On Focusing and Mindfulness

Focusing and mindfulness are two practices that developed at very different times.

However, both contain much of each other in terms of the perception of the path and direction they aim for: liberation from suffering and progress through a deep acceptance of inner experience, as it manifests itself in the body and mind.

When I look at the society around me, at patients, students, and myself, I feel that the most important thing for happiness in our lives is empathy and the experience we have from others, as well as love and acceptance we feel towards ourselves.

I feel that both the classic practice of Buddha, based on mindfulness, and the focusing method of Gendlin, connect us to this experience of empathy, love, and deep acceptance.

These two perspectives complement each other and help us achieve authentic connection with ourselves and others.

The foundation that brings healing and liberation from suffering in Buddha’s view is a deep acceptance of ourselves in the present moment.

In this perspective, deep acceptance comes through processing a very stable state of awareness, from which a gentle, inclusive observation of bodily somatic experience and mental experience arises — from a place of observation, without trying to create change, but simply remaining in quiet, attentive awareness.

This approach of mindful observation is also the heart of Carl Rogers’ humanistic perspective, and it is similarly expressed within focusing therapies.

There is a space of quiet, present, accepting awareness — without an attempt to create change — but rather an acceptance by the therapist and resonance with the client’s direct experience.

This process gives the client a sense that they are in a space of full acceptance, non-judgmental, and truly listened to.

If we see deep and quiet acceptance as a way to express love and empathy, we can view mindfulness practice as a tool that helps us accept ourselves more fully — all the parts of us, including those we sometimes prefer not to acknowledge.

The focusing experience broadens that approach to the therapeutic space, where the person concentrating remains in the same awareness of full acceptance — not only of themselves but also of another person experiencing suffering or distress and facing them.

In my view, this attentive awareness is a deeper expression of the attention we can give to another person — in focusing therapy or in any life situation.

My experience shows that deep mindfulness practice transforms the focusing therapeutic space into a calmer and more stable space.

Through systematic practice, we can build our ability to remain in a stable consciousness that does not drift into a dream-like state, and we can observe inner movement from a dispassionate observer’s place.

In meditation practice, even judgment itself becomes an object of observation, so that a stable awareness neutralizes the negativity of internal judgment.

And the same applies in the opposite direction: focusing therapies that create a space where another person accepts us without judgment lead to a deeper capacity to accept all parts of ourselves — including those containing pain or shame.

Thus, through focusing therapy, we can go deeper within meditation practice.

Sometimes, there are parts within us that are difficult to confront alone.

When we approach these difficult places hand in hand with someone we trust, we can hold and contain those parts within meditation as well.