NEW: Focusing Practitioner Unshakeable Presence Training Oct 2026 - Oct 2027 Booking Now

NEW October 2026 - October 2027 Focusing Practitioner Training Program

Unshakable Presence: Embodied Focusing for Ecological, Social and Personal Renewal

Residential and Zoom Hybrid

Facilitator: Simon McKibbin

'Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" 

- Mary Oliver

Unshakable Presence

Focusing Practitioner Training

Embodied Focusing for Ecological, Social & Personal Renewal

15 October 2026 – 14 October 2027

A personal Journey and intimately shared in the felt sense with others

The world is inviting us to come forward......

In a time of ecological uncertainty, social fragmentation and increasing personal overwhelm, many of us sense that simply thinking harder is no longer enough. We long for a way of living that is wiser, more compassionate and more deeply rooted.

Focusing offers precisely this.

Developed by Eugene Gendlin, Focusing is a profound practice of listening beneath thoughts into the body's living wisdom — the felt sense — where fresh possibilities quietly begin to emerge.

This Practitioner Programme is far more than professional training. It is an invitation to cultivate an unshakable presence that enriches your own life while offering a deeply authentic gift to others.

Whether you work as a coach, therapist, facilitator, educator, healthcare professional, or simply wish to deepen your way of being in the world, this programme offers a rich pathway into greater presence, creativity and compassionate action.

The Heart of the Programme

At the centre of this training is Embodied Relational Presence — Simon McKibbin's integrative approach developed over more than three decades through Focusing, Mindfulness and Nonviolent Communication.

Together we explore how genuine presence naturally gives rise to:

• deeper healing
• authentic relationships
• creative insight
• emotional resilience
• intuitive wisdom
• compassionate engagement with our communities and the living Earth.

Rather than offering another technique, the programme nurtures a different way of inhabiting life itself.

What You'll Experience

During the year you will enjoy:

• a residential and online learning
• twelve live Zoom teaching sessions
• personalised one-to-one mentoring
• ongoing Focusing partnerships and peer support
• practical experience companioning others
• recordings and home practice resources
• an Individual Pathway Project expressing your own unique application of Focusing.

The learning unfolds gently, allowing each participant to discover their own authentic way of sharing Focusing.

Beyond Personal Growth

Focusing teaches us that what we truly feel can also transform us.

As Gendlin observed:

"What is split off and not felt remains the same. When it is felt, it changes."

As we learn to welcome difficult emotions with kindness rather than resistance, something remarkable begins to happen. Fear softens into courage. Confusion becomes clarity. Helplessness gives way to life-forward movement.

Many participants discover that this work naturally deepens their relationship with nature, community and the wider human family.

Without ideology or dogma, the programme explores what might be called a deeply human spirituality—one rooted not in belief, but in direct experience, embodied presence and the quiet mystery of being fully alive.

Who Is This For?

This programme may be for you if you:

• have completed a Focusing Skills Course (or equivalent)
• wish to become a BFA Focusing Practitioner
• would like to integrate Focusing into your professional work
• value authentic relationship and embodied presence
• feel called to contribute to a more compassionate and sustainable world.

Programme Overview

Duration
15 October 2026 – 14 October 2027

Format

• One residential long weekend
• Twelve live Zoom sessions
• Twelve one-to-one mentoring sessions
• Final assessment session
• Focusing partnerships
• Peer community

Certification

Successful completion leads to recognition as a British Focusing Association Practitioner, with an optional pathway towards international TIFI recognition.

Investment

Programme Fee: £1,830

Residential accommodation and meals are booked separately (approximately £250–300).

Flexible payment plans are available.

A £150 non-refundable deposit secures your place following a free introductory conversation with Simon.

About Simon McKibbin

Simon has spent over thirty-six years exploring how human beings become more fully present—with themselves, one another and the living world.

A certified BFA Focusing Teacher, CNVC Trainer and Mindfulness Teacher, he has taught throughout the UK for organisations including the University of Cambridge, while continuing to pioneer his own approach of Embodied Relational Presence.

His deepest interest is simple:

Helping people discover the quiet intelligence already living within them.

Begin the Journey

If something in these words resonates...

If you sense there may be another way of meeting yourself and the world...

We warmly invite you to arrange a free introductory conversation simon@living-presence.co.uk

Come and discover what becomes possible when we learn to trust the body's quiet wisdom—and allow life to unfold from a deeper place.

                             Vicky shares her experience at Braziers Park... 1 min

JOIN THE NEXT PRACTITIONER FREE TASTER     7 - 8pm Thursday 3 September 2026

About Simon - Companion, Coach, Facilitator, & Trainer

We are living in unprecedented times—both thrilling and unsettling with forces beyond our control at play on financial, global, environmental, and social levels. The lack of meaning in materialism has left our culture's social fabric empty, sowing confusion in our identities and a sense of lostness about what it means to feel secure, grounded in the natural order, and truly connected to others and the awe and mystery of the universe.

We live in a culture of atomization where technology promises connection yet alienates us further—moving from Cartesian "I am" to Apple "I-Phone," faces frozen and hypnotized by screens. The proliferation of information competes for our attention—it's hard to draw breath and sense our true identity as sovereign beings.

And yet... in every moment, the sun rises and stars offer their soft light. The ground remains ever faithful, lovingly supporting us. Birds continue to sing, trees remain rooted, oceans stay deep, and there is richness and beauty in every precious, tingling, vibrant moment. A silky breath slides into our bodies from the skies as the universe continues breathing through us, perfuming every cell with vibrancy and warmth. We are here now, alive—coming home to ourselves is the prayer of every star, every mote of dust. Something deep within knows how to return to its authentic original self—like a hidden gem stitched into a garment's lining, we had it all the time. Embodied Relational Presence offers a portal to true self-empowerment where we realize we are not foam buffeted by waves, but the ocean itself.

For over 34 years, I've supported individuals and communities toward greater personal and professional empowerment through Mindfulness, Nonviolent Communication, and Focusing—practices that unlock our capacity to live more fully, creatively, and courageously. My work bridges inner transformation with outer change, rooted in active commitment to ecological regeneration, social equity, and nonviolent living through grassroots organising and co-creation. I invite you into this portal of Embodied Relational Presence—where there is autonomous, sovereign, connected, and irrepressible life—to become both magician of your own wholeness and powerful ally for planetary regeneration and collective wellbeing.

Experience: CNVC Certified NVC Trainer | BFA Focusing Teacher | Breathworks Mindfulness Teacher | Associate Mindfulness Teacher, University of Cambridge (2017–2023) | Extinction Rebellion consultant, mediator & trainer | Møller Institute Cambridge University Executive Coaching Guest Lecturer | Mindfulness in Schools Project (MISP) teacher | Triratna Buddhist Order member | Samaritans volunteer.