Rooted in decades of thoughtful observation

In the 1920s, Florence Scovel Shinn wrote about the relationship between inner dialogue and emotional experience. She observed that the emotional tone of our thoughts — not just their content — shapes how we feel.

She emphasized that sustained attention to a thought strengthens its felt state. A shift in attention can change the emotional charge. When we identify with a thought, we assume its emotional tone. A brief pause in that identification creates space for a different felt state to emerge.

Neville Goddard deepened these insights, particularly around state of consciousness and attention. He wrote that we don't experience thoughts — we experience our state of consciousness, which includes how we attend to thoughts.

When attention is fixed on a thought, we become identified with it. A shift in attention is a shift in identification, which changes the felt experience. This aligns with modern understanding of how the nervous system responds to sustained focus.

Napoleon Hill's work emphasized that thoughts are things — that the mind's persistent focus on an idea shapes both inner experience and outer reality. He observed that the subconscious mind responds to the dominant thoughts we hold.

He wrote that we cannot directly control every thought that enters our mind, but we can control which thoughts we dwell upon. By shifting attention away from unwanted thoughts, we weaken their hold. This aligns with Solarie's approach: a brief pause in sustained focus can shift the emotional charge of a thought.