Neurological Freedom

“Neurological Freedom is when you transform your triggers,

interrupt your reactivity and respond being

present and non-judgmental with loving kindness.”

Glenn S. Cohen

@CenterForNI

Are you free?

It might sound abstract, but this is one of the most important questions I’ve asked myself and one of the most profound outcomes of my healing journey. Today, I want to take that question one step further: Do you live with Neurological Freedom?

To me, that means living in partnership with your nervous system instead of being hijacked by it. It’s the difference between surviving by default and living by design.

For most of my life, I didn’t know this kind of freedom. From early childhood through adulthood, I was easily triggered. My go to response was to become rigid, pull away, and shut down. My nervous system either lit up with anxious energy or collapsed into a heavy, numbing darkness.

Like many of us, I developed protective patterns to guard my vulnerability, whether the threats I perceived were real or imagined. In my younger years, these patterns helped me neurological and emotionally survive. But as I grew older, my nervous system didn’t realize I had grown up.

These reactive patterns were programmed deep into my nervous system, stored in my muscles, tissues, and memories in my unconscious mind. The unconscious mind has no concept of time or space. Our memories live as energy, moving through the neural networks of our human supercomputer: the nervous system.

Before I discovered my soulful purpose in July 2003, I didn’t understand how powerfully our inner world shapes our outer reality. Even after years of studying healing modalities, attending workshops, and working with energy practitioners, I would still get triggered. I would still feel hijacked by the wounded younger aspects of me carrying shame, sadness, and limiting beliefs like "I’m not enough," "I don’t belong," or "I’m not deserving."

Things began to change in June 2023. I started a deeper phase of my healing journey, one that bypassed my thinking mind and allowed my unconscious to process my unresolvedness without my brain interfering with logic, reason, or analysis.

In my last podcast/blog (July 6, 2025), I shared the strategies I used in the winter of 2024-2025 to help me heal, grow new neural pathways, and evolve into my next highest self. That work was deeply inspired by the love of my life, my forever girl, Jewels.

When our relationship ended in November 2024, it was largely due to the toll my protective patterns had taken on her. She made the empowered decision to honor herself. Within weeks, I began a multi-month journey that ultimately led to the second coming of us, a reconnection made possible by my commitment to Neurological Freedom.

In Neurological Intelligence Volume 1, I wrote a poem titled "Neurological Freedom" that expresses my global view of what this freedom looks, sounds, and feels like. You can find it under the Resources tab on my website if you don’t have the book or audiobook.

Just for fun, I asked ChatGPT for a definition of Neurological Freedom, and here’s the version I liked (with a few edits):

Neurological Freedom is the empowered ability to consciously choose your thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and beliefs rather than being unconsciously driven by past programming, trauma, or reactive patterns wired into your nervous system.

In the context of Neurological Intelligence, it includes:

· Awareness – Recognizing when you are operating from old survival patterns, disempowered beliefs, or emotional triggers.

· Choice – Developing the internal space to respond rather than react and to choose empowerment over reactivity when triggered.

· Integration – Rewiring your nervous system through consistent practices that support loving kindness, safety, certainty and trust with self and others.

· Reclamation – Doing the best you can to regulate your inner world, heal your unconscious wounds and mindfully manage your protective patterns when triggered.

· Embodiment – Living with a flexible, regulated nervous system with inner peace while honoring with integrity your choices for yourself and others.

This is the journey I invite you to take, not just toward healing, but inner world freedom

Imagine your mind as a car. For years, it’s been driving on autopilot, racing down roads paved by fear, defensiveness, and reactive patterns. Neurological Freedom is about grabbing the steering wheel, learning to navigate with awareness, and choosing your own route toward connection, peace, and purpose. So, what would your life look like if your inner world felt safe enough to choose love over fear?

If this resonates with you, I’d love to hear your story. Visit my website centerforni.com to schedule an initial interview session. You can also tune into my bi-weekly podcast, Lessons of Life, Love, and Healing, on Apple or Spotify. Subscribe to my Substack for daily reflections and as a gift, enjoy my CNI – Spiritual Soulful Healing Playlist on Spotify.

With big hugs and lots of love,

God bless,

Glenn 🙏🌻