What Works On A Plane, Works In The Bedroom

Blessings to you!

How has this past week been?

This week both of us, on two separate trips, got stuck in two separate airplane travel nightmares. Complete with perpetually delaying flights, canceled flights, late-night ride service cruises to random hotels, and even a carpool with complete strangers through the Montana wilderness. One of our planes even made it to the literal airspace over our town, circled for nearly an hour, and then turned around and went aaaallllllll the way back to the departure airport!

You can imagine the uproar on that plane... 

You could see Survival reactivity ripple through the rows up and down the aisle:
• The passengers that lean toward Survival Fight during moments of stress were actually yelling aloud at the pilot (and then the flight attendants, and then fellow passengers!).
• Those that tend toward Survival Flight were instantly booking rental cars, immediately ready to drive 9 hours instead of waiting to find out anything more.
• Passengers that lean toward Survival Freeze truly pulled up their hoodies and went back to sleep.
• People that lean toward Survival Appease were harder to identify, but later after deplaning, one passenger ordered a sandwich by saying: "If it's not too much trouble, do you think I could possibly get a Turkey Club?" 

 

And that, folks playing along at home,
is a Survival Reactivity Bingo!

 

Here at the Center, we typically run longterm comprehensive trainings to help successful people all over the world rewire their brains to be better at feelings, so that they can move from emotional overwhelm to Emotional Sovereignty, and finally have the life of their dreams. But occasionally, we run short intensives applying the same rewiring tools to specific areas. These are stellar for trying out the techniques we teach without committing to a larger investment of time. 

Based on the airplane story, you'd think the class coming up would be about managing Survival reactivity during travel! Maybe we'll run one for that soon, but this next one, is about managing Survival reactivity during intimacy.

 

Because unfortunately for many of us
physical intimacy can sometimes feel as stressful as travel fiascos.

Many of us have had negative early experiences having to do with our bodies, our vulnerability, and our safety. So even though we would prefer it didn't, when intimacy is on the horizon, our nervous system may run its threat response protocol.

We go into Survival Fight:
• grimacing at the thought of intimacy
• tensing up at the slightest touch
• finding fault in our partners interests and moves

We go into Survival Flight:
• avoiding intimacy by staying busy or staying away
• thinking of other things during intimacy
• getting inebriated in order to semi-enjoy intimacy (or too inebriated to be present)

We go into Survival Freeze:
• becoming so incapacitated via sleepiness, drugs, alcohol, or depression that intimacy isn't possible
• letting physicality happen against our interests
• leaving our bodies so that we can endure intimacy

We go into Survival Appease: 
• being physical just to please our partners or stay safer with them
• participating in forms of intimacy that are wrong for us because we understand it to be right for them
• never knowing what our own interests are because our interests are secondary


During our recent travel troubles we were pulling out all the tools we have, and that we teach in our classes, so that we didn't spin out into Survival reactivity. We wanted to think clearly, stay in connection with ourselves and others, and we wanted to have a good time.

 

And lucky for us all,
this same toolset can be used whether we're in the airport or the bedroom.

• If you love the idea of applying the trusty tools you've already gathered with us to new and exciting areas, the Snuggle Class might be super fun and useful for you!
   

• If you don't have any tools yet or haven't had a chance to take a live course with us, the Snuggle Class could be the ideal low-investment place to start!
   

• And if you just love reading these letters and enjoy identifying Survival reactivity in all the places it pops up, feel free to write us back! We love every note and every laughing emoji.

In any case and always, we wish you safe, sweet, and easy travels! And we're already looking forward to whenever and however we get to see you down the road.

Love,
Natalie and Nathan

March 9th and 10th

$350

We Won't Say These Words To You

How's Monday treating you? 

A funny thing happened when I (Natalie) sat down to write this letter...

The close of our enrollment for NeuroEmotional Coach Training was on my mind, and I had recently seen an email with a cool countdown timer. I love a little creative challenge, so I thought: "Hey, I wonder if I could make one of those?"

It turns out I can! It was right at the top of this very letter, looking beautiful.
 

Then I noticed something:
I was starting to semi panic.

The seconds ticking down in that timer started to work on my neurochemistry. My heart was speeding up, my fingers were rushing and making clumsy mistakes. It sucked!

Pretty quickly I realized the cosmic joke that was happening. The people most interested in supporting others to have less stress, less anxiety, less overwhelm, were about to send a letter to our beloveds that did the absolute opposite!

Most businesses capitalize on our stress hormones. If they can induce some adrenaline and cortisol with headlines like "Last Chance!", "Hurry!" and "Don't miss out!" they can get us to make a rushed decision and buy something whether or not it's right for us.

Realizing I was just about to head down the same track, I brought my computer to Nathan. We took a moment to ooh and awe over the beautiful timer I had made, and then we laughed about how absurd it would be to use induced stress to enroll people in a program meant to teach us how to reduce stress (and discomfort of all types). 
 

We never want anyone to stress out about enrolling in something to reduce stress! Haha!

In fact life does a really good job of inserting stress into our experience. We don't need to add more. Instead we need the tools to manage our feelings and reactions to the stress already available.

Let's check in with ourselves real quick...

There's a chance that even reading words like "Hurry!" kicks off a stress response. Are you experiencing that? If so, let's do a little regulating together. And really, even if you're feeling fine, increased regulation helps us to feel mighty fine.
 

Ready?

Take a moment to tune into yourself.

• Are you breathing?
  Enjoy the sound for a second. Feel the air go in. Then feel the air go out.

• Now let's turn our attention to the surface of the body.
  Is there anything your body is touching?
  Notice the points of contact you can feel with your clothes, your seat, your fingers on whatever device you're using to read this.

• Gently, let's now turn toward auditory sensations.
  Are there any sounds entering your awareness?
  How many can you identify?
  How far away are they?
  Do you like them?

• Coming full circle, let's check back in with the breath. 
  Still remembering to do that fully?
  What's it like now?

Following your own lead, we invite you to continue listening to your body. What is it asking for now? What does it need?
.
.
.
.
.
When you're ready, if you're interested in our work, you may want to read about NeuroEmotional Coach Training. We encourage you to listen carefully for your interest in this offering. We urge you to make room for any feelings that come up around your interest. Give them all the room they need – give them a voice, lend them an ear.

If you come into alignment, you have plenty of time to take action. We'll save you a spot in in this year's cohort, or next year's, or the one after that... We're not going anywhere.

If you've landed fully in your body, you've made room for all the feelings, and you're ready to enroll now, we're gathering on Wednesday. And we can easily support you to get what you need to be there too.
 

And if nothing else...

Let's all remember that rushing: whether it's literal fast movement or urgent language, inspires some Survival reactivity. So let's normalize soothing ourselves in these moments. We deserve it.

Much love,

Natalie (and Nathan)

Wealth Enemy #1

G'Day! How are you doing?

We hope this letter finds you in a moment of ease. Are you ready for a funny/not-so-funny story?

Once upon a time...

Someone we know came home from the grocery store and set about unpacking the various items from their bags. The next morning she entered the kitchen and gasped!

All of the fish in their beautiful, large saltwater tank, were dead.

Why?

Well...

She had accidentally stowed the orange juice concentrate in the cupboard above the tank, instead of in the freezer. And the juice that dripped down changed the acidity of the tank, and killed the very expensive inhabitants of that tank.

Why (on Earth??) would someone stow frozen orange juice in a cupboard?

Because when humans process from a Survival State we do really stupid things that cost us lots of time, money, and heartbreak.

When we're in a Survival State we leave our awareness, we leave our bodies, we leave our "right minds". In Survival Mode it's easy, natural, normal!, to make costly mistakes, like:

• Routinely losing the expensive fob that has to be replaced at the car dealership for $800.

• Buying an $1800 non-returnable couch that doesn't fit the living room.

• Smashing the computer or phone or whatever other fragile and expensive object is nearby.

• Misplacing things and buying a new one just to then find the old one after the new one can no longer be returned.

• Bailing out on a lease and losing the deposit(s).

• Signing up for things we don't/never were going to use.

• Moving too slowly to grab our just right opportunities.

• Moving too quickly to read the fine (and costly) print.

You get the idea.

If we want to save ourselves precious time and money, and our tender hearts – we want to know how to move through the brain states that can cause us trouble.

The Survival Brain State gets a bad rap – and most of the time, rightly so! But the Emotional Brain State is no financial genius either. When we don’t have the tools to move through emotion, we get stuck in a loop.

• We think about asking for a raise but get stopped by our anxiety or overwhelm or shame, and another year goes by where we are underpaid and overstressed around finances.

• We yearn to launch our business but there is always one draining emotional emergency after another and we can’t think straight enough to even make a to-list let alone execute one.

From an Emotional Brain State, even small things like wanting to compare phone and data plans and get a better deal never actually happen because we’re stuck circling around with emotions like dread, anxiety, fatigue and the day to take action just gets put off again and again and again.

Learning the tools to work with these brain states will save us tens of thousands of dollars in a lifetime!

Right now we're gearing up for our once-yearly, world-renowned program called NeuroEmotional Coach Training – and one of the curiosities folks have is, how can I justify that kind of investment in emotional stuff?

And it's just not fair to say to them: Think of all the saltwater aquariums you will save!

NeuroEmotional Coach Training teaches us how to help ourselves and others to move fluidly between brain states, so that we spend more time in an Executive State – which is hella good at money.

When we're processing from this brain state we not only are able to save the money wasted by stupid Survival Brain mistakes and delayed by Emotional Brain stagnancy, we're able to dream up and follow through on all our smart money ideas, and actually earn more.

This is true of all neuroemotional work, by the way, not just NeuroEmotional Coach Training, so that's cool!

Just by reading these posts and applying the tools you have, you're already helping to set yourself up with financially beneficial brain functionality. Woohoo!

