- For me, Hoffman was like a psychological intervention and a spiritual container, and having all those tools to deal, you know, with your spiritual growth, but also cultivating your mindset and making sure your mind is supporting your authentic self in supporting your heart. And there is harmony there. - Welcome to Love's Everyday Radius, a podcast brought to you by the Hoffman Institute.
I'm your host, Sharon Moore, and I hope that you enjoy today's conversation and that the stories shared by our graduates impact move and inspire you. My guest today is Oswaldo Alvarez. Oswaldo has an incredible journey filled with courage, honesty, and rawness. He's currently an entrepreneur who is devoted to helping accelerate people's ability to feel and be unconditional love. He's a co-founder of two meaningful organizations as well as a business and life coach. O Waldo, welcome to the show.
- Thank you. Thank you for having me, . - Well, as Waldo, let's start from the beginning. Let, let's start with actually, not necessarily the beginning, but let's start with the Hoffman process. When did you take the process and what was going on in your life that brought you to the process? - I took the process in 2019.
Uh, at that time I was, uh, going through what I call a lot of existential suffering the year before I went to Costa Rica and I did a retreat of psychedelics, of ayahuasca arrhythmia. And, uh, by that time, you know, there was a lot of pieces that I was not being able to work with 'em and to connect some of the dots of that experience that I had in Costa Rica.
So I was really searching and, uh, I'm a member of an organization called Entrepreneurs Organization that we are putting forums, uh, for life. And every month we meet as a group of eight men to share, you know, the top 5% things, the most vulnerable things that are happening in our life. And one of my four mates, uh, by the time that I went to Hoffman when I sign up, he just came from Hoffman. And I just saw how raw and vulnerable he was and I was in this exploration.
So I, immediately, after I witnessed his presence, I called Hoffman and I sign up, uh, because I, I was witnesses this man, uh, uh, with his open heart sharing a lot of what he went through. And I said, you know what? I gotta go. And that's when I sign up and went through the process. - How did you even get to a point where you were meeting with men specifically, it sounds like, who are committed to continuing to grow and evolve? How, how did that happen?
- Well, you know, for many years I was very close and armor up, right. But the way I wa I was raised up. I, I was raised up in Venezuela in a very conservative family. My father was a public person. I carried his same name, and I developed a lot of patterns about holding my voice and not exposing myself because I didn't wanna attain my father's name in any way. So I was very close.
But when I came to the United States, I came to do my, my master's years and six weeks into the program, I had a panic attack, right? And I ended up in the emergency room of, of, of a hospital, and it was the first time I talked to someone. So, uh, the Dean of students affair put me immediately in contact with a mental health department at the university. And it was the first time I found a space of safe space that I could start telling my story.
So I think that was part of that energy that years later, as I found this organization, as I was struggling as an entrepreneur to scale my business, and I was going through a lot of these issues, that I found a group that I was able to be, they have the, the right protocols like confidentiality and not judgment.
And speaking from experience that allow me to open up and start being more vulnerable and telling my story and finding the beauty in opening my heart and connecting with other people, that was also opening their heart. So that's how I joined this organization as part of that process. - Wow. And you mentioned that you were, you moved to the US and six weeks later that happened. What brought you to the us? - So when I was born, my father was already a public person in Venezuela, right?
He was in politics, he was the president of Congress by age of 31. So all I knew for the first 18 years of my life was everything that was going on around my father persona, right? And I had his same name. So I copied his belief system, and I was trying to, unconsciously I was craving his love and trying to get his validation. So I copy exactly all his belief systems, right?
But at the age of 18, he run for president in Venezuela, and he lost, and that was a huge family breaking moment because all his career and everything around him started to disappear and things started to go in, you know, in a very weird way. So I decided that it was too much for me, that I wanted, uh, to actually do something different in my life of what I was doing.
You know, I was studying law at that time, and I knew I made that decision more because I wanted to get the validation on my dad than really something coming from my authentic self. So, so I started this exploration of, you know, I, I need to find a way out of all of this, right? And I started exploring coming to the US and I graduated from law school, and then I decided, you know what?
I I, my best friend at the time, he was, uh, uh, he had this entrepreneurial spirit and I, and I wanted to do things with him, but I was not brave enough to go to the entrepreneurial world because all this weight that I had about what I thought was expected about me and being an attorney and working in a traditional law firm, et cetera, et cetera. But I decided, you know what? I'm gonna find a way.
