Light breaks through, even in the storm. This is the practice.

The Problem: Your Brain is Wired for Survival, Not Happiness

Our brains evolved with what neuroscientists call a “negativity bias”—we’re hardwired to notice, focus on, and remember negative experiences more than positive ones. This made perfect sense for our ancestors: the early human who remembered where the predators were lived longer than the one who just enjoyed the sunset.

But in modern life, this survival mechanism creates problems. We scan constantly for what’s wrong, what’s dangerous, what might hurt us. Our nervous systems stay activated, ready for threats. And over time, we can get stuck feeling and sensing danger everywhere.

This is especially challenging right now. We’re not just reading heartbreaking and scary news—we’re living it. Whether it’s us, our loved ones, or our neighbors—people we care about are being targeted. Rights we had a year ago have disappeared. Making ends meet feels impossible. We’re waiting to find out if we or the people we love will be harmed by current policies. Our nervous systems are overwhelmed by legitimate, immediate threats alongside the everyday stresses of modern life. The negativity bias, combined with this relentless reality, can leave us feeling helpless, frozen, or perpetually activated.

When the System Gets Jammed

Some people—particularly those dealing with chronic illness, trauma, or prolonged stress—can find their limbic systems stuck in hypervigilance. When this happens, the brain can become hypersensitive to everything “wrong” or “bad,” interpreting neutral situations as threats. If you notice this pattern in yourself, you need tools to actively rewire your nervous system toward safety and wellbeing.

One effective approach is intentionally cultivating positive emotional states—not to deny real problems, but to give your nervous system new information: not everything is a threat. This isn’t “toxic positivity.” It’s strategic nervous system regulation.

The Paradox: How Can We Focus on Goodness When Harm Is Real?

Here’s the tension many of us feel: How can we practice noticing positive states when harm is actively happening now?

Doesn’t focusing on positive experiences mean ignoring suffering? Isn’t it a form of spiritual bypassing or toxic positivity?

No. Here’s why:

When your nervous system is constantly activated, you lose capacity—but not because vigilance itself is wrong.Scanning for real threats is reasonable and necessary right now. The problem is when we get stuck: frozen in helplessness, oscillating between panic and collapse, or carrying a constant baseline of anxiety and overwhelm that drains our energy even when no immediate action is required.

This chronic activation makes us less effective—not because we care too much, but because managing perpetual stress takes enormous energy. Energy we need for discernment, strategic thinking, and sustained action.

We need practices that help us recognize:

• What needs immediate attention (and marshaling resources to respond)
• What is draining us without requiring action right now (and learning to regulate)
• When we need to stop completely and nourish ourselves before we can engage meaningfully again

SHINE practice isn’t about denying reality or forcing yourself to “just be positive.” It’s about building the capacity to discern what’s actually happening in your nervous system and respond skillfully—engaging when engagement serves, regulating when you’re spinning, and nourishing when you’re depleted.

Think of it like this: You can’t think strategically, act effectively, or sustain solidarity when your nervous system is stuck in threat response. But you also can’t assess what’s actually threatening vs. what’s your nervous system’s pattern unless you have capacity to regulate.

Cultivating positive emotional states isn’t escapism—it’s strategic nervous system regulation. It gives you the space to:

• Discern what actually needs your energy right now vs. what’s anxiety’s escalation
• Think clearly about complex problems rather than collapsing into despair
• Act effectively rather than freezing or flailing
• Sustain engagement over the long haul rather than burning out in three months
• Stay connected to others rather than isolating in overwhelm
• Maintain hope without denying reality

The people and causes you care about need you able to discern, regulate, and act—not burnt out, frozen, or running on empty.

SHINE practice doesn’t turn away from harm. It builds the capacity to face harm skillfully, knowing when to engage, when to regulate, and when to nourish.

Why We Need Active Practice

Here’s the challenge: our brains won’t automatically shift toward positive experiences just because we want them to. The negativity bias is too strong. We need active, intentional practice to:

1. Notice positive experiences (they’re often there, but we miss them)
2. Stay with them long enough to let them register (not just glance and move on)
3. Let them sink in (this is where the rewiring happens)
4. Strengthen the neural pathways that recognize safety, joy, and connection

As neuropsychologist Rick Hanson explains, our brains are “Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones.” Negative experiences stick immediately and strongly. Positive experiences slide right off unless we actively help them stay.

Enter SHINE

I developed SHINE specifically to support us during these challenging times. Inspired by Michelle McDonald’s RAIN practice (which Tara Brach has used extensively to work with difficult emotions), SHINE offers a parallel structure for working with positive experiences.

SHINE is a structured approach to cultivating and sustaining positive emotional states:

Sense: Notice when something positive is present—ease, warmth, joy, safety, connection, gratitude, or simple contentment. This could be as small as the warmth of your hands, the comfort of your breath or as profound as feeling grateful to have a roof overhead and loved ones.

