Mandyland

In this educational monologue Mandy talks about what is actually going on with the dopamine hits everyone talks about these days and then ends with some practical ways to control our behaviour for better mental health and wellbeing through harnessing the power of the reward system.See also: Berridge KC, Kringelbach ML. Pleasure systems in the brain. Neuron. 2015 May 6;86(3):646-64. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.02.018. PMID: 25950633; PMCID: PMC4425246. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4425246/) The Science of Habit: What does it take to stick with something long term? You just have to rewire your brain. by By Stacey McLachlan on December 22, 2021https://www.healthline.com/health/the-science-of-habit#6

Reflecting on what part of this experience we want to take forward...

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-psychology-of-conspiracy-thinking/id1316684637?i=1000467017701 Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nathan-radke-671614139/the-psychology-of-conspiracy-thinking https://www.instagram.com/theuncoverup/?hl=en https://twitter.com/TheUncoverUp

It’s December. Christmas season is well among us. It’s a crazy time of year for many people. Not me. But for many others. Here in this rant I talk about my process of degifting my holidays, the terribleness of commercialized Christmas, the egocentrism of Christmas, the stress and money issues around Christmas, and where is religion in all of this? I end with some thoughts on Santa.

Me… ranting about gender, gender issues, gender reveal parties, gendered clothing, gender segregation, gender neutral, gender expansion, gendered opportunities, gendered washrooms… It didn’t start out as a rant. It was going to be an introduction to two other conversations about gender I’ve had specifically around gender-expansive parenting. But 17 minutes in, I realized it was a rant. Oops.One thing I should add, that I didn’t add during the audio is that despite hating segregation, I do think segregation is important when combining the genders is holding one or more of the genders back. For example, I have benefited seriously from opportunities in sport that were gender-segregated and allowed women to rise up to an athletic potential they otherwise might not have. This is happened in hockey and ultimate frisbee for me. That being said, the ideal as I see it, is equating the genders together, like, for example in mixed-gender division. I spent a lot of time playing women’s ultimate but my heart was always in mixed-gender where cis-men and cis-women are theoretically on an equal playing field. That doesn’t always happen in practice but it’s the best attempt I have seen in sport. The next necessary step, mind you, is to successfully incorporate transgender people into sports in a way that allows all people to both develop to their full potential. Single-gendered divisions and mixed-gender divisions imply a binary, whereas the “open division” technically means open to anyone who wants to play at the level of that team. That is wonderful. In theory.

Me ranting about accessibility issues and the university system. No, I’m not actually lacking compassion for people’s needs. What I’m annoyed with is why we aren’t individualizing education more. I have lots of issues with the university system and you can read about some of them in the MicroDegree Manifesto too.

EPISODE 2: Today, I share parts of my conversation with Lindsay about what compelled into this world. I love how she starts with it’s not like they say “hey wanna join this cult and we’re gonna have this sex group?”. The recruiting process is very deliberate and calculated.

I am talking with my very dear friend, Lindsay. About 8 years ago, Lindsay got involved in the now famous cult, NXIVM, lead by Keith Raniere. In June of this year (2019) Keith was convicted of federal crimes including sex trafficking, conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor. His sentencing is at the end of October, 2019. I have been talking with Lindsay about her involvement since she started, back in 2011. Then this past summer, 2 years after she left the cult, we decided to make some podcast episodes.EPISODE 1: Today, I share parts of my conversation with Lindsay about how she feels today, 2 years after she left as she heels and lives with PTSD.

Alia and I speak for the first time during this conversation. We were introduced through email by a mutual friend, Paul, who we both know from CSI (Centre for Social Innovation). Paul connected us because Alia is interested in co-living and because my partner and I bought a house in Toronto with our friends and are in a co-living situation. We talk here about what makes for a good human experience and community in a good co-living situation.Resources:Centre for Social Innovation https://socialinnovation.orgThe Press We got:Mandy and Lindsey on the CBC Candy Palmater Show (in 2016): https://www.cbc.ca/radio/candy/two-families-take-an-unconventional-approach-to-home-ownership-1.3669166?autoplay=trueToronto Life Article: https://torontolife.com/real-estate/houses/inside-complicated-world-home-co-ownership/Toronto Star article: https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/07/02/two-couples-pool-money-to-live-under-one-roof.htmlOther People doing it too: https://www.thestar.com/life/2017/01/23/thank-you-for-being-a-friend--i-can-buy-a-house-with-meet-a-new-generation-of-golden-girls.html

