These guidelines are meant as a gentle reminder of how we wish to be together in the Community Wellness, Peace & Justice Discussion List
Why We’re Here
This list is a space to bring together our love of Focusing with our commitment to Community wellness, peace, and justice. Gene Gendlin dreamed of this kind of community conversation—where people could sense together into issues of social concern, listen deeply, and build connection.
We’re starting this as a one-year experiment, to see how it grows and how it serves us. The list will be moderated to make sure these guidelines are followed, and to help keep the space clear and safe enough to explore topics together.
What We Share
- Posts are welcome when they connect Focusing with Community wellness, peace, or justice—for example:
- community building, problem-solving, responses to racism, sexism, classism, equity, social and political conflicts, or other forms of oppression and liberation.
- Please put a clear topic in your subject line, so others can easily follow along or choose whether to read.
- You’re welcome to share links to resources, but keep them to 1–2 per message, with a note about why the resource matters to you.
- Share what feels right to you—something sensed inside, a story from your experience, or a perspective you’ve found meaningful. We also invite you to honor the different voices and perspectives that come into the circle.
How We Share
- Let’s bring a Focusing attitude: respect, care, curiosity, and a willingness to listen as much as to speak. We’re not here to change one another, but to hear and be heard.
- Tensions and disagreements will come up, and that’s part of growing together. We can use our Focusing skills to pause, listen inside, and notice what arises.
- If something feels too charged for the list, we can create a live online space with listening turns and Focusing facilitators, where there’s more room to hold what’s emerging.
- Anyone can start a small group—whether for study, conversation, or exploring a particular theme. This is part of how community grows.
- At times, prompts may be offered to inspire reflection and sharing (for example: “Focus inside and imagine the world you want to live in. What do you sense?”).
Holding the Space Together
This is an experiment, and the guidelines may evolve as we go. What matters most is that we treat this as a shared space of care, listening, and discovery—one where all of us can bring our voices and also be shaped by what we hear.
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Created and Edited November 2025