“The goal is freedom. The goal is your own happiness. The goal is joy, and it’s hard to have as much joy and lightness as you can if you’re holding onto old resentments.”

Simbi Hall, Storyteller, Screenwriter, Director, and Producer, sits down with Hoffman Podcast host Sadie Hannah to share her life journey of healing.

While Simbi completed the Process in 2022, her journey of self-reflection began at the age of seven, when she had her own subscription to Psychology Today. From a young age, she tried to analyze things in her head and figure things out. Somewhere within her, she felt there was something she needed to address.

For Simbi, one of the main transformations at the Process was the shift in her relationship with her father. Raised by her mom, her nana (technically her step-great-grandmother), and a dog “who helped raise” her, her father was absent. Simbi felt abandoned by him. She could count on her hands the number of times she’s seen him in her life. As Simbi says, you idealize what you don’t have. She grew to resent him and what she could never have. It’s been “the homework of her life” to attempt to resolve the pain of her childhood. Her birthday is always right around Father’s Day. Each year, this has been a big trigger for Simbi. This past year, just a few years after doing the Process, Simbi had a very different birthday experience. She discovered that she had let go of her deep resentment toward her father.

Listen in as Simbi shares wisdom learned from doing the homework of a lifetime. Be sure to listen for Simbi’s mic-drop moment at the end.

Simbiat Hall is an award-winning Nigerian-American filmmaker who divides her time between LA and NYC.

Born in Chicago and raised in Virginia, Simbi graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a double major in film and dramatic writing. She is also a graduate of AFI’s “Directing Workshop for Women” and the Bill Cosby-sponsored “Guy Hanks/Marvin Miller Screenwriting Fellowship at USC.

Simbi is well-known for Long Story Short (2004), Bring It! Vegas Dreams and Disney Parks’ Magical Christmas Celebration (2016).

Follow Simbi on Instagram at @simbihall.

Daily Buddhist Practice

Buddha-nature

The Divine Mother

Positive Legacy:

Black woman tropes/stereotypes –

What is Transference?

A couple of great quotes from Simbi:

“If you’re open and seeking, you can get guidance from a stop sign.”

“If you don’t do the work, life adds Miracle-Gro to the belief systems.”

Shirin Oreizy, engineer and coach, found herself hindered by a pattern of perfectionism as she embarked on a career transition. She’d known about the Hoffman Process for five years, but she didn’t think she needed it. When she saw the effects of this pattern of perfectionism and how it was blocking her from creating her dream and vision, she knew it was time.

Concurrently, over these five years, Shirin and her husband had been on a long, painful IVF journey. At the time of her Process, Shirin was beginning to recover from the trauma of this journey and the grief of loss from four miscarriages. She was in the process of accepting that she and her husband would never be parents.

During her Process, everyone knew Shirin as Namaki, which was her childhood name. Since no one in her Process knew her given name, her classmates and teachers called her Namaki. As her week at the Process unfolded, Shirin found that rekindling her relationship with Namaki was the path back to her true self and self-love. As she tells Drew:

“I think what I really love about Hoffman specifically was that there’s this imprint. There’s this somatic, felt, body-sense imprint of love in me. That it will never go away; and you know, the patterns come … and I forget myself, but I have access to come back to this deep imprint of self-love.”

At the Process, Shirin worked with Namaki’s moments when she felt deeply unsafe. Through this, Shirin was able to experience a “falling back into trust with my place in the world.” She realized there’s a larger arc to her life story than she had been holding onto through control.

Content Warning: Before you begin, please know that this conversation contains descriptions of “reproductive trauma, loss, and grief.” Please use your discretion.

My journey began as an engineer at Nvidia, where I learned the art of solving complex problems. Later, I founded and led a behavior design agency, partnering with both scrappy startups and Fortune 500 giants for two decades. Along the way, I became fascinated by how people truly transform. How real change happens within both teams and individuals.

