Creative Edge Focusing E-Newsletter

Relaxation #2: Going To The Beach --- 

Awakening The Body Through Guided Imagery       

 Dr. Kathy McGuire, Director                                                    Week Four                            
From Creative Edge Focusing (TM): Through these weekly e-reminders, I am trying to help you to
(a) begin to have brief, safe times getting to know your Inner Space, if this is new to you;
(b) teach you Focusing through a series of exercises which are "small steps" in learning Focusing
(c) help newcomers and longtime Focusers alike integrate the "practice" of pausing for relaxation, felt-sensing, and Focusing into everyday living.
 
Kathy's Experience this week: Awakening The Body/Mind
 
Even I, the "creator" of the exercises, struggle to find time to "practice" them. But, I remind myself, I am really taking just a few minutes, a few times a week, to be with myself, to be with my physical body as well as psychological and emotional self in a way which is healthy, relaxing, brings deep breathing and some measure of peace.
 
I have not yet, even in the second month, gotten out my CD player to listen along with the audio CD from the Self-Help Package. I often don't open the e-reminder when it comes. But I do find myself grabbing a few moments here and there and remembering I can use the time to Go To The Beach.
 
One day, for instance,  I was reading a book where "seagulls wheeled overhead." I noticed how tense I was and I thought, "I can stop and go to The Beach," lay down on the floor, and did the exercise from memory, experiencing some minutes of Relaxation.
 
Also, this week, I did open the e-newsletter when it came, took ten minutes, and had a wonderful "awakening" of my stressed-out body/mind:
 
So, this was not a Focusing Turn, but Relaxation through Guided Imagery. I closed my eyes, stretched --- and relaxed--- three times, then imagined myself arriving at my favorite Oregon beach, taking off my sandals to walk in the warm sand as I always do. And, immediately, tears came, about how far away from that sense of relaxation I was at that moment, in this troubled time in my mind.
 
I did not stop for "Focusing" into the deeper meanings of the tears, but continued with the guided imagery journey. I ran down to the shore and said, "Hello, sky! Hello, birds! Hello, waves!" and more tears came with the realization, again, of how far from this in-touchness with the beauty of nature I was in the moment (and I live, in real life, beside a beautiful lake surrounded by Fall colors, right outside my computer-bounded window!).
 
I continued with the visualization, listening to the waves, wind, bird calls, going to lie down in the warm sand, to feel the warm sand cradling me below, and the warm sun cradling me from above --- and I felt like the middle of a "love sandwich," being cared for and nurtured. I stayed there a while, enjoying the warmth and the sounds, the support of the sand. And then I came back into the room, refreshed. 

PRE-FOCUSING PRACTICE:

A. RELAXATION SUGGESTIONS (from Complete Focusing Instructions)

"The Beach (Guided Imagery)

 

    The quiet time between instructions is an important time for just breathing---and relaxing.

 

     You can lie on the floor or, for most exercises, sit in a chair. If you fall asleep, it's okay! Means you need more rest! But you may also want to practice sitting up to avoid sleeping.

 
     Especially at the beginning, time those "1 minute" pauses and enjoy relaxing in the imagery. You will be amazed at how long a minute is, how seldom we ever pause for a whole minute!!!

                   The Beach-Allow 10-15 minutes

 

---Lie down or sit down and get comfortable.       10 seconds

 

---Stretch---and relax---stretch---and relax---stretch---and relax--- three times--- 10 sec

 

---Notice your breathing, without trying to change it.

