If you don’t get what you want,
there can be two reasons for this:
Either the environment does not offer it to you (position),
or you are not accepting what is available (awareness).
Hakomi therapy works with both reasons.First, we help people look and discover,
how they are organized that makes them not receive what is available.
And of course, since you are part of your environment,
you can influence your environment
and help to change it – so that everybody,
including yourself, will benefit.– Ron Kurtz
The main principle of the Hakomi method is loving presence – a way of being together where you see the other as a source of inspiration and nourishment. It means a deep appreciation of another human being, and seeing what is healthy and right in a person. Another important basic principle is non-violence. Hakomi does not force anything on a person. We trust organicity, a natural orientation towards lightness, fullfillment and wholeness. According to body-mind holism, body and mind mutually influence each other,
and Hakomi sees bodily habits as expressions of unconscious beliefs. The principle of mindfulness means understanding that real change happens through awareness, not through effort. If we are truly aware of our experience, then its inner meaning will naturally emerge and development in a life-affirming direction will follow. Unity reminds us of the interconnectedness of all things, all life and all events.
Hakomi practitioners are interested in how core beliefs and important early memories affect a person’s self, and how changes in these beliefs in turn change life experiences. Our experiences in life inevitably create ideas about ourselves and the world around us. These ideas become core beliefs that we carry with us from situation to situation and that influence how we behave and the choices we make. Many of these beliefs endure, but because we are not aware of them, they limit our ability to experience happiness and peace.
However, in Hakomi there are no intellectual discussions about the course of a person’s life, and the events that influenced him. Instead, the goal is to gain direct experience through small, mindful experiments that can provide very compelling information about hidden beliefs.
One simple Hakomi experiment to try out. Turn your awareness inward. Notice what is happening in your body, your thoughts, your feelings, what your breathing is like. Notice what is your usual way of sitting. If you sit with straight back, try very slowly take an opposite position by bending your spine and moving your shoulders slightly forward. Or the other way around. Notice how you react to the new body position – does it change anything in your thoughts, feelings, breathing? Just notice what’s happening inside and then let it go.
Hakomi is a multifaceted method. It can be used as therapy to help you understand yourself better and release yourself from limitations. Participating in workshops offers an opportunity for self-development and learning certain basic techniques. The principles and skills of Hakomi, especially loving presence, is a skill that can be carried into all relationships, whether at home or at work. For professionals working with people, it helps to reduce exhaustion and take care of their own well-being. In Hakomi workshops, it is also possible to experience a real sense of community and shared humanity, and to feel a greater connection with others and the world.
Hakomi is a journey that helps us discover what makes us truly happy and free through awareness the beliefs that are holding us back.
How Hakomi received its name
In the 1980s, Ron Kurtz and his circle of collaborators were looking for a name for the method and the institute to be created. One of the group members had a dream where he handed Ron Kurtz a piece of paper with “The Hakomi Institute” written on it. Later it turned out that Hakomi means the question “Who are you?” in the language of the Hopi Indians. The question’s deeper meaning is “How do you stand in
relation to these many realms?”. It was the perfect name for a method whose core is self-discovery.
The symbol of heron on Hakomi logo
The heron is independent, but can function in a group. He can be calmly still, but move quickly and precisely when looking for the prey. Thus, the heron symbolizes an alert and trusting relationship with its environment, seizing opportunities without delay and effort. The Hakomi method also cultivates the same
flexible movement between different elements and states and noticing new possibilities.
About the history of Hakomi
Hakomi has been influenced by several fields and disciplines. With a background in science and computer engineering, Ron Kurtz was inspired by systems theory, and in particular focused his work on how living organisms organize themselves.
Ron Kurtz’s long-term practice of yoga helped him see the value of Taoist and Buddhist ways of thinking in his work as a therapist. The Taoist worldview sees constant change as the basis of how the world is operating, and is guided by the fact that because change is natural, there is no need to control it (“spring will come and the grass will grow by itself.”) For what happens or has happened, there is no place for concepts such as “should ” and “should not”. Another basic idea comes from the Buddhist teaching about the wisdom of the present moment – the past is over, the future has not yet happened, and the only real thing is happening in the present moment.
Humanistic and body-oriented developments in the world of psychotherapy (such as Gestalt therapy, focusing, etc.) were a third important source of inspiration.
Synthesizing his knowledge as a scientist, experience as a therapist, and the above-mentioned philosophical worldview, he arrived at a completely new combination, which was practiced in the 70s under the name of Ron Kurtz’s body-centered psychotherapy method. In 1981, when it became clear that the established method would serve as an independent original direction, the method was named Hakomi, and the Hakomi Institute was established.
In 1992, Ron Kurtz separated from the Hakomi Institute founded by himself. The latter had grown into a large international organization, and its founder needed greater flexibility for faster development. He greatly simplified the method, giving up a lot of unnecessary things and created a new organization, Hakomi Education Network (HEN), which also includes Hakomi Estonia. He called the new way of practicing Hakomi the refined Hakomi method. The central principle of refined Hakomi method is assisted self-discovery.
The refined method is still inspired by the healing wisdom of nature and the human capacity to be loving and aware. Present-moment experiments to detect reactions continue to be important in the advanced method. New neuroscientific knowledge was integrated into the method. And the last, but not least – it had become clear that the effectiveness of the method is not based on techniques, but on the therapist’s ability to be loving and fully present for the client.
Ron Kurtz (1934-2011) was a pioneer in his field, who intuitively brought together neuroscience, ancient spiritual traditions and humanistic psychotherapy. Ron Kurtz’s students and colleagues describe him as a person characterized by warm humor, generosity and a loving disposition. With this, he conveyed the essence of the method he had created.