Today, I focus on coaching and speaking because I know how pivotal life’s transitions can be. My work draws on a lifelong passion for understanding what drives us as humans, shaped by years of hands-on experience with leaders, teams, and individuals. I weave together insights from a range of disciplines:

Outside of coaching, I’ve shared my work on human behavior with audiences at TechCrunch Disrupt (Audience Choice Award), as a guest lecturer at NYU, Columbia, and Stanford, and as a keynote speaker at major industry events.

I live in San Francisco with my husband—also a Hoffman grad—and our dog, Pickles, a Hoffman grad in spirit (he’s mastered the art of welcoming love, especially when treats are involved). We love exploring stunning landscapes around the world that challenge us physically and mentally. Since Hoffman, we’ve launched a passion project, Life of Adventure and Change, where we’re mapping out a decade of travel adventures to share with friends. Our goal is to build a community of conscious travelers who inspire each other to embrace new adventures and experiences.

Learn more about Shirin at her personal website.

Conscious Leadership Group

The Enneagram

Core shame messages

Farsi, or the Persian language

In vitro fertilization (IVF)

Positive psychology

Neuroscience

The Hero’s Journey

Denali National Park, Alaska

Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt quote from his Citizenship in a Republic speech given on April 23, 1910:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds;…” Read more…

Shirin, her grandfather, and family:

Welcome to the podcast, Dr. Kash Trivedi, gastroenterologist, father, and Hoffman Process grad. 

Kash arrived for his week at the Hoffman Process at age 50. What brought him to Hoffman was the experience of “a deep state of constant disconnectedness and anxiety.” Kash didn’t really like himself. He felt disconnected from his inner child, and nothing he did seemed to touch the pain of that.

In conversation with Sadie, Kash explores his Process experiences that led to a profound healing of his relationship with his inner child. As a father to a young son, Kash’s work with his inner child led to a transformation of his relationship with his own son.

Kash came to the Process for personal healing, but since graduating, he has found that much of what he learned has now flowed into his professional work. As a gastroenterologist, Kash can make the connection between holding our emotions in and a physical manifestation of that. When we heal our ability to feel, our mental health, and physical health can begin to heal.

We hope you enjoy this conversation with Kash and Sadie. Thank you for listening to The Hoffman Podcast.

Dr. Kash Trivedi is a gastroenterologist in private practice. His interest is in the intricate relationship between the gut and the brain—how that connection contributes not only to physical symptoms but also to overall well-being. Kash completed his medical degree at the University of California, San Diego. He went on to do his fellowship training at the University of California, Irvine. With over a decade of experience in clinical medicine, he often sees how stress, trauma, and emotional health may influence gastrointestinal disease.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Trivedi has long been drawn to personal growth and self-inquiry, an interest that began in his teenage years. In January 2025, he completed the Hoffman Process, which he describes as the most transformational experience of his life. Kash lives in Southern California with his wife of over 20 years and their 10-year-old son. He continues to explore how emotional and psychological insight can enrich both his personal life and professional practice.

Different kinds of therapy:

Trauma or Stress Responses:

Vipassana Meditation Retreats

Jo Mattoon, Hoffman teacher and coach

Shaman/Shamanism

Welcome to Season 11 of The Hoffman Podcast. We begin our new season with Suleika Jaouad, an extraordinary writer, artist, and author – and deeply soulful human. Suleika is not a graduate of the Hoffman Process, but many in her circle have attended, and her work deeply reflects its spirit.

Suleika speaks and writes about creative alchemy. Her recent bestselling memoir is The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life.

An alchemical life is one where we learn to take the more challenging lead weights (events and experiences) of our lives and work with them. We alchemize them into something new, as the alchemists of old called them, the gold.

Suleika has been doing exactly this since she was diagnosed with leukemia at 22. She spent the next year of her life shuttling between her childhood bedroom and chemo rooms instead of embarking on a traditional adult life. As she worked with what she was facing and brought it closer to her, her relationship with it and with herself transformed, alchemized.