And the way I did that, it was to find a university with a great name so I could get my dad's validation. And that's when I applied to Yale and I came to do my MBA. Then six weeks into the program, I had that panic attack that just showed me, it was like the first wake up call that everything was not okay, that I was living on a scripted live with too much weight on myself. And, uh, it was just too much.
And again, that was the first red flag that I felt, you know, there's have to be a different way of living. - And that was the first red flag. And did your body continue to be your alarm bell, or did you try to go back to who you were after that happened? - No, no. That changed everything. Like after that panic attack, even though there was a lot of things that I didn't know, I knew that I had to search for a different way of living, right?
And when I started going to therapy that I started to open up, I started to connected some dots. And what started to happen is that I started to become more curious, right? Of finding a better way. But it was very hard because I had a lot of conflicted belief systems clashing, right? On one hand, after my father lost the presidential election, I wanted to be independent. I wanted to be financially independent, not depend on anyone, but on the other hand, I have this belief system around money.
If I make too much money, I'm gonna be suspicious. On my dad's side, I, because he was super strict, so all these things were clashing, and I had no clue why. Like, I, I couldn't figure it out. I was on on victim conscious, totally, right? So everything was happening to me. I was blaming everybody. I had a pattern. That year later, I, I learned at Hoffman of being too nice. I always wanted to be the nice guy because I didn't wanna take my father's name.
But then I was regretting that people were taking advantage of me. It took me years to realize that I was co-creating that, that people were not taking advantage of me. That I was, with my energy not speaking clearly. I was holding my voice. I was not using formulas that, that I thought were fair. I was just accommodating formulas so people will think they were fair.
So a lot of suffering in the way I was trying to transition and emancipate in a way from my father's, uh, image to my own self, but clashing with all these belief system and all these patterns that were in the, on the way, a lot of unconscious, uh, patterns and programming and things that I was doing that I was not really aware of why I was operating like that. But definitely on victim consciousness. And there definitely, I called that I was on a carousel, right?
Like, I was going around and around and some of the actors were changing, but the drama remained the same. Drama remained, and it got to a point that I was exhausted. It was too much existential suffering. And by that I mean that most days were not happy days were days that I was connected with, uh, sadness, with, uh, emotions. My band of emotion was very low, and I was fluctuating a lot on these low emotions.
- When you were on this journey, e even moving to the US so that you could, you know, start to live differently, were you supported by your father and your family? - Yeah, absolutely. So we are a close family, right? I remember when I had that panic attack, it was a beautiful moment with my dad because he came to the US and he basically came to give me unconditional love. Like he said, listen, I know you can with this program, but if you decide not to continue, I'm still gonna love you.
You don't need to prove anything to me. And I remember he even wrote something very nice in, in, on the board of my room, and he, he put something like, you know, life happens and we learn, we need to learn to flow with life. So it was a beautiful connecting moment with him, right? So it was more all the unconscious things, all the stories that I was telling myself for years rather than the reality, right?
Because I remember years later, after Hoffman, when I take, went to talk to him and start talking about all the stories that I was telling myself because of my relationship with him. And he was shocked, , that those were the story that I was telling myself, right? So that was actually a beautiful family moment, you know? - Yeah. So this pressure to not taint his name, especially given that you have his name, was that completely internal? - Well, I wouldn't say completely internal, right?
I have five siblings, right? So we are six, and by the time my father was president of Congress, he was like 30, 31 years old, and he was dealing with six kids, right? So I think my mother tried to play a role of protecting my dad from having to deal with six kids, right? And try to protect us from public life.
I, I think it obviously was not her intention, but by protecting us and, and supporting my dad, there was a wall there, but there was always like the family responsibility to support my dad, right? Because his career was so important, and he was like a superstar at the time in Venezuelan politics with, uh, even a 30 with a potential of becoming president.
So there was that, this whole family dynamic around having to support him and having to behave super well because we were the kids of Oswaldo, right? So, so I will say, you know, I took that to heart, especially because I had that, I had his same name, and then, then I started to develop all these patterns, right? - What's your birth order in the, among the other five siblings? The six, - I'm number four. - Number four. And you got, nobody else got his name. Just you did? Yeah.
