Staying Human When the World Feels Unrecognisable

In this Christmas Eve reflection, Tatiana explores how violence, fear, and division emerge when we forget our shared spiritual humanity, and how psychology and neuroscience help explain why presence, compassion, and remembering are essential in times of collective distress.

Rather than framing hatred and division as moral failure, this episode offers a grounded reframe: violence arises where remembering collapses: where fear replaces connection, and identity hardens into ideology. Drawing on psychology, neuroscience, and lived spiritual reflection, Tatiana explores how presence, compassion, and awe are not passive responses, but essential acts of resistance in times of collective disorientation.

This is not a political conversation, nor a call to bypass grief. It is an invitation to stay human — to remain embodied, aware, and connected — even when the world feels heavy.

In this episode, you’ll explore:

• Why violence and hatred are signs of collective forgetting
• How spirituality dissolves ideology without erasing difference
• The psychological and neurological effects of presence, awe, and reflection
• How remembering our spiritual nature supports nervous system regulation
• Why compassion and clarity are active forces in times of division
• A simple, grounded practice to cultivate remembering in daily life

This episode speaks to both spiritual seekers and mental health professionals — offering an evidence-informed, ethically grounded perspective on how inner orientation shapes our individual and collective response to suffering.

As we close 2025 and step into a new year, this reflection invites you to pause, to notice, and to remember what is already true beneath the noise.

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Intro and Outro music: Inspiring Morning by Playsound

Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be treated as psychological treatment or to replace the need for psychological treatment.

