How Your Brain Learns Who You Are and "Your Potential Powers are Lying Dormant" by Doug Hooper
Thu Feb 05 2026
In this episode of Standing in the Light, we explore the hidden system that runs most of our lives: the subconscious mind. While we often think change happens through willpower and conscious effort, neuroscience tells a different story. Nearly everything we do — our habits, emotional reactions, self-talk, and relationship patterns — is driven by subconscious programming built from repetition, emotion, and early experience.
We dive into how the subconscious actually works, why it prioritizes what feels familiar over what feels healthy, and how deeply emotional experiences become stored as identity. You’ll learn how thoughts aren’t just abstract ideas, but physical signals that travel through neural pathways in the brain — and how the principle of neuroplasticity shows us that the brain is constantly rewiring itself based on what we repeatedly think, feel, and imagine.
This episode breaks down why affirmations often fail, how identity-based change creates lasting transformation, and why visualization and emotional awareness are powerful tools for building new neural circuits. We also explore how the nervous system learns through experience, not logic, and how you can gently train your subconscious to support growth instead of staying stuck in survival patterns.
If you’ve ever felt like you know what you want, but can’t seem to get out of your own way, this conversation will help you understand why — and how to begin working with your mind instead of against it. Because real change isn’t about forcing positivity. It’s about teaching your brain what it’s safe to believe about who you are becoming.
In this episode I dive a little deeper by reading Doug Hooper's "Your Potential Powers Are Lying Dormant", article 10 of You Are What You Think Book 1 to discuss how we can visualize success and make it happen!
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In this episode of Standing in the Light, we explore the hidden system that runs most of our lives: the subconscious mind. While we often think change happens through willpower and conscious effort, neuroscience tells a different story. Nearly everything we do — our habits, emotional reactions, self-talk, and relationship patterns — is driven by subconscious programming built from repetition, emotion, and early experience. We dive into how the subconscious actually works, why it prioritizes what feels familiar over what feels healthy, and how deeply emotional experiences become stored as identity. You’ll learn how thoughts aren’t just abstract ideas, but physical signals that travel through neural pathways in the brain — and how the principle of neuroplasticity shows us that the brain is constantly rewiring itself based on what we repeatedly think, feel, and imagine. This episode breaks down why affirmations often fail, how identity-based change creates lasting transformation, and why visualization and emotional awareness are powerful tools for building new neural circuits. We also explore how the nervous system learns through experience, not logic, and how you can gently train your subconscious to support growth instead of staying stuck in survival patterns. If you’ve ever felt like you know what you want, but can’t seem to get out of your own way, this conversation will help you understand why — and how to begin working with your mind instead of against it. Because real change isn’t about forcing positivity. It’s about teaching your brain what it’s safe to believe about who you are becoming. In this episode I dive a little deeper by reading Doug Hooper's "Your Potential Powers Are Lying Dormant", article 10 of You Are What You Think Book 1 to discuss how we can visualize success and make it happen!