Welcome to our season 9 finale, this generous, vulnerable conversation with Hoffman grad, Kevjorik Jones, and host, Drew Horning.

There are many reasons why people come to the Hoffman Process — as many reasons as people who have graduated from the Process. Kevjorik, a self-described consummate student of the human condition, came because he felt he was falling short. He was aware of the powers and opportunities he had. He was aware of the great relationships in his life. And yet, Kevjorik sensed he was falling short of living up to all he sensed he could become.

In October 2024, Kevjorik completed his Process at the Guest House, the Hoffman Retreat Site in Chester, CT. Nature and the labyrinth on site provided a lot of healing. Rising early in the morning, Kevjorik would walk the labyrinth. One morning, he entered the labyrinth feeling shame. He emerged feeling connected to his child within.

The beauty of this conversation lies in the generous stories Kevjorik shares with us. He offers stories of his childhood, the trauma he experienced, and the courage he found to do the deep work of the Process to heal the pain of his past.

We hope you enjoy this moving, enlightening, uplifting conversation with Kevjorik and Drew. Thank you for listening to the Hoffman Podcast. We will be back for season 10 in early 2025. Happy New Year!

Kevjorik is a real estate finance professional based in Washington, DC. From a young age, he developed a profound curiosity about the human spirit, the nature of existence, and the pursuit of enlightenment. Raised in a broken home, his adult life has been devoted to understanding the lasting impacts of social suppression—shaped by colonialism, racism, and polarization—on community, family, and personal achievement.

During college, Kevjorik founded an organization to teach students entrepreneurial skills while pursuing careers in technology and real estate. Around this time, he discovered a spiritual connection to his African roots when he traveled to Ghana, West Africa. There, Kevjorik deepened his curiosity about the consequences of being uprooted and the maladaptations that emerge from being disconnected from one’s origins through this experience.

Today, Kevjorik is focused on village-building as a solution to the challenges posed by the WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) parenting model, which isolates the individual from the collective whole. He believes that fostering interconnected communities can alleviate these strains. Kevjorik is blessed to have met his soulmate, now his wife of 15 years, just before his trip to Ghana. Together, they have built a loving family of four and a supportive network of like-minded individuals committed to growth, healing, and mutual care.

Kevjorik’s relationships have been deeply affected by the legacy of his childhood trauma. This eventually led him to the Hoffman Process. Before embarking on his Hoffman week, Kevjorik’s primary goal was to break free from limiting thoughts and behaviors. Patterns of self-doubt and indecision had kept him from fully embracing life. Kevjorik has integrated tools from the Process into his daily life. He is committed to keeping his heart open, loving deeply, and living in alignment with his true purpose.

Social:

Rancho La Puerta

Watsu

Healthy Deviant

George Floyd and the Summer of 2020 Protests

My Grandmother’s Hands, by Dr. Resmaa Menakem

Somatic Therapy

Functional Nutrition

Tapping World Summit –

The Great Migration

Surrogate Parents in the Process:

Inner Child / Parenting

Attachment Styles

Labyrinth

Wade in the Water

Hoffman Retreat Site in Chester, CT

Ferry across the Connecticut River to Gilette Castle State Park

Christy Foley is a dynamic connector, life explorer, and philanthropist. She’s also Vice-Chair of the Hoffman Board of Directors. Christy attended the Process two decades ago, just two weeks after her father graduated.

The Hoffman Process was the first step in Christy’s spiritual journey. To this day, Hoffman remains one of the three most profound experiences that completely transformed her life. She shares that a transformation happens at the Process that “you can’t go back from.” In doing the work of the Process, we leave our week there with an awareness we didn’t have before. This profound awareness allows us to see situations or patterns more clearly and respond wisely with a more conscious choice. If we get caught in the pattern, we can forgive ourselves, choose again, and move on.

After the Process, Christy embarked on a spiritual journey that has taken her to many places, but most importantly deeper into her inner world. She tears up as she talks about living in the presence of the unknown. It’s living from her heart. In her words, it is “where the magic happens.”

