Articles
You are the rare place: the science of the frequency you carry into this world
There are not many people, right now, walking through their day thinking about how to help another human being feel a new sense of well-being and strength. That orientation is rare. And it is what humanity needs more than almost…
A biological address for the “soft skills” you already teach
Most of the humans on this planet have not built nervous system regulation to its full potential. We’re not born with that architecture. Humans develop the capacity to regulate through attuned, responsive relationships. What you might have guessed is…
the brain wiring no one is born with
Self-regulation is not something we are born with. Many of us learned the opposite. Our world and the people around us told us (even if not explicitly)… that if we try hard enough, and grow up enough, and pay enough…
Start in the Shadow: The dark side of the nervous system – and why it’s often the most powerful place to begin
There is a threshold the nervous system uses to decide whether information is worth attending to. … for a lot of people, in a lot of rooms, positive framing doesn’t clear that threshold. Not because they don’t want change. …
Permission for Imperfection — Habenula Part 2: What Your Brain Does Differently When You’re Allowed to Be Wrong
What happens after we stumble depends on what our brain was aiming for before we started. In a previous article, we met the habenula — the structure that registers lower-than-expected rewards (disappointment) and socio-evaluative threat, and begins to close…
Name it to Tame it: The Brain Sequence That Regulates
“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable.” -Fred Rogers “Name it to tame it” -Dan Siegel) The neuroscience behind these ideas is real: Putting words to emotional states reduces the intensity of…
The Inner System Work That Moves the World
What Regulation Is Actually Teaching You When you begin to understand your own system — not just manage it, but genuinely know it — something subtle shifts in how you move through the world. You start to recognize the moments…
Your brain isn’t looking for the truth (it’s looking for something else)
There’s a moment that can feel so uncomfortable for many of us… That feeling of a wall going up. Of not being able to reach someone even though you are right there in front of them… sharing something you genuinely…
The Brain Is a Prediction Machine, Not a Truth-Seeker
Your Brain Is Running a Cost-Benefit Analysis on Every Idea You Share And so is the brain of every person you’re trying to reach The brain doesn’t evaluate new information neutrally. And understanding the neuro-mechanics of this can be liberating…
What happens when brains synchronize: collective intelligence isn’t just an abstract idea
The brain did not evolve to function in isolation. It evolved as a social organ.. shaped by and dependent on the input of other nervous systems. Its highest-order capacities — creativity, complex problem-solving, perspective-taking, genuine learning… are not solo performances….
What if dysregulation is the doorway?
There’s a version of “being regulated” that sounds a lot like being untouchable. Calm. Collected. Unshaken. Always able to find the breath, hold the space, stay present no matter what walks through the door. And if you’ve spent any time…
The Habenula: Your brain’s disappointment and fear of failure system
There’s a moment many of us know well. You try something. You show up. You put something that matters to youout there.. . a conversation, a project, an idea you believed in. And the response you were hoping for… doesn’t…