Written by Kate Taylor, Registered Nutritionist Kate is a Registered Nutritionist and the Founder of Eat Drink Think Nutrition Limited. Kate supports systemic health & wellness through pesonalised nutrition, diet and lifestyle strategies & recommendations, and particularly specialises in Brain health, cognitive function and Dementia risk-avoidance. It is the start of a new year and potentially the springboard for new resolutions and health’spirations. If your aspirations centre around health, and most particularly brain health, here are four ideas on how you can economically invest your finances while simultaneously nutritionally nourishing your brain health. Invest in a decent bottle of extra virgin olive oil. EVOO confers many benefits on brain health and cognitive function, and since you only use a small, tablespoon-sized drizzle at a time, it lasts. Also, make sure the container is dark in colour to minimise the chance that the EVOO will be corrupted, since it is very sensitive to distortion from exposure to light and oxygen. Ensure the container is not made of plastic to minimise the opportunity for microplastics to leach into the liquid, as fats are very efficient at pulling the contents of their surroundings into their composition. Chew your food. This offers indispensable support for brain health through bolstering neuroplasticity, cognitive processing speed, memory, and learning, principally through exercising and optimising hippocampal function. Chewing also increases nutrient absorption from food, makes the act of eating feel more satiating, it is surprising how much fuller you feel when chewing food thoroughly, supports gut health, as if the teeth accomplish the majority of the breaking down, the stomach needs to work less hard to achieve the same outcome, and supports the oral microbiome through the production and cleansing action of saliva. Furthermore, conscious chewing may encourage us to honour the Japanese principle of Hara Hachi Bu, eating until feeling 80 percent full. If we are feeling fuller on appropriate quantities of food, this indirectly regulates appetite and portion control, thereby supporting the food purchasing economy and reducing potential food waste. Go shopping in person. This achieves several brain and health benefits. It adds to your daily movement, which may support the generation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a well-evidenced, naturally derived trophic protein that supports cognitive function in healthy and mildly cognitively impaired brains and is therefore colloquially considered fertilizer for the brain. It offers the opportunity to conduct on-shelf price comparisons and take advantage of in-store deals, and it facilitates your ability to make on-site judgements about food appearance rather than relying on a third party to over hastily fulfil an order or make arbitrary food swaps, which may trigger unnecessary food and financial waste. I have also anecdotally noticed that when spending money in person, the temptation to overspend is far less than when spending money electronically. You may therefore find yourself buying food with a need-aware mentality rather than a want-driven outlook, leading to more health and purse-conscious food buying choices. Batch cook. If you are investing time in preparing meals, cooking in itself is a workout for the brain. Why not make a larger portion and store some away, not in plastic containers, for later in the week? This makes sense from both a health-conscious and finance-conscious perspective, as you may subsequently reduce the risk of over-buying overpriced processed meals. This efficiently manages finances and potentially reduces wasted food because, in addition to the environmental impact, wasting food is literally throwing money away. I hope you enjoyed these few light-hearted nutritional therapy tips and can see yourself actioning them in the new year 2026 and beyond. If a functional medicine perspective to nurturing, nourishing, and supporting your brain health and cognitive function is of interest, the time to act is now. Why postpone what could be actioned today? Investing in your brain health and brainspan could be the wisest decision you ever make. Please note that these are general nutritional therapy and functional medicine recommendations. They are not personalised and are not tailored to account for, or include recommendations for, any existing health imbalances or medical conditions. In these cases, please consult a medical professional and or a nutritionist or dietician if you have a particular health or dietary requirement. Follow me on Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Kate Taylor Kate Taylor, Registered Nutritionist Kate is an advocate of proactive and preventative healthcare through optimising and personalising the basics, nutrition, diet, and lifestyle. Kate's experiences watching those around her develop and decline from Dementia instilled in her a mindset of 'prevention is better than cure' and that, particularly when it comes to Brain health and Dementia risk-avoidance, the perception 'false hopelessness' should not triumph over health optimism. Whilst sensitive to the fact that Brain health and Dementia risk-avoidance is multifaceted and cannot be solely addressed by nutrition, Kate's professional nutritional aspiration is to empower & inspire people that diet and lifestyle are integral foundations to health, healthspan, and importantly, Brainspan. References: Alkhalifa, A.E., et.al . (2024). Extra-Virgin Olive Oil in Alzheimer's Disease: A Comprehensive Review of Cellular, Animal, and Clinical Studies. doi: 10.3390/ijms25031914 Buettner, D. (2011) Enjoy Food and Lose Weight with one simple phrase. Chen, H., et.al . (2015) Chewing Maintains Hippocampus-Dependent Cognitive Function. doi: 10.7150/ijms.11911 Cheng, Y., et.al . (2025) Effects of three aerobic exercise modalities (walking, running, and cycling) on circulating brain- derived neurotrophic factor in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1673786 Esposto, S., et.al. (2017) Effect of light exposure on the quality of extra virgin olive oils according to their chemical composition. Fazlollahi, A., et.al . (2023) The effects of olive oil consumption on cognitive performance: a systematic review. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1218538 Freitas, F., et.al . (2024) Analysis of Plasticizer Contamination Throughout Olive Oil Production. doi: 10.3390/molecules29246013 Fukkoshi, Y, et.al. (2015) The Relationship of eating until 80% full with types and energy values of food consumed. Khalil, M.H. (2025) The Impact of Walking on BDNF as a Biomarker of Neuroplasticity: a Systematic Review. doi: 10.3390/brainsci15030254 Kilian, M., et al. (2016) The oral microbiome – an update for oral healthcare professionals. Kumar, A., et.al. (2023). Chewing and its influence on swallowing, gastrointestinal and nutrition-related factors: a systematic review. Lettieri, M., (2025) Chewing Matters: Masticatory Function, Oral Microbiota, and Gut Health in the Nutritional Management of Aging. doi: 10.3390/nu17152507 Ma. Therese Sta. Maria, et.al. (2023) The relationships between mastication and cognitive function: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Miquel-Kergoat, S., et.al. (2015) Effects of chewing on appetite, food intake and gut hormones: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Millman, J.F,, et.al . (2021) Extra-virgin olive oil and the gut-brain axis: influence on gut microbiota, mucosal immunity, and cardiometabolic and cognitive health. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuaa148 Romero Garavito, A., et.al . (2025) Impact of physical exercise on the regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in people with neurodegenerative diseases. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1505879 Sun-Waterhouse, D., et.al. (2021) Towards human well-being through proper chewing and safe swallowing: multidisciplinary of food design. Tessier, A., et.al . (2024) Consumption of Olive Oil and Diet Quality and Risk of Dementia-Related Death. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.10021 Wang, Y.H., et.al . (2022) The effect of physical exercise on circulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor in healthy subjects: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. doi: 10.1002/brb3.2544 Yaoita, F., et.al . (2022) Impact of habitual chewing on gut motility via microbiota transition.

Written by Cavelle Vieira, Author & Autism Parent Coach Cavelle Vieira is the author of Sammy and Mummy: A Story of Autism, Hope and A Mother's Belief and Sammy and Mummy: Sammy's Kitchen. She holds a Degree in Business Management, a Diploma in Naturopathic Medicine and Certificates in Compassionate Discipline, Occupational Therapy, Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in children and Speech Therapy. As we step into 2026, autism parents are carrying more than they ever imagined possible. We are carrying years of advocacy, research, appointments, decisions, second-guessing, breakthroughs, and setbacks, all while continuing to show up for our children every single day. Many of us enter this new year tired in ways that sleep does not fix. Yet beneath that exhaustion is something powerful, experience. Perspective. Strength earned the hard way. We are not the same parents we were when we first heard the word autism spoken over our children’s futures. And that change matters. In the early days, many of us searched for someone to tell us what to do. We wanted certainty. A roadmap. A guarantee. But autism does not offer straight lines, and parenting within it requires something deeper than instructions. It requires commitment. Looking back on my own journey with my son, Samuel, I now understand that the most meaningful progress did not come from one professional, one program, or one moment. It came from what happened in between appointments. It came from discipline. From dedication. From consistency practiced quietly at home. Autism parenting is not about doing everything. It is about doing the right things repeatedly, even when no one is watching. Discipline, in this context, is not rigidity or control. It is devotion. It is choosing structure over chaos, calm over reactivity, and intention over impulse, again and again. Dedication is staying present when the progress feels invisible. It is continuing to learn when the information feels overwhelming. It is believing in your child even on the days you doubt yourself. As parents, we are the constant in our children’s lives. Therapists may change. Programs may shift. Research will evolve. But we remain the steady presence, learning our children’s cues, understanding their sensory needs, recognizing emotional thresholds, and advocating when their voices are not yet heard. There was a pivotal moment in my journey when I stopped outsourcing my intuition. I did not abandon professional support. Instead, I learned how to integrate it with my lived knowledge of my child. That balance changed everything. True empowerment in autism parenting begins when we trust ourselves enough to lead. One of the most transformative shifts I experienced was embracing compassionate discipline. As the author of Sammy and Mummy: Compassionate Discipline, I have seen firsthand how guidance rooted in understanding creates safety, not fear. Autistic children do not need to be controlled. They need to be understood. Discipline is not about punishment. It is about teaching. It is about modeling emotional regulation, holding boundaries without shame, and creating predictability in a world that often feels overwhelming. This approach requires more from parents, not less. It asks us to regulate ourselves first. To pause before reacting. To remain grounded when emotions run high. But the outcome is profound: trust, connection, and resilience. Children do not rise to our expectations. They rise to our nervous systems. Some of the most meaningful breakthroughs in our home happened far away from clinics or assessments. They occurred during shared meals, bedtime routines, moments of repair after difficult days, and the countless small choices that rarely get noticed. Discipline is built in those moments. Dedication is proven there. As we step into 2026, autism parents are being called to release the pressure to fix everything. We are being asked instead to lead with presence, patience, and purpose. You do not need to do more. You need to do what matters, consistently. Your discipline creates safety. Your dedication builds trust. Your belief shapes possibility. I am still learning. Still healing. Still practicing the words I write. Growth in this journey is not linear, and strength is often quiet. But I know this with certainty: the difference has always been us. And as we move forward into 2026, that truth has never mattered more. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Cavelle Vieira Cavelle Vieira, Author & Autism Parent Coach Cavelle is also the founder of Sammy and Mummy Coaching for Parents where she helps families navigate autism through natural recovery, emotional comnection and mindful parenting.

