Coaching an Odyssey of the Mind team is a little like trying to direct a play, run a startup, and referee a glitter fight all at once. Now add in six or seven intensely imaginative, impulsive, distractible kids—some of whom may be neurodivergent—and it starts to feel more like herding cats on roller skates. But […]
First off, I am totally geeking out over John Vervaeke and Shawn Coyne’s collaboration, Mentoring the Machines. I’ve been a huge fan of Vervaeke’s Awakening from the Meaning Crisis and After Socrates lecture series and of course, Shawn Coyne’s Story Grid process. When they got together to look at the impact of artificial intelligence, I
In the contemporary philosophical landscape, few voices have challenged the dominance of materialist metaphysics as effectively as Bernardo Kastrup. Through a unique blend of rigorous logic, scientific literacy, and metaphysical clarity, Kastrup has reintroduced idealism—not as a romantic or mystical counterpoint to science, but as a coherent, scientifically compatible worldview that places consciousness at the
There comes a moment in the creative process where something strange happens. The words begin to flow with a rhythm you didn’t consciously choose. Characters argue with you. Images appear unbidden. You reread the page and wonder, “Where did that come from?” Congratulations. You’ve just had a brush with the divine. Creativity as a Mystical
Ever sat down to write, work, or just think and felt like your brain was tuned to the wrong station? Like you’re trying to get jazz but all you’re getting is static? That’s where binaural beats come in—nature’s sneaky neurological DJ. Brainwaves 101 (Because You Deserve to Know What’s Going On Upstairs) Your brain isn’t
At its heart, every story is about connection — or the struggle to find it.Characters chase belonging, wrestle with fear, stumble into intimacy, or run from it. And often, the most gripping relationships on the page feel real because they mirror the way human beings are wired to attach, distance, heal, and grow. This is
In a time when many feel adrift in a sea of information, distraction, and existential confusion, John Vervaeke’s lecture series Awakening from the Meaning Crisis arrives like a lighthouse cutting through the fog. Vervaeke, a cognitive scientist and professor at the University of Toronto, brings a rare and powerful fusion to the table: rigorous philosophy,
I competed in Odyssey of the Mind for nine years as a kid. It shaped my creative life, my love of problem-solving, and probably a good chunk of who I am. Now, more than ten years into coaching OM teams, I’ve had the joy (and sometimes chaos!) of seeing it all from the other side.
