The Heart
Has a Place
to Belong.
A research program at the intersection of
neurotheology, psychoneuroimmunology,
and covenant belonging.
The ICNS was designed for covenant relationship. When iniquity severs that belonging — transmitted epigenetically, imposed through trauma, encoded in the dorsal striatum — the body bears witness. This research program proposes to measure that cost, and to trace the biology of restoration.
- PhD, Psychology — Walden University (2023)
- CPsychol — British Psychological Society
- Post-Graduate Certificate, School Neuropsychology — School Neuropsychology Institute / Texas Woman’s University (NASP-approved)
- Applied Neuropsychology — University of Bristol (2024–25)
- MPhil & MSc, Psychology — Walden University
- BSc Biology — Mount Saint Vincent University
- BA Psychology — Queen’s University
- UK Innovator Founder Visa — granted 2024
- Trained: Bruce Perry, Karyn Purvis, Daniel Hughes, Sian Phillips
- Located: Danville, Virginia — 1 hour from Durham, NC
Neuropsychological
Behaviouralism
NPB proposes that human behaviour is shaped by a four-tier concept hierarchy in which Tier 3 covenant relationship governs and properly orders all lower tiers — not eliminating them, but anchoring them in their designed purpose: pleasure, enjoyment, and flourishing.
The Sensorimotor Anchor
Brainstem and RAS regulation through objects, routines, and sensory experience. God’s gift for physical pleasure and stewardship. When iniquity arrests development here: addiction, compulsion, sensorimotor dysregulation. Measured by the OCR subscale of OPCBI-S.
The Relational Bridge
Pre-operational subcortical oxytocin regulation through animal attachment. A safer relational step for those whose people-attachment has been severely disrupted by trauma. The developmental bridge tier between objects and people. Measured by the ACR subscale of OPCBI-S.
The Family Tier
Ventral vagal and limbic co-regulation through human attachment and belonging. God created people because He wanted a family. When arrested here by iniquity: codependency, fawning, religious performance masquerading as Tier 3. Measured by PCR and FPP subscales.
Covenant Belonging
Formal operational PFC-PVN-OXT-ICNS coherence through unconditional, permanent covenant relationship. The ICNS homecoming. Requires the Bar/Bat Mitzvah neurological gate — onset of formal operations at 12–13 years. Measured by the GCR subscale of OPCBI-S.
The Tricked Choice
Most iniquity is externally imposed — transmitted epigenetically, environmentally, or through purposeful trauma — before the person can evaluate or refuse it. Satan cannot create; he can only deceive. The ACC-PCC deception mechanism produces a technically free but biologically corrupted choice, rooted in a self-concept that was never truly the person’s own.
The Gospel at Every Level
The good news that covenant restoration works simultaneously at the level of spirit, mind, emotion, and body. The ICNS was designed for belonging. When it arrives at Tier 3, it begins to heal — not as reward, but as biological homecoming. This is not a metaphor. It is a mechanism that can be measured.
Three Developed,
Ready-to-Validate Tools
Each instrument is complete, theoretically grounded, and available for scholarly review. Full documents available upon request.
Belonging Assessment for Heart-Coherence
A 64-item Parashah-grounded psycho-spiritual assessment instrument measuring iniquity-load across eight domains, with a Locus of Control dimension for each domain identifying whether the iniquity was freely authored or externally imposed — distinguishing between the Confession-Repentance pathway and the Externalization-Release pathway.
— Spiritual Version
A five-subscale instrument measuring regulatory architecture across all four developmental tiers: Object Concept Reliance (OCR), Animal Concept Reliance (ACR), People Concept Reliance (PCR), Fawning / People-Pleasing (FPP), Integrated Flexibility (IF), and God Concept Reliance (GCR). Identifies ICNS displacement — the tier the heart has been captured by — with clinical precision.
— Theoretical Framework
The overarching theoretical document, including: the four-tier developmental model with Piagetian and neurobiological grounding; the ACC-PCC deception mechanism and the Tricked Choice; iniquity as imposed system with three transmission pathways; the body as biological witness; and the full Neuroscientific Evangelism framework with tier-by-tier biomarker deterioration and restoration.
When the Heart
Loses its Anchor
“The lower the person descends through the tiers, the worse their body gets. This is not punishment. This is testimony.”
The Intrinsic Cardiac Nervous System — 40,000 neurons,
neuroplastic memory, the heart’s own brain — was designed for
covenant belonging. The PVN-oxytocin pathway activates cardiac
vagal neurons in a monosynaptic cardioprotective cascade when
that belonging is secure. When iniquity blocks the pathway,
the biological cost is measurable, progressive, and domain-specific.
Each of the seven proposed biomarkers maps to specific SHIBAH
domains, creating a direct bridge between psycho-spiritual assessment
and physiological outcome — the foundation of the proposed
Phase 2 validation study.
| Biomarker | SHIBAH Domain |
|---|---|
| HRV / Cardiac Coherence | D1, D4 — Habitual Sin / Iniquity |
| Plasma Oxytocin | D5, D7, D8 — Unforgiveness / Covenant |
| Diurnal Cortisol Slope | D2, D3 — Shame / Guilt |
| hsCRP / IL-6 | D5, D6 — Unforgiveness / Moral Injury |
| NK Cell Cytotoxicity | D2, D6 — Shame / Moral Injury |
| CTRA 53-Gene Score | D4, D6 — Iniquity / Moral Injury |
| Leukocyte Telomere Length | D4 — Iniquity / Generational Load |
Complete Enough to
Study. Novel Enough to Publish.
