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Hi chickenbone, I love your way to look at things and to explain what works for you! My strategy is similar to yours, but I just started the 'felt sense' approach, so hearing about your success with it is very encouraging, thank you.

The 8 steps above are great, after months of journaling I need something else now, I learned something through journaling+enjoyed it, but it didn't do the trick, I guess I didn't check with my body if the things I write about are the real issues.

I took a focusing class this weekend (excellent, eye opening and fun!) and would like to add another possible way of looking at these thoughts: if there's a thought or a mental picture coming up, it's helpful to not to take it as it is (it may be just rational like you mentioned), but to go back and forth between the thought (or picture) and the felt sense (maybe pain, heat, upset stomach etc.) in the body and see how the body reacts to that thought or picture. "These words can be tested against the felt sense: The felt sense will not resonate with a word or phrase that does not adequately describe it." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focusing

If somebody is interested in focusing, I recommend Ann Weiser Cornell's book 'The power of focusing'. It's an easy and fast read and fun technique to learn what the body wants us to know. Also focusing is excellent for peer work (on the phone or in person) with a partner, and usually more effektive, since it helps the concentration and patience not to rush through steps. Most focusing books descibe how peer work is easily done. I'm thinking about starting a focusing group where I live in Dortmund, Germany.