesday 5th December 2:00 - 3:30pm

4. January: Tuesday 9th January (the second Tuesday for this month) 2:00 - 3:30pm

5. February: Tuesday 6th February 2:00 - 3:30pm

6. March: Tuesday 5th March 2:00 - 3:30pm

7. April: Tuesday 9th April (the second Tuesday for this month because of Easter) 2:00 - 3:30pm

8. May: Tuesday 7th May 2:00 - 3:30pm

9. June: June 4th  2:00 - 3:30pm

10. July: July 2nd 2:00 - 3:30pm

11. August: 6th August 2:00 - 3:30pm

12. September: 3rd September 2:00 - 3:30pm

You will need to sign up for each session you want to attend. (It is not possible to sign up in advance for all sessions.)
Participation is unlimited.
 

Host

Mary Jennings
This initiative was developed by Mary Jennings, Coordinator, based in Dublin, Ireland..Having first read the book many, many years ago, she realised that on re-reading it recently, there was more to be discovered - freshly!  She will be joined by other volunteer hosts over the course of the year.