Question: ‘I get a lot of images when I am Focusing. I am used to working with images. Is that OK?’

A. Some people are naturally image-makers. They get images easily, whereas others can’t find an image, even when invited to by their Companion. If you are a person who easily gets images, or if you are partnering someone like that, I suggest that you slow right down when you are Focusing. You are primarily relating to your subtle body felt sense. Images may come in relation to that, as well as descriptive words, phrases, body sensations, thoughts, feelings and life story. All these are in some way connected to the felt sense.

As an example from a recent session, I was with a very painful experience, and I found something in my body that was responding to that unbearable pain. I had a feeling in my body like clawing down my chest. There was an image of something clawing. And later when I sensed into my body, I could ‘feel’ and also ‘see’ a fire, with flames coming out of my body. I used the words ‘clawing’ and ‘flaming’ to describe the body experience and the image associated with it.

There are other helpful practices that primarily use imagery. I am thinking of Psychosynthesis as one example. Through imagery, a body connection can be made, and the two together create meaning and forward direction. I understand that Journey work also uses this method, and you may know many more.

My view is that anywhere is a good starting place for Focusing. More often that not, I will start with my current life situation and feelings, and then I go from there, sensing for my body’s response to that. What comes next is body sensation, and a more global, undefined and indefinable subtle something. I know it is there, and I can feel it, but it is hard to put my finger on it at first. I stay with it, describing it and checking to see if that description fits or not. Sometimes an image comes here, or sometimes it is words and phrases. Or maybe nothing comes for a while, and I have to be patient and wait.

If an image comes to you, I suggest that you continue to stay with the awareness of your subtle body. It can be helpful to sense for the overall quality of that image. For instance, when I saw fire coming out of my body, ‘flaming’ was the word that captured the quality of the image and the overall feeling in the body.

And this is where Focusing begins to diverge from the usual or familiar ways of working with images. Often, images  can unfold very rapidly, one leading to the next, and yes, it feels right in the body. It seems the body is confirming what is happening. However, if you stay with something in a Focusing way, you might be with the image for 20 minutes or so, or even for the entire session. That is what happened in my recent session. I stayed with the ‘flaming’ image and feeling in my body for about 20 minutes, and I can touch it again now. It’s there. It’s symbolising something that I am experiencing in my body. Of course, the image may not stay as long as that. This is to give you the idea of how it is to really stay with something, long enough for the image to stabilise and then for the felt sense to shift in its own time.

The nature of the change is also different in Focusing, than when you are working directly with images. For instance, the ‘clawing’ image and feeling settled as I stayed with it. It gradually became less fierce. It eased and softened, rather than becoming something else. This is how the change process works in Focusing.