Written by Aisha Saintiche, Certified Health Coach With over fifteen years of experience in mental health, accessibility, and diversity and inclusion, Aisha has used her experience as a strategic advisor and health coach to understand the complexity and intersectionality of the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual barriers that keep people from achieving their optimized health and wellness. As 2025 bids us farewell, I find myself reflecting on the word that guided me through the year, refinement. I chose refinement intentionally. Not because I wanted to change everything, but because I wanted to listen more closely to my body, my values, my work, and my spirit. Refinement asked me to slow down and examine what was already in place. It invited me to adjust rather than overhaul, to edit instead of accumulate. What 2025 taught me is this, growth isn’t always about adding more. More often, it’s about clarifying. What refinement taught me Refinement showed me that alignment is more powerful than effort. There were moments when pushing harder felt like the answer, but the real progress came when I paused and asked whether my actions matched my values and capacity. When alignment was present, things moved with more ease and far less exhaustion. I also learned that boundaries are not barriers, they are guides. Refinement sharpened my ability to say no without guilt and yes with intention. Every boundary clarified where my energy truly belonged. Another lesson was recognizing when something was no longer aligned, even if it was “working.” Refinement helped me understand that outgrowing a role, rhythm, or version of myself doesn’t mean it failed. It means it served its purpose. Perhaps the most grounding lesson of all was around rest. Refinement reminded me that rest isn’t a reward for productivity. It’s a requirement for sustainability. Listening to my nervous system became non-negotiable. Stepping into 2026: The year of reinvention As I step into 2026, my word is reinvention. Reinvention feels like a natural next step, not a rejection of what I’ve learned, but an embodiment of it. If refinement was about awareness, reinvention is about action. It’s about choosing differently because I now know better. Reinvention means redefining success in ways that don’t cost peace or health. It means trusting intuition alongside strategy, releasing outdated roles and expectations, and showing up in ways that reflect who I am now, not who I needed to be in previous seasons. Reinvention is not starting over. It’s starting aligned. How 2025 empowered my reinvention Everything refinement taught me becomes fuel for reinvention: Alignment becomes my compass. Boundaries become my foundation. Rest becomes my strategy. Self trust becomes my guide. Instead of rushing to prove, I’m choosing to move with clarity. Instead of shrinking or over explaining, I’m choosing to stand firmly in what feels true. An invitation for you As you reflect on your own year and look ahead, I invite you to sit with a few questions: What did 2025 refine in you? Where did you learn to edit instead of add? What no longer feels aligned, even if it’s familiar? What lessons are you carrying forward into the new year? If reinvention were your word, what would it ask you to release or reclaim? You don’t have to have all the answers. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is listen. Here’s to honouring what refinement taught us and stepping boldly, gently, and audaciously into reinvention. Wishing you clarity, courage, and alignment in the year ahead. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Aisha Saintiche Aisha Saintiche, Certified Health Coach Aisha Saintiche is a certified health coach and the founder and owner of MetoMoi Health. With over fifteen years of experience in mental health, accessibility, and diversity and inclusion, Aisha has used her experience as a strategic advisor and health coach to understand the complexity and intersectionality of the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual barriers that keep people from achieving their optimized health and wellness.

Written by Ash Miner, MS, MM, Shamanic Practitioner & Teacher Ash Miner's passions for music and animals resulted in 2 bachelor's degrees and 3 master's degrees before she applied that knowledge to shamanic healing and teaching. A self-published author of the book The Answer to Everything: Earth Wisdom & Beauty, Ash hopes to one day found a healing sanctuary for people and animals who have survived trauma. Welcome, dear readers, to my sixth article, part four of my articles on this ancient spiritual practice called shamanism. If you haven’t read my first article , I would encourage you to at least do that, and preferably read from the beginning  of my publications. Each of my 11 articles for Brainz Magazine builds on the others as teaching stories. This is the old way of sharing wisdom that my helping Spirits have instructed me to follow. I will continue the story, then share the teachings of it afterward for clarity. Where we left off, Raven had just completed her first shamanic journey and was going out into the forest to learn how to ground the work with the help of Mel, the shamanic practitioner & teacher, and a Tree helper. Raven hadn’t even had a chance to take notes and share yet, because she had some mild discomfort that prioritized doing grounding work first. Now, the sylvotherapy (forest bathing) practitioner in me wants to note that forests have tremendous benefits on our physical and emotional health. Even just being with sunlight, green leaves, and the soil of the forest floor is scientifically proven to boost health in a myriad of ways. Sunlight, as we know, stimulates vitamin D in us and photosynthesis in plants – an interesting parallel. But the wavelengths for green light have a myriad of health benefits as well, plus the grounding effects of connecting with the Earth beneath our feet directly. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to learn more or go more in-depth with forest healing work specifically. Teaching stories, part 5 Raven followed Mel out the back door of Mel’s cabin and into the forest. The sun shone brightly, twinkling through the leaves of the trees and down onto the forest floor before them. Within a few yards, though, the shade of the tree canopies overtook the light, and only a scarce spattering of light beams could be seen within the forest itself. As the two approached the treeline, Mel instructed Raven to take off her shoes and socks and walk barefoot from there. A narrow, but soft path lay before them, inviting them in, so they stepped forward and began their walk. “Let me know when a tree calls to you,” Meliae instructed Raven. “Calls to me? How will I know when a tree calls to me?” Raven asked, dubious. “It might feel magnetic, or you might hear its song, or like a fishing reel at your navel pulling you in,” Mel explained, “This is also referred to as a medicine walk or walking journey, where we let Nature, the Spirit of the Forest, offer help or guidance.” So onward they walked. Birds would sing to each other, insects would buzz from flower to flower, squirrels would squeak and chase each other, and even deer would pause their peaceful grazing to offer the gift of their focus. Still, Raven did not hear or feel the calling of a tree. Mel seemed in no rush whatsoever, so guilt and pressure began to release from Raven as she walked ever onward into the darkening depths of the forest. It was then that Raven felt something, as though attached at the hip, pulling her sideways to the right. She turned her head to see a most glorious young tree, about the same height as she, glowing in a small beam of sunlight through the canopy above. “I found it!” Raven exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement. This was absolutely true, totally real, and very powerful. She couldn’t believe it. A tree was calling to her. She sidled over to the tree, held one of its leaves between the palms of her hands, and marveled at its every detail while she waited for Mel to catch up. Mel smiled with a wise and knowing expression. She, too, could recall the first time a tree had connected to her in this deeper way, though she had the good fortune of being much younger than Raven is now. She jogged lightly over to meet Raven at a beautiful little aspen sapling, which stood in front of its much larger and older brothers and sisters. Aspens are rarely individual, but one root system with several trees above the surface. What a wonderful ally for Raven to work with. “What is it?” Raven asked, turning to Mel as she arrived beside her. “It’s an aspen,” Mel answered without detail. “It’s just like me,” Raven began, “we’re the same height, even similar bark and skin tones, and its leaves are so beautiful. It is so powerful, so alive,” Raven remarked further. “What a blessing you have found each other,” Meliae replied without judgment or alteration to Raven’s experience, before instructing, “Ask it how you can ground your experience today, see what happens.” “Aloud or in my head?” Raven asked, not taking her eyes off her new aspen tree friend. “From your heart,” Meliae instructed, gazing adoringly at the sapling. Raven closed her eyes, instinctively put her hands on her heart, and asked the question, "How can I ground after my journey?" She sat in silence for only a little while before she could hear a tender voice say, “Your torso is your trunk, your legs are your roots. You are rooted wherever you are if you connect to your feet.” Raven gasped, both knowing and doubting she didn’t make that up. “What did she say?” Meliae asked, then bit her lip as she unintentionally announced her recognition of the tree’s spirit’s gender. “Wait, how did you know she’s a girl?!” Raven stared at Mel directly now, awestruck. “Magic,” Meliae said slyly as she winked at Raven. “She said, ‘Your torso is your trunk, your legs are your roots. You are rooted wherever you are if you connect to your feet.’” Raven recited perfectly. “Aha,” said Mel, “And how is that for you, to connect to your feet?” “Well, I mean, it’s tricky,” Raven explained, “I’ve had some nerve damage from stepping on a nail when I was little and can’t really feel my feet all the way ever since.” “Sounds like you need an extraction,” said Mel, “But that’s for another day. How is it right now? Can you maybe connect with the souls, S - O - U - L - S, of your feet?” Raven closed her eyes and simply tried it by intention. There is no way to know how to do that except to try, she assumed. And sure enough, the awareness of her feet grew, and as that connection reformed, her feet began to feel more like tree roots, shooting off here and there between the numb spots. The nausea after returning from the journey went away within just a few seconds of this, and Raven felt a rush of warmth come up through her feet to her entire body – even though she knew her feet were cold