If you want to sit in on a class presentation on the research related to bisexuality please listen to this podcast! Vanessa is a MicroMasters student (part of the Centre for Applied Neuroscience MicroDegree in Psychological Neuroscience) supervised by me, Mandy Wintink. This week’s seminar class was on Sex and Gender and Vanessa’s topic was “Bisexuality” and she presents on the topic according to the guiding questions that provoked the research (see below). The other voices you can hear are that of the other MicroDegree students.Vanessa chose to do bisexuality because it is often considered a hidden sexuality because those who are bisexual are often seen as heterosexual if they are in a monogamous opposite-sex relationship or gay if they are in a same-sex relationship, neither of which can feel complete for someone who is bisexual. Through her research, Vanessa discovered that bisexual erasure is prevalent and so is bisexuality as well. In fact, some statistics show that bisexuality is the majority of the LGTB2QS community.Word of wise: You may want to slow this episode down to .75 speed because Vanessa and her brain present very fast…Resources:Kinsey ScaleRosa Diaz’s Comes Out on Brooklyn Nine-Nine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDGkCeElzhMGuiding Questions for the MicroDegree Topic of Sex & Gender:Choose a topic within the realm of sex, gender, or any sex-linked behaviour and learn about some aspect of neuroscience related to it. Some examples may include: sex, gender, sexuality, sexual orientation, gendered toys/clothes/behaviours, gender identity, gender expression, transgender, development, sex roles, gender/sex stereotypes, etc.Answer These Questions to the Best of Your Ability:Describe the topic that you chose in general terms.Why did you choose this topic and/or what interested you about this topic?Can you describe the public's general understanding or thinking associated with this topic?[How] does this topic relate to the concept of binary/non-binary categorization.Choose Whichever Of The Following Apply To Your Topic:What are the neuroscience issues surrounding this topic?Is there a neuroscience explanation/description for the phenomenon you are talking about?What brain mechanisms or neurochemicals are associated with your topic?Has your topic ever been considered a "disorder" or "disease"?Are there known sex differences related to your topic?How might our understanding of this topic change if we took a non-binary understanding approach to it?Answer These Too Please:What do you think is important information that the general public should know about this topic, as far as you can tell?What was the most important thing you learned about this topic?What was the most random/novel thing that you learned about this topic?Now that you have done your research... and hopefully come out of the custard... choose any 5 of these questions to answer for your presentation.

I reflect on two examples of people asking for money, one good, one not-so good.

Dawn has spoken before about her sever mental health issues (e.g., Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder). She works with a psychiatrist, is on medication, and is on permanent disability and unable to work. Today, she shares with an acute stress reaction she recently had and aims to get some perspective on it. She had approached me to do a live coaching session. The video associated with this session will also be released soon.If you have benefited in anyway from this conversation, please consider saying thank you with a donation to Dawn’s fundraising campaign, available here: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8gwKm78eZx. Dawn is under serious financial stress and would appreciate any help she can get. It took a lot of creativity and courage for her to launch this campaign. Please consider a donation of any amount. Nothing is too small and the more people contribute the more we can keep her sharing her story.

Truth be told, Mandyland is not my main gig. I actually run a company on the side. ;) The Centre for Applied Neuroscience is where I do most of my work as a life coach, life coach trainer, and a neuroscience workshop leader in organizations. I founded the company in 2010 and now have 7-8 people working for me part-time. During this team meeting, we brainstormed our mission and corporate philosophy and present it to our clients, potential clients, and friends of Mandyland as part of our “openness” mandate.To read what we came up with based on that conversation head to our About Us page here: http://www.knowyourbrain.ca/about.

