It was about five years ago when our beloved Bebe Simon packed up and moved from her private home to the retirement community of Belmont Village in Chicago. At the time, I happened to be visiting her from New Jersey and I asked, “What do you want to do with all your Focusing papers?”
Bebe said, “You take them!”
That was the beginning of our journey to create Bebe Simon’s Online Archive, a collection of Bebe’s “Focusing for Life” workshop manual, “Dining Room Table” sayings, various notes, articles, brochures, and of course, all the documents she saved from her participation in many International Focusing Conferences.
Bebe’s archive team consists of Lisa Hodorovych and me. I met Bebe in 2015 at the International Focusing Conference in Seattle, WA, USA. We quickly became friends. There were some publishing projects that Bebe wanted to do, and I needed a publication facilitator. I got in touch with Lisa who is the owner of a publication production company in New Jersey (how perfect!), and the rest, as they say, is history!
We began by publishing an updated version of Bebe’s book How I Teach Focusing -- Discovering the Gift of your Inner Wisdom (now titled Discovering the Gift of your Inner Wisdom -- How I Teach Focusing), and then started work on this archive project. Bebe’s inimitable style and her love of Focusing that shines through her work built a fondness and a deep respect in Lisa, which made the completion of this archive all the sweeter. We hope you find value in Bebe’s archive, just as we have found such treasure in our friendship with Bebe.
For now, the archive holds only Bebe’s works, but among her papers are many articles written and published by other Focusers. These are not included in the archive for reasons of copyright protection. If you are the author of something Bebe loved, or if you know of something and have the authority to give us permission to include it, please contact us and let us know how you would like to proceed. Email us at [email protected].
You can find Bebe Simon’s Online Archive at https://bebesimon.wixsite.com/focusingforlife.
The archive is available to everyone at no cost, and will continue to be supported online in that way for the foreseeable future. Along with the archive, we have included a few photos of Bebe and her friends, as well as links to her other works including her book and her DVD conference presentation.
We hope that this archive is not only a loving tribute to our dear Bebe Simon, but also a model that others might use to build their own online presence so that the genius of Focusing is shared as widely as possible.
Finally, if you are interested in sending a greeting to Bebe, cards are most welcome, especially with a photo of you to help her remember. You can contact us at the email above for mailing information.
Barbara Dickinson has been a Certified Focusing Professional since 2009, residing in Bedminster, NJ, USA, with her dog and 2 cats.
Lisa Hodorovych is an author and owner of Quoth the Writer, LLC, residing in Whippany, NJ, USA, with her husband.