The Hoffman Podcast

Walt Hubis is a man who wears many hats. But more than this, Walt is someone who always considers how the work he does can be part of the solution to mend our world. One hat Walt wears is that of Sound Engineer for the Hoffman Podcast. It’s because of Walt’s generosity and engineering skills that our podcast sounds great. He donates his time to support Love’s Everyday Radius. By trade, Walt is an engineer and an artist. He is the father of two daughters, a grandfather, and the husband of  Hoffman teacher and coach, Jo Mattoon. At the suggestion of his therapist at the time, Walt completed a vision quest first, prior to doing the Hoffman Process. He shares that the vision quest first helped him to really free up his intellect so he could get more out of the Process. Walt started out in photography at nine years old when he discovered his grandfather’s photography equipment. He’s always had this ‘yin and yang’ of art and engineering playing out in him. We all benefit from his joy of both with his work on our podcast. Walt is responsible for the amazing sound quality of our podcast, as well as the intro music that he composes to complement each guest’s conversation. Walt gives us some insight into what it’s like to be married to a Hoffman teacher. Together, both Walt and Jo want to work to create a better world as a couple – extending their love’s everyday radius. Walt holds down the home while Jo travels to lead the Hoffman Process. This way they both feel they are tending to the betterment of our world. More About Walt Hubis Walt and Jo live in the Denver Colorado area. He is a father to two daughters. Walt works for Micron Technology as a computer storage security architect. He enjoys producing electronic music and provides audio recording and editing services for the Hoffman Institute, including engineering for this Hoffman podcast. Walt has worked as a professional photographer, earning his Electrical Engineering degree while working as a photographer for Colorado State University. His work includes travel photography of Europe and the US Southwest. Most recently he has been working on completing a photo essay of the prairie and the Sandhills of western Nebraska. Learn more about Walt’s photography, and his creativity and technology work. As mentioned in this episode Hoffman Couple’s Retreat Las Animas Institute   https://media.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/content.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/Sharon_and_Walt_Hubis_Podcast_Take_2.mp3

Paula and Tim Floyd are both graduates of the Hoffman Process. What’s it like to be a couple who’ve both done the Process? Listen in as Paula and Tim Floyd share their experiences of the Process, and of life together, post-Process. Paula was first to attend the Process about three years ago. When she returned home, Tim saw an immediate shift in Paula’s presence and vulnerability. Six months later, Tim did his Process. Now, a few years post-Process, Paula shares that she had no idea that life could be so beautiful. Tim shares how he now connects with his Spiritual Self on a daily basis, a relationship he used to long for when he saw it in others. While their childhood stories are different in many ways, their Process experiences of forgiveness share a similar theme. To experience true forgiveness for their mothers, both Paula and Tim needed to acknowledge and feel the anger they held inside. Once acknowledged, fully felt, and released, the anger became a doorway into deep and abiding forgiveness. Paula and Tim recently moved to Bend Oregon. They live there with daughter Sally, daughter-in-law Mackenzie, and puppy Bean. MORE ABOUT PAULA & TIM FLOYD After her extensive career in the beauty industry, Paula realized she had the formula that would benefit so many companies. She founded Headkount, an outsourced national field organization for beauty brands, inspired by her mentors, employees, colleagues, recruiters, customers, and even her competitors. Headkount is a consumer-driven, cost-effective, and fast way to improve brand awareness, increase brick-and-mortar sales, and grow at scale. As Headkount CEO, Paula’s favorite part of working in beauty is being in the field, hands-on with her sales team and customers. Paula is bringing her spirituality and influence to the beauty industry. Found out more about Paula here.  Tim grew up middle-class in Belmont CA. When his parents divorced when he was eight, he lived back and forth between his Mom’s house and his Dad’s house with little supervision. Tim played sports through grade school and high school. Then, realizing he didn’t have the discipline to continue college/ sports at a higher level, he joined the Navy at nineteen. Looking back, he sees the Military as the best thing that could have happened to him. It gave him the structure he was lacking at home. Tim excelled in training and his job as an aircraft mechanic and Naval Flight Engineer. He received multiple awards for carrying out combat missions during the gulf war and other conflicts. Tim and Paula met while Tim was on deployment. Soon after, he began his career in the mortgage business. Tim recently opened a mortgage branch in his new home in Central Oregon for his company. His goals are to help as many people as possible become homeowners. He also returned to civilian flight school and now has his pilot’s license. Follow Tim on Instagram. Mentioned in this Episode: Coping With a Parent’s Suicide Left Road/Right Road Visualization The Hoffman App!   https://media.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/content.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/Drew_and_The_Floyds_Podcast.mp3