In this generous conversation, Christy speaks of the trap of our attempts at perfection. As she says, to be human is to be imperfect. There’s a great relief in that. We hope you enjoy this conversation with Christy and Drew.

Christy is a dynamic connector, life explorer, and philanthropist. She participates in the global community as an accelerator of ideas and vision and is passionate about our interconnectedness to all life on this planet. With her consulting and philanthropic efforts, Christy supports projects that foster spiritual development, social justice, and community building.  She serves as Vice-Chair of the board of The Hoffman Institute and is a board member of Las Cumbres Ranch Educational Fund. Previous board services include A Sense of Home and Veterans Path.  Christy is also a member of Forward Global.

Christy is a marketing, communications, and business development veteran having spent her career immersed in the technology, media, natural food products, and nonprofit industries. She holds a bachelor’s in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Pepperdine University. When Christy is not exploring the world, she spends her time between Santa Barbara, CA, and Bend, OR.

Learn more about Christy at TheFoleyConnection.com. Follow Christy on Instagram.

Negative Love Syndrome:

Liza Ingrasci, President and CEO of the Hoffman Institute

White Sulphur Springs

Oprah’s Wildest Dreams tour

Picadilly Circus

Mount Kailash

Tanzania

Pamela Anderson

Joe Dispenza

Right Road

Visioning at Hoffman

Hoffman Q2 Intensive

Arielle Ford, author, and love and relationship expert, joins Drew for this episode centered on change, truth-telling, and having as much fun as possible.

Arielle came to the Hoffman Process in the early ’90s on recommendations from her sister Debbie Ford and her friend Joan Borysenko. Seventeen students were at the Process alongside Arielle. Their Process was held in the Big House at Esalen Institute in Big Sur. Raz Ingrasci was one of their teachers.

One of the most powerful takeaways from this conversation is Arielle’s realization of the need to have as much fun as possible. People she meets ask her how she became so happy. As Arielle shares, she learned to be a happy person at Hoffman.

As someone who has worked in the personal growth world for decades, working with many well-known experts in the field, Arielle has stories to tell. She shares some fascinating ones in this conversation. Arielle is now in an in-between place with her career. Her life story helps us understand how she has learned to relax in a new unknown place.

Arielle shares much life wisdom in this engaging, joyful conversation. We hope you enjoy it.

Arielle Ford is a love and relationship expert and a leading personality in the personal growth and contemporary spirituality movement. For the past 25 years, she has been living, teaching, and promoting consciousness through all forms of media. Her mission is to help people find love, keep love, and most importantly, be love.

Arielle is a gifted writer and the author of 11 books including the international bestseller, THE SOULMATE SECRET: Manifest the Love of Your Life With the Law of Attraction. She is also the author of TURN YOUR MATE INTO YOUR SOULMATE: A Practical Guide to Happily Ever After, devoted to exploring a simple, fun, and effective way to attain groundbreaking shifts in perception so that you can embrace and find the beauty and perfection in yourself and your mate. Arielle has been called “The Cupid of Consciousness” and “The Fairy Godmother of Love.” She lives in La Jolla, CA with her husband/soul mate, Brian Hilliard, and their feline friends.

Join her newsletter at www.soulmatesecret.com. Discover more at ArielleFord.com. Get her free online dating guide at www.arielleford.com/kiss. Follow Arielle on Instagram and Facebook.

Raz Ingrasci: Founder of Hoffman Institute and Hoffman International, and a Hoffman teacher.

Liza Ingrasci: CEO and President of the Hoffman Institute.

Esalen Institute

Quote that Drew shared:

Debbie Ford: The Dark Side of the Light Chasers

Deepak Chopra

Joan Borysenko, PhD, Bestselling author, and Hoffman Advisory Council Chair

Jungian Shadow Work

JFK University

12-Step Meetings

Omega Institute

Jimmy Kimmel and Aunt Chippy on YouTube

Chemicals released when we laugh:

The Four Agreements

Roanne Adams, founder and Chief Creative Director of RoAndCo Studio, is our guest today. In this wide-ranging conversation, Roanne and Sharon cover many topics. You’ll hear them speak of self-care, the spiritual journey, relationships, and business, to name a few. What stands out is Roanne’s commitment to putting her Process into practice, personally and professionally.