And...

But...

If you're interested in this sort of thing, NeuroEmotional Coach Training additionally teaches the skills that can be used to earn a living, to earn additional part-time money, or to earn a higher rate for the services you already offer. Really cool.

If you're wondering if this is the year you join us, and increase both your emotional health and your financial health, but want help crunching the numbers, designing a payment plan that works, or finding the scholarship form, just respond to this email and we'll get you sorted!

In any case, let's all high five! Every time we practice what we've learned about these brain states, we are that much less likely to lock our keys in the car.

So, cheers to not losing keys!

Cheers to not killing fish!

Cheers to all the other heartbreaks we've avoided through our devotion and diligence to this work!

Every investment you make in your emotional health more than pays for itself.

Much love and respect,

Natalie and Nathan

You May be New to the Center for Emotional Education

Here's what's coming up next:
___________________________________________________

Dear EQ, What Do I Do?
Emotionally Intelligent Ideas for Life's Challenges
Monthly Support
___________________________________________________

Complimentary "Feel Better Already" Strategy Session
___________________________________________________
 

NeuroEmotional Coach Training
5-Month Training Program

Hot Tip: The One Resolution to Rule Them All

And a _________ New Year to you! (If it's not a Happy New Year at the moment, please feel free to insert the emotion that's right for you!)

It's that time of year when, here at the Center, we tend to feel some pretty high levels of frustration around New Year's resolutions. There is so much encouragement, pressure, and advice! And none of it takes brain science into account!

The idea is that we're meant to select a number of things that we will do this year. We're supposed to write them down, declare them in public, and then ("come hell or high water") force ourselves to do them. It doesn't take long for anxiety and resentment to build around these things and it becomes a terrible game of Should and Shame.

We're not into it!

Besides...
Instead of making a list of vague goals and then trying to remember these throughout the year, we think it's far more efficient, much more likely to avoid the inevitable Should and Shame game, and in the flow of neurochemistry to instead commit to the one Resolution that Rules Them All.

No, this is not a Lord of the Rings Cosplay... This is our Hot Tip for New Year's resolutions!

Hot Tip: Ditch that list of shoulds and resolve to get back to an Executive Brain state as often as possible.

Here's why. When we are regularly processing from an Executive Brain state, we are regularly making choices that align with our best vision of ourselves and the world we care about. This means we don't have to remember and commit to all the sub-tasks. If we do the one task – regularly supporting ourselves to move out of a Survival state, through the Emotional state, and into the Executive state – then we're totally covered!

Don't believe us?

Here are the most common New Year's resolutions:
Quit smoking
Lose weight
Eat healthier
Exercise more
Spend time with family
Drink less
Get Organized
Reduce stress
Travel more
Get more sleep
Learn a new skill
Learn something new
Read more
Reduce spending on living expenses
Save money
Cut your alcohol consumption
Floss consistently
Get in shape
Managing finances better


Let's take a closer look at the top 5:

1. Quit smoking – Smoking is often an attempt to meet the needs for de-stressing, and offers a neurochemical hit.
Guess what?
The tools that move us out of Survival are de-stressors. The tools for moving through an Emotional state give us big, healthy neurochemical hits. And the faculties of the Executive Brain help us make plans for longterm habit change.

2. Lose Weight – We often overeat or gravitate toward sugar to manage feelings.
Guess what?
The tools for moving through an Emotional state process and digest feelings! And the faculties of the Executive Brain help us get organized, make conscious choices, set up routines for daily movement, and follow through.

3. Eat healthier – When we operate from a Survival state, the body craves fast calories like processed foods and sugar – an instant burst of energy that would help us fight off a predator, but isn't enduring enough to support us beyond the micro-moment.
Guess what?
Processing from the Executive state means that we can look further ahead, make plans, and do tasks before we are hungry – like meal planning, vegetable chopping, or grain soaking.

4. Exercise more – Routinely operating from Survival Mode is extremely taxing on the body. Our actions are driven by adrenaline and cortisol, giving us that fried sensation instead of that "a run along the river sounds nice!" sensation. And even though exercise would be great for us, when we're stuck in Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Appease (doing for others instead), we're not likely to prioritize exercise.
Guess what?
Exercise becomes appealing and easy to navigate when we're processing from an Executive state.

5. Spend time with family – Family is the most likely group of people to invite our uncomfortable feelings. We get easily activated when spending time together and then we fight with them, run from them, freeze and hope they leave us alone, or appease them so much that we end up resenting them.
Yeah, you guessed it!
If we know how to soothe ourselves through these Survival reactions that arise, and if we know how to work with the feelings that surround family, we get to interact with them in ways that feel good. And when something feels good, we're far more likely to do more of that thing.



We don't want to wear you out by going through the whole list, but are you starting to get the idea?

Whatever we want to start doing, or stop doing, knowing how to move ourself through the brain states is how we get there. No more white-knuckiling! No more shame-laden "inspiration"! Just identifying brain states and using the tools to get back to Executive.

We have a whole training about this! Starting January 24th, we will spend the next 5 months teaching folks how to work with their own brain states, and how to help others (clients, partners, children, customers, co-workers, parents, in-laws, friends) do the same.


If you're into it, here's where to learn more and sign up!

If you spotted a resolution on the list above, and you are yearning to know how neuro-emotional maintenance can achieve that goal, let's get on the phone and hash it out. You can set that up here.


We believe in you! We know you are meant to do great things in your life and for others.


Much love,

Natalie and Nathan

You May be New to the Center for Emotional Education

Here's what's coming up next:
___________________________________________________

Dear EQ, What Do I Do?
Emotionally Intelligent Ideas for Life's Challenges
Monthly Support
___________________________________________________

Complimentary "Feel Better Already" Strategy Session
___________________________________________________

NeuroEmotional Coach Training
5-Month Training Program

#1 Confidence Booster for 2024

Blessings to you and Happy New Year! We hope this finds you well and enjoying the annual transition. 

We can't mention any names, but one of our more globally influential clients told Nathan in their last session before the holidays that: 2024 is not the year for planning or dreaming. It's the year for implementation and executive-brain action.

We've already flipped the page on our calendar, but our thoughts still linger over the days of Yule, and over one story in particular that we think may inspire some potent action for the coming year.

One evening I, (Natalie) headed down the street to a neighborhood party. You can picture these Montana folks in their seasonal sweaters, the pile of their puffy coats in the side room, the apple cider on the stove. There was also a dog and a baby. (Cue the Natalie delight!)

At one point the mom of this cute, red-cheeked baby was wondering where her husband was, because her arm was hurting and she wanted to pass him the baby. I looked around for the husband, but I also let her know that other people could hold the baby too (Me! Me!).

She said:
"Oh, I wish! I'd love to pass him to you, but he's been so clingy! He won't even let my mother-in-law hold him."

I said:
"I'll just reach for him with confidence."

That's what I said to her, but what I will say to you, dear reader, is that I really meant that I would reach for him from a place of deep regulation.

Reaching for a baby from Survival Mode never works. Babies (and dogs, and humans, and every living thing), can sniff out dysregulation from miles away. Even if I had a sweet smile on my face, if I was in Survival Mode, my Social Engagement System and heartbeat would telegraph it, my arm pits would be sweaty, and stress hormones would be wafting from me like noxious perfume.

And reaching for a baby from an activated Emotional Brain state usual fails as well. I'm sure you've seen this tactic from others. They sort of put on a pouty face, and an air of "Oh, don't turn me down. I'll be so very sad if you don't let me hold you."  And babies (and dogs, and humans, and every living thing), find themselves torn between barfing and appeasing. Yuck.

I've been practicing working with my neurochemistry for several years now. At this point, I can fairly quickly shift out of Survival, through Emotional, and into an Executive State, where I have the confidence to easily mingle at a party, or soothe a baby, or whatever other challenges may arise.

On this night I had already tended to myself quite well as part of my pre-game for the party. I wasn't thirsty, overly hungry, or too hot or too cold. I had tanked up that day with connective and meaningful work, exercise, and feelings processing as well as snuggles with my partner.

So when I said: "I will reach for him with confidence.", in that instant I was also able to do a lightning fast version of deeper regulation. I got my body and breath instantly, supremely present, which also means instantly and supremely full of confidence.

But before I could even get my arms all the way extended, this sweet baby had twisted around and was reaching for me.

We were golden then.

We enjoyed some buffet grazing... He stored a cracker in the collar of my sweater... We meandered from group to group... At one point he wanted to play on the floor for a bit, so I went back to adult land. But when he was done playing, he crawled through all the grown-up legs until he found mine.

The mom's jaw was on the floor.

I scooped him up and we continued our buffet grazing and cracker storage activities.

There is no gold medal, or badge, or cash reward for bringing regulation to a party. But there are so many other rewards, like confidence, fun, connection, ease, joy, pride, positive interactions, and meaningful relationships – just to name a few.

And though I was literally at a party, this is not just a party trick! This is a way of confidently being with others in any and all contexts.

Would you like to learn how to work with your neurochemistry and teach others how to work with theirs?

We have our annual training coming up January 24. We call it NeuroEmotional Coach Training because we train folks to add this modality to an existing wellness career, or to create a wellness career, but you don't have to be a coach, or even plan on being a coach. We've trained a lot of parents, too...

Any person can benefit from understanding how brain states function, and how to work with them to be more of who we want to be. 

Being a safe place for others – especially children and animals is one of my 'Whys' for keeping up my neuro-emotional practice. What, or who, inspires you to, seek out the tools and practices to be your best self?

Let us know! We love to hear about your life. We read every response!

Much love,
Natalie (and Nathan)

ps. If you'd like to have a chat about whether or not training with us is right for you, just respond to this email and we'll set something up!