Virgil Roberson came to the Hoffman Process just one month before he was to be married. One month later, Virgil broke into a spontaneous song while saying his wedding vows. The Process was profoundly transformative for Virgil. There, he released his song, and also found his joy, laughter, and generously compassionate presence. Listen in as Virgil shares his childhood story of trauma with vulnerability and an open heart. Virgil was adopted at three weeks old. In his adoptive family, he experienced the family disease of alcoholism, which also included infidelity and keeping secrets. The Process supported him in not holding back from finally releasing the pain of his childhood. Now, Virgil says he is able to truly be present with his clients in a way he was not able to be prior to the Process. How did this happen? While at the Process, he was finally able to be truly present with himself. In a moment of this episode, Virgil recounts what it feels like to connect with an open heart full of love to people you have only just met. It’s the feeling of “I see you and I love you.” You don’t want to miss the power of this moment. More about Virgil Roberson Virgil Roberson, M.Div., L.P., and NCPsyA Executive Director, is a New York state-licensed and certified Psychoanalyst, Psychotherapist, Couples Counselor, and Group Psychotherapist. He holds a Master of Divinity in Psychiatry and Religion from Union Theological Seminary. He also trained at the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis. Virgil has been in private practice for over 30 years. In his practice, he works with individuals, couples, and groups to resolve complex life circumstances. Virgil has expertise in working with addiction, relationship and marital problems, and divorce. He also treats people struggling with anxiety and depression, adoption issues, and difficulties in the workplace. Virgil helps people gain clarity about and diminish the obstacles in their lives that may be impeding growth and fulfillment. In his work, Virgil’s awareness, guidance, and compassion allow people to transform and heal. As mentioned in this episode Open vs Closed Adoptions Keeping Secrets The Lion King: The Circle of Life On the Street Where You Live https://media.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/content.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/Drew_and_Virgil_Roberson_Podcast_Take_2.mp3

Marlene McNab is our guest this week. Many years before Marlene came to the Process, she found sobriety. She came to see, though, that her underlying intergenerational trauma still needed to be healed. Her work at the Hoffman Process profoundly supported this healing. After the Process, Marlene felt she had “mended a broken link in her family chain.” A Nêhiýawak (Plains Cree) member of the George Gordon First Nation, Marlene learned about the Hoffman Process from a health store magazine. She saw the Hoffman Quadrinity symbol and became curious about it. It appealed to her because of her Indigenous background and how they use the Medicine Wheel. Subsequently, she found it easier to relate to the Process work through this similarity. Marlene attended an Indian Residential School, as did her mother and grandmother. With deep compassion, Marlene shares the painful truth about the horrors of these institutions and the pain they have caused for generations of Indigenous peoples. One of the most profound processes she had to heal was learning how to grieve because “this grief is real.” Marlene adds, “It’s a living energy I need to consistently release.” Photo by David Stobbe / StobbePhoto.ca More About Marelene McNab: Marlene McNab teaches Indigenous Social Work at the First Nations University of Canada in Regina, Saskatchewan. Her personal and professional paths have culminated in a desire to share what she has experienced in her healing process and in the reclaiming and remembering of her Nêhiýawak (Plains Cree) identity. Currently, a Ph.D. candidate at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, Marlene’s research focuses on studying the recovery process from intergenerational trauma and addictions. She’s also developing a recovery-oriented framework for substance use interventions. In her 30-year career as a community-based trauma therapist and professor of Indigenous social work, Marlene has witnessed first-hand the impacts of historical trauma in Canada’s Indigenous communities. As a result, she has been steadfast in helping others break intergenerational cycles, create awareness, and heal trauma responses. As mentioned in this episode The Medicine Wheel and The Four Directions Canadian Residential Schools History of the Nêhiýawak (Plains Cree) First Nations University of Canada in Regina, Saskatchewan  

