Rewire Your Reality: The Power of Cognomovement – An Interview with Bill McKenna

What if the key to unlocking your future isn’t in your thoughts at all—but in your nervous system?

For Bill McKenna, co-creator of Cognomovement, transformation doesn’t begin with forcing a new mindset or talking yourself into positivity. It begins by finding the hidden “glitches” in the body that drive our cravings, fears, and self-doubt—and then rewiring them into clarity, peace, and possibility. From his own unexpected spiritual awakening to years of studying with extraordinary teachers, Bill has devoted his life to exploring how movement, sensation, and awareness can rapidly shift what once felt impossible.

In this conversation, Bill shares the surprising way he met his teaching partner Liz Larson, how Cognomovement helps dissolve everything from lifelong trauma to performance blocks for Olympic athletes, and why your feelings—not your thoughts—are the real prayers shaping your reality. He also offers a glimpse into his upcoming workshop on timeline jumping at the Awakened Lifestyle Expo, where participants will learn how to align their nervous systems with the futures they long to create.

Continue reading or listen in by subscribing for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or YouTube to discover how Bill McKenna’s groundbreaking approach can help you step into a new timeline for your own life.

I’m very curious about the origin story of Cognomovement. I’ve been to one of your multi-day trainings and experienced the modality myself, but I’d love to hear the backstory. How did you and Liz meet, and where were you in your own journey at the time?

Bill McKenna: How did I meet Liz Larson? Well, it was kind of a long, unusual journey. I had a spiritual awakening—something I didn’t plan for or even want. It just happened. Years later, I found myself helping people as a result of that awakening. And, as the saying goes, when the student is ready, the teacher appears. That’s exactly what happened to me. Incredible teachers just started showing up in my life.

One of those teachers was Burt Goldman, who has since passed away in his nineties. He was a disciple of Yogananda through the Self-Realization Fellowship, known for Autobiography of a Yogi. Bert taught me how to facilitate healing with water—using intention, and seeing someone as whole and healed. It was surprisingly effective and very simple.

Eventually, I appeared on Gaia around 2014 or 2015, sharing this method in an episode called A Simple Method of Profound Healing. It became one of Gaia’s most popular episodes because the practice works, and people shared it widely. Liz saw that episode and thought, This makes sense. She reached out to me and invited me to lead a seminar in Oregon. That was the beginning of our work together.

What’s been so powerful is that Liz and I each brought unique skill sets to the table. From the start, Cognomovement has been a collaborative effort—not just between the two of us, but with all of our practitioners who continually add new insights and discoveries. Even now, breakthroughs are happening every week.

For those who aren’t familiar with Cognomovement, what are some of its core components? And how does it differ from other healing modalities available today?

Bill McKenna: Cognomovement is exactly what it sounds like: a combination of cognition and movement. It combines physical movement with stimulation of all the senses—hearing, touch, taste, smell, sight, even the position of your eyes, spine, ears, tongue, and teeth.

Much like the saying that every part of the pig gets used, we utilize every part of the human body to create change. The process ultimately comes down to the nervous system. By working with focused and peripheral vision, tongue position, teeth alignment, and other sensory inputs, we’ve found unique ways to help people process not only trauma but also the obstacles that keep them from thriving.

That could mean overcoming fears, guilt, grief, humiliation, or anger. But it also includes removing blocks to success—whether in relationships, finances, or athletics. We’ve worked with everyone from people who are really struggling in life to Olympic hopefuls to billionaires navigating personal challenges.

It’s not limited to trauma or consciousness alone. Cognomovement addresses the whole spectrum of human experience and performance.

When people talk about the modalities they’ve created or are most passionate about, there’s often a strong conviction: This is the one. This is the approach that really works. That passion makes sense. But how does Cognomovement differ from other powerful practices—like Reiki or Joe Dispenza’s meditations? Not to compare or put others down, but to highlight what makes your approach distinctive.