Just a little recap of my experience with season two and forecasting what to expect for season 3.In case it interests you, look into the MicroDegree mentioned in this episode: http://www.knowyourbrain.ca/microdegree

A year ago Mike was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, a cancer of the kidneys. He had surgery 6 months later. His experience was, on paper, great because everything went medically well. But his patient experience made him think very deeply about how to improve the cancer patient experience. Mike is the Design Director at Healthcare Human Factors, a consultancy through University Health Network in Toronto. He is fortunate to be in a position to rethink and design cancer care and he’s doing that now. Here we talk about his experience, which laid a foundation for rethinking cancer care!We spoke earlier this season about getting the diagnosis. You can listen to that episode here: http://www.mandyland.ca/the-podcast/2018/8/28/mike-has-cancer-s2e1

Vanessa, who recently came out as Polyamorous, is questioning whether identifying a sexual orientation is enough to really capture all the nuances of romantic relationships. So we discuss… and that obviously brings up a discussion about gay versus bisexual and gender and labels in general.Resources:Living Apart Together: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/child-poverty-john-cleese-mail-paid-sick-leave-revolution-baby-living-arrangements-episode-3-1.2905289/living-apart-together-1.2905290Chosen Family: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcasts/chosen-family/The MicroDegree that Vanessa is doing (with Me!): http://www.knowyourbrain.ca/microdegree

Pets: We love them dearly, oftentimes more than the humans in our life. When they leave us it is one of the hardest things to experience. It’s been 2 days since we said goodbye to our amazing dog Jett. It hurts like hell. I miss her dearly. I will love her forever. I want her to come back.

Sarah just got news that one of her tumours (a liver tumour) shrunk! Yay! It appears to be from the radiation she had back in March, which is welcomed news after being a bit confused as to what the initial report meant. She shares this with us today in context with the past 5 days of the perpetual roller coaster she is on. We end with a little life coachey-rest officer discussion about how she is planning to manage her energy for an upcoming trip to Australia.

Tackling the science of [heterosexual] love is an interesting endeavour indeed. Lauren starts us off with the idea of three phases of love (lust, attraction, and attachment), the hormones and neurotransmitters associated with some of these phases, differences between men and women* and an evolutionary perspective on love. We then spend a good deal of time talking about attachment and what that kind of love means in parenting and with pet animals. We even talk about how the brain is affected by a break-up. Unfortunately, all we covered was heterosexual love. *although I (Mandy) believe in the non-binary nature to sex and gender, the scientific literature lags behind and often discusses sex differences exclusively between men and women.

My friend and colleague, Vanessa, recently came out as polyamorous. She’s been living this philosophy for a long time but I was not privy to it, mostly because she had been keeping her professional life separate from her polyamorous life. But she’s been provoked (by our Cosmic Consultant, Cylla — see Cosmic Consultation episode) to let these two worlds collide. So over breakfast in Costa Rica (we were there for work actually!) I open up my phone to record and solicit her into a conversation, which might be one of many. In the process we talk about how this started for Vanessa, how it exists now, and how this relates to sexual orientation.I love sharing this conversation with others because we both think it’s an opportunity for anyone, whether in monogamous relationships or not, to open their mind to, even if just as a way of developing acceptance and appreciation for such a philosophy. Some people might even be considering it for themselves. In any case, have a listen and see what you think!

The morning sounds of Costa Rica is such a great example of the diversity of their ecosystem. It makes me laugh thinking back to when I posted a Birds Chirping Meditation from a park in Toronto. This recording was done while I did a morning yoga practice in the open yoga studio. Now, I do my practice to it while back in Toronto, keeping my eyes closed and feeling like I'm back there. It's a good interim until we return next April again!

In a (school) year when marijuana became legal, how could we resist the temptation to discuss the neuroscience side of this popular drug. With this change in legislation here in Canada, it granted us the ability to have an open conversation about it, including some of our own personal experiences along with research related to two psychoactive ingredients: CBD (cannabidiol) and and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). We covered both sides of this in terms the benefits and the negative side effects. References: Jager, G., Kahn, R. S., van den Brink, W., van Ree, J. M., & Ramsey, N. F. (2006). Long-term effects of frequent cannabis use on working memory and attention: An fMRI study.Psychopharmacology, 185(3), 358-368. doi:10.1007/s00213-005-0298-7Nestoros, J. N., Vakonaki, E., Tzatzarakis, M. N., Alegakis, A., Skondras, M. D., & Tsatsakis, A. M. (2017). Long lasting effects of chronic heavy cannabis abuse: Heavy and chronic cannabis abuse and memory effects. The American Journal on Addictions, 26(4), 335-342. doi:10.1111/ajad.12529Waddington, G. S. (2017). Cannabis, exercise performance and sport. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 20(9), 807-807. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2017.07.017Wong, A., Montebello, M. E., Norberg, M. M., Rooney, K., Lintzeris, N., Bruno, R., . . . McGregor, I. S. (2013). Exercise increases plasma THC concentrations in regular cannabis users. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 133(2), 763-767. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.07.031

Sarah provides a spring update on where she's at with cancer. It’s been a year since her metastatic cancer diagnosis. More scans, treatment protocols, surgeries, emotions, and science.

