
What is Ron’s Legacy? One version that I particularly love is expressed by Flint:
“The Hakomi Way is not a particular methodology of psychotherapy; Hakomi is actually the way in which any method of psychotherapy is expressed most elegantly. It is the profound embodiment of intimacy. It is the foundation of loving presence and the pathway to the transformation of unnecessary suffering.” ~ Flint Sparks, Legacy Holder, Zen Teacher
In 2009, Ron and I began to share some ideas about his legacy. I invited him to meet with an organizer working for the Dalai Lama, two consultants helping organizations remain sustainable, and some of his former colleagues in the Hakomi Institute. No specific decisions were made but he continued to teach and refine his method until he died and to reach out to students whom he thought had an aptitude for the method. As you read this, you may recognize yourself as one of those people. It was a surprise to me that when he died, he named some people as Legacy Holders. I am clear that he wanted his work to be embodied and shared, that he entrusted a few to help steward it after his death and, most importantly, that he would have wanted newcomers to be generously welcomed into the community to help sustain and grow the Hakomi Way.
In the past 40 years, I have served in leadership roles in publicly governed educational institutions, privately held corporations and in non-profit organizations. Through my experience, I have learned the importance of finding good people to serve in roles that suit them; supporting people in whatever role they choose to take; creating good governance structures; ensuring that all voices are heard; and having the courage to introduce change when needed.
Approaching my 75th birthday, I am reflecting on parts I have played in the Hakomi community as a student, an organizer, a teacher and a trainer. Each role was sufficient, inspirational, and motivating enough to continue my journey of self-discovery. Perhaps the most significant invitation was one of stewardship when Ron willed me be a legacy holder; in response, my promise was to support the continuance of his lifelong efforts to bring Hakomi into the world. I have served on the Leadership Team since its inception in 2019 after the Bilbao Congress and recently offered to hold the Chair for 6 months ending June 2023.
HEN Present and Future
HEN is now in transition from a loosely knit community to an organization that has non-profit status and needs structure to adhere to its legal and financial responsibilities and to serve its members. Without the enormous effort of our volunteers, we would not be at this level of development, and we want to acknowledge all the time and energy that people have contributed since our gatherings in Vancouver, Puerto Morelos and Bilbao.
Now we are in transition from an informal group relying on volunteers to a more formal organization with paid staff. Transition and change inevitably bring debate and sometimes conflict; however, if we hold the vision of an international organization in which its members can embody and share the Hakomi Way, where people are free to organize workshops and trainings in multiple languages, where new teachers and trainers are certified, where we remain connected through our love of the method; where we share Hakomi teachings through purposeful messaging, then we can move together towards a vision that is far greater than any one of us could possibly realize.
From my perspective, I see five important objectives for the Hakomi Education Network in our near future:
To transition HEN from a volunteer organization to one with paid staff
To inspire new people to step into stewardship roles
To ensure the financial sustainability of our non-profit organization
To share the gift of Hakomi with the world through Dialogues, Community Building, International Congress and listings of local events, practitioners, teachers and trainers
To ensure that Ron’s legacy is preserved in a Resource Library for future students, teachers and trainers
We are all legacy holders as we practice, teach and live Hakomi in our own passionate ways. As we look to the future, we can ask ourselves these questions from The Circle Way - A Leader in Every Chair:
How do we want our community to look back on this time?
What can we contribute to the experience so this can happen?
What help do we need?
A Call to Action
If you love Hakomi and you have the energy and time to help our community grow, please step forward. We need your skills and we need your commitment to steward Hakomi into a sustainable future. Consider a role in which you feel you can contribute - translation, communication, resources, leadership. My personal wish is for someone with leadership experience to step in beside me and take the role of co-chair. I promise to support you!
This is a call to stewardship, an invitation to all members of the international community, a personal request from me and an invitation from the leadership team; we are inviting you to engage with HEN with the recognition that it takes time and care to support volunteers and to gradually grow involvement with our organization. We are very fortunate to have Jenny Smith coordinating our volunteer reachout – she has experience with non-profits and volunteer support programs – and we feel confident that becoming a HEN volunteer will be a deeply rewarding experience.
Are you ready to answer the call?
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