By Tami Tack
Do you remember your last day at the Hoffman Process? Remember feeling in love with yourself and your life? Perhaps you were all fired up, enthusiastic and committed to using Hoffman tools and practices in your daily life.
Why Grad Groups?
After a bit of time, life happens. Patterns raise their persistent heads. You forget what the Cycle of Transformation is. Weeks, months, years go by. You start to wonder where that feeling went, and how you can possibly retrieve it.
One solution is getting connected to a Hoffman graduate group. This is the community that keeps you connected to who you want to be (your spiritual self) and to support you as you continue your Hoffman work. These grads may be the only people in your life who speak the language of Hoffman, who cheer when you’ve identified a new Dark Side pattern, or recycled a particularly persistent pattern.
What Are Grad Groups?
Many years ago, the Hoffman Institute created graduate groups to help graduates keep the Process alive and to create community. Hoffman grads facilitate the groups, volunteer their time, and utilize programs developed by the Hoffman Institute. Each structured, two-hour program has a specific focus such as resilience, creativity, compassion, forgiveness, or gratitude. Community building guidelines, also developed by the Institute, set the tone for the group, and remind grads that they are there to do their own personal work, not to fix others or lapse into social conversations.
How Do Grad Groups Work?
Using course material developed by Hoffman teachers, the facilitator leads grads through various topics. The evening might include a visualization or a Quadrinity check. There may be dyad work with time to reflect and write. Grads may participate in a group discussion. Any combination of these tools and practices may be present during a group. Overall, the sharing that happens during grad groups is deep and honored, and grads often find that they learn from one another’s insights.
I have been facilitating the graduate group in Portland, Oregon for nine years. Before I was invited to take over leadership of the group, I was a member of the grad group for years. I love the sense of community that is present in our group, the commitment to diving deep into inner work, the mutual support, and the connection to Hoffman tools and practices. We also take time to socialize, to gather for dinner prior to the meetings, and each summer we have a picnic for grads and their loved ones.
If you are interested in joining a graduate group, check the website to see if there is one in your area. If there isn’t, consider starting your own. The Institute can help you find other grads in the area and will provide mentoring and training for you. You invested a considerable amount of time, energy, and money in the Hoffman Process. Give yourself the gift of continuing your Hoffman work by attending a graduate group, or even starting one. Contact us at gradsupport@hoffmaninstitute.org for more information.