It’s often fascinating how people learn about the Hoffman Process. Frequently, it comes through word of mouth. In Roanne’s case, she heard about it from her financial advisor after receiving difficult news. Roanne walks us through this moment with candor and grace, a moment that brought her to the Hoffman Process.

As a visionary business owner in the design world, Roanne knows the creative and often turbulent world of entrepreneurship well. Through her Process, she found clarity. She also realized that part of her purpose is to serve others. Roanne deepened her capacity for self-care and her ability to pass this knowledge on to others through her work.

We hope you enjoy this conversation and learning about Roanne’s journey of change through her rich life stories.

Entrepreneur, visionary, and holistic thinker, Roanne Adams is the founder and Chief Creative Director of RoAndCo Studio, a creative agency based in New York and Los Angeles known for its artful and strategic approach to branding and design. Founded in 2006, the studio quickly gained recognition for Roanne’s intrepid ability to build scalable brands from the ground up. Over the past two decades, Roanne and her team have launched a myriad of brands across various industries, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, including Google, Estée Lauder Companies, Kin Euphorics, and many more.

As one of the few female Creative Directors and studio owners in the industry, she prioritizes nurturing opportunities for women leaders—working with nonprofits and being honored as a UN Women’s Champion for Change. Throughout her career, Roanne has won numerous awards, served on the AIGA New York chapter board, and was named one of New York’s most outstanding design professionals by T Magazine. In 2016, she created Romance Journal, a magazine devoted to raising collective consciousness through the female lens, donating 100% of the proceeds to charities.

Roanne just launched State of Feeling, a transformative curriculum delivered through retreats and workshops for women founders and leaders, helping them align their personal purpose with their businesses. She is also embarking on a new regenerative hotel project in Todos Santos, Mexico called Oraphae with her husband, Johnny Wahba (also a Hoffman graduate). With a passion for healing, sustainability, and regeneration, Roanne infuses beauty and meaning into every endeavor.

Instagram:

LinkedIn:

Quad Check: A practice to support you in checking in with all four parts of your Quadrinity: Spiritual Self, Intellect, Emotional Self, and Body. To practice Quad Checks with others, join our virtual Quad-Check at 8:00 am PT on Instagram. We also hold an Appreciation and Gratitude practice daily at 6:00 pm on Instagram.

Todos Santos, Mexico

Anna Switzer, PhD, outdoor educator, science educator, and educator of educators, shares her Hoffman Process experience and her deep expertise in partnering with Nature’s innate processes for healing and connection.

In 2012, on the recommendation of her medical doctor, Anna came to the Process. Due to the high level of stress Anna was experiencing, her doctor said she should consider doing some emotional work. Within a few months, Anna was at the Hoffman Process. She loved the camaraderie of her Process cohort and remembers many ‘anchor moments’ in her group and alone as she spent time outdoors on the grounds around White Sulphur Springs.

Anna’s mission statement is, “Helping heal the human spirit and natural world through facilitation of mutually positive experiences between the two.” The focus of her work is to try to bring herself and others back into “right relationship” with the natural world.

Anna shares some practical practices you can use to help heal your relationship with the natural world. We hope you enjoy this rich and healing conversation with Anna and Liz.

Anna Switzer, PhD is an outdoor educator, science educator, and educator of educators. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics, a master’s in Oceanography, and a PhD in Education. Alongside teaching, Anna derives her most consistent inspiration from the outdoors. She has spent thousands of hours exploring diverse landscapes and waterways; including incalculable time with students of all ages. Anna has worked for several prominent organizations including National Geographic Society and Outward Bound. At National Geographic, she was the Program Manager for Outdoor and Experiential Education. She is also certified as a Nature-Connected Life Coach. Anna’s mission relates to helping heal the human spirit and the natural world through the facilitation of mutually positive experiences between the two and creating and utilizing tools for reflection that invite new behavior. 

