The Quadrinity Process,
35 Years of Transformation
An interview with Raz Ingrasci, President
by Light News Staff (Edited by
Shawn McAndrew)
 President
and CEO of the Hoffman Institute, a Process
Teacher, and a Board Member. During his 30-year career in the
Human Potential movement, Raz
has held key executive and training positions in national seminar
companies.
A friend to Bob Hoffman since 1973, Raz joined the Institute in 1989
and worked very closely with Bob until his death in 1997.
Light News: Can you tell us about the history
of the Hoffman Quadrinity Process?
Raz Ingrasci: Bob Hoffman first
came to the knowledge from which he developed the Process in January
1967. Then, in 1972, he collaborated with the famous psychiatrist
Claudio Naranjo, M.D. to design a 13-week course where people would
come together twice a week for three or four hours per session.
In 1985, Bob and his colleagues put the Process into an eight-day
residential intensive format. By doing so, he was able to include
about 40 percent more material, and had the added benefit that people
weren’t going in and out of the Process for nearly 4 months.
They could remain in the intensity of it and have complete support
as they moved from stage to stage of the Process. It proved much
more successful for participants, and this format also helped the
Process become more accessible. Within 5 years it was in 12 countries.
LN: What is your understanding of the essence
or basis of this work?
RI: The Hoffman Process provides an opportunity
for people to become much more free, open, loving and spontaneous.
There are three fundamental elements: The Quadrinity Model, the
Negative Love Syndrome, and the Light.
The Quadrinity Model presents the self as having
four distinct aspects, each with its own form of intelligence (i.e.
Intellectual, Emotional, Physical and Spiritual). For most people
these four aspects of self are working against one another in some
important ways. The resulting stress, anxiety, depression and hostility
manifests in diminished personal well being, failed relationships
and unsatisfying careers.
When, in the Hoffman Process, the four aspects of self (Intellect,
Emotions, Spirit and Physical Body) are harmonized, balanced and
integrated, we have a coherent and whole "Quadrinity."
This means that the four dimensions of self can work together synergistically.
The result, what I call "Integral Intelligence," is greater
than the sum of the parts. It's a higher order of intelligence wherein
a person experiences less hostility, depression and anxiety along
with increased emotional competency, empathy for self and others,
enhanced spirituality, increased life satisfaction and so on. Personal
authenticity increases, relationships heal and deepen, and our work
lives become more vibrant.
The second element, the Negative Love Syndrome,
allows us to know precisely what and where our blockages are and
why we are so strongly hooked into perpetuating what doesn't work.
The methodology of the Quadrinity Process empowers us to finally
disconnect from these obsolete beliefs and needs and learn new behaviors
that work.
And then, there is the Light, which we experience
as unconditional love. Through working intensely with thousands
of people, Bob learned that when you remove the patterns and go
down as far as you can go, you run into pure Light. The Process
is shaped by this fundamental knowledge. Discovering this Light
for yourself, within and beyond, brings enormous depth of meaning,
connection, and belonging to life.
LN: What are some of the ways the Process has
evolved?
RI: Since 1985 the Process has gone from being
viewed as a therapeutic modality to being an experiential educational
program available to all adults. Everyone carries the burden of
Negative Love and everyone can be freed from it. In other words,
a lot of what we used to think of as psychological problems are
actually the result of a kind of "emotional illiteracy."
We all received our emotional education from our parents, who received
it from their parents, and so on back through the generations. Broadly
speaking, not much emotional progress has been made during the past
couple of thousand years compared to the advances of the intellect.
People are aware that things are out of balance. "Emotional
illiteracy" cannot be corrected, however, merely through an
intellectual understanding. A set of emotionally corrective learning
experiences is also required.
I once asked Bob, "Is there anyone who cannot benefit from
the Quadrinity Process?" He kind of smiled and said, "Well,
perhaps someone who did not have a mother or father."
LN: How is the Institute moving the Process out
into the world?
RI: Our goal for the past five years has been
to create a foundation for the future that is strong enough to support
the Institute and create the future that we envision. The Hoffman
Institute Foundation now has a non-profit structure, Board of Directors,
Professional Advisory Council, fund-raising capacity, scientific research,
and an expanded faculty
and staff. We are strong enough now to reach out and fulfill the
vision and greatness inherent in the work.
