Dr. Pedram Shojai

Episode Description:

Dr. Pedram Shojai explores how your physical environment is actively shaping your mental and emotional state every single moment. He breaks down the neuroscience behind environmental influences on your nervous system, explaining how clutter increases cortisol by 25%, how specific colors affect mood, and why silence has become medicine in modern life. He guides listeners through a comprehensive environmental audit covering visual chaos, acoustic pollution, olfactory triggers, spatial dynamics, and energetic residue. This episode ties directly into Module 2 of the Lights On course, offering practical strategies to optimize your space for mental clarity and peace while addressing member questions about sensory integration and practice challenges.

Listen to the episode on Spotify here or on your favorite podcast platform and check out the Urban Monk Academy here.

Podcast show notes:

[00:00:00] Introduction to spatial awareness and Module 2

• Topic ties into exteroception and sensing space
• Environmental audit exercise begins

[00:01:00] Your environment isn’t neutral

• Physical space actively shapes mental and emotional state
• Affects stress hormones, focus ability, mood, and nervous system
• Impacts capacity for clarity and peace

[00:02:00] The problem with inherited spaces

• We spend thousands on supplements and courses but meditate in cluttered rooms
• Working in harsh lighting and living in visual chaos
• Like trying to grow a garden in toxic soil

[00:03:00] Today’s exploration focus

• How environment literally changes your brain and nervous system
• Environmental factors that drain or restore you
• Using interoceptual awareness to read environmental impact
• Small strategic changes create profound mental shifts

[00:04:00] The neuroscience of environmental adaptation

• Brain constantly scanning: Am I safe? Can I rest? Is this stimulating or depleting?
• Neuroception happens unconsciously, constantly, and powerfully
• Five environmental influences breakdown begins

[00:05:00] Visual environment impact

• Visual cortex processes environment before conscious awareness
• Clutter increases cortisol by 25%
• Reduces ability to focus by 40%
• Creates background stress you barely notice
• Nature images reduce stress

[00:06:00] Color and light effects

• Blue light (5,000k) can be too stimulating
• Red light can calm or activate depending on amount
• Balance depends on room purpose
• Natural light increases serotonin production
• Beauty and aesthetics have measurable health benefits

[00:07:00] Acoustic environment

• Noise pollution is chronic stressor even at low levels
• Unpredictable sounds activate amygdala (threat detection)
• Constant noise fragments attention
• Sound affects heart rate variability and blood pressure

[00:08:00] Research on sound

• Traffic noise increases stress hormones
• Open offices reduce productivity by 66%
• White noise improves focus for some, irritates others
• Nature sounds reduce sympathetic activation
• Silence is medicine (rare in modern life)

[00:09:00] Olfactory system (smell)

• Our oldest, most primitive sensory system
• Directly connects to limbic system (emotions and memory)
• Bypasses rational brain entirely
• Lavender reduces anxiety and improves sleep
• Peppermint increases alertness
• Rosemary enhances memory
• Stale air and poor ventilation affect cognition
• Chemical smells create low-level stress and immunological issues

[00:10:00] Spatial environment and how space feels

• Cramped spaces increase anxiety
• Open spaces can feel expansive or overly exposed
• Ceiling height affects thinking: high ceilings for abstract thinking, low for detail focus
• Personal space violations activate stress response
• Cultural and individual factors matter

[00:11:00] Energetic environment

• Intangible but deeply felt
• Spaces hold energy from arguments, stress, joy
• Energetic residue is real
• We process sensory cues unconsciously
• Can influence energy by bringing blessings and love to spaces

[00:12:00] Circadian connection and light regulation

• Morning/daytime: bright, more blue light for alertness and cortisol
• Natural sunlight: 10,000 lux or more needed
• Indoor lighting rarely exceeds 500 lux
• Evening: dim, warm light for melatonin and wind down
• Blue light suppresses melatonin

[00:13:00] Artificial vs natural light

• Artificial light disrupts circadian rhythm
• Messes with sleep quality
• Dysregulates mood
• Challenges metabolic function
• Our bodies constantly seeking safety in spaces

[00:14:00] Safety vs threat responses

• Safe space = parasympathetic activation (rest/digest)
• Natural materials, plants, stone, soft lighting, gentle sounds, clean spaces, comfortable temperature
• Threat = sympathetic activation
• Harsh fluorescent lighting, loud unpredictable noise, chemical smells, clutter, uncomfortable temperature

[00:15:00] Environmental assessment exercise begins

• Visual scan: Does gaze have place to rest or constantly jumping?
• Visual harmony or chaos?
• How much clutter? Be honest

[00:16:00] Acoustic scan

• Close eyes for 10 seconds
• Are sounds soothing or agitating?
• Constant or intermittent?
• Can you find silence?

