Your Neural Architecture

Posted on: January 11, 2012by Dr Kim Dr Hil

Our clients often ask us:

Given that change is natural to my brain chemistry, why do I set the same goals each year to lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more or choose healthier relationships?
How is it that I keep repeating the same patterns?

Brain Maps

To answer this we first need to look at how your brain circuitry causes your habits. Every moment of every day your brain is recording all subtle and significant experiences. It takes this data and uses it to build what we call your neural architecture of experience. This results in the culmination of who you know yourself to be, why you think and feel the way you do, why you react the way you do and why you choose to do what you do. Your neural architecture is comprised of billions of neurons that connect to form networks or what are known as ‘brain maps’. Your brain maps correspond to all categories of your life experience. This is essentially the biological process of learning (or unlearning) and the resulting development of your habits of thought, emotion and action.

Similar to a road map, your brain maps serve as a reference for the roads you have traveled and guide you along your current life journey. They tell you where you have been, where you are and where you could go if you choose the same path. Similar to driving on auto-pilot to familiar destinations, the more you activate a brain map the stronger it becomes.

Rewire Your Brain

If you want to change your relationship with food, your body or your fitness level you will to need to identify a new road to travel down that is related to how you think, feel, perceive, imagine and act. Therefore, it is not enough to simply embark on the latest nutrition program or fitness routine and expect this to change your brain map! This is one of the pitfalls most people make that leads to a cycle of disappointment and frustration. You have to change your brain structure and function through the same biological means that creates your habits.

Let’s return to the most common question our clients ask, ‘Why do I keep repeating the same patterns over and over?’ Our answers:

Every time you repeat a pattern you recycle the past, strengthen existing brain maps and make future change more challenging.
You are only applying one element needed for change – action. You can’t rewire by action alone.
You have to be willing to identify and rewire your existing brain maps on all levels of change; thoughts, emotions, perceptions, images and actions.

Coaching and Counseling

empower Hilary Stokes Ph.D. and Kim Ward Ph.D. have been a team for 20 years, specializing in mind, body, spirit psychology. They are the authors of the bestselling books The Happy Map: Your roadmap to the habit of happiness and Manifesting Mindset: The 6-step formula for attracting your goals and dreams and founders of Authenticity Associates Coaching and Counseling. They are passionate about combining the best of holistic and traditional approaches to health and happiness. If you are interested in learning the answers to the most frequently asked questions on how to decrease stress and increase happiness sign up for their free video series.

About the Authors

Hilary Stokes Phd

HIlary Stokes, Ph.D., LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist in California with more than 25 years of clinical experience, specializing in trauma therapy, PTSD treatment, anxiety, depression, and nervous system healing. She holds Master's degrees in Clinical Social Work and Kinesiology and Sports Psychology and a Ph.D. in Transpersonal Psychology with a specialization in Tibetan Buddhist Psychology. Dr. Stokes is extensively trained and certified in brainspotting, EMDR, somatic therapy and other mind body approaches. Her integrative work bridges neuroscience, mindfulness, and holistic psychology to help clients process unresolved trauma, rewire stress patterns, and build emotional resilience.

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Dr. Stokes’ clinical approach is informed by advanced professional training and her own healing journey from complex trauma, which shaped her commitment to therapies that go beyond traditional talk therapy. She has worked in psychiatric hospitals, addiction and PTSD treatment centers, universities, integrative medical facilities, and private practice. As co-developer of the psychology and wellness programming at Sanoviv Medical Institute, she witnessed firsthand the power of integrating mind and body for lasting transformation. Today she helps individuals heal trauma, strengthen emotional regulation and reclaim purpose through brainspotting, EMDR, somatic therapy and mindfulness interventions.

Kim Ward Phd

Kim Ward, Ph.D. holds both a masters and a doctorate in Transpersonal Psychology with a specialization in Tibetan Buddhist Psychology. She brings more than 25 years of experience in trauma recovery, Brainspotting and mind-body transformation. She is extensively trained and certified in Brainspotting, somatic therapy, and trauma-informed approaches. Dr. Ward integrates neuroscience, nervous system regulation and consciousness-based psychology to help individuals process unresolved trauma, shift limiting beliefs, and access greater emotional resilience. Her work focuses on healing at the root, beyond symptom management, through brain-body therapies that create lasting change.

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As co-developer of the psychology and wellness programs at Sanoviv Medical Institute, Dr. Ward brings a uniquely holistic perspective to trauma therapy and personal growth. Her path from corporate leadership into psychology shaped her commitment to helping clients move beyond external success toward embodied fulfillment and emotional freedom. Dr. Ward's expertise combines Brainspotting, emotional intelligence, contemplative psychology and purpose-driven coaching. Drawing from both advanced academic training and lived experience navigating complex family mental health dynamics, she supports clients in transforming stress patterns, reclaiming vitality, and aligning with authentic purpose.