The robin

28 May The robin

In 2019 I came across Eugene Gendlin’s ‘focusing’ and practised it for some time. The technique invites to diving into what Gendlin called ‘felt sense’ and putting the attention more into what the ‘felt sense’ of the body is, rather than making sense with the mind. I practised it, not so much as a technique, but rather as a way of being, mainly on the phone, with somebody who was very much into it. While doing it, I had a few very clear, practical insights and also out of ordinary experiences.

One such experience was when I discovered a robin, right inside my heart. It was so clear and astonishing at the time, that I felt like checking again and again; the robin was there, just was, as simple as that. For a few weeks, whenever I checked, the robin was either sleeping or watching or jumping…there, in my heart. This focusing technique (or way of being, rather) works sometimes as an active meditation.