Focusing: Awakening Our Inner Compass

This article was written by Filio Katsarou, mental health counselor and collaborator of the project “comPASSION is sexy”

This article was Edited by Anastasia Priyamvada Charitidou, experiential educator and theatre educator; founder and Creative Director of the NGO Olotites, and project coordinator for the implementation of the Erasmus+ project “comPASSION is sexy” in Greece.

Have you ever felt that something inside you knows… but you cannot find the words to express it?
Have you ever said, “my body was telling me, but I didn’t listen”?
Have you ever been validated by a choice that came from instinct rather than pure logic?

It is as if there is a personal compass within us that helps us make decisions, but one we may have forgotten how to trust—or even how to use.

In this article, we will talk about Focusing, the experiential process developed by Eugene Gendlin. Although it is a psychotherapeutic approach, it was essentially based on the observation of a psychosomatic function—a capacity that all human beings possess.

In practical terms, this means that, beyond being a psychotherapeutic orientation, Focusing can also function—at least to some extent—as a guide for a personal attitude towards ourselves, our bodies, our needs, and the answers we often seek.

It is an invitation to turn inward and listen to the messages that already exist within us and are communicated through the body itself. It does not, under any circumstances, replace support from a health professional. However, it can be relieving, illuminating, and beneficial for psychological well-being.

A bit of theory

Eugene Gendlin and the roots of Focusing

Eugene Gendlin was a philosopher and psychotherapist. In the early 1960s, following research he conducted in collaboration with Carl Rogers, he formulated a new theory of the experiential process. As Purton (2004) notes, this theory was based on guiding the client’s attention toward their own body.

Gendlin himself argued that Western societies have become so complex that the classical way of knowing is no longer sufficient to understand them. If there is something new that can help, it lies in the “knowledge” of the body.

What Gendlin actually did

In reality, Gendlin did not discover an entirely new process. He observed something that exists in all of us, studied it, and analysed it, giving it a clearer structure. In this way, he made it accessible, even to people who find it difficult to listen to the messages coming from their bodies.

The core concept: the felt sense

The central concept of Focusing is the felt sense. As Gendlin (2006) explains, this term refers to:

• the holistic, general, vague, and pre-verbal bodily sense

• that “something” inside us related to a whole situation or experience, but not yet expressed

• the implicit, pre-conscious, already-lived but not yet explicitly articulated experience, which lies at the edge of conscious thought and is felt bodily

Through the Focusing process, the felt sense can become the object of further exploration, gradually acquiring language and form.

The Steps of Focusing

Step 1 : Clearing a Space

The first step is Clearing a Space. Here, the person directs their attention towards the centre of their body, the place where we usually feel our emotions. As Purton (2004) explains, this is an invitation to notice everything that is occupying them at that moment and to make an “inventory,” so that they do not experience the chaos that often overwhelms the mind.

This inventory can take different forms: the person may imagine placing the issues that concern them on a shelf, on a table, or on a bench. It can be done mentally, verbally, or in writing, depending on what suits each person at a given moment. At this stage, breathing exercises or body scanning help the body reach a regulated state before the process begins.

Through this practice, the person creates distance from the issues that concern them. They no longer experience them as threatening or frightening, while remaining in contact with the bodily sense they carry. Even the simple act of “placing” them in an external location (for example, on a shelf) helps create de-identification from the problem, without disconnection from the bodily sense it evokes. In this way, space opens to move on to the next step.

Step 2 : The Felt Sense of the Issue

From the inventory, the person chooses one issue—often the most intense at that moment—and is invited to listen to the Felt Sense as a whole (a holistic bodily sense) that emerges around it.

These steps are not always linear; for each person they may arise in a different order or with different intensity.

To make this more concrete, I will share a personal example. Several years ago, during a pivotal period in my life, my profession—and more specifically, changing my career path—was occupying me intensely. Through the process of Focusing in a session, the Felt Sense as a whole appeared as a tightness in my stomach that made my breathing difficult. Within this tightness, many conflicting emotions and bodily sensations coexisted—something we will see later how we work with.

This step is not easy for everyone. Many people need time, with “friendly curiosity,” to come into contact with the Felt Sense. This is not a matter of weakness; it is the result of a continuous process of “counter-education” that we receive from an early age, teaching us not to listen to and not to trust our inner signals—our internal bodily sensations.

Children, by contrast, express this connection more easily. They say things like, “I feel like there’s a little worm inside me that won’t let me rest,” or “it’s like I have a wild animal inside me that wants to bite.” In folk wisdom, we find similar expressions: “my knees went weak,” “my liver swelled,” “my stomach tightened.” All of these show that the body “speaks” about our experiences in a direct and symbolic way.

During this step, as a result of this counter-education, resistances may appear: cognitive processes (thoughts) that try to explain or analyse the issue, self-criticism, or an overload of details that distract attention. The aim is for the person to meet these with compassion and acceptance, rather than judging them or forcefully rejecting them.

