SHAKIO INSTITUTE

Shakio: An ancient Aramaic word meaning the flow of life.

Shakio Institute is a place of radically gentle learning, a community of practice dedicated to the exploration of the Implicit – the embodied wisdom in the process of becoming.

It is a place of convergence, integrating the languages of Mystical Traditions, Focusing – the philosophy and practices developed by Eugene Gendlin, and Performing Arts – movement, vocalization and imagination.

Here we explore How art, Focusing and prayer can open us to the flow and wisdom of life going beyond categories and perceptions.

There are 3 main streams of learning in Shakio:

AoP – The Art of Prayer 
POF – Prayer Oriented Focusing 
TAE – Thinking At the Edge

“Experience is a myriad richness.
We think more than we can say.
We feel more than we can think.
We live more than we can feel.
And there is much more sfill.”

Eugene T Gendlin

 

Upcoming courses and workshops

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4 live sessions on Zoom

Tuesdays, starting Aug. 29th 2023

 

8 live sessions on Zoom

Tuesdays, starting Sep. 26th 2023

8 Live sessions on Zoom

Sundays, starting Oct. 15th 2023

Learning streams

AoP – THE ART OF PRAYER

The Art of Prayer is a regenerative learning approach exploring a core component of our shared human existence – our natural capacity for prayer. It is a framework of practices, in which people from all walks of life and traditions, religious and secular, prayers and non-prayers – are invited to reconnect and rediscover gateways into the field of prayer.

Our work fosters the possibility of opening us up to the wisdom active in various traditions, in new philosophies, in ancient stories, without limiting ourselves to only one of them. It is an engagement with prayer and praying that is beyond theology.

Together we reformulate and refresh pathways into the intimate experience of being in the world; of being in the field of prayer; of becoming creatures endowed with curiosity, kindness and a sensitivity to the yet unknown. It is about transforming our understanding of the act of prayer from a mere practice into a living model for existence.

POF – Prayer Oriented Focusing

“Most of the world thinks and acts in terms of formed things, patterns, units, entities…We claim, instead, that what is not already formed is a greater order, more finely differentiated than any forms and concepts, and yet also unfinished.”  Eugene Gendlin

In POF we explore the Interaction between Focusing and the experience of Prayer. 

POF opens new pathways into what we call ‘prayer consciousness’ as well as novel insights into the focusing process; insights that emerged from Gendlin’s philosophy and – to our surprise – from his interest during his final years with the connection between human beings and what he termed The Larger System.

The aim of Prayer Oriented Focusing (POF) is to support the focuser’s essential life processes, and to reformulate and refresh pathways into the intimate experience of being in the world.

TAE – Thinking at the Edge

How can I translate what my body knows into new insights and concepts?
How can I distil out of rich personal experiences the core of what my knowing is?
How do we lucidly research the seemingly paradoxical, the marginal, the illogical? And how do we retain freshness in research without collapsing into stagnanting knowledge?

Thinking At the Edge – TAE was developed by Gendlin and research colleagues as a method enabling direct access to implicit knowledge in one’s field of expertise/interest. It assumes that each one of us has the potential and responsibility to create regenerative knowledge for ourselves and for the society we live in.
The approach guides practitioners in expressing the potential in something that wants to be said. It is a movement from a felt sense of knowing, which alludes definition, to a ripening of new and articulately defined concepts and theories.

The objective of this stream is to enable participants to develop a mini-model that articulates their hidden spark – the unique gift we have to share with the world.

TESTIMONIALS

“Standing in front of the gateways of prayer, taking time to breath, observe, listen. Doing this together, even if within zoom-frames, in conversation and silence, with the lucid guidance of Dana and Baruch..this is a gathering with new and known depths, personal and universal, temporal and infinite – we’ve been blessed to have this opportunity” Prof. Sara Sviri, Writer – The Sufi Anthology

“Focusing is the art of paying attention to what exists and what will come into being. Prayer is the opening of the heart to the infinite. Dana and Baruch attentively and delicately take us as partners on a wondrous path of practice and recollection of the secrets we all already know. Highly recommended!” Rabbi Dov Singer, Rosh Yeshivat Makor Chaim

“Working with Baruch and Dana has been a very important and deeply stabilizing experience. Especially when the Corona measurements hit us and fear and insecurity spread I felt I was coming home when entering our shared space. I am so unspeakably grateful for being part of this group where failure does not exist and trials are welcome. Where being human gains a whole new depth.” Judith Weisz

“The Art of Prayer opened for me gateways of love towards fellow humans, the world, the future..to the understanding of our communal becoming, and a participation in the processes of creation. Many thanks.” Sigal Golan, Psychotherapist

“The Gates of Prayer are a profound experience that have brought a deep peace and colorful joy into my conflict ridden life.” Inga von Staden

“Touching upon the inner language of authentic prayer, the mystery of communication between human beings and the infinite and connecting with the depth of human experience – this course has provided me with great inspiration. The experience, knowledge and originality of Baruch and Dana transported me from the conceptual to the actual tools of spiritual work”. Yair Harel, Founder – the Piyut Website

“The course opened for me actual gateways for entering into the my self and from there to explore the sacred space inside. It generated in me new awareness with the field of prayer, based on personal experience of observing my flowing life spring. This is a meeting with mind-diamonds that have been polished with accurate spiritual labour.” Rabbi Avi Luria

ABOUT US

Shakio is a space for collaborative exploration founded by Dana Ganihar, an experienced Focusing instructor and a teacher of the philosophy of Eugene Gendlin, and Baruch Brenner a multidisciplinary artist, rabbi and certified Focusing instructor who investigates and teaches performance art and Jewish mysticism.

Baruch Brenner Is an Israeli theater director, actor, singer, teacher, focusing trainer and an ordained Orthodox Rabbi. Over the last 25 years, he has been a leading innovator in integrating spiritual practices with experiential work in theatre, movement and vocal arts. He was the artistic director of the Vertigo lab in the eco-art village, and a research fellow and member of Jerzy Grotowski theater ensemble.
Baruch facilitates educational programs and workshops exploring religious and mystical traditions, with an emphasis on Jewish mysticism – Kabbalah and Hasidic philosophy – making them accessible to the general public.

Dana Ganihar, M.Sc. is a teacher and researcher certified as a Focusing Coordinator by the international focusing institute in New York. Over the last couple decades she has led numerous workshops and seminars exploring the work of psychologist and philosopher Eugene Gendlin: IBF – Instancing Based Focusing, PoI – Philosophy of the Implicit, and TAE – Thinking At the Edge. Dana has initiated cooperative research exploring the potential impact of Focusing practices on diverse fields such as biology, architecture, creative writing and religion, in Institutions including the Technion, Bar Ilan University and Tel Hai College.

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