Join me for a sitting meditation. Find your comfortable sitting position, close your eyes, focus on your breath, listen to me talk about impermanence and expectations in the context of anxiety. Then stay for silence together.

In this week’s episode, we explore one of the most crucial aspects of the human experience; memory. We start off with a phenomenon Lauren finds particularly interesting: Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, in which individuals can recall specific, extremely detailed aspects of their daily lives spanning years and even decades in the past. From there we discuss How do we store memories? What different facets and types of memory are there? What is going on with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. We also discuss some historical figures in memory research (e.g., H.M.), eye witness testimonies, place cells, and erasing memories.References:Howard, M. W., & Eichenbaum, H. (2013). The hippocampus, time, and memory across scales. Journal of Experimental Psychology. General, 142(4), 1211-1230. doi:10.1037/a0033621Jeneson, A., & Squire, L. R. (2012;2011;). Working memory, long-term memory, and medial temporal lobe function. Learning & Memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), 19(1), 15-25. doi:10.1101/lm.024018.111LePort, A. K., Mattfeld, A. T., Dickinson-Anson, H., Fallon, J. H., Stark, C. E., Kruggel, F., . . . McGaugh, J. L. (2012). Behavioral and neuroanatomical investigation of Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM). Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 98(1), 78-92. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2012.05.002Nowak, C., & Nowak, C. (2017, November 10). Only 60 People in the World Have This Insanely Powerful Memory. Retrieved from https://www.rd.com/health/conditions/highly-superior-autobiographical memory/Palombo, D. J., Alain, C., Soderlund, H., Khuu, W., & Levine, B. (2015). Severely deficient autobiographical memory (SDAM) in healthy adults: A new mnemonic syndrome. Neuropsychologia, 72, 105-118. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.04.012Simons, J. S., & Spiers, H. J. (2003). Prefrontal and medial temporal lobe interactions in long-term memory. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 4(8), 637-648. doi:10.1038/nrn1178Other Resources:25, R. D. (n.d.). The 5 Types of Memory Everyone Has and Why They Matter. Retrieved from https://www.rd.com/health/wellness/memory-types/ALifeJournal. (2016, December 05). Retrieved February 21, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnel7xQTFvIThe sections of the Medial Temporal Lobe are what is responsible for memory. This demonstrates the components as well as their function.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporal_lobe#Structure:Gaitan, R. (2016, April 16). Retrieved February 21, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fV3jafglNo: This video discusses Neurons and their role in forming memories. It discusses the Prefrontal Cortex, where memories and associations are formed. For example, he uses Diet Coke as his example and discusses how your sense of taste and memory works so that when you drink Diet Coke, you remember the taste associated and can identify.Frontotemporal Dementia. Retrieved from https://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/frontotemporal_dementia/: This page discusses a condition called Frontotemporal Dementia. It impacts about as many people as Domentia does, accept, it is experienced by those who are a little younger than those who experience Domentia The age range identified is between 40 and 60 years old.ANTEROGRADE AMNESIA. Retrieved from http://www.human memory.net/disorders_anterograde.htmlH.M.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_MolaisonClive Wearing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_WearingPlace Cells & Temporal Cells: https://www.ted.com/talks/neil_burgess_how_your_brain_tells_you_where_you_are/transcript?language=enReplacing memories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRuUQiIgyj4

