The Hoffman Podcast S8e8: Dr. Dan Siegel – A Rabbit, Doe, & Fawn Become Partners in Transformation
You’re most likely familiar with Dr. Dan Siegel and his pioneering work to understand the mind and help us live more joyfully. You probably aren’t familiar with his childhood story in which his joy and innocence set in motion the death of something he dearly loved.
When Dan arrived at the Hoffman Process retreat site and stepped out of his car, he was immediately greeted by one of the rabbits who lives on the over 180 acres there. When he saw this rabbit, an array of feelings and sensations swept through his body. A few days later, as Dan’s Process was well underway, a fawn and its mother would open the door wider into the deep work of Dan’s Process.
The Hoffman Process offers a science-based, courageous week of transformation. It’s a week of experiential learning incorporating everything, including the land and everything alive. It opens the door to what Dan calls “the plane of possibility,” also referred to as Love by Dan. With one foot in the practical science and the other in the world that opens us to the spiritual aspects of our nature, we step into the possibility and opportunity to heal what has often followed us nearly our entire lives.
In this nearly-an-hour conversation, Dan shares his journey of studying the mind and the results and insights of his decades of research and practice with his clients. Drew, our host, and Hoffman teacher Marc Kaplan join in for this amazing conversation. Marc was Dan’s teacher at the Process and together they share insights into much of what transpired for Dan. Dan’s deeply delightful and joyful qualities thread their way through this conversation. What a gift.
More about Dr. Dan Siegel:
Dr. Dan Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. He is also the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute, which focuses on the development of mindsight and teaches insight, empathy, and integration in individuals, families, and communities.
Dr. Siegel has published extensively for both the professional and lay audiences. His five New York Times bestsellers are: Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence, Mind: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human, Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain, and two books with Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D.: The Whole-Brain Child, and No-Drama Discipline. His other books include Personality and Wholeness in Therapy (coming November 2024), IntraConnected, The Developing Mind, The Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology, Mindsight, The Mindful Brain, The Mindful Therapist, and Becoming Aware. He’s also written The Yes Brain and The Power of Showing Up with Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D. Parenting from the Inside Out with Mary Hartzell, and NowMaps with Deena Margolin, LMFT, and NowMaps, Jr.
Dr. Siegel also serves as the Founding Editor for the Norton Professional Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology, which currently contains over 80 textbooks.
For more information about his educational programs and resources, please visit, DrDanSiegel.com and MindsightInstitute.com. Follow Dr. Siegel on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
More about Marc Kaplan:
Marc’s life purpose is to support people in finding and using their authentic voice. In addition to teaching the Hoffman Process, Marc is an esteemed music educator, producer, conductor, and coach. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Political Science from The George Washington University.
“The Hoffman methodology is the foundation of my spiritual practice. It helped me discover that I have choices, enabling me to step into my dignity, and live my life from a place of love.”
When Marc first did the Process in 2011, he envisioned being a father, and now he is one. He lives in Westchester County, NY with his wife and two daughters.
As mentioned in this episode:
Consilience
• Edward Osborne Wilson used the term “consilience” to describe the synthesis of knowledge from different specialized fields of human endeavor.
• E. O. Wilson is the author of Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Narrative Scientist
The Role of Narrative in Science
Dr. Siegel brought 40 scientists together to study and discuss the true nature of Mind.
What’s the difference between the brain and mind?
Mental Chaos, Rigidity, and Integration
• Finding Flow Between Chaos and Rigidity
• Exploring Chaos and Rigidity in the Self
Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS)
John O’Donohue, Poet and Philosopher
The Wheel of Awareness
• The Hub Practice
• The Plane of Possibility and Childhood Trauma
Dan’s book about the Process – Soul and Synapse – is not yet published.