Well•come, kin. Pause, and take a deep, calming breath with me. In… and out… As you breathe, remind yourself of your innate wisdom and wholeness. With each breath—be here. Fully present, as we embark on this journey together.

LaShaun Certified behavior analyst, founding former Director of The University of South Florida’s (USF) Wellness Resource Center, Founder of GLOW Women’s Gathering with credentials in Neuroscience for Business from MIT Sloan.

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Lately, I’ve experienced a few lifequakes. You know the kind—the ones that shake your core, leaving you wondering which way is up. In their wake, I realized something important: healing isn’t always this grand, sweeping transformation. It’s in the small, quiet moments. The kind that appear as glimmers—tiny flashes of peace amidst the chaos. My glimmers have become my “peaces.” They sneak in like sunlight through shutters, soft but undeniable.

What I came to understand is that so many of us live in a state of survival mode—a chronic, buzzing hum of stress. When lifequakes hit, that hum turns into an all-out alarm. This isn’t just in times of immediate danger; it’s when our bodies respond to relentless, modern-day stressors. Your heart races, you lash out at loved ones, you feel the tears waiting just beneath the surface. It’s no surprise—our nervous systems are activated, preparing us for fight-or-flight. And after a while? It breaks you down.

But what if healing isn’t as far away as we think? In the aftermath of my own lifequakes, I found myself gathering these “peaces” like seashells. They reminded me of safety, of calm, of joy. These moments, though fleeting, are powerful. They shift our nervous system out of survival mode and into rest and repair.

Here’s a truth worth repeating: “All that glimmers can be nervous system gold.” We need to look for these glimmers—these peaces—because they are our body’s way of saying, “Here is where you begin again.”

And when the quakes hit hard, remember this: You are healing in peaces, piece by piece. Sometimes that looks like laughing inappropriately at a text that arrives in the middle of a storm. Or noticing the scent of coffee after a sleepless night. These aren’t grand gestures—they are survival’s quiet undoing.​
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Recent research in positive psychology and network neuroscience has begun to illuminate the concept of glimmers—those small, positive moments that evoke feelings of calm, connection, and safety—and contrast them with the more well-known idea of triggers, which cause stress, anxiety, or emotional activation. Understanding these contrasting forces can help us practically navigate our nervous system’s response to stress.

In simple terms, triggers are stimuli that activate our body’s fight-or-flight response, pushing us into survival mode. They can be external (a stressful conversation, a loud noise) or internal (a distressing memory or emotion). Triggers have been studied extensively in both clinical psychology and neuroscience, especially regarding trauma, anxiety, and PTSD. They cue the brain’s amygdala to activate stress hormones, leading to heightened vigilance and readiness to respond to perceived threats.

Glimmers, on the other hand, are like the nervous system’s built-in antidote to triggers. They help activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” mode) and encourage a sense of calm and security.
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Positive psychology research emphasizes the power of micro-moments of positivity—what psychologist Barbara Fredrickson calls “positive affect”—to broaden our mental horizons and build emotional resilience. These moments, or glimmers, work by dampening the sympathetic nervous system’s stress response and enhancing our ability to recover from triggers.

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Network neuroscience is also shedding light on how these small moments of calm activate different neural networks than those triggered by stress. A 2022 study on brain network flexibility during stress and recovery found that when individuals experience positive stimuli (glimmers), the brain shifts from its rigid, stress-focused state to a more flexible, adaptive mode. In other words, glimmers help switch off the brain’s default survival mode and promote relaxation, connection, and creative problem-solving.

Glimmers, then, become practical tools for everyday resilience, like healing anchors. Here’s the key difference: while triggers pull you into survival mode, glimmers pull you out. Recognizing and actively seeking out glimmers—like a warm hug, the feel of sunlight on your face, or hearing your favorite song—can gradually train your nervous system to move from a state of high alert back to equilibrium. It’s like having small emotional anchors to ground you in the present, reducing the impact of lifequakes.

Here are two practices that work for me:
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​Intentional shifts: When you feel a trigger creeping in, actively search for a glimmer to refocus your mind. Even a brief change in focus can help shift your nervous system’s response from stress to calm.

Build your glimmer library: Over time, keep a mental (or physical) list of what evokes those feelings of calm and connection. These can be touchstones during tough times.

Sure, it’s not all rainbows and deep exhalations. Sometimes life feels like a concrete lullaby—like when you snap at your kids, or feel like running away just to get a minute of quiet. You’re not alone in this.
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I’ve been there, too.
frayed edges.
threadbare nerves.
furious dancing in hard times.
​But we piece ourselves back together, with glimmers.
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Here’s what I hope lands for you: life may quake, but we find healing in these unexpected pockets of peace. Like a smattering of moments pulling us out of the chaos, reminding us that we can call peace in/to ourselves.

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If anything you’ve read here has been resonant, nourishing or of service to you in a meaningful way, please do, share this email series using your special link below. I appreciate your reciprocity.
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In sharing, you contribute to a bigger picture – a world pulsating with well-being and wholeness. I’m grateful for you!

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P.S. In this wild and wonderful experience of being human, we are all just gathering our peaces.