“As soon as I began to study my perception, to look at my own experience, I found that there were different ways of perceiving and that the different ways provided me with different facts. There was a narrow focus which meant seeing life as if from blinkers and with the centre of awareness in my head; and there was a wide focus which meant knowing with the whole of my body, a way of looking which quite altered my perception of whatever I saw. And I found that the narrow focus way was the way of reason. If one was in the habit of arguing about life it was very difficult not to approach sensation with the same concentrated attention and so shut out its width and depth and height. But it was the wide focus way that made me happy.” - Marion Milner
In my practice, I strive to meet each person that walks through my door with that wide focus, the soft gaze that gives space for the rhythms and tides of our bodies and for the mysterious process of living and healing. To root myself within my own felt-sense so as to invite you to nurture yours.
As well as engendering happiness, to connect to our own sensations is an empowering act; it cultivates self-knowledge and provides a ground for true autonomy. If we can feel our sensations and thus know our true needs, we become self-referential. When we can self-reference, we no longer rely on outside authority to tell us how we feel, what to think, or what we need. We feel it. We know.