David Hersey
"Meeting Ronit was like a ship crashing into an iceberg. She was the first who could see through to the caring human being inside and, over a decade, lovingly peeled and directly chiseled through the layers and exposed my true tender, independent and loving soul to myself."
Before I met Ronit I thought I knew it all, and what I did not know I could learn faster than others. I was competitive, superior, cold and transactional. The reality was that everybody but me saw this for what it was and quietly stepped around me. I could achieve professional success but my relationships were nonexistent.
My view of the world was self-reinforced from early and late childhood interactions with the world, with peers and adults. This feedback system left me no other way to develop except into this mold, and there was no way to penetrate it. I had sought community and awareness through the usual weekends and seminars and experiences… but I just integrated that into my existing persona. Trapped in my own self perceptions, I could only expand my virtual reality.
Meeting Ronit was like a ship crashing into an iceberg. She was the first who could see through to the caring human being inside and, over a decade, lovingly peeled and directly chiseled through the layers and exposed my true tender, independent and loving soul to myself.
Through her work with the Leap Forward community I was able to practice deep listening, caring, and conscious communication. I learned to identify my delusions, pressures and anxieties and gained the tools to navigate them. It’s not that I never get taken out, it’s that I’m able to see and understand; to not take my illusions at face value but to x-ray them. This x-ray vision gives me deep insight into other’s behaviors so I have the ability to respond with empathy instead of escalation.
My relationship with my family has completely shifted from irritation and conflict to deep respect and support for each other. When I meet people professionally, I frequently get feedback on how sensitive, inquisitive and supportive I can be. Very few believe me when I describe the narcissistic, absurd, oblivious and pressured human being I was previously.
I am now engaged in creating a technology platform for my financial independence so that I can be a greater contribution. I took on this goal with confidence and have executed with clarity and self awareness, avoiding the traps of pressure, self delusion and needing to “know” along the way.
None of this would have been possible without Ronit’s deep insight into and understanding of what makes me and us human, her unflagging dedication and her unique awareness that we can only transform ourselves in relationship to others engaged in the same goal.