You May be New to the Center for Emotional Education

Here's what's coming up next:
___________________________________________________

Dear EQ, What Do I Do?
Emotionally Intelligent Ideas for Life's Challenges
Monthly Support
___________________________________________________

Complimentary "Feel Better Already" Strategy Session
___________________________________________________
 

NeuroEmotional Coach Training
5-Month Training Program

Trivia Challenge: What is hard of hearing AND a quiet talker?

We're wishing you a wonderful day!

Do you ever say something to your partner – maybe it's something about the week's schedule or plans with friends later – and then they respond with something totally and utterly illogical?

So much so, that (for reasons you can't exactly identify but are certain are completely valid...) you want to rip their head completely off?
Or at the very least, you wonder if they still have a grip on reality?
Or if they pay any attention, ever, to anything!?

Maybe it goes something like this:
Partner A: If we're going to have dinner with Jan and Steve before they go to Australia, it would have to be Thursday or Friday night. We can't do Wednesday night because we have that community meeting I'm hosting.

Partner B: Sure. Dinner on Wednesday with Jan and Steve sounds good.

Partner A: (flames and lightning exploding from ears) Are you f-ing serious? I just said WE CAN'T DO WEDNESDAY NIGHT! (full combustion and death-thoughts towards partner)


And then the couple says: Our problem is that we just can't communicate.

But if this couple came to Dear EQ, What Do I Do? and described this scenario, we'd say:

You two aren't necessarily inherently bad at communicating, but Survival Brain sure is!

When we're in an activated (or what a lot of folks call a "triggered") mode, we tend to operate from the Survival Brain State. Check out just some of the elements that make communicating from this state nearly impossible...

From the Survival state:

• Our hearing shifts to be more sensitive to low and high frequencies (like the low thudding and growl of a bear, or the high hiss and crackle of movement in the thicket); and less sensitive to the mid-range frequencies of the human voice.
  This means we literally have a harder time hearing and understanding other people talk to us!
   

• Also, especially if in a Freeze Survival State, we often speak very quietly.
  This means scary predators can't hear us, but it also means our partners can't hear us either!
   

• To make matters worse, we generally use fewer words.
  This brain state is all about silence, grunts, growls, and other guttural sound effects instead of clear, organized words, and cogent sentences. 

To recap, when we're in Survival Mode we basically:

• Can't hear

• Speak unintelligibly

• Don't use enough words

Then we wonder why communication is a challenge!

Next, we do a lot of efforting to "fix our communication problems" by making elaborate plans or holding weekly meetings, etc., etc., etc.. But when emotions run high once more, here comes the Survival State reactions and it's all for naught.



If this couple were members of Dear EQ, they'd hustle to the foundational videos that come with their monthly subscription, and they'd study up on how to move oneself out of Survival Mode!

Because it's not a matter of communicating better while activated, it's a matter of moving out of the activated state into a state that is naturally good at communicating!


What about you? Does the scenario described here sound all too familiar?
We wouldn't be surprised, because this sort of thing is extremely common.

It's not fair that we got born as humans without the playbook for "How Best to Be Human"!

Consider Dear EQ, What Do I Do? as your own personal playbook: 
Throw us any scenario, and we'll plug it into our Emotional Intelligence and Brain Function Calculator and share our experience- and data-driven suggestions for your expert consideration! (We're the experts in our field, and we know you're the expert on you...)

And if you choose not to join us, that's ok too! Everyone learns differently and we trust you completely. In fact, please write us back and share your favorite ways for shifting out of an activated state, we'd love to hear about what works for you!

 

Our next meetup for Dear EQ is this Tuesday, December 19th at 12:30pm Pacific.

🎁 This month our focus is specifically on helping you navigate the holidays... Join us with all your questions about gatherings, and gift-giving, and getting along this holiday season. 🎁

It's that time of year... When the world goes off a cliff! 

But we've got you.

We've made you this non-toxic, earth-friendly gift, specifically designed to help you get through the holidays.

🎁 Enter coupon code HOLIDAYEQ to make December 19th's session only $12! 🎁

(*If you like it, we meet once per month. Your cost is $30 per month. If you don't want to join again next month, just click cancel in your email confirmation. Easy peasy!)


If you're already in, feel free to email us your q's in advance, to love@centerforemotionaleducation.com.


Much love,
Natalie and Nathan

Our Secret Recipe for Real Joy and Effective Action Revealed

How's December been treating you?
How's 2023 been treating you?

It's tough when your plate is piled high with obligations, stress, and busyness, at any time of year. But when we experience it during the holidays it's even worse because there is a sense that we're supposed to slow down, we're supposed to feel extra gratitude, we're supposed to feel extra joy.

It's a lot to ask. 

And then if we widen the lens a bit more – it's really tough when each day there is also more upsetting news: values at risk, people at risk, the earth at risk. The overwhelm, despair, fear, or anger, can feel so huge that they don't leave any room for anything else.

The idea that amidst all this we're also supposed to perform, find positivity, or experience joy, can seem ridiculous if not offensive.

And yet –

If we're going to carry on... If we're going to wash the dishes, scoop the cat litter, decorate the house in holiday cheer because the children love it so, bring food to our neighbor, write our congressperson (again), research non-profit activist groups to support, we can't only be fueled by our discomfort or grief or rage.

Sometimes we get a flurry of things done in this mode, but it always comes at the cost of wear and tear on our bodies and hearts and minds. And what's worse is that we can't keep this mode going consistently or effectively enough to create any kind of lasting difference.

This is not the neurochemical state from which to celebrate the holidays nor to change the world.
 

So here's our Secret Recipe for Real Joy and Effective Action

First, eliminate these two options:
1. Acting from uncomfortable feelings.
2. Bypassing uncomfortable feelings and faking gratitude, joy, and Executive function.

Second, find and name at least three feelings.
These are not the feelings you think you should be feeling, these are the feelings that just are.
Be honest, and be specific. (Feelings list available below)

Third, make friends with your uncomfortable feelings. 
You can:
Invite your uncomfortable feelings to tea.
Sing your uncomfortable feelings a love song, rock song, death-metal song.
Or, write your uncomfortable feelings on your heart and give them sweet caresses.

Sky is the limit here, but for allowing your neurochemistry to fully shift, you want to spend at least 10 minutes with the feelings.

Fourth, look again.
At this point some empowered feelings, like true gratitude, hope, joy, appreciation, power, faith, or determination may start to reveal themselves.
Name and claim those feelings too.

Fifth, take action.
Eat more food.
Make a list.
Scoop cat litter.
Buy a gift because you truly want to.
Call your congressperson (again).
Donate money.

Lastly, give yourself a high five.
This isn't just a cute way to finish the segment.
Celebrating is a brilliant way to put a neurochemical marker on the thing you just did to help your brain remember to do it again in the future.
It also gives you a little more dopamine to keep your focus and drive going as you take the next action(s).
 

One could say this is a neurochemical recipe for a healthy holiday season, but it's also a viable recipe for a healthy life, community, and planet.

If you give this recipe a go, will you let us know how it is for you and how you applied it?

We love hearing about your life.

Love,
Natalie and Nathan

You Could Have An Office Like This!

Did you know Nathan and I met at Tipu's – at the time, the only all vegetarian restaurant in the entire state of Montana? It had the BEST chai you've ever enjoyed. And sometimes for fun during our shifts we'd try to get as caffeinated as possible.

What "fun"! (Insert not-fun facial expression).

We also had a cool, confident, and funny co-worker named Holly, who eventually moved away, but when she came back to visit she shared with us what she'd been up to. As it turns out she had become a Life Coach.

I forget everything about that conversation – where she got her training, what kind of coaching she was doing etc. – but what I do remember, still to this day, nearly two decades later, is how she described her place of work.

She said:
 

I sit out on my deck, with my coffee, amongst the trees and the birds, and talk to people.

This stayed with me.

I do believe this scene painted by Holly was a very powerful seed for what Nathan and I would later create: The Center for Emotional Education. For 17 years now we’ve been supporting incredibly successful people who still struggle with emotional overwhelm, anxiety, and/or depression that consistently gets in their way, robs them of satisfaction, and ruins everything. 

We help our clients learn how to operate their emotional systems, heal long-standing emotional wounds, and rewire their brains to be better at feelings, so they can enjoy better health, easier wealth, and more satisfying relationships.

And, as it turns out, we also created our own cozy office spaces.

Natalie's office includes a low comfy couch and a brown dog!

Nathan's office includes a very devoted tuxedo cat and a view over mountains to the west.

Our mission at the Center for Emotional Education includes training others to become powerful NeuroEmotional Coaches in their own right, helping their own people to have the success they want and deserve.

And these gorgeous humans are stationed in their very own beautiful, personal, cozy offices all over the planet. 

We thought we'd share some of their offices with you, too. 
 

Who knows?

Maybe these snapshots of meaningful work in incredible spaces might just be the seeds that sprout your coaching career.

My cozy corner. - Kate

Here’s my cozy office! A soft mauvey purple rocking/swivel chair with a cozy golden chenille blanket, next to my window where I can hear the birds and watch the changing seasons. A most peaceful spot. – Romy

Here's my cozy year-round office. I like to surround myself with the necessities: earbuds, easy access to information, warm tea, fire, water, lights, easy view of surroundings, scents and textures, anchors and plant friends.

Not pictured: guides and cats that sometimes don't want to be photographed. – Goose

I definitely feel extra lucky to be able to live and work from a sailboat! Pretty fun. I’m including a photo of the cozy little nook where I tend to work most and a picture of me nestled up there.
– Erin

Sitting with some immense gratitude this morning that this can be my office whenever I need it to be. I’ve worked very hard to be able to sit in bed on a chilly Monday morning doing my absolute dream work, NeuroEmotional Coaching. – Shannon

My cozy office :-) – Annique

My office is an oasis of inspiration and calm, I love looking out at the tree and hearing the birds. – Nina

If you're interested in creating your own cozy business and your own cozy office space, you may want to consider becoming a NeuroEmotional Coach.

