The Hoffman Podcast

Jen Davis, beloved Hoffman Process teacher and coach, sits down with Drew to share her journey from a heartbreaking loss to celebrating a whole new life and a brand new love. Jen did the Process in 2016 at White Sulphur Springs. What brought her to the Process was the shocking divorce she was going through due to her soon-to-be-ex husband’s heartbreaking infidelity. Jen was in great pain. She shares that her life at that time felt like a Lifetime movie, but the pain she was feeling was very real. The Process helped Jen turn away from the details of the situation she found herself in and turn toward herself for healing. As she says, it would have been much easier to continue to blame her ex for cheating and getting someone else pregnant. But in her week at the Process, Jen was able to see her part in what had happened and then take responsibility for her own life. Through her deep and dedicated work during the Process, Jen was able to find compassion and forgiveness for both herself and her ex. By the end of the week, she had found her way back to herself and was ready to move on with her life. After leaving the Process, Jen divorced, moved into a new home, and began to live a new life. She decided to start dating again, but this time from an empowered place of joy and self-love. Eventually, she found love, She married her new love, Mitchell, just this past summer. Toward the end of this rich conversation, Jen shares her journey to becoming a Hoffman teacher. Her certification came at a deeply painful time when her father was dying. She was able to share with him that she was a newly certified teacher and share with him the joy she felt in her new life. We hope you enjoy this beautiful conversation with Jen and Drew. Discover more about Jen Davis: Jen lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband (and Hoffman grad), Mitchell, and her dog, Allie. She cultivates joy through hiking, baking, live music, and a regular gratitude and compassion practice. Jen is a Midwesterner at heart, loving anything with cheese and summers on the lake. She is passionate about spiritual and personal growth, animal-assisted therapies, and women’s empowerment. Jen received her Master’s of Clinical Social Work from the University of St. Thomas specializing in youth and families. She worked for five years as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with the Madison Metropolitan School District providing mental health crisis stabilization for youth and families. Jen hopes to continue building her private practice as a Child and Adolescent Therapist. Currently, Jen works as a Hoffman Teacher and Coach, as well as a coordinator of the Hoffman Graduate Group Programs. Jen first attended The Process in 2016 at White Sulphur Springs. As mentioned in this episode: White Sulphur Springs: For over two decades, the Hoffman Process was held in St. Helena at White Sulphur Springs. The retreat site burned in the Glass fire of 2020. The Hoffman Process retreat site was relocated to our current home in Petaluma, CA. Read a love letter from White Sulphur Springs written in the early days of the pandemic. The Peace Garden (forgiveness garden) at White Sulphur Springs Hoffman Faculty: •   Jo Mattoon, Listen to Jo on the Hoffman Podcast •   Crystal Jenkins Hoffman Process Teacher Training Awareness Hell: In awareness hell, we are aware of our patterns and the things we do we wish we didn’t. But we are unable to change. We understand but feel stuck in this place of hell even though our awareness keeps expanding.  Our work to grow and transform must include three additional steps to get out of awareness hell. These three steps are Expression, Compassion, and New Ways of Being. All four make up the Cycle of Transformation. Learn more about Hoffman tools. Attachment Styles and Theory The Golden Gate Bridge    

Attorney, Junior (Elbert) Smith, generously shares his journey to, and at, the Hoffman Process. In doing so, he gives us a view into how patterns and trauma affect how we see ourselves and how we journey through the world. Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of trauma. Please use your discretion. Junior shares his life story beginning with his parents’ journey to a better life taking them from Mississippi to Compton, California. With great fondness, he shares his memories of those early years growing up in Compton. These times were filled with connectedness, community, and joy. In the ’70s, though, things changed in his hometown. There was more discord and violence in his community and he began to take in that trauma. He responded by going more into his schoolwork and joining the ROTC, eventually, years later, graduating from law school. Through the process of sharing his stories, Junior weaves his way to coming to Hoffman. He then takes us to the heart of his time at the Hoffman Process when, in a profound moment, “Spirit was able to enter into him.”  