Written by Inbar Lee Hyams, Feng Shui Consultant Inbar Lee Hyams is a Black Sect Tantric Buddhist (BTB) feng shui practitioner based in Haifa, Israel. She reads clients’ homes and writes Shui-ish, a newsletter that mashes up feng shui with the weekly portion of the Hebrew Bible. She spent twenty years as a copywriter in Israel’s startup world and holds a Master of Arts in creative writing. When a room starts to feel wrong, most of us go shopping for a new lamp, a bigger plant, or a throw for the sofa. It almost never occurs to us that the room might be asking for less. Drawing on psychology, Jewish wisdom, and feng shui, Inbar Lee explores why adding feels so instinctive and what happens when we resist the urge to fill every gap. The experiment can start with a single shelf, where taking a few things away might help you see what you already love. Why does the brain tell us to add more when a room needs less? In 2021, a team of researchers at the University of Virginia published a paper in Nature titled “People systematically overlook subtractive changes.” Across eight experiments, they asked participants to improve all kinds of things, from a LEGO structure to an essay, a recipe, a travel itinerary, and a miniature golf hole. Most people added something. Taking a piece away was often the simpler and better fix, and most people missed it, especially when they were rushed or distracted. When the instructions reminded them that removing something was an option, they found subtractive solutions more easily. The researchers' explanation is that ideas for adding come to mind quickly, while ideas for subtracting take more effort. Every time we solve a problem by adding, the habit gets a little stronger. A home is close to a perfect test case. When a room feels off, the first fix that comes to mind is usually one you can buy. Taking something away feels like a loss or like doing nothing at all. A creation story that begins with making room I'm not religious, and I'm learning Jewish thought as I go, often by way of my own home. So I was surprised by how much one idea from Isaac Luria, a kabbalist who taught in the 16th century in the hill town of Safed, not far from where I live now, had to say about my living room. Luria was trying to solve a puzzle that sounds simple until you sit with it. If God is infinite and fills everything, where is there room for a world? His answer was tzimtzum, a Hebrew word for contraction. Before anything could be created, he taught, God withdrew, drawing the infinite light inward to leave an empty space, the chalal hapanuy. It was in that space that the world came to exist. What stays with me is the order of events. In Luria's account, the empty space comes first, before light, land, or living things, and everything that follows depends on that space being there. Most of us look at the empty parts of a room as the spots we haven't gotten around to filling yet, and it's a small but real shift to start seeing them as what lets everything else in the room be seen at all. Why closeness needs a little distance Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the late chief rabbi of the United Kingdom and one of the most widely read Jewish thinkers of our time, found a similar pattern running through the story of Abraham. Abraham's journey begins when he's told to leave his father's house, and near its end he's asked to part, in painful and very different ways, from each of his two sons. Sacks reads these separations as the hard birth of a new way of thinking about people, and he connects them to the way the Bible describes creation itself. God first divides day from night, the waters above from the waters below, and the sea from dry land. Only then does he let each domain be filled. “First separate, then connect,” he writes. “That seems to be the Jewish way.” His point is that real relationships need the same order. Before two people can truly meet, each has to be fully someone, and that takes a certain amount of distance, which is easy to confuse with coldness but is closer to respect. Healthy space in our homes supports healthy space in our relationships. When a home has none, people feel cramped. That feeling slides into irritability, which, given enough time, hardens into resentment. There's some research that points in the same direction. In a 2010 study, psychologists Darby Saxbe and Rena Repetti asked couples in which both partners earned an income to give video tours of their homes, then tracked their moods and stress hormones over the following days. Wives who described their homes using words like “cluttered” or “unfinished” had daily cortisol patterns associated with chronic stress, while those who described their homes as restful showed healthier rhythms. The study found an association, and the same pattern didn't show up in the husbands. Still, it matches what many of us feel walking into a room where every surface is asking for attention. The element of editing Feng shui gives this pattern a name of its own. In the theory of the five elements, which feng shui uses to describe how energy moves through a space and through a life, metal is the element of autumn, the season when trees drop their leaves without any sentiment about it. Metal is linked to the lungs, to breath, and to the quality of discernment, which is the ability to tell what matters from what doesn't and to let the rest go. When a home has plenty of metal energy, it tends to feel clear and easy to breathe in. When metal is missing, everything gets to stay, and before long everything looks equally important. You can usually spot a metal deficiency before you can name it. Shelves and surfaces fill up, including the ones you promised yourself you'd keep clear. Things get shuffled from one corner to another without ever leaving the house. New purchases arrive with nothing going out to make room, and the objects you love most slowly disappear among everything around them. The same pattern tends to show up in life as trouble deciding, saying no, or finishing what you started, and as boundaries blurry enough that it's hard to tell where your needs end and someone else's begin. What a metal deficiency teaches is that keeping everything is its own way of avoiding a choice. A room full of things nobody chose to remove is a room where no decision has been made, and those unmade decisions weigh on whoever lives with them. Why the things you love are the hardest to edit I've moved 27 times across several countries, and every home along the way has been a kind of laboratory for me, but the experiment I come back to most often happens on one wall of my living room. It's lined with open shelves where I keep the things I love most, and it's my favorite place to play. A new find comes home, an old piece rotates back in from a drawer, or something gets nudged along to make room. A few weeks ago, the wall started to feel heavy, so I did what I'd tell any client to do and took some things down. Some beautiful painted pottery came off the shelves, along with a ceramic vase and a few candles, and I put nothing in their place. The whole wall came to life. I've known this for years, and I still relearn it every time, which tells me something about how strong the pull toward adding really is. What made it hard was that I loved every piece I removed. Clearing out things we don't care about is easy enough, and most decluttering advice stops there. The harder and more useful practice is letting a favorite step back for a while for the good of the whole, the same way a person sometimes steps back so a relationship has room to breathe. Nothing has to be gone for good. The pottery is wrapped in a drawer, and when the shelf is ready for a change, some of it will rotate back in and something else will take a turn resting. Rotation lets you keep what you love without asking every beloved object to be on display at once. How to make room without stripping the place bare If you'd like to try this yourself, start small. Pick one shelf, mantel, or surface you see every day, ideally one that already holds things you love, since that's where the practice teaches the most. Clear it completely. Take everything off and wipe the surface clean so you can look at it empty for a moment before you decide anything. Put back fewer pieces than you took off. Choose the ones you most want to see, and leave real gaps between them instead of spreading them out to cover the space. Rest what's left over. Some of what stays off will be things you genuinely love. Wrap them and tuck them into a drawer or cupboard where you can find them again, and plan to rotate them back in when the surface is ready for a change. Leave the gaps alone for a week. The urge to fill an empty spot is strong, especially if you think you have something better to put there, so give yourself seven days before you add anything. Notice what changes. Each time you pass, pay attention to where your eyes land now and how the room feels when you walk in. It's also worth noticing whether anyone else in your home comments on the change before you mention it. There's no universal answer to what “balanced” looks like. Only you can tell what's too little, too much, or just right for your space at any given moment, and that answer will shift as your life does. Making room Our brains may be wired to reach for more, but some of the oldest ideas we have point the other way. When Luria imagined the beginning of everything, he didn't start with light pouring out or worlds taking shape. He started with a withdrawal, an infinite presence making itself smaller so that something else could exist. If that's where creation begins, then a few empty spaces on a shelf seem like a reasonable place for the rest of us to start, and the people we share our homes with may be the first to feel the difference. Want more ancient practices for designing a home that holds the life you want today? Inbar Lee's weekly newsletter brings together feng shui and Jewish wisdom because when your space changes, your life changes. Subscribe to my website. Visit my website for more info! Read more from Inbar Lee Hyams Inbar Lee Hyams, Feng Shui Consultant Inbar Lee Hyams moved twenty-seven times before she turned thirty and got very good at making a space look and feel good, fast. Then came apartment #28, where life lived, and the chi didn't, a place she now describes as funk shui. She went looking for an explanation and found one in feng shui. She trained in the BTB tradition with Amanda Gibby Peters and now reads clients' spaces. Her weekly newsletter mashes up feng shui, the weekly portion of the Hebrew Bible, and whatever happened in her own house that week, so readers can learn to read their own homes and change what isn't working.