People need people.
People need you.

We'll be here under our furry animals if you want to ask us some questions about this work!

Much love,
Natalie and Nathan

---

You May be New to the Center for Emotional Education

Here's what's coming up next:
___________________________________________________

Dear EQ, What Do I Do?
Emotionally Intelligent Ideas for Life's Challenges
Monthly Support
___________________________________________________

Complimentary "Feel Better Already" Strategy Session
___________________________________________________
 

NeuroEmotional Coach Training
5-Month Training Program

Two Nerds Caught on Tape!

The other day we woke up to an urgent email from our dear friend and fellow NeuroEmotional Coach, Sue Preneta. Through bleary eyes we read a subject line that got our hearts racing. It said: URGENT, Uncut Video Footage

Somehow one of the foundational videos included in our Dear EQ offering showed over three minutes of uncut film before the actual material began.

Oh dear!

We couldn't logically imagine anything scandalous, but now was not the time for rationality! When a community member reaches out with this kind of urgency it must be bad! We had no memory of loose, unfiltered video material, and now it was up on the internet!

Utterly irrational brainstorming commenced:

Were we accidentally naked?
Yelling at each other?
Badmouthing somebody?

We pulled up the suspicious footage.

It's true, it wasn't meant to be in there.
It's true, there were three loooooooong minutes before we got to the material.
It's true that it was awkward to sit through.

Want to guess what "scandalous" behavior was recorded?

We laughed.
We breathed.
We joked.
We kissed.
We removed a cat hair.
We sat and did nothing.
At one point Natalie tickles Nathan and says: Cootchie cootchie coo!

Because we're nerds. 

Neuroemotional nerds.

We don't just teach about brain states, we actually live according to brain states. Before we teach, facilitate, or anything important, really, we do things to wash out adrenaline and cortisol, and to usher in oxytocin and then dopamine. We want to be as chilled out and Executive as possible, so we allow for time, hydration, breathing, hIgh fives, and kisses.

Yes, we do feel some embarrassment that Sue and maybe a couple others had to sit through those lengthy minutes wondering what the heck was happening. But we also laughed SO HARD when we saw that wholesome, nerdy, pre-show neurochemical maintenance.

It's not an exaggeration to say that we're always thinking about brain states and how to work with them.

Recently, when we noticed that the lady in front of us at airport security unknowingly had her zipper all the way down, we regulated ourselves and then Natalie approached her in an emotionally safe way, with words meant to soothe her nervous system, instead of startle and rattle her. The woman giggled and thanked Natalie and the two had a wonderful moment of connection instead of an awkward Survival Mode exchange.

When we noticed that the grocery clerk was stressed amongst the holiday crowds, we didn't even have to talk about it, we slowed our movements, extended our exhales, stilled our words. By mid-checkout she was sharing a story and we were nodding and offering empathy. By the time she handed us our receipt her shoulders had relaxed, she made smiling eye contact, and let out a long deep breath.

This is why we are loving our new offering Dear EQ, What Do I Do?.

EQ stands for Emotional Intelligence and Dear EQ is all about offering emotionally intelligent ideas for life's challenges.
Like: 
Strangers with their zippers down!
Stressed out grocery clerks (and stressed out people in general)!

Last month we talked about:

• What to do with a difficult father-child relationship

• What to do after accidentally shaming a child when in Survival Mode

• What to do about a sibling moving in with a brand-new (and possibly dangerous) boyfriend

• What to do when on a date and the other person is miffed that you aren't showing enough interest

• What to do about firing someone that is a challenge to work with

What questions will we answer this month?
Who knows!
That's part of the fun... but you can rest assured that every situation benefits when we look through the compound lens of emotional intelligence and brain science.

If you want to nerd out with us, in the best way possible, about your tricky situation, we'd love have you join us!
 

Our next meetup is this Wednesday, November 29th at 1pm Pacific.

If you're already in, feel free to email us your Q's in advance!

Much love,

Natalie and Nathan

(In case you missed it, here's some of our pre-game oxytocin-building antics!)

Want it to Be Better? Do THIS During the Holiday Gathering...

We hope this finds you cozy and in a moment of peace.

Are you someone who likes November?
Some people love this time of year, others loathe it.
Where do you land on this spectrum? 

For many of us, this time of year means holiday gatherings with folks we may not otherwise spend a lot of time with. Sometimes we have great hope that we'll enjoy ourselves and really get to connect with our loved ones. Sometimes we have great dread that we will not have fun, and may experience the same disconnection we felt during past holidays. 

Whether you're sitting with hope or with dread, we'd like to share a suggestion that helps either way! This just might be the trick for greater connection during your next holiday gathering.

Human beings have a massive need to be seen and heard. To be able to share our experience – including the details, concerns, triumphs, pitfalls, dramas, and bloopers – makes life worth living.

Yet at the same time human beings also have massive anxiety around engaging. Our concern that we will offend, appear stupid, seem nosy, bother someone, or not know what to say, keeps many conversations shallow and meaningless.

This means that almost everyone at the holiday gathering is yearning to share and connect, and yet no sharing and no connecting is actually done.

It's a travesty!

So here's our suggestion...

It's simple, but not necessarily easy.

Ready for it?
 

1. Ask a question.

2. Listen to the answer.

3. Reflect back what you heard.

4. Ask an emotion-based follow up question.

Where to start?

Don't get fussed about asking obvious or generic questions. If you follow the formula, any question can lead to connection.

Sample general questions:

• Remind me again what you do for a living?

• Did you get that new stereo equipment?

• What's a typical day for you?

• Do you get outside much?

• Have you traveled anywhere lately?

• What's the latest on your project?

• How old are your kids now?

Sample script:
Question: How old are your kids now?
Listen: (What details can you collect from what they share?)
Reflect: Wow. So two of them are already in high school?!
Emotion-based follow up: How is that for you? 


If you know someone is going through something difficult, or experiencing a loss, don't hesitate to gently ask them about it. Contrary to popular belief, folks often want to talk about their upset, but no one gives them the opportunity.

Sample tender questions:

• I know you lost (insert name), how is your grief?

• I hear it's been tough lately... what's been the biggest challenge?

• Divorce can be so lengthy and stressful, how's it going for you?

Sample script:
Question: I know you lost (insert name), how is your grief?
Listen: (Notice any particular details they share.)
Reflect: Oh wow, that sounds so hard. You two were really close.
Emotion-based follow up: Does the grief cloud every thought you have? Or does it ebb and flow?


Want extra connection? Bonus points for remembering something from a previous interaction and asking a question based on that!

Sample good-memory questions:

• Is your dog still dealing with that skin rash?

• What happened with that big work project? How did it turn out?

• Last I heard you were learning about oil painting, still exploring that?

• I remember you said you were second guessing the flooring in your kitchen, what did you decide?

Sample script:
Question: I remember you said you were second guessing the flooring in your kitchen, what did you decide?
Listen: (What details do they share about this?)
Reflect: Seriously? You had to deal with those contractors for six months?! Woah.
Emotion-based follow up: Gosh, how does it sit with you now? Do you feel recurring stress every time you go in the kitchen?


* Important Caveat
Let's not be in a hurry to insert our own experience, stories, or advice, because interrupting someone else's turn engenders disconnection, and we want connection!

Focus instead on giving turns. Be generous with your attention and listening. Let the oxytocin (the neurochemical of connection) do its magic. Often, when the other person has really been seen and heard, they will naturally become curious about us.  And given the great modeling we have done, they will follow our lead, and ask a question, listen intently, reflect back what they heard us say, and then ask a connective follow up question. 

Who doesn't love that?

Here's to a more connective season.
You can do this!
We're cheering for you.

Love,
Natalie and Nathan


ps. If you choose to follow our suggestion, let us know how it goes! You can reply to this email to give us an update. 

---

You May be New to the Center for Emotional Education

Here's what's coming up next:
___________________________________________________

Dear EQ, What Do I Do?
Emotionally Intelligent Ideas for Life's Challenges
Monthly Support
___________________________________________________

Complimentary "Feel Better Already" Strategy Session
___________________________________________________
 

NeuroEmotional Coach Training
5-Month Training Program

A NeuroEmotional Coach Walks into a Yoga Studio...

Kate Collins*

Kate Collins* here…

I wanted to share a cool thing that happened for me...

This morning I went to a Warm Slow-Flow Yoga class at my local Yoga studio where I used to teach Pilates. I hadn’t been for quite some time and after class an old acquaintance approached me and said something along the lines of:

“Wow. It felt SO amazing to be on the mat next to you.
Your practice has deepened immensely, my gosh!
I could tell how present you were. I was just soaking up your energy and I felt so relaxed and so grounded and so glad I was in the room next to you!
You should hang out with us sometime.” 

I knew very well that the last time she experienced me, I was operating primarily from a disregulated nervous system, and that what she felt from me today was a REALLY regulated one. She liked it. And she wanted MORE. 

I smiled and thanked her for her kindness. I told her: 

“Well, actually, I changed my brain since the last time you saw me!” 

The thing about brain change is it doesn’t happen overnight. It can be messy and imperfect. So when you’re the one doing it, and you’re REALLY in it, you don’t always have your sights on your own change.

And your intimates who are in close proximity to your emotional self, also may not see it right away.

But this person knew me a handful of years ago and then she saw me today, BRAND NEW. A completely expanded version of myself, one that not only felt good to embody on my mat but also, for her, felt really good to be around.  

It was lovely to be witnessed in this way, but also not at all surprising!

