HeraSphere #15: Train Your Brain

RAS: Your Brain's Built-In Filter System

• Your RAS is like having a GPS system in your brain. This bundle of nerves at your brainstem decides what information gets through to your conscious mind from those millions of data bits bombarding you constantly. When you consistently focus on something, your brain starts filtering the world to support those choices.

• If you're focused on better nutrition, you'll suddenly notice healthy food options more readily, remember to take your supplements, and feel more motivated to move your body. It's not magic—it's your brain highlighting everything that aligns with your goals.

How Your Brain Actually Makes It Happen

Dr. Doty breaks down the science behind how this works through what researchers call the task-positive network. When you embed an intention into your subconscious through specific techniques, you activate four key brain systems:

• Your Salience Network decides what's worth paying attention to. When you repeatedly focus on something through writing, visualization, and repetition, you're filing it under "important stuff" in your brain's system.

• Your Attention Network acts like a bloodhound, constantly scanning for anything related to what you've marked as important. This is pure neuroscience—when something becomes important to you, your brain literally starts looking for it everywhere.

• Your Executive Control Network springs into action when opportunities pop up, helping you make decisions and take action that align with your intentions.

• Your Default Mode Network is where your internal narrative lives—all that self-talk, both positive and negative. This is where the real rewiring happens because you're essentially updating decades of mental programming.

Fear Mode vs. Heart Mode

• At any moment, you're operating from one of two states: fear mode or heart mode. Fear mode is when your amygdala hijacks your brain, flooding you with stress hormones. You're reactive, making choices from scarcity and survival. This looks like stress eating, skipping workouts because you're "too overwhelmed," or harsh self-criticism when you slip up.

• Heart mode is when you're operating from your prefrontal cortex connected to positive emotions. You feel calm, capable, and aligned with your values. In heart mode, healthy choices feel natural. You eat nourishing foods because you love your body, not because you hate it. You move because it feels good, not as punishment.

• The beautiful part? You can consciously shift from fear to heart mode through simple practices like deep breathing, gratitude, or placing your hand on your heart while thinking of something you love. These practices activate your vagus nerve and shift your nervous system into a state where positive change actually becomes possible.

The Perfect Day Visualization

Harvard-trained sociologist and coach Martha Beck shared a technique that's helped transform countless lives. Unlike typical visualization, this one engages all your senses to create what neuroscientists call "neural pathway strengthening."

• Set aside 15-20 minutes in a quiet space. Close your eyes and imagine waking up in your ideal life . Here's the key: don't make it up—let it emerge naturally. Listen first. What sounds do you hear? Feel the temperature, smell the air. Who's next to you? What does your perfect realistic day look like? Its not about imagining a day at a spa on vacation - its your ideal lived routine everyday.

• Make it sensory-rich. Feel the energy in your body, experience the satisfaction of your achievements. See yourself handling challenges with grace, making decisions confidently, ending your day feeling accomplished and at peace.

• Your brain can't distinguish between what's real and what's vividly imagined. When you repeatedly visualize something with emotional intensity, you're literally rewiring your neural pathways to make it more likely to happen.

• This isn't daydreaming. When you visualize consistently, you're building the neural pathways of your future self. Your RAS starts scanning for opportunities to make this vision reality.

The Power of Speaking It Out Loud: My Real Life Example

• About a year ago, I declared out loud to my family and friends that I was going to launch a women’s health newsletter. Terrifying? Yes. Transformative? Absolutely. It didn’t happen right away, but the accountability of it made me sit down and start concepting what it would be called and what it could look like. HeraSphere was born.

• Saying it aloud activated my RAS in overdrive. Despite a packed schedule, I made it happen—learning about health daily through podcasts and research, attending wellness conferences, building an incredible network of women in wellness, joining DC’s Commission on Women to further the health infrastructure in our city, and moderating several women's health panels. The accountability of public declaration made it impossible to back down.

• What is your version of this? Tell everyone about your goals. Join a group. Post about it. When your brain knows others are watching, it prioritizes making it happen.

My most profound realization from studying this neuroscience is that "manifestation" isn't about magical thinking—it's about training your brain to notice opportunities, maintain focus on what matters, and take consistent action toward your goals. We go to the gym to make our muscles stronger - why not do the same for our brains?

Your subconscious is already running programs based on your past experiences. The question is: are those programs serving the life you want to create?

Start with one area where you want to see change. Get clear on what you actually want and why. Use daily practices to shift into heart mode. Write, speak, and visualize your intentions consistently. Most importantly, take aligned action in the real world.

What will you train your brain to focus on today?

xx, Lilly

P.S. I'd love to hear how you've been able to hack your brain to achieve your goals! Hit reply—I read every single email and love celebrating these breakthroughs with you.

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Note: While I love diving deep into research and sharing what I've learned about women's health and wellness, I want to be crystal clear: I'm a passionate health advocate and researcher, not a medical professional. Think of me as your well-informed friend who does extensive homework – but not your doctor.

Everything I share in HeraSphere comes from careful research and personal experience, but it's meant to inform and inspire, not to diagnose or treat any medical conditions. Your body is uniquely yours, and what works for one person might not work for another. Always consult your healthcare provider before making significant changes to your diet, exercise routine, or wellness practices, especially if you have underlying health conditions or take medications.

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