FEBRUARY 2023
Catalyst Spotlight: Anne Stokes Hochberg on Evolving Through Inner Work
Name: Anne Stokes Hochberg
Occupation: Retired, but I occupy myself gardening, singing in small choral groups, and spending a fair amount of time doing “inner work”, both alone and with others.
Location: Haverford, PA
What led you to meditation? Back in my early 20s, after the religion I grew up with died away from me, as it were, taking with it the ritual I loved, I still wanted some kind of spiritual practice. Someone suggested meditation. The forms have changed and evolved over the years, and it has been a significant part of my life, with some gaps. What led me to Dr. Joe’s meditations was a desire to heal a minor medical condition, but as many others have reported, they have provided me with so much more than that.
How has meditation impacted your life? In so many ways over the years… In terms of Dr. Joe’s meditations, it’s hard to separate out the impacts of the meditations themselves and the overall changes in my life due to attending retreats and listening to the wealth of information available on the internet. So I’ll just say that until I began doing Dr. Joe’s meditations (a little over a year ago) it had been difficult for many years for me to find the impetus to establish a regular, daily practice, even though I wished I could. The first one I did inspired me to keep going, and fact that I look forward to them every day is still amazing to me. The meditations themselves make room for my inner development; they provide a path to walk on and I know I’m growing and progressing. I don’t know how my brain is being affected, but I have no doubt that good things are happening in there, day by day!
Why do you support InnerScience Research Fund? After I heard the livestream presentation from Marco Island in late 2021 I was so impressed and excited by the research that I simply felt an urge to support it. I can and so I do. It’s groundbreaking and important work.
If you could change one thing about our world, what would it be? I would like people to truly listen to each other, to respect each other, and to regard others’ lives as their own. So much good in so many areas would evolve out of that. Of course, for that to happen we need to learn to listen to and respect our own inner voices, if we don’t already do so. Who knows what could happen then?!
How do you help spread the word about InnerScience?I can’t say I’ve spread the word much about InnerScience itself, but I do excitedly talk about the research (and Dr. Joe’s work in general) with friends. I’m pleased whenever they become excited enough about it to support InnerScience too.
The Last Word: I’ll go back to my high school yearbook quote from Dom Marmion: Joy is the echo of God’s life in us.