As Suleika shares in this conversation with Drew, “that’s maybe our collective, forever work, what we do when things fall apart. For me, reconceiving of survival as a creative act of taking those moments where things fall apart and re-fastening them into something has been my way of finding my way.”

We hope you enjoy this soulful, inspiring conversation with Suleika and Drew. It’s a beautiful beginning to our new season.

Suleika Jaouad is a writer, artist, and author of the New York Times bestselling memoirs The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life and Between Two Kingdoms, which has been translated into over twenty languages. She writes the #1 Literature newsletter on Substack, the Isolation Journals, home to a creative community of over 230,000 readers from around the world.

A three-time cancer survivor, she launched her career from her hospital bed at age 22 with the New York Times column and Emmy Award-winning video series “Life, Interrupted.” Her essays and reporting have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Guardian, and Vogue, among others. A sought-after speaker, her TED Talk, “What Almost Dying Taught Me About Living,” has more than five million views.

Along with husband Jon Batiste, Jaouad is the subject of the Oscar-nominated and Grammy Award-winning documentary American Symphony, produced by the Obamas—a portrait of two artists during a year of extreme highs and lows. When her leukemia returned in 2022 and treatment complications temporarily compromised her vision, she turned to painting to transcribe her fever dreams and medication-induced hallucinations. This vibrant, visceral record of grief and desire has since expanded to include large-scale watercolors, exhibited in The Alchemy of Blood, a joint show with Jaouad’s mother, the artist Anne Francey, at ArtYard. Most recently, she was commissioned to paint a grand piano for the 2024 Super Bowl in New Orleans, now on display at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and trio of rescue dogs.

Find out more about Suleika at suleikajaouad.com. Follow Suleika on Instagram and the Isolation Journals Newsletter on Substack.

Matt Heineman, Director of American Symphony and Hoffman grad.

Jon Batiste

Eudora Welty quote:

Terry Tempest Williams

Review of Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted, read by Suleika:

The problem is, these words are true. Suleika Jaouad is courageous, resilient, vulnerable, and inspiring. And her memoir about her cancer journey is a work of breathtaking creativity and heart-stopping humanity. Jaouad’s story goes where you never expect it to go—not only into the depths of her own pain and lost years, but into the spirits of countless strangers (sick and well) she meets along the highway of own her life and illuminates with rare generosity and grace. This is a deeply moving and passionate work of art, quite unlike anything I’ve ever read. I will remember these stories for years to come, because Suleika Jaouad has imprinted them on my heart.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love

We Can Do Hard Things, the Podcast

Richard Rohr

We’re thrilled to host Diana Chapman for our final episode of Season 10. A highly sought-after and trusted advisor, in her own words, Diana is an environmentalist at heart. 

Diana came to the Hoffman Process in July 2024 with one desire. She’d already done a lot of personal growth work. She’d even sent many people to Hoffman. But it wasn’t until this one desire became clear to her that she decided to go through the Process. Diana realized just how much creative energy she was spending each day on judging her body. Although she’d already made peace with her parents, Diana knew her judgment came from her parents’ patterns. She wondered if the Hoffman Process could help, and it did.

Diana shares that she often uses light-heartedness to work with her patterns. While that has worked well for her for some time, in the end, Diana has found that heartbreak is often necessary to transform some patterns. She shares that she’s found liberation in a broken heart.

In the work Diana does with teams and individuals, she leads them to work with the intelligence of the body and heart. She speaks of the sensuality of the body and how she wants to experience more heaven on earth, and guides others to experience this, too.

We hope you enjoy this episode with Diana and Drew. Thank you for tuning in to season 10 of Love’s Everyday Radius. We’ll be back in August for season 11.

Diana is a highly sought-after and trusted advisor, celebrated for her ability to deliver swift, impactful results while driving sustainable change. She has guided over a thousand CEOs and hundreds of executive teams. Renowned clients—from Genentech to Asana—praise her unique blend of clarity, compassion, boldness, and playfulness. As a facilitator for the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), Diana works with forums and chapters worldwide.

