Mandyland

In this educational monologue Mandy talks about what is actually going on with the dopamine hits everyone talks about these days and then ends with some practical ways to control our behaviour for better mental health and wellbeing through harnessing the power of the reward system.

See also:

Berridge KC, Kringelbach ML. Pleasure systems in the brain. Neuron. 2015 May 6;86(3):646-64. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.02.018. PMID: 25950633; PMCID: PMC4425246. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4425246/)

The Science of Habit: What does it take to stick with something long term? You just have to rewire your brain. by By Stacey McLachlan on December 22, 2021

https://www.healthline.com/health/the-science-of-habit#6

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-psychology-of-conspiracy-thinking/id1316684637?i=1000467017701 Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nathan-radke-671614139/the-psychology-of-conspiracy-thinking https://www.instagram.com/theuncoverup/?hl=en https://twitter.com/TheUncoverUp

It’s December. Christmas season is well among us. It’s a crazy time of year for many people. Not me. But for many others. Here in this rant I talk about my process of degifting my holidays, the terribleness of commercialized Christmas, the egocentrism of Christmas, the stress and money issues around Christmas, and where is religion in all of this? I end with some thoughts on Santa.

Me… ranting about gender, gender issues, gender reveal parties, gendered clothing, gender segregation, gender neutral, gender expansion, gendered opportunities, gendered washrooms… It didn’t start out as a rant. It was going to be an introduction to two other conversations about gender I’ve had specifically around gender-expansive parenting. But 17 minutes in, I realized it was a rant. Oops.

One thing I should add, that I didn’t add during the audio is that despite hating segregation, I do think segregation is important when combining the genders is holding one or more of the genders back. For example, I have benefited seriously from opportunities in sport that were gender-segregated and allowed women to rise up to an athletic potential they otherwise might not have. This is happened in hockey and ultimate frisbee for me. That being said, the ideal as I see it, is equating the genders together, like, for example in mixed-gender division. I spent a lot of time playing women’s ultimate but my heart was always in mixed-gender where cis-men and cis-women are theoretically on an equal playing field. That doesn’t always happen in practice but it’s the best attempt I have seen in sport. The next necessary step, mind you, is to successfully incorporate transgender people into sports in a way that allows all people to both develop to their full potential. Single-gendered divisions and mixed-gender divisions imply a binary, whereas the “open division” technically means open to anyone who wants to play at the level of that team. That is wonderful. In theory.

EPISODE 2: Today, I share parts of my conversation with Lindsay about what compelled into this world. I love how she starts with it’s not like they say “hey wanna join this cult and we’re gonna have this sex group?”. The recruiting process is very deliberate and calculated.

I am talking with my very dear friend, Lindsay. About 8 years ago, Lindsay got involved in the now famous cult, NXIVM, lead by Keith Raniere. In June of this year (2019) Keith was convicted of federal crimes including sex trafficking, conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor. His sentencing is at the end of October, 2019. I have been talking with Lindsay about her involvement since she started, back in 2011. Then this past summer, 2 years after she left the cult, we decided to make some podcast episodes.

EPISODE 1: Today, I share parts of my conversation with Lindsay about how she feels today, 2 years after she left as she heels and lives with PTSD.

Alia and I speak for the first time during this conversation. We were introduced through email by a mutual friend, Paul, who we both know from CSI (Centre for Social Innovation). Paul connected us because Alia is interested in co-living and because my partner and I bought a house in Toronto with our friends and are in a co-living situation. We talk here about what makes for a good human experience and community in a good co-living situation.

Resources:

Centre for Social Innovation https://socialinnovation.org

The Press We got:

Mandy and Lindsey on the CBC Candy Palmater Show (in 2016): https://www.cbc.ca/radio/candy/two-families-take-an-unconventional-approach-to-home-ownership-1.3669166?autoplay=true

Toronto Life Article: https://torontolife.com/real-estate/houses/inside-complicated-world-home-co-ownership/

Toronto Star article: https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/07/02/two-couples-pool-money-to-live-under-one-roof.html

Other People doing it too: https://www.thestar.com/life/2017/01/23/thank-you-for-being-a-friend--i-can-buy-a-house-with-meet-a-new-generation-of-golden-girls.html