I recently finished a book called The Way Out by Dr. Alan Gordon. It’s about overcoming chronic pain, and it does a fantastic job of exposing the fallacies people with chronic pain often believe—and how to dismantle them. One of the key insights is about breaking the fear–pain cycle.

The biggest takeaway for me? It’s all neuroplastic. And one of the most powerful ways to harness that neuroplasticity is through genuine curiosity. When we’re in a genuinely curious state, we can step outside the fear–pain cycle and start building new neural pathways.

That’s what this blog is about: if we’re not genuinely curious, we can’t truly lay down new neuroplastic wiring in our brain—whether we’re healing from chronic pain or learning something new.

For me, the shift started when I began practicing a technique from the book called somatic tracking. By bringing genuine curiosity to the sensations I was experiencing—without judgment—I was able to rewrite my “neural narrative.” Instead of automatically tying every sensation in my wrist to pain and fear, I started simply noticing them. This broke the self-feeding cycle that had kept me stuck.

Long story short, it’s miserable living in that cycle, and it’s easy to see why so many people get trapped there. About a year ago, I also read a book on fear, worry, and anxiety, which—surprise—connected perfectly with what I learned in The Way Out. And then there’s The Power of Now, which brings awareness to the present moment. When I step back, I can see all of this is connected to the same core principle: genuine curiosity about ourselves and the world.

As an educator, I’ve come to believe genuine curiosity might be the single most important factor in learning—whether you’re recovering from chronic pain or trying something for the first time. And the “genuine” part matters. When we’re genuinely curious, we aren’t judging ourselves, pressuring ourselves to be or do something—we’re simply noticing. We’re engaged. We’re enthusiastic. That combination creates the ideal conditions for building new neural pathways.

What fascinates me is that the same mindset can be applied anywhere—from medical recovery to the classroom. Since starting somatic tracking, my chronic pain has improved by about 85%. I still feel sensations—clicks, pops, cracks—but they no longer trigger the fear–pain cycle. Without fear, my body feels safe enough to heal.

This principle applies beyond physical pain. Most people today may not have obvious chronic pain, but many live with chronic mental tension. The first step is always awareness—seeing the pattern. The next is creating safety. Then comes exploration through genuine curiosity.

I’ve taught myself many skills in my life, and I can tell you: you have to feel safe to grow. That’s also something I learned from The Brain’s Way of Healing—our nervous system must be in a relaxed state to truly heal. All of these ideas are coming together in my mind into a sort of gestalt—a big-picture approach to helping people learn, grow, and, to borrow from Bob Marley, “emancipate ourselves from mental slavery.” That means escaping fear, chronic pain, self-judgment, and the fear of failure.

We need more genuine curiosity—not just about the things we’re interested in, but as a way of moving through life. This isn’t me trying to perfectly summarize the authors I’ve read; it’s my own mental web of connections, tying all these ideas together. And I’m excited about where it’s leading me.

Even when new pains show up, I don’t let the fear–pain cycle take over. I acknowledge them, look at them with genuine curiosity, and keep myself in a safe baseline state so my body can heal. Chronic stress is hurting so many Americans, and our medical system—focused on symptoms, not the whole person—isn’t addressing it well. I look forward to a shift toward a more holistic mindset.

This morning, I restarted A New Earth by our friend Eckhart Tolle. It’s a reminder that change will come—hopefully before humanity burns itself out in its endless chase for consumption and ego. We already have what we need: presence, community, and curiosity.

That’s it for today. Thanks for stopping by. I’m feeling great about the future—big projects underway this summer, including a new cooperative doing amazing web work and building AI agents. I’ve got the power of Talon, the power of my hands back, and a new awareness I’m grateful for. I’ll keep finding ways to support my friends, family, and community. Talk soon, baby.