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Join Patty live online. Explore the science and practice of awareness, emotional mastery, happiness and conscious choice.
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Practical Neuroscience · Leaders & Teams · Santa Cruz Mountains
Take Back Your Mind. Reclaim Your Life.
Learn to question your thoughts, direct your attention and choose how you show up in the world.
Practical neuroscience, timeless wisdom and lived practice for people ready to move from automatic reaction to conscious choice.
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Much of life happens before we realize we are choosing.
A thought appears. A feeling rises. A familiar story takes over. We react, and only later wonder why.
Living Well is a practice of becoming conscious in that space. Not so you can control every thought or emotion, but so you can notice more clearly, honor what is here, discern what is true, and choose what comes next.
The Practice of Living Well
Learn to work with your mind, not against it.
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.
- ObserveNotice what is happening within and around you.
- HonorMeet your humanity without shame or denial.
- DiscernSeparate what happened from the story your mind added.
- ChooseCreate space for a response aligned with who you want to be.
- ConnectReturn to relationship, belonging and what matters.
- CreateLive forward from greater awareness and possibility.
You hold more wisdom than you realize.
I don’t believe I hold the answers for you. My work is to help create the conditions where you can slow down, listen more deeply, question what you have been believing, and remember what you already know.
The goal is not to become someone else. It is to become more conscious of who is choosing.
A Practice You Can Use Today
When you can’t change what’s happening, you can change what happens next.
Reframing is not positive thinking. It does not erase what happened. It separates what happened from the meaning your mind automatically assigned to it, then asks a powerful question:
What else might be true?
Choose your way in
There is no single right place to begin. Start where your curiosity is alive.
Experience
Step out of the noise and into the land. Retreats and personalized experiences at Living Well in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Experience Living WellBring It to Your Team
Custom leadership experiences for organizations navigating pressure, change, trust, communication and human performance.
For Teams & OrganizationsWhat if happiness is something you can practice?
Inside the Happy Brain
The neuroscience and practice of happiness.
Six live Tuesdays · November 3–December 8, 2026 · 6:00–7:30 PM Pacific · $675 USD
Explore how attention, expectation, interpretation and daily practice shape what your brain learns to notice, and discover simple ways to experience more of what is already good, meaningful, beautiful and alive.
“This lady epitomizes the best of Stanford.”
“One of the best courses I have taken.”
“A meaningful and transformative learning experience.”
Same Circumstances. New Possibilities.
What changes when leaders practice.
“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.”
Current Ways to Learn · Remember What You Already Know
Study Live with Patty
Small 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.
Patty Purpur de Vries
Your Guide
Instructor, Stanford Continuing Studies
Facilitator, Stanford GSB (contract) LEAD
Former Director of Well-Being, Stanford
30+ years guiding leaders and teams
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.
Free
Your Sovereign Voice
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.
6-Week Live Cohort
The Practice of Self-Leadership & Emotional Mastery
From automatic reaction to conscious choice.
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.
- Observe your thoughts, emotions, and reactions without immediately becoming them
- Recognize the stories and patterns influencing your choices
- Create space between stimulus and response
- Stay connected to yourself and others during difficult moments
- Practice choosing from clarity rather than conditioning
- Discover what becomes possible when awareness expands
“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
Status and next cohort available on enrollment page
Enroll Here
6-Week Live Cohort
Inside the Happy Brain
The neuroscience and practice of happiness.
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
$675 USD
Enroll Here
90-Minute Personal Session
A Reframing Conversation
When you can’t see beyond the story you are in.
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.
$200 USD
Start with a Conversation
From the YouTube Channel
A Conversation on Self-Compassion
Patty in conversation with Al’ ai Alvarez, MD.
Self-Compassion and Feeling LOVE with Al’ ai Alvarez, MD.
Watch on YouTube
Welcome to Living Well USA
Where Leadership, Learning
& Nature Converge
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.
4+
Private Acres
20+
Years Guiding Leaders
2,000
Sq Ft Deck Above the Canopy
2004
Stewarding This Land Since
Where We Meet
Your Program, Your Setting
On the Mountain
Hosted at our Living Well Event Center venue in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the land is the co-facilitator.
At Your Worksite
We bring the program to you. We've taught dozens of on-site classes and trainings for corporations across the Bay Area.
Live on Zoom
Coaching, classes, and workshop series delivered wherever your people are, without losing the human connection.
Also Available
Experiences That Create Space for Change
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.
For Teams
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 ExperienceSpark the Room
Inspiring Keynotes
Science-rich, story-driven talks that audiences describe as "exactly what I needed to hear."
Best forConferences, all-hands, and retreat openersExploreThe 24-Hour Reset
An immersive overnight experience. Reconnect with clarity, calm, and purpose.
Best forIndividuals and small groups near burnoutExplore“The clearest way into the Universe
is through a forest wilderness.”
John Muir
Kudos for Our Offerings
★★★★★
What Participants Carry Home
“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.”
Corporate Workshop Participant
“Patty shares such valuable insights. Life changing. ‘When we show up as our best, the world rises to meet us.’ So empowering!”
Kim · Leadership Workshop Participant
“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.”
Julie · Group Retreat, On the Land
“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!”
Claire · Conference Session Attendee
“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.’”
Laurie · Stanford Alumni Healthy Living Retreat for Women
“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.”
Elizabeth · R.I.S.E. Program, School of Nursing
“The session was fantastic and really connected with the workforce.”
Sahid · Corporate Wellness Client, 8-Week Program
Our Story
We built this place because we needed it too
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 for over 20 years, 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.
One Mountain, Two Front Doors
Same Sanctuary. Two Different Journeys.
Living Well is one property with two offerings. Knowing which door to knock on saves you time.
You Are Here
Living Well USA
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 Workshops
Our Sister Site
Living Well Event Center
The 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 VenuePhoto Gallery
A Sanctuary Above the Fog
Start Here
What if the situation isn’t the only thing that can change?
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