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Dr Rangan ChatterjeeDr Rangan Chatterjee

Neuroscientist: If You Feel THIS, You're Living the Wrong Life (Unlock The One You're Meant For)

This episode is brought to you by: WHOOP: Visit https://join.whoop.com/livemore to get up to 10% off all memberships until December 19th BON CHARGE: Save 25% off sitewise until 31st December https://boncharge.com VIVOBAREFOOT: Get 15% off your first order https://bit.ly/4iG2II4 What is intuition? What happens when we die? And, how does trauma get stored in our bodies? These are just a few of the fascinating themes I explore in today’s episode with returning guest, Dr Tara Swart. Tara is a neuroscientist, a former medical doctor & psychiatrist, a lecturer at MIT, an executive coach and author of 2 books, including her very latest The Signs: The New Science of How to Trust Your Instincts In this episode, Tara shares her own personal story about love, loss, and learning to trust herself again, after the death of her husband, Robin. This life changing experience left her questioning her deepest beliefs as a scientist, when in the midst of her grief, she started noticing unusual signs that she felt - she was unable to ignore. At first, she was sceptical, but these moments gradually helped her reconnect with her intuition in ways she never expected. In our conversation, we explore: - What intuition really is and how to start accessing it again - The gut-brain connection, and how emotions, trauma, and even grief can be stored (and released) in the body. - The practical tools and techniques that helped Tara - and can help you - rediscover your own intuition, including journaling, creative practices and nature - How to gently challenge your beliefs and open yourself to possibility (even if, like Tara, you’re sceptical at first). - Reflections on what science can and can’t explain - and why sometimes, believing in something greater (be it love, the universe, or connection itself) can be a healing force. - How to help your children (or yourself!) grow up with a stronger trust in their inner wisdom, without fear or ridicule. We also talk about the disconnection that many of us feel in the modern world, the transformative power of nature and the many different ways in which humans try to make sense of death. This is a raw, honest and thought-provoking conversation that I’m certain will leave you feeling inspired and eager to rediscover your own inner wisdom. #feelbetterlivemore Connect with Tara: Website https://www.taraswart.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drtaraswart/ Twitter https://twitter.com/TaraSwart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheSourceDrTaraSwart/ Tara’s books: The Signs: The New Science of How to Trust Your Instincts US https://amzn.to/4901bZW UK https://amzn.to/3Yg4TbL The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain US https://amzn.to/44hFqlJ UK https://amzn.to/48CLF4Y #feelbetterlivemore #feelbetterlivemorepodcast ------- Order MAKE CHANGE THAT LASTS. US & Canada version https://amzn.to/3RyO3SL, UK version https://amzn.to/3Kt5rUK ----- Follow Dr Chatterjee at: Website: https://drchatterjee.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drchatterjee Twitter: https://twitter.com/drchatterjeeuk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drchatterjee/ Newsletter: https://drchatterjee.com/subscription DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Dr. Rangan ChatterjeehostDr Tara Swartguest
Dec 16, 20251h 22mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Reconnecting with intuition through body, nature, grief, and meaning

  1. Intuition is framed as “hidden wisdom” built from unconscious pattern recognition and stored not only in the brain but potentially in the body via learned patterns and trauma-linked physiology.
  2. Disconnection from intuition shows up as repeated life patterns, anxious overthinking, rigid reliance on logic, chronic stress, and even gut/brain-fog issues that can obscure inner guidance.
  3. Swart shares how bereavement disrupted her self-trust and how nature, movement, and body-based therapies helped her reconnect, accelerating healing beyond talking therapy alone.
  4. The conversation engages skepticism about “signs” from deceased loved ones, arguing that meaning-making, openness, and connection to something greater (ultimately framed as love) can be therapeutic even without definitive proof.
  5. Actionable tools—journaling decision outcomes, somatic practices, and perspective-shifting exercises (head/heart/gut “unfurling,” future-self, creative mentoring)—are presented to rebuild confidence and alignment over time.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Intuition is largely unconscious pattern recognition—possibly embodied.

Swart describes intuition as lessons and patterns laid down from life experiences that aren’t fully recallable consciously; she adds emerging hypotheses that patterns (like trauma) may be reflected in bodily tissues via physiological pathways.

A big sign of disconnection is repeating the same relationship and decision patterns.

If you keep recreating similar outcomes, it may indicate you’re not integrating lessons or sensing early “gut” cues that would steer you differently.

Overreliance on logic can drown out body-based signals.

Rigid thinking, anxiety, and chronic overthinking are presented as markers that “mind and body” aren’t integrated—especially when something feels wrong despite rational justification.

Stress both blocks intuition and grows when intuition is ignored.

They describe a feedback loop: chronic stress reduces inward access to guidance, and lack of direction/purpose from ignoring inner signals can increase stress.

Somatic approaches can unlock healing where talk therapy stalls.

Swart references trauma research (e.g., van der Kolk) and notes her own experience that craniosacral/body realignment and movement accelerated grief processing beyond conversation alone.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

“Intuition, I’ve come to call it hidden wisdom.”

Dr Tara Swart

“It also made me question whether only things that can be proven scientifically are important as part of the human experience.”

Dr Tara Swart

“The real gift that my husband has given me is to re-engage with life.”

Dr Tara Swart

“Whose life are you actually living?”

Dr. Rangan Chatterjee

“What I believe in that’s greater is love.”

Dr Tara Swart

Intuition as hidden wisdom and pattern recognitionEmbodied cognition: brain–body–gut and fasciaStress, anxiety, overthinking, and brain fogGrief, bereavement, and meaning-makingSigns, synchronicity, and skepticism/confirmation biasNature, awe, and reconnection to purposePractical exercises: journaling, unfurling, future-self, creative mentoring

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