Anna loves sharing life-enhancing ideas, tools, and practices with others. Her first book is License to Learn: Elevating Discomfort in Service of Lifelong Learning (Atmosphere Press, 2021). She is writing a second book now that includes a big portion on the processes of nature connection: a big topic in this interview. Anna is also progressing toward ‘owning’ the artist title; watercolor and mixed media are her favorites, especially as whimsical expressions of her love of the outdoors. You can see her artwork at annaswitzer.com.

Follow Anna on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Hoffman tool: Recycling

White Sulphur Springs, Hoffman’s old retreat site

Current Hoffman Retreat Sites:

Speaking about Nature and the Hoffman Process:

Quote shared:

The Natural Intelligence Toolkit by Anna

Nature Connection Life Coach

We welcome Lori Raudnask, Operations Manager for Hoffman Institute, Canada, and an international speaker, entrepreneur, and author in her own right, to the Hoffman Podcast.

Lori guides Canadian students through their pre-Process journey and oversees Hoffman Process, Canada operations. She has coached, trained, and mentored thousands worldwide and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. 

Lori came to the Process at the suggestion of an acquaintance who had a great experience there. Lori shares how the Hoffman Process was “like a bulldozer going through” her garden, “getting to the root of” her patterns.” It was that life-changing.

As operations manager, Lori is all in on supporting students through the journey of the Process working with them to make sure they’re ready. She’s worked for many years with Canadian graduates through groups she named, Continuing Your Journey. Lori held group meetings in her living room, bringing together graduates of the Process, some of whom hadn’t been contacted for more than twenty-five years. Some even drove two hours to get to these monthly meetings. Hoffman USA has called these meetings Hoffman graduate groups. Hoffman Canada now does the same.

What drives Lori is the desire to serve people and to help them win big in their lives. We hope you enjoy this delightful and informative conversation with Lori and Drew. If you decide to take the Process in Canada, you’ll meet Lori and be glad you have.

Lori is an international speaker, entrepreneur, and author who has coached, trained, and mentored thousands worldwide. She has mastered the sales process building a team that generated well over 100 million dollars in direct sales. Lori has launched the careers of hundreds of successful entrepreneurs worldwide. For decades, she has dedicated her life to helping others win big. Lori has produced and hosted the TV, show Persistence Pays, and is the author of Persistence Pays: How getting what you want is easier than you think. She received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and was chosen as Stoney Creek’s Citizen of the Year for her community service.  Lori believes that if we are persistent, we can have anything we want; she does mean everything! 

Lori’s ultimate goal is to help people live happy, fulfilled lives and bring out the best in themselves. Her role as Operations Manager for Hoffman Institute, Canada, fulfills that dream. She has been married for 42 years has two children Megan and Kyle and is blessed with four grandchildren.

Discover more about Lori and Persistence Pays, here.

Site of the Canadian Hoffman Process: Sanctum Retreat, Canada

Caroline, Alberta

Calgary, Alberta

The Raven River by Sanctum Retreat

Peter and Maureen Kolassa, previous owners of the Hoffman Process Canada

Grad groups – Canada

Liza Ingrasci:

Ongoing support for graduates of the Process:

1-Day Graduate Refreshers

Single Choice Motherhood

Sarah Abrams and Virginia Benson Wigle join host Sharon for this warm-hearted conversation about their friendship, their Process experience, and the non-profit they founded, The Starfish Connection.

Virginia attended the Hoffman Process at the urging of her husband, John. Years later, John passed away. Virginia, in turn, passed the Hoffman Process on to Sarah, and then to her new husband. Giving the gift of the Process to someone ready and willing to attend is a profound way to pass along the gifts discovered during the week.