After doing deep, hard work to release the patterns and trauma, he found joy and radiant light. And, as he says, he felt love, real love, for the first time. Junior articulates this profoundly intimate moment of opening to his Spiritual Self in such a way that you can feel the depth of his transformation.  We hope you enjoy this beautiful conversation with Junior and Drew. Discover more about Junior (Elbert) Smith: Elbert Smith, better known as Junior, was born and raised in Hub City, Compton, California.  Junior cultivated grit, resilience, and the dream of a better life while growing up in Compton. His lifelong spiritual journey inward led him to the Hoffman Process, where he was able to heal his intergenerational trauma and reclaim his life and joy.  Junior is a licensed attorney and serves as a senior advisor for a technology company in Southern California. He enjoys caring for his three cats (POTUS 44, Kenya, and Pelusa), reading poetry, learning to play the electric guitar, and his newfound appreciation for nature.  Follow Junior on Instagram. As mentioned in this episode: The South, Mississippi, in the 1950’s Jim Crow Ku Klux Klan Slavery Racism Compton, California, aka Hub City: Compton is known as the “Hub City” because of its position as almost the exact geographical center of Los Angeles County. Changes in Compton during the ’70s Colorism: The brown paper bag test White Supremacy A Near-Life Experience: “We’ve all heard of near-death experiences, but what is a near-life experience? I would define it as a life characterized by distraction, disconnection, and dissatisfaction. It’s a life that doesn’t feel fully lived; a life that we are not completely engaged in and present with; a life that leaves us feeling that something is missing, despite how relentlessly busy we are.” Chris Kresser. Read more…  JROTC – Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps “JROTC offers valuable lessons in leadership, character-building, and citizenship.” read more… Tony Robbins Firewalk Funnel Cake Vania, Coach, and Jeremiah, Therapist The murder of George Floyd Ron Settles Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Janelle Martin, Marriage & Family Therapist, MA, LMFT, | EMDR Reiki EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Philando Castile Modern Elder Academy (MEA) Listen to Chip Conley on the Hoffman Podcast Transitional Intelligence (TQ) – Workshop by MEA on YouTube: Esalen Institute Center for Mindful Self-Compassion Listen to Kristin Neff on the Hoffman Podcast Jazz John Coltrane: “American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.” More about the Hoffman Process as mentioned in this episode: 2-Day Hoffman Essentials Faculty (mentioned by Junior): Danny Kim Barbara Comstock, Listen to Barbara’s story on the Hoffman Podcast Dorothy Holden Ian Salvage, Listen to Ian’s story on the Hoffman Podcast Regina Louise, Listen to Regina’s story on the Hoffman Podcast Dominique Samari, Teacher Candidate Kevin Eyres, Listen to Kevin’s story on the Hoffman Podcast Nita Gage, Listen to Nita’s story on the Hoffman Podcast Liza Ingrasci, Hoffman Institute CEO The Cycle of Transformation: The cycle consists of four steps (see below). Each step is completed in the order of the cycle. Moving through the cycle transforms the pattern from a negative way of being to a new, positive way of being. Process Graduate Groups Hoffman Process Small Group: When you attend the Hoffman Process, you will be part of a small group for the week, within the larger group attending your Process. A Process teacher leads each small group and is the teacher for each person in that small group. Cathartic Release Work (Bashing) Daily Instagram Check-ins: •   Join us on Instagram for a daily Quadrinity Check at 8:00 a.m. PT and an Appreciation & Gratitude practice at 6:00 p.m. PT. Bob Hoffman, Founder of the Hoffman Process Hoffman Teacher Training Program

Technology and finance executive, Carsten Sorensen, had a powerful transformation during his Process in 2014. Over the next five years, Carsten worked diligently to transform his core negative patterns. Using his Process tools and doing the deep work, Carsten was able to profoundly shift his life. The Hoffman Process was recommended to Carsten by his therapist, Rick Hanson. Rick said this was a way to take that last step of moving down from the head to the heart. Carsten shares that he had achieved everything in his life through “pure intellect and raw power.” He would just power through it and get it done.” But in mid-life, he knew this way was no longer working for him. And so, he signed up to attend. A few years after his Process, as a CEO, Carsten began to invite employees to attend the Process to experience their own transformation. He knew for certain that the Hoffman Process is a great leadership development tool. Listen in to hear this powerful, articulate, promising conversation about what it takes to be a great leader and how you go about doing so. Some of the areas that Carsten and Liz discuss are how to create safety at