When we feel threatened, we instinctively react: we fight, flee, freeze, or fawn. These survival patterns are ancient, hardwired into our nervous system. But what if there’s another option? A Third Way.

In this episode, Dr. Jeff Armstrong explores the fight-flight-freeze-fawn response through both a biological and spiritual lens, drawing from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Rob Bell’s teachings, and Walter Wink’s concept of nonviolent resistance. This “Third Way” is not about passive submission or aggressiveretaliation—it’s about creative, courageous engagement that disrupts cycles of fear and hostility.

We’ll examine how this principle integrates with the SPIES model (Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Social wellness), how it connects to spiritual evolution (Teilhard de Chardin), and why it may be the response our polarized political and religious culture most needs right now.

This is a conversation about moving beyond instinct—about choosing response over reaction, courage over fear, and evolution over survival.