Someone who recently has taken up the study of focusing remarked that if everyone knew focusing, the world would be a better place. These words ring true because whenever one makes a decision out of a focusing attitude, the answers tend to come from our wisest and best impulses. Focusing is more inclusive than mere thought, more respectful of the big picture.

Truly the best way to appreciate focusing is to experience it. Trying to describe it is like trying to tell someone about a beautiful vista or how to ride a bicycle -- words really don’t do it justice, yet when you see or feel it, you get it right away.

Focusing is a technique for getting in touch with deep inner wisdom that includes, but is much more than our thoughts and feelings. We are all too familiar with the thoughts we have about issues in our lives and can go round and round the same circles without coming up with anything new. Focusing starts with the body and through our felt sense about an issue, we can tap into not only our thoughts, but also our feelings, our intuition and our unconscious knowledge about something. This is where we can find out something new, something that moves us forward.

Focusing can feel like it leads us on a tenuous, faint path at first, especially if we are not accustomed to sitting still and checking inside. People who meditate or do yoga might find it more natural. In fact, some people do it instinctively without any instruction at all. Those who don’t focus naturally can learn by doing and suddenly have access to so much more information from inside themselves. It can make the difference between going around the same circle to the familiar dead end or seeing another path off to the side that you never noticed before, a new avenue to consider.