Written by Anastasiia Puzyrina, Couples and Relationship Psychotherapist & Methodologist Anastasiia Puzyrina is an esteemed relationship counselor and expert in couple dynamics. She is also a certified cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) therapist with over 20 years of experience. She is the author of Relationship Workbook for Couples and the founder of Restore Connections Development Centre. When conflict repeats, the problem may not lie in either person's behaviour alone but in the system of expectations, roles, and responses that emerges between them. Understanding conflict requires looking beyond individual reactions to examine how the interaction is organized, what keeps it functioning, and why both people repeatedly find themselves participating in something neither consciously intended to create. Why do we keep seeing the other person as the problem? Because the other person's behaviour is usually the most visible part of a conflict, while the conditions that give that behaviour its meaning are much harder to recognize. When a disagreement becomes painful, our attention naturally moves toward what the other person has done. We remember the dismissive remark, the refusal to engage, the criticism, or the silence that followed an important question. These are observable events, and they provide a seemingly reasonable explanation for our distress. But there is something curious about recurring conflict. The more familiar the disagreement becomes, the more certain each person often feels about its cause. After years of arguing, partners may no longer need to hear an entire sentence before deciding what it means. They recognize the tone, anticipate the response, and prepare themselves for what they believe will happen next. By the time the conversation has properly begun, both may already be responding to a conflict they know well. This is where focusing exclusively on the other person becomes limiting. Their behaviour matters, certainly, but it does not tell us everything about the situation we have entered. What does it mean to enter a system during conflict? A relational system is not simply two people interacting. It is the organization of expectations, responsibilities, interpretations, and responses that develops through their repeated participation. Consider a couple in which one partner is increasingly concerned about financial stability while the other is trying to protect a sense of independence. A conversation about an unexpected purchase may appear to concern money, but the interaction can quickly become organized around something else. One person assumes responsibility for anticipating risks and preventing future problems. The other experiences that responsibility as an attempt to control decisions. The more the first partner insists on planning, the more the second defends personal autonomy. Eventually, both begin to behave in ways that confirm the other's expectations. The interesting question is not simply who started the argument or whose financial reasoning is more accurate. It is how an ordinary decision turned into a struggle between responsibility and autonomy. Neither person necessarily intended to create this arrangement. Nevertheless, their responses now help sustain it. This is what makes systems difficult to recognize from within. Each participant experiences their own behaviour as a reasonable response to the other person's actions. Why can changing one person's behaviour leave the conflict unchanged? Because an established relational system can preserve its organization even when individual behaviours begin to change. Imagine that the partner who usually insists on discussing problems decides to stop pursuing difficult conversations. From an individual perspective, this may seem like a meaningful change. There is less pressure, there are fewer questions, and there may be a sincere attempt to create more space. Yet the other partner may interpret the new silence as indifference, emotional withdrawal, or evidence that something is wrong. Instead of producing relief, the change generates a different kind of anxiety, and the couple gradually finds another route into the familiar conflict. This does not mean that individual change is ineffective. It means that behaviour acquires its meaning within an existing organization of expectations. A different action does not automatically create a different system, particularly when both people continue interpreting one another through the assumptions established by earlier interactions. This is also why some couples can resolve a specific disagreement without changing much about their relationship. They reach an agreement about finances, parenting, or household responsibilities, only to discover that another issue soon produces a remarkably similar struggle. The immediate problem was addressed. The conditions that organized the struggle were not necessarily altered. How does a relationship maintain a pattern nobody wants? A relational pattern can persist because each participant's attempt to manage the situation unintentionally helps reproduce the conditions that make the other's response more likely. This is one of the more uncomfortable aspects of systemic thinking. People may sincerely want a conflict to end while continuing to participate in the very organization that sustains it. A partner who fears disconnection may increase their efforts to restore closeness, while the other, overwhelmed by those efforts, seeks distance. Neither person is necessarily trying to hurt the other. Yet their attempts to manage discomfort become mutually reinforcing. Still, not every recurring conflict is a cycle of emotional pursuit and withdrawal. Sometimes the system is organized around unequal responsibility, incompatible expectations, competing priorities, or an arrangement that has never been explicitly negotiated. A couple may communicate respectfully and understand one another's feelings while remaining trapped in a practical structure that consistently leaves one person with the burden of making decisions. In such a case, further emotional exploration may provide insight without resolving the conditions that keep producing the disagreement. The distinction matters because a system is not merely a pattern of feelings. It also includes the distribution of responsibility, the possibilities available to each participant, and the implicit rules governing what happens when their interests collide. Does systemic thinking mean both people are equally responsible? No. Understanding conflict as a system does not imply that responsibility, power, or consequences are equally distributed. This distinction is essential, particularly in relationships where one person exercises coercive control, intimidation, or violence. Describing an interaction systemically must never become a way of assigning blame to someone who is being harmed. Even in relationships without abuse, participation does not necessarily mean equal influence. One partner may have greater financial authority, social freedom, or control over important decisions. These differences are part of the system itself and cannot be ignored simply because both people participate in the relationship. Systemic thinking becomes useful when it helps us see these differences more clearly, not when it dissolves them into a vague claim that everyone contributes equally. Responsibility belongs to people. The organization of their interaction, however, cannot always be understood by examining each person separately. What changes when we begin to see the system? The most significant change is not necessarily in how people communicate but in what they become capable of observing. When attention remains fixed on the other person's behaviour, the central question is usually how to make that person understand, respond, or change. From a systemic perspective, another set of questions becomes possible. What arrangement are we repeatedly entering? Which expectations make certain responses predictable? What does each person attempt to protect, and how does that attempt affect the possibilities available to the other? These questions can reveal that the apparent disagreement is only one expression of a much more stable organization. They also introduce a different understanding of agency. If people participate in reproducing a relational system, then they may be able to reflect on and change some aspects of their participation. Not everything is under individual control, and recognizing a pattern does not guarantee that it can be transformed. But what previously appeared inevitable may begin to look contingent on conditions that can be examined. That is a meaningful shift. Instead of treating conflict as an endless series of reactions to another person's behaviour, we begin to recognize the organization within which those reactions become possible. Questions that shift observation When a familiar conflict begins, it may be worth considering the following questions. What system of expectations and responsibilities are we entering before the disagreement fully develops? What does my response make more likely in the other person, and what does their response make more likely in me? Are we trying to resolve the visible disagreement while leaving the conditions that repeatedly produce it unchanged? These questions are not intended to turn every argument into an intellectual exercise. Nor do they suggest that people should remain in harmful relationships in order to understand their dynamics. They point toward a different level of inquiry. We often enter conflict believing that we already know what the problem is because we recognize the person standing in front of us. We know their habits, their explanations, their familiar reactions. What remains less visible is the system that has developed between us and the extent to which it shapes what each of us can see and do. Perhaps the most difficult part of understanding recurring conflict is accepting that the other person, however frustrating their behaviour may be, is not always a sufficient explanation for what happens between us. Sometimes we have to examine the system we enter together, including the parts of it that have become so familiar we no longer notice them. Follow me on LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Anastasiia Puzyrina Anastasiia Puzyrina, Couples and Relationship Psychotherapist & Methodologist Anastasiia Puzyrina, a renowned authority in relationship counseling and cognitive behavioural therapy, brings a unique approach to her practice in Canada. With over 20 years of experience and a Master's in Psychology from Ukraine, she excels in addressing relationship challenges among couples and families. Anastasiia integrates cutting-edge neuroscience with proven psychotherapy techniques to foster personal and interpersonal development. She actively promotes healthy parent-child dynamics and leads initiatives in this area. Anastasiia founded the Restore Connections Development Center to support couples, co-founded a service for enhancing parental relationships, and authored the Workbook for Couples.

