Finding Your Focus

In my continual search for advancement in assisting others with their personal and professional growth, I have come to value and appreciate teaching people the ability to FOCUS. It is a beautiful, subtle and empowering process and a gift that has brought unexpected spiritual openings.

The dictionary defines focus as, “The ability to adjust one’s vision so as to render a clear, distinct image”.  (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/focus)

We use this word all the time and in many applications. We can focus a lens, find the focus in a geometry problem, see thefocus of an earthquake, or focus our attention, but do we ever really think about what FOCUS can do for us?

In my work, focus is a body-oriented process of self-awareness and emotional healing. It is as simple as noticing how you feel and allowing the feelings to have a voice, to be heard and felt.  If you allow it, focus can be a process for growth

Every person on this planet was born with the gift of focus; the ability to know how they feel from moment to moment. For many of us, childhood experiences of hurt and alienation as well as social programming have created a lack of trust in the wisdom and intelligence that exist inherently in our bodies. Our feelings are an indicator and we, who have forgotten to pay attention to these feelings in our bodies, must re-learn to focus.

Like anything we learn, this takes time and patience. If we go to the gym, do we expect bulging muscles and a defined waistline after a few workouts? Certainly not!  But, like building muscle at the gym, if we stay with the process, we will develop the skills to listen to ourselves, understand what our feelings are telling us and honor our own needs.

Focus doesn’t cover just one purpose, but a broad range of purposes.  When you learn the skill of focus, you will benefit from it for the rest of your life. Focus can help you address many issues you might struggle with.

Here are some examples:

• I feel STUCK in some area of my life. 

• I want to discover what I FEEL and what I WANT.
  Many people are not in touch with their feelings and what it is they really want. Some of us are so busy trying to please others, we lose touch of the things that would bring us joy. Additionally, in our society, men are often trained to treat tender feelings as weakness and therefore, ignore them, and women are often trained to live in deference to others. As a result, we don’t even know what we feel and want! We cut ourselves off from the messages our bodies are sending us through feelings.When you learn to focus, we re-center ourselves in our own bodies which allows us to come back in contact with what is real for us, our feelings and our needs.

• I need to find a better way to handle overwhelming emotions.

Strong feelings of sadness, fear or anger can overwhelm you and leave you feeling helpless. These emotions are strong for a reason. They have important things to tell us.  Focusing allows you to learn this important piece and receive the gift of wisdom the emotions are offering without being overwhelmed by them. When you learn focus, you’ll learn to have a comfortable relationship with these feelings and discover how to honor them instead of being powerless against them.

• I want to take action, but I can’t seem to get around this BLOCK.

Procrastination is the all-purpose block. If you find yourself saying, “I want to ___________, but I don’t,” then you have an action block. Addictions work in reverse.  If you have an addiction, you might find yourself saying, “I want to stop ___________, but I don’t.”

Focusing helps you release action blocks and addictions by listening compassionately to the part of you that is responsible for the block. Rather than always fighting against it, you’ll learn to gain the cooperation of that part of yourself and move on.

• I want to release all this self-criticism and increase my self-love and acceptance.

Our inner critic will say things like, “What’s wrong with you? You could/should have done that better! Who do you think you are?  You’re not worthy of ____________!  You’re such an idiot.”

Who is saying these mean things to you? Almost without exception, we are more cruel to ourselves than we are to anybody else. Focusing is a powerful tool for letting go of the inner critic and other forms of self-sabotage. It is possible to turn the inner critic into an ally and grow from it, developing love and acceptance for ALL parts of yourself.

 I want to learn to make CLEAR, CENTERED decisions. 

If decision-making is a challenge for you, it can create chaos, confusion, self-doubt and anxiety. With decisions to make every day, this can be a difficult way to live.  When you learn focus, you can learn to make a choice holistically.

Our bodies hold the wisdom of the present moment, and the present moment is the change epicenter. When you learn tofocus, you re-form a trust-relationship with your body. Focusing is the key to changing your life in ways you didn’t know were possible.

In the coming months, I will be offering information and tips about focus that include the Three Centers of Intelligence – Body, Heart and Mind. You may also contact me for a private session for coaching or hypnosis to learn to better focus and work through any of the issues you might be facing in your life.

This is your call to action, to find the focus that would help your life move forward in the direction you choose. Focus allows you to find the heart and meaning in your life.

Much love,

Devan

Devan Tindall has a private practice for weight loss, smoking cessation, stress reduction and personal growth. She specializes in coaching her clients through times of transition by helping them create a more fulfilling and inspiring vision for their lives. She intuitively guides them by tapping into a variety of resources including NLP, Hypnosis, The Enneagram, metaphors and symbolism. She works with groups and individuals. She has taught classes covering a variety of subjects including Creating a Dynamic Vision (Vision Boards), Spirituality in Our Everyday Life and Understanding the Self through the Enneagram.

Devan has worked in the dynamic arena of NLP since 1991 and was certified as an NLP Trainer in 1996. She has studied the Enneagram (personality types) and Diamond Approach (depth psychology and inquiry). You might be familiar with another popular teacher of Diamond Approach, Geneen Roth, author of New York Times bestseller “Women, Food and God”.