🎙️#13 Dr. Aldrich Chan: Taoism, Neuroscience and Our Disconnection from Nature

Mar 30, 2026

Dr. Aldrich Chan, neuropsychologist and author bridging neuroscience, mindfulness and Taoist thought. He explores the SAD theory of separation, alienation and discord. He explains brain networks like the default mode and subcortical midline structures. He outlines the CPR WEST principles and discusses evolutionary mismatch, creativity, play, relationship and pathways for transformation.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Creativity Means Embrace Becoming And Uncertainty

Creativity is a core principle of nature meaning humans are verbs, always becoming, and should embrace uncertainty rather than seek premature certainty.
Chan argues certainty kills questions; fostering curiosity preserves adaptive questioning and aligns with natural creative processes.

ADVICE

Use Curiosity To Reframe Uncertainty

Approach uncertainty with a discovery-oriented stance rather than threat framing to reduce amygdala activation and increase frontal regulation.
Chan recommends treating uncertainty as information and cultivating curiosity to shift stress from alarm to adaptive exploration.

INSIGHT

Chronic Cortisol Comes From Social Simulation

Two stress pathways (fast sympathetic/adrenaline and slower HPA/cortisol) explain why social anticipatory stress persists after events end.
Chan links chronic cortisol from imagined social threats to long-term health harms because our brains keep simulating social outcomes.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Dr. Aldrich Chan is a neuropsychologist, psychotherapist and founder of the Center for Neuropsychology and Consciousness. An adjunct professor at Pepperdine University, Aldrich's research on the default mode network, mindfulness and trauma bridges neuroscience with ancient Taoist philosophy. He is the author of Reassembling Models of Reality (2021) and Seven Principles of Nature: How We Strayed and How We Return (2025).

________________

In this conversation, we explore Aldrich's synthesis of neuropsychology, Taoism and evolutionary mismatch theory — his SAD theory (separation, alienation, discord), the seven principles of nature (CPR WEST), subcortical midline structures and our original experience of connectedness, and what it means to live in alignment with nature.

________________

🔗 Links
Aldrich's website: https://www.drchancnc.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/draldrichan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drchancnc
Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@drchancnc
Book: https://geni.us/7principlesofnature

________________

⏳ Timestamps:
00:00 Intro - Neuropsychology meets Taoism
00:43 Seven Principles of Nature and the CPR WEST acronym
03:58 The SAD theory: separation, alienation and discord
04:53 The default mode network
06:29 The triple network: DMN, salience and central executive
10:05 The boat metaphor
12:58 Separation as a natural phase
15:16 Alienation and evolutionary mismatch theory
17:21 Movement mismatch
19:09 Social connection as the most obvious mismatch
21:07 The agricultural revolution's consequences
27:44 Discord and dualism
31:01 The nature–culture debate
36:23 CPR WEST unpacked
39:14 Creativity and uncertainty
41:18 Certainty is the death of a question
43:55 Vipassana and reframing the stress response
45:07 Two stress pathways
51:06 Chaos and order
52:57 Relationship and neuroecology
54:03 Multi-level selection theory
57:59 Ego boundary dissolution
1:00:58 Subcortical midline structures
1:02:04 Jung and archetypes as brainstem activity
1:05:28 Jung called himself a Taoist
1:06:03 Shadow integration and wholeness
1:08:42 Dynamic equilibrium
1:12:03 Flow states
1:13:52 Spontaneity and play
1:18:26 Transformation
1:19:52 Wrapping up
1:22:05 Where to find Aldrich
1:23:14 Guest recommendations