Your Body Knows the Answer: Using Your Felt Sense to Solve Problems, Effect Change, and Liberate Creativity

I have been thoroughly distracted from what I had intended to do this morning by the release of David Rome's wonderful new book "Your Body Knows the Answer". :0) What a wonderful bringing together of the wisdom and techniques from both the mindfulness and focusing traditions. As I read it, I imagine it would be an amazing guide to someone brand new to focusing, while it's also giving me as a practitioner of both mindfulness meditation and focusing fresh new seeings. David has a lovely way of using analogies and acronyms to really make the key concepts accessible.I was fascinated to read "One suspends one's habitual flow of thought and feeling so as to make room for a different way of paying attention". This really comes together with what Les Fehmi, developer of Open Focus, says about how all methods that help us to heal and move forward involve some sort of change in the way we pay attention. It's particularly timely for me as I am in recovery from early trauma and have finally realised that trauma recovery is far more about learning to pay attention to both what is inside me and around me in present time, than it is to what happened to me in the past.One of the big AHA's I've had just in reading the first third of the book came in a flash as I suddenly realised that my habit of speaking quickly is yet another of the myriad of ways that I dissociate from the feelings inside. David writes in a way that really brings the dual skills of mindfulness and focusing into something we can do in the moment, rather than being techniques we utilise at specific times, and the big AHA of my need to consciously slow down and be in touch with felt sense moment by moment, rather than just during focusing sessions, came out of that. I'm excited to have another resource to help me to bring the learnings I've had from both traditions into the way I am in the world moment by moment.Don't let the number of pages in this book fool you into thinking it's lightweight, it's anything but. It's packed with exercises and wisdom, and I'm thrilled to have a book on Focusing that I can recommend to meditators.

A beautifully concise and systematic approach to finding our felt sense. It is very refreshing to find an approach that combines both eastern and western wisdom; it's quite ironic that most of us are much more familiar with the eastern approach to self-knowledge.Part one gently takes us through the steps to understand and identify what is meant by the felt sense. Each section includes exercises to make things clearer. Part 2 moves on to practical applications and the problem solving potential of connecting with the felt sense in everyday challenges. Finally, the author approaches the felt sense from the wisdom perspective; how it can help us know and understand our true nature and move beyond the perspective of being a separate little self.A relatively short book but a very thorough and satisfying read. My kindle is full of half read books that can't sustain my attention! It would appeal to readers who are seeking 'self development', as well as those who are 'spiritually' inclined. I liked the meditative aspect of connecting with the felt sense, and how the actual waiting and looking is in itself the most important thing.

Another excellent book in the growing knowledge of Focusing. I dedicated the last chapter of "unSpirituality-Permission to be Human" to focusing and have referred my readers to a number of books on the topic, this being one of them. This book lays out body based wisdom in a practical and detailed way. Where other books touch on methodology, David's book goes into detail making the subject more palatable to the average reader with exercises along the way. His explanation of the felt sense, cultivating self empathy, and diffusing the inner critic are essential reading.

I really enjoyed this book and continue to come back to it. David Rome has what can only be described as a deep spacious presence that seems to permeate the page. The book is nicely organized as well making it easy to read it bite sized chunks.

David Rome elegantly, simply, and clearly describes an approach to mindfulness practice that is universally adoptable and potentially life transforming. I have been using a very similar method both personally and in small group settings as a peer counselor for several years and have observed amazing results. The book gives really great direction of how to relate to self and others in ways that deepen the experience of the moment and facilitate access to the infinite inner wisdom that awaits our attention. The underlying concepts are concisely presented. The author's compassionate forms of attending to self and others are also nicely explained and useful examples provided.For those readers unfamiliar with Inner Relationship Focusing, however, I would suggest they also read works by Ann Weiser Cornell, which describe in more detail how to conduct listening partnerships.

This is a very good book. It melds the latest in Buddhist mindfulness with the richness of Eugene Gendlin's "Focusing". It's written by a trained practitioner of Focusing, so it has the integrity and depth of that approach. The author is also deep into the Mindfulness paradigm, so the blend is genuine and his exercises for learning all of this in a self-help way are real and usable. The book itself is published by Shambala, the Buddhist publishing house, so that alone should tell you this is a quality publication.

A hard read.

This is the most important book I’ve read in my recovery from trauma and dealing with my depression, anxiety, PTSD, and so many other issues. Hands down, the most important book I’ve ever read. ..

brilliant book

Mr. Rome has done some original research with the "felt sense."

I love this book!! For me it is life changing. It is well written, with great insight, thought provoking and the writer comes across as very sincere. I liked it so much I bought another one for a friend. Thoroughly recommend👍😊

Un libro che ti cambia , apre gli occhi alla vera realtà interiore, e ti prepara al cambiamento , la tua vita risplende..

Great step by step explanation of the focussing method and easy to read and implement