Jason-Aeric Huenecke is our guest this week. He did the Hoffman Process in July of 2005 and tells us the remarkable, profound, and lasting effect on him. He shares that through his work as a Homeopathic Practitioner and Spiritual Director, the effect of the Process has ‘cascaded like nectar‘ to the world around him and continues to ‘nourish’ the people he works with. As a result of doing the Process, Jason-Aeric now has a joy for living and the courage to be himself. This wasn’t always the case. Jason-Aeric shares that he was not a typical child but was misunderstood and feared by his peers. He was verbally and physically assaulted at school. As he grew older, he began to try to understand why these things were happening to him, why he was caught in this cycle. He explored this through the lens of his religious upbringing as well as Tibetan Buddhism. Eventually, someone told him about the Hoffman Process. Jason-Aeric shares that in his work as the co-founder of his Classical Homeopathy training program, he and his fellow co-founder say, “The first remedy is love.” MORE ABOUT JASON-AERIC HUENECKE Jason-Aeric is a thriving Classical Homeopathic Practitioner and Astrologer who works with a sense of curiosity, wonder, and gratitude for the cosmos. His mastery of two different and profound healing arts was possible because he began studying at a very early age. Mystically inclined as a child, he loved nature, art, and creative play. He read everything he could find regarding mythology, world religions, and a variety of spiritual traditions. The concept of the Field, the Vital Force of the cosmos, and the interconnectivity of all beings and the cosmos absolutely thrilled him. In March 2021, Jason-Aeric co-founded the Prometheus Homeopathic Institute, a Classical Homeopathy training program. He is the Lead Faculty for their training program based on the Spiral Learning Theory, Growth Mindset, and the healing power of the Life Force. In addition, Jason-Aeric is also the Principal Investigator in The Field Provings. He works with an international team researching substances that are prepared as homeopathic medicines to heal the sick. Jason-Aeric is a Hoffman Institute Graduate Group leader for the Twin Cities in Minnesota. He lives and works in Stillwater, Minnesota. As mentioned in this episode Homeopathy Tibetan Buddhism Stillwater Lift Bridge Hoffman Graduate Group Leader If you’d like more information about becoming a Hoffman graduate community leader, please contact us at 415-485-5220 (or 800-506-5253) or email gradsupport@hoffmaninstitute.org.   https://media.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/content.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/Drew_and_Jason_Aeric_Podcast.mp3

Tim Harjo, General Manager of KNMQ Television in Albuquerque, NM, is our guest today. Tim’s vision is to amplify Native voices into the mainstream conversation around how we live with each other and with Mother Earth. He sees Native voices as a voice for how to live more sustainably and beneficially with our Earth. Tim did his Process as part of Hoffman Institute’s Leadership Path while a student at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. The Institute worked with the Kennedy School to support graduate students from around the world to deepen their leadership capacities. Tim found the Process to be life-changing. He says, “as great as an experience Harvard was for me personally, it was even better because of Hoffman.” Tim is a member of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe. As a child, he was a student at an Indian Boarding school, as were other members of his family. The Process helped him heal the pain of his past. The tools Tim discovered at the Process have helped him stay on track toward the positive outcomes he set for his life. Tim works with Raz Ingrasci, Hoffman teacher and founder, to help broadcast the powerful benefits of the Process to other Native Americans. More About Tim Harjo Tim earned a B.S. degree in Management from Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. His Juris Doctorate is from Arizona State University. Tim received his Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge. Before his current role at KNMQ, Tim was the Director of the Central New Mexico Community College as the Small Business Development Center. Tim also served as the Chairman of Prairie Band LLC, a tribally-owned economic development company of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. For several years, Tim was an Adjunct Professor in the College of Business and Economics Marketing Department, at California State University, Northridge. Tim has served on various government and non-profit boards, commissions, and working groups. These include the National Race and Ethnicity Advisory Committee for the US Census Bureau Department of Commerce from 2012 to 2016. These groups and organizations all serve American Indian and Alaska Native economic development, education, and healthcare issues. As Mentioned in This Episode KNMQ Television Fort Sill Apache Tribe Native American Boarding Schools: Native American History & Culture: Boarding Schools Unspoken: America’s Native American Boarding Schools US to review Native American boarding schools’ dark history Hoffman’s Leadership Program at Harvard Harvard Kennedy School of Government    

