127: Inspire Health Podcast with Dr Jason Loken - Episode 127127: Inspire Health Podcast with Dr Jason Loken - Episode 127
UK Health Radio Podcast
Dr Jason Loken speaks with Melissa Sell and Steven Ravnstag about awareness, unconscious patterns and emotions, questioning how much of life is truly free choice. The conversation offers practical ways to recognise mental habits and use emotions as guidance rather than letting them run the show.
49:46•3 May 2026
Awareness, Autopilot and the Illusion of Free Choice
Episode Overview
- Awareness is a practical skill: seeing what you’re doing and its consequences in real time, rather than looking back afterwards.
- Habits and mental autopilot keep many people recreating the same unwanted results, making life feel like "Groundhog Day".
- The inner critic often hijacks self-awareness work, turning new observations into fresh reasons for self-blame.
- Emotions act as a guide to what you’re focusing on, revealing unconscious assumptions and stories rather than random feelings.
- Resourceful thinking means choosing thoughts that feel slightly better but are still believable, instead of forcing fake positivity.
“"Awareness is the ability to see yourself doing something as you're doing it and to see the consequences of doing what you're doing... as those consequences are occurring."”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation from the Inspire Health Podcast zooms right in on the mental side of change, asking a big question: how much of life is genuinely free choice, and how much is just old programming on repeat? Dr Jason Loken kicks off a new series on the "illusion of free choice" with guests Melissa Sell and Steven Ravnstag, founders of Ever Better Life University and Awareness School.
Their work focuses on what they call "thought technologies" – practical tools for spotting the hidden patterns running the show in your mind. Steven offers a grounded definition: "Awareness is the ability to see yourself doing something as you're doing it and to see the consequences of doing what you're doing... as those consequences are occurring." From there, the trio talk about how awareness can feel simple in theory but "not a practice for the meek" in real life.
You’ll hear how habits, autopilot thinking, and that inner critic all get in the way once you start paying real attention. Melissa shares how she once believed "I'm just the way I am" until she realised she was living like a "robot automaton programmed" by childhood patterns. She shows how emotions act as a compass, revealing what you’re unconsciously focusing on, and why anxiety or worry can become almost a “drug” people return to daily.
Instead of fluffy "just think positive" advice, Steven talks about "resourceful thinking" – thoughts that feel a bit better than your default but are still believable, like doing "a run around the block, not a marathon" for your mind.
This episode suits anyone in recovery or self-work who keeps repeating the same unhelpful behaviours and wonders, "Why do I do this again and again?" It offers practical language, gentle humour, and real examples to help you question whether your reactions are truly you… or just old patterns playing dress-up. Ready to get a bit suspicious of your own autopilot and see what might be possible beyond it?
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