- Yeah. - Wow. So it is both an honor and a, and a huge responsibility. - Yeah. Now I see it like a blessing, right? All my journey that I had to go because of that, and at the place that I see from the place that I'm sitting now, is just a beautiful journey that I honor everything that I went through because of that. But yeah, there were times that it was just too much. It was, uh, you know, EE every time I was introduced, I was not introduced as oswaldo.
I was introduced, oh, I want you to meet the son of Oswaldo. I, I once heard, um, I don't remember who was, but it was the son of a, a US president that says, you know, when you're a son of a politician, we'll inherit half of the friends and a hundred percent of the enemies, right? . So it, it was a tough spot to be, especially during my teenage years. And then it was a chucking event when he lost the election, because he lost against my godfather. And, and it was a very difficult family moment.
But then I came to the us, I had that panic attack. I came to Miami, started my entrepreneurial journey with a lot of ups and downs. Then I went through a tough divorce, and a year later I was running a super successful business with my best friend, and he got diagnosed with cancer in 2014. I divorced in 2015, my best friend and partner, which with whom I had a beautiful relationship, died out of cancer. And that was a key point where I started that deep exploration.
So my first experience was with the Chopra Center, and that's when I started to meditate. And then I went to Costa Rica to arrhythmia. But there was still something missing about how to deal with all the things that were popping up, right? And that's when I then went to Hoffman.
And I always said, for me, Hoffman is the most transformational experience I ever done, including psychedelics, because Hoffman gave me a framework, gave me a toolbox to I, it was like, I, now, after Hoffman I had a flashlight and I had a lot of tools that I can deal, and I can kind of all personalize my personal growth process because I understood so much. And I had a framework to deal with a lot of things that were, that happened in my life, that were happening in my life.
So everything really started to change after Hoffman, because I am raised the process. And I said, you know what? I'm gonna go now all in and at all costs in my personal growth process. And for me, what that meant was actually, if something resonates with me, I'm not gonna say no. I'm gonna explore it. And I was not used to that. I was, uh, more on a very predictable life.
And this was like embracing whatever was coming up from, you know, from my heart and embracing uncertainty and trusting that I was supported in a way in that process. And at the beginning was scary. But, uh, I think Hoffman gave me, you know, the tools to actually embrace that in that way, which was a beautiful thing. Because after I did the psychedelics, which was a great experience, and I, it opened my mind, I also went through what I, you know, many people call awareness hell, right?
Like, I knew now I had too much information and I didn't know how to deal with it. And then with Hoffman, it was like, oh, wow, you know, I started a beautiful process of connecting with myself, loving myself, having so much compassion, not only for me, but for all the members of my family. And the first thing that I will say that I started to conquer after Holman was peace. I felt like, oh, finally, you know, I'm evolving. I got out of that carousel.
I still obviously have a lot of things to figure it out, but I started even to enjoy the process, right? Because it was like, wow, this is so beautiful. I started to find beauty in everything that started to happen to me as an opportunity to continue to grow. And I started to change and to disconnect from some of these patterns. And, you know, just beautiful things started to happen around my life, right? And I started to envision a different life, you know, after Hoffman.
I remember when I got out of the process, I didn't have any reservation after where to go, so I just rented a car and start driving. And I, I stayed in a little hotel on the Pacific Highway, and the next morning I wake up and I told the guy, if there's one thing that you recommend me, where would that be? He said, I will definitely go to the redwoods. I said, wow, but that's a long drive. I said, you asked me, and I'm telling you.
So I went on and I did that, and I remember how raw I was and how beautiful it was. Once I entered the redwoods, I started crying, but it was like a, just a breeze. I felt like for the first time I was totally on my heart. And it was such a beautiful moment, that moment that I remember. And I wanna, I just wanna read you a small paragraph, because I got married on Saturday, and in my bows, this moment came, and that's how I started, uh, saying my bows.
Because I remember exactly that moment that I was so much on my heart that I started to envision the new things that were coming from my heart that I wanted to manifest in a way. So I wrote many years ago, emerging from great existential suffering and embracing the beauty of the present moment.
I managed to plant a seed in the infinite place of possibilities where I dream of a relationship, that bet on passionate, personal growth with curiosity, with a continuous work of lowering the volume of judgment and operating, convince that life happens for us in the worst case and in the best case through us. And I think that part of the big, big gift that I got out of Hoffman was, wow, I'm not all these patterns.