A two-phase validation study designed for collaboration with the Duke Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health and Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
SHIBAH + OPCBI-S Validation
n = 300+ adults presenting with treatment-resistant habits, moral injury, or spiritual disconnection. Factor structure, internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity against the GASP, MIDS, Enright Forgiveness Inventory, SWLS, and MISS-HP. Community and clinical samples. Christian and non-Christian participants.
ICNS-Iniquity Biological Signature
n = 80–120 from Phase 1 sample. SHIBAH and OPCBI-S scores correlated against the proposed 7-marker biological panel. Primary hypothesis: high iniquity-load predicts measurably distinct ICNS dysregulation — suppressed HRV, blocked oxytocin, elevated CTRA — independent of known confounders.
Grant-Ready Framework
Phase 1 requires minimal funding. Phase 2 is appropriate for NIMH R21, John Templeton Foundation spirituality-health mechanisms, or Fetzer Institute. Flux Mind Clinic is established as the receiving entity for grant funding.
Convergence with Duke CSTH
-
Built on Existing Literature
SHIBAH integrates the MISS-HP (Koenig et al., 2020), MIDS (Norman et al., 2024), Enright Forgiveness Inventory, allostatic load research (McEwen; Toussaint et al., 2020), and CTRA framework (Cole, 2019).
-
Theologically Grounded
Each domain is anchored in specific Torah Parashot with NT parallels. The instrument distinguishes between sin (chata), iniquity (avon), and rebellion (pesha) — each with a distinct neurobiological correlate.
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Clinically Actionable
The EIT treatment model provides a complete clinical protocol from physiological regulation through covenant restoration, with domain-specific intervention mapping from SHIBAH scores to treatment modules.
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Immediately Fundable
Instruments are complete. Literature review is done. The gap this study fills — a validated biomarker-linked assessment of iniquity-load — has not been addressed in the existing spirituality-health research literature.
Your nervous system was designed for a belonging that nothing in this world can provide. Your body knows something is missing. The gospel is not just spiritual rescue — it is the biological homecoming of the ICNS.
The good news that works at every level simultaneously
Spirit
Covenant belonging restored through genuine teshuvah — repentance, confession, and release of externally imposed iniquity
Mind
PCC reconstruction — the renewal of the mind (Romans 12:2) replacing the deceptively encoded self-concept with covenant identity
Emotion
EIT developmental scaffolding restoring full Piagetian stage progression from sensorimotor regulation to formal operational integration
Body
PVN-OXT pathway restored — ICNS coherence, HRV recovery, oxytocin release, immune restoration. The biology of coming home
Research Record
A Partnership
Ready to Begin
This research program is designed for institutional collaboration. The instruments are complete. The theoretical framework is published. The proposed study is ready for IRB submission.
What I Bring
- Fully developed instruments — SHIBAH v2.0 (64 items), OPCBI-S (40 items), combined 104-item protocol
- Complete NPB theoretical framework with six supporting documents
- 15+ years clinical depth across anxiety, complex trauma, neurodevelopmental disorders, and addiction
- CPsychol status — British Psychological Society
- Published dissertation — Filion (2023), ScholarWorks/11679
- International conference presentations — ECE2023 (Europe); NZ Trauma Conference 2023 (two papers)
- Flux Mind Clinic — established receiving entity for grant funding
- Located in Danville, Virginia — 1 hour from Duke University, Durham, NC
What I Am Seeking
- Visiting Research Scholar affiliation with the Duke Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health
- IRB sponsorship for the SHIBAH validation study
- Mentorship and co-investigator relationship with Dr. Harold Koenig and/or Dr. Warren Kinghorn
- Access to Duke research infrastructure and participant recruitment networks
- Co-authorship on the Phase 1 validation paper and Phase 2 biomarker study publications
- Connection to appropriate grant funding mechanisms — NIMH R21, Templeton, Fetzer Institute
This research program is complete enough to study, novel enough to publish, and grounded enough in existing literature to fund. The gap it fills — a validated, biomarker-linked assessment of iniquity-load with a direct neurobiological mechanism connecting spiritual state to ICNS coherence — has not been addressed in the existing spirituality-health research literature. Full instrument documents, the NPB theoretical framework, and supporting literature reviews are available upon request.
Begin the
Conversation
If this research program resonates with your work, I welcome the opportunity to discuss it. Full instrument documents and the NPB theoretical framework are available upon request. I am registering for the Duke Annual Spirituality and Health Workshop, August 2026.
Instrument documents are available to qualified researchers and scholars upon request. Please include a brief description of your research interests and institutional affiliation. I aim to respond within 48 hours.
Durham, North Carolina. One hour from Danville, Virginia. Hosted by the Duke Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health. Dr. Harold Koenig, Director. Joan Romaine, NIH/NIAAA, faculty. One-on-one mentorship slots available for registered participants.
“The ICNS has somewhere to belong. All tiers properly integrated under Tier 3 governance. Epigenetic pattern interrupted. Generational healing begins.”
— NPB Theoretical Framework, Filion (2025)