from being exposed to the bare earth beneath. She sighed with relief, her entire body relaxing. “Better?” Mel asked, though she already knew the answer. It’s always powerful to say the change out loud. “Much!” exclaimed Raven. So they began a gentle, honoring walk in silence back to Mel’s cabin after bidding the aspen sapling goodbye with heartfelt gratitude. They put their shoes and socks back on before reentering the cabin through the same back door. Once they were seated and comfortable, Raven took a big gulp of water, and Mel said, “Now, take some notes and tell me all about your journey.” Story teachings: A Shamanic Journey In this story, we learn that we can journey to the Spirits in the Spirit World, but also by going on a walk to the Spirits in Nature as well. Medicine walks are one of my absolute favorite shamanic practices, and I love to do walking journeys like this with “What is my first [or next] step?” intentions. Clair senses, or soul senses as I prefer to call them, feel different but can be experienced similarly to our ordinary, everyday senses. We can call on them in the Spirit World, as well as in the Living World. It may take a while, and it may not be at all what you expect, but this spiritual experience is the birthright of every human on Earth. We see it described in cultures all across the globe, so there is no appropriation or blockage of any kind for any of us. All of us had ancestors who walked in this way, who were shamanic. When we share our experience, it is best for the shamanic practitioner to hold space and not interpret, judge, or alter it in any way. This is a sacred time, and we do not put our own projections above the direct revelations from the Spirits to the Soul. Feel free to let me know what you see in this walking journey, this medicine walk. What wisdom did I not disclose? Are there parallels between Raven’s experiences and the aspen sapling? We’ll see how I recommend spirit journeys be worked with in the next article. Stay tuned! Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more info! Read more from Ash Miner Ash Miner, MS, MM, Shamanic Practitioner & Teacher Ash Miner's personal journey of healing PTSD led her to shamanism. Despite being a total skeptic, she knew in 1 session this was her path, and had been since she was a very little girl. Ash has spent years studying extensively, completing US training by Sandra Ingerman, as well as with Jonathan Horwitz and Zara Waldebäck in Sweden. She has found her true calling in teaching and offering shamanic healing to human beings, animals, and the Earth. Her extensive background in music education and performance, as well as animal behavior, provides a scientific framework for her soul work. She specializes in healing song and healing story. Her mission is to demystify shamanism to make it an approachable healing modality for all of humanity.

Written by Viviana Meloni, Private Chartered Principal Psychologist Viviana Meloni is the Director of Inside Out multilingual Psychological Therapy, a private principal psychologist, HCPC registered, chartered member of the British Psychological Society, EMDR UK member, with recognition for her clinical leadership, and author of specialist trainings in trauma, emotional dysregulation, and personality disorders. She also holds a Senior Leader Psychologist role in the National Health Service in the United Kingdom at SLaM, a globally recognized leader in mental health research. Moreover, she is reviewing institutional partnerships in the United Arab Emirates.  You are desired. And yet, in the next moment, that desire evaporates. A message goes unanswered. A match disappears. Someone newer, brighter, instantly available replaces them. In the endless scroll of profiles, the human psyche is trapped in a relentless loop, longing, frustration, fleeting pleasure, and subtle rage. Love becomes a gamble with no rules, lust becomes compulsive, a rhythm without meaning. What was once the slow architecture of desire, attachment, patience, disappointment, and risk has been compressed into a machine that rewards immediacy and punishes vulnerability. In the age of swipes, the psyche is both starved and overstimulated, and intimacy has become a high-stakes psychological battleground. A case study in swipe culture: Lust, anxiety, and the mechanism of rejection Emily, 38, and James, 42, both seek therapy after months of digital dating frustration. Emily is anxiously attached. She obsessively rereads messages and agonizes over every delayed response. Each perceived rejection triggers panic, self-blame, and sudden bursts of anger. “I want them to like me, but I also want to punish them before they can hurt me,” she confesses. Her profile claims “I’m not looking for anything serious,” masking a deep desire for intimacy. James is avoidantly attached. Closeness triggers fear. When Emily expresses her need for reassurance, he withdraws, feeling suffocated. He portrays himself as carefree and sexually adventurous, concealing vulnerability. Ghosting, intermittent attention, and emotional distancing have become his primary defences. Together, they enact a familiar pattern: Emily’s pursuit intensifies James’s withdrawal; James’s withdrawal intensifies Emily’s anxiety. Lust, flirtation, and casual encounters are interwoven with frustration, fear, and subtle power dynamics. Emily occasionally fantasizes about punishing James emotionally. James experiences small victories in maintaining distance. Both oscillate between desire, resentment, and compulsive control. This caseload illustrates how dating apps amplify pre-existing attachment dynamics, encourage false selves, and create a feedback loop of unprocessed rejection, frustration, and subtle aggression. Lust becomes a tool for emotional regulation; love becomes psychologically expensive. Attachment under chronic digital pressure Anxious attachment: Rejection is experienced as abandonment in real time, triggering hypervigilance, rumination, and emotional volatility. Avoidant attachment: Absence confirms pre-existing fears of dependence. Withdrawal, devaluation, and ghosting protect the self from vulnerability. Disorganized attachment: Desire and fear coexist. Individuals oscillate between pursuit and cruelty, digitally reenacting early relational trauma. Even securely attached individuals risk emotional fatigue over time. Repeated exposure to disposability erodes openness, fostering cynicism and detachment. Why people lie on dating apps Lying is rarely about manipulation alone. Psychologically, it is a protective adaptation: Defense against vulnerability: People exaggerate independence, claim they want casual connections, or conceal true emotional needs to avoid being hurt. False self-construction: Misrepresenting personality, lifestyle, or intentions shields the psyche from repeated rejection. Frustration management: When desire is repeatedly thwarted, false narratives provide control and restore a sense of dignity. These lies are deeply entwined with attachment patterns, fear of loss, and the need to regulate affect. Deception becomes a survival strategy in the algorithmic landscape of endless availability and instant replacement. Frustration, rage, and revenge fantasies Unprocessed hurt often morphs into subtle aggression: Strategic withdrawal Breadcrumbing Emotional manipulation These behaviours are defensive reenactments: the wounded attachment system asserts control over the very pain that once dominated it. Lust intertwines with mastery and revenge, producing a complex interplay of desire, fear, and aggression. Lust without meaning, love without depth Sex often functions as emotional self-regulation, not relational transformation. Pleasure occurs, but the psyche remains untouched. Desire circulates endlessly, leaving users restless, detached, and emotionally exhausted. Love (requiring patience, ambiguity, and risk)is sidelined. Cognitive and emotional consequences of infinite choice Dating apps amplify cognitive distortions and emotional strain: Choice overload – paralysis, dissatisfaction Availability heuristics – exaggerated replaceability Dehumanization – others reduced to traits Emotional dysregulation – repeated cycles of hope and despair The nervous system is repeatedly activated without resolution. Desire is endless; satisfaction never integrates psychologically. Conclusion: Love as a labyrinth of desire and self-deception In the age of swipes, love is no longer a linear path, it is a labyrinth of desire, frustration, and self-deception. Each interaction tests attachment patterns, each unreturned message challenges self-concept, and each curated profile prompts the creation of a defensive false self. To fall in love now is to navigate layers of projection, longing, and unconscious defense. Lies, omissions, and strategic self-presentation are not moral failings, they are adaptations, attempts to survive the relentless instability of algorithmic desire. Lust becomes both a substitute for intimacy and a rehearsal for control, while true connection demands negotiating a terrain that is simultaneously seductive, punishing, and psychologically unsafe. Modern love requires bearing the tension of vulnerability and disappointment, embracing the risk that one’s authentic self may be unseen, rejected, or misread. It is not simply a choice or an emotion, it is a continuous psychological negotiation, a daring engagement with the self and the other that exposes both our deepest longings and our most guarded defenses. To love today is to confront the psyche’s most intimate fractures, and to move through them without the guarantee of reward. Visit my website  for more info! Read more from Viviana Meloni Viviana Meloni, Private Chartered Principal Psychologist Viviana Meloni is the founder and the clinical Director of Inside Out Multilingual Psychological Therapy, a London-based private psychology consultancy across popular locations including Kensington, Wimbledon, Chiswick, West Hampstead, and Canary Wharf. Viviana Meloni provides psychological consultations, assessments, formulations, and treatment in English, Italian, Spanish, and her company’s extensive network enables multilingual collaborations and liaison with Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Punjabi, and Russian languages. She firmly believes that in every challenge lies an opportunity to grow, heal, and inspire. References: Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2023). Attachment in Adulthood: Structure, Dynamics, and Change. Guilford Press. D’Angelo, J. D., & Toma, C. L. (2024). Rejection, Ghosting, and Emotional Regulation in Dating Apps. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. McWilliams, N. (2024). Psychoanalytic Reflections on Contemporary Relational Defenses. Guilford Press. Timmermans, E., & Courtois, C. (2023). Dating App Use and Psychological Vulnerability. Computers in Human Behavior. Han, B.-C. (2022/2024). The Agony of Eros. MIT Press.