We have also begun to develop strategic relationships with other
institutions and organizations. We're collaborating with the Fetzer
Institute to create a program called Renewal for Religious
Leaders. The University of California at Davis is conducting
a large independent research study on the HQP. We're certified by
the State of California to provide Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
to professionals. And we are launching a ground breaking new program
to empower corporate leadership called The Executive Path: Personal
Development for Professional Growth.
We're blessed to now have 16 incredible Teachers who selflessly
dedicate themselves to this work. Anyone who's done the Process
understands that a Hoffman Teacher is not an ordinary person. These
are people who have made defining choices and designed their lives
to make a difference and contribute through this work.
2002 is also the 150th anniversary of White Sulphur Springs in
the Napa Valley, our 45-acre facility where we present the Process
on the West Coast. Pleasant Rowland acquired it for the Institute
nearly two years ago. So, another crucial element of our new "foundation
for the future" is having this extraordinary healing place
as a home base for all that we do.
In the end, the growth of the Process depends entirely upon the
goodwill, outreach, and support of our graduates who share their
growth, wholeness and love with the people in their lives. And those
who have made, and continue making, financial contributions. We
are very fortunate to have a Board of Directors that leads the way,
and many others who have provided the financial support needed to
invest in growth.
LN: So people's contributions to the Institute
foster the growth of the Process, benefit the people taking the
Process and contribute to the good of the world.
RI: Yes. When you're taking the Hoffman Process,
you're highly focused on your own work. But afterwards you look
back and realize, "I could never have accomplished all this
without this group of people and this dedicated organization."
So, naturally, one wants to share it and give back.
LN: Leadership is fundamental to life. Can you
speak about this issue in terms of what one can gain in the Process?
RI: The Hoffman Process is a path to authentic
leadership. The Process empowers a person to change their life such
that the central question organically shifts from "How do I
end my suffering?" to "How then shall I lead my life?"
"How do I move along my path of contribution into the world?"
Everyone wants to lead an authentic life that is balanced, loving,
and powerful. For better or worse, leaders project what is inside
of them out into the world. As the Institute works with more corporate
leaders, religious leaders, and others, we are beginning to have
an impact on social institutions, which actually multiplies the
effects of the Process. Tom Peters, the author of "In
Search of Excellence" recently said that what we used to
think of as the "soft stuff" is now the "hard stuff."
And so it is increasingly more acceptable for those in leadership
positions to seek out the kind of educational experience and personal
development that is found in the Hoffman Process. Integral Intelligence
is no longer an elective subject, it's a requirement.
LN: What can graduates look forward to from the
Institute?
RI: We have a commitment to developing an extraordinary
post-Process curriculum that is highly relevant to the experience
people have in the Process. So people can make practical use of
their Hoffman experience. Topics such as Spirituality; Relationships
and Communication; and true Embodiment—are on the list. You
can also look forward to the Process becoming more accessible to
mainstream society. Overall, our commitment is bringing the "deep
stream" into the "mainstream" thereby adding depth—substance,
love, connection, health, and well being—to people's lives.
LN: What do you believe is the most important
factor in having the Process touch more people's lives?
RI: Gratitude. As I mentioned, one of the most
important outcomes of the HQP is gratitude. We emerge from the Process
deeply grateful for life, grateful for this opportunity to be alive;
grateful to all the people we know and love. I find that whenever
I experience deep gratitude, that day is a beautiful and successful
day.
The real secret of growth for the Hoffman Process is that it resides
in the grateful hearts of so many thousands of people. From this
heart of gratitude people give generously. Everyone affiliated with
us, whether they're a Teacher or an administrator, a member of one
of our Boards, or someone who's made a financial contribution—first
experienced the Process and saw that contributing to others through
the Process was a very practical way to bring greater peace, love
and understanding to our world. Most especially, the staff of the
Institute is deeply grateful to the many other Hoffman graduates
who are "holding us up" and making it possible to act
on and fulfill this vision, this dream of peace, love, joy and sufficiency
for all. Bob Hoffman always said his mission was peace. ø
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