Cairn Center

10/28/2025

Mental health resources for musicians? Yes, thank you!
Backline:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1BrYPme9Dp/

10/24/2025

Yes, this!

Relational Neuroscience--also called Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB)—has been my salvation. It gave me a non-pathologizing, shame busting, humane, and actual scientific framework to understand what was happening in my body and why. The standard model nearly killed me, and my healthcare professionals abandoned me when I didn’t respond to the cookie-cutter approach.

So, I had to figure it out myself, and learning the neurobiology of trauma and recovery showed me clearly that the system isn’t just broken, but misaligned with human needs at the most fundamental level. That's why I call it the mental illness industry, and part of why I became a Relational Neuroscience educator, to help others avoid ending up like I did.

10/23/2025

10/16/2025

10/11/2025

Thank you, Frank Anderson, MD!

Most of us try to get rid of painful thoughts:
“I shouldn’t feel this way.”
“Stop overthinking.”
“Just move on.”

But here’s what neuroscience shows us—
the more you fight a thought, the louder your brain makes it.

That’s because your amygdala interprets that inner struggle as danger, and your prefrontal cortex—the part that helps you regulate—temporarily shuts down.

So instead of calming your mind, you end up reliving the same emotional loop.

Those thoughts that keep looping aren’t random.
Many were formed in moments when your brain was trying to protect you.

That’s why healing isn’t about forcing positive thoughts—it’s about changing how you relate to what arises inside you. When you meet a thought with curiosity instead of judgment, you send a powerful signal to your body: “I’m safe now.”

Your body doesn’t know the difference between an external threat and an internal one. So if you meet your thoughts with fear or frustration, your brain reads that as danger— and your amygdala, the part that scans for threat, amplifies the sense of threat.

But when you pause, breathe, and simply notice what’s happening—without trying to fix or silence it—your nervous system receives a different message.

The amygdala quiets.
The prefrontal cortex—responsible for reasoning, reflection, and choice—comes back online.
And that’s where neuroplasticity begins.

Your brain starts building new connections that link awareness with safety instead of threat. Over time, that repetition teaches your mind:

“I can think and feel difficult things without being in danger.”

That’s what true rewiring looks like—not controlling your thoughts, but creating safety inside your relationship with them.

So the next time an old thought shows up— “you’re not enough,” “something bad will happen,” “they’ll leave”— pause. Notice it. Soften your response.

You don’t have to believe it or banish it. You can simply get curious about it—maybe even listen to what it’s trying to protect.

That’s where healing begins.

10/10/2025

On this World Mental Health Day, NASW-MA wants to remind you that together, we can break the stigma against mental health struggles by raising awareness and sharing supportive resources.

Here are some resources for Massachusetts:
➡️988- Suicide/Crisis lifeline
➡️(833) 773-2445- Behavioral Health Helpline
➡️www.therapymatcher.org to find a therapist who is a licensed clinical social worker.

10/05/2025

The landscape of the natural world can hold the imperfections alongside the beauty. In a way, I think it is easy for me to relax in nature because it invites me to show up in my own raw, wild, and unmanicured manner.

There is a place for all of the broken, wounded parts of us. Our imperfections can co-exist with our beauty. May we hold ourselves lovingly. May we greet each other lovingly.

I’ll accompany tonight’s favorite nature moment in the golden hour of sunset with a fitting tribute to Jane Goodall:

“Any little thing that brings us back into communion with the natural world and the spiritual power that permeates all life will help us to move a little further along the path of human moral and spiritual evolution.” — Jane Goodall

10/05/2025

UnreconciledThePlay.com

10/03/2025

So honored to have been a part of this conference! David Kessler and Paul Denniston's Grief, Movement, and Healing session was the first session I attended, and it set the stage for a profoundly moving 3 days. Thank you to all!