ARTICLES + PODCAST EPISODES
The Science of Mindful Breathing (and how it improves brain functioning)
“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.” -Thich Nhat Hanh* , The Miracle…
The #1 barrier to repair in relationship – and what to do instead
Growth mindset can be applied to more aspects of life than we may currently realize. Many of you have heard of growth mindset. Put simply, it is a belief that with consistent action, support and tools, we have a capacity…
How rupture & repair builds stronger relationships
Resilient relationships – whether in friendships, intimate partnerships or families – are not about perfection or only positivity. The ruptures within ourselves and our relationships are precisely what our nervous system needs to build a repertoire of strategies that make…
This skill has the power to heal the past and change the future
When you feel a way you don’t like to feel… do you know how to get out of it? For those feelings you really enjoy… do you know how to improve the chances you’ll feel them more often? Emotion regulation…
How to not take things too personally: the neuroscience of stimulus-response
Taking things too personally can lead to over-amplified emotions and reactions that distort our thinking and relationships. We can get better at navigating challenging interactions, feelings and relationships when we understand three particular unconscious influences that play a big role…
Growth Mindset Neuroscience: 4 steps to build growth mindset handout
“You could say paradigms are harder to change than anything else about a system […] But there’s nothing necessarily physical or expensive or even slow in the process of paradigm change. In a single individual it can happen in a…
Protected: Growth Mindset Neuroscience Handout
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
How words from childhood change your brain and behaviors
“Through others we become ourselves.” ― Lev S. Vygotsky Do you remember the kinds of words that the people around you, especially your caregivers, used to talk about and solve their problems, regulate their own behavior, and regulate the…
Narcissism vs Self-Esteem: family influences and key differences
Self-Esteem has a lot to do with how we see ourselves. So does narcissism. But there is a KEY difference in what this self image is. High levels of self-esteem I are related to lower levels of depression…
Neuroplasticity: how life changes our brain
We are not born with many of the skills we need to reach our highest potential. We are born with the potential to develop them. The malleability and adaptability of the human brain is what makes our intelligence have limitless…
Neuroplasticity workshop!
Neuroplasticity and experience-dependence are two of the most important topics for our society. While I believe it should be a part of standard curriculum for all schools across all ages, it is not (yet). That’s why I create this…
Emotional ups and downs: why they happen and what to do about them
“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary.” -Fred Rogers Do you go through a lot…
Empathy: how too much can hurt and what you can use instead
Empathy allows us to connect with others on a deep level, to recognize, understand, and even internalize the internal state of another person, their emotions and what they’re going through. A full definition of empathy includes both cognitive and affective…
New Video! Emotion regulation skills won’t work without this
“You can’t navigate well in an interconnected, feedback-dominated world unless you take your eyes off short-term events and look for long term behavior and structure.” -Donella Meadows, Systems Thinking: A Primer We all have emotion regulation strategies. We all…
Human Systems Resilience: New videos, mini-book and learning community!
Through learning we re-create ourselves. Through learning we become able to do something we never were able to do. Through learning we reperceive the world and our relationship to it. Through learning we extend our capacity to create, to be…
Mental health relies on these two key elements
What drives you to do the things you do? When you wake up in the morning, what thoughts or feelings come up and how do they help or hinder you from putting your feet on the floor and starting the…
Season 3 Ep 12 – Safety, Security and Systems Intelligence
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
“A problem never exists in isolation; it is surrounded by other problems in space and time. The more of the context of a problem that a scientist can comprehend, the greater are his chances of finding a truly adequate solution.”…
Human systems intelligence & biodynamics
After completing all chapters of my book, I’m now heading into intense editing and creating a biomechanics map of systems resilience. I have been loving the writing journey so much. It has pushed me to new levels of stamina…
New Video! Boundaries, power and why we need them
https://youtu.be/wMp5rtrcSzI Boundaries, anger and aggression reflect important nervous mechanisms that play a role in relational dynamics and emotional strength. The idea of anger & aggression is controversial. On the one hand, when we don’t have control of it, particularly…
Season 3 Ep 11: Mission, Endurance and Post-Traumatic Growth – Interview with Two Wolf Foundation
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
“What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost but the call of a potential meaning…
Depth & dimensions
AI is a Feedback system that feeds us back what we feed into it. It is one layer out from our experience, meaning that it uses the digital info, 1’s and 0’s- it receives from our symbolic expressions (words &…
Intelligence & Optimization
As AI becomes increasingly more of an influence in many realms of life at higher speeds than expected – whether we are thinking loss of jobs and the ripple effects of that into the economy and world, or the…
Coming soon
Hello! Just wanted to give a quick update as I get into a busy week of moving back to the US and taking care of a few more things here! I recently had an incredible conversation with the founder of…
Pathways
As we interact with many systems, we play a role in clearing pathways for brighter futures ahead for ourselves, our loved ones and future generations. How we respond to danger (perceived and real) and WHO we turn to (including…
Optimizing intelligence
So much of what is tied to mental health is tied to the maturation process – the developmental journey of learning how to self-regulate, stay true to one’s own integrity, to know one holds value, and to integrate into…
Nature of science
“When we talk about the big bang or the fabric of space, what we are doing is not a continuation of the free and fantastic stories that humans have told nightly around campfires for hundreds of thousands of years….
