A few days ago, a graduate of the first cohort of The School for Humaning Well® sent me an Instagram message:
“I feel like this is the experience your work and the school have given me. I don't see or hear the world in the same way!”
With it came a video of babies born unable to hear or see, meeting sound and sight for the very first time. It's really beautiful. I recommend watching it here.
Before she started the school, she sent me a very different message. A voice memo that said: “I can't do another program and come out the other side feeling the same, that just makes me feel more broken.”
She had spent years investing in herself and her personal growth. She had a long-held belief that something was wrong with her. That if she just kept working on herself, she would finally break free and feel whole.
Broken was the well-worn pattern her mind went to for protection. It had decades of collected evidence from her life that proved this hypothesis. The fact that she took the leap and joined the school is a testament to her strength in following her intuition.
Instead of believing this hypothesis, or working to reframe it—we opened our hearts to its wisdom. All of our patterns (no matter how healthy or unhealthy they are) were formed out of a need to survive… to feel safe. We didn't villainize this story. We didn't push it away. We turned toward it and allowed it to be as it is.
Over the six months of the school, she moved through the pain and dropped into the experience of who she really is. The wholeness that is her—that is all of us.
From that vantage point, she could see “broken” clearly—as just a story. One that wasn't true. One that didn't need to be eradicated—it had been part of her self-care protocol all along, a way of soothing her system.
This kind of space around a pattern is revelatory. She didn't need broken to go away. She just needed to recognize it for what it was—and in doing so, she connected to the fullest, freest version of herself. The pattern lessened on its own. And if it still surfaces from time to time, which it might, she understands that this is conditioning, not truth. And she now knows how to take care of herself differently.
She got so much out of her time in the school that she's coming back for the second cohort.
So what about you?
Is there a pattern you've been trying to change for a long time? It might be behavioral (emotional eating, overworking, reactivity) or mental (worry, negative thinking spirals, the need to control).
Or is there an area of your life where you're struggling? Maybe your mind keeps circling concerns about money, a changing body, relationship dynamics, your kid's behavior—or something else.
I invite you to pause and answer both of these questions.
What you see may surprise you. It certainly has for the people I've been in conversation with about the school this week.
One person saw an uptick in their catastrophic thinking. They've been feeling unsteady as the world continues to do what it's doing, and they've become much more aware of the “worst-case scenario” thinking consuming their mental bandwidth.
Another saw how much time they've spent trying to get enough in their bank account to feel secure and successful. A third saw a fear of their changing body—and the possibility of running out of time to do the things they love.
These patterns are often so close that they go unrecognized. They aren't seen as thought. They're felt as truth. Or, if we do see them, we buy into the idea that we haven't done enough work on ourselves yet—that if we had, the criticism, anxiety, doubt, pleasing, and perfectionism would finally go away.
But what if this isn't the case?
What if what's been missing isn't another round of working on yourself, but a new way of seeing and hearing—one where the worry, the spiral, the voice that says you haven't done enough is recognized as conditioning that once kept you safe, and what's underneath it is finally felt?
This is the kind of life-changing work that happens inside The School for Humaning Well. It's hard to put into words, because the transformation doesn't come from the level of the mind. The program isn't about following a set of steps to change your life. It's about helping you see and experience who you really are and how your system is designed—so that you can meet yourself and life differently, with greater freedom and peace.
Consider again the answers that came to mind from the above questions. If a new seeing and hearing would serve that part of your life, now is the time.
The second cohort of The School for Humaning Well, a six-month immersive program, begins in January, and only 14 students are accepted each year. That's what keeps the space intimate enough for each person to be truly seen and supported. And this will most likely be the last time I lead it in Los Angeles.
When you enroll before October 31st, your experience begins before the January class, with the Pre-School Gathering Sessions:
One 60-minute private coaching session with me (to use any time before May 2027)
Two 75-minute group calls with your fellow students: November 11 at 1:00pm PT and December 9 at 10:00am PT
If you'd like to talk it through first, simply email me here and we'll find a time for a conversation. And if your heart is already whispering yes, you can secure your spot here.
With loving,
Amber
P.S. The Pre-School Gathering Sessions are only available to those who enroll by October 31st. If something in you leaned in while reading this and wants to see and hear the world the way she does now—that's worth listening to.
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