Oliveyah Fisch, Health and Life Coach, is our guest this week. Listen in as she shares how the Hoffman Process brought her the serious change she was longing for. Before the Process, Oliveyah (also known as Liv) tells us she didn’t know how to take responsibility for how her life was going to unfold. She was waiting for someone else to fix things and she would often blame others rather than step up herself. Through the work of the Process, Oliveyah learned how to listen to her Spirit and lean into her courage. One of Oliveyah’s big AHAs at the Process revolved around exercise. Oliveyah grew up in a martial arts studio that her father owned. She tells us she learned how to make a proper fist to punch before she learned her ABCs. Oliveyah’s career was in fitness before she attended the Process. When she was told she could not exercise while there, she agreed to follow the rules. Very quickly she realized she’d been using exercise to solve nearly every problem in her life. This was a huge breakthrough for her and it now informs how she coaches her clients. After launching her fitness career in 2005, she now runs one of the most successful health and coaching businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area. MORE ABOUT OLIVEYAH FISCH Oliveyah has a Master’s in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from the University of California. She is an accredited performance enhancement specialist and certified personal trainer through NASM. A certified yoga instructor through the Yoga Alliance Association, she is also certified in health and life coaching through both the CHEK Institute and Health Coach Institute. Oliveyah has helped hundreds of people transform their lives and achieve lasting change through healthy habits and fostering joy.  She works with many corporate partners, including Forager Project, YouTube, SalesForce, Allbirds, and Google. She also holds small group and 1:1 coaching year-round inspiring people to amplify their life and LIV Empowered. In 2020, she received the achievement and service award from Kaboom Coaching. Discover more about Oliveyah. Follow Oliveyah on Instagram.   https://media.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/content.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/Sharon_and_Oliveyah_Fisch_Podcast.mp3

This is a beautiful episode with Ethan Sawyer, a nationally recognized college essay expert. Ethan is able to articulate things that are often hard to put into words. It makes sense he would be an expert at helping students to do just that. People come to the Hoffman Process for many different reasons. Ethan didn’t have a thing he was particularly struggling with and didn’t feel particularly blocked. He came because he “was ready.” Ethan was really excited to dig deep into himself. He came wanting to learn about himself and as he shares, he “certainly did.” As he tells Sharon, Ethan finds the students he works with also often wish to dig deeper into the question of who they really are. At the time of the Process, Ethan and his wife had a new six-month-old baby. Ethan shares that he had been making his living as more of an artist in the past, but had just begun his new journey of entrepreneurship. As you listen to Ethan, you’ll hear how the artist in him is a big part of his successful company. As is true with so many of our guests, Ethan’s story shows how the thread of one’s Spiritual Self runs through our lives in ways we can often only see in hindsight. MORE ABOUT ETHAN SAWYER Ethan Sawyer is the author of the Amazon bestsellers College Essay Essentials and College Admission Essentials. Each year he and his team reach more than one million students and counselors through the College Essay Guy blog, online pay-what-you-can courses, workshops, books, and one-on-one work. When you peruse The College Essay Guy website, you find resources (many free) for students, parents, and counselors. Much of what Ethan and his team offer are on a pay-what-you-can basis. As he explains to Sharon, a goal of his work is to not only make a living but to also expand his reach so that more students (and parents) get the help they need during such an important right of passage in their lives. Raised in Spain, Ecuador, and Colombia, Ethan has studied at seventeen different schools and has worked as a teacher, curriculum writer, voice actor, community organizer, and truck driver. A graduate of Northwestern University, Ethan holds an MFA from UC Irvine and lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife and their amazing daughter. AS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Writing a Personal Statement Performance Studies Degree Cornerstone Theater Company   https://media.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/content.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/Sharon_and_Ethan_Sawyer_Podcast_Take_2.mp3

