The Radical Acceptance of Everything: Living a Focusing Life Paperback – April 30, 2005

There are three good books that help you start Focusing: Gene Gendlin's  Focusing  (with a new introduction in the past few years), Ed McMahon & Peter Campbell's  BioSpirituality: Focusing As a Way to Grow  (get the 1997 2nd ed.), and Ann's own  The Power of Focusing: A Practical Guide to Emotional Self-Healing . All three have strong merits; all three are excellent & somewhat different fine ways to start Focusing.Once you've started Focusing & know "The Big Three", however, "The Radical Acceptance of Everything" is THE best "next step" for taking your Focusing to another level. As in all of Ann's work, it has marvellous specific & do-able suggestions in, for example, working with a Focusing partner, handling conflicting felt senses, how to be with a reluctant felt sense, Focusing on physical illnesses, Focusing with truly overwhelming felt senses and many more areas that all Focusers face. She combines this with often moving & memorable stories from her own life & from her experiences with Focusing. Throughout the book, Ann's craft as a writer and her skill from training more Focusers, literally, than any one else in the world is quite evident.Background: I started Focusing by myself when Gene's book came out in 1981. I went to my first Focusing workshop with Gene in 1983, where I also met Ann, and attended her first Focusing Guidng workshop. I became a Gene Focusing trainer in 1984. In 1984, I also attended my first workshop with Ed & Pete, becoming a trainer in their workshops. For almost 25 years, I've been a writer and on the editorial board of Ann's Focusing newsletter, "The Focusing Connection" -- an absolute must for keeping track of new Focusing doings & ideas. For 20 years, I've been a psychotherapist, teaching & using Focusing regularly in my practice, where I specialize in often very complex clients. I've presented at a few Focusing International Conferences.... You get the idea.I mean it when I say that if you already know how to Focus, in "The Radical Acceptance of Everything", you'll find at least several specific ideas/approaches -- probably more -- to help you Focus even better. Of this, I'm confident. I did, and I've been Focusing for a very long time with a lot of very different people.I eagerly await Ann's next book.

It was a gift for my boyfriend he loved it !

If you are a body-oriented therapist (SE, BSP, and more), why not start with the originator of it all. Like other reviewers, I tried many years ago and could not understand what Grendlin meant by "clearing a space" and "getting a handle." Why was brainspotting (BSP) so much easier for me to get than Focusing? Than a BSP therapist trained in Focusing recommended this book. A linguist, Cornell is careful in her use of jargon. I divide her suggestions and observations into those that speak to *Presence* (the mindful, aware, nonjudgmental part of us) and those that speak to our more emotional, agenda driven parts: TO PRESENCE: Describe sensations, Stay in contact with Sensations, Empathize ("No wonder that part feels..."), and find new parts ("Notice if a critical voice just said...."). TO PARTS: Acknowledge ("Let it know you understand how angry it is."), make Connections (Maybe it can tell you what it's scared about."), and find Intentions ("That part might believes if you are good enough, nothing bad will happen."). Some might fined Cornell repetitious, but she is telling the story of how her Inner Relationship Focusing evolved and I find that fascinating. Reading case examples is how I learn a new approach.

My favorite of all Focusing books and the one that inspired the last chapter of "unSpirituality-Permission to be Human." The radical acceptance of everything literally changed my life after reading The Power of Focusing. In the chapter on the inner critic, Ann steps away from Gendlin's first book where he dismisses the critical voice, and introduces radically accepting this tyrannical aspect. I spent 45 minutes listening to any and everything the critic said to me for the first time in my life and after it was all done the voice turned into a wise adviser. I HIGHLY recommend this book...make sure to read the story of the dog....priceless.

I liked the book. It suggests using a technique of using focusing, often in the presence of a focusing partner, by focusing of painful feelings in the body, openly, to help resolve unconscious issues. One can do this process independently. and I can see a near parallel with "breathwork". It is also closely associated with a meditation-type of focusing. I feel it is a worthwhile read for dealing with acceptance.

I took a focusing class fifteen years ago and I felt that I wasn't able to do it. Gene Gendlin's Focusing book didn't help either. But when I read this book I realized that I was focusing fifteen years ago and didn't realize it. Focusing is a subtle process and may not follow Gendlin's descriptions. Ann explores the range of experiencing within Focusing that made the process work for me. Also, her CD 'Learning Focusing' was a big help and enabled me to do Focusing alone.

Similar to many books in this vein - when the book is about a particular practice, and is by a very seasoned practitioner; looking for more insight into practice is counter productive - just practice more. The practitioner's themselves end up forgetting as much as they've learned, and can only share memories, and hope those give...*something*...More of a book for those interested or invested in the culture of Focusing. Less for someone looking for insight.

This is a beautiful collection of articles that bring Focusing to life in a gentle, deep way. As a counsellor with many years experience of a variety of counselling approaches, including other Focusing-oriented texts, this book has contributed a very rich addition to counselling. I enjoyed the integration of clinical and personal examples that are woven into the technical and theoretical writing. This book really makes a difference in applying focusing as a skill and attitude toward counselling.

Ann Weiser Cornell brilliantly updates Eugene Gendlin's Focusing. It is very rare that any psychology book is useful or practical. "The Radical Acceptance of Everything" is an exception to that rule.I am a Zen practitioner. I find that Weiser Cornell provides insights that reinforce the process of zazen. For example, many Zen students try to stop thoughts. But what if there are insights contained in those thoughts that our mind is trying to tell us? So perhaps if we listen to those thoughts, we may learn something.Weiser Cornell doesn't mention Zen once in the book. And I like that because her book is an independent confirmation of certain zazen principles plus much more.It is amazing when two independent streams of thought or methodologies come together and reinforce each other.Personally, after reading "The Radical Acceptance of Everything" I am going to set aside separate blocks of time to practice focusing, and other blocks of time for zazen; or possibly a combination of the two.I find this is a very important book. If you find yourself stuck in your zazen practice, this book might be just what you need.

Libro arrivato in tempistiche brevi considerando non è scritto in italiano. Soddisfatta.

Who ever is interested in focusing this is the ultimate book for beginner students written by the core teachers Ann Weiser and Barbara McGavin. It gives you all the informations you need to get the tools for starting and understanding what focusing is about. If I could I would tick 10 points....

I am a Focusing Practitioner and Trainer. I recommend this book to all people who are interested in Focusing. It is simply and clearly written and avoids jargon.It is very up to date. I found it interesting that Ann Weiser Cornell challenges some of the old beliefs about Focusing and opens up the process to include everything - as it says in the title.I found that, not only did it change my ideas about Focusing, but it also changed my whole outlook on life.

Thought provoking.