Insight is Not Change

Here’s how real transformation actually happens.

Insight is not change.

That’s worth repeating.

Insight is not change.

I heard this from my teacher a few years ago and it has been living in my mind rent free. Taking up space, connecting to ideas that were very much alive when I was a practicing psychotherapist.

Yet this lesson didn’t come from my study of psychology, but from the far out world of clairvoyance and energy work, which I have been studying quite seriously for over 3 years now. It is my absolute favorite thing when seemingly unrelated areas of interest collide to inform each other. And this gem from my teacher not only informed my learning going forward, but also illuminated quite a bit for me about my time as a psychotherapist. Turns out it all weaves together.

How cool is that?

There is a lot to be said for insight. It feels good. These aha moments seem to settle something within us that has been working away looking for answers, sometimes for years. We are busy little problem solvers as humans and when confusion strikes we can unknowingly put a tremendous amount of energy into solving for something.

This problem solving can occur consciously and unconsciously and I have found either way, we are usually unaware of the amount of energy consumed by seeking out some sort of understanding of the why or how of something.

Human Design offers ideas as to how to move away from this constant problem solving, pushing and forcing by leaving our minds to problem solve for others and allow our bodies to guide us forward instead. I have found with myself and clients that this shift in focus from logic and mind to body and the sensory is really helpful. For many of us it can feel like putting down a 500 pound weight.

Polyvagal Theory offers a compelling perspective here as well. It distinguishes between afferent data — sensory information sent from the body to the brain, and efferent data — signals sent from the brain to the body. Research suggests that 80% of information flow is afferent, meaning the body is doing most of the talking.

Our body is constantly assessing our environment and relationships, gathering subtle cues of safety, danger, or disconnection, and relaying this information to the brain. This means our understanding of what’s happening emotionally, relationally, and energetically, is primarily initiated by the body, not from the top down through logic or cognition. Insight often begins in the body, long before it becomes conscious thought.

Here’s where things get interesting. While insight often feels like a mental event, a moment of clarity or understanding, Polyvagal Theory reminds us that most of our internal experience begins in the body. If 80% of the data is moving from body to brain, then it’s the body that senses, signals, and interprets our environment first. The mind then catches up.

This totally disrupts the more common models of change and mindset. We often assume that once we understand something, we can change it. But insight alone doesn’t move the body. And if the body is what’s primarily shaping our experience, then real change requires bodily shifts, in nervous system regulation, in energy flow, in an embodied and integrated felt sense, not just cognitive awareness.

So while insight can validate and contextualize what the body already knows, it doesn’t automatically create the physiological or energetic shifts needed for transformation. Change often begins when we work with the body directly. Through action, even the smallest ones. Movement, regulation, energy work, or other somatic practices. The brain might notice the shift afterward, but it rarely initiates it.

Insight can arrive with relief and also sharp edges. And even so, the underlying relief we experience either over time or in immediacy is what keeps us seeking it out. An aha feels good. Sometimes the result of insight is feeling seen or heard is experienced in a tangible and very real and conscious way. Other times, unconscious. And both have tremendous clinical value.

Insight, I’m here for it.

I’m also for acknowledging that it is different from change.

Insight can certainly be a catalyst for change. And even occur pressed right up against it. Absolutely. But as we see in Polyvagal Theory insight is not an automatic pathway to change. And here is where we seem to experience a kind of amnesia. Yes, insight is helpful and can quiet and soothe something inside us that has been churning away for what may seem like forever. And also, insight does not erase the very real question we are always faced with.

Will we ultimately decide to change or not?

What insight so brilliantly provides is an opportunity to change. A moment of presence where we can decide in a very sovereign way whether to act upon this new information. Because really, at its core, insight is new information. It’s usually a little bit sexy and profound, but really it’s information. And I think we know that not everyone chooses change when presented with new information.

In reflection upon my work as a psychotherapist, I hold evidence of the improvements experienced through insight. A very literal lifting of weight sometimes in an existential way other times in a very present and recognizable way. Insight makes a real difference for people and the outcomes of therapy. Also, though, the experience of insight without the desire to change is endlessly frustrating for a therapist to watch. Yeah, treatment is certainly a shared responsibility, but as professionals we can only lead a horse to water, not make them drink. Both insight and change are work. And I do believe reaching insight is indeed doing the work, but in my eyes insight is not whole.

