Impressions of Vienna Conference

Where to begin – there was just so much!

There were 101 workshops during the conference - at any one time there were 8 – 11 workshops going simultaneously. The most number of workshops anyone could attend over the five days was 11 – 11 out of 101! So, it was really important to choose judiciously. Fortunately, we had a thick programme booklet with workshop descriptions and information on the presenters to help with that.

TOM LARKIN

So many experiences; meeting people I had up to then only ever met online, catching up with colleagues, besides being a facilitator for the daily ‘home room’, trying to deal with the fallout from a verbal assault on a colleague and friend by a Focusing coordinator and organising and facilitating an unplanned workshop at the last minute – phew! All the workshops I attended were enlightening and enjoyable and there were two that stood out for me – both were very experiential and mind expanding:

“Connecting Focusing and Tai Chi” – Boaz Shavit

As someone who spent some years practicing one of the Tai Chi forms (and loved it) I had a great curiosity how it would cross with Focusing. We began individually with basic movements, gradually increasing their complexity, but not too much. All the time doing these physical movements we were tuning into what was happening in our bodies as we did them. We then partnered with another participant for a variation of “push hands”. The experience of leading and following necessitated an awareness of and a tuning in to the other – communicating through a light touch (back of the hand to back of the hand).

We then had an opportunity to Focus with our partner: one person Focused, the companion just listened. Then the Focuser paused and the companion resonated with what the Focuser said/gestured and the Focuser responded, a bit similar to Interactive Focusing. We then switched and continued in a flowing way, no timer, exactly as we had done in “push hands”. I found it an amazingly deep and beautiful experience.

“Sensing Forward into System Change – Embodied Awareness and Social Transformation” – Anna-Katherina Lenz

Anna-Katherina introduced us to the Sankofa bird whose body is facing forward and whose head is facing backwards. She guided an exercise for the participants in using this metaphor for identifying and carrying forward what is needed from past experiences (“treasures”) of a system with which we were familiar, one where the structure served the people in it, into the present where it could be applied to a system in which we currently participate.

She guided a second exercise, this time on imagining/envisioning a bright, positive future and identifying the actions and resources that brought us there from now. We then sensed into a crossing of this future vision and the treasures we gleaned from the past, holding each one in either hand. For the first time in a long time, I felt full of wonder and hope, alive with the possibilities of what could change in our fractured society and breaking planet and I wished all world leaders could allow themselves to engage in such exercises as we did in this workshop.

THERESE RYAN

The delights of the International Focusing Conference in Vienna. How far people had come to be there. Months, years even of anticipation realised. Experiencing such a special event with my dear Focusing buddy, our precious IFN group. From all over the world we’re together in the flesh. Adjusting from seeing someone online to standing right here in front of me. We are so much more than a little box on the screen.

The pleasure of being with people who know Focusing, not needing to explain what Focusing is or how it goes. A few times a day I’m invited to turn to the person beside me, whom I’ve never set eyes on before and Focus for a few minutes. The power of those moments. The bewildering variety of workshops, the difficulty in choosing each day which to attend. I want them all, to soak everything in.

One afternoon I arrived at a workshop late and flustered, wondering if I should have picked differently. Before I can think any more, I’m doing qi gong and tai chi movements facing glass doors that open on to blue sky and leafy tree tops. My breath slows, I begin to notice my body and to connect inwardly as if knowing myself anew. From being with myself this way, I then move with a partner slowly, gently, silently, taking turns to lead and follow, then moving together without leading or following - a tender, heart- felt dance. Afterwards we Focus together concluding a profound connection which touched me deeply.

Many memorable moments from Vienna stay with me. Gene’s son, his words and how like Gene he looked. The panel discussion, hearing about Gene from those who were close to him and whose lives and work were so touched by him. Feeling encouraged, inspired and grateful as each of us is invited to carry Focusing forward in our own unique way.

CLARE MYATT

I feel blessed to have had The Vienna Experience and it’s one that’s difficult to describe because it was one of contrasts - highs and lows.

One of my highlights was being so warmly welcomed by IFN members, reconnecting with friends from two Weeklongs at the Dominican Retreat Centre and meeting new people too - thank you! Another was visiting Gendlin’s birthplace with Elaine and Margaret, followed by a classic Viennese delicious coffee/pastry.

The wealth of learning opportunities was a little overwhelming and I attended as many as my introvert bandwidth allowed. The glorious venue allowed for gentle strolls amongst the trees and that helped, especially with the warm weather.

The Gala dinner was a joy, hundreds of people notwithstanding, and I beat an early retreat with Melanie and Elizabeth which was also a pleasure. Meeting people in person, complete with delicious hugs, was such a welcome contrast to Zoom-only gatherings. I intentionally connected with some people one to one, intimately and meaningfully, and have treasured memories of being deeply seen and heard and held by friends old and new.