Transcript

Tatiana: 0:00

Welcome to the Integrated Wisdom Podcast. I am your host, Tatiana Da Silva, psychologist, spiritual educator, and founder of a body of work. Devote to lead others to remembering what we never truly forgot, that science and spirit were never separate. They are each in their own way, expressions of the same sacred architecture. This podcast is for the quiet revolutionaries, the therapists, the seekers, the spiritually discerning and scientifically curious who know that we are being called into a new paradigm for personal and collective transformation. Together we explore what it means to live a coherent. Soul led life drawing from psychology, neuroscience, epigenetics, energy medicine, and spiritual remembrance. These aren't just conversations. They are transmissions for those ready to return to what's true, to what's whole, and to what's been quietly waiting beneath it. Hello and welcome to the Integrated Wisdom Podcast. It's Christmas Eve and I want to begin this episode a little differently. As many of you may know, last week there was a violent, antisemitic attack in Bondi here in Australia. I live in the eastern suburbs. Along the coastline, many people walk every day between Coogee and Bondi. It's a place that I myself have walked countless times, and knowing how close this happened has left me feeling really unsettled, heavy hearted, and quietly distressed, and I want to name that clearly. Because I think to speak about spirituality without acknowledging what these events evoke, the grief, the fear, the disconnection would feel false to me, and I also want to honor the Jewish lives that were affected by that incident. And the deeper wounds, events like this reopen. What this has stirred from me personally isn't just sadness. It's a deep recognition of the spiritual conflict that's unfolding beneath the surface of our world right now. And it's not a war between people, but a war between remembering and forgetting. Between connection and ideology between the truth of our shared essence and the stories that convince us that we are separate from a spiritual perspective and one that's also deeply supported by psychology. Hatred is not strength. It is disorientation. And ideology thrives precisely where our remembering of shared humanity collapses. When that happens, identity hardens, fear takes over, and violence becomes thinkable. But spirituality at its deepest does not erase difference. But it dissolves the belief that difference defines our worth and our belonging. It reminds us that beneath race, religion, sex, and story, we are part of one essence. And when that remembering is embodied, ideology begins to loose its grip. And this is why staying human matters and why embodying presence, compassion, true compassion and clarity is not passive in this current climate. It is the only true act of resistance. And this is why this conversation feels necessary. As we close this year and step into what's being asked of us next, When events like this happen, it's natural to feel a ripple of discomfort, to feel shock, sorrow, sometimes even a quiet helplessness. These feelings are evidence that you are alive, aware, and human. But more than that, they are the body's way of signaling that something has been forgotten. Our shared spiritual essence, our innate orientation towards connection. I f we're able to step back and remember for a moment, and to really feel in our bodies. That we are spiritual beings having a human experience, our lens shifts, hatred and fear no longer appear as insurmountable forces. They become indicators of forgetting. Moments that call for presence, for reflection, for a gentle return to what is true. And so right now, I invite you to pause and anchor into your breath, into your body, and notice the life around you. Imagine a single action today, no matter how small that reflects your commitment to remembering this truth. Walking along the coastal walk between Coogee and Bondi, the beaches I've known my whole life. I always love to notice the rhythm of the waves, the feel, smell and taste of the salty breeze and the way the sunlight flickers on the water. That's meditation to me, and these moments are quite ordinary. Uh, but yet they are profoundly instructive. They remind me that life continues, that presence is possible, and that even in the shadow of tragedy, connection and awareness are available. Neuroscience helps us to understand why this matters. Studies show that engaging with awe-inspiring natural environments. Or intentionally cultivating reflective presence activates the brain's default mode network. The same network involved in self-reflection, empathy, and perspective taking. And what happens simultaneously is that regions linked to fear and threat responses like the amygdala show reduced activity. So in other words, remembering our spiritual essence isn't just poetic. It has measurable effects on our capacity to respond with calm, clarity and compassion. This is the kind of remembering that transforms suffering at a neurobiological and experiential level. By tuning into the life around us, by noticing the small, ordinary miracles of existence, we create neural and spiritual conditions that allow light to ripple outward, countering the ideologies and fears that thrive in collective forgetting. And what the research and our lived experience together shows is that presence is not incidental. It's transformative When we intentionally pause, notice, and reflect on the continuity of life around us. We strengthen the neuropathways that support empathy, self-regulation, and perspective taking. These are the same pathways that allow us to respond rather than react to meet suffering with awareness instead of avoidance, to act from alignment rather than fear. Remembering our spiritual essence. That we're spiritual beings. Having this human experience is the foundation for this shift. It reframes the way that we interpret events, the way that we relate to ourselves and the way that we engage with the world at large. The fear, division and chaos that we see around us are not simply external forces. They have reflections of collective forgetting. By cultivating presence and connection, we begin to restore that inner orientation, both individually and collectively. And so here's a simple, grounded way that you can use to step into that remembering. I invite you to take some time each day, just a few minutes to engage fully with your immediate experience, be it breath work, noticing sensations in your body, connecting with nature around you. And then take a single intentional action that reflects that awareness. It could be a moment of listening, a gesture of care, a simple, allowing yourself to be fully present with someone or something without trying to change it. These small, deliberate acts, ripple, outwards shaping your nervous system, reinforcing inner orientation, and contributing to a more human, more compassionate world. Now, of course, by doing this, you're not fixing the world in one swift move. But what you are doing is remembering what is true both in yourself and in the shared essence that connects us all. And that is the very first step that when embodied by more and more of us, will eventually lead to the transformation we're all seeking. So as we come to the close of this reflection, I invite you to take a moment to just notice how you feel in your body, in your mind, and in your heart. And know this, that even amidst uncertainty, even when the world feels heavy, the possibility to remember remains with you. Remembering your spiritual essence isn't about achieving more or fixing what's broken. It's about tuning into what is already true, allowing the awareness to guide your presence, your choices, and your actions. Each small act of conscious remembering in yourself, in your relationships, in your community strengthens the connections that make us more human, more compassionate, and more aligned with the life we are here to live. So as we move into this new year, consider this an invitation to notice more, to act with gentle awareness and to continue cultivating that inner orientation that quietly transforms not only your life, but the world around you. I thank you for sharing this space with me today. And for those of you who wish to explore more reflections or practices, you can find them on my website and through the podcast archive. You can find the links to both in the show notes. And I also want to wish you, wherever you are in the world I that you may have a safe and loving festive season and start the new year. I will see you in 2026. And as always a reminder, you were never disconnected. Only waiting to remember. Bye. Thank you for tuning into this episode of Integrated Wisdom. It is my sincere wish that this episode may have intrigued and inspired you to reclaim your power and step into becoming more fully integrated spiritual beings. New episodes are published every second Wednesday, and I hope that you'll continue to join us as we dive deeper into what it means to live an integrated life. If this space has stirred something in you, I invite you to subscribe, share it with those attuned to this path, and explore the full body of work@integratedwisdom.com au. You can also find me on Instagram at Wisdom with Tatiana, where the conversation continues. Until next time, stay discerning, stay curious, and let this be your reminder. You were never disconnected. Only waiting to remember.