It DOES seem to me that these are “signals” to me to focus back on the Now, and also to put my attention on relaxing my energy. It does seem to validate itself often enough, in that when I DO heed my own advice, the sickish feeling or the ache and pain pretty much disappear in a manner and quickness that I would have previously found more than a LITTLE “curious”. It DOES seem to me that there is validity in being familiar with your attention and where it is concentrating. If you can manage to move your attention, sometimes it seems like your “current” conditions can change almost “miraculously”.

One thing I try and remember at these times, is Elias’ often-offered information that “This is not a race. There is NO finish line”. It helps me, at least, to remember that while I may feel that there isn’t enough time or that something isn’t happening “fast enough”, it matters not. And forcing one’s energy only seems to lead to making one feel worse.

You say about these “subliminal messages” you’ve set to flash on your monitor for a fraction of a second: “I hardly notice them.” And you ask if this “works.”

Now, I understand the theory behind using subliminal messages, and what “works” about them (if they work for you) is not the message flashing, but your belief that subliminal messages work. The message flashing would act like a little reminder that triggers you to focus your attention like this, “I’m magically changing myself and my life for the better!” At least that’s what it would do if you have a strong conviction that you can reprogram yourself in positive ways without paying conscious attention.

And if the conviction that your life was going to magically change for the better by using subliminal messages was really strong in you, you would start looking at your life differently as a result. You would be looking for every little sign that the messages were working. You would notice every way you make progress in directions you want to go, no matter how small it seemed.

And by looking for every scrap of evidence that things are working better for you, you would find that evidence and amplify it, and your life would improve as a result. Magically! But what would be “working” would not be the subliminal messages. What would be working would be a new way of looking at your life. The most powerful change we can make, according to all the advice I’ve seen, is to notice and appreciate what works about ourselves and our lives instead of focusing on what we don’t like.

So, how can you tell if something is “working” for you? Well, do you notice a change in how you feel? Do you relax when you notice these subliminal messages because you ARE convinced that they’re “working”? When you see that little flash that you hardly notice, does it nudge you to turn your attention to looking at yourself and your situation in ways that feel less conflicted or unpleasant? Are you looking for what is working about your life, or are you seeing all the ways you don’t like your life?

The short answer to “Does it work?” is, “Are you feeling better?” If you’re feeling better, what you’re doing is “working,” whatever it is.

It seems that for most of us, big drama, unlike a subliminal message, is something we can’t help but notice. Like you said, it can be a way of telling yourself that something needs to change. For me, big drama shouts, “Hey, this message is being brought to you by a part of you that you haven’t been listening to. Wake up and make some different choices!”

As for being in a domestic violence shelter, isn’t it terrific that such places exist? In the olden days (heck, even now) many women stayed in unpleasant situations because they couldn’t figure out how to leave. Now we not only have these places that take you in, but they help you figure out how to get on with your life. So, that’s something you could notice that’s really working for you right now.

I love the suggestion of automatic calendar reminders to do specific actions to interrupt automatic responses. So, we use the automatic to interrupt the automatic! It is brilliant. Good luck with your shift diaries. I will add a link here to the http://www.writingup.com/blog/prisms group where we discuss some more of these concepts. Maybe you will be able to explore more with like minds. Say Hi! to Anne for me.

Claire