Hope Edelman, a 2015 graduate, credits the Hoffman Process with changing the course of her life. She’s traversed much heartache and loss in her life and she’s been a guiding light to many others who have traversed the same. As Hope shares the tale of her life journey, you can’t help but see the throughline of her life. When Hope was seventeen her mother passed away. After that day, Hope had always sensed that part of her was stuck back at that point. During a transformational moment at the Process, she took the hand of her seventeen-year-old self and walked her into the future so she could be an integrated adult. One of the beautiful statements Hope makes about her life is her shift from wanting to be exceptional to wanting to be helpful. In guiding others through the landscape of loss, Hope has greatly expanded the reach of her love’s everyday radius. As Hope shares what she’s up to now, she shares with us the power of the liminal* space. When we are between what has ended and what has yet to begin, between what we knew and what we are yet to know, we are more our essential selves than at any other time. Rather than fear these times, we can come to see how alive and vital we are in them. MORE ABOUT HOPE EDELMAN Hope Edelman has been writing, speaking, and leading retreats and workshops in the bereavement field for more than 25 years. She was 17 when she lost her mother to breast cancer and 40 when her father died, an event that inspired her to offer grief education and support to those who need it now and especially those who did not receive it in the past. Hope’s first book, Motherless Daughters, became a #1 New York Times Bestseller. Her newest book, The AfterGrief, offers an innovative new way to talk about the long arc of loss. She has written six additional books, including Motherless Mothers and the memoir, The Possibility of Everything. Hope holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a graduate degree in nonfiction writing from The University of Iowa. She is a certified Martha Beck Life Coach who helps clients revisit and revise their life stories. As mentioned in this episode *Liminal/Liminality   https://media.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/content.blubrry.com/the_hoffman_podcast/Sharon_and_Hope_Edelman_Podcast_Take_3.mp3

Taylor Gardner is a passionate person with a big heart who feels deeply. In this episode, she vulnerably shares how she navigated the Process with so much passion. Taylor describes herself as a driven, compassionate, and goal-oriented entrepreneur. The focus of her work in the world changed when she found herself frustrated with the lack of resources and limited opportunities for her sister Lindsay and Lindsay’s peers. Lindsay has Downs Syndrome. As a young adult just out of school, there were few opportunities awaiting Lindsay. Taylor decided to do something about it. In April of 2017, she planted the seeds of The Garden Foundation – a non-profit that serves those with disabilities. The story of Taylor’s Process is also one of deep grief. During the Process, Taylor was able to fully grieve her father’s death. Through her deep work there, she found a sense of peace for the first time since her father’s passing. She allowed herself to ‘go to that place’ we both fear and long for because we know we will find healing there. More about Taylor Gardner: Taylor is the Founder and CEO of both  The Garden Foundation and Tribe Inclusive. The Garden Foundation supports and enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing a place of education, inspiration, independence, and inclusion. Tribe Inclusive is a national online learning platform. Taylor has served on boards for the Down Syndrome Organization of Southern Nevada and the Young Professional Board for Opportunity Village. She’s also served as the Inclusion Officer for Local for All. Taylor also managed the Las Vegas Learning Program for the Down Syndrome Organization of Southern Nevada, a supplemental educational program for children with Down Syndrome. Taylor, through The Garden Foundation LV, founded World Inclusion Day on October 10th. She continues to provide a place of inspiration, education, independence, and inclusion* for those with different abilities and their families. The National Association of Women Business Owners in Southern Nevada recognized Taylor as a ‘Woman of Distinction.’ She currently serves on the Nevada Governor’s Council for Developmental Disabilities. As mentioned in this episode: What is Down’s Syndrome? If you’re wondering how to relate to kids/people with special needs or disabilities: How to Help Your Child Relate to Kids With Special Needs Just Say Hi: Communicating Effectively with People Who Have Disabilities Video: How to not be awkward when interacting with those with disabilities. Symptoms & Stages of Grief * Inclusion: “Inclusion is bigger than just disabilities. It’s accepting and celebrating differences of cultures, backgrounds, races, sexes, religions, and differences in perspectives.”