clues

Discover the clues to the life you want

An evolving collection of wisdom, information, stories, research and more on mental health, personal transformation, and the pursuit of meaning and purpose.

Topics

Things to know from Jung to Krishnamurti, PTSD to LSD, and everything in between.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event, causing sustained distress and anxiety.

Id, Ego, and Superego

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, first introduced the concepts of id, ego, and superego in his structural model of the mind.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

ECT uses electrical currents to stimulate the brain for severe depression. Under anesthesia and muscle relaxants, it induces a brief seizure that improves symptoms.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

EMDR is an evidence-based therapy that helps trauma victims deal with traumatic experiences. It's highly effective and safe with close to zero downsides.

The Amygdala - The Alarm Center of the Brain

The amygdala helps your brain process emotions like fear and pleasure and influences how you react. It's commonly called the "alarm center" of the brain.

The Hippocampus

The hippocampus plays a crucial role in memory and emotional regulation, and has been implicated in various mental health conditions.

Courses

Get Started See All

Brief, self-guided courses for those that want a deep-dive into a particular topic.

The Use of Psychedelics in Mental Health

This comprehensive online course delves into the responsible use of psychedelics for mental health. It covers a wide range of topics including the history of psychedelics, their potential therapeutic benefits, and the legal and ethical considerations involved in their use. The course also emphasizes the importance of safety and harm reduction measures, and provides practical advice on how to prepare for and integrate psychedelic experiences.

Mental Health for Entrepreneurs

The course on mental health for entrepreneurs is designed to help business owners and leaders learn about effective strategies for managing their mental health while building and scaling a company. The course covers existing research on the topic, as well as insights from a broad range of resources, including psychology experts, therapists, psychiatrists, entrepreneurs, and CEO coaches.

The Models of the Mind

Learn about 13 different models of how the mind is structured and functions from the perspective of western psychology. With these 13 different perspectives, you'll better understand yourself, build awareness of the many factors that influence who we are and how our minds work, and apply them as a form of radical self-discovery.

Book Reviews

More knowledge in less time. Books for the mind in 15 minutes or less.

"How to Love" by Thich Nhat Hanh offers deep wisdom on cultivating love, mindfulness, and compassion in our relationships and daily lives.

The Power of Now

"The Power of Now" is a bestselling spiritual guide that teaches readers how to live in the present moment and find inner peace.

The Four Agreements

"The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz is a bestselling book that provides four powerful principles for personal freedom and fulfillment.

People & Stories

Industry experts, inspiring personal stories, and game-changers

"One of the most important things you can do to change your brain is to change your mind."

Robert Sapolsky

"Trauma is not what happens to you, but what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you."

Bessel van der Kolk

"Culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group of people from another."

"The mind is not a blank slate, but an intricate tapestry of biological and cultural influences."

"My ultimate goal is to reduce the number of street dogs in the world by fifty percent."

"Play is the highest form of development in childhood. It alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul."

"The view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life."

"Morality is not a subject; it's a perspective from which every subject can be taught."

Lawrence Kohlberg

"The mind is a collection of specialized modules, each designed to solve specific adaptive problems."

"Our brains have been sculpted by evolution to solve the adaptive problems of our ancestors."

"Human emotions are complex adaptations that solve adaptive problems related to survival and reproduction."

"Evolution is not a ladder with humans at the top. It's a branching tree with all species connected and interdependent."

George Williams

"The goal of neuroscience is to understand the brain well enough to repair it when it breaks."

"The most creative people are those who habitually resist the security of habit and embrace the uncertainty of the new."

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

"The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it's conformity."

"Our perception of reality is not a direct reflection of the world; it is filtered through our biases and expectations."

"Intuition feels just the same when it's wrong and when it's right, that's the problem with intuition."

Daniel Kahneman

"Perception is not the passive receipt of sensory information, but an active process of interpreting it."

"Family members who have the least amount of reactivity to others in the family are the most emotionally mature."

"The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man."

"I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time."

"The most inspiring achievements of civilization are the ones that expanded the scope of human sympathy."

"Our brain is a complex biological organ that is constantly changing in response to experience."

"We are all controlled by the world in which we live, and part of that world has been and will be constructed by men."

"Mental disorders are metabolic disorders of the brain."

Christopher Palmer, MD

"Man's main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life."

"The principle goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done."

"The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination."

"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself."

"Man's main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is."

"The richest and fullest lives attempt to achieve an inner balance between three realms: work, love, and play."

"The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well."

"The past is present until it is resolved."

Francine Shapiro

"I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become."

"Anxiety and depressive affect are not a sign of personal weakness, but a manifestation of the human condition."

"One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful."

"If you want to understand your own life, you have to understand your mother's life."

Podcast

Industry experts, inspiring personal stories, and game-changers

Testing Podcast #3

Testing Podcast #2

Testing Podcast Name: 1

Ut Sed Suscipit

February 11, 2024

Iure Quaerat Nihil

November 12, 2022

Fugit Voluptas Dignissimos In

January 4, 2023

Autem Quia

September 26, 2022

Andy's Unifying Theory of Personal Transformation

I created a holistic framework for personal transformation, the stages involved, and what you can expect throughout it.

Andy's Essays

Musings on whatever I'm thinking about. My friends say they're good.

The cause and solution to depression

Depression is not a chemical imbalance. It's a result of pushing down emotional pain and our true selves. To overcome it, we must release the pain and reconnect with who we are, giving our authenticity the opportunity it needs to release us from suffering.

A poem to my mom

My mom passed away when I was 10. It's been nearly 30 years since she died, and on this Mother's day, I want to share a poem about her.

Only you are holding yourself back from transforming

We often resist personal transformation due to fear disguised as practicality and societal expectations. This hinders us from living fulfilling lives. Transformation requires courage to make tough choices and faith that things will work out.

About our cultural obsession with pronouns

Pronouns are just one aspect of our complex identities. We are nouns, adjectives, and verbs, forming stories through actions and experiences. Reducing ourselves to pronouns overlooks our rich, multifaceted lives. Honor the pronoun, but remember we are much more.

How I put my mental illness in remission

"Diagnosed with Complex PTSD, OCD, anxiety, depression & addiction but now subclinical in all. Here's how I did it."

Pushed by fear and pulled by inspiration

Mental health requires a "push-pull method": fear of the past driving us forward and an inspiring vision pulling us towards the future. Focusing solely on either is insufficient for transformation.