Do you long for a deeper connection with yourself and others?
Do you yearn for clarity and flow to express yourself in your own unique way?
Do you sometimes get overwhelmed by your feelings and disconnected from your needs?
In A Gentle Space you learn to expand your capacity to empathetically listen to the full range of your feelings and wants. With curiosity, you can access and tend to your emotional life, rather than avoiding it or being overwhelmed by painful emotions or anxious thoughts. You can develop relational skills to facilitate presence and compassion for yourself and those around you.
A Gentle Space arose from my intention to create an environment in which women are received in their fullness, and in their process of becoming more of themselves. This space empowers women to cultivate an inner environment that allows for natural movement forward.
When we listen to our inner experience from a place of curiosity and compassion, we create conditions for trusting our inner strength while finding a clear purpose and aligned direction.
Presencing Life with Wonder
“Presencing Life with Wonder” carries the essence of my approach.
“Presencing” is a combination of two words, presence and sensing, as coined by Otto Sharmer, Senior Lecturer at MIT and Founding Chair of Presencing Institute.
In this sentence, what I mean by “life” is what we feel from inside in relation to the interactions we’ve been having and will be having. Our inner space carries a full range of experiences, from our enjoyable feelings, to our longings, to our fears, anger and sorrows. They serve an important purpose; within them resides a deeper intelligence and our life force.
And by “with wonder,” I mean cultivating a beginners’ mind, implying curiosity and gentle exploration of the inner landscape of that which is yet unknown. As we cultivate curiosity and presence, and expand our capacity to listen and be with our inner experiences, inner gentleness and compassion become possible.
When we welcome every drop of ourselves, we transform, we heal, and we grow into a more integrated person. Through this ongoing integration of inner aspects, we can live in congruence with our full self, and offer back to life and to people around us what is uniquely ours.
“Listening makes a space into which something new can come.”
Eugene Gendlin
My Approach
Committed to personal transformation, I have learned to cultivate A Gentle Space within. I now access and accept more of myself, and this helps me to feel more welcoming to others, just as they are. As I cultivate more presence, I relate with increased clarity and calm with life’s facets and nuances. Trusting more of my inner knowing, I feel empowered to create new possibilities in alignment with my values and visions.
My approach is rooted in the principles and practical “tools” of Inner Relationship Focusing, Non-Violent Communication, The Compass, and Theory U as pathways to self-discovery and transformation. I continue to integrate these processes along with my multicultural life experiences—which shape how I engage and support others in their journeys.
Becoming present, compassionate, accepting and calm can seem impossible at times. Central to my practice is guiding you to access your inherent gentleness and creative force. As you learn to nurture a compassionate inner relationship, you facilitate your own process of transformation. It is possible to simply start with curiosity and a willingness to look inside. I offer genuine interest and unintrusive company because I value your unique process. By facilitating a path of gradual transformation, I engage you in trusting what feels right for yourself, as we honor each step forward.
Inner Relationship Focusing
Focusing, developed by Eugene Gendlin, was later expanded upon by Ann Weiser Cornell and Barbara McGavin with their creation of Inner Relationship Focusing.
Inner Relationship Focusing (IRF) is a gentle process of self-acceptance and growth that occurs through inner experiencing.
IRF is a compassionate way of listening to our bodies that involves creating a spacious and accepting environment for every aspect of ourselves to feel welcomed, heard and understood. We cultivate presence and curiosity by pausing, slowing down, and sensing how it feels from the inside, moment by moment.
In this way of being we do not try to fix, offer solutions, or rush our process. Rather, we learn to relate to what feels intense, subtle or unclear, because within these feelings reside fresh possibilities. This gentle practice of awareness gives us access to a pre-verbal dimension of knowing beyond logical reasoning. With ongoing practice, we are able to transform our unhealthy thinking patterns and behaviors naturally and sustainably into aligned vital energy and movement forward.
Non-Violent Communication
Non-Violent Communication (NVC) is a communication framework developed by Marshall Rosenberg. This is a practical process that reminds us to connect with the spirit of generosity we all have, moment by moment, in any meaningful connection. NVC promotes empathy and is a conflict resolution resource that aims for mutually beneficial outcomes. It counters the belief that one person’s gain requires another person’s sacrifice by shining the light on universal human needs that usually underlie judgment and blame. Through empathic listening and authentic expression, we experience our common humanity, which increases the likelihood of understanding others and being understood.
The Compass
Arnina Kashtan’s The Compass is a transformative framework based on Non-Violent Communication that promotes principles and skills toward presence and choice in all aspects of life. This process supports working through generational conditioning that causes fear, guilt, anger, and shame. The Compass helps to discover, decode, and transform the internalized roots of disconnection. It facilitates compassionate inquiry, promoting intentional responses over unconscious reactions. Every discovery in this process helps access a new sense of openness, compassion, and creativity. Its purpose is to cultivate a greater sense of self-acceptance and compassion towards others. It is an integrative process that honors the essence of who we really are.
