The Reticular Activating System, or RAS, is a network of nerves in the brainstem. It helps control wakefulness, arousal, attention, and the sleep-wake cycle. It helps the brain switch between alertness and rest. It also supports our ability to notice what matters at any moment. The RAS is part of the reticular formation in neuroscience. It connects the brainstem to areas linked to consciousness and attention.

In simple terms, the RAS acts like an internal filter. Each second, the brain takes in a huge amount of information. This includes sounds, colours, sensations, memories, emotions, worries, background noise, body signals, and subtle cues from the environment. If all of this reached conscious awareness at once, we would be overwhelmed. So the brain filters.

It asks, quietly and constantly: “What matters here?”

This is why what we “track” matters so much.

When we repeatedly focus on something, we are sending a signal to the unconscious mind: “This matters now.” The brain then begins to respond by making subtle, automatic adjustments we may not even be aware of. It starts noticing what matches that signal. It highlights certain details. It brings relevant memories forward. It nudges our attention toward evidence that fits what we have been repeatedly holding in mind.

You might notice a new word everywhere after you learn it. Or, when you choose a specific car colour, you start seeing that colour on every street. The cars were already there. The word was already being used. But your brain had been given a new instruction. The spotlight moved.

This has powerful implications for positive change.

If we focus on what’s wrong, what’s missing, or what might go wrong, our brain can get really good at spotting those patterns. This is not a moral failing. It is the nervous system doing what it has learned to do. For someone who has faced chronic stress, grief, trauma, rejection, or anxiety, the brain can get good at looking for threats. It may track danger before it tracks safety.

But the hopeful part is this: we can begin to work with the same system in a kinder direction.

Instead of asking, “What is going wrong?” we can gently ask, “Where is one sign of steadiness today?” Instead of tracking only pain, we might begin tracking moments of relief, connection, courage, choice, or calm. These moments do not have to be dramatic. They may be tiny. A softer breath. A pause before reacting. A clearer boundary. A moment of warmth. A decision to rest instead of pushing through.

Small evidence matters because the brain learns through repetition.

When we consciously track signs of positive change, we are not pretending life is easy. We are training attention to include more of reality. The wound may still be present, but it no longer becomes the only thing the mind recognises. The nervous system begins to receive new information: “Safety exists too. Support exists too. I am changing too.”

This is where therapeutic work can be deeply supportive.

In hypnotherapy, the mind enters a focused and receptive state. This can calm everyday overthinking. It lets new ideas, images, and feelings reach deeper awareness. The RAS helps with arousal and attention. So, calming the nervous system and focusing the mind may make a person more open to new possibilities instead of old automatic reactions.

Reiki and gentle energy-based work may also support this process by inviting the body into stillness, rest, and regulation. When the body feels safer, attention can focus. The person might start to feel sensations, emotions, or inner messages that stress or vigilance had previously hidden.

Reflective therapy, transpersonal hypnotherapy, and guided imagery can help people be more aware of their internal thoughts and feelings. Am I tracking danger, rejection, or old shame? Or am I beginning to track resilience, choice, dignity, support, and the quiet return of self-trust?

A simple practice is to begin each morning with one clear intention:

“Today, I am willing to notice one sign that I am becoming steadier.”

Then, at the end of the day, write down three small pieces of evidence. Not grand achievements. Just signals. “I breathed before I answered.” “I went outside.” “I asked for help.” “I did not abandon myself.”

This is how change often begins. Not as thunder. Not as instant transformation. But as a repeated instruction to the unconscious mind:

“This matters now.”

And slowly, the brain begins to listen.

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