Bill McKenna: I’ve done all of those things myself. I went through Reiki trainings—levels one, two, and three—and I found real value there. And Dr. Joe Dispenza? He has a special place in my heart. I love that guy. He has created numerous miracles, and his work has touched countless people.

What makes Cognomovement different is that we’re coming at it from another angle. All those practices are extraordinarily valuable, and many of the people who come to us have already tried them and benefited. But here’s the distinction:

Dr. Joe often says, You have a feeling, then you think a thought equal to that feeling, and then you act according to that thought and feeling. And that is absolutely true. But what we’ve discovered is the step before that: where does the feeling itself come from?

The feeling is primary. Liz and I realized that the nervous system—what many people call the subconscious—is actually generating those feelings. And then, in turn, we think the thoughts equal to them, and we act accordingly.

So with Cognomovement, we go straight to the body. We identify the feeling as it lives in the nervous system, and we work with it directly. For example, maybe you crave fried chicken. You know it’s not the healthiest choice, but there’s a deep craving that feels almost impossible to resist. That craving is a pattern in the nervous system. By addressing it at that level, we can shift the underlying feeling that drives the thought and behavior.

I feel like you’re reading my mind, Bill. Alright, this is getting too personal.

Bill McKenna: (laughs) That feeling—the one about crispy fried chicken—is actually a perfect example. If you pay attention when that urge arises, there’s always a feeling somewhere in your body. It could be in your fingers, your toes, your heart, your throat. Wherever it is, that feeling sparks the thought: I want fried chicken, even though you know it’s not good for your arteries, your cholesterol, or your weight.

What we do with someone in that situation is not to shame them but to help them become aware. Through specific eye movements, we can identify where the “glitch” is—where the original experience that created that demand lives. The eyes, brain, and spinal cord form one neurological system. By working with vision—including peripheral vision—we can locate the exact area that needs to be addressed.

When that area is activated and integrated, the nervous system gets rewired. Suddenly, the fried chicken doesn’t smell or taste appealing anymore. And that’s the fascinating part: it’s not just about cravings. It could be about deeply held narratives—like My mom abused me; you don’t understand how bad it was. Through this process, the intense charge of the old experience dissolves. New concepts emerge. New perspectives open up that were previously blocked.

In truth, we don’t see reality as it is; we see a reflection of what we’re thinking and feeling. That’s a hard concept to swallow because we’re so sure our perception is “right.” Yet again and again, we’ve witnessed people who suddenly experience a complete shift. They might realize, My mom was there. She did love me—she just showed it differently.

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, external reality shifts. A mother calls after decades of estrangement to apologize. A relationship unlocks. Long-held patterns dissolve.

This goes beyond just thoughts and feelings. There’s, for lack of a better term, a quantum aspect to it. Many modalities work only with the energy field surrounding a person—their biofield. We use that too, but we also understand how it interfaces with the person’s nervous system and even with the situations in their life, helping to “lock in” a new reality.

From the outside, Cognomovement doesn’t appear to have a linear “Step 1 through Step 10” process. It feels more like you have a set of tools or resources you draw upon to help people unlock things. I know there’s a deliberate structure—it’s not random—but could you walk us through what a sample experience might look like? Say someone has a common negative thought like, I’ll never be able to do X. How would you work with them?

Bill McKenna: Here’s a fun way to think about it. Everyone wants something—a new house, a better relationship, a new car, a lottery win. They’ll say, I’m extraordinarily clear about this desire, I’ve worked for it, but it just hasn’t shown up yet. The beauty of Cognomovement is that you can approach it from either side: the negative thought or the positive goal.

Let me share a story first. One woman I worked with wanted a Porsche S4. She was absolutely sure she had no blocks—she wanted that car. But as we went through the process, we found hidden objections. One was, if I get the Porsche, I’ll have to move because I don’t have a garage. That means spending more money and dealing with the hassle of moving. Once we cleared that up, another objection surfaced: If I get the Porsche, my friends will leave me. They’ll think I’m showing off.

