Moments of Mind Spring, Summer, Fall of 2025 to Winter 2026

Y'all....it's been more than a minute.

This past March 5th I sent a newsletter out entitled "We still breathe in the Twilight Zone," which explored noticing the contrast of example pulses of aliveness (such as breathing) with the repeated mind-gnash-fear-tangles generated based on the recent events here in the U.S. (or in many other countries around the globe).

At the time, I felt a sense of what I imagined the surreal state of how the show, the Twilight Zone, had described the various alternative realities it depicted. I explained that what I was noticing is how many layers of identity were being yanked on, apparently threatened.

That newsletter contained reminders of nervous system supports I'd taken out of my personal emotional tool box because I was actively using them. I shared the first of what I intended to be a series of Listening Circles, and then after the first one, didn't hold the other two. The Spring equinox, Summer solstice, Fall equinox, and Winter solstice emails stayed as mirages of words flittering in the mind, not flowing out the fingers.

There wasn't clarity at the time.

It's been overwhelming.

One topic I teach about is how policy and institutions affect people's health through factors such as housing, transportation, job access, nature access, education access....(called health determinants), and the various barriers to that health such as racism, sexism, ableism, pollution and so on. I cannot help but see the way different decisions create a cascade of effects. In climate change, we call this a form of cascading hazards. It's easier to consider (maybe) an area having a wildfire, followed by a flood, and then an icestorm, and a landslide. Those are arguably more easy to track than what's been happening this year.

I honestly am not sure what the role of this small business is at this juncture. It seems the multi-month learning process of orienting to where this small business, this newsletter (on its new platform at ghost.io), and the capacity that I have, align within this new context is still in flux. And, with the new year starting, I needed to touch base. I'm still here folks, and doing as well as possible and hope you all are too.

Policy is what I implement, analyze, or seek to change every day as someone who wears a hat of Policy Analyst and another hat of University Instructor. For example, I work in medical transportation which is governed by a web of federal, state, and local jurisdiction policies. In that half-time role, I created an internal website for colleagues to track what was happening and how it could affect our services, our members, our clients, and our organization.

I was recently hired as a half-time Program Coordinator for another role. There, I'm an organizer and consistently thinking about how to support graduate students and faculty who study cascading hazards in an uncertain financial climate.

In one draft of this email I detailed a number of cuts that I was witnessing e.g. Medicaid, shutting hospitals, ending vaccine recommendations, cuts to entire research programs and institutes combined with devastating abuse and terror being launched at immigrant communities. The chaos, harm, and devastation to the infrastructure of our legal system and democracy has not let up. This was only in our small corner, not to mention the ongoing genocide in more than one country in the world.

I didn't finish that draft because it kept getting longer. And honestly, I rely on so many independent reporters who are amazing at what they do that I knew it wasn't my role to try and fill their shoes (although I'm on Bluesky which is where I get all my news these days).

It's been strange to view what's happening through the dimensions of the hats I wear, along with this mindfulness-focused business. There's been a lot of fear, anger, grief, horror. So I felt that; and continue to.

Within this context, I've not completed this newsletter until now because I have/had not moved past the invitation I shared in March of 2025. It continues to be what I do every day, with one new variation. Here is a snippet:

"I invite you to explore the next time you notice the mind in a whir of something-is-wrong-with-me, they-don-t-like-me, something-will-happen-to-me thinking to feel what the body does in these moments. What emotions, sensations, feelings arise?

The current administration's daily decisions has brought many opportunities to - daily - notice this toggle back and forth. One moment there's finding attention in the now....a pulse of awareness, and the next finding the now filled with the mind, which is a stale replica of not-actual-life but some imagined variation. 

This back and forth yo-yo'ing has involved bringing the toolkit of nervous system supports back out in full force."

The addition to this is that this toggle now includes looking for what else is happening beyond what's arising internally. And, in this larger setting I've been looking for the helpers, as Mr. Rodgers said. I've been in awe of the people extending themselves to others, supporting immigrants, standing up for voting rights, and basically holding the line for wholeness.

I started to understand, more deeply, that people are the fabric of society. And every small gesture we do that reinforces humanity, extends compassion while saying no to dehumanization makes a difference. The quiet supports ripple in ways we cannot fathom, as much as the loud smashing does. I am not negating or ignoring the smashing; I'm also not negating or ignoring the creating.

I am keeping this business open a bit longer while I explore what its role, if any, could be.

Until then, I send you hugs and support and remind you to please, please, use all your nervous system supports.

If you're new here, welcome to this subscription - I'm not sure what's next so I understand if you unsubscribe below.
Much love,

Tia