I used to be someone who couldn’t manage my own emotional content without relying upon survival reactivity to help me out, and who now, after all of my work with the Center for Emotional Education, am someone who can not only metabolize and integrate everything that’s going on in my own internal world, but I can sit in safety and support of others as they express and experience theirs.

For those of you intentionally working toward more regulation, I see you, I’ve been you, I am you.

Keep going, it’s worth it. 

Love,
Kate



*Kate Collins is a Certified Coach with the Center for Emotional Education. Kate is actually the person who lit a fire under us to create our Certification program, so that she too could help people manage their emotional overwhelm and rewire their brains for greater Emotion Sovereignty. 

You can learn more about becoming a coach, just like Kate, here.
(The next training course starts January 24)

You can apply to work with Kate here.

Dear EQ, What Do I Do?

Our hope is that you are safe and cozy as you read this. 

It's been a rough couple of weeks. With so much heartbreak and panic happening in the wider world, it can be really difficult to have the capacity to figure out how to navigate challenges in your more personal world.

- conversations with loved ones
- holiday plans
- teenager curfews
- etc

We can help with that.

Sometimes, when life is upsetting, we can't always afford the energy or the mental work required to figure everything out, and we just need someone to give us a map with some helpful suggestions that we can follow.

That's our intention with Dear EQ, What Do I Do?. You give us your complicated scenario, and we'll offer you guidance you can choose to follow, that turns a fraught situation into a connective one.

There are just a few hours left to join our neuro-emotional consulting group this month. Want help troubleshooting the tricky social scenarios you are facing these days? 

Dear EQ, What Do I Do? offers monthly interactive sessions where you can describe your particular scenario and get help troubleshooting it through the lenses of emotional intelligence and neuroscience. It's a $30 monthly subscription that comes with community, foundational videos, and the chance to get real hands-on help with specific problems. 

We meet TOMORROW at 9am Pacific. (This is your last opportunity to get in on this month's interactive session. Our next meet-up is Nov. 29.)

If you're feeling stressed about an upcoming decision, trip, event, conversation, or any other tricky interpersonal situation, join right now, bring your question, and we'll offer the best guidance that EQ (Emotional Intelligence) has to offer.

And if you aren't able to join us live tomorrow, no problem. Just sign up, send us a paragraph describing your problem/issue/situation, we'll answer it in session, and you can watch the recording at your leisure.

We'll take good care of you.

Much love,

Natalie and Nathan

Top Tip for Heated Conversations

We hope you're doing alright.

It's been a difficult couple weeks with plenty to feel upset about, hasn't it?

And often when we go to talk with our loved ones, colleagues, neighbors, or family members, the conversations that are supposed to help us figure out a course of action, or be less alone with our thoughts, or just help us feel better – actually have us feeling worse!

Our fellow conversationalists make grossly oversimplified, or dramatically exaggerated claims. They toss out assertions that aren't correct or kind. They generalize so egregiously that we want to throw ourselves to the floor in a tantrum. 

And then when it's our turn, if we get a turn, our fellow conversationalists react so extremely that we end up having to shout to be heard over their reaction. Or they argue with our experience. Or they offer solutions that definitely won't work.

Conversations like this can have us curling up in a ball, and self-exiling to sort through our thoughts and upsets alone.

Here at the Center for Emotional Education, we've been working with neurochemistry and emotion for nearly 17 years. We lead courses for individuals, trainings for groups, certification for practitioners, and offer 1:1 coaching for our clients all over the world — so that we all can move from emotional overwhelm, depression, and anxiety, to Emotional Sovereignty, and finally be able to fully connect with others.

At all times, but especially ones like these, we like to put our expertise to use and help as many people as possible. So today, we're reaching out to share our #1 top tip for heated conversations, so that no one has to sift through these upsets by themselves.
 

#1 Tip for Heated Conversations:
Don't argue with the story.

Humans process experiences and emotions by telling stories. The Emotional Brain System has a strong need to be seen, heard, and understood, and from time immemorial we've been trying to meet these needs through story.

Think back to our caveperson roots – remember how every emotional event was processed through tales told around the campfire?
Yep, we still do that.

Or in our dark ages before social media, even before newspapers, or news – remember, the local town-crier (an apt name...) would broadcast the most emotional and memorable stories of the day?
We're still doing that, too! 


When our Emotional System predicts some feelings coming up (haven't we ALL been feeling massive amounts lately?), then we start telling a story that matches the emotion.

The Emotional System does not care about:

- accuracy
- data
- truth
- actual history
- other perspectives

The Emotional System almost always:

- exaggerates
- dramatizes
- generalizes
- centers self

It does so in an attempt to tell a story that matches with the flavor and intensity of the emotion we are experiencing, and to try to meet the critical emotional needs of being seen, heard, and understood. When this system gets those needs met, then, and only then, will a person begin to process from an Executive Brain State. And only from there can they take into account others perspectives, factor in actual history, cite facts, share complicated truths, and take a larger view of the issue. 

Can you see why these heated conversations so often go awry?

When we try to have rational discussions while one or both parties is operating from the Emotional System we only make things worse - driving miscommunication, disconnection, and upset.

So... when our people start processing their upset by telling their version of what's happening, we:
- don't argue facts
- don't disagree with their timeline
- don't offer a different perspective
- don't ask them to be rational
- don't offer solutions

(Yet...!)

We let them exaggerate, dramatize, generalize, and center themselves.

But we don't stop there!
 

Next we see if we can find the emotions trying to be expressed through the story. 

Can we help them name those feelings?
Can we find empathy for the feelings even and especially when we don't agree with the story?
Can we relate to those feelings and give them and ourselves connection around those feelings?

If so, we begin to experience the flow of oxytocin moving through our systems – the delicious neurochemical of connection, bonding, and safety – our bodies and our hearts soften, and the other person's processing, and ours, begins to shift to the Executive System.

From here we can have nuanced, intelligent, and cooperative conversations.

We invite you to first give this a try with some low stakes topics, like: "Hey family, should we have mac-n-cheese for dinner, or burritos?" and after enjoying multiple successes and more connection in those arenas, bring these skills to some higher-stakes arenas.

We're cheering for you!!


Much Love,
Natalie and Nathan


PS. Want more specific guidance for your specific heated conversations? Consider joining our monthly emotional intelligence consulting group: Dear EQ, What Do I Do?. Our next interactive session is October 25th at 9am Pacific.

Unhelpful Parent Wants to "Help"! What Do I Do?

We hope this letter finds you in a moment of repose.

Right now the leaves are falling outside our window. It's nothing but orange and yellow out there. What's the view like outside your window?

We recently heard about a mother that had posted online asking for some guidance, it went something like this:
 

My mother is wanting to come and help out for an extended period of time after the birth of my next baby.
I have two children already, and they complain that grandma is busy on her phone all the time, making business calls, and it gets in the way of their time together.
I wouldn't mind if my mom came to help... but only if she is actually helpful.

How do I handle this? 

We have a beautiful new offering called Dear EQ, What Do I Do?* starting at the end of this month, so our ears are really tuned into these sorts of queries. Dear EQ is an emotionally intelligent version of Dear Abby, if Abby knew how to work with neurochemistry and brain states!

If this person were in Dear EQ with us, in order to give her the best possible guidance, we would ask:

1. What Brain State is Grandma in when she's busy on her phone instead of being with the grandkids?
(Because that will help determine what solutions are available and if Grandma will be able to receive information, feedback, or a request at all.)
If this person were in Dear EQ with us, she would be able to answer this question because she's studied the foundational videos that come with her subscription.

2. What is your history like with Grandma? Has Grandma always leaned toward distraction or is this new, and not a regular habit?
(Because this will help us understand what historical dynamics and emotions are likely to get in the way of a positive outcome.)

3. How do you feel about this situation? Extreme? Wishy washy? Clear and kind?
(Because this will help us determine what steps this person needs to take before talking to the grandma about this at all.)

4. What goal do you truly have? Do you want the help? Or, do you want to turn down the help but maintain connection?
(Because we can leverage EQ toward any goal. And each individual gets to determine that goal.)

With this kind of powerful data we'd be able to guide this person through the steps required to leverage emotional intelligence, go with the flow of neurochemistry, and more likely get the outcome she's looking for.

We might recommend that this person:

1. Soothe your Fight, Flight, Freeze, Appease mode with the strategies included in your subscription.

2. Determine the feelings involved for you in this situation.

3. Process these feelings using the strategies included in your subscription.

4. Now that you are rooted and in touch with your true self and needs, get clear with what your preference is in this situation with Grandma.

5. Determine Grandma's Brain State using the descriptions included in your subscription.

6. Surreptitiously support Grandma's Brain State until she is operating from an Executive State. (We'd offer some specifics here.)

7. Connect with Grandma, make your request, and then stay in connection, or return to connection, using the tools that come with your subscription.

Have you ever been in a situation like this?
These things sure are tricky huh?

We'd love to hear about the complicated social situations you've found yourself in lately! 

Love,
Natalie and Nathan

*Dear EQ, What Do I Do? is a $30 monthly subscription. Interactive sessions to unlock the power of EQ to help you have more positive social connections.

The Vulnerability of Giving A Name: A True Story.

Natalie and Nathan with little Echo

When we were pregnant with our daughter, Echo, my mom threw us a baby shower.

I was wearing jeans tucked into brown calf-high boots, a striped t-shirt that stretched over my belly, but also stretched all the way down and over my butt. My hair was cut high in the back but the front framed my face with chunks that reached past my jaw. 

If, based on my outfit, you guessed that this was the year 2006 – you are RIGHT! 

Glad you have the visual now.

My mom collected all the family members from both sides of my divorced family – an exceptionally rare occurrence, so please insert some awkward tension. And please also insert some acknowledgement of how much they love us in order to brave the awkwardness.