If you had to choose between a car and all your friends, most people would choose their friends. But once we rewired her nervous system, the fear shifted to a new perspective: Actually, my friends will probably want to go for a ride and have fun together. At some point, she could literally feel the shift in her body—her vision changed, the tension disappeared, and the idea of owning the Porsche became joyful instead of threatening.

We see the same thing with other desires. People might experience double vision, cloudy vision, or blinking when their eyes move into a certain area. Each of those reactions is a clue from the nervous system.

Here’s the simple version of what we do:

• Focus on whatever you want—or on what’s not working.
• Roll your eyes slowly all the way around without moving your head: down the floor, across the floor, up the wall, across the ceiling.
• Because the eyes, brain, and spinal cord are one system, your nervous system will reveal the “truth”—not the ultimate truth, but your truth.

As you roll your eyes, there will be a place where it feels off—like your eyes resist being there. That’s the area your nervous system is objecting to. Once we locate it, we apply gentle stimulation—small, simple movements—to help the nerves fire differently. Suddenly, your eyes can go further, the tension dissolves, and new information appears, like, My friends won’t leave me, or, I can handle the move.

We had another woman whose husband had left her after 35 or 40 years with no notice. Two or three years later, she came to me and said, I’m ready for my new husband. I’ve got the picture: cowboy boots, Wranglers, this tall, looks like that. She was very clear. But when we checked her nervous system, there it was—an objection hiding in plain sight: If I get a new husband, my ex won’t have to pay alimony anymore. He just walked out after 35 years, and I’m not letting him off the hook.

That’s the kind of hidden resistance that keeps people stuck. Once we clear those objections at the nervous system level, their lives start to change.

Could you take me through an example? I think that would be helpful. People can watch me go through it and follow along themselves. Let’s say one of the things I’m excited about is that you’ll be leading a workshop at the Awakened Lifestyle Expo in December. Since it’s our first big event, I naturally feel some anxiety. If my desire is to have 1,500 people attend, how could I use Cognomovement to see if there’s any hindrance to that?

Bill McKenna: The environment always responds to our feelings. So it’s crucial that your feeling is congruent with what you want. If your nervous system is aligned with 1,500 people showing up, then it’s possible. If it’s not, we’ll discover where the block is.

Let’s try it. First, close your eyes and imagine the scene: 1,500 people are walking through the doors. You’ve got ticket takers, security, vendors, everyone’s buzzing with excitement. Stay in the joy of it—the joy of serving that many people. Notice where you feel it in your body.

Now open your eyes. Without moving your head, slowly roll your eyes around the room—across the ceiling, down the wall, across the floor. Keep repeating, 1,500 people, 1,500 people. At some point, you’ll notice a place where your eyes resist or there’s discomfort.

It was up here. I felt a pull in this direction.

Bill McKenna: Perfect. Keep your eyes in that exact position. Notice where the strain is. Is it in one eye, both, or around them? Point to where you feel it.

Up here, above my eyebrow.

Bill McKenna: Great. Now gently create a sensation on your right eyebrow—just a soft swipe. Then do the same on the left. Keep your eyes in position and remember to breathe.

I forgot to breathe—I was holding my breath.

Bill McKenna: That’s common. Now check again—how does the strain feel above the eyebrow?

It definitely feels less.

Bill McKenna: Good. Your eyes may have adjusted slightly. Go back to the exact position where the strain was and notice if it’s still there.

Very slight—definitely less.

Bill McKenna: Excellent. Sometimes the strain shifts position. If you now feel it slightly up and to the left, keep your eyes there and notice where the strain is. We’ll work with that spot next.

When we first went through the closed-eye meditation, I actually felt anxiety in my lower left side—not in my eyes but in my body.

Bill McKenna: And how does that feel now as your eyes are in position?

