Developing a Felt Sense.
How to Be In Our Bodies.
The "felt sense," a term coined by Dr. Eugene Gendlin, refers to a holistic, bodily-felt experience that encapsulates the entirety or "more" of an issue or one's general state. Gendlin's process of Focusing involves deeply listening to this experiential sense to understand who we are and how we are. Because the felt sense is an experience, it can be challenging to describe and grasp through reading alone.
Recently at CAP have been talking a lot about what it means to be embodied and so we wanted to invite you to try an exercise to help you locate your felt sense. Although we use this term in therapy speak often, I find that people sometimes struggle with understanding what I mean when I ask “When you share that with me, how do you feel inside?”. The most common answer is “fine”, as in “I feel fine sharing that with you.”, or to go back to what they feel about the content of what they’re discussing. Those things are important but the felt sense is something different. It is the embodied sensory experience we have as we think about something or share.
The Basics
1. Find a Quiet Space: Sit comfortably and close your eyes.
2. Tune In: Focus on your body and notice any sensations or feelings.
3. Describe: Try to put words to these sensations, even if they seem vague or unclear.
You might find you immediately recognize this kind of feeling, realizing that you often tap into this bodily awareness without consciously labeling it. This practice can deepen your understanding of your internal experiences.
A Felt Sense Exercise for Beginners
Part 1: Settling In
1. Find a Quiet Space: Sit comfortably in a quiet place. Set aside your daily worries and concerns. Pause for a while, counting slowly to ten, and notice that you are present here and now. Focus on the contact between your body and the chair or floor, feeling supported.
2. Close Your Eyes: If it feels comfortable, close your eyes. Think of someone you love—a friend, family member, or pet. Imagine this person is with you in the room.
3. Observe Sensations: Notice any thoughts, memories, emotions, or physical sensations that arise. You might feel a warm glow or an expansive feeling in your heart or other sensations in your throat, chest, stomach, or belly.
4. Stay Open: Don’t try to force or grasp any particular feeling. Simply observe what comes up as you invite a sense of "all about this person." Take your time and let the sensations unfold naturally.
Part 2: Engaging with Difficult Feelings
1. Reset Your Body: Open your eyes and give yourself a shake to reset. Then, repeat the grounding exercise from Part 1.
2. Focus on a Challenging Person: This time, think of someone you find difficult to get along with. Imagine this person is with you now.
3. Observe Sensations: Notice any thoughts, memories, emotions, or physical sensations that arise. You might feel tightness or a closed feeling in your stomach or other sensations.
4. Stay Open: Don’t try to force or control the experience. Just observe and take your time, inviting a sense of "all about this person."
What was this like? What did you notice? You might want to try it again a couple of times to really highlight the difference in your embodied sensations.