Summary:Humans experience and observe some of the most extravagant wonders and marvelous sights the world has to offer using the sense many of us sometimes take for granted ; Vision! How do eyes work? What role does the brain play in all of it ? Can we trust what we see ? Find out in this week’s episode of the neuroscience podcast. Quite literally, there is more than meets the eye!References:Bokkon, I. (2009). Visual perception and imagery: A new molecular hypothesis. Biosystems, 96(2), 178-184. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystems.2009.01.005Collerton D., Dudley R., Mosimann U.P. (2012) Visual Hallucinations. In: Blom J., Sommer I. (eds) Hallucinations. Springer, New York, NY. Retrieved from https://link-springer com.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4614-0959-5_6#citeasDubuc, B. (n.d.). The Brain from Top to Bottom: The Retina. Retrieved from http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_02/i_02_cl/i_02_cl_vis/i_02_cl_vis.htmlEagleman, D. M. (2001). Visual illusions and neurobiology. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2(12), 920-926. doi:10.1038/35104092 http://tinyurl.com/yarpmdfhGrossberg, S. (2014). How visual illusions illuminate complementary brain processes: Illusory depth from brightness and apparent motion of illusory contours. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 854 http://tinyurl.com/y82ct4awKloosterman, N. A., Meindertsma, T., van Loon, A. M., Lamme, V. A. F., Bonneh, Y. S., & Donner, T. H. (2015). Pupil size tracks perceptual content and surprise in a visual illusion. European Journal of Neuroscience, 41, 1068-1078. http://tinyurl.com/y7xbzubkKo, H., Cossell, L., Baragli, C., Antolik, J., Clopath, C., Hofer, S. B., & Mrsic-Flogel, T. D. (2013). The emergence of functional microcircuits in visual cortex. Nature, 496(7443), 96-100. doi:10.1038/nature12015 http://tinyurl.com/yb4dmw78Manford, M., & Andermann, F. (1998). Complex visual hallucinations. Clinical and neurobiological insights. BRAIN, 121(10), 1819-1840. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/121.10.1819Moffit, M., Brown, G., Salt, R., Simmons, M., & Ghebrehiwot, S. (Directors). (2017, May 4). Your Brain on LSD and Acid [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG5JyorwYPoPfeffer, C. K., Xue, M., He, M., Huang, Z. J., & Scanziani, M. (2013). Inhibition of inhibition in visual cortex: The logic of connections between molecularly distinct interneurons. Nature Neuroscience, 16(8), 1068-1076. doi:10.1038/nn.3446Roseman, L., Sereno, M. I., Leech, R., Kaelen, M., Orban, C., McGonigle, J., . . . Carhart-Harris, R. L. (2016). LSD alters eyes‐closed functional connectivity within the early visual cortex in a retinotopic fashion. Human Brain Mapping, 37(8), 3031-3040. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23224Saleem, A. B., Ayaz, A., Jeffery, K. J., Harris, K. D., & Carandini, M. (2013). Integration of visual motion and locomotion in mouse visual cortex. Nature Neuroscience, 16(12), 1864-1869. doi:10.1038/nn.3567 http://tinyurl.com/ycl2wa6eSchmidt, F., Weber, A., & Haberkamp, A. (2016). Dissociating early and late visual processing via the ebbinghaus illusion. Visual Neuroscience, 33, E016. doi:10.1017/S0952523816000134 http://tinyurl.com/ycrsxyzbSerences, J. T., Ester, E. F., Vogel, E. K., & Awh, E. (2009). Stimulus-specific delay activity in human primary visual cortex. Psychological Science, 20(2), 207-214. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02276.x http://tinyurl.com/y7fw92vyVollenweider F. X. (2001). Brain mechanisms of hallucinogens and entactogens. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 3(4), 265-79. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181663/Other Resources:National Eye Institute (NIH) (Director). (2016, February 3). The Visual System: How Your Eyes Work [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3_n3Ibfn1cHasudungan, A. (Director). (2016, May 24). Visual Pathway and Lesions [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG5ZuK0_qtcNIH: National Eye Institute. (2015, December). Facts About Retinitis Pigmentosa. Retrieve from https://nei.nih.gov/health/pigmentosa/pigmentosa_factsAlliance for Aging Research (Director). (2016, September 9). Taking a Closer Look at Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUnLaG-XlDE

For the second week of our Conversations with Neuroscience Students series, we discuss Nutrition and the Brain, which is a nice extension from what we talked about last week regarding Exercise and the Brain. There were many places we could have gone with this. What we did get into included the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (referred to as simply ‘BDNF' in the episode… and in neuroscience). We talked about toxins and diets and inflammation and even meandered into a discussion about social factors like food security and Canada’s new food guide.

