Bio & Words from Skye Hirst, Ph.D.

Bio & Words from Skye Hirst, Ph.D.

Skye Hirst, Ph.D.

Skye brings her empirical experience from coaching, organzational consulting, inquiry circles, healing and working with people up close and personal for 39 years. New world-views emerge out of the uniqueness of this working relationship; healing and becoming true to ones own nature, aligned with the nature of Life-itself is the task at hand for us all.

As Skye learned early from her acting training, there is an authentic self in each of us seeking to act with greatest integrity, and value intelligence. As individuals feel an alignment, a “home place” within themselves, they present a confidence and flow that is compelling, impactful and effective. It’s like getting connected to an inner GPS in decision-making, problem solving and communicating for finding effective actions in any context. The results are peak performance at many levels and deep satisfaction and fulfillment.

President and Co-Founder of The Autognomics Institute (TAI), 1992,

Personal and Executive Coach, Consultant, Researcher, Philosopher, Facilitator, Speaker, Host of Life IS Conversations, Spiritual and Health Consultant and Jin Shin Jyutsu Bio Suble-Energy Practitioner.

As President and Co-Founder of TAI, a not-for profit research and education organization, Skye has been innovation and coordination manager of research, web-site documentation, and intellectual property manager and host of learning conversations towards new science of Life-itself. New work is soon to be published of TAI's research on Living Processes and Natural Laws. Currently a new work group is forming a Life Is.. think tank where learning-conversations, collaboration and knowledge-labs are growing a new mind for emerging world-view of life, living ways and consciousness.

With a Bachelor’s of Music from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. in Human Dynamics & Communication from Ohio’s Union Institute and University, Skye consults in USA and internationally with both individuals and organizations. Her clients include CEOs, business owners, managers, social entrepreneurs, IT specialists, artists and musicians, philanthropists, educators, and conductors. Helping them to bring their personal best into focus for peak performance and deepest fulfillment, her consulting includes team building, communications, presentation-skills, sales, facilitation, negotiation, public relations, community relations, outreach and collaboration, Open Space Technology. Her clients include Start-ups, Small Businesses, Social Entrepreneurships, Fortune 500 Companies, Public Agencies, Philanthropies, Small Communities, and Non-profits throughout the U.S. including State Arts Councils and the National Endowment for the Arts.

As Executive and Personal Consultant, Skye is a sounding board and personal resource to clients in helping them identify their focus, their personal mission vision in alignment with their true natures, using all the best ways of life-knowing discovery possible in the process. One of the tools Skye uses is the Hartman Value Inventory (HVI) which helps clients know about their value vision and HOW they use valuing in making life decisions, choices and communicating from their inner GPS.

SKYE HIRST, Ph.D. continued

Education and background experience:

Skye’s investigation has focused on human relations communication. For over 39 years, she has consulted to industry, governmental agencies, non-profit organizations and individuals from all fields. Some of her clients have included AT&T, ABC Television, Mobil Oil Corp., Exxon Chemical Company, IBM Data Systems Division, McCann-Erickson, Inc., Cornell University, Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, the Kentucky and North Carolina State Arts Councils, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 1979, Dr. Hirst founded and managed Communication Advisory Services, a consulting firm that provided training and development to groups and individuals to increase communication effectiveness as it applies to business management, sales and marketing efforts, personal presentation, teamwork, group dynamics, morale, motivation, customer relations, leadership, career promotion, interviewing, and personal relationships.

In 1983, Dr. Hirst realized that the then “state-of-the-art” communication methods were incomplete. At that time she began a new investigation into values, perception and how people learn. Building on her Ph.D. research in authentic communication, Dr. Hirst worked within a wide variety of communities to study motivations within children and adults. Some of her projects included work with urban “street” kids at The Dome Project in New York City, senior citizens groups, performing and visual artists, women’s groups, and philanthropists.

In 1987, she conducted a national study, commissioned by David Rockefeller, Jr., of successful alternative education approaches. She met with educators and leaders from all over the US. She assembled a committee of leading edge educators who authored a report and recommendations for education reform based upon insights in recent brain/mind research of the previous 15 years.

Late in 1987, Dr. Hirst was introduced to the work of Chilean biologists, Varela and Maturana in Autopoiesis and Robert Hartman’s Value Theory when she met Norman Hirst. These emerging disciplines provided an encompassing explanation for her previous experience and research findings.

Skye joined with Norman Hirst to establish The Autognomics Institute in 1992. Dr. Hirst applies her research in “living systems theory” to providing programs on Creativity in Business and Intrinsic Motivation in Learning and Personal Development Coaching and Counseling. In 1994 Skye did a Violence Study Project bringing together “front liners” to build understanding of the common sources of violence.

Her most recent articles are A Position Paper on Education From a Value Perspective, The Instrinsic Self; What is it? and Questions About Violence In All of Us.

She has had additional training in bioenergetics therapy, career counseling, gestalt counseling, stress management, business management, sales and marketing. She is a certified Axiological counselor using the Hartman Value Inventory.

With 38 years of practice and training, Dr. Hirst is a certified Jin Shin Jyutsu Practitioner having worked with individuals, families, teachers and professionals to bring balance and health to mind and body through the use of self-discovery, health education and subtle energy balancing.

Skye is an advocate and facilitator for Open Space Technology, founded by Harrison Owen. OST is a participant-driven, organic, self-organizing process being used world-wide for meetings, conferencing, community change, planning, problem solving, where there are issues and challenges of complexity, urgency and passion. www.openspaceworld.org

As practitioner of Jin Shin Jyutsu (JSJ) for over 39 years, Skye applies ancient tradition and wisdom of the East, Asian and Indian forms of healing at the bio-field energy levels. Having experienced life-saving healings herself through these methodologies, she helps others to find healthful guidance and coherence balancing using these gifts from the East.

In addition to her practice of JSJ she also uses felt sense focusing introduced by E. Gendlin and a releasing technique inspired by the Sedona Method, as well as a self-knowing imagery awareness process she has developed from work of Grove, and the Hartman Value Inventory from which Skye draws to further her discovery and inquiry of Life’s ways at the individual level.

Skye came to Maine to work and live in its beauty where the quality of life is of high value and people take time to know their neighbors and work at democracy and protect the living environment.