From Blended to Befriended: A Journey through Self and Parts
Effortless Mindfulness (EM) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) offer complementary paths to inner healing and wholeness. EM helps us shift into a spacious, awake awareness that is already present, compassionate, and undisturbed – a natural expression of what IFS calls the Self. From this grounded awareness, we can begin to recognize and relate to our inner “parts” – protective, vulnerable, and wounded subpersonalities – not from judgment, but from curiosity and care.
While IFS maps our internal world in terms of parts and their roles, EM offers direct practices (“glimpses”) to access the Self and rest there. When combined, these approaches show us how to relate to our parts rather than from them, making healing more embodied, gentle, and sustainable.
This course explores how to bring these two powerful systems together in a way that is both deeply experiential and personally relevant.
🔹OVERVIEW
Each of the six 90-minute session will follow this structure:
- Opening / somatic grounding
- Mini-talk / conceptual framing
- Guided glimpse / experiential practice
- Small group/pair sharing
- Closing integration / home practice
🔸 SESSION TOPICS + GLIMPSES
Session 1: Self and Parts
- Introduction to “Self with a capital S” vs. blended parts.
- The difference between ego manager, Self-like parts, and true Self Essence.
- Glimpse: “The One Who Is Aware”
Session 2: Recognizing Polarized Parts and Accessing Self
- Working with internal polarizations (hope/fear, push/pull).
- Using polarization as a doorway to Self.
- Glimpse: “Stepping Back From Polarization”
Session 3: Self Essence and the Subtle Body
- Distinguishing Self Essence from Self-like parts, subtle energy, or meditative calm.
- Flow states, energy awareness, and how Self is prior to energy, not identical to it.
- Glimpse: “Resting As Spacious Awareness”
Session 4: Meeting Exiles Without Merging
- How Self Energy allows true compassion without emotional fusion.
- Difference between compassion (big-C) and empathy (blended).
- Glimpse: “Meeting Parts from Unconditional Love”
Session 5: Dialoguing With Firefighters and Managers
- Meeting the ego manager or thinker part from Self.
- Grateful unblending, understanding what each part fears would happen if it stopped its job.
- Glimpse: “Self-to-Part Dialogue”
Session 6: Self-Leadership in Everyday Life
- Transitioning from peak states to embodied integration.
- Living from Self in daily life, in-between moments, and relationships.
- Glimpse: “Tracking Everyday Parts”
🔹 COURSE DATES
📅 Course Details:
Online via Zoom
Tuesday July 1 – Aug 5, 2025
CET 6:00-7:30pm | ET 12:00-1:30pm | PT 9:00-10:30am
🌐 Online Info Session:
Tue June 24, 5:00pm CET (registration required)
💻 Recordings:
Live sessions will be recorded, so no problem if you miss a class.
You could take this course entirely asynchronously through recordings and e-mail support.
💸 Course Fee:
$350 | $400 | $450 (sliding scale)
🎁 Bonus:
1x 40-min individual session with Dennis after the course to deepen integration.
🔸 REGISTRATION
+436641342223
office@dennis-johnson.com