This is a guided meditation practice with a focus on breath awareness. It's one of several basic introductory meditations to help build concentration skills with a focus on the breath.

In this episode, we dive into the world of health and wellness and how exercise affects the brain. We explore concepts such as CBR (cerebral blood flow) and BDNF (brain derived neurotropic factor) to see how these are affected by exercise. We also talk about how exercise can affect different demographics and what significance it holds for illnesses like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. We also share some of personal experiences with exercise and how it affects us and our studies.

I’m going to invite people into the process of my next project related to human intelligence and the need to rethink the way we see intelligence. In this first episode about it, I talk about Multiple Intelligence according to Howard Gardner and also about VIA Character Strengths. At the end, I invite people to take my in-progress screening survey on multiple intelligence and the VIA survey. The link for those are both listed below. Take the VIA survey first so you can tell me what your top 5 character strengths are in my survey. https://www.viacharacter.org/www/Character-Strengths-SurveyMy First Draft of a Multiple Intelligence Survey: https://goo.gl/forms/L1jEngE4yQ5hujMV2 My goal with all of this is to use a combination of questionnaire, interview by a trained coach, and if possible, field assessments. I will be looking for volunteers for the initial pilot testing. If you want to be considered, please do both the VIA survey followed by my survey and you may be contacted for follow-up. Please note, this survey is not about identifying people as intelligent or not but rather about the hope of identifying individual’s dominant intelligence and strength.

After a few years of students from the second-year neuroscience class I teach at the University of Guelph-Humber asking for how they can learn more neuroscience, I decided to take some of them on as part of their placement requirements. Here we will be exploring various topics in neuroscience. This is our first formal audio meeting where we hear from them, what they are interested in and give us some idea of how to proceed for the next couple of months working together.

Sarah JohnsonSat, Jan 19, 1:18 PM (2 days ago)to meIn this episode, originally sent as a voice memo to Mandy and Mike, Sarah recounts the immediate aftermath of being kept up overnight by side effects of one of her treatments. This was back in September 2018, before recording the first podcast we published with Sarah on Mandyland. But she wants to share this note as it captures feelings of vulnerability, frustration, confusion, and exasperation that arise in dealing with cancer treatment. It's happened a few times now that a new symptom pops up and spurs a chain of medical appointments, scans, and tests. Figuring out what is going both in her own experience in her body, and from the perspective of multiple doctors, has proven to be one of the most challenging types of cancer experience. At present, Sarah's happy to report the small probably benign lesion for which this episode is named has not grown or caused any significant problems since it showed up, and her brain remains entirely healthy and tumor-free.

I’m with Sarah in San Diego, at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, a place we have been together many times. We had many slow(er than normal) days and quiet nights in our hotel room. And then we got a chance to really dive into what her new normal is. The conference was a perfect place to compare what use to be, with what is now.

Mike and I got into a conversation about The Interoceptive Mind, a way of feeling our inner body provoked partially by a book that I picked up at the Society for Neuroscience back in November. According to the authors Interoception is “the body-to-brain axis of signals originating from the internal body and visceral organs (such as gastrointestinal, respiratory, hormonal, and circulatory systems). [It] is the sensing of the state of the inner body and its homeostatic needs, to the ever-fluctuations state of the body beneath its sensory (exteroceptive) and musculoskeletal sheath.” In the process of discussing how we sense things — and how he and I might sense things differently — we bring up many related topics including intuition, gut feeling/reactions, multiple intelligence, depression, artists, and whether the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Resources: Mandy’s Blog Post: Rethinking Intelligence: http://www.mandyland.ca/blog/2018/2/26/rethinking-intelligence-its-not-all-or-none Dawn’s depression, referred to in this conversation: http://www.mandyland.ca/the-podcast/2017/12/9/depression-and-anxiety-with-dawnhttp://www.mandyland.ca/the-podcast/2018/6/14/follow-up-about-depression-and-anxiety-with-dawnBook: Tsakiris, M. & De Preester H. (2019). The Interoceptive Mind - From Homeostasis to Awareness. Oxford University Press. Oxford, UK.