I’ve written about the difference between content and context before and I think it is relevant here. We have become so inundated with content. And I’m okay with that really. As long as you know yourself and what you can handle, I’m not going to bash content. I actually think content can bring us sprinkles of insight, which is a good thing. Where it gets thorny though is that’s where it usually stops. There is very little content that actually encourages real change. And that’s okay. Content’s job is not to cause change. It’s just content. That’s where context comes in. But stats, particularly among Gen Z reveal that Gen Z uses content for context (especially on TikTok). Taking in insight without engaging with the work of change. And that's troubling and I'm also pretty sure not isolated to Gen Z, wink wink.

What I find so interesting about insight from an energy and clairvoyant perspective is that insight actually doesn’t matter. Helpful yes, relieving, sure. And definitely validating. But when it comes to changing and shifting energy, insight doesn’t influence whether change can occur. Moving energy is moving energy. There is energy that we handle which is what usually gets in the way of changes we want to make. In the energy realm, if you want to change, return to flow, or move stagnation, you just move the energy. Sometimes it happens quite effortlessly, other times it takes a long go around. There is work here too. But either way, to move the energy and change the flow of energy in your body, you do not need to know what the stagnation is about.

It took me a long time to understand this separation and for the first few months of my studies I was obsessed with knowing what energy I was handling that led to what stagnation and where. I held on very tight to this problem solving model that humans are so damn good at. If I know exactly what it is, then I can change it. Turns out with energy you actually do not need to know what it is. You can still move it. And this really changed my perspective.

Understanding, experiencing and also guiding others by moving energy without getting into the constant search for meaning let go of a lot for me. I am a seeker by nature and permission to just move something without knowing every single little detail of it is honestly freeing for me. Permission for something to be enough of a burden to just move it without having to prove it is big enough to be worthy of change has been a big deal. Energetically speaking stagnation is not measured by the bigness, weight, trauma, or drama of a thing. Much like in skateboarding where the smallest pebble can take you down, the same is true for stagnation. We do not get to decide what is keeping us stuck.

My teacher’s comment came with a warning, you can reach a level of insight and know what is causing the stagnation, but remember, you still need to actually move it. Moving it is where the real change occurs. As a psychotherapist, insight is very bright and shiny. There is an intellectual element and sometimes the patient recognizing the insight is months or sometimes years in the making. We may see it and recognize it, but the patient doesn't, no matter how many different ways we try to illuminate it. They just aren’t ready. This deep work on behalf of both parties can make reaching insight seem like the real work. A celebration of recognition. Hooray! It feels really good. But the work extends far beyond insight. Helpful, yes. Relieving, yes. But it is taking action based on this insight that creates real change. Or as in energy work you have to remember to move it. Naming it helps, but moving it is what creates the change.

Both require action.

xxx

Lisa

PS - Insight is powerful, but change takes practice. If you're ready to move beyond the aha moments and actually shift what's keeping you stuck, I can help. I work with visionary creatives like you who are done circling the same insight and are ready to take grounded, embodied action toward change. If you're curious about what that kind of mentorship support looks like, book a free discovery call and let’s explore it together.

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Exciting Changes Are Coming to Muse Beginning Next Week

Big things are unfolding at Muse, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Starting Sunday, August 3rd, the Muse newsletter is evolving to better support your creative practice, whether you're here for inspiration, guidance, or the occasional cosmic nudge from your inner artist.

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1st Sunday of the Month – A fresh Muse Essay, exploring the psychology of creativity, insight, and practice from your favorite Muse ;)
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Introducing: Dear Creative

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Lisa

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Next week is BIG! With August, the new changes at Muse roll out! Expect a Muse letter for all subscribers on Sunday with a special teaser of the very first Dear Creative 5 Day Intensive beginning on 8/4 for PAID subscribers. I haven’t officially settled on an essay topic for next week. but I’m thinking of sharing the gory details of my two worst fine art critiques. Eeeek!

And, last but not least, the brilliant

Charlotte Hamilton

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Samantha Dion Baker

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