24/09/2026
"Your mirror neurons are designed to imitate the behaviors of others.
In the movie Tarzan, this guy uses his mirror neurons to move like an ape, because when he does, he's part of the pack, to satisfy one of our brain's basic needs: BELONGING. If you notice it's an instinct for survival, now the question is: Do you really need to belong? Do you really need to fit in? How many of the thoughts, patterns and behaviors you have daily aren't yours, and do you use them only to fit in and belong? Who does this belong to?"
- Juanjo Suárez, The Neuroscience of Access Consciousness 📖
Joining the Worldwide Access Consciousness Bars Challenge, I’m sharing a quote each evening from a recently published book that explores the science behind the magic we experience in Bars sessions. And wherever I have a personal insight or a lived experience that connects to the topic, I’ll add that too. 🪄
Today's quote explores mirror neurons, specialised brain cells that help us learn by observing and imitating others. For most of human history, belonging to a group increased our chances of survival, so our brains became remarkably good at picking up behaviours, attitudes and ways of being from the people around us.
But now that we understand more about how mirror neurons work, what if we used them more consciously? If we are constantly learning through observation, what if we paid closer attention to people who inspire us to be kinder, more courageous, more creative, more present, or more authentic? What if we chose people, ideas and environments that expand our world rather than reinforce our limitations?
Perhaps the real invitation is not to stop mirroring others, but to become more aware of what we are mirroring, and whether it is taking us where we would actually like to go.
From that perspective, tonight's quote becomes more than an explanation of why we imitate others. It becomes an invitation to notice what we have been unconsciously copying, and to wonder whether those thoughts, patterns and behaviours truly belong to us, or whether they were simply adopted in an attempt to fit in, belong and survive. 💭