work, how to invite employees to attend the Process without pressuring them, his own journey to become more authentic and vulnerable, what he says are the two most necessary qualities and capabilities as a leader, and how you can’t separate work life and home life if you want to be a great leader and happily successful. Carsten is interested in having a conversation with other leaders on how best to use the Hoffman Process as a leadership development tool in the corporate setting. If you’d like to converse with  Carsten about this, please reach out to him at carsten@xaccorp.com. Discover more about Carsten Sorensen: Carsten Sorensen is a technology and finance executive with a broad background in a variety of industries and extensive European work experience. A former software engineer, he has over 25 years of experience combining Technology, Mergers, Acquisitions, and Finance, as well as a deep operating background in the organizations he works with. Carsten has worked as a senior executive in fast-growing companies, both private and public, and is comfortable balancing the conflicting needs of high-growth and long-term strategy within the organizations he runs. He is a keen steward of a company’s culture and understands its importance for long-term financial and strategic results. Carsten spent a decade as a partner in private equity, where he was a member of the team overseeing portfolio companies. While working in the private equity field, his responsibilities included turnarounds and technology strategy development. Carsten holds a B.S. from the University of California at Berkeley in Business and Finance and lives with his family in San Francisco. Discover more about Carsten on LinkedIn. As mentioned in this episode: University of California at Berkeley “The last foot and a half are always the hardest.” Rick Hanson, Therapist (the distance from the head to the heart.) Lisa Wenger, Hoffman Teacher and Coach, Founder of the Istituto Hoffman Italia, Milan, in 1990. •   Listen to Lisa on the Hoffman Podcast IDEO, a global design company •   Read articles on introverts from IDEO. Hoffman Leadership Path at Harvard Simon Sinek Brené Brown, Professor and Writer

Entrepreneur and Mediator, Sisi Maw Takaki, completed the Hoffman Process in February 2019. As a child of parents who immigrated to the US for a better life, Sisi shares with Sharon how the sacrifice her parents made for her affected her and the patterns it created in her. As Sisi shares, we can both adopt and rebel against our parents’ patterns. For Sisi,  rebellion was how she reacted to her parents’ expectations of her and her future. What really stands out from this conversation, though, is how deep a transformation Sisi made in how she relates to others and to what now brings her happiness. What used to be a more transactional way of relating transformed into relationships that are based upon mutual dignity and equality. When meeting new people, Sisi now consciously listens and wonders what larger force has brought them together. When she meets people, she now wonders, “How can we help each other?” In the spirit of Love’s Everyday Radius, the name of our podcast, Sisi became a mediator as a way to bring this new relational way of being into her work and her life. She no longer defines success in the same way. Rather than trying to find happiness through material things and financial success, she now finds it through serving others and relating to fellow human beings through her heart. Sisi speaks so beautifully of her experience of work through this new way of human-to-human relationship. More about Sisi Takaki: Sisi Maw Takaki is an Entrepreneur with a few businesses. She is a Residential Real Estate Broker in Hawaii, a Real Estate Investor in Hawaii and on the Mainland, and a Mediator and Founder of Mindful Mediation Matters (M3). Everyone has a story and here’s Sisi’s in her words: “Sisi was born in Myanmar and immigrated to the East Coast in the late 70s and grew up in a household with two parents who were both Physicians. They worked long hours and Sisi was an only child so she stayed at after-school care or was a latchkey kid when she got older. Their family moved from Staten Island, Virginia, to Washington DC, Maryland, and back to NYC where she lived in all the Boroughs except the Bronx. Sisi finally found stability at the United Nations International School in Manhattan. She only applied to one school for college, the State University of NY in Binghamton. She went there after her parents realized Harvard might be a reach for her. Sisi moved to Hawaii one year after she graduated college and met her “wasband” to whom she was married for 17 years. In February 2019, she decided to go to Hoffman because she felt completely empty even though professionally and materially things were better than ever. It was the emptiest existence she had felt and from the outside things were amazing. Her journey to and through Hoffman was really when she felt she started