The rupture (for want of a better word) was disorienting and distressing and I continue to process the experience weeks later. I’m determined it won’t be my primary memory of our Sensing Forward together - I have hope that we are all in process and that something remarkable may unfold, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. The focusing community is very precious to me, both locally with BFA, IFN and EFA, and further afield with TIFI’s worldwide presence. May we find peace.

In gratitude,
Clare Myatt

FIONA O'MEARA

The International Focusing Conference in Vienna was one of the highlights of my adult life. A big statement, I know, but it was an unusual gathering: more than 400 experienced Focusers from around the world, including people with whom I had shared some of the most intimate moments of my life — and whom I had never actually met.

Then I met them and discovered something else: they were fun. We discussed, danced and laughed at dinner. I loved it.

With more than eighty workshops on offer, I used the conference to explore approaches beyond my own Inner Relationship Focusing tradition.

Evelyn Fendler-Lee’s workshop introduced me to Crossing, a process rooted in Gendlin’s Philosophy of the Implicit and used in Thinking at the Edge (TAE). By bringing two ideas or experiences into interaction, something new can emerge. Nothing startling emerged for me, but I could see its potential and appreciated Evelyn’s clarity and expertise.

I had also wanted to see Robert Lee’s Domain Focusing in action. Robert works across three domains — Thinking, Felt Sense and Self-Empathy — physically moving between three chairs. I was struck by how actively he cultivated self-empathy while attending to the new growth direction wanting to emerge.

Dan Schachter, an Israeli psychologist and Focusing teacher, spoke about some of his experience of what he described as the genocide in Gaza. He spoke plainly while holding the room with presence and sensitivity. His workshop brought me into contact with a question of my own: how do I speak about political issues without deepening polarisation?

Those conflicts also entered the conference itself. Some Focusing teachers and students disagreed deeply about Israel and Gaza. There was disagreement and rupture, followed by conversations and attempts at repair.

I came home with new friendships, wonderful memories and questions: What remains invisible to us, even as skilled Focusers? Can we stay empathic to others if we think they threaten our survival? And how do we speak up without deepening the divide? I will not forget the Vienna Conference - it was a clear instance of our problems and of our potential.

Fiona O’Meara, Inner Relationship Focusing Professional

Inner Relationship Focusing with Fiona

ELAINE GOGGIN

I said two years ago that if I was every going to go to a Conference this was going to be it. I love volunteering as a Zoom Host for the International Focusing Institute and one of my favourite parts is interacting and meeting Focusers from all over the world. I cannot describe how exceptional it was to see the recognition in people’s eyes when I first met those familiar faces. I have spent countless hours with hard working Focusers online so to be able to give them a hug and spend some time in their presence was magical.

It was rejuvenating and exhausting all at the same time so I was grateful for Joke van Hoeck’s offering of Rest is Resistance as an Interest Group. It is interesting to me how difficult it is for us to make space for rest when there is so much ‘doing’ to be done, but when someone creates an interest group that you attend just to rest, it feels like resting is the doing!

Given the variety of workshops, sometimes you felt like a kid in a candy shop with only permission to chose one! This at times was difficult but you always had the feeling you where exactly here you were suppose to be. One workshop in particular where this was evident to me was Chandra Chang workshop on Focusing and Sound! Chandra invited us to vocalise a sound from our lower abdomen. In a room full of people vocalising I found myself attuning to sounds I liked but then I realised that I was abandoning my own sound. Something I need to pay more attention to!

There is so much more I would like to say but I will finish up by acknowledging the difficulty also in coming together as a large group, with the current state of the world and the environments we live in. What comes to mind is the quote from Gene:

What is True is already so. Owning up to it doesn’t make it worse. Not being open about it doesn’t make it go away.
And because it is true, it is what is there to be interacted with. Anything untrue isn’t there to be lived.

Some things need the right space where people’s own truths are shared sometimes uncomfortably but a coming together like this can lead the new way forward however that may unfold.

At the concluding ceremony we were treated to an amazing company that performed Playback Theatre, it was a tonic to have instances for the conference reflected as stories from those willing to share. I found this powerful and perfect ending to acknowledge and hold all that came for people during the conference.

In final conclusion the impression that I will carry with me from the conference is the people and will always be the people! There is so much more to say in particular about hearing from Gerry Gendlin and visiting Gene’s home and the contrast I felt to visiting Vienna as opposed to what Gene felt in returning to his childhood home that he was force to leave.

IFN Vienna2026 IFN members who attended the International Focusing Conference in Vienna
L/R Clare Myatt, Therese Ryan, Marta Fabregat, Margaret Quinn, Tom Larkin, Fiona O'Meara, Mary Jennings, Elaine Goggin and Báirbre Meehan