Charles Gragg is a healthcare innovator, strategist, and speaker dedicated to transforming the way organizations approach healthcare. For too long, companies have been trapped in a cycle of unjustified rising costs, higher deductibles, and declining outcomes, a system that fails employers and employees alike. With extensive experience analyzing flaws of today's healthcare economy, Charles brings executive-level insights and patient-centered solutions to create a disruptive new vision for corporate healthcare. Charles W. Gragg, Healthcare Innovator, Strategist, and Speaker Who is Charles W. Gragg? Charles W. Gragg, a Health Insurance executive, author, and public speaker, is recognized as an alternative solutions expert focused on providing sustainable, forward-thinking health plan solutions that transform runaway health insurance expenses into valued assets to the corporate balance sheet. His message is driven by years of experience in providing these solutions to thousands of employer groups across the country, who took the path of self-funding as their financial vehicle, and began to take control of health care spending inside their own plan as opposed to renting one from the nationally known carriers. These customizable solutions have saved those employers literally millions of dollars by simply taking control of this otherwise uncontrollable expense. His mantra is that you should own your health plan and run it like any other segment of your business in order to keep not only the costs of your plan under control, but to continually focus the outcomes of your healthcare expenses on the well-being and mindset of those it serves – your employees and their dependents. What inspired you to start helping businesses with financial planning and strategic consulting? Early in my career, I saw the need to offer something different than the traditional method of offering corporate employers the same-old insurance company solution, chasing rate-increase after rate-increase year after year. Advisors that are tuned into real solutions call that “running on the hamster wheel.” The problem with offering that solution was, and still is today, that the focus in on the wrong piece of the puzzle. Where most advisors and employers focus on lowering their costs by lowering benefits paid by the plan, or shifting the costs to the employees by raising deductibles or shifting payments to spending accounts and raising out-of-pocket limits of their “plan design”. Those sleight-of-hand magic tricks only put more financial burden on employees to carry the weight of rising costs, and totally miss the mark of the true culprit in this charade. How do you define success for the clients you work with? Those who succeed in transforming their health plan strategy and results start with a change of mindset and vision of the primary reasons for offering a health plan for their workforce in the first place. That reason is, 99% of the time, employers want their employees to have the security and peace-of-mind that their employer cares about their well-being and health as a fundamental value of the workplace. He wants the very “best” healthcare possible for his employees, and not just “more” healthcare with unnecessary spending and frivolous experiences. He is willing to invest in the lives of his employees by providing better methodology of accessing the best healthcare for them. Another factor is the mindset change, whereby the successful company understands that it runs a health plan as the 2nd largest operating expense on its corporate balance sheet. And the traditional method of “buying” health insurance from an insurance company is merely “renting that expense” from them and subsequently turning his checkbook over to that carrier to run his plan for him. The mindset change is to “take control of that expense”, leave the insurance company, and run that health plan like any other segment of the business, as a unit and an asset versus an uncontrollable expense. That takes the form of a “self-funded” health plan that ensures the employer that he now controls the deliverables, and the “outcomes” of every feature of his customizable plan. An asset through and through, both on the balance sheet and in good faith to offer better solutions and outcomes of better health for his employees, all at lower costs and higher quality. That corporate asset is transferable both in culture and financials as a corporate legacy. What are the most common challenges your clients face before they work with you? There are a number of pushbacks the employer faces. Number one is belief in what I profess from my 50 years of experience working in every phase of this business. Then, the decision whether to listen to peers, his own benefits advisor, the health insurance community (of carriers), and sometimes his own executive staff, who may fear that this is an overwhelming task to tackle. However, once he understands that this “elephant in the room” is not to be eaten all in one setting, but rather one bite at a time. He can then digest the problem with his largest issues one at a time, and build a plan tailor-made for his taste and operational capacity. He should not fear that this approach is a matter of “taking on enormous amounts of risk”, as some would say. This insurance segment of the industry has matured over the past 50 years so that the “risk” element is extremely small compared to the gains, and rate increases he faces today without this solution. And there are numerous alternatives for that “risk” element that can also be translated into assets versus expenses as well. More control, more assets on the balance sheet. Win-Win proposition. How do you approach solving complex financial and pricing strategy problems? You might ask: “How does an employer approach solving these complex financial and pricing strategy issues?” The solution is: “We cannot begin to talk about lowering costs or pricing until we address ‘lowering claims’ costs. I'm not talking about taking anything away from employees who have claims. I am referring to lowering the cost of claims currently being incurred. The issue in American healthcare is not “getting more healthcare”; it is “getting better quality healthcare”, and at a “better, often negotiated price”. Putting best practices into place to offer those solutions to his employees wins both battles – Higher quality healthcare, at Lower prices overall. Again: Win-Win! Your follow-up question might be: How does he make that happen? The easy answer is that “ultimately” his goal is to divorce completely the Insurance “network” of providers and develop his own “high performance network of providers and facilities”: to offer that care to his employees. By negotiating higher quality healthcare, and most often at lower costs per unit of care, he will provide both better service to the employees, and both parties save money in the process. Some in the industry call that “the Walmart model” because that is what that industry giant began doing at the beginning of this. 21st century. The proof is in the pudding: Walmart has improved healthcare quality and saved millions of dollars as a result. To answer that question directly, an employer does not try to take on all of this process within his own staff. He hires these processes out to “fiduciary” providers of service. A term the insurance carriers admonish and do not subscribe to; because premiums to them is now “their money” and no longer the employers’ In essence, a fiduciary is someone who is bound to look after your money, and business affairs with a greater degree of care than that of his own, An employer acting upon those principles has some assurance that his affairs are being attended to with much greater integrity. Can you share a story of a client who transformed their business with your guidance? I could tell many a story here. Rather than dig into the weeds with too many details, let me just say that over the course of 45 years, I was involved with some phase of this solution to over 1000 employers around the country. Most of those employers saved anywhere from 10%, 20%, and even 50% over what they were spending in any given year prior to moving away from the traditional insurance community. You can only imagine what those savings produced inside their companies where more financial investment was made to expand and grow their business rather than preserve the culture and happiness of the employees by offering “insurance with a “big-name” insurance carrier. The irony is that those who made the move accomplished both goals in the process. Conversely, I can attest that within that same 1000+ employer community, I can only name less than a handful (-5) or so that made a switch back to the traditional insurance route of coverage while I was engaged with their businesses; and those that did make the move had extenuating circumstance involved, like selling off the majority of their business, along with most of their employee population, or the business went bankrupt from an operational standpoint outside of the health plans, etc. And that reason being that the health plan was not a contributing factor to other troubled business issues. What makes your consulting approach different from other advisors in your field? I look at this way of consulting with an employer much like that of a physician, to take the clinical approach. Do not prescribe before you diagnose. You must dig into the mindset and goals of an employer, and determine his commitment and ability to process and construct his custom-made solution. Also, consider the population of employees and dependents covered by his plan, and consider their current health conditions before addressing how those conditions need attention from the health plan. Most advisors have decided the solution(s) they are going to bring to the table, and often have proposals prepared for those solutions long before ever discussing with an employer regarding his goals, both short and long-term, and his “why” to begin with, as to his purpose of providing a health plan solution for his employees. Both of those factors play into any solution that should be brought to light to a client (employer group team) before presenting any solutions willy-nilly. Secondly, my approach is purely consultative in nature. There is no “sales pitch”, nor any products to sell, nor commissions to be earned from the employer based upon amounts of services being bought; much less the idea of “renting his health insurance from a carrier”. The only true solution for an employer that wants to solve this horrific financial burden is to “own” his own version of a health plan that fulfills his goals and provides the best accompanying outcomes to his employees. How do you tailor your services to meet the unique needs of each business? Very simply, the employer must begin to “build” his own plan and solution, whereby I diagnose just how far the employer is willing to take his solution down a new, untraveled road, and then begin to help him plan the route and timeline to accomplish that journey. Some employers want to crawl before they walk, and walk before they run into a new and unique solution. Others want to and do simply dive in head-first into the midst of the journey from day one. Either way is good, and not an issue as long as the journey begins now. Otherwise, an employer is merely practicing as the definition of “insanity”; that is, to continue to do the same things as in the past, but expecting a different result. And that habit will not provide a different result, period, drop the mic. I helped that employer start and build a health plan of his own, then turned the project of managing it over to his executive teams and administrative vendors. What trends are you seeing now that business owners should pay attention to? The “trends” that I see in this Insurance industry segment are the solutions that I see every day now being offered by the new generation of health plan solution subscribers. The final product is one of customization. Because there are many moving parts to the development and administration of a health plan, no two are necessarily exactly the same, nor using the same fundamental pieces or parts toward building that client solution. In the past, most of health plan