I'm not all these programming, and I have a lot of compassion for that kid that develop all of this. That there was a possibility to connect with that essence that had so much beauty and that had so much potential to flow with life and create and enjoy and live life differently. And what started to happen with all the tools I got from Hoffman and the work after, is that I started to witness how my fluctuations of emotions started to go up.
Now, the lows were not as low, the band was moved to the upper level. So everything started to change. My relationship started to change. I started to be more vulnerable. I started actually to have intimate relationships. I don't think I ever had intimate relationships before Hoffman in the sense of really opening up emotionally and allowing myself to really be seen.
It was so magical that now I try to the best of my ability to really embrace that process, the process of operating from my heart, the process of allowing myself to be seen. Because what I find out is like, there was so much magic when I started to allow myself to be seen, right? And what I do now, now that I'm coaching founders and entrepreneurs and their leadership teams, I witnessed that magic that I lived in Hoffman, right?
When one heart opens and then another heart opens, and then those two hearts connect, I think it's one of the most rewarding things of what I do. To be a witness of that. Like, if you have the right intention, the right container, the right tools is just magical. It's magical. And there's so much beauty and so much magic that comes from that energy. So in many ways, Hoffman changed my life.
Right now, I'm, I'm doing my coaching, and I also have a project with, uh, another Hoffman graduate that we are doing teaching emotional intelligence in elementary schools. And the way that happened, it was just magical, right? No, it was from the heart. He had an idea on a meditation. I had another idea on meditation. We talked, we aligned, and boom, now here, we all, we just implemented the first project. So a lot of things started to flow in a such a beautiful way that I was not used before.
Before I was used to checking boxes, uh, having a, to-do list and accomplishing things. But there was no, there was a definitely a disconnection from my intellect and my heart, actually. It was a constant battle between those two that I think Hoffman, again, it helped me so much to have the tools to go back to myself and stop the judgment, because I think in my house we were over critical. So I felt I was never good enough. And, uh, there was always something wrong with me.
This process allow me to actually, which was at the time when I went through the process, was crossed crazy. Like actually how, how much compassion I started to have with the previous versions of myself. I was always my worst enemy. - You talk a lot about how the process itself had an impact on you, but you also talk a lot about the tools and the framework. Can you give me an example?
'cause you know, it's been some years and it's not uncommon for me to talk to graduates and probably people who are listening who have curiosity around, okay, how do we keep this in our lives? So can you paint the picture of how these tools and this framework stays so active in your life today? - A hundred percent. I think, for example, one example is every single day I am super aware of all the triggers that I have during the day.
And every time I have a trigger, my first reaction is to go inwards. My first reaction is to use that tool to go inside and say, you know, before you react, why is it that is bothering you so much? Where is this coming from? So that introspection, right, changed my life, right? Because again, I was from a victim conscious, I was always on a victim mentality. And this started to shift to the co-creator, right? I can create a different reality, but it's on me.
So I started to really embrace that tool, and I use it at least three, four times a week consciously. And I'm sure I'm using it much more unconsciously now because it's part of my operating system. Every time I get triggered, I go inside, I try to stop at that checking point before reacting.
And obviously there are some, sometimes that I, that I react and I have to do the, the work, but as a tool that helps me to grow every day, that it helps me to go inside and it helps me to work through these patterns and disconnect from them. That's a huge one that is very, very present in my life. And also doing it with compassion, right? With myself or with the people in my ecosystem that react. So I try to embrace the non-judgment.
I try to, to honor the curiosity that is, has been huge in terms of enjoying the process, right? Even when there's times of contraction, I now can see and have the awareness, even in the middle of these very bad dark side moments or contraction. I think I already have the awareness that I know this is temporary, right? So in the middle of it's like, okay, now I have the flashlight. I I turn on the flashlight in the contraction, and I know I'm gonna find some pearls, right?
So even in the middle of it that I'm not having a good time, at least now I know, you know, this is passing, this is happening for me, and I'm gonna find some pearls. And it, it always happens. I, I always find the reason why I went to that place, and you know, it's like the butterfly, right? And then you open up and you expand. And the magical part of that is actually get to enjoy and honor that process without the existential suffering that I had before.
