Taking the time to receive what our ‘felt sense’ brings is an important part of focusing. We are moving forwards, in the direction of fresh air, but it is worth pausing a moment, to receive what has come to us, in a friendly way.

Once we have a clear sense of a whole problem there inside our bodies, the time comes to ask it: alright, I hear you, now what is it that you really have to tell me? Where do we go from here?

Finding ‘the right word’ — knowing what it is in the body — makes the difference between the kind of experience we just have to submit to and the kind of experience we can be creative with.

Felt senses are there inside our bodies, carrying intricate, complex information about all of our thoughts and feelings, histories, pre-dispositions, cultures, traumas and loves. But what to do with them?

Sometimes moving forward requires not getting too involved with thoughts and feelings, not trying to understand or express them, but just getting a vague yet complex sense of “all of that”.

Of all the work I do with clients, I find organization to be one of the “secret weapons” to better mental health. From Fortune 500 high-fliers to those struggling just to get enough to eat every day, finding a way to collect, control, and act on all the “stuff” in life increases not only productivity, but also peace of mind. And if you understand organizing, you also understand several concepts central to the therapeutic process.

I have just returned from the UK to my house in rural Poland and it is traditionally time for me to moan about the lack of colour. But sometimes this blanket whiteness makes a space and a silence in which I can hear all kinds of things…