Theory U
Theory U is an awareness-based method for changing systems, developed by Otto Scharmer, Senior Lecturer at MIT, Founding Chair of Presencing Institute.
Theory U expands our perspective on how systems impact us as individuals. It also brings into consciousness the blind spots from which we operate. It offers a framework that expands our capacity to operate from a place of personal and social awareness.
Theory U helps us see how we are an integral part of the solutions we long for in our systems. The pressing challenges of our time require relational skills and a sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves. Theory U addresses these critical challenges by teaching abilities to shift from reacting against the past to leaning into and presencing an emerging future.
“The shift in attitude from abolition to acceptance of our felt experience is a step toward liberation.”
John Amodeo
My Offerings
One-to-one sessions
Personalized One-to-one Sessions, via Zoom, in English or Portuguese.
Discover the benefits of individual sessions. Create movement forward with ongoing accompaniment on your journey.
INNER RELATIONSHIP FOCUSING
Single Individual Session:
Duration: 50 minutes
$90 USD per session*
4-session package:
$320 total ($40 savings)
$80 USD per session
THE COMPASS APPROACH
Single Individual Session:
Duration: 50 minutes
$90 USD per session*
4-session package:
$320 total ($40 savings)
$80 USD per session
GENERAL
INQUIRY
One time meeting:
Duration: 30 minutes
Free
Book a no-engagement meeting to ask questions and sense if what I offer is the right fit for you.
Feel free to contact me to co-create options and make this growth commitment possible and sustainable.
Fees subject to change. Plans valid for two months per person. Prepaid financial contribution accepted via PayPal.
Courses & Workshops
Feel free to create your own group or join one to invite the potential of Focusing into your life!
Inner Relationship Focusing - Level One
Level One Course: Inner Relationship Focusing Essentials
Embark on an enriching journey with our Level One course, designed to introduce you to the gentle practice of Inner Relationship Focusing. Explore a new way into self-awareness in a caring online environment.
Course Details:
- Duration: Five weeks of learning and practice
- Format: 2-hour classes held weekly via Zoom
- Language: English
- Investment: $300 USD*
Prerequisite:
- A 30-minute complimentary meeting with Fernanda prior to the course. It includes course orientation, a taste of a guided Focusing session, aimed at enhancing your comfort and experience.
Course Includes:
- A 30-minute one-to-one complimentary meeting with Fernanda prior to the course.
- Access to your personal class portal with all course materials and discussions with fellow students and the facilitator.
- A digital copy of the Focusing Student and Companion’s Manual, Part 1 by Ann Weiser Cornell and Barbara McGavin.
- A 30-minute post-course meeting with Fernanda to acknowledge your process and sense the next steps forward.
Inner Relationship Focusing - Level Two
Level Two Course: Inner Relationship Focusing Essentials
Embark on a transformative journey with our Level Two course, designed to deepen your practice of Inner Relationship Focusing. Discover this empowering path to self-awareness and inner gentleness in a supportive online environment.
Course Details:
- Duration: Four weeks of learning and practice
- Format: 2-hour classes held weekly via Zoom
- Language: English
- Investment: $300 USD*
Prerequisite:
- Level One Course: Inner Relationship Focusing Essentials.
Course Includes:
- Access to your personal class portal with all course materials and discussions with fellow students and the facilitator.
- A digital copy of the Focusing Student and Companion’s Manual, Part 1 by Ann Weiser Cornell and Barbara McGavin.
- One 30-minute post-course meeting with Fernanda to acknowledge your process and sense the next steps forward.
After Course Support:
- Ongoing weekly Practice Space for 40 minutes of partnership practice followed by a 10-minute Q&A with Fernanda and the group.
Seeds of Possibilities: A Program on Longings, Dreams and Visions
Seeds of Possibilities: A Program on Longings, Dreams and Visions
Join our program to reconnect with your longings, dreams, and visions, exploring your inner landscape and embodying what’s most precious to you.
Course Details:
Duration: Six weeks of gentle exploration, discovery and encounters.
Format: 2-hour classes held weekly via Zoom
Language: English
Investment: $400 USD
Prerequisite:
- Level One Course: Inner Relationship Focusing (from any teacher)
Course Includes:
- A 30-minute meeting with Fernanda prior to the course. It includes program orientation and a guided Focusing attunement.
- Access to your personal class portal with all program materials and discussions with fellow students and the facilitator.
- Four 30-minute meetings with Fernanda, scheduled once between classes throughout the program.
- A 30-minute post-course meeting with Fernanda to acknowledge your process and sense your next steps forward.
After Course Support:
Optional, monthly 20-minute Sharing Space, followed by a 10-minute Q&A with Fernanda and the group.
Feel free to create your own group or join one to experience the life force your longings, dreams and visions carry within.
*I am aware of the diversity of socio-economic realities across different countries, currencies, and circumstances.
Feel free to contact me to co-create options and make this growth commitment possible and sustainable.