Phrases such as “this thought is not helping me right now,” “I will deal with this thought later; now I want to see what my body is telling me,” or “I don’t need to decide anything now; I just need to listen,” can be very helpful.

Steps 3 & 4 : The Handle and Resonating

Once the Felt Sense has emerged, the focusing person attempts to find a Handle in order to convey its quality. This may be a word, a phrase, or an image, and it arises from the body itself. It may take the form of descriptions such as: “it is something big and heavy,” “it feels like I am being pulled downwards,” “a black smoke,” or “like a sack that cannot be lifted.”

Once the Handle has been found, the next step is Resonating, meaning a checking-for-fit between the Handle and the Felt Sense. As Gendlin (2006) explains, at this stage we check whether the handle truly matches the felt sense. This is a mainly internal process; like trying on a garment that is being tailored for you. Something may feel too tight, something may not fit well, and you make as many adjustments as needed until it feels exactly “made to measure.”

Often, this may take some time, through a back-and-forth process in which confirmations, rejections, or changes to the Handle occur. For example, by repeating the word “heavy,” I check with my body and the Felt Sense whether it corresponds. At that point, an inner response may arise: “it’s not heavy, it’s hard,” or “it’s not exactly smoke; maybe it’s more like a black cloud.”

It is important that this process takes place while the bodily sense remains alive, and that it does not turn into purely cognitive processing.

When there is full alignment between the Handle and the Felt Sense, the focusing person often experiences a sense of satisfaction or even relief, even if the information is in some way unpleasant. It is meaningful to pause for a minute or more at this point and to give space for it to remain as it is.

At this stage, art can sometimes give even clearer form to the Felt Sense. By creating a representation of the Handle through visual art, clay, music, words, or even bodily postures, the experience acquires a material form. If this happens, the next step can take place while keeping the material representation nearby.

Step 5 : Asking

Once the Handle has been found and Resonating has taken place, the next step is Asking. The person may wonder: “how am I with this cloud there?”, “what does it contain?”, or “if it could speak, what would it say?”

These open-ended questions—and the responses that arise again through the body, rather than through intellectual processing—offer information that may bring about a smaller or larger inner movement, the so-called felt shift, as described by Gendlin (2006).

Asking can be a deeply moving experience and may lead to insights that surprise the focusing person. For example, through such a process, a person who was experiencing intense anxiety and somatising it, after finding the Felt Sense, finding a Handle, and entering into Asking, “heard” the message: “I can’t take it anymore; I need rest.”

It is important to emphasise that this process can be difficult and sometimes emotionally painful. This is another reason why it is preferable for it to take place with the accompaniment of someone appropriately trained. The Handle may be frightening, such as “a black hole that wants to pull us in”, or repulsive, such as “a mass of dirt.”

In such cases, the person needs to stand close enough to listen, yet far enough to feel safe. From this position, with a compassionate attitude and friendly curiosity, they can engage in Asking, give space to the Handle, stay with it, and listen to the request or need it expresses.

Step 6 : Receiving

In the final stage, the focusing person is invited to Receive whatever has emerged in a friendly way. There is no need to agree with it, explain it, or analyse it. There is no need to take any immediate action in relation to the information received, if it does not seem feasible or realistic at that moment. What matters is to stay with it, with an attitude of Receiving, and to hold it as a compass, a guide for the direction life seems to want to take.

With this attitude of Receiving, whatever arises in the Focusing process will not overwhelm us. We keep a certain distance from it; we are not inside it, but beside it or close to it. As Gendlin (2006) explains, whatever message comes from the body or from the Handle of the Felt Sense, as long as we stay in relationship with it, we stop feeling that we ourselves are the problem, the difficulty, or the need. This is the de-identification referred to earlier.

The attitude of Receiving also, in a way, includes the other two core conditions: authenticity and empathy. In this way, whether the person is on their own or accompanied by a trained guide, from a position of safety and inner strength, they can listen—without anything more necessarily being required.

It resembles, one might say, a friendly and compassionate adult with a clear sense of their inner centre, listening to a child’s complaint, anger, fear, desire, or need. They can listen with open ears and an open heart. Sometimes they may be able to do something about it, sometimes not, and sometimes nothing is needed at all. What matters most is the felt sense that the child has truly been heard—with acceptance, without judgement, with compassion and respect.

These are the steps of the Focusing process, without it being necessary for them always to occur in this order. Through experience, the process often becomes more spontaneous—or not—depending on what suits each person.

What to Be Mindful Of

Most people with experiential familiarity with Focusing recognise the sense of relief that arises when the appropriate Handle is found for the Felt Sense. It is important, however, to view Focusing as an invitation and as a compass for meeting the body and the self—and not as a goal-oriented or rigid process, in the sense that “we must now find the Felt Sense and see what it has to tell us.”

