Practical neuroscience for successful leaders and teams ready to move from automatic reaction to conscious choice.
Work with Patty live on Zoom, at your organization, or at Living Well in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
You can be accomplished and still lie awake replaying a conversation. Lead a strong organization and still feel exhausted. Manage uncertainty while privately wondering what comes next. Work with a talented team that has somehow become disconnected. Or simply realize that the way you have always handled something is no longer working.
These experiences are not evidence that you need to work harder. They are signals that it may be time to see differently.
Your brain is always learning from what you repeatedly notice, interpret, practice, and do. Living Well makes that science practical. Insight matters. Practice is what changes us.
Reframing is not positive thinking. It does not erase what happened or ask you to pretend something painful was wonderful. It is the practice of separating what happened from the meaning your mind automatically assigned to it, then asking whether another equally truthful interpretation could open greater clarity, compassion, or possibility.
Find a just-as-true alternative.
“I got so good at choosing my thoughts that I didn’t let it drive me crazy.”
“I never thought of an alternative on my own. I just kept continuing the same pattern.”
“It feels better because I have a new story to tell.”
For accomplished people who are overwhelmed, reactive, uncertain, ruminating, or ready for a new way of being. Begin with a free Reframing Conversation, experience Patty's approach, then continue through live cohorts or deeper private work.
Start with PattyCustomized leadership experiences that help teams recognize the patterns affecting trust, communication, decision-making, and psychological safety, then practice a better way forward together.
Design a Team ExperienceSmall live gatherings where insight becomes practice. We explore neuroscience, ancient wisdom, and the patterns shaping our everyday lives - then practice noticing, questioning, and choosing differently. I don’t believe I hold the answers for you. My role is to help create the conditions for you to discover what you already know.
My work is not about giving people the answers. It is about helping people slow down enough to notice what is true for them, question the stories that keep them stuck, and consciously choose what comes next.
A 30-minute invitation to quiet the noise, notice the voices shaping your choices, and reconnect with the one that feels most deeply your own.
Much of life happens automatically - thoughts, reactions, assumptions, stories. This course helps you notice those patterns while they are happening, understand what may be driving them, and discover the space in which another choice becomes possible. The goal is not to become someone new. It is to become more aware of who you are when habit, fear, and conditioning are no longer making every decision for you.
“This class was not what I expected at all. And that turned out to be just what I needed. You cannot lead until you have dealt with yourself.”2026 Cohort Graduate
Happiness is not simply something that happens to us. Our brains learn patterns of attention, expectation, interpretation, and response. Together we explore the science of happiness - and the small practices that may help us notice more of what is already good, meaningful, beautiful, and alive. Happiness is not a destination I can lead you to. It is something we learn to recognize, practice, and allow.
“I began catching myself in the act and deliberately reframing my thoughts. My mood has stayed above the line for a month. The impact has been profound.”Course Participant
People often call me when they can no longer see another story beyond the one keeping them stuck. We slow it down together. We look at what happened, what you believe it means, what you know, what you don’t know, and what else might be true. I am not here to tell you what to think or what to do. I am here to ask questions, widen the lens, and help you find the next step that feels true to you.
Prefer to start free? Your first 30-minute conversation is complimentary.
Patty in conversation with Al’ ai Alvarez, MD.
Self-Compassion and Feeling LOVE with Al’ ai Alvarez, MD.
Watch on YouTube
Living Well USA is a place to step out of the noise long enough to hear yourself again. The redwoods, trails, wildlife, mountain air, and expansive views naturally change our perspective. We bring neuroscience, conversation, reflection, and practice into that environment - and then allow the land to do some of the teaching. We do not believe transformation is something another person gives you. Sometimes you simply need enough space to recognize what has been there all along.
Hosted at our Living Well Event Center venue in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the land is the co-facilitator.
We bring the program to you. We've taught dozens of on-site classes and trainings for corporations across the Bay Area.
Coaching, classes, and workshop series delivered wherever your people are, without losing the human connection.
Every experience begins with a conversation. We listen first, then create the setting, questions, practices, and experiences that help your people reconnect with themselves and one another.
Customized leadership experiences with practical neuroscience, reframing, and nature. At Living Well, your worksite, or live on Zoom.
Best forLeadership teams under pressureDesign a Team ExperienceScience-rich, story-driven talks that audiences describe as "exactly what I needed to hear."
Best forConferences, all-hands, and retreat openersExploreAn immersive overnight experience. Reconnect with clarity, calm, and purpose.
Best forIndividuals and small groups near burnoutExplore“This session had such a huge impact with me. I really needed this at this time and I hope it can be offered again. I think it should be mandatory for everyone on our team, especially managers.”
“Patty shares such valuable insights. Life changing. ‘When we show up as our best, the world rises to meet us.’ So empowering!”
“I am still all filled up inside after this week. It was the perfect experience for our group and exactly what we needed. Thank you again for opening your property, your expertise and your heart to us.”
“Patty brings more than expertise and rich content. Her session is an experience of well-being. The way she brought laurel leaves from her property and integrated her story into the session. Her slides are a work of art!”
“What I admire about Patty is her endless curiosity and innovative spirit. People came up to me saying ‘this is blowing my mind!’ and ‘this is exactly what I need to be hearing and doing, right now.’”
“She shared how much she appreciated your program and how often she continues to refer to the ‘line’ video. It has made a significant impact in her life.”
“The session was fantastic and really connected with the workforce.”
We’re Patty and Greg de Vries, and for over two decades we've been helping people come home to themselves. Patty works at the intersection of neuroscience, leadership, ancient wisdom, and human flourishing. Her gift is helping people see beyond the story they are currently living inside and discover possibilities they may not have been able to see before. Greg has been teaching meditation since 1999, guiding thousands of people to stillness.
We've watched something happen here, over and over: people arrive depleted and leave expanded. The land is part of that. We think of it as the third facilitator.
Living Well is one property with two offerings. Knowing which door to knock on saves you time.
Workshops, retreats, trainings, coaching, and meditation classes led by Patty and Greg. Programs come with the people: hosted at our venue, brought to your worksite, or delivered live on Zoom.
Explore Our WorkshopsThe venue itself, available for private events: weddings, celebrations, showers, memorials, and corporate gatherings where you bring your own program and we provide the extraordinary setting.
Book the Venue
Sometimes the next step begins with a different question. Tell me what you or your team are navigating. We'll start with a conversation and see what wants to emerge.
Free · 30 minutes · Confidential · Zoom