About Useful Thinking | Mindset, Identity & Brain Training
Useful Thinking is a weekly practice for your mind, hosted by clinical professor and mind coach Laura. Each episode works the fundamentals of how your brain actually operates: your mental patterns, your identity, your limiting beliefs, your subconscious wiring. You'll learn practical tools to direct your attention, filter out the noise, and think with more clarity and power. This is mindset work for people who want strategies grounded in how your brain and energy actually work. Think of it as a gym for your mind. Show up weekly and master the one skill that will impact every other area of your life.
Ep 30: A 15-Minute Spa Day for Your Mind | Guided Lab
This week is something different. After two episodes on how Laura supports her nervous system, she's taking you into what she calls a guided lab. It's a short visualization where you take your brain into the lab, make a few adjustments to how you're thinking, and come out the other side feeling calmer and more grounded. Think of it as a soothing blanket for your nervous system. Find a spot where you can be still, and let yourself slow down for fifteen minutes.
This episode covers:
Why your brain and your mind so often pull you in different directions
How a calm nervous system gives you more energy to work with
One simple image that makes it easier to come back to right now
Where your energy goes when your mind drifts to the past or the future
How to call that energy back
What becomes possible when you feel safe enough to ask for more
A note before you listen: This is a guided visualization. Please don't listen while driving or doing anything that needs your full attention.
Missed the last two episodes? Episode 28 covers the practices and gadgets Laura uses to regulate her nervous system, and Episode 29 covers how she fuels it.
Laura would love to hear from you: If this lab gave you a moment of peace, find her on Instagram @think.laura (https://instagram.com/think.laura) and tell her.
MEMO: MEMO is Laura's private audio library, with over 180 mini coaching sessions to shift limiting beliefs and mental patterns at the root, and new ones added weekly. Podcast listeners get an exclusive discount with code USEFUL. [Get MEMO here] (https://thinklaura.com/getmemo)
Connect with Laura:
Instagram: @think.laura (https://instagram.com/think.laura)
Join Laura's Free Thinking Practice on Substack: ThinkLaura (https://thinklaura.substack.com/)
14 Oct 2026
Ep 29: The Tools I Use to Fuel My Nervous System (Part 2)
Last week Laura shared how she regulates her nervous system. This week is the other half: how she fuels it. Your body is constantly sending reports up to your brain, and what you eat and drink changes those reports. Laura walks through how she eats, what she's learned from testing things on her own body, and the simple daily routines she's built around food and water. Some of it is backed by solid research. Some of it is Laura experimenting on herself and reporting back.
This episode covers:
The kind of energy most of us are running low on, and the everyday task that tells Laura hers is low
Why loving what you eat matters more than most people think
What she learned about her own body that went against everything she'd read
Why how fast your blood sugar comes back down may matter more than how high it goes
The surprising connection between building muscle and still enjoying your weekend treats
What your Human Design chart says about how you like to eat
What her sleep data showed her about alcohol
Her morning routine, from the first sip to her pre-workout latte
What the gut and the brain are actually saying to each other
Why water and minerals matter so much for your brain
The habit that replaced her soda
Why none of this is meant to add stress to your life
Mentioned in this episode:
Viome gut testing (https://www.viome.com)
Dexcom continuous glucose monitor (https://www.dexcom.com)
FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitor (https://www.freestyle.abbott/us-en/products/freestyle-libre-3.html)
Lumen metabolism tracker (https://www.lumen.me)
Oura Ring (https://ouraring.com)
Cymbiotika Molecular Hydrogen tablets (https://cymbiotika.com/products/molecular-hydrogen)
Bob's Red Mill Potato Starch (https://www.bobsredmill.com/product/potato-starch)
Danger Coffee (https://dangercoffee.com)
Organic Valley Protein Plus Ultra-Filtered Fat Free Milk (https://www.organicvalley.coop/products/organic-valley-protein-plus-ultra-filtered-skim-fat-free-milk)
mBreakfast by Crucial Four (https://crucialfour.com/products/mbreakfast-organic-superfood-powder)
Be Well by Kelly beef protein powder (https://bewellbykelly.com)
Zen Basil seeds (https://www.zenbasil.com)
ZeroLyte electrolytes by Trace Minerals (https://www.traceminerals.com/products/zerolyte)
Gerolsteiner mineral water (https://www.gerolsteiner.de/en/products/usa)
Jing Soda drops (https://drinkjing.com)
Episode 18 of Useful Thinking, on Human Design digestion
Episode 28 of Useful Thinking, Part 1 of this series
Please note: Nothing in this episode is medical advice. Talk to your doctor before trying anything new, especially if you have a health condition or take medication. Laura has no affiliation with any of these companies, and none of these are affiliate links.