products were “off-the-shelf” box policies. There may have been 4-5 different provisions or benefits alternatives offered, but the engine, the chassis of the products, were all the same. In fact, the real differences were all merely cost-shifters. That is, they moved plan costs and benefits from the Insurance Company’s responsibility to either the Employer’s premiums cost, or the Employee’s “out-of-pocket” costs. They accomplished absolutely nothing in lowering the overall spend or cost of healthcare, and took no consideration what-so-ever to “outcomes” of that healthcare provided. The new generation of health plan spending accomplishes just the opposite, and clearly defines the “access” to better healthcare, usually at a lower cost, and with better “outcomes” of the service provided before it has even begun, by discerning the best possible providers of care on the front-end of the process, and steers the patient toward those solutions. What measurable outcomes can clients expect when they work with you? Bottom line, an employer who follows this path can expect to see measurable, sustainable savings from their health plan spend year after year, from the very beginning. That is, IF he engages the strategies that I endorse, and he takes the time and effort to educate his employees as well, and holds them accountable to the system and methodology I bring to the table. That bottom line is better quality healthcare solutions, and at lower overall costs to both parties’ pocketbooks, with more satisfaction for all from their health plan. In metric terms, that is 10, 20, 30-50% savings accumulating year after year. How do you help clients make confident decisions in uncertain economic conditions? If by that, you mean circumstantially uncertain times, then the answer is, what better way to weather tough times in a business than to have happier, healthier employees and save money as a bonus. If you mean globally uncertain economic times, then similarly, by helping his own company’s financial and employment situation, then he is easing the load for the balance of our economy as well. If a business owner is on the fence, what would you say to convince them to reach out to you today? Get started now. This solution or methodology of solutions is a process, and not an overnight, one-size-fits-all fix to solving a complex healthcare issue plaguing our nation. The idea is not to push some easy button and all is fixed. But rather to “get started” on a path toward finally solving this age-old dilemma. An employer is starting to take control of a part of his business and run it like any other part or form of business, and that sometimes takes some preparation, planning, and education for all involved to get the process working effectively. Once started, he will see immediate changes in the shape and financial impact of his decisions to control this beast. Within a year, two years, five years, he will wonder why he did not do this many years ago. I can promise, everything else being the same, he will not turn back to the old form of providing healthcare for his valued employee workforce, Guaranteed! Let me paint a picture for you. If you could take a blank canvas and draw the perfect health plan, with the perfect solutions and a perfect price tag, what would that look like? Imagine 5 years down the road that you have built a healthcare solution as an asset to your company, its officers, its stockholders, and its employees. The health care provided to your population is better than it has ever been, and employee satisfaction with the company is at an all-time high, and subsequently with the lowest turnover rate in your company history. There is money in your trust to fund your health plan for a full year beyond where you are now, made up entirely from savings over the previous time period since making this move, and without investing another penny, if you would like. How would you feel about this solution then? Get started now! Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Charles W. Gragg

Written by David Lee Sheng Tin, Author, Coach, Health/Lifestyle Consultant Dr. David Lee Sheng Tin, author of Master Your Emotions – Transform Your Life, guides professionals and leaders to rise above stress, cultivate emotional intelligence, and live with clarity and purpose through a fusion of ancient and modern wisdom. Do you personally know someone living with diabetes? A parent, a sibling, a close friend, or even yourself? For so many families, especially across Indo-Caribbean and South Asian communities, diabetes isn’t just a medical condition. It’s an emotional weight. A silent fear. A constant presence shaping how we live, eat, sleep, and hope for tomorrow. According to the International Diabetes Federation, 1 in 8 people worldwide now live with diabetes[1], and for those with South Indian ancestry, the risk is significantly higher even at a normal weight.[2] Add family history or high blood pressure, and the risk deepens. Most people with diabetes do not die from diabetes itself. They die from heart disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in people with diabetes. A heart attack or stroke, not high glucose, often claims their life. Here is the reason: High blood sugar damages arteries from the inside out. Diabetes accelerates atherosclerosis. High blood pressure and high cholesterol cluster around diabetes. Nerve damage hides symptoms. Stress: The hidden accelerator of heart attacks in diabetics If glucose is the spark, stress is the gasoline. Stress hormones spike blood sugar, constrict blood vessels, increase blood pressure, and intensify inflammation. Studies show that relaxation practices including Transcendental Meditation (TM) reduce stress hormones, lower blood pressure, and support cardiovascular resilience.[3] Your genes are not your destiny One of the most hopeful scientific breakthroughs of our time is epigenetics: the discovery that lifestyle choices can turn genes on or off. Even if you inherited a predisposition for diabetes or heart disease, you can change how those genes behave. Research shows diet, movement, stress, and emotional patterns shape how genes express themselves.[4] This isn’t wishful thinking. It’s biological empowerment. It means you are not powerless. Your daily choices and thoughts can alter your gene expression. Ayurveda: Ancient wisdom aligning with modern cardiology Ayurveda, the 5,000-year-old system of natural medicine, offers insights that modern medicine is only beginning to validate. It explains diabetes as: an imbalance in the doshas ( the fundamental energies that govern the body and mind: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha ) a weakening of digestive fire (Agni) accumulation of metabolic toxins (ama) disruption of circulation and metabolic flow This understanding naturally links diabetes to heart disease centuries before cardiology existed. Herbs like turmeric, fenugreek, and holy basil show measurable benefits for glucose control and cardiovascular stress.[5] [6] [7] [8] Warm, freshly cooked foods and mindful eating are core Ayurvedic principles optimize digestion and reduce metabolic strain,[9] protecting both blood sugar and the heart. Why lifestyle change feels so hard (and how to make it easier) Most people know what they "should" do. The real challenge is doing it consistently. This is why self-awareness and self-mastery are more powerful than willpower. Self-awareness shows you your emotional triggers, your stress patterns, and the habits you perform on autopilot. Self-mastery helps you   interrupt destructive impulses, build healthier routines , make choices that align with your values   and   rewire emotional and neural patterns.   When you integrate both, healthy living becomes less of a battle and more of a natural expression of who you’re becoming. Without self-awareness, and self-mastery, even the best health advice collapses. With it, transformation becomes easier. Here is a three-phase transformation activity to assist you. Phase 1 – Awareness: Track meals, sleep, emotions, stress triggers, and activity for one week. Phase 2 – Take action: Start with small, sustainable changes: swap a processed food for a whole food. Walk 15 minutes after meals. Set fixed sleep times. Practice TM, yoga, or breathwork. Phase 3 – Create identity shift: This is where you move beyond behavior change to becoming someone who naturally makes healthy choices. Emotional balance, metabolic health, and self-mastery become your new normal not something you're "working on." Together, these skills support healthier routines and mindful choices that become automatic over time. You move from struggling with willpower to living in alignment with your values, where healthy choices feel natural rather than forced. Lasting health begins not with a diet, but with awareness. When you cultivate inner clarity, every external choice becomes easier. Your heart listens to your emotions. Your genes respond to your habits. Your future opens. And no matter where you’re starting from, you are far more powerful and far more capable of healing than you’ve ever been told. Start today to take control . Follow me on Facebook , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from David Lee Sheng Tin David Lee Sheng Tin, Author, Coach, Health/Lifestyle Consultant Dr. David Lee Sheng Tin bridges ancient wisdom with modern science to unlock human potential from the inside out. As a certified Transcendental Meditation Teacher, integrative health coach, and published author, he guides high-performers and conscious leaders beyond the trap of external achievement into a life of sustainable success and profound inner peace. As the author of Master Your Emotions – Transform Your Life, he inspires others to rise above stress, reconnect with themselves, and create meaningful, fulfilling lives through Self-Mastery. References & Further Reading: [1] International Diabetes Federation (IDF). (2024). IDF Diabetes Atlas  (11th ed.). Brussels, Belgium: International Diabetes Federation.A comprehensive global report outlining diabetes prevalence, risk factors, and regional trends. [2] Misra, A., & Ganda, O. P. (2007). Migrant Asian Indians: Ethnic diversity, nutritional considerations, and implications for health. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism , 92(6), 1967–1972.Explores genetic and lifestyle factors contributing to diabetes risk in South Asian populations. [3] Gupta, R., et al. (2019). Diabetes and cardiovascular disease in South Asians: An emerging epidemic. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice , 148, 7–15.Examines the heightened cardiometabolic risk among South Asians and the links to heart disease. [4] Feinberg, A. P. (2018). The key role of epigenetics in human disease prevention and development. Nature , 553(7689), 427–437.A groundbreaking review on how lifestyle and environment influence gene expression. [5] Schneider, R. H., et al. (2012). Stress reduction in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease: Randomized controlled trial of Transcendental Meditation. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes , 5(6), 750–758.Clinical evidence showing how deep meditation practices improve cardiovascular outcomes. [6] Zheng, Y., et al. (2017). Turmeric and curcumin in metabolic regulation: A review. Food & Function , 8(2), 833–847.Discusses turmeric’s role in reducing inflammation and supporting metabolic health. [7] Neelakantan, N., Narayanan, M., de Souza, R. J., & van Dam, R. M. (2014). Effect of fenugreek intake on glycemia: A meta-analysis of clinical trials. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition , 100(2), 495–510.Research demonstrating fenugreek’s impact on blood sugar control. [8] Jamshidi, N., & Cohen, M. M. (2017). The clinical efficacy and safety of Tulsi in humans: A systematic review. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine , 8(3), 189–193.A review of Tulsi’s therapeutic benefits on glucose, stress, and immunity. [9] Nagpal, R., & Kaur, A. (2019). Gut microbiota and metabolic health: The role of diet, digestion, and Ayurvedic dietary principles. Journal of Functional Foods , 60, 103–115.Explores how digestion and gut health influence metabolism—aligning closely with Ayurvedic teachings.