connecting to who she truly is. Sisi wonders how she survived those years of unconsciousness for so long.” You can follow Sisi on Instagram at Mindful Mediation Matters. As mentioned in this episode: Hoffman’s definition of a Surrogate Parent: •   A surrogate parent is somebody who provided significant parental responsibility for you prior to the age of 13. These responsibilities may have included: Providing emotional or physical care Disciplining Providing safety, supervision, or control Being a role model These responsibilities may have been in addition to or in place of the care provided by your birth parent(s). Examples of surrogates can include stepparent, grandparent, relative, nanny, boarding school, significantly older sibling, full-time daycare, live-in partner of parent, etc. •   Read this Hoffman grad’s story about how the Church was a surrogate parent in her life. Pre-Process Homework Packet: •   The homework packet consists of a Confidential Enrollment Agreement and a Pre-Process assignment. A Hoffman enrollment counselor will contact you to explain the required paperwork upon enrollment. You will need to complete these to attend your Process. Gratitude Journal: •   Hoffman’s “What I Know” Gratitude Journal can be purchased here. The Quadrinity Check-In •   Learn more about the Quad-Check and other Hoffman Process tools here. •   Join us on Instagram for a daily Quadrinity Check at 8:00 a.m. PT and an Appreciation & Gratitude practice at 6:00 p.m. PT. The Feelings/Sensations Sheet: •   A full-page sheet of feelings and sensations to help guide you to name the feelings and/or sensations you are experiencing in the moment. (Download here.) Mediation: •   Mediation Center of the Pacific    

Amy Thompson is a beloved Hoffman Teacher and Coach. In today’s episode, she shares her story of recovery, losing her father, the grief she experienced from his loss, and her experience going through cancer treatment while training to become a Hoffman Process teacher. And, really, Amy shares so much more. Listen in as Amy shares about learning she was accepted into the Hoffman teacher training program at the same time she received her cancer diagnosis. She knew she needed to care for both her body and her spirit. With an assured Yes to both, Amy embarked on a powerful journey of healing all of her Quadrinity through chemotherapy infusions and the work of the Process. Amy and Drew talk about the need to be responsible for our lives. One beautiful thing Amy got from the Process was realizing that her patterns were the source of feeling over-responsible for everyone else. By transforming these patterns into a more positive way of being through her work at the Process, she reclaimed her power. With this power, found she could step more fully into what she calls intense self-responsibility for how she shows up in every moment. Amy says, “Hoffman, for me, was not the end of my journey but definitely a huge milestone in my own recovery, in my own kind of recognition for who I am and this whole being able to be a good human.” Hoffman is a part of Amy’s family. Many in her family have done the Process. Amy’s mother-in-law, Nita Gage, is also a Hoffman Process teacher. Listen in as Amy shares so much more of her life and her Hoffman journey. We hope you enjoy this conversation. Discover more about Amy Thompson: Amy Thompson is a gifted and intuitive mentor and coach with over 20 years of experience as a counselor, retreat facilitator, and teacher. She has a passion for guiding people through transformational change with both groups and individuals from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. She holds a BA in Literature from Dominican University. An artist, Amy is also a sacred ceremony designer and public speaker. She brings with her a lifetime of training, teachings, and knowledge from an eclectic background of work in the field of human holistic mental health. She empowers those who work with her with mindful self-compassion and radical acceptance. Amy shares, “I’ve spent my career in service to others, working with adults and children in multiple arenas, including groups, workshops, coaching, and retreats for personal transformation. There is nothing else in the world as satisfying as watching a student/client create the change in their life that they long for and then thrive in it!” Follow Amy on Instagram. As mentioned in this episode: Buddhist term: Not-self/Non-self or Anattā  Recovery: Definitions and more Marin AIDS Project (PDF) Harm Reduction Counseling Harm Reduction Therapy Needle Exchange Program (PDF) Stinson Beach Hoffman Institute Teacher Training Graduate Groups: Hoffman graduate groups are held fairly regularly. The primary purpose of grad groups is for graduates to do their Hoffman tools work together. Each group has a Hoffman-trained volunteer group leader. This leader oversees and leads the programs in alignment with the principles of the Process and Hoffman grad group protocols and standards. Chemotherapy •   Chemo port Nita Gage – Hoffman teacher and Coach Burning Man •   Burning of the Man •   Art Cars Hoffman terminology: Expression and The Cycle of Transformation: The four steps in the cycle are Awareness, Expression, Compassion, and New Ways of Being. All four make up the Cycle of Transformation. Hoffman Tools: •   Vicious Cycle – Patterns don’t just come at us one by one. They are clustered in “vicious cycles,” where one pattern can lead to another and then another, forming this “familiar” sequence of feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Download the PDF found here for more information. •   Victorious Cycle – A cycle of patterns that have been transformed into positive alternatives and a positive cycle.

