The crack in the bell

The recent International Focusing Conference was wonderful. What made it even more wonderful is that there was a difficult moment: the impact of the conflicts in the world interrupted the love feast.

For a moment, there was disruption. Disharmony. And, under that, a lot of pain. So, it might feel surprising, even insensitive, to call that part of it "wonderful."

​The beauty in the disharmony is what Leonard Cohen sang about in his song, referring to the the crack in the Liberty bell:

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

At the personal level, we know to make room for unpleasant thoughts and feelings, as Rumi so well stated: "This being human is a guest house." But something happens to human beings in a large group. There is a natural human tendency to bask in the sense of oneness that comes from being in the group.

We take it for granted that what many of us feel together is what everybody should feel. And so, unwittingly, we create a space from which some people feel excluded. An oppressive space for those who feel excluded--it doesn't have space for them. And so, it takes a crack for the light to come in.

What makes a community safe is the capacity to make room for all experiences, just the same way we strive to do in our individual practice.

In this experiential workshop, we will explore welcoming the intricacy of experiences, opinions and feelings around topics that are difficult to talk about, like politics in polarized countries, or conflicts like Israel and Gaza and Palestine.

Of course, we are not pretending to offer a comprehensive solution to problems that have been daunting humanity for so long.

This gathering involves coming into presence together, sensing into how we can shift how we approach such discussions. It is a step toward building a way of dealing collectively with intense issues that benefits from all that Focusing has to offer.

Facilitated by Serge Prengel and Katarzyna Fiorita.
- Serge Prengel is a Focusing-oriented therapist and developer of Proactive Mindfulness.
- Katarzyna Fiorita (TBD)