Written by Sophie Reyer, Author Sophie Anna Reyer is an Austrian author of multiple theater pieces and publications. She was born in Vienna, Austria. Reyer discovered her various profound talents in the arts at a young age as a child prodigy. I still remember, "What is under the stone?" I asked. Back then, as a child. At the cemetery. A body, they said. And why the candles? For the dead. Oh, I see. I nodded, buried my hands in my jacket pockets, and hid my nose beneath the collar of my turtleneck. I didn't understand. Not then, and honestly, I still don’t know. I also wonder whether this crack can ever truly be comprehended. Someone is there, and then suddenly, this someone is no longer there. Suddenly lying beneath the earth as a crumbling remnant, hollowed out by worms. Falling apart into dust and ash. Whenever I think of the dead, I am always a child in front of a stone at the All Saints’ cemetery. And my father’s hand holds mine, clasped onto my left hand. And my mother lights a match. The tiny sparks of the burning wicks drift in the cold November air. The cemetery is a sea of black, sluggish stone masses, their surfaces flickering with soft light. Breath can be exhaled as smoke from the mouth. In the center of the graveyard stands a cross, to which a body is affixed. Jesus, they say. Why he has thorns on his crown, I also don’t quite understand. So what. They told me he’s not real. I nodded. Only the crack inside me that’s real. It remained after my grandmother died. And then my aunt, from cancer. I drew an angel for her, with wings in thick luminous marker colors. The shaky drawing was burned along with her body. I didn’t understand that either. The aunt, now just a collection of smoke clouds. That such things happen. Back then, I didn’t quite know how to stand there and stare. And today? When the pain of loss resurfaces, I ask myself once again whether I know more now. The answer I must give myself is: No. But I do know that mourning the dead is important to cope with the crack that opens inside when someone is no longer there, band to make space for something that has no language, which has always eluded my imagination. The dark patch of death as a trauma, which, like all traumas, is defined by lying beyond verbal grasp. Yes, I think, as I continue to ask myself: You have no words for it. You can dance, scream, laugh, or cry; you won’t be able to dance it out of yourself, scream it out, or laugh or cry it out. In Mexico, a friend told me, there’s a celebration called Día de los Muertos, where small skulls are painted in bright colors. How cute they look, she said. The Day of the Dead is a vibrant folk festival against the Western-influenced values that the state tries to propagate. It is, in essence, a last remnant preserved from pre-Hispanic indigenous societies. A quite fascinating alternative to the imported Halloween craze, which children in Europe also now celebrate without really knowing why. About a year ago, around All Saints’ Day, a neighbor boy knocked on my door. Mumbled with a twisted face: “Trick or treat,” and at first, I didn’t understand. Only when he repeated his phrase the third time could I connect it in my mind with the American cry “Trick or Treat,” which I had memorized as a child for English class. Unfortunately, I had gobbled up all my chocolate for lunch, so I handed him a little cocoa powder instead, just to prevent him from crying and to let him tell the next day in school that he had enjoyed Halloween too. Did I save the little neighbor boy’s celebration? I wonder. From mourning the dead to spooning dry cocoa powder a long way. That spooning, or gathering candies, is more pleasant than recognizing losses, I am aware. And surely, both are necessary, both belong to life. I only wonder why our society emphasizes the “fun factor” so much. Where is the space for silence, in which pain can burst forth? And why is entertainment medicine constantly poured into the cracks we carry with us, through talk shows, loud music, and mindless American customs filling the void? Is the fear of the bottomless trauma of loss so great? Is it because mourning, governed by its own laws and rhythms, produces such intense fear within us? "Grief is anarchistic." Yes. Grief is subversive. Grief is anarchistic. Grief has explosive power. And: grief is a political act. This is also the opinion of Judith Butler, the American philosopher and literary scholar. As Butler stated in an interview, the shame of many AIDS survivors was so great that they could not allow themselves a public mourning that would have societal and political relevance. For me, the message of Derek Jarman’s film Blue carries an even deeper significance. In it, he poetically documents his own decline and eventual blindness due to HIV. The meticulous portrayal of his suffering, caused by a virus created by humans in a laboratory, forces us to look, even when all we can see is a blue screen, a perspective inspired by Jarman’s own blindness. But returning to Judith Butler, she describes the process of framing how certain forms of life are perceived as mournable while others are excluded. This technique, she explains, is heavily used by the American media. The life of an American soldier killed in Afghanistan is mourned, but the countless Afghan civilians who also lost their lives are absent from the public mourning registers. Life that isn’t recognized as mournable effectively ceases to exist. Conversely, life that can’t be mourned fades away as if it had never been. On one hand, the Western world claims universal moral and political standards think of how the US government so vehemently tries to impose Western ideals of equality onto what they call the “backward” East, even as gender equality and women’s rights in the West remain problematic. Chauvinistic ideas and traditional gender roles thrive like never before. On the other hand, these claims evaporate when it comes to the mourning of groups that don’t fit into the frame. Mourning publicly means giving someone a voice in doing so, it becomes a profoundly political act. But since the bubble of grief carries its own universe, governed by laws different from our busy, stressed daily life, rituals and religious forms of processing can only serve as crutches, a means to bring the unintegrable, the unspeakable, into some kind of articulation. I think, for example, of the reenactment of death during a funeral when the coffin is shovelled full of earth, like in theater, where the curtain falls to signal that the play is over, filling the coffin with small shovelfuls of earth becomes a performative act that helps us grasp the concept of loss. The crack remains, a scar in the topography of the soul; it reminds us of what was valuable and is now gone. Today is a foggy autumn day. I am practicing mourning. I admit it to myself. I mourn all those who have no names, who are not registered in the measurable grid of reality. The politically persecuted women behind veils, just as much as women under daily pressure to objectify their bodies, victims of a war fought under the hollow pretext of bringing “modernity” to a country, costing countless lives. I mourn, and to do so, I listen to Antony’s song The Spirit Was Gone. I gaze out of the window, yes, I mourn, I don’t need religion, ideology, or fixed rituals for that. I softly sing along with the CD: “The spirit has gone from her body. Forever. It has always been inside. And now it’s disentwined. It’s hard to understand.” Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my LinkedIn  for more info! Read more from Sophie Reyer Sophie Reyer, Author Sophie Anna Reyer is an Austrian author of multiple theater pieces and publications. She was born in Vienna, Austria. Reyer discovered her various profound talents in the arts at a young age as a child prodigy. She is a writer of theater pieces (S. Fischer) and novels (Emons) and was shortlisted for the Austrian Book Award in 2019 and 2021.