Written by: Editorial Team Entrepreneur Pavlo Chaban, owner of the painting company PaintPaul, has been performing exterior finishing work in Washington State for two years, focusing primarily on facade painting. In Pavlo's observation, many local companies attempt to win contracts through price dumping rather than quality, often overlooking hidden structural issues during their initial assessment. To preserve profit margins despite low total quotes, contractors cut corners on crucial work stages and materials, fail to explain necessary procedures to homeowners, and operate using a rigid one-size-fits-all approach without carefully assessing facade conditions. The outcome is predictable: the coating peels after just a couple of years, forcing the owner to rehire painters. This occurs in a country where a large share of single-family homes were built decades ago and require regular exterior protection against moisture, mold, and wood rot, particularly in challenging climate zones like the Pacific Northwest. Drawing on his business experience, Pavlo Chaban discusses his approach to painting, which aims to provide long-term protection against peeling and weathering, and breaks down the factors that determine the price of a paint job built to last decades. The price components Pavlo built all of PaintPaul's operations around a proprietary facade condition estimation system. Every surface of a house is measured, analyzed for hidden damage, and entered into specialized software. This software allows the team to calculate with pinpoint accuracy the exact volume of materials required (in gallons), precise labor hours, the necessary headcount, and the total time needed to complete the project, including prep work such as home resealing. This assessment stage, to which Pavlo devotes about an hour, is crucial for setting the final price. "The initial inspection includes checking the sealant and wood conditions, as well as identifying areas prone to moisture buildup and chipping. Based on this, we generate an estimate detailing the exact time and cost for materials, labor, and preparation," Pavlo shares. Preparation work is frequently neglected by competitors, yet skipping it poses a direct threat to property preservation, as cosmetic painting merely hides structural damage beneath the surface. Prep work ultimately determines coating longevity, so homeowners are advised to avoid contractors who offer to simply paint over existing surfaces. Based on Pavlo's hands-on experience, the coating cracks within four years at best, or peels after just one year at worst. According to PaintPaul's data, stripping rotted wood and sealing surfaces increases the initial budget by 20% to 30%, but these costs guarantee long-term durability. On a regional scale, this approach extends the operational lifespan of residential buildings by decades, reduces financial burdens on homeowners, and contributes to preserving the state's housing stock. Paint and sealant: Why quality isn't an overpayment Skipping preparation leads to peeling; that is a technological axiom. Selecting materials suited to climatic conditions is equally essential. Cheap and mid-grade paints may deliver acceptable results during the first year, but not on exterior facades. The Pacific Northwest, where the company operates, presents one of the harshest environments for paint: constant moisture, long rainy seasons, and temperature fluctuations. Materials that last for years in California degrade here within two seasons, which is why Pavlo's material selection targets a single enemy: water. The company's standard choice is a thick, flexible coating material that expands and contracts with the wood during wet and dry periods without cracking, while self-priming over older painted surfaces. For extreme conditions, Pavlo uses paint resistant to rain hours after application that features self-cleaning properties activated by rainfall. "Paint is a protective system. When clients wish to minimize costs, we explain that they will inevitably pay significantly more a few years later due to inflation and wood rot repairs," Pavlo adds. "Although most of our clients have had negative experiences with previous contractors, many still do not realize why professional materials represent an investment in their property. We seal, prepare, and prime, delivering a complete cycle for long-term home protection." Cheap repainting also harms the environment. Each repainting cycle releases volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere, while removing old, peeling coatings and replacing rotted timber generates construction waste, including leftover paint, empty containers, and wood debris that ends up in landfills. Pavlo's painting system significantly reduces the number of repainting cycles over a building's lifespan, thereby lowering aggregate emissions and waste. Homeowner mathematics: Painting as an investment Through this systematic approach, PaintPaul has already successfully completed around 70 projects, generating $403,000 in revenue. Pavlo frequently shares a calculation with prospective clients: "On average, proper painting for a single-story home costs around $7,000. When executed correctly – with thorough prep work, quality materials, and proper siding care – the result lasts 10 to 15 years. Even if a cheap quote seems lower upfront, the homeowner ends up paying twice within the timeframe my client pays once." Pavlo avoids rushing projects to completion in a single day; drying times for sealants and paints strictly follow manufacturer guidelines. PaintPaul typically completes a standard single-story home in three to four days. The company maintains high operational speed in customer service and communication. Inquiries are processed immediately, site visits occur the same or following day, and detailed estimates are provided on-site. Keeping clients informed throughout the process eliminates anxiety and turns complex renovation work into a clear, predictable workflow. Pavlo views his estimation system as more than an internal tool. A digital facade audit, where every surface is measured, documented, and converted into a transparent estimate, addresses a common problem in the U.S. finishing industry: price opacity and market dumping enabled by hidden compromises in preparation standards. This methodology could serve as a benchmark for the broader sector: when estimates include documented surface evaluations, contractors have fewer opportunities to cut corners on preparation at the homeowner's expense. Expert advice The founder of PaintPaul emphasizes that saving money on facade renovation requires abandoning the illusion that high quality can be obtained at minimal cost. "I advise property owners to view painting as a long-term investment in building preservation. Choose contractors who can clearly explain their estimates, work with premium materials, and assume full responsibility for the preparation phase. A single high-quality paint job that adheres to technical standards is always cheaper than continuous rework and repairs caused by unqualified labor, while offering superior protection for the property and the environment. I want to see transparent, preservation-focused facade renovation become the industry standard."

Written by Nathalie Piquionne, Founder, Lead Facilitator & Conscious Strategist Nathalie Piquionne is the founder of Deux Noix de Coco and JOY Creative Renegades, and creator of Quality of the Heart Immersion. She blends heart coherence, culture-forward immersion, and conscious strategy from nervous-system reset to soul healing, restoring clarity and aligned decision-making between New York and Martinique, in-person and online. We tend to think of art as something that exists in front of us. Something to contemplate, interpret, appreciate, collect or perhaps question. We speak about the intention of the artist, the meaning of the work, its cultural relevance and the experience of the viewer. Yet somewhere in this relationship between creation and encounter lies a dimension that interests me far more deeply: the capacity of art to make us conscious of something we did not previously know how to perceive. I am not speaking simply about an emotional response to a painting or the intellectual discovery of a new perspective. I am interested in the relationship between artistic creation, human perception and the consciousness through which we experience ourselves and the world. Artistic creation can give form to what has not yet become visible or consciously understood, allowing intuition, imagination and lived experience to enter into expression. In this sense, art becomes a bridge between the seen and the unseen. Art does not merely present us with another way of seeing. At times, it confronts us with the very conditions through which we see. That distinction changes the conversation. Creation is not simply the expression of what is already known Before an artwork can be encountered, something has to come into existence. We often speak of inspiration or artistic intention as though the artist begins with a fully formed understanding that is subsequently translated into material. But creation is rarely so linear. An artist may begin with a question, an observation, a gut feeling, a knowing without knowing, or an impulse that has not yet found its form. Research and technical mastery may underpin the work, yet the act of creating introduces a relationship that cannot be entirely anticipated. Material responds. Decisions reveal new possibilities. What initially seemed essential may become irrelevant, while something unexpected begins to demand attention. The work develops through a continuous exchange between intention and discovery. Through the process, the artist may come to perceive something that was not available before the work began. The creative act becomes a way of investigating reality. Much of contemporary life is organized around the expectation that we should know where we are going before we begin. My background in global advertising and executive leadership, alongside my work in art and culture, has taught me the value of strategic thinking, analysis and accountability. But creation reminds us of something strategy can overlook: not everything worth discovering can be known before we enter the experience. That is where the relationship between art and transformation begins. The artwork is not the end of the creative process Once a work enters the world, another relationship begins. The person encountering it brings an entirely different consciousness to the experience, informed by what they know, what they have lived and the culture in which they were formed. The artist’s intention and the work’s historical context matter, particularly when other cultures and histories are involved. But intention cannot determine everything another person will experience. Interpretation is only one dimension of encounter. A work may resist our expectations, challenge familiar categories or bring us into contact with a reality we had understood only from a distance. The encounter becomes more than an exchange of information. It becomes an encounter with the boundaries of our own perception. This is why the spaces in which art is encountered matter. Curatorial practice, cultural institutions, galleries and independent initiatives do more than display works. At their best, they create living environments of exchange, discovery and connection among artistic expression, people and ideas. There is an important difference between offering context that deepens understanding and providing an interpretation so complete that the viewer is left with little room to discover anything independently. The encounter begins to matter differently when we allow the possibility that the work may question us as much as we question it. Culture is not a fixed inheritance The relationship between creation and perception becomes even more significant when we consider culture. We speak about culture as something to identify, document, preserve and represent. But culture is not simply knowledge passed unchanged from one generation to another. Culture is continually being lived, interpreted, challenged and created. Artists participate in that process beyond representation. Art can make visible not only what a culture remembers, but also what it has struggled to acknowledge, what it is becoming and what it has not yet imagined. My connection to Martinique is part of my understanding that culture cannot be separated from how people inhabit their histories, environments and relationships. The Caribbean, with its complex intersections of cultural influences, shows how identity continues to evolve through creation and encounter. Its cultural expressions have emerged through encounters between different worlds, through histories of domination and resistance, through adaptation, invention and the continuous negotiation of what it means to belong. Artistic creation in such a context does more than preserve cultural memory. It participates in the formation of cultural consciousness. To preserve culture is to recognize the value of what has existed. To participate in culture is also to remain engaged with what is being created now. Culture shapes how we understand ourselves long before we consciously question it. We inherit ways of seeing as much as we inherit stories. Art can bring those inherited ways of seeing into question. What happens when we become conscious of our own perception? There is a difference between having an experience and becoming conscious of how we