Fees and offers subject to change. Prepaid financial contribution accepted via PayPal.
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
Rumi
Benefits
Do you sometimes feel disconnected from your inner power?
Do you get caught up in debilitating habits and unexamined beliefs that create a gap between the life you live and the life you long for?
Do you long to contribute to a better life for others, while not neglecting yourself in the process?
In A Gentle Space, you can practice listening and relational skills through step-by-step processes that will empower you to:
Access your inner source of curiosity and calm presence.
- Expand your capacity to compassionately relate to yourself, allowing you to feel seen, heard, understood, and recognized for your intentions and efforts.
- Access and trust what is essential to you, freeing your creativity and vitality to find your agency.
- Experience a sense of deep emotional closeness and self-acceptance, even when facing criticizing and angry aspects of yourself.
Cultivate emotional balance to find more ease and flow.
- Discover hurts from the past that impact your behavior today, helping you access compassion and new choices.
- Experience in your body what already feels sufficient and satisfying, bringing a sense of calm and inspiration.
- Become curious in the face of frustration, uncertainty and fear as you focus on what your body already knows.
Find clarity, direction, vitality, and agency to create the life you long for.
- Have an embodied understanding of conflicting aspects within yourself, to liberate these forces towards a common direction.
- Make decisions from a broadened perspective rather than an either-or mindset.
- Create respectful boundaries, by saying a full “yes” or “no” from a place of integrity and choice.
Naturally enhance your capacity to cultivate meaningful and close relationships.
- Strengthen your ability to compassionately relate with others from genuine curiosity and conscious choices.
- Become more authentic and emotionally available in your relationships.
- Cultivate empathic understanding, interdependence, mutuality, and companionship to share life’s sorrows and joys.
“One wants to change precisely into oneself, into more oneself than one has been able to be so far.”
Eugene Gendlin
Testimonials
“Through Fernanda’s guidance, I learned to go deeper into listening to myself. Her sensitivity, knowledge, and experience helped me gain self-awareness of my silent pains and unlock my self-love and confidence.”
“I so appreciate the gentleness of your presence. I felt your care for us. I felt that we mattered, and the course mattered. I am noticing that I am showing up in life in a new way now, paying attention to my felt sense of things, touching in with my body, listening for what it holds for me.”
“Your gentleness made this a safe space to venture inward to delicate places. I appreciate your pacing. I think the pacing is part of the gentleness you bring. It was a gift of discovering the spaces inside of me that have so much to show and teach me. I especially appreciate that I found innate knowing and wisdom inside of myself. I felt that it was extremely helpful and empowering.”
“Thank you so very much, Fernanda, for how calmly and gracefully you taught this course. I truly appreciate how you were so affirming of our attempts, questions and statements – highlighting the ability each person has to sense freshly. A combination of spaciousness with clear guidelines provided safety, encouragement, and trust.”
“The real voyage of discovery consists not (only) in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
Marcel Proust
Meet Fernanda Cecin
A Gentle Space arose from my intention to create an environment in which women are received in their fullness, and in their life process of becoming more of themselves.
Embarking on a Journey: Exploring the World
I studied Business Administration in Brazil and Hotel Management in Switzerland. I worked in international hotels around the world for ten years. My initial motivation to leave my home country, Brazil, was to get to know other cultures and connect with diverse people.
Maternity brought me a deep sense of love and responsibility toward my daughters. It inspired me to search for ways to contribute to a society that nurtures our fellow human beings. We have continued exploring the world as a family, moving and adapting to different environments. With each move, I also felt the need to explore my inner world, strengthening my emotional skills to recreate a new life afresh in foreign surroundings.
Exploring the Interconnected Wonders of Our Worlds
Otto Scharmer’s Theory U course on Leading from the Emerging Future expanded my perspective on how, as individuals, we are part of the solutions we long for in our systems. Within a supportive global learning community, I participated in and held spaces for Theory U practices such as Coaching Circles and Social Presencing Theater.
I studied and practiced Non-Violent Communication (NVC) to cultivate meaningful, supportive, and empowering relationships. I began facilitating NVC to further integrate it into my daily life and help others enhance their relational dynamics.
Through NVC I discovered Arnina Kashtan’s methodology, The Compass, an Integrative Roadmap Towards Personal, Familial, and Collective Liberation. I became a certified coach for this life-changing process and have offered one-on-one sessions since then.
Along the way I have encountered Inner Relationship Focusing, a gentle, powerful process that helps me access embodied layers of knowing. I am certified as a Focusing Practitioner and Trainer by Ann Weiser Cornell and accredited by The International Focusing Institute.
What I live and work for is to expand women’s ability to gently relate to the nuances of their inner experiences. I believe that when we feel deeply heard and understood, movement forward arises naturally.
I believe in the subtle, powerful transformation that occurs from within and paves the way for a journey of inner connection and personal fulfillment. From the integrity of our being we can contribute, with our uniqueness, to the life of others.