Over the weekend, I listened to a podcast interview with Dr. Lisa Miller, author of The Awakened Brain, and it stopped me in my tracks. Her research didn’t just resonate—it split something open inside me. It Illuminated the very work I’ve spent years doing and gave language to truths I hadn’t yet named. This wasn’t just inspiration. It was a revelation.

Dr. Miller is a psychologist and researcher who studies the intersection of mental health and spirituality. Through decades of research—including brain scans and clinical interviews—she’s found that people who live with a sense of spiritual connection (regardless of religion or belief system) have stronger, more resilient brains. In fact, certain regions of the brain actually appear physically thicker in people who nurture their spiritual lives compared to those who don’t.

Even more profound, she suggests we all have a universal spiritual receptor in our brain. The same region lights up whether someone connects with God, Source, Spirit, or nature. It’s the quality of connection—not the specific belief—that matters most.

That idea stayed with me—not because it confirmed something I already believed, but because it opened a door to a new way of understanding my work, and myself.

A Full Circle I Didn’t Expect

Years ago, I started my college education in the MHMR field with the goal of becoming a counselor. I loved my psychology classes. But then one class changed everything. I realized I no longer aligned with their model of healing—it didn’t resonate with me.

Something was missing for me, and I stepped away to give myself time to consider a different approach—one that felt more true to how I wanted to support others.

And yet, all these years later, I found myself doing the work after all—helping people heal through the body, the breath, and the soul. Not in the way I once imagined, but in a way that feels deeply aligned with who I’ve become.

What struck me most when listening to Dr. Miller wasn’t just her research—it was the way it illuminated something I hadn’t fully seen before. I had always done spiritual work with people. And separately, I had supported clients through depression, anxiety, grief, and recovery. But I hadn’t recognized how deeply interconnected those two threads truly are.

Bringing those worlds together shifted something for me. It made me realize I’ve been supporting clients in ways I hadn’t fully understood— and that the spiritual dimension of my work may be the most essential part of all.

The Table Exercise: A Conversation with Love

One of the most powerful tools Dr. Miller shares is what she calls the Table Exercise. In the podcast, she gently invites us to imagine ourselves sitting at a table—real or imagined.

Then, one by one, we invite people to sit with us. Start with those, living or deceased, who have your best interest at heart. Then, invite your Higher Self. Then, invite Source—whatever that means to you: God, Spirit, the Universe, Nature. They are all seated with you.

Now, look to each one in turn and ask: “Do you love me?” Then wait. Pause. Take it in. Then ask the next.

Finally, ask: “What do I need to know right now?”

I was deeply moved by this exercise—and it brought back a memory. A very important one.

Burning Man. The Temple. A Mirror of the Soul.

It was the morning of the Temple Burn at Burning Man.

Before going, I wrote a note to the universe—something I used to do often. I slipped it into my bag with the intention of leaving it behind in the temple as part of the ritual release. The Temple Burn is a symbolic offering—people place photos, letters, tokens of grief or love or remembrance into the wooden structure, and then later that day , it’s all returned to the fire.

I rode my bike across the Playa through the soft desert sunrise. Sculptures and surreal art installations dotted the vast, otherworldly landscape, creating a dreamscape unlike anything else on Earth. Thousands of bikes surrounded the temple—people arriving on foot or by pedal, moving silently toward something sacred.

Inside the temple, the energy was thick with presence. Some people were crying. Others were singing. Some prayed or meditated. Some danced. Some sat still in quiet communion. There were messages on the walls, makeshift altars, poster boards, photos, signs, items tied to the rafters. Shrines and candles. Notes written on the beams and columns. Many said things like “please forgive me.”

Someone handed me a marker and said, “Leave a message.” I uncapped the pen and instinctively began to write.

Without even thinking, I found myself writing a love note—to myself.

After I finished, I placed my written note within the walls of the temple. And then something happened.

I looked up. And I saw myself.

I was standing there in the temple—me—but not the me who had just written. She was across the room, looking around, taking it all in.

She had a smile on her face. She was reading the words people had written on the walls. There was curiosity in her eyes—softness, wonder.

And I just stood there, watching her. Watching me. It was the strangest sensation: being fully present as myself, while also observing myself from somewhere else. Separate and one, at the same time.

She didn’t know I was there. And yet, I was so aware of her.

And I loved her. So deeply. So purely.

It wasn’t dramatic. There were no tears, no catharsis. Just love and admiration and a kind of silent awe.

Looking back, I now believe that only my Higher Self could have shown up in that moment. I didn’t feel that kind of connection to myself before that day. But now, whenever I waiver, I remember: That happened. That was real. Something greater—within me—loved me enough to show up.

Sacred Questions for Your Own Journey

If any part of this speaks to you, I invite you to explore some of these practices in your own quiet way:

🌿 Try the Table Exercise from The Awakened Brain.

Invite love. Ask if it’s there. Pause. Receive.

🌿 Go outside and ask a question. Let nature speak back. (Dr. Miller shares a story of geese turning their heads and guiding her when she was lost—signs we often dismiss may be the very ones guiding us.)

🌿 Write yourself a message. No need to overthink it. Hold space. Let it pour through. You can bury it, burn it, leave it in a tree, or simply read it back. Let it be part of your offering.

Where Science Meets Soul

We often treat mental health like something that lives only in the mind. But what if part of our healing lives in the unseen? In the spirit, the soul, the spark of something greater? As Dr. Lisa Miller beautifully reveals, we are wired for this connection—whatever we choose to call it. And when we tap into that relationship, something shifts. We remember who we are. We soften. We strengthen. We begin to heal in ways no diagnosis or prescription ever quite reaches.

Spirituality isn’t a luxury. It’s not a detour. It’s part of the path. Maybe even the missing piece. —

Wherever you are on your path—

grieving, seeking, blooming—

leave a message.

Something greater is listening.

With love,

Cat

If you’re just beginning your journey,

feeling the call to deepen it, or simply wanting someone to walk beside you along the way—

I offer gentle, grounded support through spiritual counseling, energy healing,

and integrative practices rooted in ancient wisdom and modern science.

Explore my services here

Begin Here

When Spirit Meets Science: A Moment of Awakening in the Desert

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