You may already be imagining what comes next because you have been to other baby showers, but I had not attended any baby showers before this event, so I was taken aback to discover that games would be played.

What?!

One of these games was for everyone to guess at the name we had chosen for our baby.

With growing unease we pulled name after name from the hat:
Samantha 
Katrina
Alex 
All fine names, of course, but nowhere close...

We shook our heads at each one. Then folks began shouting out other possibilities! Eager to get it right.

We shook our heads at those too. 

Finally we shared the name we had chosen...
Echo.

And then we had to repeat it several times.
ECho
ECHO
Nooo, Ec-ho...

Then once it was clear what name we had said, there was...
silence.

Echo's name now flows off the lips with extreme tenderness, care, and ease.
Her name is like speaking a jewel, or releasing a dove into the sky.
Her name is synonymous with love, respect, and deep adoration.

But then?
Then, for my family members, it was simply an unexpected sound.

And we stood there, feeling some uncomfortable vulnerability.

Eventually my grandma (blessed be her name), said: "Oh! That's an old-fashioned name!" And we were all released from our congealed state and became animated again.


In 2006,

• I didn't know that games were played at baby showers, or that I could have preferences about our party.
  (And there is something one can do about that.)
   

• I didn't know that people have feelings about everything, including the name of your baby.
  (And there is something one can do about that.)
   

• I didn't know that family gatherings customarily include tension whether there are divorced parties or not.
  (And there is something one can do about that.)
   

• And, most importantly, I didn't know that I could get help with any of the above.

Now, I know all about all of the above:
 

• How to own and meet my needs
   

• How to successfully advocate for my needs
   

• How to be vulnerable in front of a group
   

• How to regulate and be with my feelings
   

• How to expect others to have feelings no matter what
   

• How to help myself when others have feelings
   

• How to help others when they have feelings
   

• How to reduce tension in a room
   

• How to get help
   

Now, I "stand" before you in my messy bun, high waisted sweats, and crop top – hello 2023! – and with all that we have learned, and through using all the tools in our tool shed, we can now unselfconsciously announce the winning name of our new baby, oops, I mean our new offering ....
 

From the 3 options we put before you and your fellows in our community:

What Would EQ Do?
EQ4U&ME
Dear EQ, What Do I Do?
 

The winner is...

Dear EQ, What Do I Do?

Wooohoooooooooo!! Yippee! Yeeehaaaaaaw!!!

EQ refers to Emotional Intelligence, or specifically our "Emotional Quotient" which is how much emotional intelligence we have – like IQ for feelings. 

This program is designed to allow us all to be able to attain our particular goals through the use of emotional intelligence and neuroscience. While also supporting us all to reprogram our brains for greater emotional intelligence and social skill.

Higher EQ is associated with a healthy ability to recognize, use, understand, and manage our emotions. It's also associated with a host of beneficial outcomes. Better physical and mental health, better professional and financial success, and better relationship satisfaction and overall life fulfillment. Which isn't nothing...


If the Natalie and Nathan of 2006 were enrolled in this program they would have been able to ask questions like:

• My family is planning a baby shower for me, but I'm not sure I'm going to like it. What do I do?
   

• My divorced mom and dad are going to be in the same room together. What do I do?
   

• I'm heading into an awkward situation, but I want to have a good time. What do I do?

And then the Natalie and Nathan of 2006 would have been able to consider several ideas and suggestions as to how to leverage emotional intelligence and neuroscience to navigate the situation.

And they'd have the best baby shower ever.
And/or the best approach to get through the baby shower they had.

In Dear EQ, What Do I Do?* we will never tell you what you should want, what you should shoot for, what your goals should be. Instead we will listen carefully to what it is that you want, and then we will make some suggestions as to how you may be able to help yourself get exactly that. 

We're human and we're alive, so that means we'll have feelings and we'll definitely face tricky, awkward, and stressful situations.

And that means, we all need help sometimes! 

Our first Dear EQ meetup is October 25th. Stay tuned for what questions we will be answering, or better yet, sign right up, submit your question and we'll see you on the 25th to answer it.

Love,
Natalie and Nathan


*Dear EQ, What Do I Do?, is a monthly subscription for $30. You can click here right now to learn more about it!

Are You Familiar with Appease?

Survival Mode has been in the news and socials more and more over the last few years. At the Center for Emotional Education, we’ve been studying Survival Mode for over 2 decades and teaching about it for almost that long.

Many folks have heard about Fight or Flight, and about half as many have heard of Freeze, and only about half as many of those have heard of Appease. Other than the sweet mnemonic rhyme, why do we pick Appease over the alliterative suit-follower Fawn? Mostly because we know that the domain of Fawn rests neatly within the sphere of Appease.

As a category, Appease is broader because it includes fawning, people-pleasing, flirting, bargaining, tending-and-befriending, self-deprecation, martyrdom, and (the often hailed “5th F”) f#cking when we don’t really want to, among a host of other subtle forms of trying to keep a perceived predator satisfied so they don’t threaten you…

At the Center for Emotional Education, we’re now also delineating between “Hyper-Arousal” and “Hypo-Arousal” Appease. Because we’ve noticed distinct-enough-to-be-useful characteristics between those of us who frantically move about seeking ways to be more pleasing, and those of us who passively allow ourselves to be misused for someone else’s pleasure.

Why are we making a newsletter about this? Only because we want you to have more power over yourself and your experience.

When we recognize that not just our fawning reactions but also our knee jerk reactions to throw our self under the bus, or volunteer when we’re threadbare, or to go into service-oriented work to a burnout level is (also) part of Survival Appease – then suddenly we have more agency to alter the course and caliber of our life.

So even if we’re not in Fight, or Flight, or Freeze – even when we’re just running around “merrily” taking care of the whole world in Appease Mode – we can still be in Survival. And when we’re in a Survival Brain state, we aren’t getting to truly live or thrive. And until we come out of Survival, all we can do is scrape by.

If you’re finding that you have some runaway people-pleasing, self-flagellating to self-martyring, everybody-else-first-until-I’m-basically-dying tendencies – you might be scraping by in Appease Mode. And the only way out is to reassure your nervous system that you’re safe, even if you aren’t always pleasing. 

Now, no affirmation on Earth is going to penetrate your Survival Brain System – so please don’t annoy yourself with another “I’m safe” mantra for this one. Instead, think regulation, think orientation, think physical and psychological grounding. Get into breath, get into natural neurochemical maintenance, get into Survival Support Strategies (as we call them) so you can get out of Appease Mode.

Then you can finally see what you really want. Then you can finally know who you really are. Then you can finally do all that you’re here to do, instead of just scraping by.

We’re cheering you on! We’ve been there ourselves. We know you can experience a different kind of living once you get your life out of Survival Mode.

Big love to you. Keep going!

Love,
Natalie and Nathan

Help Us Pick A Name for Our New Offering!

We hope this finds you enjoying a smooth and easy day.

We feel such gratitude and appreciation having you in our community!

And, we know some of you are newer here and some of you have been here for ages. So, just in case it would be useful, we wanted to (re)introduce ourselves and tell you about something new we've created to support you...

Natalie and Nathan smiling

We're Natalie Christensen and Nathan M McTague, and we are the co-founders of the Center for Emotional Education! We've spent the last nearly 17 years working with some of the world's most powerful people, who have already been incredibly successful, but who still struggle with debilitating emotional overwhelm, anxiety, and/or depression that gets in the way of their work, their health, and their social interactions and relationships. 

We help them learn how to operate their emotional system and reprogram their brain to be better at feelings, so they can finally have the next level business success, the health, and the relationships that they deserve.

Through the Center for Emotional Education, we lead courses for individuals, trainings for groups, certification for practitioners, and offer 1:1 coaching for our clients all over the world — so that they, too, can move from emotional overwhelm to Emotional Sovereignty™, and finally fully own their lives. 
 

And starting next month we have a new offer!

We created this brand-new program to offer support around those common but pesky interpersonal moments that have the potential to be awkward, for sure, but also potentially detrimental to the relationships involved.

You know those moments:

The awkward invite from your boss to attend a function you definitely don’t want to go to…   

That scenario where you know you need to set a boundary with a friend, but you’re too full of panic to say anything...

We wanted to offer real-hands on support for just those types of situations and all the ones like them.

We’re doing a question and answer format, so that folks can bring the dilemma with which they're struggling and we will offer emotionally intelligent advice for how to successfully navigate that particular situation.

And we’re talking about really direct and obvious support in the way of tips, scripts, and playbooks that are all rooted in the latest neuroscience, social-emotional learning, and positive psychology, and thus, will likely be the most effective advice you ever receive. 

We’ve read or listened to our fair share of bad advice – guidance that never takes into account the brain state of any of the people involved! Because of this, most guidance is doomed to fail from the start. And then, when it fails, the person seeking help just assumes that somehow it’s their fault! Not fair.

Not fair at all, and certainly not helpful. So… if you are in a tricky spot, and need help navigating a social situation with grace, and success, while maintaining connection, you might want to check this out.
 

But first – we need help with a name!

Will you help us choose between one of the following?

What Would EQ Do?

EQ4U&ME

Dear EQ, What Do I Do?

Which one sounds best – most inviting, resonant, and clearest – to you? Would you be willing to respond to this email and let us know which name gets your vote?

Thanks for your help!

Love,
Natalie and Nathan

One of the Most Powerful Phrases I Ever Heard

Natalie here. And I hope you're doing well.

Emotional Sovereignty School closes tonight at 11:59pm Pacific.
(So I wanted to reach out again before then...)

Are you starting to see the impact on your life if you had instructions for how to work feelings?

Of being able to go into any situation and be your biggest, shiniest self?

Are you starting to see that it's never too late to rewire your nervous system for greater health, wealth, and relationships? 