And I think it's because, again, that framework of understanding, because the other thing that happened to me at Hoffman is like, wow, I'm, I'm not unique. Like this happens to everybody, right? , that story might change, but we all are carrying all this stuff and how beautiful it is, right? That you can see that and start having compassion for yourself and from other people's patterns. And in a way, what I'm doing right now is trying to service to other people my process, right?
And creating these ecosystems where we're helping entrepreneurs with their mental health and connect with their authentic self organization is called Leaders Collective here in Miami. But also in my coaching businesses, I try to share with my vulnerability all my process and the things that work.
And it has been just magical because, uh, I think that vulnerability and that authenticity on the business world, when you get to actually embrace it, and you have founders and CEOs that have that curiosity, what you start seeing in their teams is magical because it's real trust, it's vulnerability based trust that not necessarily where to use in, in business, but once they start filling it, and they get to that place is like, oh, wow.
So now we are coating each other by honoring this space and by using tools that allow us, us to be compassionate and allows us to be non-judgmental and allow us to be curious and to help each other unlock our potential, right? And I think that's part of that energy that I had with my best friend who passed away, who by the way, was super present during the Hoffman process. And I had a, a beautiful, uh, thing that happened. A part of me was mad that he was gone.
I had an a dialogue sometimes, like, uh, because when he died, we had such a beautiful relationship that we had a lot of businesses together, but we didn't have everything formalized. We were very informal. So I had some issues after with his family and with partners trying to put everything together. And I was mad at him like, you left me all this mess. And during the howman process, I was still dealing with that.
And I remember there was a beautiful moment that I was actually in bed after a lot of things that happened during the day. And I had this dream that I went to him and I said, listen, you abandoned me and you left all this mess. And he start laughing and he said, uh, he, he start laughing and says, you know what? You know, that's bs. You know that I love you, and you know that in every meaningful relationship that you'll have from now on, I'm gonna be part of that. And I was like, wow.
And I think as I got out of the process and I start working on my vision, on the things that I wanted to be doing, that energy was fundamental and instrumental in everything that I do. Because part of what I'm doing right now is how can I accelerate trust among people to really go to that place of non-judgment, unconditional love that we can support each other to flourish, right? Because that's what I felt I had with him.
But there was so many patterns in my life that were not allowing myself to be seen in a way that I can actually nurture that energy and actually, uh, help others to connect to that energy, which is now like a north star for me. Like, how can I show up authentically? How can I show up curious with no judgment so other people can feel safe to be vulnerable and allow themselves to be seen so then we can unlock potential together? - There's a lot there. I wanna highlight a couple things.
One is, even though you had a beautiful experience at the process, like you said, uh, one of the most influential and transformational experiences for you on your journey, the patterns are not gone forever. What happens is they show up, they're not as powerful. They don't knock you down onto that left road as intensely and for as long they're still there, but you're able to use the tools to get yourself back to your authentic self.
I think this is a really important point to make because sometimes we find that graduates are really disappointed when they find that pattern comes back. But your perspective is, yeah, it came back, but I was able to navigate it. It's not as powerful. It didn't debilitate me. I think that's a really important thing to highlight.
And I think the other thing I wanna name is you went back out there, you had this beautiful experience, and you went back out in the world and devoted, like you said, your North star is. Now, how can I accelerate this for others? How do I help others find unconditional love and feel unconditionally loved? That's incredible. - Yeah. And I have to say, the beauty of what I do also is that I keep growing by helping others, right?
So it's this magical correlation energy because yesterday I was working with an entrepreneur and his wife, and during the session I was laughing and sharing with them like, this is amazing. Like, I'm doing as much work as you guys, because as I'm talking to you, I'm hearing myself in the areas that I need to keep working. It's just beautiful. Like when you are able to be, again, vulnerable and be in your heart to connect with that energy.
And I am convinced now, uh, that this work never ends, but it gets better and better, right? It, it can get better and better. It can be, uh, more fun, it can be more joyful. You are right. Some of these patterns have layers and layers and layers, and, but one thing that I found out is now with my spouse and with my forum members, is that the more authentic I am, the more vulnerable that I am in a safe container, the more light that people that love me can put on my blind spot.
