S8e6: Patricia Martin – Resilience, Grace, and These Chaotic Times

Patricia Martin, a 1998 graduate of the Hoffman Process, has spent 30 years studying people and ideas that change the culture. She is the podcast host of Jung in the World. and is at the forefront of curating ideas of technology, culture, and humanity. Listen in as Patricia and Liz converse about the Hoffman Process, the healing that happens when we bend toward the Light, and how resiliency is the medicine for our chaotic times. Patricia came to the Process because she saw, firsthand, how a friend had changed by doing the Process. She saw her friend’s radiance and wanted to “have what she was having.” She says she arrived at the Process “on her knees.” Using a metaphor of growth and photosynthesis, Patricia speaks eloquently of the nature of the Process and the Light. When enough patterns, stories, beliefs, and identities are transformed, the true nature of who we are can find the Light again. What Patricia recalls was the most healing during her Process was finally being able to grieve the death of her father who died when she was 10. Her mother became very depressed and Patricia became a parentified child – expected to take on parental duties at too young an age. As someone who has studied ideas that change the culture for decades, Patricia notes the chaotic nature of these times. She says that we are going through “the death of meaning” right now. This is what happens right before a renaissance – or re-birth – takes place. Patricia suggests that we can navigate these times with more serenity if we clear away the debris from our inner world. In short, what we do at the Process, is this clearing away. It is this death and rebirth that paves the way for a personal renaissance in our lives. More about Patricia Martin: Patricia Martin has spent 30 years studying people and ideas that change the culture. Currently, her focus is on the digital culture and our changing sense of self. She is the author of three non-fiction books on cultural trends and holds an MFA in writing from Bennington College and an MA in Irish Culture and Literature from the University College, Dublin. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Slate, PBS, and Huffington Post. She is certified in medical narrative from Duke University. Patricia is a graduate of the Jungian Studies Program at the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago where she teaches writing and hosts the popular podcast Jung in the World. You can discover more about Patricia at Patricia-Martin.com and Wikipedia, and follow her on Instagram and Twitter(X). Patricia’s Books: Made Possible By: Succeeding with Sponsorship (2003) RenGen: Renaissance Generation – The Rise of the Cultural Consumer and What it Means to Your Business (2007) Tipping the Culture: How engaging Millennials will change things (2010)   As mentioned in this episode: Parentification (Parentized) Bob Hoffman’s Negative Love (Download PDF) Grief and Children Photosynthesis Cultural Archetypes American Library Association •   The Network of Public Libraries in America (larger than McDonalds franchise) •   Installed base of information exchange Vinton (Vint) Cerf: A father of the Internet Al Gore Bill Gates 25 Communities – Bringing Main Street to the Information SuperHighway NY Times 1994 article 1994 Research Paper Information SuperHighways European Renaissance: The Last Mass Cultural Outpouring of Creativity before now, according to Patricia Martin. Rome, Italy Sistine Chapel Social Conditions that existed just before the Renaissance One of the rules of a Renaissance: Death comes first – •   The Dark Ages •   The Plague Systems of Meaning The Ancient Layers of Rome Christopher Lasch, author of The Culture of Narcissism Jung Quote: “At the bottom of every life there is a task and when we address it our lives can move in a new direction.” CC Jung