1 minute

 

---Now, imagine yourself at the ocean---.10 seconds

 

---See the wide, sweeping beach of white, crystalline sand---warm and smooth---10 sec

 

---Take off your shoes and socks, and feel the warm sand between your toes---10 sec

 

---Smell the sea on the breeze, breathing in---and out---in---and out---in---and out--10 sec

 

---Watch the waves rolling in, and hear their roaring sound---10 sec

 

---Waves blue-green with creamy white caps---lapping at the sand---10 sec

 

---Waves rolling in---and out---in---and out---in---and out---10 sec

 

---Lie down in the warm sand---feel its warmth all over your back---10 seconds

 

---Stretch and settle in, feeling the sun upon your body, the sand cushioning you---10 sec

 

---Listening to the waves rolling in---and out---in---and out---in---and out---10 sec

 

---Listen to the gulls crying over head---10 sec

 

---Feel the warmth of the sand below you, the warmth of the sun beating down on you---10 sec

 

---Remain here as long as you wish.

3 - 5 minutes

 

---Now stretch, and massage any tension in your face, neck, shoulders, or feet, if you like---

1 minute

 

--- And get up slowly.

FOR NEWCOMERS ONLY: A REVIEW OF PREVIOUS WEEKS (Old Timers, nothing new below here if you read last week's Beach email)
 
Kathy's Experience: Difference Between Guided Imagery, Meditation, and Focusing
 
Having finally accumulated lots of hot water in my jacuzzi, I decided to stay still there until it became cool. So, I decided to bring back Relaxation Exercise #1: Noticing -- just noticing the breath going in and out; letting go of any problem solving and just coming back to breathing.
 
As I practiced Noticing, I noticed how different this meditation-like technique was from the guided imagery of Relaxation #2: The Beach.
                          Guided Imagery Can Stir "Felt Senses"
Doing The Beach the day before, a lot of "felt senses" came up in response to the imagery. So, that day, the exercise became tinged with the sadness and melancholic nostalgia that "gathered" around the imagery that day. The exercise took on the "color" or "intuitive feel" of my day.
                       Meditation Involves Letting Go of Meanings
In comparison, during Noticing, I specifically "let go" of any such associations that come up. I go back again and again to purely breathing.
There is a specific kind of "freeing" from all thought which I think of as typical of a more meditation-like approach. I wouldn't say "detached" but "unattaching" moment by moment.
             Intuitive Focusing Finds The Creative Edge under an Image
Intuitive Focusing itself is a third kind of inner activity. Coming upon a "felt sense" or "intuitive feel," one makes the conscious choice to "sit with," go more deeply into "the feel of that whole thing." In guided imagery, one might go from one image to the next, like a movie. In Intuitive Focusing, one pauses with an image and asks, "What is the feel of this whole thing?" and goes DOWN in a non-linear way, "sitting with" The Creative Edge from which a whole new meaning for the image can arise.
Print and Practice!!!!! Visit The Beach
 
Some people find it easy to drop all their stress and enter into an interior Focusing space.  But, many people need easy first steps of practice for "going quietly inside." And even experienced Focusers get caught up in stress and business and welcome a reminder to take a moment to....pause.....(sigh!)...pay attention to their breathing.......(ahhhhhh!)......and...relax...
 
Here is your relaxation exercise for this month. Print it out, keep it handy, and take those few moments to relax every day, if you can, or as often as possible. Or, you can just open this weekly reminder and walk through the exercise online. Relaxing is one way to "clear a space" inside for a longer-term Focusing Problem Solving session.
 
You will also find this in the Complete Focusing Instructions download at Creative Edge Focusing, p.4: Pre-Focusing Practice A. Relaxation Suggestions #2: The Beach. You get it by joining our e-support group for further support in practicing Listening and Focusing.
 
And, if you order our Self-Help Package, also in the sidebar icons of our website, you can listen on audio CD Intuitive Focusing: Disk one, Track 3, with Dr, McGuire's peaceful voice to keep you company -- and help you stay on track!!
About Creative Edge Focusing
Located by Beaver Lake in Rogers, AR, our goal is to support people in the practice of listening/focusing skills, throughout the world, and for personal growth, interpersonal conflict resolution, and creative individual and group problem solving.
 

Disclaimer: These e-newsletters and "Complete Focusing Instructions" are offered purely as self-help skills. In providing them, Dr. McGuire is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

 
Creative Edge Focusing (TM)
Dr. Kathy McGuire
Director
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