Diana is a co-founder of The Conscious Leadership Group and co-author of the widely acclaimed book The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership. She’s helped ignite a movement redefining what leadership looks like when it’s rooted in awareness, integrity, and deep presence. Be on the lookout for Diana’s new book, No Drama Teams, in 2027.

She teaches at Stanford and with the Kauffman Fellows, and has been a featured speaker on stages such as TEDx, Wisdom 2.0, and Conscious Company Media. When she’s not guiding top leaders, Diana’s living the good life on her ranch in Aptos, California.

Find out more about Diana here and follow her on LinkedIn.

Tim Ferriss’ podcast with Diana Chapman

Gay and Katie Hendrix

Byron Katie and the Four Liberating Questions

The Drama Triangle by Karpman

The Enneagram:

Ken Wilber

Meet today’s guest, Helen Valleau, beloved Hoffman teacher and coach. Helen completed the Hoffman Process in March 1992 and began teaching the Process in November 1995. Now, three decades later, Helen sits down with Drew for a beautiful conversation about how the Process changed both her and the trajectory of her life.

Growing up in Edmonton, Alberta, Helen’s childhood was very different from the other kids she knew. Her parents were corporate bush pilots who flew in the Arctic. Helen’s mother loved to fly, daring to dream and follow her passion. She was the first woman inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame and was a recipient of the Amelia Earhart award. When Helen was 13, her mother was diagnosed with cancer and started on a long healing journey. Eventually, Helen lost her mother when Helen was nearing her 20th birthday.  She shares what an incredible experience it was to witness her mother’s fierce determination and strength, but also how hard it was to miss out on a softer, warmer experience of her mother.

Her mother’s imprinting left her with a lot of pain and confusion, as well as the determination to emulate her mother. But as we know from doing the Process, that doesn’t work. When Helen came to the Process at 32, she was “ready to lay it all out and be done with it.” She knew she was messing up her life because of her patterns. At the Process, Helen realized she had “this Essence of eternal love and grace and wisdom and peace within her.” She knew, beyond a doubt, that the trajectory of her life had changed.

Helen is a light-filled force of nature full of inspiration, positivity, and profound wisdom. We hope you enjoy this rich, vibrant, and tender conversation with Helen and Drew.

As a certified HeartMath facilitator and long-standing Supervising Teacher with the Hoffman Institute, Helen helps others shed old stories, heal emotional wounds, and awaken to a more vibrant, heart-aligned life. Her inspirational books, A Year of Possibilities and 100 Minutes of Inspiration, offer daily nourishment for the soul—reminders that every stage of life holds the potential for joy, creativity, and reinvention. Her forthcoming work, Inner Power Aging, promises to deepen this journey, guiding readers to discover the strength, freedom, and fulfillment that come with embracing age as a sacred evolution.

Rooted in Toronto, Helen shares her voice through writing, teaching, and social media—inviting others to walk boldly into each new chapter with passion, purpose, and self-love. Her work is a call to live fully, love deeply, and age elegantly—from the inside out.

Follow Helen on Instagram.

Edmonton, Alberta

Corporate Pilots/Bush Pilots

Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame

Tim Laurence, Hoffman UK founder and teacher

Emerson Theological Institute

Quantum Physics

Hoffman Expression Work

Hoffman Process – Compassion

Homeopathy

Science of Mind, or Religious Science

Affirmative Prayer

HeartMath Training

Beloved Hoffman teacher and coach, Corey Campbell, had no thought of becoming a Hoffman teacher when he arrived for his week at the Process. Rather, he came because he was exhausted and didn’t know why. He hoped to find something that would help him change his approach to life.

Often, people believe that if they have good parents and/or a happy childhood, there is nothing to be gained from looking at their parents’ or caregivers’ behaviors. But Corey’s story is a beautiful example of that not being true. When he came, Corey was sure most of the patterns he needed to release didn’t come from his mother. It turns out that the exhaustion he was experiencing from serving others could be directly traced to his mother’s patterns. Often, even ‘good’ behavior is driven by unconscious needs not being met. What matters is what’s driving the behavior. When driven by patterns, we will attempt to meet that need in a way that doesn’t work.