If you ask me us, what is one of the things that you are more grateful today in your life? I will have to say the relationships, all these meaningful relationships. My wedding Saturday, as I was walking, I was crying saying, wow, all these really meaningful relationships that now I have in my life, because I allow myself to be seen, and I allow myself to actually have all these amazing, beautiful people that are growing to be able to put light on my blind spots.
Because I became obsessed with my blind spots because I was so long on that carousel. But now I'm obsessed with my blind spots, right? I asked for feedback. I, I'm super vulnerable because I know there is a magic on, on saying how you are, how you are feeling, and what you're struggling with. And if, again, obviously if you have the right container and the right relationship that can honor that vulnerability, it's amazing. But there are ways to create those relationships, right?
I didn't have those relationships. It is a process like Brenda Brown always talks about trust of vulnerability, something that you start experimenting with. But once you get to the point that you are in your heart and you really fully authentic, then it's just, just magical. So I feel now elevated a lot by all these meaningful relationships. The mentors that I have in my life, the friends, the my forums, um, is just, uh, beautiful.
Because if I'm struggling now, I have people that I can call and say, wow, I'm dealing with this. I don't know how to handle this. And then I get immediately different perspectives of how to handle difficult situations, right? So this meaningful relationship component, uh, based on vulnerability based trust and the ability or on the magic of allowing yourself to be seen and get exposed with your voice and your authenticity, it's, uh, priceless.
And now when I don't do it, because sometimes obviously I'm not in my heart and I get triggered and my ego gets in the way, and I go to my head. And now what happens is when I go there, I feel terrible. Recently, I went to a business meeting and I perceive the facilitator as very arrogant. And when he asked for introductions, I gave the most BS introduction I ever done in my life. When I ended up, I had to leave the room and I start crying, and I said, why?
I just did this right? And I start feeling terrible. And one of my former members that was there, he came out and, and said, why you left? And said, didn't you see what just happened? I just gave her the most BS introduction about myself, so unauthentic. And he started laughing. He says, yeah, it was a little bit weird, but it was not as bad. I said, man, you love me, because that was a lot of BS there.
And, and I had to use some of the Hoffman tools to deal with it and, and to do some introspection and to see what was really the trigger and what happened. And, but again, having the tools and the framework to deal with stuff like that, I recover faster, right? And now I'm more aware and I learn a lot. And when I perceive somebody that is arrogant and in what is in their ego, I try not to hook my ego with their ego. I try to be compassionate and understand my authenticity.
Sometimes I manage to do it, sometimes I don't. But it's like a game right now. It's like, you know, I'm curious every time I, I get triggered to look inside and, and find a way to, to escape from that pattern and find a beauty on disconnect from it. You know, - That's really powerful to view it as a game and curiosity like, oh, there it is again. What's happening? What, what happened to me right there? Curiosity. And I also liked how you said you have this formula now.
You allow yourself to be seen, you allow yourself to be vulnerable. Of course, it's in a safe container. But once you've assessed, yep, this is a safe container, you allow yourself to be vulnerable and seen. And as a result, these relationships are putting light onto your blind spots. So you get to grow even more because of this.
So the entry was you showing up unlayer, unpassed, unprogrammed in your most vulnerable way, and boom, as a result, these loving relationships are helping you see more of your blind spots. - Yes. And I put you a quick example. Like when my best friend was alive, we had this formula that, uh, he was always like the front person of the business. And I was behind the scenes again because my pattern of not wanted to be exposed, et cetera, et cetera.
Right? When he died, I realized that in a way I was using him as a cane in business, right? Because I was not exposing myself, and he was always the one that was exposing himself. And I remember, I, I had a couple of ideas of businesses that I wanted to do, but, but that time I already shared so much with my forum about my patterns and my dad and all this.
But I remember when I presented opportunities and I explained why I needed certain partners, et cetera, with the right protocols, a couple of them invite me to lunch and say, listen us, I think we think you are in this pattern, that you think you are not enough. And you think you, you don't wanna expose yourself, but we think you are ready and you have everything you need. You don't need a partner in this opportunity.
And it was beautiful because that actually put light on that blind spot on that pattern, and I was able to not do it and to embrace what I'm doing right now without the can, without the protection. Because before I was running an airline and I have all these infrastructure and all these layers that I was not exposed necessarily. And now it's my coaching business. There's, there is no protection. It's me and everything that I'm doing now is me.
