Do It for Yourself Now! - Do It for Yourself

Written by Ilan Shalif, Ph.D.

The application of the thinking processes of the left hemisphere to reviewing the results of the sensate focus can help too. It can help in five important ways:

1. It can be used to organize the ongoing daily focusing activity which is done in addition to the spontaneous one.
2. It can be used for analyzing problematic areas in order to choose specific targets to focus on.
3. It can be used to choose a verbal means to recycle emotions, in order to incite a domain the content of which is not accessible through other means and does not express itself in felt sensations.
4. It is especially important when applied after the first few successes of focusing at the beginning, after focusing on a new topic, and at specific "crossroads" - for the assessment of the benefit derived from past focusing. This verbal contemplation and review of previous successful focusings is one of the best ways to boost the morale. It contributes immensely to the strengthening of the tendency to dedicate attentional resources to future focusings.

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5. It is the best means to choose a new "project" or emotional domain, after one gains more resources from focusing on previous ones.

As a rule, thinking about problems related to focusing can contribute towards their solution, but usually, only by serving as a means to draw from it inspiration for future focusing.

It is also important to remember that the activity of focusing is motivated by many incentives. The satisfaction derived from the understanding of the roots of the solved emotional problems is very seldom high on the list.

However, sometimes, the solution of a long standing, puzzling problem is so moving and satisfying that it temporarily climbs to a very high standing on the list. In these instances it becomes only secondary to that derived from the improvement in the quality of the emotional climate.

Recycled emotions A - Reconstruction of neglected opportunities

Frequently, we encounter intense sensations and feelings that are worth focusing on, for the improvement of the quality of life, but alas, the circumstances - i.e. the time, the place, the company etc. - are not suitable. The variety of reasons for not focusing at the time is huge: from situations in which we cannot afford to spare attentional efforts and divert them to focusing from what we are doing at the time, to those situations we do not want to dwell due to our wish to curtail the episode or interpersonal interaction that has created the specific felt sensation.

For instance, very often we find ourselves involved in situations wherein we have to enlist all our resources to overcome an obstacle, a problem or emergency; situations that we want to shorten; situations where we need to cover our real emotions - or even lie about them, for fear of direct damage to us by a bully, a policeman, the boss at work, judge, customs officer, etc.; situations in which we are afraid to hurt the feelings of others; etc.

More often we find ourselves involved in situations that are emotionally loaded, with acquaintances or strangers, but in circumstances we are not free to indulge or to stress our point.

Many times, in such situations, we feel intuitively or even recognize clearly why the focusing - on feelings we discarded at the time - can contribute immensely to the quality of our life. Though we feel at these moments that we only have to focus briefly in order to be relieved of much unfinished business, or "only" improve significantly our emotional climate, we nevertheless have to refrain from doing so at the time.

In less dramatic situations and conditions we also miss out on many divergent opportunities for focusing. In these cases the reasons are usually the result of laziness, negligence, or underestimation of the value of the potential target for focusing.

It also happens time and again that only afterwards, when we are reflecting on an event of the past, that we see it as being a key to the door of an important locked store of trash-programs.

The factor that contributes the majority of reasons for missed opportunities for focusing is their sheer quantity. No one can utilize all of them. Most of us lack the sufficient single-mindedness that would force us to utilize most of them, by sacrificing everything in the service of focusing.

Not even the most arduous believer in the technique, nor even the most obsessive one - when at the peak of involvement with the focusing project - dedicates more than 20% of the time to focusing.

Sometimes, only after much contemplation can we reach the conclusion that an occurrence and the feelings involved therein, are the target to tackle in order to solve a certain trash-program.

In nearly all these circumstances the convinced focuser would want to concentrate on his sensations and feelings (focus on his felt sensations) so that his enhanced natural biofeedback processes would contribute to his well-being.

In all these circumstances and in many others which have not been mentioned here, "wrong can be rectified" post facto - with out too tiring an effort. The most common tool used for this mission is the memory. Often, with little effort, one can get in touch with the memory traces of a situation or a scene of the past and feel something that is connected with it.

Whenever you are recycling past feelings be cautious!!! Do not try
to tackle strong feelings that are connected to traumatic
experiences before you have invested a few months in
the "head cleaning" of lesser ones.
Choose now an emotionally loaded experience of the previous
week, the focusing potential of which you have not yet
exhausted. Use your imagination to get back to that
episode. Focus for a while on the
resulting felt sense.