At the Process, Corey saw through the patterns and opened to deep Presence. Lying in the cold creek water, staring up at the sunlight through the trees, he had a moment of realization. Corey realized that he is enough just as he is. This pure clarity has changed his approach to life. He now understands that loving and caring for his wife and son, Cayden, is enough. If he does other things in his life, great. But he no longer lets his patterns convince him he needs to be more because he is enough. (Listen in to hear why Corey was lying in the cold water!)

We hope you enjoy this insightful and loving conversation with Corey and Sadie.

Content warning: This conversation references grief and loss.

Corey Campbell is a Hoffman Process Teacher & Coach. He is also the CEO and Founder of Akamai Training & Consulting, where he serves as a nationally recognized executive coach and leadership consultant. Through Akamai, Corey builds high-performance cultures rooted in mindset, emotional intelligence, and authentic leadership. His coaching and training programs challenge people to be open, real, and courageous. They learn to embrace the tough conversations that foster genuine trust, alignment, and unity.  

Corey brings a personalized, insight-driven approach to every engagement. He is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and a certified practitioner of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®), the iEQ9 Integrative Enneagram, and Tracom’s Social Styles & Versatility.  He has over 20 years of experience transforming people and teams across hospitality, healthcare, finance, and government.

Corey resides in Honolulu with his wife, Cherise, their son Cayden, and their dog, Scooby. He enjoys being outdoors, hiking, traveling, and reading. Corey has a special affinity for Japanese culture after spending three years teaching English there after college. He wakes up every day fueled by his purpose: to help others live a more energized, engaged, and inspired life.

“I came to Hoffman totally burnt out on life – exhausted from trying to make everyone else around me happy while feeling empty inside and trying to mask it. During my Process, I realized how deeply set and unconscious my childhood patterns were around playing the role of helper and, ultimately, people pleaser. The Process allowed me to get in touch with my authentic self, for perhaps the first time ever, and to start to love myself simply for who I am, not for what I do. It’s a gift that keeps on giving. Teaching Hoffman now is an honor to walk alongside others as they discover or reconnect to their own light and sense of self-love.”

Follow Corey on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Company

Jon Kabat-Zinn – Wherever You Go, There You Are

White Sulphur Springs in St. Helena, CA

Negative Love Syndrome

Shame statement –

Vicious Cycles

Attunement:

Listen to Hoffman graduate, Dr. Dan Siegel, on the Hoffman Podcast

Ade and Claudette Faison have worked in the field of human development for more than 50 years and 40 years, respectively. Together, that’s more than 90 combined years working to support others in transformation and lives of possibility. It’s no surprise, then, that they both came to do the Hoffman Process along the way.

Yet, it’s all still fresh in their minds. They remember specific instances from their Process. Claudette shares her experience at the Process when she was having a conversation – a quad talk – with her intellect and Spiritual Self. She was asking her Spiritual Self, “Are you Buddha, are you God?” And then she began to laugh and laugh. She says it was like finally solving a mystery.

For Ade, he remembers coming home having just completed the Process. He walked into a party that Claudette was hosting for her friends. Usually, Ade would hold back, waiting for an opening to join a party like that. But fresh out of the Process, he jumped right into the mix without hesitation. He had changed at the Process, and it was noticeable to everyone.

Through Unlocking Futures, Ade and Claudette’s company, they work with people on the margins of life. The work they do supports people in unlocking a better future for themselves, their families, and their communities. In the past, Ade and Claudette, and Unlocking Futures, partnered with the Hoffman Institute to create an advanced course called “The Quantum Leap Process.” Drew taught alongside Ade in one of these courses.

Listen in as Ade and Claudette share powerful stories of the work they do to unlock futures for many. We hope you enjoy this lively conversation with Ade, Claudette, and Drew.