So it was a beautiful moment again, of an example of through the vulnerability and this meaningful relationship, people can see some of these patterns when you don't and can actually put light on them. What I have felt with all the mentors that I now have in my life is if you know what the heart of that person is, and if that person is talking to you from their heart, even if it is difficult, you are gonna accept it and you're gonna explore it, right?
Because the intention is there and it's coming from their heart. And now, you know, with all the Hoffman framework, it's much easier to identify when somebody is in their heart or somebody is in their pattern, right? In their intellect or, uh, or, or there is a misalignment between their heart and their intellect and what they're telling you. So again, the framework, uh, I don't know, for me, Hoffman was like, um, like a psychological intervention and a spiritual container.
And having, again, all those tools to deal, you know, with your spiritual growth, but also cultivating your mindset and making sure your mind is supporting your authentic self, is supporting your heart. And there is harmony there. It not only helps you to keep growing, but also again, to see in others when that is not an integrity and have the compassion.
But when you see somebody that, at least in my experience, right, something that happened is that I said, you know, if I see somebody, if I'm talking with somebody that I feel they are in harmony, like their intellect and their heart and their authentic self, and they share with me an experience or a tool that help them change their life, and that resonates, I'm gonna explore it because for some reason it's happening, right? So that's what I call the all in at all.
Cause that doesn't mean that I'm gonna do everything that is everybody tells me, but if it resonates with me and I feel this person is in, in that harmony, I'm gonna explore it. Because before I was in that carousel, playing it safe, but suffering a lot. And now I think there's so much beauty when somebody's in their heart and they share something and most cases end up being something amazing like Hoffman was, yeah, a couple of times is something that, you know, this was not that meaningful.
I don't think I'm coming again, but in most cases, uh, it has been magical. So, and, and another thing that happened to me now is that I get in love with the processes of other people. You know, like to be able to see where they are and their curiosity and where they wanna go and doing the work is, is just one of the most beautiful and fascinating things that I witnessed. And I keep learning from that. All my clients are also my teachers, right?
Uh, I had one the other day and I say, no, I feel bad. I feel like I'm, I'm, I'm learning so much from you. And, and they start laughing. - Well, I mean, I think you are clearly a very open-hearted version of yourself at a very curious version of yourself. And that is a gift that you've not just given yourself, but as a result now given others by being their coach or being a space creator, for people to be able to have that experience themselves.
Oswaldo, we are at the end of our time together, but you have just given us such a gift of letting us into your heart and into your story, and what a beautiful energy you are. And I feel so grateful for the world, knowing that you are doing the work you're doing and having the impact. So not only did you invest in yourself, but as a result, you are investing in everyone around you. And that's a gift. - Thank you so much, Aaron. I have to say, I did the process in 2019.
Ian was, uh, my coach, but you were there. And I have so much gratitude for the work that you guys do because, uh, the connections afterwards that remains with the, with the Hoffman Institute and all the magic that happens there is because of the devotion that you guys have for the process, um, for seeing the change in other people. So I'm super grateful for you, for all the Hoffman teachers, and I appreciate you.
And you know, as I was today thinking about the podcast, I was thinking about all the great moments I had with Ian during the process and how much he helped, you know, from this loving place, from feeling this unconditional love from somebody that you just met, right?
And that's part of the magic of that process of, you know, really, really, if you have the intention and you get into one of these containers and your heart opens up and you connect with another open heart, that flow of love is just beautifully overwhelming and magical. Thank you so much. - Oh, we know exactly what you mean, .
And like you said, when we do that work, not only is it like what you just said, soul, the soul, heart to heart, but also as you grow, as the students grow, we get to grow as teachers, just like you are now doing in your life. So it's a, it's a win-win, win all around - A hundred percent. - All right, Oswaldo, thank you so much for being with us and uh, I'm very excited for all the people who got to hear that story. Thank you again. Thank you.
Thank you for listening to our podcast. My name is Liza - In Grassi. I'm the CEO and President of Hoffman Institute Foundation. - And I'm Ra Rossi Hoffman, teacher and founder of the Hoffman Institute Foundation. - Our mission is to provide people greater access to the wisdom and power of love - In themselves, in each other, and in the world. To find out more, please go to Hoffman Institute org.