Especially with the right help?

I remember one of the most powerful phrases I ever heard:

“Want to tell me more?” 

At that time, I was a mother of young children. Sitting on our couch at the end of a movie. As soon as the credits started rolling I was ejected from the fantasy land of the movie and slammed back into my reality. I immediately found something I detested about our lives. And called it out.

When Nathan asked me that question, Nathan was really telling me that it was ok to be upset, that I had permission to identify and voice my woes. So I did. I had a whole list.

Sunlight coming through a window, illuminating the corner of a couch, with some dog hair showing.

The ugly pink fleece blanket on my lap

• The hair on the couch

• The to-do list for tomorrow

• The amount in our bank account

• And more...

Instead of denying what I was listing was a problem, or getting defensive, or shaming me for not being grateful for our life, or even just changing the subject or trying to cheer me up, Nathan used a piece of our 3-part system that we would teach, several years later, in Emotional Sovereignty School.

I crumpled in tears and feelings, and then...
 

I flipping bloomed. 

That night was a turning point for me. My emotional needs were met at a previously unknown level and my world opened up. That night marked the spot between my life before and my life after Notice, Name, Touch™.

Because of NNT and all the other regulating and processing strategies we teach in Emotional Sovereignty School:

• I now only own luxurious, beautiful blankets.

• There is no hair on my couch, because I was able to eventually swap our Pier 1 tweed for a high-quality leather.

• My to-do list is full of high-level, world-changing things.

• We have several bank accounts - including one just for vacation.

• And more!

And most importantly...
 

I now know what to do with my emotions, so I can have whatever else I want  in my life– beyond just blankets and couches.

The biggest piece in my turning point is that I was offered help and I went for it. 

It was a terrifying moment in some ways. I had to stop being stoic, stop waiting for someone to fix it for me, and stop just praying and wishing for things to be different. 

I had to get vulnerable, get help, and devote myself to the new path.

It's time for you to make that decision too.

Aerial view of a group of people floating together in pool in a circle formation, with their legs facing the center and holding each other’s hands, in commraderie.

Emotional Sovereignty School, our foundational course on how to rewire your nervous system for greater health, wealth, and relationships, closes TONIGHT.

There is not yet another institution in the world where you can get this training. 

If you're thinking about joining Emotional Sovereignty School to feel more ease, joy, and connection, and less stress, tension, and angst, this email is for you.

If you’ve realized the importance of being able to easily process emotion — and not having to go into Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Appease — then we have one request for you.

All we ask is that you:

• Take 3 minutes to read this email.

• Take a good strong inhale, and then slowly breathe out, elongating the exhale as much as you can.

• Repeat this breath 10 times.
   

• Then make an aligned decision.

• (Making a rash decision is a less useful decision.)

• (And making no decision is still a decision.)

But for a select few, 6 months from now, making this decision could be the turning point in your life. 

If you’ve ever wanted to actually get all the things on your bucket list — to live as your best self, share that with your family, your community, the world, and know just what to do when the waters get choppy — we can show you how. 

While Nathan and I were planning out our year:

• scheduling NeuroEmotional Coach Training, Certification, masterclasses, and more

• organizing a luxury retreat in the US Virgin Islands

• raising three inimitable young women

• planning trips to see family

• and organizing a once-in-a-lifetime celebration weekend with 50 friends and family members

Did we worry that our triggers might ruin the whole thing?

No we did not.

But, it also isn't surprising. We have spent the last 20 years, 16 in active 1:1 practice with our pioneering clients, researching, studying, and supporting others in emotional processing and healing work. Enjoying this type of emotional flexibility and security is exactly why we created the Center for Emotional Education. We wanted to facilitate others in learning how to live, emotionally capacious and resilient, like we do.

It's striking to think about how close we were to just accepting the old way of living – recuperating from one upset while trying desperately to avoid any further upsets.

Like most people, we experienced fear and hesitation around feeling our emotions and getting stuck in the "pit of despair" forever. And we felt such worry and hopelessness around being able to be in charge of our emotional experience, that we almost didn't even try.

But we knew if there was one thing we could do, it was just start. Just get curious.

And we lucked out! Our first baby steps led us into the world of neuropsychology. That's when we realized that figuring out emotions isn't rocket science. It’s brain science!

We also learned something really cool about humans.

All of us have something in our lives that we REALLY want to do — be patient with our children, fall deeply in love, write a novel, learn to do a handstand... We joke about it, we journal about it, pray about it. We read and research and even spend money on it.

But when we are faced with real-life opportunities to live into that dream, we choke. Instead we yell at our kids, run away from the date, procrastinate writing, and tend to other's head wounds instead of our own head stands.

It doesn’t mean we’re broken. It means we accidentally get stuck in a Survival reaction of Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Appease.

 

3 Common Delusions About Emotional Sovereignty

1. “I do plenty of yoga. So I'm all set.”

Yoga, and other body-focused activities, like: running, meditating, tai-chi, walking, swimming, praying, and pickle ball are excellent for building up our resilience. It's smart to strengthen our bodies and minds for what life has to throw at us.

But when we say, “I do yoga instead of emotional processing", it's like saying "I have this 500 pound weight on my chest so I'm going to build up my muscles. If I'm strong enough I won't even feel this massive weight."

THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN! 

Emotions come faster than muscles build. And not only do they come quickly, they never stop coming. We will never be strong enough or limber enough to ward off or not feel emotion. Yoga and running and all that good stuff makes it easier to be with emotion, but it does not remove or reduce emotion. 

And that's ok! Because, listen, there are tools that do metabolize emotion. 

Today you can decide to just keep on working extra hard at your resilience practices and hoping they magically ward off emotional discomfort, or you can invest in a skillset that removes the 500 pound weight from your chest. We'll show you how. 

2. "I don't have time."

It's true, life doesn't stop. You have more things on your plate than any human ever should have to. It's not cool that each day is busier than the next. 

And... when we don't take the time to develop Emotional Sovereignty we likely waste a lot of time. Acting out from Survival Mode means we typically have to do a lot of clean up.

Fight: We have to make amends after yelling at or being harsh with somebody. That can take hours, even days of our time.
Flight: We have to recreate relationships, structures, and support systems after bailing out rashly or quickly, like when we quit our job on an impulse, or cut out before our lease is up. That can take hours, days, or even months of our time.
Freeze: We have to work overtime, on the weekends, or through the night to make up for any work we missed while we were stuck on the couch, or distracting ourselves with social media and online shopping. We have to spend afternoons at the doctor tending to the damage we've caused by living a more sedentary, numbed out life. This can take hours, days, months, or even years of our time.
Appease: When pleasing others is how we avoid uncomfortable emotion, we dedicate our entire life to serving others and putting others' needs before our own. When this is a common Survival Mode, we can live a whole life where every minute is spent on others. 

Successful people, including emotionally successful people, make time to learn time-saving and life-changing skills. 

And, one cool thing is that once you learn the skills we teach in Emotional Sovereignty School, they fold seamlessly into your existing life. 

Today you can choose to spend more of your hours, days, and weeks cleaning up the messes that your Survival Mode has created, or you can devote 2.5 hours a week for 12 weeks to rewire your nervous system for Emotional Sovereignty. 

We can show you how to work Emotional Sovereignty into your daily life.

3. "I can't afford it."

You know what's a major bummer? When we enroll for our NeuroEmotional Coach Training folks sign up easily. Why? Because it's for their business. Our culture supports business investments, but when it comes to investing in one's self? That's not so groovy. 

When we teach our students about brain states and we ask them how long they've been stuck in Survival Mode, can you guess what the most common answer is?

ALL MY LIFE.

Many of us spend our entire lives lurching from one emergency to the next, executing all of life's stages: high school, college, child-rearing, relationships, business ownership, etc, from Survival Mode. 
 

Survival Mode is not a money maker!

It wastes money like it wastes time.

Fight: We lash out regularly and then wonder why we don't get new clients, a raise, or a promotion.
Flight: We quit everything we start and then wonder why we don't have regular clientele, or strong references, or long-lasting and profitable connections.
Freeze: We procrastinate projects, or starting our business and then wonder why we get passed up for important, profitable assignments, or wonder why we're still not reaping the rewards of entrepreneurship.
Appease: We spend all of our time being pleasing to others, so we never ask for a raise, never negotiate for a better-paying contract, never quit the low-paying job, and then burn ourselves out to the point we can't work at all. Then we wonder "Where's all the money we should have gotten from all that hard work we put in?"

If we have any hope of ever being able to afford any of the things we really want, we have to get out of Survival Mode.

Today you can choose to continue to place your bet on Survival Mode to get you to a richer place, or you can learn what it takes to get into the mode that makes money easily and effortlessly. (That's Executive Mode by the way!)

Luckily that's precisely what Emotional Sovereignty School is for.


At some point we have to choose ourselves. Invest in ourselves.

Not because we're broken.
Not because we can't hack it.
Not because our exercise regime isn't rigorous enough.
Not because we have a bunch of time laying around, so why not.
Not because we're rich and have "nothing better" to spend our money on.

Everyone who joins Emotional Sovereignty School has their own beautiful and particular reason for joining:

"I wanted to treat my kids gently so they can trust me and want to be with me."

"I wanted to actually enjoy everything I've worked so hard to achieve."

"I wanted to feel okay with "displeasing" others, so that I am able to say what I need and want."

"I wanted to know how to shift out of it when I get nervous and finally get to relax."

"I wanted to feel safe enough to fall in love."

"I wanted to feel confident and consistently motivated to go for my dream of owning a business."

"I wanted to make enough money, easily,  so that we could travel around the world."

"I wanted to break old patterns and develop new ones that actually allow me to thrive, not just survive."

 

What would your life look like if you had more Emotional Sovereignty?
 