[00:17:00] Smell and spatial assessment

• What do you smell? Fresh, stale, natural, chemical?
• How does space feel around your body?
• Cramped or spacious?
• Does it invite you in or make you want to leave?
• Energy quality: nourishing or depleted? Peaceful or chaotic?

[00:18:00] Post-assessment action items

• Rate your space on visual, sound, spatial, and energetic factors
• Fix the room you’re in now
• Next assignment: audit your bedroom (where you spend most time)
• Q&A begins

[00:19:00] Questions on Lights On course

• Full spectrum lights recommended for upper/lower climes
• Course navigation and resources location

[00:20:00] Course platform walkthrough

• Week 1 and Week 2 modules available
• Downloads and resources location
• Practice guides and meditation versions

[00:21:00] Addressing missing assessment materials

• Daily practice log location
• Working out course glitches

[00:22:00] Beverly’s double vision progress

• Stereo-optic vision improvement
• Neurological explanation of sensory integration
• Synesthesia and anterior cingulate cortex activation

[00:23:00] Clint’s question about advanced practice

• If already proficient, layer multiple sensory arrays
• Level 2: combining exteroception with interoception

[00:24:00] Layering sensory awareness

• Visual focus to periphery while listening
• Adding proprioception and pain receptors
• Hearing heart beating while maintaining other awareness

[00:25:00] Advanced interoceptive integration

• Scanning body for stuck energy
• Using mind’s eye with vision
• Hearing sounds of organs
• Feeling diaphragm pressure
• 52 weeks will reveal cobwebs in everyone

[00:26:00] Course designed for all levels

• Starting from floor for accessibility
• Supporting people in wheelchairs, head trauma survivors, chemo patients who lost smell
• Building integrative foundation for everyone

[00:27:00] Head trauma discussion

• Ibogaine clinic in Mexico City for mild cognitive decline
• Research on neurogenesis of glial cells
• Importance of oral microbiome, heavy metals testing, pineal gland calcification

[00:28:00] Factors affecting treatment response

• Oral microbiome and plaque generation
• Heavy metals presence
• Pineal gland calcification from modern diet
• Comprehensive system approach for better results

[00:29:00] Environmental maintenance practices

• Clearing desk daily
• Training kids to pick up
• Everything out of sorts creates subtle anxiety
• Curating safe space enables deeper consciousness work
• Akkermansia and cancer immunotherapy research

[00:30:00] Microbiome and treatment efficacy

• Gut and mouth microbiome analysis importance
• Baseline Akkermansia levels
• Firmicutes species and H. pylori overgrowth
• Game changer for immunotherapy and brain neurogenesis

[00:31:00] Chemical sensitivity discussion

• Environmental toxin exposure (glyphosate example)
• Hypersensitivity from system overload
• Need robust microbiome, balanced immune system, heavy metal detox

[00:32:00] Integration of consciousness and biology

• Drive down (consciousness) and drive up (biology) approach
• Meeting in the middle for best results
• Bringing awareness to lifestyle and environment simultaneously

[00:33:00] Glyphosate litigation and pineal decalcification

• Supreme Court Roundup case
• Monsanto/Bayer litigation losses
• Protocol for decalcifying pineal gland coming in future modules

[00:34:00] Pineal gland and consciousness

• Fluoride, pesticides, WiFi, heavy metals bind pineal gland
• Decalcification protocols restore central brain antenna
• Increased consciousness enables better decision-making
• Movement toward integration, awakening, enlightenment

[00:35:00] Practice recommendations

• Focus on senses with biggest challenges for most leverage
• Pareto’s principle (80/20 rule) applies
• Use it or lose it with sensory awareness

[00:36:00] Building sensory integration

• Nervous system develops what you focus on
• Use it to enhance it
• Layer all senses: sight, hearing, touch, sensation
• Add interoception and proprioception
• Biological processing from millions of years of evolution

[00:37:00] Modern lifestyle dulling effect

• Flat world, TV, automation reduced body use
• Modern issues like fibromyalgia from turning ourselves off
• Sequential then simultaneous sensory activation
• Module 3 releases Thursday with resources

[00:38:00] Closing and practice emphasis

• Stay consistent or catch up when possible
• Practice-based results, not just listening
• Do the practices to see results

Key Takeaways

• Your environment actively shapes your brain and nervous system every moment
• Clutter increases cortisol by 25% and reduces focus by 40%
• Five environmental influences: visual, acoustic, olfactory, spatial, and energetic
• Small strategic environmental changes create profound mental clarity shifts
• Practice creates results, not just listening

Resources Mentioned

• Lights On: Advanced Urban Monk Mastery course
• 3-2-1 Meditation (10, 5, and 2-minute versions)
• Sanctuary course
• Module 3 (releasing Thursday)

This episode is for educational purposes only and not intended as medical advice. Consult with qualified healthcare practitioners for personalized guidance.

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