are experiencing it. We move through life interpreting events through familiar patterns and responding through learned behaviors. What we perceive is never entirely separate from the person doing the perceiving. We may believe we are responding to a situation as it exists when we are also responding to our expectations of it. Art can expose this relationship directly. When a work unsettles us, we may rush to decide whether we like or understand it. But what happens if, instead of resolving the encounter, we become curious about our response? Why did I resist this? What assumption was challenged? What am I bringing into this encounter? These are not necessarily questions about the correct meaning of an artwork. They concern the consciousness through which the encounter takes place. This is where art can become a doorway into a much larger inquiry. If perception is shaped by the state of being from which we experience the world, what becomes possible when we begin to recognize that state consciously? The question extends beyond artistic experience. The same consciousness accompanies us into our relationships, our work, our decisions and the lives we create. We do not leave our ways of perceiving behind when we step outside a gallery. We carry them into everything. From understanding ourselves to experiencing ourselves I have become increasingly interested in the distance between what we understand intellectually and what we actually experience within ourselves. We can be remarkably self-aware in thought while continuing to live through patterns that contradict that understanding. We may value presence while remaining occupied by what has happened or what might happen next. Knowledge alone does not necessarily change the state from which we live. For me, transformation is not simply adopting a new perspective or behavior. It involves a shift in our relationship with ourselves and with the reality we are experiencing. This is the essence of developing intimacy with what is. To develop intimacy with what is means meeting experience with enough presence to recognize what is unfolding, while becoming conscious of the interpretations, expectations and habitual responses we bring to it. This is neither resignation nor passive acceptance of circumstances that need to change. It creates space to reconnect with our inner signal instead of responding exclusively through conditioned patterns. Sometimes our inner signal begins as a quiet recognition that something we have been pursuing no longer feels coherent, or that something we have overlooked deserves our attention. The purpose is not to abandon analytical intelligence in favor of intuition. It is to allow our perception to become more complete. When we become conscious of the state from which we create, we begin to recognize the relationship between our inner being and the reality taking form around us. Art does not provide a solution to our personal questions. Creation and encounter can, however, reveal dimensions of experience that habitual perception has kept out of view. What we do with that awareness is where the possibility of transformation begins. Art is not decoration around transformation, it is one of the doors I am interested in creating spaces where people do not simply encounter ideas about consciousness, culture or transformation, but begin experiencing their relationship with these dimensions differently. Artistic creation reveals what has not yet found expression; cultural encounter challenges what we believe we know; conscious presence allows us to recognize how we participate in shaping our experience of life. Transformation becomes possible when this awareness moves beyond understanding and becomes something we consciously live. Nature is not simply the environment in which an experience takes place. Culture is not a collection of activities to be consumed. Soul is not an abstract concept introduced at the end of a journey. They are interconnected dimensions of being alive. This is why I do not see art as decoration around transformation. Creation can change what becomes possible to express. Cultural encounter can change what becomes possible to understand. Conscious perception can change our relationship with the lives we are creating. Perhaps the deeper question is not only what art allows us to see, but what it reveals about the consciousness through which we experience life. We are not separate from the life unfolding around us. We are immersed in it, shaped by it and continually participating in its creation. Art can open that inquiry. Consciousness allows us to enter it. Transformation becomes possible when what we begin to perceive changes how we live. An invitation to experience For those who feel called to explore these ideas beyond intellectual understanding, my work offers interconnected pathways into cultural encounter, inner exploration and lived experience. Through JOY Creative Renegades, art, cultural exchange and human encounter form a living cultural ecosystem, creating space for dialogue, discovery and new perspectives. Through Quality of the Heart Immersion, the inquiry becomes more intimate: an invitation to reconnect with ourselves, deepen awareness and cultivate inner coherence through individual and group experiences in New York, Martinique and online. Through Nature Culture Soul, an immersive journey in Martinique, nature, culture and soul come together as interconnected expressions of being alive. Explore JOY Creative Renegades here. Discover Quality of the Heart Immersion here. Experience Nature Culture Soul here. Follow me on Instagram and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Nathalie Piquionne Nathalie Piquionne, Founder, Lead Facilitator & Conscious Strategist Nathalie Piquionne is the founder of Deux Noix de Coco and creator of Quality of the Heart Immersion. She guides high-achieving creatives and founders from nervous-system overdrive into clarity, coherence, and soul-level renewal, blending heart coherence, culture-forward immersion, and conscious strategy, with JOY Creative Renegades as the cultural community layer. Based between New York and Martinique, Nathalie works in-person and online, helping clients translate insight into aligned decisions and momentum. In her Brainz articles, she writes on leadership under pressure, creative renewal, and purposeful living.

Written by Sarah Maynard, Wellness & Health Coach for Moms Sarah Maynard is a Beroepsvereniging Gewichtsconsulenten Nederland-certified lifestyle coach for tired and overwhelmed mothers. She is the founder of Body & Mind in Harmony and creator of a group program, built on her belief that nervous system regulation comes before any other wellness goal. Most of us were prepared for the birth. We were told what to pack, how to breathe, and what the first weeks might look like. What almost no one told us is that becoming a mother is not just an event. It is a transformation that touches the body, the brain, the hormones, and the very sense of who you are. There is even a word for it: matrescence. As a BGN-certified lifestyle coach who works with overwhelmed mothers every week, and as a mother who lost herself completely across two pregnancies, I have seen how much relief comes from simply having a name for this. If you have ever looked in the mirror and wondered where you went, this article is for you, and for everyone who loves you. What is matrescence? The term was introduced in the 1970s by medical anthropologist Dana Raphael, who argued that giving birth does not automatically make a woman a mother, and that the time it takes to become one deserves to be studied. Decades later, psychologist Dr. Aurélie Athan revived the concept and framed it in a way that finally made it click for many people. A developmental perspective on matrescence describes it as a transition much like adolescence, one that covers the psychological, social, cultural, and existential changes that come with becoming a mother. It is not an illness. It is a passage. 1. Your body becomes a different home The body changes are the ones we expect, yet even these are rarely discussed honestly. Your body grows, stretches, heals, feeds, and recovers, often all at once and on very little sleep. Many mothers describe feeling like a stranger in their own skin, which is not vanity. It is a real developmental shift in how you relate to your physical self. Adolescence works the same way. A teenager’s changing body can feel unfamiliar and out of control, and we understand that. A mother’s changing body deserves the same understanding. 2. Your brain rewires itself This is the part that surprises most mothers. A landmark study published in Nature Neuroscience scanned the brains of women before and after their first pregnancy. Researchers found that pregnancy selectively reduced gray matter in regions linked to understanding others, and that these changes were still visible two years later. That sounds alarming, but the scientists were clear that less gray matter is not automatically a loss. The lead researcher compared it to the synaptic pruning that happens in the teenage brain, where the brain fine-tunes itself and becomes more specialized. The mothers with the biggest changes also showed the strongest bond with their babies. So the foggy, forgetful, intensely tuned-in feeling you may have had is not a flaw. It is your brain reorganizing itself around a new role. 3. Your hormones take you on a roller coaster During pregnancy, estrogen and progesterone climb to levels you will never experience at any other time. Then comes the drop. A longitudinal study of hormones from pregnancy to postpartum describes how estradiol and progesterone rise toward the end of pregnancy and then fall sharply after birth, which the authors call an extraordinary endocrinological transition. Add broken sleep, new demands, and a body producing milk or recovering from birth, and it makes sense that emotions can feel enormous. Your feelings are not random. Your whole system is recalibrating. 4. Your identity is being rebuilt This is the quietest change and often the hardest. Many mothers say they feel like a part of the old self has disappeared, while the new self has not fully arrived yet. According to Athan, people in matrescence often describe it just like teenagers describe adolescence: everything feels turned upside down. The cruel twist is that during matrescence, we are expected to simply be happy and grateful while we lose control over how we look, feel, and function. Missing your old self does not make you ungrateful. It makes you a person in transition. Why the adolescence comparison matters Think about how we treat a teenager. We expect mood swings. We expect them to try on identities, to be awkward, to change their mind. We give them time, and we call it growing up. Adolescence has a name, a body of research, and cultural permission to be hard. Matrescence has had very little of that, even though it involves the same ingredients: hormonal upheaval, a changing body, a new social role, and an identity under construction. Naming it matters because a developmental lens normalizes what mothers go through instead of treating every struggle as a problem. One important note: matrescence is a normal transition, but postpartum depression and anxiety are real clinical conditions that need professional support. If your struggle feels heavy or does not lift, please reach out to your doctor or midwife. Understanding the passage and getting help are never in conflict. The takeaway: Patience for her, and patience from us If there is one thing I want mothers to hear, it is this: you are allowed to be patient with yourself. You would never tell a teenager to snap out of it and be who they were last year. Give yourself that same grace. You are not behind. You are becoming. But the second half of this message is for everyone around her. Partners, families, employers, and communities need to be patient too. Athan has pointed out that a mother needs time, compassion, and people who hold her while she finds her footing, just as we would for our own child going through adolescence. A society that expects a mother to bounce back within weeks is asking her to skip a developmental stage. When we slow down and make room, mothers do not just cope. They grow. Finding your way back to yourself If you are in the middle of this passage and wondering who you are outside of being a mom, you do not need to figure it all out today. A gentle first step is simply to start asking the question. I explored exactly this in my YouTube episode, Who Are You Outside Motherhood?, a short and honest conversation to help you begin understanding yourself again. You can find more tools, resources, and support for overwhelmed mothers on my website, Body & Mind in Harmony. You matter too. Follow me on Instagram for more info! Read more from Sarah Maynard Sarah Maynard, Wellness & Health Coach for Moms Sarah Maynard is a BGN-certified lifestyle coach who helps overwhelmed mothers reconnect with themselves before trying to fix anything else. After navigating motherhood without a nearby support network and drawing on 8 years as a youth care facilitator, she built her practice around one contrarian idea. Nervous system regulation has to come first before diet, fitness, or any habit change can stick. She founded Body & Mind in Harmony to guide mothers aged 25-45 through this shift, offering 1-on-1 coaching, a group program, and in-person community events. Her message to every mother she works with is simple. You matter too.