Written by Marietta Kulcsar, Clinical Hypnotherapist | Energy Healer Marietta Kulcsar is a multidimensional healer, clinical hypnotherapist, and founder of Right Path Hypnotherapy. She blends science, spirit, and soul to guide clients through deep transformation, realignment, and awakening to their divine path. For as long as I can remember, I have carried the feeling that I am here for something more. I have been on a journey of awakening, one that bridges time, dimensions, and the very fabric of the universe. I am a multidimensional healer and clinical hypnotherapist, trained across timelines and star systems, here to help humanity raise their frequency and move with the New Earth. My work is not only through words or touch. My presence alone carries the keys to healing. Over lifetimes, I was trained as a starseed doorkeeper, partnered with dragons to hold the gates of creation. Even now, my DNA continues to evolve, and I cannot consume meat or alcohol, and my body instinctively rejects them. My connection with life, nature, and energy has become pure and intuitive. Interestingly, my Life Path Number is 7, a number of spiritual awakening, deep intuition, and inner wisdom. This number mirrors my soul’s path perfectly: seeking truth, exploring higher realms, and holding ancient knowledge all central to my connection with the dragons and my role as a doorkeeper. The work of the dragon doorkeepers In ancient times, dragon riders were not masters, they were partners in consciousness. Each dragon and rider pair worked together to sustain balance across the elements and maintain harmony in the planet’s energy grids. Red dragons: Maintain the fire nodes and volcanoes, like Mayon Volcano in the Philippines and Mount Vesuvius in Italy. Green dragons: Tend to forests, ley lines, and crystal structures whispering through trees and mountains around sacred lakes like Lago Dilolo in Africa. Blue dragons: Balance the sound currents of air and water, guiding communication between worlds. Their sacred presence can be felt in places such as Lake Baikal in Russia and Loch Ness in Scotland. The other dragons oversee solar light, creation, vision, and ascension codes, weaving them all into harmony through the seven rays. These dragons once served as 'doorkeepers', guarding gateways between dimensions and anchoring higher frequencies on Earth. Each had a rider, chosen for resonance, courage, and alignment with the dragon’s purpose.   The 7 Dragon Riders: Keepers of the gates The seven dragon riders correspond to the seven rays of light, the dragon colours, and aspects of creation. Together, they held balance across the elements and guided the evolution of life. 1. Guardian of fire, red dragon Protects the elemental fire nodes, volcanoes, and courage grids. Awakens: Courage, transformation, and grounding in your personal power. 2. Weaver of creation, orange dragon Guides the flow of life force, creativity, and emotional healing. Awakens: Passion, artistry, emotional balance, and creative birth. 3. Light-bringer, gold dragon Channels solar energy, divine will, and leadership frequencies. Awakens: Inspiration, clarity, and alignment with your higher purpose. 4. Heart keeper, green dragon Maintains forests, crystals, and the harmony of nature. Awakens: Compassion, healing, and deep connection with Earth. 5. Voice of the waters, blue dragon Oversees sound, water currents, and sacred communication between worlds. Awakens: Truth, channeling ability, voice activation, and spiritual expression. 6. Seer of shadows, indigo dragon Opens inner vision, intuition, and access to multidimensional realms. Awakens: Clairvoyance, quantum travel, and expanded dreamwork. 7. Ascension guardian, white/violet dragon Bridges all elements into unity consciousness and ascension codes. Awakens: Spiritual wisdom, peace, and integration of all energies.   These riders were partners, not masters, holding gates open and weaving harmony across the world. Many of us carry fragments of these roles in our DNA, awakening over lifetimes to activate healing and ascension in others.   My connection to the dragons In my journey, I connect strongly with the Green, Blue, Red, and Indigo Dragons: Green dragon of Earth: Grounds me in nature, trees, water, and crystals, and channels healing through the Earth. Blue dragon of sound: Works through my voice and writing, allowing healing to flow effortlessly. Red dragon of fire: Anchors courage, transformation, and presence, often appearing as flashes of red light during astral travel or near horses. Indigo dragon of vision: Opens my ability to quantum travel across realms without deep sleep or meditation. Through this dragon, I access intuitive wisdom, multidimensional insights, and higher timelines seeing, sensing, and healing instantaneously. These connections allow me to activate healing, raise frequency, and guide others, helping them awaken their own inner dragon energies and remember their true power. The alignment with my Life Path 7 amplifies this connection, confirming my soul’s purpose: to explore, remember, and guide to bridge higher realms with the human experience. Dragons in culture, scripture, and zodiac Dragons have appeared throughout human history and spiritual texts: In the Bible: Revelation 20:7, Isaiah 13:22, Jeremiah 9:11, and many others reference dragons as guardians, thresholds, or symbols of transformation. In Chinese culture, dragons are revered as wise, protective, and powerful beings, appearing in zodiac signs and representing cosmic energy, luck, and authority. Across ancient civilizations, dragons were seen as keepers of knowledge, keys to ascension, and bridges between worlds. These references remind us that dragons are not myths, they are living energy, accessible to those who attune to their frequency.   A message from the dragons As I connect with the dragons, their presence is loving, wise, and strong. They speak clearly: "Do not be afraid of us. We are all in one together. We are not here to harm; we are here to help others. Stay with us, we are inside you. Remember us." This message is an invitation to awaken your inner dragon energy, to reconnect with your personal frequencies, and to step fully into your own power. The dragons are guides, allies, and guardians here to support humanity in healing, raising vibration, and moving into the New Earth.   The path forward The dragons teach that every one of us carries the spark of the ancient riders within. My journey as a multidimensional healer is part of this larger remembering to help others awaken, heal, and rise into higher frequencies of truth and unity. As humanity shifts into a new vibration, the dragons walk beside us once more. They whisper in dreams, guide our hearts, and awaken our inner fire. Through love, healing, and remembrance, we step forward not as separate beings, but as one consciousness moving toward the light of a renewed Earth. Are you ready to step onto your right path? Join the community, experience energy activation, and begin your transformation today. Visit my Podcast . Follow me on Facebook , Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Marietta Kulcsar Marietta Kulcsar, Clinical Hypnotherapist | Energy Healer Marietta Kulcsar is a multidimensional healer, clinical hypnotherapist, and founder of Right Path Hypnotherapy. With a unique ability to work beyond the seen and known, she blends therapeutic practice with spiritual intelligence to guide clients through deep healing and energetic realignment. Her work serves those navigating awakening, transformation, or soul-level shifts. Known for her quiet power and unwavering devotion, Marietta operates behind the scenes, clearing timelines, activating purpose, and helping others return to their true path. Her mission is to raise the frequency of healing worldwide by weaving science, spirit, and soul truth into one clear, powerful path forward.

Written by Ayla Nova , Trauma-Informed Yoga Nidra Educator Ayla Nova is a Yoga Nidra guide and founder of the Peace in Rest program, supporting thousands to restore their nervous systems through deep rest, radical self-acceptance, and trauma-informed practice. Yoga Nidra, often marketed as ‘non-sleep deep rest,’ is more than just a relaxation technique. Across brain imaging, EEG, and clinical studies, a pattern emerges, Yoga Nidra helps the brain organize itself. Networks sync, stress chemistry eases, and the rhythms tied to memory and creativity come forward. The result is simple, you feel your nervous system calm, and peace becomes more available. Below, we explore what neuroscience reveals about Yoga Nidra, grounded in peer-reviewed findings and clinical applications. (References below.) Want to try it? Watch a   short guided Yoga Nidra on YouTube  and feel the shift for yourself. How your brain settles (and stays aware) During Yoga Nidra, the brain often shifts into alpha and theta brain waves that are linked with relaxed alertness and that dreamy, idea-rich edge of sleep. This isn’t zoning out because awareness remains present, you’re guided rather than forced to concentrate. Researchers also observe more coherence, brain regions syncing their activity, which likely supports steadier attention and clearer thinking later. Less rumination, more regulation The default mode network (DMN) is the brain’s 'rumination network,' active during self-talk and mind-wandering. When it’s too loud, anxiety and low mood can intensify. Studies suggest Yoga Nidra can quiet the DMN while the salience (notice what matters) and executive (regulate emotions, make choices) networks come online more smoothly. Translation – less looped worry, more room to breathe. What changes in your chemistry Yoga Nidra is associated with higher GABA (the brain’s calming neurotransmitter) and lower cortisol (the stress hormone), a combo that helps explain why nervous systems feel less wound up afterward. Early findings also point to steadier dopamine (motivation/reward). Together, that’s a plausible pathway for feeling quieter inside and clearer on what matters. Make it stick (and feel safer) For memory, Nidra helps the brain file what matters, supporting consolidation so new learning becomes more findable later. For emotions, practices that emphasize interoception (inner sensing) and gentle imagery may help rebalance the hippocampus (context/memory) and amygdala (threat detection), especially useful when stress or trauma has the alarm system on high. Stress, sleep, and pain, why people notice a difference: Stress & resilience: Links to improved Heart Rate Variability suggest a more flexible stress response. Sleep: Some evidence points to easier sleep onset and better efficiency, likely by helping thalamo-cortical ‘gating’ settle so the body gets the ‘safe to repair’ message. Pain: Because pain is shaped by attention and interpretation (not just tissue signals), Yoga Nidra’s gentler focus and stress downshift can lower perceived pain in clinical contexts. Creativity & cognitive flexibility Alpha-theta states are fertile ground for divergent thinking, the ability to generate multiple solutions. By reliably evoking these rhythms, Nidra supports the cognitive flexibility behind problem-solving and creative insight. Even brief online practices have shown benefits in well-being, focus, and innovative performance across work and study settings. Calm body, creative mind, alpha-theta is where ideas connect. Safety & setup (quick guide) If you’re preparing for sleep, the bed is perfect. Get comfortable and supported, a small pillow for the head/neck, a bolster under or between the knees, and a light blanket for warmth. Side-lying is lovely in pregnancy or when the lower back needs extra care. Close your eyes if you feel comfortable doing so or keep them lowered. Headphones are optional. There’s no wrong way to receive Yoga Nidra. Try this (bedtime or first thing) Lie down (or sit supported), dim the screen, and soften your jaw and shoulders. If you want guidance, press play on a Nova Nidra and let yourself be carried through each layer of the practice. When you finish, name one word you feel now ’soft,’ ‘steady,’ ‘clear,’ and invite that into your day (or into sleep). Bottom line Yoga Nidra reframes rest as a gentle, structured way to guide brain rhythms, networks, and chemistry toward healing, resilience, and insight. Practicing multiple times a week can make life feel more manageable. Prefer to be guided? Explore my   Nova Nidra Healing Sleep playlist on YouTube   or join the Nova Nidra Community  for live support. Rest well. Be well. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Ayla Nova Ayla Nova , Trauma-Informed Yoga Nidra Educator Ayla Nova is a Yoga Nidra educator, podcast host, and founder of Nova Nidra. After overcoming a rare form of leukemia in 2018, she dedicated her life to sharing the healing power of rest. Her signature Peace in Rest program helps individuals and professionals transform stress, anxiety, and burnout into resilience and calm. Ayla’s trauma-informed approach blends yogic wisdom, neuroscience, and storytelling to meet people exactly where they are. She also certifies Yoga Nidra teachers through the Nova Nidra Teacher Training. Ayla shares guided practices and education through YouTube, Spotify, and her online community. References: Bhardwaj et al., 2024 – Neuroscience of Yoga (Springer). Deshpande, 2018 – Integrative Medicine Research. D’souza et al., 2021 – Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. Gulia & Sreedharan, 2023 – Sleep Medicine Clinics. Li et al., 2019 – Pain Management Nursing. Moszeik & von Oertzen, 2022 – Current Psychology. Nguyen & Lavretsky, 2024 – Neuroscience of Yoga (Springer). Newberg, 2017 – Principles of Neurotheology (Routledge). Pandi-Perumal et al., 2022 – Sleep and Vigilance. Sharpe et al., 2023 – Journal of Psychosomatic Research.