In such cases, resistances may arise, including bodily ones. This often happens in people who have been required to follow instructions and commands for long periods of time, even when they did not want to. As a result, they may have developed a particular intolerance towards anything that comes “from the outside” as an instruction and does not arise spontaneously from an inner need—especially when it concerns their personal process of growth.

In addition, within guided processes, it is important to leave space both for what emerges and for what does not. It is essential to remind people frequently that there is no right or wrong; whatever happens in a given moment is what the body needs. And there is always a good reason for this, even if it is not immediately apparent.

In this way, we protect the process from being experienced as a goal to be achieved or as yet another field of inner criticism. If experienced in this way, a person may feel inadequate, incapable, or even as though they have failed.

By using more trauma-informed language, we increase the likelihood that a person will feel safe and able to connect with their body and inner sensations. Often, people share that they carry some of these sensations, insights, and experiences with them—especially when they have been given symbolic form in something tangible, such as a drawing, a construction, a clay object, a poem, or a melody.

Throughout the process, the stance of the facilitator is crucial. A sense of safety and trust needs to be established so that the body can feel comfortable enough to open to such an experience.

Authenticity, empathy, and Receiving are essential conditions for Focusing to become a deeply lived experience rather than merely a cognitive technique. When a person feels met with genuineness, without judgement and with sincere interest, the body and the inner world allow what is needed to emerge.

Something personal

One of my personal experiences with Focusing, which I still carry with me, is something I would like to share here.

In a session where I was the one focusing, the image of a very dry piece of land emerged—like ground cracked open after a long period of drought. In this image, water was being poured from a bucket to irrigate it. However, the soil was so dry that it could not absorb the water; it simply flowed over it and disappeared.

This image, together with the inner dialogue that followed, captured how I was experiencing an important relationship at that time. It showed how I felt, but also how the efforts that were being made—the water being poured—were not enough.

This image and the realisation it brought became the starting point for several changes that followed in my life. Not as an immediate answer, but as the consequence of a flow that needed this image in order to unblock.

Compassion is Sexy and focusing

comPASSION is sexy is a transnational Erasmus+ programme implemented by Les Philentropes (France) and Olotites (Greece). It focuses on the promotion of self-compassion, mental well-being, and social connection through experiential workshops, non-formal education, and creative tools. The project develops a shared methodological framework grounded in compassion, enriched with elements from psychology, the arts, and educational practice, and produces open digital resources for young people, professionals, and communities living in vulnerable social contexts.

Within this framework, Focusing functions as a valuable ally. One could say that, above all, it is an act of kindness towards oneself: a process in which respect, trust, and self-compassion meet. In the programme, the steps of Focusing are used in experiential exercises aimed at cultivating self-compassion, strengthening inner listening, and Receiving whatever emerges.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the two approaches—Focusing and comPASSION is sexy—share a common core perspective on the person and on mental health: they reject criticism as an obstacle, promote respect, and return power to the person themselves. Even the stance of curiosity, acceptance, and compassion alone can bring meaningful changes in the way we experience ourselves and our lives.

In Conclusion

Perhaps the greatest gain from the process of Focusing is becoming familiar with our inner compass. Learning to turn inward, to listen to the body, and to recognise the messages it carries offers us a sense of direction that does not mislead.

This “compass” can provide information about whether we want to be close to someone or not, whether we want to be somewhere, or whether something is missing. By trusting this information, we gain a direction to orient ourselves towards. And without haste, we can take the steps that, each time, we are ready to support.

Focusing, especially when connected with approaches such as the comPASSION is sexy programme, reminds us that mental well-being is not a matter of performance or finding the “right answer.” It is a matter of presence, Receiving, and kindness towards oneself. And this stance can become the foundation for a more authentic and meaningful relationship with ourselves and with others.

Further Reading

• Focusing
  Gendlin, E. T. (2006). Focusing. New York: Bantam Books.
  The foundational work on Focusing, presenting its theoretical framework, practical process, and core concepts such as the felt sense and the felt shift.
• The Focusing Person’s Guide
  Purton, M. (2004). The Focusing Person’s Guide. Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books.
  A clear and accessible guide that bridges theory and practice, emphasising the experiential nature of the Focusing process and the internal attitude of the person.

Optional (for deeper exploration)

• The Power of Focusing
  Cornell, A. W., & McGavin, B. (2002). The Power of Focusing. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
  Focuses on everyday and self-guided applications of Focusing.
• The International Focusing Institute
  The official international body for Focusing, offering articles, educational resources, and information on training and research.

About this article:

This article was written in the context of the Erasmus+ KA210- YOU small-scale partnership project “comPASSION is sexy” (Project Code: 2024- 3- FR02- KA210-YOU-000295806), co-funded by the European Union. The project is a collaboration between Les Philentropes (France) and Olotites (Greece), focused on compassion-based approaches to youth empowerment, inclusion, well-being and mental health awareness.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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