The seed for The Starfish Connection came from John’s dying words – “Our story.” The vision for The Starfish Connection, the non-profit Virginia founded, began as storytelling. Now, it focuses on giving gifts to people needing momentary help without expecting anything in return. John’s gift continues to grow with numerous gifts given through Starfish.

This conversation begins with what’s possible in a friendship when two people have had powerful transformations in the Process and have come to trust each other profoundly. The way that Sarah and Virginia are there for each other is what gives their friendship such a strong foundation. We hope you enjoy this heartening conversation.

Follow The Starfish Connection on Instagram.

Sarah Abrams is a seasoned entrepreneur and has navigated various industries with curiosity and creativity. As the Executive Director of The Starfish Connection, she demonstrates her commitment to fostering community through giving and sharing her love of writing and storytelling.  Her journey as a serial entrepreneur underscores her versatility and passion to create products and services that serve her community. From launching a software startup to creating a floral and event company, and a children’s toy store, Sarah has a history of innovation and adaptability. Her ventures showcase her creativity and her knack for sustainable business practices.

Virginia Benson Wigle is the founder of The Starfish Connection, the nonprofit organization whose mission is to make a difference, one life at a time by providing crisis funding grants to individuals and families facing sudden financial crises.  Virginia has passionately served in the nonprofit sector throughout Santa Barbara County for over thirty years. Before devoting her work full-time to The Starfish Connection, Virginia spent twenty years at Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo in varying positions from clinic staff to education, and administration. She ultimately served as Vice President of Education before retiring in 2015. She also served two terms on the California State Legislative Committee for Planned Parenthood affiliates in Sacramento.

Planned Parenthood

Hoffman Q2 Intensive

Annie Looby, Hoffman Process Senior Facilitator in Australia and Gestalt Psychotherapist is our delightful and wise guest today.

For much of her life, Annie has had an extensive career in the performing arts, including film, television, and theatre. Then, in 2014, Annie found the Hoffman Process. She decided to do the Process after witnessing the change in her husband after he completed it.

During her Process, Annie experienced a shame attack so painful that she wanted to leave. Her teacher guided her to see that everything Annie was looking for was just on the other side of this painful moment. If Annie could just stay with it, she would find what she was looking for. In this pivotal moment, Annie found the strength and resolve to stay. Listen in to hear what she discovered on the other side.

While in her Process, Annie realized that the work of the Process was the work she’d been searching for to do in the world. Annie’s first step to becoming a Hoffman teacher was to study to become a therapist. She returned to school for graduate studies in psychotherapy. From there, she trained to become a Hoffman facilitator and has worked for Hoffman since.

Annie is fascinated with the human condition and why we are the way we are. Over time as a teacher, she learned to lean back and trust the Process. Listen in as Annie shares her wisdom and experience of teaching the Process.

Annie is a Senior Facilitator of the Hoffman Process in Australia as well as working privately as a Counsellor and Gestalt Psychotherapist. With a background in the performing arts, Annie is also an accomplished actor (NIDA), producer, and teacher with more than 30 years of experience. The arts have been a major focus of her life and she has an unwavering belief in the power of creative expression as a healing force. Whether music, art, theatre, or literature, Annie loves the human capacity to create meaning in all expressive forms.

As a Facilitator of the Hoffman Process, Annie has witnessed first-hand the power of this deep and life-changing process. “I continue, each time I teach the Process, to deepen my understanding of the beauty, frailty, and resilience of the human spirit – it is an absolute privilege to bear witness to each participant’s courage and inherent goodness.”

Discover more about Anne on Linkedin and Wikipedia.

Four Stages of Competence:

Volker Krohn – 

Kerri Chinner was Annie’s Process teacher. Annie shares that Kerri no longer teaches the Process but remains a beloved team member.

The Paradoxical Theory of Change

Transference

Awareness Hell:

Cory Britt was sober for four years before coming to the Hoffman Process in June of 2024. As Cory shares his life story and recovery story with Sharon, he touches on many painful parts of his life and many joyous ones, too. In a raw and detailed way, Cory leads us through his journey from addiction to freedom.