Written by Dharma Rebecca Funder, Executive Reinventionist & Leadership Strategist Dharma Funder is an Executive Reinventionist and Leadership Strategist who guides high-performing executives to achieve sustainable success through nervous-system-led leadership and embodied transformation. Senior leaders do not lose clarity because they suddenly become indecisive. They lose clarity because their capacity collapses. This distinction matters more than most leadership frameworks will ever admit. In high-responsibility roles, what gets labeled as hesitation, overthinking, or a loss of edge is rarely a cognitive failure. It is almost always a biological one. Why senior leaders do not lose clarity, they lose capacity Leadership clarity does not vanish overnight. Intelligence does not suddenly erode. Experience does not disappear. What collapses is the nervous system’s ability to support access to what leaders already know. When capacity drops, discernment narrows. Decision latency increases. Confidence fractures, not because leaders are less capable, but because their systems are no longer resourced to meet demand. The hidden pattern behind decision paralysis in high-responsibility roles The sequence is remarkably consistent across founders, executives, and senior operators: Sustained 12 to 14-hour days with no real recovery Chronic sleep debt held together by caffeine, adrenaline, and obligation Sharp thinking on paper, paralysis in live decisions Teams wait while decisions stall, not from lack of intelligence, but lack of access. What capacity collapse looks like in founders, executives, and CEOs A founder who could architect a ten-million-dollar growth strategy in three hours could not decide on a single senior hire for three weeks. An executive known for decisive leadership found herself unable to choose between two objectively solid vendor proposals. A CEO who built market-leading products could not commit to a rebrand that his team had already validated. Nothing about their intelligence had changed. What changed was the nervous system’s capacity to support executive function. What is actually happening in the nervous system under pressure When the nervous system is overwhelmed, it does not negotiate with strategy. It prioritizes survival. From a physiological standpoint, sustained threat, such as time pressure, reputational risk, constant demand, and unresolved stress, triggers a reallocation of resources away from the prefrontal cortex. This region governs discernment, long-range planning, decision-making, and emotional regulation. Why the prefrontal cortex goes offline when safety drops When safety drops, access drops. What leaders describe as “I just cannot think clearly” is the nervous system signaling that it is not resourced for this level of demand. This is not metaphor. Under chronic activation, the body diverts energy toward immediate survival responses. Strategic thinking, nuanced judgment, and calm decisiveness all require a baseline level of regulation that sustained pressure steadily erodes. “Clarity does not disappear under pressure. Access to it does.” Why pushing harder makes leadership decisions worse Most leadership cultures respond to decision paralysis with more pressure. Tighter deadlines. Higher stakes. Urgency language. Escalating expectations. From the body’s perspective, this confirms the threat. Why more pressure confirms threat instead of restoring clarity This is why decisions take longer, not shorter, why confidence erodes instead of consolidating, why leaders second-guess choices they would have made cleanly six months earlier. This is not a mindset issue. It is not a motivation problem. And it is not incompetence. It is a capacity mismatch between what the role demands and what the nervous system can currently support. The reflex to push harder is understandable. It is also counterproductive. Force does not restore access. Safety does. “Decision paralysis in leaders is rarely a mindset failure. It is almost always a capacity issue.” How to restore leadership capacity before forcing decisions Effective leadership under pressure follows a different order of operations. 1. Reframe overwhelm as biology, not failure The system is not broken. It is protecting itself. When leaders stop interpreting decision paralysis as personal weakness and recognize it as a regulatory signal, the internal threat level drops immediately. Self-judgment compounds the problem. Biological clarity reduces it. 2. Prioritize regulation before strategy No high-stakes decisions should be made while the body is braced, shallow breathing, or dissociated. This does not mean waiting for perfect conditions. It means establishing a green light state that is grounded, present, and breathing normally. Safety first. Strategy second. 3. Install recovery between decisions to prevent collapse Integration is not a luxury reserved for burnout recovery. It is how the nervous system regains elasticity between demands. Leaders who schedule intentional pauses after major decisions, even fifteen to twenty minutes of non-stimulated rest, regain clarity faster on subsequent choices. 4. Rebuild trust in clarity through safety Leaders must repeatedly experience that rest does not erode authority. It restores access to it. Each cycle of regulation followed by clean decision-making creates new evidence that the system works better when it is resourced, not forced. What returns when nervous system safety is restored When leaders rebuild capacity, the shifts are tangible and often rapid. Decisions that stalled for weeks resolve in days. Decisiveness returns without force. Sleep stabilizes and reliance on stimulants drops. Confidence feels grounded, not performative. One phrase appears again and again, “My clarity did not come back when I pushed harder. It came back when my system felt safe again.” Same intelligence. Same data. Completely different access. This is not about lowering standards or reducing responsibility. It is about recognizing that high performance requires high capacity, and that capacity is a biological resource, not a character trait. Why this is a leadership infrastructure problem, not a mindset issue If this resonates, the solution is not another productivity tool or mindset upgrade. It is a leadership infrastructure issue that is biological, relational, and often organizational. When capacity collapses, no amount of insight can compensate. Strategic frameworks do not help if the nervous system cannot access them. Vision does not clarify when the body is in survival mode. But when safety is restored through intentional regulation, structural recovery, and environments that reduce rather than amplify threat, clarity does not need to be chased. It reappears. Leaders do not need fixing, they need conditions that restore access Leaders are not broken. They need conditions that allow their existing intelligence to become accessible again. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Dharma Rebecca Funder Dharma Rebecca Funder, Executive Reinventionist & Leadership Strategist Dharma Funder is an Executive Reinventionist dedicated to helping successful leaders reclaim clarity, confidence, and calm under pressure. Drawing on principles of neuroscience, emotional regulation, and embodied leadership, she guides CEOs and senior executives through the transformation from overdrive to sustainable performance. Her work, The Resilience Code™, blends science, strategy, and soul to create leaders who thrive from the inside out.

Esther Fiyinfoluwa Adeosun is a fashion designer and the Creative Director of Fifi Stitches, a couture fashion brand specialising in bespoke women's wear and men's wear defined by refined tailoring, pattern precision, and contemporary African-inspired aesthetics. Her work blends African heritage with modern design sensibilities, with a strong focus on structure, garment engineering, and meticulous finishing. Esther Fiyinfoluwa Adeosun, Fashion Designer and Creative Director of Fifi Stitches Who is Esther Fiyinfoluwa Adeosun? Esther Fiyinfoluwa Adeosun is a fashion designer and creative director, and the founder of Fifi Stitches. She specialises in bespoke tailoring, creating carefully constructed garments that balance structure, comfort, and individuality. Her work is rooted in craftsmanship, cultural awareness, and a strong understanding of fit, developed through years of hands-on experience working closely with clients. What inspired you to start Fifi Stitches and focus on bespoke fashion? Fifi Stitches was inspired by a desire to create clothing that truly fits and reflects the wearer. I noticed that many people struggled with ill-fitting garments and clothing that did not represent their personality. Bespoke fashion allows me to design intentionally, listen closely to clients, and create pieces that feel personal and empowering. How would you describe your signature style? My signature style is defined by clean lines, thoughtful structure, and elegant silhouettes. I focus on garments that are refined but expressive, often blending modern tailoring with subtle cultural influences. What makes your custom tailoring services different from off-the-rack clothing? Off-the-rack clothing is made for general sizing, while my work is created for the individual. Every piece is developed from scratch, considering body proportions, posture, comfort, and lifestyle, resulting in a better fit and longer-lasting wear. Can you walk us through your creative process? The process begins with a detailed consultation, followed by concept development, fabric selection, custom pattern drafting, fittings, and final refinements. Each stage is collaborative and intentional. What common wardrobe problems do your clients come to you with? Clients usually come to me with three recurring problems. Fit inconsistency, fabric discomfort, and garments not reflecting their personality. Each of these issues requires a different technical approach. How do you choose fabrics? I select fabrics based on quality, durability, comfort, and how they interact with the body. Fabric choice is central to how a garment performs and feels. Tell us about a memorable client transformation. One of the most rewarding moments is seeing a client stand taller and more confident during final fittings. Those transformations reinforce the impact of well-made clothing. What advice would you give someone wanting to elevate their personal style? Invest in fit, understand your body, and choose pieces that are intentional rather than trend-driven. How do you tailor designs to different body types? I adjust proportions, structure, and design details to complement each body type while maintaining balance and comfort. What kind of clients benefit the most from bespoke tailoring? Clients who value quality, individuality, and garments designed specifically for them benefit the most. What should collaborators expect when working with you? They can expect clear communication, professionalism, and thoughtfully executed designs that meet high standards. Follow me on Instagram for more info! Read more from Esther Fiyinfoluwa Adeosun