It’s interesting—I feel a connection between the tension in my eye and that spot lower down in my body.

Bill McKenna: Good. Drive your eyes into that upper-left position and notice where the tension remains. Is it around one eye, both, or inside one of them?

Definitely my left eye.

Bill McKenna: Perfect. In that case, you’re going to use the opposite eye. Very gently tap underneath the eyelid, almost imperceptibly—just the softest sensation. Then do the same on the other side. Keep your eyes in that position as you breathe. Notice if the tension begins to shift.

Yes—it definitely feels better.

Bill McKenna: Now, ask yourself: Is there any information here about wanting 1,500 people at the expo? Does a perspective become available when you keep your eyes in that direction?

What came up, almost instantly, was the thought: If that many people show up, there will be so many complaints—complaints from vendors, complaints from attendees. Why did I even think that?

Bill McKenna: Exactly. The nervous system reveals the hidden objection: I don’t want 1,500 people because that means a lot of complaining, and I don’t like dealing with complaints. Subconsciously, it’s safer to want fewer people—say 100—because then there would be fewer complaints.

Right. So how do I release this?

Bill McKenna: First, check the tension again. Is it still there?

Less—just barely.

Bill McKenna: Good. If there’s still a trace, repeat the process: notice where the tension is, gently stimulate the area, then return to the strained position. One of the secrets of Cognomovement is that we use the entire body. The “good” side of the nervous system can actually teach the “problem” side. By alternating between the two—creating sensation on the strong side, then returning to the tense area—you allow the nervous system to rewire itself.

As you continue, drive your eyes further into the position and stop tapping. Often, a new perspective emerges as the strain dissolves. That’s when transformation happens—not by forcing a thought, but by releasing the underlying nervous system pattern that was blocking it.

Different perspective on the issue. Yeah… It’s like, what if instead of more complaints, there were actually more celebrations? What if it’s not about me, but about the experience itself—1,500 people who are grateful and appreciative?

Bill McKenna: Exactly. Can you imagine 1,500 people who are thankful and appreciative? Now, notice how that feels in your body compared to before.

It’s different. At the start, it felt shadowy—almost dark. But now it feels colorful, vibrant. Instead of a problem, it feels like an opportunity. This actually feels good.

Bill McKenna: Beautiful. What happened here is not that you “made something up.” You accessed something that was hidden. Everywhere you look with your eyes connects to a different part of your brain.

Think about it: if I came on your show and looked down, what would you think I was feeling?

Probably tired—or like you didn’t want to be seen.

Bill McKenna: Exactly. Even a child knows this. When you’re about to cry, you look down. When you’re in worship or prayer, people naturally look up. Looking up activates the executive functions of the brain and even disconnects you from your emotions for a moment. Gurus and mystics have known this for millennia—eyes rolled upward is a universal gesture of transcendence.

So when your eyes were up and to the side, and they could only go so far before tension stopped them, that was a literal access point into your nervous system. Once the tension was released, your eyes moved further, which activated a different part of your brain. Suddenly, a new perspective became available: 1,500 people aren’t 1,500 complaints—they’re 1,500 joyful, grateful participants.

And here’s the key: the environment reflects our feelings. You can try to talk yourself into positivity—say to yourself, It’s going to be great, 1,500 people will come—but if your nervous system is carrying fear or resistance, that feeling is still your real “prayer.” And our feelings, more than our thoughts, are what get answered.

For those who are more scientifically minded and might ask, “Okay, the person feels better—but how do you actually prove these transformations are real and lasting?” What would you say?

Bill McKenna: That’s a great question. Are you familiar with the Amen Clinics, founded by Dr. Daniel Amen?

Yes, I’ve actually had a scan there.