As a young boy, award-winning artist Darieus Legg came to love the ocean. He grew up on a sailboat, eventually sailing to his new home on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. At the age of nine, Darieus saw his first surfer magazine and the images of surfers reminded him of the dolphins that had followed along his family’s boat. He felt inspired to become a surfer. As time passed, Darieus realized he wasn’t cut out for competitive surfing and began to focus on making art. Eventually, he realized that whatever he was going to be doing needed to be less of “a means to an end” and more of “doing it for its own sake.” With this realization, what began to drive his work were both the pure love of creating and the opportunity to learn more about both making art and himself. Always a sensitive child, Darieus could feel things that seemed really unusual. He tried to toughen up and hide these feelings as he got older but when he was fifteen and his parents divorced, the experience felt ‘life-shattering.’ Later into adulthood, Darieus realized these painful feelings he’d stuffed away were causing him great suffering. Both his work and relationships were suffering, too. It was at this time that Darieus heard about the Hoffman Process from two different sources. What he heard resonated with his experience enough that he enrolled. Darieus had already done many different modalities of deeply spiritual work but they’d mostly been rooted in a solitary practice. For Darieus, being in a community during his Process was deeply healing. We hope you enjoy this animated, soulful conversation with Darieus and Liz. Discover more about Darieus Legg: Darieus Legg is an award-winning artist in five different disciplines of filmmaking. He creates live-action documentaries that use his hand-drawn 2D animations. His animated characters Uncle Wally and Aunty Mai play a vital role in educating the audience. As the featured artist in the 2023 Hawaiʻi International Film Festival, Darieus created the poster, key art, and trailer that plays before every film. His recent short film, Stoker Machine, serves as a proof of concept for asking people what makes them Stoked, and sharing the response through film and animation. Darieus creates aspirational content that explores human ingenuity, creativity, and resilience. He’s directed and executively produced Telly and AAF Gold award-winning content. His work has covered feature film, live-action documentary, commercial, professional learning, and animation. Darieus is the featured artist at this year’s Hawaiʻi International Film Festival. This festival runs from Oct 12-22 on O‘ahu – through Nov 5 on neighboring islands,  Half Persian and half Irish, Darieus Legg grew up on a sailboat and on the big island of Hawaiʻi. Under the tutelage of Shane Dorian, Darieus excelled in surfing and competed professionally until he transitioned from surfing full-time to filmmaking in his early twenties. Next, he spent a decade in Hollywood learning from the best storytellers in the world. Still an avid surfer, he loves learning about and being in the ocean. He also loves reading and the magic of the movies. Find out more about Darieus through his website and follow him on Instagram.   As mentioned in this episode: Stoker Machine, Darieus’ film. Professional Surfing: •   World Surf League •   The history and meaning of Stoked: “So, when you hear an action sports enthusiast saying, “I’m stoked!” it means he/she is excited, euphoric, thrilled, ecstatic, exhilarated, pleased, delighted, exultant, happy, and overjoyed. According to surf historians, the expression became fashionable in California in the 1950s. A bit like the shaka, the “stoke” is strongly linked with surfers and wave riders.” •   Surfing Magazine •   Skegs (skags/fins on the surfboard) •   Shane Dorian, Big Wave Surfer •   World Tour Qualifying Series Big Island Hawai’i – Island of Hawaiʻi The Billabong House on the North Shore – tour with Shane Dorian Dolphins: Everything you need to know United States Merchant Marine Vietnam War The Vietnam anti-war movement Persians of Iran Minimalism (the ’80s) John Grisham, Author •   The Firm •   The Pelican Brief Illustration/Animation New Age Seth Speaks, by Jane Roberts Firewalking on coals TM – Transcendental Meditation Ashtanga Yoga Vipassana Meditation Dzogchen Tim Ferris podcast with Blake Mycoskie of TOMS shoes Neil Strauss The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships Listen to Neil on the Hoffman Podcast: Healing as a Path of Honor

