Mindset Neuroscience Podcast

To update our algorithms and enhance our brain functioning, there is one key thing we can do: Intentionally add experiences into our weekly routine that engage our sensory-motor systems in ways that are completely unfamiliar to us. That is the essence of my interview with Jason Knight, director of Alderleaf Wilderness College. In this interview, we discuss: -Jason’s journey to becoming a wilderness expert and his desire to connect people more deeply with nature and the types of thinking that come with those experiences; -How people’s mindsets get disrupted when they experience a learning environment that challenges what they are used to; -How our awareness expands as we spend time in nature: we begin to see allies, tools and individuated beings; -A truly embodied perspective of empathy: working with natural systems requires us to move out of our self-referential networks and expand into neural territories that recognize how another living organism can perceive the world differently than us; -High-level pattern recognition: how get the best possible solution and sustainable way of achieving a goal by expanding the space-time horizon and creating maps to see multiple systems working together across long periods of time The post Season 3 Episode 2 – Interview with Jason Knight: Natural Intelligence and Embodied Mindsets appeared first on StefanieFaye.

In this episode, I explore: -the difference between our autonomic and somatic nervous systems and why knowing the difference gives us power to change -biomechanisms we use to protect or defend ourselves that are tied to our past and may not be helpful to us in our current situation (as I am learning, these can be hard habits to break) -how we can experiment with new patterns using skeletal muscles to control our breath, voice, eyes, hands and body within our social interactions -10 key mechanical adjustments we can make to move in this world in ways that optimize our functioning and sense of fulfillment -how our hyper-focus on words & devices makes us lose touch with our bodies, with our environment and with all the non-verbal aspects of life The post Season 3 Episode 1 – Biomechanics of Human Communication and Social Intelligence appeared first on StefanieFaye.

What is moral injury, and how can we use it as a path to cognitive flexibility, sense of purpose and forgiveness? In this episode, we explore the following: - what is moral injury - what is morality and how it can be used to improve energy efficiency and resilience of the human species - how forgiveness and flexibility help us activate highly sophisticated and evolved neural mechanisms - that brain activations that are different in trauma compared with moral injury - how the human species is an interconnected network of nodes that requires social signaling for trust and cooperation The post Season 2 Episode 12 – Moral Injury, Forgiveness and Cognitive Flexibility appeared first on StefanieFaye.

Explore how attachment theory is ingrained in our neurophysiological makeup. Discover the impact of secure versus insecure attachment styles on emotional regulation and personal exploration. The discussion highlights the vital role of caregivers in shaping our emotional connections and relationships in adulthood. Delve into the biobehavioral adaptations that guide us as we seek closeness with others.

Have you ever had the experience of feeling like someone really ‘gets you’?   This can take various forms - like being able to share what’s on our mind and the other person holding space for us to explain. It... READ MORE The post Season 2 Episode 10 – The Science of Feeling Understood appeared first on StefanieFaye.

Why do systems fall apart or become dysfunctional? A system can be a family, relationship, community, business, organization, society. The human mind-brain-body is also a system. One reason dysfunction can happen is related to hierarchy and ‘signal flow’. Hierarchies exist throughout nature and throughout human society. Hierarchies are best able to serve the system when there is efficient signal flow from subsystems to the higher levels and vice versa. We can see dysfunction happen when the highest levels of a hierarchy are -not serving the goals of the entire system -have communication channels dominated by a specific subgroup/subsystem -are blocking or suppressing efficient communication and signal flow from the subsystems Optimal functioning of a system requires a state of signal flow where all members or nodes feel ‘understood’. This experience of being understood is at the core of optimal system functioning within human systems. When we don’t feel understood, it means there is a block of signal flow. This episode covers the idea of hierarchies and signal flow - and what happens when hierarchies don’t serve the goals of the entire system. In upcoming articles, I’ll be bringing this concept back down to more personal and interpersonal levels. The post Season 2 Episode 9 – Hierarchies and Signal Flow appeared first on StefanieFaye.

In this podcast episode, I talk about something called ‘shifting the burden’. It’s about the topic of what we depend on ourselves for, and what we look to others to help us with. The balance of our dependence on ourselves and others - whether in adaptive maladaptive ways - is based on our first experiences with depending on someone. Many of us simply don’t know how deeply emotional of a subject this is. It is one of our most primitive, primal CORE-to-the-CORE experiences of being human… a battle between wanting to be independent and self-sufficient, and yet also knowing that one of our deepest desires is to connect in authentic ways with others. My reflection questions at the end of the episode are about your doubts, desires and dependencies - how they interplay on each other and how they’ve been formed over time - through your experiences with others.. and what they’ve doubted, desired and depended on in their own lives. I hope you find something in this episode helpful. The post Season 2 Episode 8 – Shifting the Burden appeared first on StefanieFaye.

Normal is based on historical data. It’s based on what has happened the most often in the past. Our past ‘normal’ can make it easy to not question if there is more that’s possible in terms of wellbeing and a deeper sense of meaning for our life. But what we really, truly, deeply need to understand is that the ‘normal mode’ of consuming and doing the same combination of movements day after day without challenging our brain-body to higher and higher levels of creation and exploration is not NATURAL. We are: COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS. Our NATURE is to adapt to ever-changing, increasingly difficult and complex situations that involve other complex systems so that our adaptive problem-solving faculties become more honed and finely tuned.  Many of our behaviors and patterns are blocking us from tapping into our most natural abilities. The post Season 2 Episode 7 – Normal versus Natural appeared first on StefanieFaye.

When we focus on trying to 'fix' dysregulation without acknowledging how it emerged, we are conveying a message that somehow the anxiety or overreaction just ‘appeared’ because of an imbalance in their brain and that distress, dysregulation and anxiety are... READ MORE The post Season 2 Episode 6 – Why are humans so anxious? and the dark side of mindfulness appeared first on StefanieFaye.

The formation of self-identity and group identity through the lens of hyper-coherent networks, key features of what makes a system resilient.    (remember - your brain, your relationships and human society are all systems).   To help systems become more flexible and innovative, we need to understand the mechanisms of change. A mindset or paradigm shift is one of those mechanisms.   A level higher than that: being able to rise above paradigms altogether*.   This is what can free our mind to experiment with perspectives that are guided by our values - rather than only confirming a narrow field of vision based on our past, which is largely driven by our tribal identity. The post Season 2 Episode 5 – Resilience, Stability and Hyper-Coherent Networks appeared first on StefanieFaye.