Bill McKenna: Perfect. For those listening, Dr. Amen was a radiologist who became a psychiatrist. He realized psychiatry was the only branch of medicine where doctors didn’t look at the organ they were treating—the brain. So he began scanning brains, and what he discovered was remarkable: emotional injuries can look the same as physical brain damage. For example, the loss of a spouse or a significant trauma can actually show up on scans like a concussion would.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. We’ve had clients do scans before and after working with Cognomovement. In those follow-up scans, you can see areas of the brain that appeared damaged—whether from head injuries or emotional trauma—actually come back online. That’s not just anecdotal; it’s measurable.

We’ve also worked with EEG systems and other tools that show the brain changing in real time. Overactive areas calm down, allowing people to make decisions 30% faster. On a practical level, they’re pressing buttons more quickly in computer tests, but more importantly, they’re making better decisions in their lives.

Of course, brain scans are one thing. But ultimately, the true proof is life transformation. Someone might say, Okay, Bill, my brain looks healed on paper, but I’m still crying myself to sleep every night. That’s not enough. What matters is: are you thriving? Did your finances improve? Did you fall in love? Did your relationships heal? Those are the results that prove the work.

You also emphasize training practitioners. For those already working with other modalities, how could they integrate Cognomovement into their existing healing practice?

Bill McKenna: The very first step is to try it for yourself. We offer an Essentials Program, priced at around $299, which introduces you to five or six foundational moves. It’s simple, but it gives you a taste of how powerful this can be.

For those who want to go deeper, we offer a full training program. It runs a minimum of four and a half months, though people can go at their own pace—it might take a year. It’s intensive: online training, mentorship, and in-person sessions. Typically, we host two in-person trainings a year in San Diego, four days each.

This isn’t a weekend certification; it’s a deep dive. Practitioners are trained extensively in dozens of moves and approaches. And honestly, I call them saints—not lightly, but because they do what seems impossible. Every week, clients bring them situations that feel unsolvable, and somehow, healing happens. They’re not perfect, but they do miracles.

And you’ll be with us at the Awakened Lifestyle Expo in December here in Orange County, where you’ll lead a workshop on timeline jumping. Is that correct?

Bill McKenna: Yes. Timeline jumping is a fascinating subject. It may sound unusual, but you can actually step into what feels like a completely different version of your life. At the workshop, we’ll take participants through exercises that help them identify the timeline they want, uncover the hidden objections in their nervous system, and then clear those objections so they can align with the new reality.

It’s not about wishful thinking or trying to talk yourself into positivity. It’s about literally changing the nervous system so your thoughts, feelings, and actions become congruent. When that alignment happens, what you once imagined becomes the life you’re actually living.

Beautiful. And for those who can’t attend in person, we’ll also be offering one of your Gaia episodes, Bending Time. Tell us about that program.

Bill McKenna: Bending Time is one of several episodes we’ve done on Gaia. In this particular one, I teach how to actually “bend” time. It sounds impossible, but I share real stories to demonstrate it.

For example, imagine you have a flight at 10 p.m. It’s an hour away, but you don’t leave until 9:15, in heavy traffic. By any logical calculation, there’s zero chance of making that flight. And yet, through a shift in consciousness, people find themselves walking onto the plane at 10 o’clock.

I never would’ve believed it myself—if you offered me a billion dollars to bet, I would’ve put all my money on “it’s not true.” But I’ve lived it, and I’ve heard countless stories from others who have as well. In the episode, viewers learn how to make this shift themselves. And I love hearing the stories of how it works in their own lives.

Finally, if people want to learn more about Cognomovement, sign up for the Essentials Program, or follow your work, what’s the best way?

Bill McKenna: The best place is cognomovement.com. You’ll find the Essentials Program there, along with details on upcoming trainings and events. We’re also active on Facebook and Instagram, and our YouTube channel has thousands of videos available for free. So there are plenty of ways to explore and get started.

Awesome. Bill, it’s been a gift to be with you today. Thank you for helping me experience a breakthrough—and we look forward to seeing you at the Awakened Lifestyle Expo.