Your Inner GPS is Also Your Spiritual Compass

Hi friends,

I had an "aha" moment over the weekend.

One of my favorite psychologists, Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, released a new book, and in anticipation, I've been revisiting some of his older work.

Years ago, he wrote a book called Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. It's one of those rare books that bridges the worlds of neuroscience and spirituality without diluting either.

Anyway, I was sitting on my porch, sipping tea, re-reading a chapter when something struck me.

Kaufman mentioned that during moments of awe, wonder, connection, and love (those states we might call transcendent) neuroscientists consistently observe increased activity in a particular region of the brain:

The temporo-parietal junction (TPJ).

Now, if you're not a neuroscience nerd like me, that might not mean much. But here's why it's important:

The TPJ is the same region of the brain responsible for our body's spatial orientation—how your body knows where it is in space.

It's the part of your brain that tracks the location of your hand without you having to look. It helps you move through your house in the dark. It's essentially your internal GPS, constantly mapping your physical presence in the world.

Mind blown! The same brain region that helps you locate your body is the exact same region that lights up when you touch transcendence and wonder.

This is actually incredibly intuitive.

Because it’s exactly what Somatic Psychology has taught me and what I've spent the last few years teaching others.

When you come home to your felt sense, when you locate your body in space with presence and curiosity, you're tuning into the same part of your brain that knows union with the world.

So many of us go looking "up" or "out" for transformation—chasing peak states or lofty insights, but the body is your portal. You access something beyond you, by rooting more deeply in you.

This is why Somatic Psychology feels sacred.

When you drop into your body—really drop in—you're not just doing stress relief or therapy, you're awakening a deeper intelligence.

I've seen this in action:

I had a client, John, who came to me carrying deep religious trauma. He'd grown up in a strict faith tradition that taught him his body was something to distrust, even shame.

For years he'd felt incredibly disconnected, so we started with the basics:

Noticing where he was in space. Feeling his feet on the floor. Sensing the weight of his body in the chair. Nothing mystical or threatening, just present-moment awareness.

And, something shifted.

In one session, John was truly inhabiting his body (maybe for the first time in decades) and tears started flowing.

He felt connected to something. Not something separate from his body, but as something his body could feel and know directly.

That same neural pathway that was helping him locate himself in physical space had opened a door to experiencing his faith in a completely new way.

It's seriously powerful stuff.

So I'm curious:

What happens when you pause right now and simply notice where you are? Can you feel your body in this moment? The weight of it, the space you occupy, the simple miracle of being here?

Sometimes the most profound experiences start with the most ordinary awareness.

And from that, who knows what doors will open?

With love and healing,

Brian Maierhofer (Professional Human)

P.S. Hit “reply” and let me know how this awareness feels in your body (I read every response personally).