Clearly, I have more important things to do with my time than creating episodes. Here’s a little snapshot into that. Note, this was recorded by Mike at the end of our date night, on Dec 1st. I only found out about it yesterday (Dec 9th). Apparently he sent it to me but I didn’t even see it or listen to it.Enjoy. ;P

An introduction to focusing on the breath, a basic concentration practice that sets a foundation for meditating and for deepening your practice. Mostly instruction and practice, with a little bit of commentary on why we are meditating.

I reconnected with one of my favorite students from Ryerson. He was that super engaged student who asked good critical-thinking questions and really took things to another level. So when he contacted me to say he developed a game on scientific thinking, I was super excited to meet up and learn more about his game. And what he showed met my expectations. Jon is reflective, intelligent, a deep critical thinker, and a social justice advocate. All of these elements came out clearly in our conversation about his game “Think Like A Scientist!”. In an age where information is both a commodity and exploited, learning how to think like a scientist is even that much more important! It was a fun conversation where I decided to mostly keep my scientist hat on. I did challenge him a little bit on his bias against natural and the conflict of interest in science. We broached the topic but didn’t go to deep, because it was simply beyond the scope of this audio. ;)Resources:ASAPScience: http://www.asapscience.com/Politifact: https://www.politifact.com/Cash Flow: Game about investing: http://www.richdad.com/promotions/Cashflow-Classic-EvergreenGet a pack of cards yourself: "Think Like A Scientist Set" is the first one listed, and comes in a pack of 2: https://www.printerstudio.ca/sell/designs/54-cards-total-two-sets-of-27-science-education-card-game-university-high-school-come-shrink-wrapped.html. The expansion pack is, as the name suggests, a longer version with more critical thinking cards and more situations. It's the most updated version, comes with instructions, and in the box.There were a lot references for this conversation… if you want any, let us know. Jon has them!

I’m taking a Facebook Sabbatical… and this is why.ResourcesCBC episode with Jeron Lanier (the internet guy who talks about getting off social media): https://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/the-current/segment/15610520. Also see: Talk also by Lanier: https://www.ted.com/.../jaron_lanier_how_we_need_to...ZigZag is a podcast about changing the course of capitalism, journalism, and women’s lives. For real. https://zigzagpod.com/about/Me and Mike talking about Blockchain... http://www.mandyland.ca/.../what-is-the-internet-and...I didn’t talk about this but this is related: Sir Tim Berners-Lee (the founder of the Web) recently launched Inrupt to develop Solid, as described in his open letter: https://www.inrupt.com/blog/one-small-step-for-the-web. About Solid: https://solid.inrupt.com/about#MeToo Movement: https://metoomvmt.org/Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford: https://metoomvmt.org/a-love-letter-to-dr-christine-blasey-ford/faceOther social media platform that I’m exploring, Diaspora: https://diasporafoundation.org/Computer programming training that I’m considering, Ladies Learning Code/Canadians Learning Code: https://www.canadalearningcode.ca/

An introduction to meditation with some pretty basic instructions with a bit of commentary.

In this monologue, Sarah recounts her feelings over the past 3 years of dealing with cancer both how it looked from the outside and how it felt from the inside. At the beginning, she wondered "how am I going to come out the other side?” It felt like she was walking through a doorway in Alice in Wonderland and then suddenly stumbled upon the strange universe. She realized that the way that you look at the world shifts. And a big theme for her, is that cancer is slow.

Today... I felt my existential depression... and am so glad I happened upon that term recently.For reference, I was reading from the book A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children, by James Webb, Janet Gore, Edward Amend, and Arlene DeVries.

Ok so Mike learned a whole bunch about the blockchain a while ago when we bought some bitcoin and ethereum and all that fun cryptocurrency stuff. I didn’t. But then I started listening to the Zig Zag podcast and wanted to learn more about it. So… on our next date we find ourselves going down the rabbit hole of trying to figure it out. It got fun for me when we realized that I was part of the internet era before the world wide web and he was not. Mike’s 5.5 years younger than I am, which equates to 6 grade school years. So that’s a pretty big difference during the internet era. Anyway… it turns out our understanding of the internet and the world wide web was different. So we figure that one out and continue on talking about blockchain and ethereum, which we both think are important to watch and understand because they might end up being the next new “internet”. This conversation is really funny to me… partially because I think in 5 years we’ll look back and laugh at this. Kind of like having a conversation about a phone WAY back when it started and asking questions like “so where do the voice live?” “Who delivers the voice?”. Even listening back 2 months later while writing these notes, I see that I know so much more now! Anyway… here is a conversation we should probably be embarrassed to share. Please don’t quote us on the details… like what gopher is!