Written by Florentina Gionea, Spiritual Mentor for Leaders Florentina Gionea is a spiritual mentor for leaders, featured on Fox TV USA, Forbes, and the TEDx stage. Author of The Blissful Leader book and backed by 16 years of intense practice, she blends business with spirituality to help leaders clear blocks and build their next legacy. Access her Blissful Leader Toolkit. You're doing the work. The strategy, the content, the calls. Still, something keeps pulling results just out of reach. Before you overhaul your offer or hire another coach, check what's running underneath, because the real block is often not in your business plan. It's in your brain waves. Specifically, the subconscious programs that fire automatically every time you try to grow. This is exactly why I created Gamma Waves Reprogramming in 2016, and since then, thousands of business owners have used it and had great results. In this guide, you'll learn how to identify the hidden programs draining your business results, how to replace them with precise new ones using a step-by-step technique, and how to do it in a single focused session, so you can stop managing symptoms and start rewiring the source. Here's how to rewire your brain for business success, starting today. Step 1: Identify the subconscious blocks stopping business growth Most entrepreneurs don't have a strategy problem. They have a program problem. Subconscious beliefs automate your responses to critical business situations, if you hold a belief that you are not ready for the next level, you will unconsciously avoid the actions required to reach it, such as raising prices, pursuing larger clients, or launching new offers. These beliefs operate beneath conscious awareness, which means you experience the effects without realizing the root cause. That's what makes them so expensive. You're not being lazy or resistant. You're running an old program, and old programs don't care about your new goals. Here's what those programs actually sound like in practice: "I'm not good enough to charge that." "I give everything and still don't see the return." "Success this size isn't meant for someone like me." Many entrepreneurs carry unconscious money beliefs inherited from family, culture, or early experience, that charging for value is selfish, or that wealth requires sacrificing integrity. These beliefs show up as under-pricing, reluctance to sell, or self-sabotaging financial decisions. Your first diagnostic action: Before any reprogramming begins, map what's actually running. Take a blank page and draw two columns. Old program New program "I'm not good enough to charge that." "My expertise creates real results worth premium prices." "I give too much and get too little." "I exchange value equally, I receive as generously as I give." Write down every thought that surfaces when you think about your next revenue goal. Don't edit. Just capture. That left column is your starting data. The right column is where you're going, and Step 2 shows you exactly how to get there. Step 2: How to reprogram your mindset in minutes using gamma brain waves You've named the block. Now you need to replace it, and that replacement has to happen at the right frequency, or it won't stick. This is where most mindset tools fall short: they try to overwrite a subconscious program using conscious willpower alone. The Gamma Waves Reprogramming technique works differently. By guiding your brain into a specific elevated state first, you make the mind receptive to a new program, and the whole session takes no more than 25 minutes. Gamma waves are the fastest brainwaves, oscillating between 30 and 100 Hz, often described as the brain's "high-performance mode," most active during deep concentration or learning. That's the exact state you want when installing a new belief, because heightened gamma wave activity synchronizes your brain, allowing for improved information processing. Here's how to run the technique: Step 1: Ground yourself with a brief visualization. Sit quietly, close your eyes, and picture roots extending from your body into the earth. Spend 2-3 minutes here. This settles your nervous system and creates the alpha baseline your brain needs before it can enter gamma. Step 2: Take the 10-level elevator to gamma state. Mentally count yourself down from level 10 to level 1, imagining each level as a deeper floor of focused clarity. By level 1, you are in gamma, alert, expanded, and open. Step 3: Apply the replacement formula. State the old program plainly, then replace it using this structure: "I now release old belief and I fully embrace new belief." If you want the exact formula, you can find it here. Two examples so you can see exactly how the swap works: Old program New program "Leadership is only for exceptional people." "I possess unique qualities that make me a capable leader." "I don't attract money." "I attract money effortlessly and wisely." Say the new program three times in the gamma state, then visualize yourself already living it, a signed contract, a thriving team, a full calendar. When in a gamma brainwave state, your brain can process information more quickly and effectively, and even while highly focused, you feel relaxed and can engage in any activity effortlessly. That combination is what makes the new belief land beneath the surface rather than bounce off it. Close the session by counting back up from 1 to 10 and returning your awareness to the room. Done consistently, this process is how you reprogram your mindset in minutes and begin moving the subconscious blocks stopping business growth. In Step 3, you'll see what actually shifts in your results once these two layers, brain state and belief, finally work together. Step 3: What changes when brain waves and productivity at work finally align Most mindset work fails not because you're broken, but because it never reached the root. Affirmations layered over an uncleared subconscious program are like painting over rust. The surface looks different. The structure doesn't change. Here's what does change when the work goes deeper. Decisions get faster and cleaner. When the old program, "I'm not ready" or "people like me don't charge that", is gone, there's no internal argument to run first. Research from the Max Planck Institute has shown that gamma coherence between brain regions predicts performance accuracy on complex tasks, higher gamma synchrony means better performance. You stop second-guessing your pricing. You send the proposal the same day. Your comfort zone expands by design. The Gamma Waves Reprogramming technique doesn't just introduce a new belief, it removes the restrictive program blocking the new one from taking hold. That's the structural difference. Research shows that long-term meditators don't just produce more gamma during meditation; their resting-state gamma power is permanently elevated, suggesting gamma-enhancing practices create lasting structural changes in the brain, not just temporary state shifts. Manifestation accelerates, because all four pillars finally move together. Energy, mindset, emotions, system. Skip clearing the root program and three of those four are stuck behind one invisible gate. If you've tried mindset work and felt nothing shift, this is why. The technique wasn't wrong. The sequence was. Your next step is to go deeper with the Full Power Activation Package, built to take you from identified block to cleared, reprogrammed, and moving. The question worth sitting with: what would you have already built if that program had never run? Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Florentina Gionea Florentina Gionea, Spiritual Mentor for Leaders Florentina is the Spiritual Mentor for Leaders, featured on Fox TV USA, Euronews, Forbes, and the TEDx stage. Author of The Blissful Leader Book and backed by 15,000 hours of intense practice, she blends business with spirituality to help leaders clear blocks and build their next legacy. She is the creator of The BLISSFUL Leaders Program, The Spiritual Studies Academy, The Gentleman Code Program, and a series of courses on abundance, wealth, and spirituality.

Written by Mario Almanzar, Accountant & Tax Strategist Mario Almanzar is an Accountant, Tax Strategist, and business advisor who helps small business owners reduce taxes, improve cash flow, and use financial data to make smarter business decisions. He is the founder of Maxscale Accounting and serves clients across the United States. A business can have strong sales and still struggle to pay its bills. Often, the problem isn’t a lack of customers, it’s a lack of clear financial information. Here are five mistakes I see business owners make, along with practical ways to address them. 1. Confusing sales with profit Bringing in $50,000 a month sounds impressive. But after payroll, rent, contractors, insurance, and other costs, how much is actually left? Revenue tells you how busy the business is; profit tells you whether that work is paying off. Review your profit and loss statement monthly and compare expenses with prior periods. If costs are rising faster than sales, find out why before pursuing more growth. 2. Leaving bookkeeping until tax season When a full year of transactions is organized at the last minute, the tax return may get filed, but the owner has missed months of useful information. Reconcile bank and credit card accounts every month, keep invoices and payments current, and review the reports. Good bookkeeping should help you make decisions in June, not just prepare a return the following April. 3. Mixing personal and business money Using a company card for personal expenses or paying business bills from a personal account makes the books harder to interpret. Transfers to owners are not automatically deductible expenses, and the right treatment depends on the entity and transaction. Keep separate accounts, document transfers, and classify owner contributions, distributions, and reimbursements correctly. 4. Waiting too long to plan for taxes Tax preparation reports what happened. Tax planning gives you time to consider your options. Equipment purchases, estimated payments, compensation, and retirement contributions can have tax consequences that are easier to manage before year-end. But don’t buy something you don’t need just for a deduction: saving a portion in taxes rarely justifies an unnecessary expense. 5. Ignoring cash flow during growth A profitable project can still create a cash shortage if employees and suppliers must be paid weeks before the customer pays. Track outstanding invoices and upcoming bills. A simple forecast showing expected collections and payments over the next several weeks can reveal problems early. Profit matters, but cash timing determines whether you can meet your obligations. What to do next You don’t need to become an accountant. Start with one monthly habit: review revenue, profit, cash balances, overdue customer invoices, and upcoming obligations. If the numbers don’t make sense, ask questions until they do. The purpose of accounting is not just to produce reports; it is to help you understand your business well enough to make better decisions. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Mario Almanzar Mario Almanzar, Accountant & Tax Strategist Mario Almanzar is an Accountant, Tax Strategist, and Business Advisor and the founder of Maxscale Accounting. He works primarily with small and growing businesses, helping owners legally reduce taxes, improve profitability, and gain clarity through better financial reporting and planning. Mario believes accounting is much more than compliance–it is one of the most powerful tools business owners have for making decisions and building long-term wealth. His focus areas include tax strategy, bookkeeping, financial reporting, business advisory, and proactive tax planning. His mission is to help entrepreneurs use their numbers to work for them, not against them.

