An Inspired Chat with Laura Alyn Ornelas

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Laura Alyn Ornelas. Check out our conversation below.

Laura Alyn, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What do you think others are secretly struggling with—but never say?
A lot of us feel too sensitive, too curious, too multi-passionate, and the world keeps trying to tell us to pick one lane, one identity, one way of being. But the more you try to shrink yourself to fit someone else’s mold, the more scattered, anxious, or invisible you feel. You might seem fine on the outside, but inside, there’s this constant friction—a sense that your brain, body, and heart aren’t aligned. You second-guess yourself. You wonder if you’re overthinking, over-feeling, or just… too much.

Part of the problem is that our culture teaches us to trust only one way of knowing. Logic gets rewarded. Emotions get minimized. Creativity gets sidelined. Intuition gets called “wishful thinking” or ”delusional.” Meanwhile, the parts of you that actually hold the answers—your instincts, your embodied sense, your relational intelligence—get ignored. So people walk around frustrated, self-conscious, and disconnected from themselves, feeling like there’s a secret missing piece they’ll never find.

That’s where the Ornelian Framework changes the game. Instead of trying to force yourself into one “acceptable” way of knowing, it helps you map and trust all the ways you process the world. You learn which ways are natural to you, which ones you’ve been avoiding, and how to bring them together. And the magic? When you finally start using your full spectrum of knowing, all those “too much” feelings—too sensitive, too curious, too multi-passionate—stop being a problem. They become your superpower.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Laura Alyn Ornelas. I’m an researcher, polymath, and educator, and I spend my life exploring how we come to know what we know. I run ILA Institute, where we create learning experiences for people who have been made to feel “not smart enough” by traditional schooling. My work is all about reigniting curiosity, helping people trust their intuition alongside reason, and showing that there’s no single right way to learn or to live.

I also host ILA Radio, where I talk with guests about the intersection of personal experience, intuition, and intellectual exploration. What makes my work unique is that it blends creativity, embodied learning, and deep reflection with practical frameworks—like the Ornelian Framework—that help people understand and trust all the ways they know. Right now, I’m focused on building tools and experiences that help people unlock their full cognitive and creative potential, and celebrate the “too much” parts of themselves that the world often misunderstands.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child, I thought being a polymath was a thing of the past—that curiosity across multiple subjects, talents, or ways of knowing was something people used to do, not something you could actually be today. I believed you had to pick one path, one identity, one way of being, or risk being “too much” and not taken seriously.

Now I know that being multi-passionate is possible and necessary. The key is learning to trust all the ways you know, not just the ones the world rewards. Through my work with the Ornelian Framework, I help people embrace their curiosity, integrate different ways of knowing, and turn what they once thought was a liability into a source of clarity, insight, and creativity.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear that held me back the longest was believing I was the only one—that I was the only person curious about everything, the only one juggling multiple passions, the only one who didn’t fit neatly into a single path. I worried I’d never find a community of people like me, people who understood what it meant to be multi‑hyphenate or a polymath. For years, that fear kept me shrinking myself, trying to fit into molds that weren’t built for me.

What changed everything was discovering that there are others like me and that when we find each other, our curiosity, sensitivity, and multi‑passion don’t feel like burdens anymore. That sense of belonging is at the heart of the ILA Institute: helping people trust themselves, embrace all the ways they know, and find the communities where they can thrive.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What truths are so foundational in your life that you rarely articulate them?
One of the deepest truths in my life is that everyone already knows more than they think they do. Our bodies know, our intuition knows, our relationships know long before our rational mind catches up. Another foundational truth is that curiosity is a form of care. Asking questions, wandering down strange paths, following what pulls at you—that’s not distraction, it’s direction.

And maybe the biggest one: there isn’t just one way of knowing or one way of being “smart.” That belief is so woven into how I live and work that I often forget to name it. It’s the core of the Ornelian Framework and the heartbeat of everything I create: helping people trust the full spectrum of their knowing, not just the parts the world rewards.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
I understand that the only thing you truly have to do—and what so many people rarely give themselves permission to do—is listen to yourself.

Listen to what your soul is telling you. Listen to your mind, your spirit, your body. They’re already offering the answers you keep searching for everywhere else. The clarity people chase in books, mentors, algorithms, or external validation is often already alive inside them… but they’ve been taught to override it.

Although I understand this deeply—and the Ornelian Framework grew out of that understanding—it’s still so much easier said than done. Knowing that your mind, body, soul, and spirit already hold the answers doesn’t automatically make it simple to listen. Every day, I have to slow down, pay attention, and notice when I’m overriding my own guidance with outside expectations, habits, or noise. It’s a practice, not a one-time realization, and some days are easier than others. But the more I commit to tuning in and trusting myself, the more clarity, creativity, and confidence I access and that’s what the Ornelian Framework helps others do too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theornelian.com/itslauraalyn
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/itslauraalyn
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itslauraalyn/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ilainstitute
• Other: theornelian.com/ilainstitute
  theornelian.com/framework
  theornelian.com/ilaradio