The Interval Institute is the container for the work developed by its founder and current facilitator, in collaboration with trusted colleagues.

It was created to hold a particular approach to learning and human development - work that combines presence, psychological clarity, and the lived moment.

The purpose is simple and direct: to offer adults a grounded way to engage with themselves and with pressure without turning life into performance or self-management.

The work has grown out from many years of group work, observation and collaboration.

On the Facilitator

I am the founder and current facilitator of The Interval Institute. My work is simple in spirit: I point adults to the moment where experience becomes clear again. I trust the presence and intelligence already alive in each person. People come from all walks of life, and my role is to offer what helps - meeting them in ways that open perspective gently, so that clarity grows, step by step, at a natural pace.

How I work

I focus on what is at hand.

I don’t push for breakthroughs or demand sharp changes; I help people build clarity in the way real life allows - gradually, honestly, and with respect to their own rhythm.

Much of the work comes from meeting experience without rushing to manage it. From there choices become clearer, and people feel truer and more aligned with what matters most to them.

The work is not withdrawal it is Engagement

We are not aiming to step away from life but entering it more clearly. We look at how thinking, sensing and meaning come together in real situations - in work, pressure, relationships, responsibility, and the ordinary.

Who this work is for

This work is for adults who want more keel in the way they live - a steadiness that comes not through force, but lived understanding.

People come from many walks of life: professionals under pressure, leaders, clinicians, artists, parents with full lives, and those who simply want to feel more themselves again.

The common thread is not age or background, but a wish to meet life without the constant strain of self-management.

The appeal is to relate to one’s own thoughts, emotions, decisions, and responsibilities in a quieter, more honest way - and to enter one’s life more fully, not to step away from it.

What has shaped my work?

My work is grounded in a long practice of organizing teaching for adults, supporting people under pressure, and working within complex professional environments.

I hold n M.Sc. in International Marketing and Management from the Copenhagen Business School, a PgCert from Grenoble École De Management, and I am a licensed securities broker in Iceland.

For eleven years I served as the Assistant Director of an adult education center, and for years I ran motivational and development programs as a contractor for The Icelandic Directorate of Labor. I have had leadership roles in public life, including serving as a chairman of the executive committee of a major political party - that was portrayed in micro form as a side factor in two documentaries.

I have studied coaching and several other applied methods, but the deepest influence on my work has come from long-term exposure to group processes and to thoughtful teachers. I had the privilege of attending two week-long retreats with the Consciousness Research and Training Program (CRTP) taught by Michael Bova, Kathy Stillson, and Caroline Katz.
The CRTP was founded by Lawrence LeShan, whose clarity, human warmth, and practical approach left a lasting imprint on how I think about learning and the moment- to-moment meeting with experience.
So did the teaching of Þorvaldur Þorsteinsson the Icelandic artist and playwright.

All these experiences - academic, professional and personal - have shaped the way I work: directly, usually rather quietly, and with respect for the intelligence already present in each person.

Warm regards,

Finnur Þ. Gunnþórsson

Founder & Facilitator, The Interval Institute

If you’ve encountered older media coverage and want context, I’ve written a brief personal note you can read here.