Look up your own chart: Curious which way your top left arrow faces? Find your free chart at Human Design Blueprint (https://humandesignblueprint.com/lookup). You'll need your birth date, birth time, and birth location. If you're not sure of your birth time, try a few different times and see if the arrow changes.
Connect with Laura:
Laura would love to hear from you: If you try any of this, find her on Instagram @think.laura (https://instagram.com/think.laura) and tell her how it goes.
Join Laura's Free Thinking Practice on Substack: ThinkLaura (https://thinklaura.substack.com/)
7 Oct 2026
Ep 28: The Tools I Use to Train My Nervous System (Part 1)
Laura has never shared her personal routines before, on the podcast or anywhere else. This week she walks through the practices and gadgets she uses in her own life to help her body feel safe, and explains why that matters so much for the mind work this show is about. Some of it is backed by solid research. Some of it is Laura experimenting on herself and reporting back. This is part one of two. Next week covers everything on the food and fuel side.
This episode covers:
Why Laura has held back from sharing her routines until now
How your brain and your body talk to each other
Why avoiding stress isn't the goal
How she uses a wearable without letting it run her day
Four ways to breathe, and what each one is for
The kind of meditation she practices, and why it fits the work of this show
Why feeling safe is only the starting point
Two thinking practices that take almost no time
How she turns a daily walk into training
What she learned about fear from working with a dream interpreter
The gadgets, including the most "out there" thing she uses
The one principle that keeps all of it from turning into a chore
Mentioned in this episode:
Oura Ring (https://ouraring.com)
Wim Hof Method breathing (https://www.wimhofmethod.com/breathing-exercises)
Waking Up meditation app (https://www.wakingup.com)
J.M. DeBord, dream interpretation (https://jmdebord.com/)
Laura's drumming walk playlist on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4E5NyWrsK5BUDkAD4ozHqE)
BON CHARGE Infrared PEMF Mat (https://www.boncharge.com/products/infrared-pemf-mat)
Quantum Upgrade (https://quantumupgrade.io/)
Laura's weekly articles on Substack (https://thinklaura.substack.com/)
Please note: Nothing in this episode is medical advice. Talk to your doctor before trying anything new, especially if you have a health condition or take medication. Laura has no affiliation with any of these companies, and none of these are affiliate links.
Curious about your own Human Design profile? Find it at Human Design Blueprint (https://humandesignblueprint.com/lookup). You'll need your birth date, birth time, and birth location.
Laura would love to hear from you: If you have a practice you love, find her on Instagram @think.laura (https://instagram.com/think.laura) and tell her what it is.
MEMO: MEMO is Laura's private audio library, with over 180 mini coaching sessions to shift limiting beliefs and mental patterns at the root, and new ones added weekly. Podcast listeners get an exclusive discount with code USEFUL. [Get MEMO here] (https://thinklaura.com/getmemo)
Connect with Laura:
Instagram: @think.laura (https://instagram.com/think.laura)
Join Laura's Free Thinking Practice on Substack: ThinkLaura (https://thinklaura.substack.com/)
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
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