Written by Tom Peace, CEO & Founder of Sway Outcomes Tom Peace is the CEO and founder of Sway Outcomes, a global customer engagement consultancy, and the former leader of The Loyalty People. He has advised brands including Sally Beauty, Wingstop, Vans, The North Face and Saudi German Health. Most loyalty programmes are very good at one thing. They get customers to come back for a discount. That's useful, but it isn't loyalty, and it gets more expensive every year. Here's why points hit a ceiling, and the practical ways to add the emotional value that actually keeps customers. Why did points become the default? Points are easy to understand. Spend a pound, get a point, collect enough and get something back. Customers get it in seconds. So does the finance director. They're also easy to measure. You can see redemptions, visit frequency and member spend. It all fits neatly into a business case. Once a competitor has one, it feels risky not to. So most sectors ended up with programmes that look remarkably alike. Similar earn rates. Similar vouchers. Similar apps. As I wrote last week, in our six-level maturity model a points or discount scheme sits at Level 4, conversion and action. It's a tool for changing behaviour, and a good one. Real loyalty lives one step up, at Level 5, where customers choose you because they feel connected, recognised and part of something. The gap between those two levels is where most programmes stall. In its 2021 review of loyalty, McKinsey observed that around two-thirds of established loyalty programmes fail to deliver value, with many actually eroding it. That's a lot of money spent going backwards. Not sure which side of the line your programme sits on? Email me at tom@swayoutcomes.com and we'll send you a free Customer Engagement Accelerator (CEA) report showing how you score at Levels 4 and 5. The hidden costs of points Points look cheap in the business case. In practice they carry costs that rarely make it onto the slide. 1. Margin given away Every point is a discount in disguise. Much of it goes to customers who'd have bought anyway. If your best customers were going to shop with you regardless, you're paying them for something you already had. 2. A growing liability Unredeemed points are a promise you owe. Your finance team has to account for them, and the balance tends to grow quietly until someone asks why it keeps going up. Then the programme gets cut back. Customers notice, and the trust you were trying to build takes the hit. 3. Members in many schemes Your customer probably carries your card alongside two or three of your competitors'. When everyone offers broadly the same points, points stop being a reason to choose you. They become a reason to shop around. Whoever has the best offer this week wins. 4. Bought behaviour Customers are quick learners. Run enough double points weekends and they'll learn to wait for them. Switch the offer off and the behaviour switches off with it. You haven't built loyalty. You've rented it. What actually drives loyalty The research on this has been consistent for years. Capgemini surveyed 9,213 consumers across nine countries, including the UK and US, and found that 70% of consumers with high emotional engagement spend up to twice as much with the brands they're loyal to (2017). The same study found that 80% of executives felt their brand understood the needs and desires of their consumers. Only 15% of consumers agreed. Pause on that. Most brands think they're closer to their customers than they are. In our CEA work, the drivers that close that gap come up again and again. Recognition. Being known as a person, not a card number. Your history, your preferences, the fact you've been coming for ten years. Relevance. Offers and messages that fit your life, rather than the campaign calendar. Experiences. Things that feel special because they can't simply be bought. Belonging. A sense of being part of a group of people who care about the same things. Service. Being looked after when something goes wrong. This one is often ignored by loyalty teams because it sits in another department. Customers don't care which department it sits in. None of these replace points. They sit on top of them. That's the move from Level 4 to Level 5. Adding emotional value to points You don't need to tear up your programme to do this. Most of these work with the scheme and data you already have. 1. Recognise people by their history Use what you know. Mark the anniversary of someone joining. Thank your longest-standing members in person, or at least in a message that clearly isn't a template. A simple "you've been with us for five years" does more than you'd expect. It costs almost nothing. 2. Reward moments, not just spend Most programmes only notice customers when they pay. Look for the moments that matter in your category. A first purchase, a birthday, a big life event, a review or a referral. Recognising these tells customers you see more than their basket. 3. Offer things money can't buy Early access. A behind-the-scenes visit. A seat at a tasting, a preview or a product launch. These feel personal and cost far less than their perceived value. Luxury brands have known this for years, as this piece on building a loyalty programme for a luxury brand shows. The principle works just as well for a garden centre or a gym. 4. Build a reason to belong Give members a way to connect with each other, not only with you. A community, a club night, a forum, a member-only event. People stay where their people are. That's much harder for a competitor to copy than an earn rate. 5. Make service part of the programme Give your top members a faster route to help. Let frontline teams see member status and history, and give them a small budget to put things right on the spot. A problem solved well often builds more loyalty than a year of points. 6. Spend less on discounts, more on surprise Take a slice of your discount budget and move it into unexpected moments. A free upgrade. A handwritten note. A gift that wasn't earned. Planned rewards are expected. Surprises get remembered, and talked about. Buying behaviour or building loyalty? So how do you tell which one your programme is doing? Here are the questions we ask in our CEA work. If you switched off bonus points for three months, would your best customers still choose you? Do members behave differently from non-members outside promotional weeks, or only during them? Can you name your top 1% of customers, and say what they value beyond price? Would members recommend you without being asked? Compare advocacy scores for members and non-members. What share of your programme budget goes on discounts, and what share on recognition, experiences and service? If the honest answers point to promotions doing all the work, you're buying behaviour. That's not a disaster. It just means the programme is working as a Level 4 tool and nothing more. The fix is rarely a new platform. It's using what you already have with more thought. I talk more about this in my interview on why customers stay and what brands often get wrong. Frequently asked questions Do loyalty points programmes actually work? Yes, for changing short-term behaviour like visit frequency and basket size. On their own they rarely create lasting loyalty, because a competitor can match an earn rate overnight. The strongest programmes use points as a base and add recognition, experiences and service on top. What is emotional loyalty? Emotional loyalty is when customers stay because they feel a genuine connection with a brand, not because of a reward. It shows up as repeat purchase without prompting, forgiveness when things go wrong and recommendations to friends. How can a small business build loyalty without a big budget? Start with recognition and service, which cost very little. Learn your regulars' names and preferences, thank them properly and fix problems quickly. Small businesses often do this better than large brands because they're closer to their customers. Build loyalty, not habits Points get customers through the door. Recognition, relevance and belonging are what keep them coming back when the offer ends. Start with one change from the list above and measure what happens to your best customers. If you'd like an outside view, my team at Sway Outcomes runs a free Customer Engagement Accelerator (CEA). We'll show you whether your programme is buying behaviour or building loyalty, and where the quickest wins are to move from Level 4 to Level 5. To get your free CEA report, email me at tom@swayoutcomes.com or message me on LinkedIn. Follow me on LinkedIn and visit my website for more info! Read more from Tom Peace Tom Peace, CEO & Founder of Sway Outcomes Tom Peace is a customer engagement strategist who helps brands turn transactions into lasting relationships. Under his leadership, The Loyalty People became a globally recognised brand within the loyalty industry, with a rapidly growing and highly engaged following. He went on to found Sway Outcomes, a consultancy that goes beyond loyalty programme strategy to cover every aspect of customer engagement. Its maturity model has six levels and shows brands exactly where they stand and what to do next. By combining deep sector expertise with diagnostics enabled by artificial intelligence (AI), Tom delivers strategic clarity in weeks rather than months for brands such as Sally Beauty, Wingstop, Vans, The North Face and Saudi German Health.