Certified executive coach and leadership consultant Kristen Esquivias sits down with Sharon for this intimate conversation about deep personal change, difficult times, and inner growth. Personal work offered through the Hoffman Institute invites students to step into real change in their lives.  Wholeheartedly accepting this invitation, Kristen dove into the transformation awaiting her. She has done both the Hoffman Essentials course (2020) and the Hoffman Process (2021). Patterns of perfectionism can be very painful. Kristen describes the heaviness, suffering, and isolation that come from her experience of her perfectionist patterns. They can make life painful and lonely. She shares with us a moment during her Process when she realized that all of her patterns were completely absent. In those moments, she experienced freedom and a profound sense of possibility. Now embodied, Kristen carries this experience forward in her work with clients. Kristen shares how her work in both Hoffman Essentials and the Hoffman Process has helped her navigate the big changes she’s been through over the past three years. These changes have included her parents moving away, her divorce, the pandemic, her kids doing school at home through Covid, and setting out on a new career path as an entrepreneur. She also shares a somatic ritual she uses to bring herself back to the present moment, to give herself comfort and touch, and to give her a sense of belonging and rootedness. We hope you enjoy this insightful episode with Kristen and Sharon. Discover more about Kristen Esquivias: Kristen Esquivias is a certified executive coach and leadership consultant. She has nearly 15 years of experience in Strategy and Analytics roles in Corporate Retail in the SF Bay Area. She now works with individuals, teams, and organizations on personal growth, leadership development, and team dynamics. Kristen draws upon a variety of modalities to support her clients in leading and living a more fully expressed version of their authentic selves. She guides them as they upgrade their inner operating system in support of their growth and expansion. Kristen has an uncanny ability to create a compassionate, safe space for her clients. She brings levity to the depths and fullness of the human experience. She holds deep reverence for the sacred inner work her clients courageously navigate on their journey toward achieving their goals, vision, and greater impact in their world. A mom of two, Kristin is also a certified yoga teacher, a self-proclaimed personal growth junkie, a beach lover, and a sunset chaser. She values connection, authenticity, and growth. Kristen holds a Master’s and an Undergraduate degree in Statistics. She also has a minor in Psychology. She is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the ICF. She’s received certifications from the Coactive Training Institute and the Institute for Coaching Mastery. Kristen is also trained in the Enneagram and Leadership Circle 360 assessment. Find out more about Kristen and her work, here. Follow Kristen on Instagram. As mentioned in this episode: 2-Day Hoffman Essentials (H. E.) In this live virtual 2-day Hoffman Essentials program, Hoffman teachers will guide you through experiential activities, individual assignments, and engaging discussions to bring more understanding, love, and aliveness to your life. Become aware of and dismantle the barriers that stand in the way of living your best life. (Please note: This program is for people who have not participated in the Hoffman Process.) The experiences and learning from this program are designed to provide useful tools and practices that you can carry with you for a lifetime. Find out more here. Inner Child Work The Hoffman Quadrinity Process® helps participants identify negative behaviors, moods, and ways of thinking that developed unconsciously and were conditioned in childhood. Working with a Hoffman Coach Hoffman Life Coaches are certified, experienced Hoffman Process teachers. You can work with a Hoffman coach you already know or someone new. Hoffman terminology: Positive Legacy: The positive gifts we receive from our parents. Read a post on our blog that speaks to the power of positive legacy. Awareness Hell: In awareness hell, we know we are aware of our patterns. We’re aware of the things we do that we wish we didn’t do. Yet, we are still unable to change. We understand but feel stuck in this place of hell even though our awareness keeps expanding.  To get out of awareness hell, our work to grow and transform must include three additional steps for change to take place. These three steps are Expression, Compassion, and New Ways of Being. All four make up the Cycle of Transformation.  

