ABSTRACT
There are some obvious historical reasons why it has been strategically important that people band together. The contact boundary is a pivotal concept in gestalt therapy theory, and it is a foundational condition for belonging. This boundary is the point at which each person meets otherness. The creation of contact is most clearly transformed into belonging when a group connectedness is involved. The move beyond the person-to-person union brings us to the second innate basis for belonging: the figure/ground relationship. Psychotherapy has flourished in individuality-oriented countries and has itself commonly accentuated the importance of the individual. The Life Focus Community group contributes to the union of individuality and belonging through the high focus and personal drama induced by its exercises. The role of communal exercises is remindful of the role of prayer in the religious format. Prayer is a special brand of communication, one that imagines God as a common listener whose attention is available to the entire community.