Season 3 Episode 10 – Education, Maturity & Human Potential
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Because of how human brains develop, the only way for maturity to emerge is in the presence of maturity. Listen on Blubrry Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts I remember the first time I gave a…
Flexing Prefrontal Features
How often do you plan for things to not go as planned? Using our mind to think about different plans and actions ahead of time in case of emergencies or negative scenarios is a powerful mental tool. It is for…
Learning
Just registered for the second part of my Wilderness First Responder training. I’m realizing that something that many of us may need to pay attention to is the vulnerability of falling into old patterns when we are surrounded by…
Maturity and problem-solving
Brains mature in the presence of mature brains. Maturity is one of the most important, and complex, topics of our current time. Maturity is directly related to mental health, and mental health is at the core of all the…
Untapped Potential
Learning, adaptation and change are: Enfleshed Embedded Enacted Extended … within the mind-body system for learning. The current education paradigm has not caught up with this fact. What and how we teach children and young people about…
Context and complexity
Long form content. We need it. Our brains need it. The next generation needs it. What do I mean by long form content? Books, audio books, long podcasts, in-depth interviews, as well as courses, workshops, seminars, training classes. Images are…
Thank you!
brainwaves and book-writing… First I want to send my appreciation to all of you who are sending me the most beautiful emails and insightful, intriguing questions related to my last newsletter and podcast episode! I will dedicate some time…
Sleep and the Brain
It’s Sleep Awareness Week, so I thought I’d share some information about the importance of sleep, dreams and circadian rhythms. Something I have found with many clients, and especially teenagers, is that they are not getting enough sleep. This…
Growth
“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson Nature has a way of taking my breath away… Being outdoors yesterday made me think of quotes from Ralph Waldo…
Newsletter!
I just sent out a monthly newsletter to email subscribers! If you’d like to receive these (which also include exclusive invites for subscribers, such as an upcoming online Q & A with me), make sure to subscribe using any…
Season 3 Episode 9 – Mindset, Purpose & Neuroplasticity: Career Insights & Perspectives
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
A quick episode that covers some insights gained over the course of my career in human communication and psychology, child development, teaching, and neuroscience. Highlights include the importance of: mindset, purpose and effective teachers anti-disciplinary thinking and teams…
Online challenges
I talk about challenging ourselves and self-regulating… sometimes I forget that social media is something that feeds us those feel-good hormones, and can keep us constantly trying to engage and get reactions from others, or compare ourselves. I forget…
Play, Failure and Learning
“Increased struggle leads to increased structural change in the brain.” -Dr. Lara Boyd During a conversation yesterday with a few other beginner jiu jitsu students, someone said, ‘the way I’m learning is I keep failing and then noticing…
Teacher-Student Connections
Good teachers are rare. They possess an ability to connect with students that is in and of itself a form of intelligence. It requires a high level of attunement to the unfolding processes, reactions, and feedback that is being…
VIDEOS
The Science of Mindful Breathing (and how it improves brain functioning)
“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.” -Thich Nhat Hanh* , The Miracle…
How rupture & repair builds stronger relationships
Resilient relationships – whether in friendships, intimate partnerships or families – are not about perfection or only positivity. The ruptures within ourselves and our relationships are precisely what our nervous system needs to build a repertoire of strategies that make…
How to not take things too personally: the neuroscience of stimulus-response
Taking things too personally can lead to over-amplified emotions and reactions that distort our thinking and relationships. We can get better at navigating challenging interactions, feelings and relationships when we understand three particular unconscious influences that play a big role…
How words from childhood change your brain and behaviors
“Through others we become ourselves.” ― Lev S. Vygotsky Do you remember the kinds of words that the people around you, especially your caregivers, used to talk about and solve their problems, regulate their own behavior, and regulate the…
Narcissism vs Self-Esteem: family influences and key differences
Self-Esteem has a lot to do with how we see ourselves. So does narcissism. But there is a KEY difference in what this self image is. High levels of self-esteem I are related to lower levels of depression…
Neuroplasticity: how life changes our brain
We are not born with many of the skills we need to reach our highest potential. We are born with the potential to develop them. The malleability and adaptability of the human brain is what makes our intelligence have limitless…
Emotional ups and downs: why they happen and what to do about them
“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary.” -Fred Rogers Do you go through a lot…