By Catherine Granville
My life will forever be divided into before Hoffman and after Hoffman, and I want that amazing experience and reboot for the people I love. But how do I put into words the magic that happens during the week-long personal retreat?
I was lucky enough to have a husband who took the plunge first. He came back from the Process in such a happier place than when he left; I felt both excited to go and mystified as to what to expect. How did my husband transform the intense sadness he had been feeling, before he left, into joy? Why couldn’t my normally eloquently-spoken husband just tell me what happened while he was there?
I think back to my husband trying to describe the Process after he returned and, very uncharacteristically, stumbling over his words. He just kept saying, “You just have to get up there!” and “The magic is in the reveal” – whatever that meant! I think the 3 weeks between his Process ending and mine beginning were the longest three weeks of his life! I now know that, for my husband, making sure I participated in this life-changing retreat as soon as possible was like a gift he was so excited about giving that he wanted to blurt out what it was, but he held himself back so he wouldn’t ruin the surprise.
As soon as I finished the Process, I understood both why it was so hard for him to talk about it and why he was so excited about it. The simple analogy I use to describe the Process is a “techie” one: The Hoffman Process allowed me to completely reboot my life. Through exercises, guided visualizations and teacher-led facilitation, I found the freedom to unplug from the negative patterns that had been draining my energy since I was a kid. I discovered joy, and compassion for myself as well as for my parents and their parents. With this freedom, I dreamed up the life I wanted to live. Now, six years later, I am living my vision, and it is absolutely amazing. What else can I tell people who want to know about the Process? Your dreams CAN come true!