A weekly newsletter exploring practical tools for learning about your nervous system, podcast episodes with leading neuroscientists, thoughtful experiments to create more flourishing in your own life.
Meet the Man Reimagining Neuroscience: Michael Edward Johnson
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β β PERSONAL UPDATE FROM JONNY β Hello Curious Human π Welcome to Issue #94 Gosh, it feels like a long time since I've written a newsletter. Oh well better late than never, here's what's been alive in my world lately: π² Moving to Santa Cruz β after wrapping up the Nervous System Mastery cohort, we packed all our worldly belongings into a U-haul and drove to California. The hypothesis is based on the desire to live in a nature-saturated landscape where the redwoods meet the ocean and put down roots to start a family. So far, it's going rather well. π Aliveness Retreat β my wife Kelly and I wrapped up co-hosting our first breathwork retreat together. It went better than I think either of us could have imagined. As much as I love teaching online, there was something so nourishing about co-creating this with my life partner and seeing the transformations it created for the participants. Hopefully, more to come in 2025! π Annual Review β I'll spend the last two weeks of the year going through my Reflecting Forwards Annual Review (download free template here). It's been an incredibly full and nourishing year and I'm excited for the upcoming spaciousness and zoomed-out reflection process. ~~ Stay Curious Out There! Jonny β NEW PODCAST EPISODE β [Podcast] Reimagining Neuroscience, Latch Hunting & How The Body Keeps the Score with Michael Edward Johnson (listen)Iβm so excited to share a conversation that I think explores one of the most important scientific questions of our time β the exact biological mechanism for how trauma gets stored in the body. This conversation is with theoretical neuroscientist Michael Edward Johnson. After spending seven years researching consciousness and writing the book Principia Qualia, Johnson has developed a revolutionary theory that could fundamentally change how we understand trauma, meditation, and human well-being.
Mikeβs theory of βlatchesβ β what he calls vasocumputation β which weβll be doing a deep dive into, may provide a testable and concrete biological mechanism for how trauma gets stored in the body β and how to release it effectively. This sounds nerdy and abstract, but itβs my belief that if his claims can be tested and validated β it would revolutionize the medical system and allow somatic modalities or MDMA-assisted therapy (and so many more) to be compared and tested side-by-side in their efficacy. β
β FUN STUFF TO CLICK ON β Et. Cetera βποΈ In Conversation with Carl Richards β together, we explored the pitfalls of hustle culture, the importance of self-unfoldment over self-improvement, and the necessity of experiencing suffering for personal growth. Listenβ ποΈ End Your Year in Patagonia β a dear friend Dom Francks is a wilderness guide and leadership coach, and heβs created an epic expedition-based weeklong wilderness immersion in a remote corner of Chilean Patagonia, Dec 28-Jan 4. Learn moreβ π§ Trade-offs from intensive meditation β easily one of the best posts I've seen on the profound + total change of consciousness that can occur to long-term meditators. I don't think this is very well understood in a world that associates meditation with being more mindful. Readβ π The optimal personal growth trajectory β part ii in an essay series from Jan Chipchase, exploring mental models for the pace of evolution and what occurs when this evolution feels too fast or too slow. This might be a timely read for those amidst a professional transition period. Readβ π€ o1-pro's heretical ideas β a fascinating bordering-on-sci-fi thread from Packy M, who coaxed o1-pro to share some of it's most outlandish and mnd-bending ideas. Readβ π¦ Are We Accidentally Building A Planetary Brain β intriguing long-read on how studying crabs could reveal that we are unintentionally building an artificial world brain. Readβ π¦ΈββοΈ Supercharge your health β I've joined as an advisor to Superpower as I resonated with their audacious vision of becoming an all-in-one digital clinic and recommend getting bloodwork done from them. Skip the waitlistβ β FREE THINGS I'VE MADE β β PARTING WORDS β β |
Jonny Miller
A weekly newsletter exploring practical tools for learning about your nervous system, podcast episodes with leading neuroscientists, thoughtful experiments to create more flourishing in your own life.
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