For more than half a century, Ade has functioned as a highly skilled facilitator in Human Development.  His work extends globally, including the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, and South America. He works with youth from 8 years old to senior adults. In the first 25 years, he became a featured performer and leader of transformational workshops at the National Black Theatre in Harlem. This was followed by 35 years at Youth At Risk, Inc., aka Unlocking Futures, Inc. 

Ade earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Howard University, a Certificate of Completion from the Institute for Not-For-Profit Management from Columbia University‘s Graduate Business School, a Master of Arts from Teachers College, Columbia University, and membership in Kappa Delta Pi, the International Honor Society in Education.

Ade’s non-traditional studies began with Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, founder of the National Black Theatre. He credits his competence to participation with Landmark Education, Practices in Siddha Yoga and Vipassana Meditation, Courses in Ontological Design, the Hoffman Quadrinity Process, courses from the Hoffman Institute, and 21 years of global travel with Circles of Light Ministries.  Ade acknowledges his 42-year marriage with Claudette C. Faison as the continuing catalyst that ignites his vision, work ethic, and stand for excellence and equanimity.

Hailing from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, Claudette Anita C’Faison is a master at delivering transformational and spiritual programs. With a mission to bring healing to generational trauma and poverty, she leaves people empowered to create and be accountable for their reality and the lives they have made for themselves.

For more than 40 years, Claudette has made a difference for over 15,000 marginalized families and children on every continent except Antarctica. In partnerships with family court, juvenile and adult justice programs, she creates and produces programs for inmates, returning citizens, and children of incarcerated parents. Claudette has been doing this work alongside her husband for 41 years.

Claudette has been educated both traditionally and non-traditionally. She completed the traditional path in the seminary. She was initiated into the non-traditional path in Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, and Peru. Claudette’s journey continues as she fulfills her life’s purpose, making a difference that makes the difference.

Follow Claudette on Facebook.

Mike Wick:

Raz Ingrasci

A Course in Miracles

The Negative Love Syndrome:

Graduate Groups

BIPOC Q2:

Diana C. Toman is a global legal and strategy consultant. She’s also a heart-driven badass – the mantra she coined during her week at the Hoffman Process.

For much of Diana’s career, she hid her softness and kindness, fearing she’d be seen as weak. She would hide her generous heart at work, fearing she would be seen as soft in her role at work. But because she is generous and caring, she would continue to act on her generosity outside of work as long as the recipients kept it quiet.

Misalignment causes tension and takes its toll. This is why Diana came to the Process. During her week there, Diana was able to claim her softness and marry it with her badass business acumen. What a powerful combination!

The Process, though, brought more healing into Diana’s life. Her husband has done the Process, and together they’ve completed the Hoffman Couples Retreat. Through this work and using the tools regularly, they’ve come through a rough time, and out the other side of a rough time, they are closer and better able to navigate the life challenges they face together.

We hope you enjoy this powerful episode with Diana and Sadie.

Diana Toman is a seasoned global legal and strategy consultant, founder of Toman Advisory Group, LLC, and a former Fortune 500 Chief Legal Officer. As a trusted advisor to boards of directors, C-suite executives, and functional teams, Diana guides clients through a myriad of global business, legal, and governance issues while also leading their organic and acquisitive growth. She is an influential, solutions-oriented leader who actively partners with clients to achieve their corporate objectives and reduce risks. Leveraging years of experience building high-achieving teams and inspiring the best in people through a foundation of integrity, trust, communication, and purpose, Diana serves as an executive coach to accomplished leaders and board of directors.

Married and a mother of two, Diana is a Hoffman graduate and resides in Overland Park, Kansas. She is deeply committed to community service and has served on various boards of directors. She volunteers with numerous nonprofit organizations focused on education, human needs, and art. A commitment to empowering individuals and organizations, while balancing strategic insights with a dedication to ethical leadership, guides Diana’s professional and volunteer work. While at the Hoffman Process, Diana coined the mantra, “Heart Driven Badass.” At the Process, she aligned her heart and intellect. That balance has been instrumental in her personal growth journey.