Written by Cristina Max, Founder of 110 Yoga & Creator of the 110 Method Cristina Max is the founder of 110 Yoga and creator of the 110 Method, a movement re-education approach challenging the outdated belief that stretching is the answer to tightness and pain. She teaches people to restore the relationship between their ribs and pelvis to address the root cause of movement dysfunction, not simply chase the symptoms. Have you ever wondered why you can stretch consistently, strengthen your muscles, and practice yoga regularly, yet still feel restricted in your movement? Sometimes the answer isn't in the muscles you're trying to stretch or the joints you're trying to mobilize. It may be in something much more fundamental: the relationship between your ribcage and your pelvis. This relationship influences how we breathe, how we stabilize ourselves, and ultimately, how efficiently we move. Yet it's one of the most overlooked foundations of movement. Why does the relationship between your ribcage and pelvis matter? Think of your ribcage and pelvis as the two primary structures that organize your trunk. Between them sits your diaphragm, surrounded by the muscles that contribute to breathing and postural stability. Ideally, these structures work together rather than independently. When the ribcage becomes positioned excessively forward or upward relative to the pelvis, the body may rely on compensatory movement patterns to maintain balance and produce stability. This can influence everything from how we stand and walk to how we perform familiar yoga poses. The goal isn't to force the body into a rigid posture. It's to create a more functional relationship between these structures so the body can move with greater efficiency. What does breathing have to do with alignment? More than most people realize. The diaphragm is both a respiratory muscle and an important contributor to trunk stability. Its position and relationship with the ribcage influence how pressure is managed throughout the abdominal cavity. When we breathe, the diaphragm descends during inhalation and returns upward during exhalation. This coordinated movement works alongside the abdominal wall and pelvic floor. However, if we're constantly relying on excessive spinal extension or lifting the ribcage to breathe, we may be limiting our ability to use the diaphragm efficiently. Learning to breathe with a more organized ribcage and pelvis can help establish a foundation for better movement control. It's not simply about taking a deeper breath. It's about understanding how the breath supports the body. Why can poor positioning affect mobility? Here's where things get interesting. Mobility isn't determined by flexibility alone. It's also influenced by the position from which we attempt to move. When one area lacks stability or control, another area may compensate by creating additional movement. For example, someone who struggles to maintain pelvic and ribcage positioning during an overhead movement may compensate by extending through the lower back. They might interpret this as a shoulder mobility restriction when the issue may involve how their trunk is organizing the movement. This is why simply stretching the shoulders or lower back doesn't always change the underlying pattern. Sometimes, the body doesn't need more range. It needs a better foundation from which to access the range it already has. How can you begin changing the way you move? Start by paying attention to your relationship with your breath. Try lying on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Gently exhale and allow your lower ribs to soften downward rather than pushing your chest toward the ceiling. Notice how your pelvis responds. Take a quiet inhale, allowing your ribcage to expand without losing that relationship between your ribs and pelvis. You aren't trying to flatten your back aggressively or force yourself into a particular position. You're exploring how breathing and positioning can work together. From there, begin introducing movement while maintaining that connection. This is the foundation of what I teach through alignment-based yoga at 110 Yoga: establishing stability before asking the body to move through more complex patterns. The bigger picture: Movement starts with organization One of the biggest misconceptions in fitness and yoga is that more movement, more flexibility, and more stretching automatically lead to better movement. But movement quality isn't simply about how far we can go. It's about how well we can organize our bodies while getting there. The relationship between the ribcage and pelvis is just one piece of that equation, but it's an incredibly important one. When we begin to understand how breathing, positioning, and stability influence movement, we can move beyond simply chasing flexibility and start developing something much more valuable: a body that moves with intention, control, and efficiency. Because ultimately, the way you move matters. Learn more about alignment-based yoga At 110 Yoga, we bridge yoga and movement science to help people develop greater awareness, stability, and mobility through intentional movement. Follow me on Instagram and visit my website for more info! Read more from Cristina Max Cristina Max, Founder of 110 Yoga & Creator of the 110 Method Cristina Max is the founder of 110 Yoga and creator of the 110 Method, an alignment-based approach to movement re-education. After years of teaching and personally experiencing the cycle of stretching, injuries, and recurring tightness, Cristina began questioning the conventional approach to tightness and pain. Her work focuses on restoring the relationship between the ribs and the pelvis, building stability, and improving breathing mechanics rather than stretching tight areas. Through the 110 Method, she helps people understand the root causes of tightness and pain rather than chasing symptoms. She wants to help change how people understand their bodies so they can perform better and feel their best.

Written by Sarah Veall, Transformational Coach Sarah Veall is a transformational coach, inner child practitioner, and Reiki practitioner. She is the author of "Trust", a story of how she reconnected with her true essence and a state of wholeness and healed holistically, following a cancer diagnosis in 2020. Sometimes the most profound lessons come from the most unexpected places. For me, these two very special cats have been part of a journey that has changed the way I see myself, my life and the world around me. Paddy arrived in my life in February 2019, at a time when I was navigating a lot of change. My marriage had broken down, I was bringing up my three boys as a single parent, and I was still carrying the grief of losing my mum in 2015. I was doing my best to keep everything going, looking after everyone and getting on with life. Paddy was a beautiful black-and-white cat who quickly became my constant companion, a source of comfort and a little pocket of unconditional love in what had often felt like a rather challenging world. I didn't realise then just how important his presence would become. In August 2020, I was diagnosed with cancer. It was a diagnosis that stopped me in my tracks. On the outside, I had been doing all the things we associate with being healthy. I practised yoga and Pilates, went running and worked as a coach and equine therapist. Yet here I was, facing something that challenged everything I thought I knew about health, wellbeing and myself. The diagnosis became the beginning of a very different journey. Rather than simply trying to get back to the person I had been before, I began questioning whether that person was actually living in alignment with who I really was. I started exploring the relationship between our mental, emotional, physical and energetic wellbeing. I became increasingly interested in the unconscious beliefs and patterns we develop, and how these can influence the way we live. I began paying closer attention to the messages my body was sending me, learning to recognise when I was pushing through, ignoring my own needs or living according to expectations that weren't necessarily mine. Most importantly, I began learning to listen to myself. Learning to see life differently As I explored different approaches to healing, including training in inner-child work, body wisdom and Reiki, and throwing myself into researching the relationship between our emotions and our physical wellbeing, I started to look at life through a different lens. I became fascinated by the idea that our external experiences can act as mirrors, reflecting something back to us about our internal world. The people we meet, the situations we find ourselves in and the emotions they trigger can reveal beliefs, fears and patterns that we haven't yet acknowledged. Rather than automatically asking, 'Why is this happening to me?', I began asking, 'What might this be showing me?' It wasn't about blaming myself for what had happened in my life, or believing that every difficult experience had some predetermined purpose. It was about becoming curious, taking responsibility for my own responses and recognising that I had more choice than I had previously realised. Looking back, Paddy had been showing me something important all along. He didn't care whether I was being a good coach, a good mum, a productive member of society or whether I had achieved everything on my to-do list. He didn't need me to be anything other than myself. He simply wanted to be with me. There was something incredibly reassuring about that. I began to recognise how often I had measured my worth through what I did for other people, how much I achieved and how well I met their expectations. Paddy offered a different experience. His love wasn't conditional on my performance. Perhaps one of the greatest lessons he gave me was the importance of not abandoning myself. The wisdom of our animal companions Animals have a wonderful way of bringing us into the present moment. They don't spend their days worrying about yesterday or planning what they need to achieve tomorrow. They respond to what is happening around them, follow their instincts, rest when they need to rest and seek connection when they want it. Of course, animals have their own emotions, needs and experiences, but there is something we can learn from the way they inhabit the world. Our relationships with them can also offer us a different experience of connection. They don't expect us to explain ourselves, justify our feelings or wear a particular mask. They can simply sit alongside us. For someone who has spent much of their life trying to meet other people's needs, that can be surprisingly powerful. I believe we can learn a great deal from the relationships we share with our animals. It is often in the quietest moments, when we're stroking a cat or sitting together in the sunshine, that we reconnect with something we've lost touch with in ourselves. Enter Apollo, the little sun god Paddy sadly died aged just six. Losing him was heartbreaking, and his place in my life and the lessons I associate with him will stay with me forever. Then came Apollo. A beautiful ginger cat born on the summer solstice, my little sun god. Where Paddy represented a deep sense of emotional safety and unconditional love, Apollo seems to bring a rather different energy: curiosity, playfulness, joy and presence. He reminds me to notice the little things, to be curious about the world and not to take everything quite so seriously. He also has his own very clear sense of when he wants attention and when he would rather be left alone! Watching him has reinforced something I have come to value enormously: being sensitive to what is happening around us doesn't mean we have to lose ourselves in it. We can be aware of other people's energy and emotions without taking responsibility for them. We can love others without abandoning our own needs. I believe that’s another valuable lesson in self-love: knowing when to connect and when to retreat, when to play and when to rest, and trusting our own instincts. Two books, one journey My first book, Trust, tells the story of my personal journey following my cancer diagnosis and the exploration that led me back towards a greater sense of self-trust. It isn't a book about telling other people how to heal or suggesting that there is one right way to live. It's about sharing what I discovered, the questions I asked and the ways in which I began to understand myself differently. Writing it helped me make sense of my experiences. It also brought me to a realisation that has become central to the way I now see life: so much of what we are searching for externally begins with reconnecting with what is already within us. That brings me back to Paddy and Apollo. My second book, Paddy, Apollo and Me, might look very different from Trust. It is a much shorter, illustrated book, with a gentle message for children and adults alike. But underneath the story of two cats is exactly the same message. It's about unconditional love, remembering who we are and learning to accept ourselves just as we are. It's also a celebration of the animals who share our lives and the unexpected ways in which they can touch our hearts. I like to think that Paddy and Apollo have both been part of the same journey, each in their own way. Paddy helped me experience the safety of being loved without conditions. Apollo continues to remind me about joy, instinct and the freedom to simply be. Coming home to ourselves Looking back, I can see how much of my life was spent trying to be the person I thought I needed to be. I had become very good at meeting expectations, looking after others and keeping everything going. What I hadn't always been so good at was listening to myself. My journey has been about gradually unpicking those patterns, learning to recognise when I'm out of alignment and trusting the messages coming from within. The greatest lesson Paddy and Apollo have taught me is that we don't need to become someone else to find happiness. We need to remember who we were before we learnt to hide, perform, please and fit in. Trust explores the journey that brought me to this realisation. Paddy, Apollo and Me tells the same story through the eyes of two very special cats. Different books, but ultimately one message: the way home is through love, and that love begins with ourselves. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Sarah Veall Sarah Veall, Transformational Coach Sarah Veall is a transformational coach, inner child practitioner, and Reiki practitioner. She is the author of "Trust", a story of how she reconnected with her true essence and a state of wholeness and healed holistically, following a cancer diagnosis in 2020. Sarah is passionate about empowering others to love their whole 'self' in order to access a state of wellness where the body can heal itself.