Our guest today, Ezy Finkel, did the Hoffman Process in March of 2023. Ezy shares with us his intimate story of recovery from addiction with honesty, humility, and light. Ezy grew up in an Orthodox Jewish community and shares his difficulties living within this community. Eventually, he was asked to leave. Then, years later, he was asked to come back to be a source of healing there. Ezy’s story touches on many points of the human experience and reflects a journey of recovering his true nature, his Spiritual Self. His family had a strong pattern of perfectionism. During his Process, he discovered that he also rebelled against this pattern, needing to be different. One day at the Process, Ezy discovered a stand of trees on the land. One tree was still bare while the others were evergreen. He realized that he was like that bare tree, that he was uniquely himself. Ezy sees now that he has seasons and that change is ongoing in a human life. One thing Ezy wanted to gain from the Process was rediscovering his playful, fun-loving nature. After his Process when his daughters noticed that he now is like a little kid, he realized that he had gained exactly that. As Ezy shares this story with us, you can hear the love and joy in his voice. Sharing about his life in recovery, Ezy says that his life now with his wife and children is a whole different life and is “chaos-free.” What really stands out is Ezy’s love and humility as he shares about working with others in recovery. Content Warning: This episode mentions substance abuse. Please use your discretion. Discover more about substance abuse at the Substance Abuse Hotline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish,.. Discover more about Ezy Finkel: A creative, friendly, and passionate person, Ezy Finkel is deeply committed to his family, making a positive impact in the world, and conducting business with honesty and integrity. He is a managing member of Gem Consulting Group, a firm specializing in investing in behavioral health real estate and operations. Ezy grew up in Lakewood, NJ, and now lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife and children. He cherishes his family life in which they love to play and engage in various sports activities. Dedicated to making a tangible difference in the lives of those in need, Ezy spends a significant amount of time volunteering at local organizations and utilizing his professional skills to drive positive change. As mentioned in this episode: The Quadrinity Check-In Learn more about the Quad-Check and other Hoffman Process tools here. Join us on Instagram for a daily Quadrinity Check at 8:00 a.m. PT and an Appreciation & Gratitude practice at 6:00 p.m. PT.

