Power of Focusing: A Practical Guide to Emotional Self-Healing [Paperback]

Ann Weiser Cornell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1996

Focusing is a gentle yet powerful skill that lets you tap into your body's wisdom and make positive changes in your life. The Power of Focusing shows readers how they can train themselves to learn this vital technique of self-exploration and self-discovery.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The Power of Focusing clarifies an essential human skill many of us have forgotten and takes it a quantum leap farther along its evolutionary path. Here are germinal teachings and deep human wisdom expressed in a way that can improve anyone’s emotions, well-being, and life.”
—Dan Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior and The Laws of Spirit

“Ann Weiser Cornell approaches Focusing with moment-by-moment sensitivity and years of depth. This is one of the most powerful therapeutic techniques of which I am aware an may even be said to be the basis of all good therapy.”
—Jeffrey Mishlove, author of Roots of Consciousness and host of television’s Thinking Allowed

“Most people make life’s important decisions by using their intellect. They think and become logical. Thus their path in life becomes path-o-logical. As a physician, I know how important our feelings are. We store a lifetime of feelings in our bodies. If not felt and responded to, they lead to disease—once again, a state of pathology. Learn to focus, and let the wisdom of your body teach you what it feels like to be happy. The wisdom of this book can help you heal the pathology. This book is an excellent resource for healing your life and body while guiding you to your life’s true path.”
—Bernie Siegel, M.D.,author of Love, Medicine and Miracles; Peace, Love, and Healing; and How to Live Between Office Visits

“I have included Ann Weiser Cornell’s Focusing work in Intuitive Training classes with excellent results. I see the Focusing technique as an invaluable tool for students of the inner life, particularly psychic-intuitive training.”—Helen Palmer, author of The Enneagram

About the Author

Ann Weiser Cornell learned Focusing from Eugene Gendlin, who first discovered the technique. She has gone on to achieve an international reputation as one of the field’s leading innovator and theoreticians. She taught at Gendlin’s Focusing Institute in Chicago, developed the first workshops for Focusing guides, and now regularly teaches popular workshops throughout North America, Europe, and the Far East. Ann is editor and publisher of The Focusing Connection newsletter and has served as president of the Association of Humanistic Psychology. Ann currently makes her home in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she offers classes and workshops through her organization, Focusing Resources.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications; 1 edition (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157224044X
• ISBN-13: 978-1572240445
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.3 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Psychology & Counseling > Psychotherapy, TA & NLP

More About the Author

Ann Weiser Cornell was getting her PhD in Linguistics at the University of Chicago when she met and studied with Eugene Gendlin, the originator of Focusing, in 1972. Learning Focusing with him has led to a lifelong process of discovery and personal development.

In 1980, Eugene Gendlin invited Ann to assist with his Focusing workshops. This started her on a path to become a Focusing teacher, and in 1990, Ann became the first person to support herself full-time as a Focusing teacher.

Today, Ann is internationally recognized as one of the leading innovators and theoreticians of Focusing. She has taught Focusing in eighteen countries, and her Focusing books and manuals have been translated into seven other languages.

She's well-known in the Focusing world for her attention to the language that facilitates Focusing, her popular manuals, and her co-creation with Barbara McGavin of Treasure Maps to the Soul, a body of work applying Focusing to difficult areas such as addiction, depression, action blocks, self-criticism, and unfulfilled desire.

Ann currently lives in Berkeley, California.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 76 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an inviting update on the uses of Focusing. December 4, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

What I like most about The Power of Focusing, which I have reaad and re-read, is the author's observation that the essence of Focusing is your relationship with yourself. That is, living the Focusing attitudes by being gentle and compassionate with yourself. This is a perfect fit with my experience, both personal and professional (I am a psychologist). Living in the present moment with kindness and acceptance is perhaps the greatest benefit that I, and consequently those around me, have derived from Focusing.

It is most helpful to share Focusing by having a recent book which contains the fruits of over 15 years of the author's teaching. The first Focusing self-help book, the classic by Eugene Gendlin, anchors the practice - it has a history. Now when I pass Focusing on, I can add Ann Cornell's book as an example of the living tradition of Focusing, one of the ways it has developed since Gendlin's book was published in 1981. It is an excellent illustration that while there are Focusing basics, such as the attitude of respect, there is always something new to learn and more applications in using the process. For instance, I am a certified Focusing teacher, but one of my new learnings from this book was a clearer concept of what "guiding" is. Addtionally, Ann Cornell's examples are very good illustrations of the concepts she is teaching. One of my favorites is "Matt," because it shows how Focusing can combine in a useful way with other factors when one is making a major decision.

Finally, from a marketing standpoint the book is very attractive and has great endorsements on the cover. I hope there is a 100th printing!

78 of 81 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An under-rated and under-stated problem solving technique October 2, 2001

By Michael Lee

Format:Paperback

I read Gendlin's book two decades ago, and discovered this one a few years ago. So I've got quite a bit of experience with Focusing under my belt. This is a very powerful meditational discipline, but simple to learn and implement.

It is particularly useful in sorting out dilemmas or problems where you feel ambivalent, are conflicted, or fear you have lost objectivity. Should you quit your job, leave your spouse, marry your girlfriend, change careers? Is your relationship with a spouse/friend/sibling/child frustrating you? Are you at your wits end with a boss or co-worker? Can't figure out how to express yourself to those you care about?

I've found Focusing powerful because it is such a *fast* way of developing new insight and articulating what you really think and feel. And it feels good and may help you stay more aware of what matters to you during your day.

I just recommended this book to someone who is almost a stranger but who is facing some big, confusing decisions. If that's where you are too right now, this book is worth taking a chance on.

70 of 73 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This book wonderfully clarifies and enriches Gendlin's! April 10, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I first read Eugene Gendlin's original book on Focusing and found it tremendously helpful and life-changing. But finding this additional resource on Focusing was a wonderful gift because this book clarifies and gets to the heart of how you can really make Focusing work for you. The author states concepts simply but powerfully and addresses those very issues that were hard for me to understand in Gendlin's book. I felt like I just couldn't fail with Focusing after I read this book. She also has really, really helpful examples throughout the book. I have recommended this book to a lot of people, without reservation, and will continue to do so.