Written by Sarah Pearce, Certified Doula Sarah Pearce is a nationally recognized full-spectrum doula, former pediatric nurse, placenta encapsulation specialist, and midwifery student. With over a decade of experience, she supports families through fertility, birth, postpartum, and newborn care. She is the founder of Trinity Doula Services, one of the largest doula agencies in the St. Louis region. Two people can experience remarkably similar births and walk away with entirely different feelings. One may describe an emergency cesarean as empowering and lifesaving. Another may remember a similar experience as frightening, overwhelming, or traumatic. Neither person's experience invalidates the other. After a decade working in maternal health and attending approximately 250 births across my professional roles, I've learned that birth trauma cannot always be understood simply by reviewing what happened medically. Sometimes, how someone was treated, what they understood, and whether they felt heard can be just as significant. Trauma is not the same for everyone There is no universal definition of an ideal birth experience. Some families feel safest with medical interventions, continuous monitoring, and an epidural. Others prefer minimal intervention and greater freedom to labor naturally. Neither preference is inherently superior. Similarly, a birth that appears uncomplicated to an outside observer may leave someone feeling distressed, while a medically complex delivery may be remembered positively. Personal history, expectations, communication, perceived safety, and individual circumstances can all influence how someone processes childbirth. We cannot determine whether someone experienced trauma simply by comparing their birth to our own expectations. Understanding both sides of the birth experience Childbirth can be unpredictable. Medical professionals sometimes face urgent circumstances requiring rapid decisions to protect the health of a birthing parent or baby. Not every intervention is avoidable, and not every unexpected outcome reflects inappropriate care. At the same time, medical necessity does not automatically eliminate emotional distress. A procedure may have been clinically appropriate while the patient still experienced fear, confusion, or a loss of control. These realities can coexist. When circumstances allow, clear explanations, informed consent, respectful communication, and opportunities to ask questions can make meaningful differences. During emergencies, communication may necessarily be brief, but compassion and subsequent conversations remain important. Acknowledging someone's distress does not require assuming wrongdoing by their healthcare team. The harm in dismissing someone's experience One of the most concerning responses to birth trauma is attempting to convince someone that their experience wasn't traumatic. Statements such as "But your baby is healthy," "That's just how birth goes," or "You should be grateful" may be intended as reassurance. Unfortunately, they can also leave someone feeling unheard. A healthy baby is something to celebrate. So is a healthy birthing parent. But neither outcome automatically determines how someone should feel about their birth. As doulas, healthcare professionals, friends, and family members, we must resist the urge to compare, correct, or minimize another person's experience. We should never try to talk someone out of their trauma simply because we would have experienced the same situation differently. Listening does not mean agreeing with every interpretation of an event. It means respecting that another person's emotional response belongs to them. Moving toward more compassionate birth care Supporting families means recognizing that their preferences, fears, and experiences may differ from our own. For birth professionals, this requires setting aside personal biases about what constitutes a good birth. Our responsibility is not to promote our preferred outcome, but to help families feel informed, respected, and supported throughout their individual experiences. For families processing difficult births, compassionate listening, opportunities to discuss what happened, and access to qualified mental health support when needed can be valuable. Ultimately, improving maternity care requires attention to both clinical outcomes and the human experience surrounding them. Because a birth can be medically successful and emotionally difficult. It can be unexpected and empowering. It can be both beautiful and traumatic. Every family deserves the space to tell their own story without someone else rewriting it for them. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Sarah Pearce Sarah Pearce, Certified Doula Sarah Pearce is a highly sought-after birth and postpartum expert, a former Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) specialising pediatrics, a placenta encapsulation specialist, and the founder of Trinity Doula Services, a rapidly growing full-spectrum doula agency serving Missouri and Illinois. With over a decade of hands-on experience in fertility, labor support, physiologic birth, postpartum recovery, newborn care, and high-pressure pediatric nursing, she has become known for combining evidence-based education with deeply intuitive support. Sarah has supported families through all types of birth settings and is working towards becoming a Certified Professional Midwife. Her work empowers families during life's most transformative moments.

Written by Arj Perera, High-Performance Coach Arj Perera is a staunch advocate for the progression of women's sport, having spent over 15 years as a high-performance coach in basketball and volleyball at the elite levels. He is the founder of Human Mechanics Australia and The Brown Bear Coaches, providing high-performance coaching for elite and developing female athletes. Ask most people what a strength and conditioning coach does, and you'll get some version of the same answer. Reps, sets, sprint times, force plate numbers. That's true. That's part of the job, and it matters. But it's not the part that actually changes how an athlete performs. The real work happens before any of that. It happens the moment someone walks through the door. Reading the room before the session starts One of the things we pride ourselves on is picking up what our athletes are putting down the second they walk in. You can look at somebody and just know they haven't had a great day. That they're carrying something. Maybe it's stress, maybe it's something that's been circling in their head all day. It's rarely subtle if you're actually paying attention. So we ask. Every time. The coaching environment we've built here is built on that instinct. Good coaching is based on intuition. You need to know your athlete inside and out, not just their numbers. And nine times out of ten, if you think something's up with a person, you're right, so it's always worth the question. The conversation that had nothing to do with sport A few years ago, one of my athletes came in, and she was quieter than usual. Not herself. So I asked her straight up, “Hey mate, what's going on?” Turned out it was a friendship group issue. Nothing to do with netball, nothing to do with physical development. Just life. It became a teachable moment. Being a bit older and having a bit of life experience under the belt, I talked to her about her inner circle, the idea that you're roughly the sum of the first four or five people closest to you. I explained that as you get older, friendships solidify and mature, and the number of genuinely close people in your life tends to shrink. That's not a bad thing. It's actually a good thing. Trying to maintain a best friend group of 25 or 30 people is impossible. There are too many dynamics to manage. What actually matters is the four or five people who'd come and get you in the middle of the night if you were in trouble. Those are the people worth investing in. She looked at me like I was a bit of a weirdo at first. Fair enough. But it sank in, and over the following weeks and months, she started to realise that all those fringe relationships weren't serving her at all. She'd been spending far too much time and energy putting out spot fires in that friendship group, and it was draining her. So she started to cull the fringe relationships and focus on the ones that actually mattered to her and to the other person. That brought her real joy and real value, and none of it had anything to do with a barbell. Why this is coaching, not a detour from it Good coaching, when you really lean into it, is as much about the mental and interpersonal side as it is about physical capability. If you can't connect with someone on a human level first, it's genuinely difficult to influence their performance on a physical level. That's not a nice sentiment to put on a poster, it's just tried and true methodology from 20 years of coaching. I've watched it play out too many times to think otherwise. This isn't a rare occurrence either. It's daily. Every session has a version of this moment somewhere in it, whether it's obvious or not. The good coaches will notice this straight away and just check in with their athlete. A note for younger coaches If you're early in your coaching career, here's something worth hearing. Connecting genuinely with the people you coach matters more than any piece of testing equipment you'll ever own. It's not just about going by the numbers, reading what the data spits out, and coaching from there. You need to connect with the person in front of you to actually get the best out of them. Spend time developing your interpersonal skills, your intuition, that softer side of coaching. It'll make you better at this job than any certification will. Yes, there are moments when you need to be firm, and that's part of it too, but there are just as many moments when you need to go gently, and it's always worth the effort to build the connection first. Making the invisible work visible in the gym A lot of our parents actually do see this side of it because we welcome them into the gym to watch sessions. It's part of our belief system. This is an investment parents are making in their child, but it's still their child at the end of the day, and they deserve to be engaged in what we're doing, not locked out of it. So they can have peace of mind that we're not just building a resilient athlete who performs well. We're building a coachable one. That's a phrase we use constantly with prospective athletes and their parents. We will create a ‘coachable athlete’ here, someone who can give and receive feedback, have the hard conversations, and not go to water when things get uncomfortable. That's the work most people never see. Not because we're hiding it, but because it doesn't show up on a spreadsheet. It definitely shows up in how an athlete carries themselves five years from now. Follow me on Instagram for more info! Read more from Arj Perera Arj Perera, High-Performance Coach Empowering our female youth athletes to focus on their physical development and build strong, athletic, and resilient bodies has been Arj’s primary focus over the last 15 years. With conference and national championships under his belt, he brings this knowledge and expertise to our most important athletes outside of the national and professional circuits: our youth. His coaching combines clear expectations with consistent support so young athletes can build confidence in training and carry it into competition.