For two decades of alcoholism, Cory held incredibly poignant life dreams and aspirations while at the same time not knowing how to break free of addiction so he could follow them. His dreams terrified him because he had no idea if he would ever live them. He started drinking when he was twelve. This way of life was all he knew.

Like many students, Cory had to wait almost six months to attend the Process after enrolling because it is usually fully booked six months ahead. Cory knew the Proess was coming, which was a beacon of hope during his wait. He chose to utilize the many tools he’d learned to navigate a life of sobriety, to consciously dig deeper as he moved closer to his time in Petaluma.

Post-Process, Cory feels joy and excitement about his dreams and vision. He knows who he is and understands who he is. He is proud of who he is. His mind is quiet. There’s space there. Cory is free now to live the life he dreamed about for all those years. As he says, “All that space I have in my head now, and all that free time in my head, all the amazing shit that I can do with it? That is the Hoffman pouring out of me every day.”

**Be aware that this conversation contains explicit language and mentions substance abuse. Please use your discretion.

I’m a stay-at-home dad and full-time student, passionate about helping others. With a love for the outdoors, from trail running to hitting up the ski slopes, and working out in the gym, I seek the deeper meanings in conversation, while always enjoying the little moments in life. 

Just over four and a half years ago, I was at the lowest point of my existence. The deepest and darkest holes you can imagine, with little to no light in sight. After crawling from the depths of my hell, I began to rid myself of demons and transform my lifestyle. I started by switching careers. I became a student and completely overhauled my daily nutrition, all while seeking refuge for my mental well-being. 

In a couple of months, I’ll have earned my degree in studies in education. I’m following this with a master’s in secondary education, paving a potential path to educational leadership in the future. To say I am excited to be in the classroom full-time is a drastic understatement. My love for children begins at home, with my five-year-old son and two-year-old daughter. Watching them grow has been the greatest gift; the joy they bring me each day is unmeasurable.  

Through many dark days, droves of discipline, and unwavering consistency, I have begun to build the life I always dreamed of. For so long I was merely drifting along in search of meaning, now I am living and loving the beautiful space I occupy on earth. I intend to use all my pain, suffering, and the reclaimed happiness and joy, to affect change and inspire those who may feel lost or need help on this journey we call life. Through love and peace, I will continually embody and radiate my light. 

The Rich Roll podcast

Ed McClune, Hoffman teacher and coach

“When there is no enemy within, the enemy on the outside can do you no harm.” African Proverb

“Suck the bone marrow out of life.” Words shared by Cory

Another quote about the marrow of life  from Henry David Thoreau

Alysse Godino, Money Coach and Founder of Saffron Money tells her story of transformation during her week at the Hoffman Process. But like all stories of transformation, it begins long before her time at Hoffman. When the Maui fires hit, Alysse was preparing to fly to California for her Process. She wondered if she should go, wondering if it made sense to go during a time of such emergency. But she knew it was the right time, and her transformation was fueled by her grief of what was happening on the island she loves.

When Alysse returned home to Maui, she was ready to contribute to rebuilding her community. It was time to put the inner change she experienced into external action. This is a beautiful example of Love’s Everyday Radius.

What caused Alysse to enroll in the Process wasn’t any big traumatizing event. Rather, it was something that she noticed happening inside of her. On the outside, her life was good, even great. But on the inside, she felt an anxiety that wasn’t tied to anything apparent. She would come to see, after her week at Hoffman, that she’d been living with an unconscious internal level of anxiety and anger for a long time. Through her work in the Process, she let go of it all.

We hope you enjoy this powerful story of healing and love, community and rebuilding, loss and new life.

Discover more about Alysse and her business at  www.saffronmoney.com. Follow Alysse on Instagram and Saffron Money on Instagram.

Maui fire, August 2023 – Cause

Maui fire, Lahaina rebuilding

Saffron Money – Maui wildfire update