Hold: Stay with the positive experience. Don’t let it slide off into the next thought or worry. This is harder than it sounds—our minds want to move on, check for problems, plan the next thing. Practice dwelling in the goodness. Sustaining your attention, and gently guiding it back without judgement.

Inquire: Get curious about the positive experience. Where do you feel it in your body? What qualities does it have? What happens when you give it your full attention? Inquiry deepens the experience and helps it register more fully.

Nourish: Tend to the positive experience the way you’d nourish a garden—water it with your full attention, fertilize it with curiosity and openness, gently weed away the distractions, negativity, and doubt that would crowd it out. Notice if it naturally spreads through your body, touches your emotions, or shifts your understanding. You’re not making it grow; you’re creating the conditions where it can flourish.

Extend: Take the positive experience into imagination. See yourself walking through the world with these feelings in the future. First start simply, just seeing the positive feeling continue past the formal practice time. So if it started as the warmth of your hands, imagine carrying that warmth with you through different situations—a moment of uncertainty, an unpleasant task, an awkward social situation. This practice takes what’s happening in the present moment and with imagination, extends it forward in time, strengthening the possibility that your system can access these states when you need them.

A Note on Extend: While extending positive experiences into imagination is different from some meditation practices that emphasize simply observing what is, it’s particularly helpful when working against the negativity bias. By rehearsing positive states in imagined future scenarios, we’re actively rewiring our systems—teaching our brains that these states are available not just on the cushion, but in life.

Why This Matters for Healing

For people whose nervous systems are stuck in stress response:

• SHINE provides active rewiring toward safety and wellbeing
• It’s not about ignoring problems but about giving equal attention to what’s working
• It helps create new neural pathways that recognize and sustain positive states
• It teaches the nervous system that not everything requires vigilance

For everyone navigating these difficult times:

• We all need practices that counter the constant barrage of bad news
• Positive emotional states support resilience, immune function, and our capacity to engage with real problems without burning out
• The capacity to sustain wellbeing is a skill that can be developed through practice
• SHINE helps us stay resourced so we can show up for what matters

The Practice is Simple, Not Easy

SHINE practices are deceptively simple. You’re just noticing something good and staying with it. But if you try it, you’ll quickly discover how much your mind wants to move away from positive experiences:

“Yes, this is nice, but I need to remember to…” “This feels good, but what about all the terrible things happening in the world…” “I shouldn’t feel this good when…”

These patterns reflect the negativity bias at work. Your brain thinks focusing on problems is more important than savoring goodness. SHINE practice trains your brain differently—not to ignore problems, but to build the resilience needed to address them sustainably.

SHINE as Practice for These Times

We’ve created SHINE workshops and retreats to support you in developing these practices. Rather than just reading about the negativity bias, you can experience firsthand how to work with it—learning tools you can use immediately to build resilience in difficult times.

Check our calendar at awakeningtruth.org for upcoming offerings:

SHINE Workshops (2 hours)

Experiential introduction to SHINE practice including:

• Guided meditation exploring each element of SHINE (Sense, Hold, Inquire, Nourish, Extend)
• Understanding the neuroscience of negativity bias and how it affects your daily life
• Practical tools for daily use—simple practices that don’t require lengthy meditation sessions
• Working skillfully with the mind’s resistance to positive states (which is more common than you might think)
• Learning to carry positive experiences into challenging situations through imagination

You’ll leave with concrete practices you can use immediately—not just concepts to think about, but embodied skills for working with your nervous system.

No prior meditation experience required. All you need is willingness to experiment with cultivating wellbeing even in difficult times.

SHINE Half-Day Retreats (3 hours)

Want to go deeper? Join us for extended SHINE practice with meditation, teaching, and community connection. These retreats are offered freely—perfect for bringing friends, family, or colleagues. You’ll hear from IMP (Integrated Meditation Program) alumni about how these practices have transformed their lives.

Space is limited. Registration required.

Trauma-Informed Mindfulness Series

We’re living through collectively traumatic times, and many of us—along with our families, colleagues, students, and clients—are navigating nervous system dysregulation. This series offers frameworks and tools that make mindfulness practice safe and accessible, whether you’re dealing with your own overwhelm or wanting to support others more skillfully and compassionately.

Learn how to work with mindfulness in ways that support healing rather than triggering. If meditation sometimes feels activating rather than calming, or if you’re watching loved ones struggle with overwhelm and don’t know how to help, these tools will serve you.

All offerings available at awakeningtruth.org/calendar

These practices build the capacity to discern, regulate, and act—so you can stay engaged with what matters without burning out or becoming overwhelmed.