Sarah and I have been talking for a long time about her cancer but this conversation was planned as a way of starting her series of episodes for Mandyland. We had a bunch of ideas planned but realized early that it was hard to figure out where to start. So we started with why she has been hesitant to share this, despite her desire to. That got us talking about her career and the impact cancer has had on her career. From there we talk about where she is now and a brief introduction to her cancer. We end with how valuable it is to talk about stuff.

At the end of Season One, I put out a call to listeners to send in voice-memo reactions to anything from Season One. Sarah replied and is now a regular guest on Mandyland for Season two! This is her reply.

I love Paul’s curiosity about mental health, psychology, and neuroscience. We sat down at the Centre for Social Innovation, which is where we met, on the upstairs patio of the Regent Park location. He is prepping for his new book to be released, which will be a very interactive journey populating the content around the book in curious ways, through public story telling events and conversations with others (like me) about mental other. It was a privilege for me to have this conversation with him about depression. We veer into a few different directions because, like I said, he is so curious, and just being around him and his curiosity gets me all fired up to talk about this. There are some basic conversations out there about mental health and then there are conversations that are more holistic and nuanced. This, I think, is more of a nuanced conversation about anxiety and depression.

August 2018 might just be the last of me breastfeeding!This is a big one for me. I’ve been breastfeeding for 3 years and 2 months and I think…. I think… we’re done. Breastfeeding has been amazing and so hard in many ways, as it typically the case for many women. Sometimes it’s the act of doing it that’s hard… sometimes it’s the emotions around it. For me, it came naturally from a very physical sense but it’s been an emotional rollercoaster from then on. I’ve felt trapped and like my body is being used and on the otherhand I have loved it and been blown away by the awe of it all. Like I said, an emotional roller coaster. But… I think that’s all done now… wow.

So we’re starting off with a doozy… me and Mike talk about his recent diagnosis of Renal Cell Carcinoma. Yup, that’s what’s been happening over the summer. It started with a few scans for an unrelated reason and a tumour in his left kidney was detected incidentally. Surgery is planned and there is a good prognosis for it being curable. Here we discuss our feelings about it… sort of.

Welcome back! Just a short little introduction to what you can look forward to this season and why!

Well, that's a wrap. It's been a year of this project and it's time to end one season and start anew. There are lots of ideas brewing so I can't wait to start. Therefore, it won't be that long before it starts again.

BackgroundI hadn’t met Terrence in person before this conversation but Jenn Chan (another regular guest on Mandyland) mentioned him when I was talking about death one day. She told me that Terrence has a brother with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and that his brother was considering Medical Assistant in Dying (MAID). I provoked Terrence with a little facebook comment about having him on my podcast and he took the bait. We chatted a few times on facebook just to organize timing and then here we get right into it about death and dying. It was such a pleasure to talk to him and I look forward to doing it again.Terrence is a huge advocate and consultant for accessibility and (I think) slowly becoming a Death and Dying Doula. He’s available to consult on ageing, accessibility, disability, death, and dying. You can find his info in the resources section below.ResourcesEnlightenment in Death with Mike: http://www.mandyland.ca/the-podcast/2018/3/30/discussing-death-with-mikeDying Well Collection (Death Cafe): http://www.dyingwellcollective.com/MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying): https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/medical-assistance-dying.htmlDeath Doulas Transforming How We Die in Canada: https://globalnews.ca/news/2754795/death-doulas-transforming-how-we-die-in-canada/Hospice Toronto: https://hospicetoronto.ca/End of Life Planning: https://elplanning.ca/About Terrence: https://enables.me/author/terrence-ho/ Contact Terrence if you or your organization want to talk about inclusion associated with accessibility: https://about.me/terrencehoTerrence’s Talk at Speaker Slam in Toronto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgSc8ZutXPE Reflective QuestionsWhat’s your relationship with dying?Do you talk about death and dying?Do you to have more open conversations about it?What was your experience with death and dying growing up?How has your experience with death and dying growing up influenced your current relationship with it?