Why will you join Emotional Sovereignty School and re-wire your nervous system?

 

It's time to choose.

Today — until tonight at 11:59pm Pacific — you have the opportunity to join Emotional Sovereignty School and reap the benefits of our 3-part system. We’ve spent our lives perfecting this curriculum, so now you can get the best emotional education on the planet at the tip of your fingers.

6 months from now, if you don't join Emotional Sovereignty School, where will you be?

The people who don't take the leap? Back to more dissatisfying and destabilizing Survival Mode than they'd like. 

Entire lives, and the generations that follow, pivot on a decision like this.

Now it's your turn to decide which way your life and your lineage goes.

Everyone wants to feel and do better...

But what are you DOING about it? What steps are you taking to create that for yourself?

Say YES and start building your new nervous system today.

Or... you could wait. Maybe things will just change on their own...

A year from now you'll be a year older, your old patterns will have had a whole additional year to get cemented further. Do you imagine those patterns will feel any better than they do now? Do you have the sense that they'll be easier to change then?

5 years from now, you could look back at this as one of the most self-loving decisions you ever made...or it might just be another day lost to the blur of mere Survival.

We look forward to hearing your reason for taking the leap and joining Emotional Sovereignty School.

Much love,

Nathan and Natalie

What are the Subtle Signs of Emotional Aptitude?

Felicitations and well wishes!

With Emotional Sovereignty School coming up next week, we've been talking about it quite a bit. And we were thinking, you might like to know some signs/benefits of emotional aptitude. What does it look like when we start to get good at feelings?

So here's a working list: 

Quicker recovery from mishaps.

The cat pees on the rug. The dog rolls in a dead animal. These things suck! There are logistical factors to tend to in these situations, and lots of feelings. And those that are emotionally adept deal with the matter at hand, feel the feelings, and (because they have the tools) move on in a quick-ish amount of time. Things like this don't ruin their day.

"The straw that didn't break the camel's back."

Emotional Capacity is the space and ability to be with emotion – even tough emotion, and even repeat bouts of emotion. Those with emotional aptitude have the ability to experience multiple upsets in any period of time and not self-destruct.

Ownership.

One partner says something, the other misunderstands and gets their hackles up, and before we know it a little disconnection turns into an actual fight. These things happen in relationship. It's a bummer. And, a person with emotional aptitude will have the ability to acknowledge the role they played in the interaction and take responsibility for their part, without throwing themselves under the bus. 

Vulnerable words and actions.

If emotionally adept folks are feeling nervous about whether or not you're going to like their birthday present, they say so. When the sad part of the movie comes along, they cry. Those with emotional aptitude can feel and express their feelings across a wide spectrum of situations, without it having to be something they apologize for ("So sorry I'm getting so emotional!") and without it becoming a part of their identity ("Don't mind me, I"m just a big crybaby.").

Knowing one's needs and teaming up with others to meet needs.

Those with emotional aptitude know when they need space, or attention, or touch, or any other important human need. And instead of forcing their agenda, isolating themselves, or blaming others, as a way to get their needs met, they lean in, communicate, and get curious, so that everyone has a chance to be heard and get their needs met within the relationship.

Longterm relationships – of all sorts.

Being in relationship over time inherently means encountering conflict. Those with emotional aptitude are able to maintain relationships with neighbors, colleagues, fellow students, partners, children, and family members over long periods of time because they have the ability to stay in connection amidst conflict. They don't self-sacrifice until their resentment reaches the point to where they have to leave, they don't grossly offend or break trust, they don't ghost, and they don't burn bridges.

Easy friend-making.

To make new friends one must have the ability to enter new situations and interact successfully. Emotionally adept people use their tools to process feelings before entering social situations, stay grounded within the situation, and remain in close connection with their true self throughout. The use of their neuroemotional toolkit means that when the encounter with a new person begins, they eagerly engage the opportunity to connect, they express themselves honestly and authentically, they have a good time, and they remain invested and interested in future contact and interactions. 

Financial success.

The usual saying is: "It's not what you know, it's who you know." Sure, but really it's not who you know, it's who you connect with. It wouldn't do you any good to know 50,000 people if each one of them thought you were a jerk. Emotionally adept people are financially successful because they are good at connection. Maybe their car gets a a big dent, but they are in frequent connective contact with others, and those people know people, so pretty quickly a friend-of-a-friend swings by to pop the dent out free of charge – saving $2,000. Or... maybe their company is getting folded into another, but it turns out the head of HR is an old friend from when the kids were in kindercare, and she puts in a good word, and now there's a massive salary upgrade and the corner office.

In fact, any of the bullet points highlighted above lead to greater health, wealth, and relationships –  more success in all forms, in all areas of life.


Can you think of any other signs of emotional aptitude? Respond to this message and we'll add them to our list!

Here's some we don't agree with:

 When we ask this question, we get a lot of off-base answers like this:
"Always happy, never upset."
"They never yell."
"Nothing bothers them."

Nope. Not it...

These are more likely examples of people being really "good" at Survival Freeze (Placid lake on the outside, hurricane on the inside!) and Survival Appease (Smiling on the outside, suffering on the inside!). We should know because these were our go-to Survival Modes and we got so much praise for our (false) "zen attitude".

We don't want to laud or celebrate living in Survival Mode! That just perpetuates the myth that to be seen as successful and healthy all feelings should be repressed and/or hidden. 

Having feelings and expressing feelings is normal, healthy human behavior. Something we should be good at!

And feelings are not a problem if we know what to do with them.

Let's save ourselves a bunch of torture, and just normalize feelings, once and for all. Then let's get really good at having them.

One more sign of emotional aptitude?

Getting help. If you made a list of successful people you admire, more than likely, every single one you could name, got help. There are others who have walked the path before us that can offer guidance, toolkits, and road maps. Those with emotional aptitude avidly seek and receive this kind of help. 

What about you? Do you have emotional aptitude? 

Do you want more?

There are just three days left to sign up for Emotional Sovereignty School -- your optimal support, toolkit, and roadmap rolled into one. 

Are you ready for:
Quicker recovery from mishaps?
Increased emotional capacity?
Graceful, confident ownership of your actions?
The ability to act and speak vulnerably?
Knowing your needs and how to team up to meet them?
Longterm relationships of all sorts?
Easy friend-making?
More connections, more money, more success?
And help?

We got you covered.

Don't let this be yet another year where you merely limp along and wish for things to be different.

You could click the button below and already be well on your way to everything outlined above, Or, you could navigate away and go back to smiling on the outside while the suffering swirls inside.

You get to choose. We hope you choose you – in whatever form that takes.

Love,
Natalie and Nathan

Common Emotional Advice Isn't Good Enough

Yes, it’s possible to move through emotion easily without getting bogged down in days of misery.

But it means we have to think differently than the usual "helpful" suggestions.

Recently, someone asked us, "How do you two stay so grounded and positive all the time?"

We said. We don't. We feel all the feelings - including fear, powerlessness, anger, and jealousy - and use our 3-part system to come back to a naturally positive and grounded state.

This person was like, What?!?!

This person, like everyone else, has been steeped in all the cultural messaging that we should always be POSITIVE, GRATEFUL, CALM, and MEASURED. And since this is the mythos in which she lives, if she's feeling uncomfortable, she thinks there is something wrong with her, and that she just needs to _____________ (work harder, exercise more, develop a cleaning routine, breathe more, etc).


If this is the guidance we get and it still doesn't work, no wonder people hate dealing with emotions!


Feeling the whole spectrum of emotion, instead of stuffing it or bypassing it, is so unusual, it seems ludicrous. That's okay. We're cool with being unusual if it means we're good at emotions.

Here are the things we hear people say in order to talk themselves out of exploring the opportunities we offer, like Emotional Sovereignty School.

“But I do yoga, that should be enough”

“Who has time for purposeful emotion?”

“I can't afford to pause my life for feelings.”

And yet...

Other people just like you have done it.

Cancer patients.
Marketing executives.
Low-income parents.
People who run their own business.
People with a college degree.
People without a high school diploma.
Grandparents.
Single moms with kids on the spectrum.
Tech executives.
Baristas.
Artists.

They were reading an email exactly like this...and they made a decision to master their emotional experience.

Look at a few results from our Emotional Sovereignty students — our course on how to re-wire your nervous system for better health, wealth, and relationships.

Lauren, NeuroEmotional Mentor, Yoga Teacher, Doula, Ayurvedic Postpartum,Care Specialist, Mother, and Wife

“Emotional Sovereignty School is an exquisitely life-changing journey...

Natalie and Nathan are both incredibly mindful, loving, intelligent, profoundly emotionally safe, full of integrity, and with decades of experience.

I’m not kidding, this learning WILL change your life, all of your relationships - and give you the tools to create more of what you truly desire.

Yep, it’s that amazing.”

Nathaniel, Father, Husband, NeuroEmotional Coach, Sacred Son, Friend, Facilitator of Guided Energy and Core Belief Work

“These techniques I learned with the Center for Emotional Education have helped me tremendously.

Learning how to support myself and others, and understanding the physiology of my nervous system, has been empowering and liberating.

I no longer experience panic.
 
And when I do experience anxiety I am able to head it off at the pass and to regulate back to my baseline, and do so faster and faster over time.

Anxiety doesn’t have the wheel anymore, it’s still in the car but it’s no longer driving.”

Nikki, Business Owner, Community Leader, Mother, Wife

“Emotional Sovereignty School taught me how to better stay in tune with the connection between my body and emotions allowing me to have freedom of choice in my responses to daily challenges.”

Are you the next one to reap the rewards of a remodeled nervous system?

The doors to Emotional Sovereignty School are open now and will remain open until August 7th at 11:59pm, Pacific.

We really hope to see you in class.

Love,
Natalie and Nathan