Chip Conley, a co-founder of Modern Elder Academy (MEA), joins us today in conversation with Drew. Chip is not a graduate of the Hoffman Process, but the work of MEA and the work of the Process both beautifully support growth and change within. ** (See below for the next community conversation with MEA and Hoffman.) Content warning: This episode mentions suicide. Please use your discretion. If you or someone you know is suicidal, please reach out to The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255), or message the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Listen in as Chip shares his life journey of learning on many levels. In mid-life, Chip’s world was rocked when he lost friends to suicide. He had his own suicidal thoughts. Realizing that the human changes we go through in mid-life are not supported by our culture, he began to consider what humans really need to navigate the twists and turns of life. Out of this, Modern Elder Academy was born. In his exploration of mid-life, elderhood, and growing wisdom, Chip has come to see that the ultimate spirituality is one that “actually helps you to show up with the most humanity in this lifetime.” Our humanity can be deepened and ripened through life if we engage in an exploration of and conversation in an understanding of our own spiritual nature. As Chip wisely says, wisdom isn’t taught, it’s shared. **While the vast majority of our guests are Process graduates, we occasionally host experts in other modalities of healing that align with the work of the Process. Join Chip in conversation with Liza and Raz Ingrasci: Chip, along with Liza and Raz Ingrasci of the Hoffman Institute, hosted another live event – a community conversation with MEA and the Hoffman Institute. These conversations offer insights and powerful approaches for deepening our spirituality and humanity. Please watch the replay here.  Discover more about Chip Conley: Chip Conley is on a midlife mission. After disrupting the hospitality industry twice, first as the founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, the second-largest operator of boutique hotels in the U.S., and then as Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy, leading a worldwide revolution in travel, Conley co-founded MEA (Modern Elder Academy) in January 2018 in Baja California, Mexico. Inspired by his experience of intergenerational mentoring as a ‘modern elder’ at Airbnb, where his guidance was instrumental to the company’s extraordinary transformation from a fast-growing start-up to the world’s most valuable hospitality brand, MEA is the world’s first ‘midlife wisdom school’ and has a campus opening on a 2,600-acre regenerative horse ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico in early 2024. Dedicated to reframing the concept of aging, MEA supports students to navigate midlife with a renewed sense of purpose and possibility. A New York Times bestselling author, Conley’s 7th book “Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age” is about rebranding midlife to help people understand the upside of this often-misunderstood life stage and he was asked to give a 2023 TED talk on the “midlife chrysalis.” Discover more about Chip here. Follow Chip on Instagram and LinkedIn; and follow MEA on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Mentioned in this episode: Three founders of Airbnb Blake Mycoskie, MEA Faculty Lynne Twist, MEA Faculty Liza Ingrasci, CEO Hoffman Institute Foundation Esalen Institute Omega Institute Blue Spirit, Costa Rica Kripalu Yoga Center Appreciative Inquiry Quote: “The purpose of life is to find your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give it away.” David Viscott Long Beach Polytechnic High School Stanford University •  Stanford Graduate School of Business AIDS Epidemic Arthur Brooks: From Strength to Strength Burning Man Brian Chesky ROI: Return on Investment —> Ripples of Impact Prostate Cancer  •  Symptoms •  Hormone Depletion Therapy The Hero Archetype Oprah interviews David Brooks Dacher Keltner, Berkeley & MEA Faculty Dacher Keltner’s Awe Walk (on YouTube with The OnBeing Project) BJ Fogg, Stanford & MEA Faculty Mantra Wisdom Well, Chip’s Daily Blog Esther Perel, Psychotherapist and Best-selling Author Matthieu Ricard, French writer, photographer, translator and Buddhist Monk Dan Buettner, Author, National Geographic Fellow, Founder of Blue Zones Michael Franti, Musician & MEA Faculty Pico Iyer, Writer & MEA faculty Aaron Taylor, Football Player & MEA faculty Essence (Your Essential Nature) Imposter Syndrome Growth Mindset •  Carol Dweck, Stanford The Enneagram •  Helen Palmer •  More about the Enneagram: S3e27: Raz Ingrasci & Ward Ashman – Hoffman and the Enneagram on the Hoffman Podcast US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, on the Epidemic of Loneliness •  Download PDF Report Robert Putnam, American Political Scientist •  Harvard Kennedy School of Government •  Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, by Robert Putnam Emotional Insurance, Chip Conley    

Dr. Richard Schwartz, founder of IFS, discusses the unburdening process to heal trauma. He explains the concept of parts and burdens, and the discovery of the core Self in each person. The podcast explores shame, couples therapy, and the importance of adopting the IFS model. It also touches on personal reflections and the potential for integrating different therapeutic modalities.