Follow Diana on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Dr. Michelle Robin

Hoffman Couples Retreat

Lee Klinger Lesser is our guest today. A graduate of the Hoffman Process, Lee has led Sensory Awareness somatic workshops worldwide for many decades. She teaches workshops to diverse groups, including veterans and wildland firefighters.

Lee led and co-founded a non-profit organization to work with military veterans: Veteran’s PATH. While she no longer leads this organization, Lee still works with Veterans, many of whom have graduated from the Hoffman Process.

As a Hoffman grad, Lee is familiar with the “Left Road, Right Road” tool, a choice point that occurs many times each day of our lives. Lee speaks to how crucial presence is in choosing the steps of our lives and the direction our lives take. The question she often holds is, What does this moment ask of me? In each moment, we can ask ourselves this powerful question. It’s a way to slow down and realize that everything that exists is here and only here. Each moment asks us to stop and sense our next step, or in Hoffman terms, whether or not we will go down the Left Road or Right Road.

The capacity Lee has to express the power of an embodied life in words is extraordinary. Listen in as she offers an articulated path to conscious choice in each moment of our lives. She says, “If we keep offering what we can offer, and we have confidence in our own possibility to have impact and our capacity to respond, then we’re not going to have regret. We may not be able to change things, maybe we’re not going to be able to change what we want, but the way we’re living and what we offer is coming from our own love and our own vitality and our own ability to respond.”

We hope you enjoy this deep and rich conversation with Lee and Drew.

Content warning: This episode references suicide. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, you can call the US National Suicide Prevention Program at 800-273-8255 (or simply 988), or message the crisis text hotline at 741741.

Lee studied Sensory Awareness for 33 years in the United States with Charlotte Selver, the founder of this practice. Through Return to Our Senses, she’s been leading workshops since 1976, in English and Spanish. Lee sees over and over again the gift that this practice brings into the lives of so many people and into our world, which is in such great need of people living with awareness, resilience, and presence. She has reached into communities facing significant challenges to offer the resource and refuge of this practice.

Lee led and co-founded a non-profit organization to work with military veterans: Veteran’s PATH —Peace, Acceptance, Transformation, Honor. She led this work for 12 years, stepping away from a formal role in the organization in Fall 2019. Under new leadership, the organization dissolved in 2023. Lee still facilitates programs for veterans and honors this work as some of the most meaningful and life-changing work she has had the privilege to do. She witnessed veterans open to devastating experiences, face, and transform pain into new possibilities. Lee continues to be inspired by the profound commitment to service and the loving dedication to community that she experienced in her work with veterans.

Over the past six years, Lee has been helping to develop programs for Wildland firefighters on the front lines of the Climate Crisis. These firefighters are seeking support to meet the overwhelming challenges they are facing.

Whether we realize it or not, we are all on the frontlines of the Climate Crisis. This has led Lee to develop programs to integrate the practice of Sensory Awareness with responding to the Climate Crisis. She is dedicated to bringing forward the core lesson she has learned from her years of practice: “There is no place to run, there is no escape from being with what is.” This is especially poignant and true as we realize that this Earth is the only home we have. We cannot run from what is happening. There is no escape from what is happening. So, it is up to each of us to find how to contribute to healing and caring for this precious home.

Sensory Awareness and Charlotte Selver

Return to Our Senses

Wildland Firefighters

“Despair is never a solution. It is the ultimate failure. If the rope breaks nine times, we must splice it together a tenth time. Even if we ultimately do fail, at least we will have no feelings of regret. And when we combine this insight with a clear appreciation of our potential to benefit others, we can begin to restore our hope and confidence.” The 14th Dalai Lama

Listen to the poem “Lost,” by David Wagoner

Elsa Gindler

Listen to Megan Lowry on the Hoffman Podcast.

Learn more about various Hoffman Process Scholarships

Watch the Greta Thunberg and Dalai Lama video

“I sleep nine hours every night and I sleep very peacefully.” The 14th Dalai Lama