Episode 4: Audre Lorde and the Biology of Belonging
- Georgina Brown (hershe)
- Jul 21
- 3 min read
Why “Caring for Myself” is Not Self-Indulgence — It’s Survival
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” – Audre Lorde
We could end this episode right there, to be honest.
Because Lorde didn’t just write poetry.
She rewrote biology.
She showed us that inclusion begins in the body, that rest is resistance, and that belonging must be felt before it’s believed.
And that makes her a founding mother of BARDO’s NIMM — the Neuro-Inclusive Maturity Model.
The Neuroscience of Self-Preservation
Let’s break Lorde’s famous quote down through a neuroscientific lens:
Self-care = Nervous system regulation.
Nervous system regulation = Access to higher thinking.
Access to higher thinking = Agency, creativity, resilience.
Agency = Essential for fighting systemic bias.
Boom. Biology backs her up.
You cannot dismantle power structures with a dysregulated nervous system.
And you can’t include others if your body doesn’t feel safe.
Lorde knew that.
She lived that.
And she wrote about it like no one else.
Inclusion Starts Before the Diversity Statement
When Lorde said “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house,” she was also warning us that:
You can’t build inclusive institutions with the same exclusionary nervous system states that created the problem.
Inclusion isn’t about adding people in.
It’s about building systems that don’t require survival mode to function.
Systems where people don’t just exist.
They exhale.
They belong.
From Hypervigilance to Belonging
Audre Lorde named it all:
The fatigue of code-switching.
The psychic cost of being the “only one.”
The violence of invisibility.
The urgency of joy.
And neuroscience confirms it:
When people feel seen, safe, and valued, they shift from sympathetic arousal (fight/flight) to ventral vagal tone (rest/digest/connect).
This isn’t just poetic — it’s practical.
What This Means for NIMM
The Neuro-Inclusive Maturity Model asks:Are your people functioning, or are they flourishing?
Audre Lorde’s lens is woven into the NIMM’s core:
NIMM Pillar | Lorde’s Influence |
Mindset & Beliefs | “I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.” |
Trust & Safety | “Without community, there is no liberation.” |
Power Awareness | “Your silence will not protect you.” |
Bias Disruption | “It is not difference that immobilises us, but silence.” |
We’re not teaching inclusion as compliance.We’re teaching it as biological liberation.
Try This: Lorde-Inspired Inclusion Practice
Pause. Ask. Act.
Before saying yes to another meeting, task, or project:
Does this deplete or restore me?
Am I being included, or simply used?
What boundary would serve not just me, but the wider system?
Set it. Lovingly. Audaciously.
Then do something that brings your nervous system home to itself.
Because you are part of the inclusion equation too.
Read More Lorde
If you only read one collection, make it:
Sister Outsider — Essays that sear, soothe, and stay with you forever.
Also recommended:
The Cancer Journals – A visceral reclaiming of identity, body, and truth.
Your Silence Will Not Protect You – A powerful anthology from Silver Press.
Reflect:
Where are you operating from survival, and what might thriving look like?
What’s one system, policy, or pattern that rewards hyper-productivity over humanity?
How might self-care in your organisation be reframed as collective resistance?
Next in the Series:
Episode 5: Pema Chödrön and the Neurobiology of Sitting With Discomfort
Why bravery isn’t loud – it’s curious, compassionate, and still
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