S6e4: Kani Comstock – Finding Freedom and Joy
Kani on the Yangze River Kani Comstock, beloved Hoffman teacher, first learned about the Process in 1985 from her brother who was working with Bob Hoffman. Her brother gave her Bob's book to read. "Blown away' by what she learned, Kani completed the Process in January 1986. Kani became the Hoffman Institute's Director shortly after and, together with Bob, started Hoffman International a few years later. Following this, she became a Hoffman teacher and taught until her retirement almost three decades later. Kani's whole family has done the Process, including her mother, her three siblings, and some of her in-laws. She shares a particular moment from her Process when she fully realized the powerful hold negative patterns have on us. As she worked to release the patterns she had taken on from her mother, she realized they kept trying to reassert themselves within her. She was able to see and feel their tenacity. She came away realizing just how important the work of the Process is in helping people find the freedom to live from their own essential nature. Kani's effervescent spirit and joy are evident in this conversation with Sharon. Kani has loved the Hoffman Process from the day she first learned of it. She loves that the Process offers a place where we can come to know ourselves as our true selves. Educated as a scientist, Kani shares how she has learned to listen to and follow the voice of her Spiritual Self or Essence as she sometimes refers to it. More about Kani Comstock in her own words: Kani and Bob Hoffman As a driven workaholic, I discovered an ease I had never known before when I completed the Hoffman Process. It was February 1986, just months of the new 7-day Process residential format. Soon after that, I was asked by Bob Hoffman to direct the Institute, organize its growth, bringing it to other countries around the world. In 1990, I also became a Process teacher which became my true love. I slowly transitioned into full-time teaching and coaching. Bob was delighted when Marisa Thame, Director of Hoffman Institute in Brazil, and I collaborated to write, Journey into Love: Ten Steps to Wholeness. Journey into Love is available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Later in collaboration with my sister, Barbara Comstock, also a Hoffman Teacher, we wrote, Honoring Missed Motherhood: Loss, Choice, and Creativity. Initially, I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s in cell physiology and biochemistry. I was working on my Ph.D. when a personal tragedy led me to dramatically change my path. I moved to Tokyo to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) and eventually became the first non-Japanese to direct the Japanese school. Four years later and back in the United States, I founded a college-based ESL center and internationalized the college curriculum. Next, as Vice-President of a student exchange organization, I designed programs and traveled regularly to Asia, finally experiencing China, a childhood dream As mentioned in this episode: Barbara Comstock, Kani's sister and Hoffman teacher Ashland, Oregon What is Hospice? Oregon's Death with Dignity Act Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon.