Change only one submodality at a time to find out how it changes the impact of the experience. As you do, stay alert to ecology concerns! This exercise, by design, leads you into the exploration only of submodalities. Interventions come later with additional exercises. If a shift causes unpleasantness or brings up objections, respect that and explore something else. Notice the following:
1) Do any other submodalities shift along with it?
2) Does your feeling change, in either intensity or quality?
3) Ask yourself, “In what context might this submodality shift provide a more useful behavior”? How could I use this to make my life better?”
4) Try some Auditory and Kinesthetic (tactile [external] and proprioceptive [internal]) distinctions as well as visual ones.
15.4.0.102 II. “The Cure” For Headaches And Other Uncomfortable Feelings21
Rank the headache from 1 to 10. This initiates the process of dissociation. It provides a standard for comparison. It enables the subject to “chunk down” the headache into parts. And, it allows the subject to constantly experience reinforcement by the success they have when they reduce the headache, that is, from a 7 to a 6.
Represent the headache by making a picture or a movie in your mind. This step serves to dissociate the headache as well as translate it into concrete rather than a general form. The subject begins to control their headache rather than it controlling them.
If the picture has movement that causes pain, you may want to ask the subject to alter the movement. Suppose the subject experiences their headache as hammer blows. Ask the subject to suggest something that will reduce the impact of the hammer blows like imagining pillows being placed under the hammer blows. Ask the subject, “What number would you place on your headache now?”
Change the color of the headache so that it reduces from a _____ to a _____. This simple submodality procedure often produces and effective change.
Project the picture of your headache on a movie screen and reduce the size of the picture until your headache measures only a 3. Since the size of the picture usually provides a powerful submodality driver, save this for the moment of reducing a bigger chunk of the headache. If the subject has difficulty, introduce a double dissociation by having the subject rise above themselves in the theater seat and watch themselves watch themselves on the screen with the headache.
Reduce the size of the picture on the screen until it becomes a small balloon. Let the balloon start to rise. As it reaches the clouds your headache will reduce to a 1.
Now watch the balloon fade in the clouds. When you can no longer see the balloon you will have only the faintest memory of your headache.
If you noticed, many of the steps in this process take a quality of representation (a submodality) and use it as a meta-level frame. You take dissociation (the color blue, the sense of coolness, etc.) and bring it to bear on the primary level experience—the headache.
You may use this procedure on unwanted feelings such as anger, depression and desiring to eat. Familiarize the subject with the procedure using it as a headache cure. Then, allow the headache cure to become a metaphor for removing their unwanted feelings. Ask them to visualize the feeling they want to get rid of existing in some form within the balloon. Next, lead them to visualize those feelings leaving the balloon slowly one by one. Last, speed up the process until it takes no more time than you could say, “Zap!”
15.4.0.103 III. Mapping Across With Submodalities
(triads)
“B” thinks of a Problem State and an appropriate Resource State that “B” believe presents an adequate enough resource to overcome the Problem State. “A” asks of “B,” “Think of a context in which you feel stuck or in some way not as resourceful as you want to feel.” “A” calibrates “B’s” state. Once “B” accesses the Problem State and “A” calibrates “B,” “A” says to “B,” “Now think of a time when you had a Resource State that you believe would have provided assistance in this stuck context.” “A” makes sure from “B” that the resource has the characteristics that “B” needs in the Problem State. “A” calibrates with “B.”
“A” identifies from “B” the differences between the visual, auditory and kinesthetic submodalities of the Problem State and the Resource State. “A” writes down the submodalities of each image making a note of the differences between them (contrastive analysis). Do this without “B” giving any content and you will find this much easier. When a client gets into content, they have left process. Remember that change takes place at the process level. “A” will record the submodalities of both states on the submodality checklist.
“A” asks of “B,” “How do you experience the Problem State as different from the Resource State?” Let “B” give the submodality differences that they observe. Then, you can ask for other submodalities. Have “B” hold both images simultaneously in their mind.
Mapping Across: “A” says to “B,” “Now, think of the Problem State and the Resource State simultaneously. Keeping the same content in the Problem State, I will ask you to change the way you experience the content of the Problem State. Take the submodalities of the Problem State and apply them to the Resource State.” First, use the visual submodalities and then the auditory submodalities if necessary. Only use the kinesthetic submodalities should they be important to “B.”
`Move one submodality at a time. After “A” directs “B” in changing one submodality, “A” asks “B” if other submodalities changed. If other submodalities changed, “A” places an asterisk beside that submodality as being a driver or critical submodality. Put the submodality back in its original position. We will make the shift after testing each submodality.
“B” uses hypnotic language patterns from the Milton-model. “A” leads “B” with such language as “You can allow the black-and-white picture to become color and as you change the color this will allow you to move the image of the Problem State into the same location as the Resource State, etc.”
Submodality mapping across: Using the drivers that “A” has identified in # 3 above, “A” leads “B” to shift the Problem State into the submodalities of the Resource State.
Test: “A” asks “B,” “Do you now feel resourceful in this context?” If either non-verbally or verbally they indicate that they don’t yet have the resource fully available, ask them to now compare the “almost Resource State” to the “Resource State” and identify any submodalities that differ. Map across with these submodalities until “B” accesses a fully resourceful state (still keeping the same “problem” content).
Future Pace: “A” says to “B,” “Imagine yourself sometime in the near future in a similar context. Notice how you now experience that state with these added resources.” “A” calibrates “B’s” nonverbal response. Wait a few minutes while talking about something else (breaking state), and then test again by asking about the problem content or context.
15.5 Time-Line Submodalities
The effectiveness of the techniques of Time-Line Therapy™ premises upon the visual submodality of location.
Time-Line Therapy™ has found its place among effective NLP therapeutic interven tions. Thus, understanding how we code our “Time-Lines” provides an effective learning tool for the NLP Practitioner. This exercise in Time-Line Submodalities will serve to introduce you to the concept of “time” as a line. Time-Line Therapy™ premises upon the visual submodality of location, which we then use as a meta-frame.
15.6 How Your Brain Tells Time
Remember, in NLP we focus primarily on process or structure, not content. So we ask the question, “How does our brain understand time?” What goes on inside our head that enables us to know the difference between the past, the present and the future? How do we know the order of events from the past? The brain must do something or we could not separate events in our lives. One clue lies in the very way we talk about time:
“I see it in front of me.”
“I am stuck back
there and I can’t get out.”
“I look forward to seeing you.”
Such statements are spatial metaphors about the concept of time and offer a description about how we make sense of “concepts” by using metaphors. The spatial metaphor for time enables us to “locate” time in relation to our bodies in space.
Try this experiment. Think of something you do on a regular basis. You may wish to think of driving to work or brushing your teeth. Remember a time about five years ago that you did this. Of course, you probably cannot recall a specific time. However, imagine a time five years ago when you probably performed that activity. Now, remember doing this same thing two years ago. Once you have done that, recall doing this thing last week. OK, good. Imagine doing the same thing in the present. Now, imagine doing it next week, two years hence and then five years from now.
As you recalled and imagined doing this thing, you probably had a series of pictures in your mind. As you look at those pictures again, what differences do you notice in the submodalities?
Does each picture appear in color or black-and-white?
Does each picture have movement or not?
Does each picture appear as a 3D or flat picture?
Do you see yourself in each picture or do you look through your own eyes?
Does each picture have a frame around it or do they appear as a panoramic image?
How bright do the pictures appear? Does the brightness get brighter or darker the further back in time you go?
How far off do you see each picture?
As you look at each picture, how do they vary as far as to focus?
Where do you see each picture in your field of vision?
The way we code time allows our brains to conceptually distinguish the “past” from the “present” and the “future.” It also allows us to know how long ago in the past that memory belongs. And, we can also distinguish the past from the present, and the past from the future, and also know how far that future is into the future. We are not usually consciously aware of doing this. Your unconscious mind remembers the location of your memories. Tad James in his Time-Line Therapy™ trainings asks this question: “When you woke up this morning, how did you know to be you?” We know because we have a collection of memories that when we look in a mirror, we compare what we see with the past memories of what we look like and we say, “Yes, that’s me.” In NLP we call this collection of memories the Time-Line. Our sense of having an historical identity is a Meta-level frame of reference.
The brain must choose an analogue submodality to code the variations of time.
In Time-Lining, the location of the pictures provides a crucial component. Most people code and store “time” in a linear manner. In listing the submodalities of your Time-Line, did you notice the importance of location? This speaks about the spatial metaphor that you use for “time.” Coding “time” using location is the brain’s primary way of representing time sequentially.
Coding “time” using location is the brain’s primary way of representing time sequentially.
Because of the spatial metaphor of a line for “time,” we primarily use the visual submodality of location in our coding and storing of “time.” We code chronological distance in time in terms of size and/or distance. Brightness and intensity also indicate other aspects of time. We have “faded memories,” a “dim or murky past,” or a “bright future.”
Auditory submodalities do not allow for simultaneous access of memories. The imprecision of the kinesthetic submodalities tend to eliminate for most people any usefulness in time storage. We can represent far more information visually than we can using the auditory or kinesthetic systems. Of course, each person has their own way of storing time. Thus, one system does not have precedence over the other. However, the way you store time does have consequences. What would happen if your past appeared directly in front of you? Your memories appearing directly in front of you would tend to drive your state and behavior.
Bill came to me in a state of depression. One year earlier his girlfriend had dumped him. In working with Bill, I discovered that the picture of her leaving him was directly in front of his face. I used several interventions with Bill. The major change resulted from Bill moving the image from in front of his face to behind his head.
15.6.0.104 IV. Time-Line Submodalities
(triad)
“B” picks an activity they do quite often. Pick an example like going to work, brushing your teeth, eating lunch, etc.
“A” leads “B” to think of several specific instances in which they did the activity. (If “B” has difficulty eliciting specific memories, then “B” should simply imagine when they did these particular activities.)
a. a year ago
b. a week ago
c. yesterday
d. today
e. tomorrow
f. next week
g. next year
“A” elicits from “B” the varying submodalities of each of the memories. For this exercise, check all three major rep systems. Pay close attention to such things as each picture’s location, associated/dissociated, distance, size, clarity, internal dialogue, etc.
“B” will have some way they internally accesses these pictures in order to tell one from the other since the content remains the same. How do they know one picture comes from the past, another from the present and another from the future? How do they know the difference between the far past and the near past?
Do a round robin.
Debrief by sharing your similarities and differences.
Experiment with your personal time-sorts to see how that changes experiences. Suppose you associate into your past memories and dissociated in your future pictures, what would happen if you reversed these? Or, suppose your future appears on the left and your past appears on the right, what would happen if you reversed these? What effect does switching a picture make? Play with other submodalities. When you finish experimenting, put everything back as it originally appeared.
15.6.0.105 V. Godiva Chocolate Pattern
Apathy describes a feeling most of us struggle with at one time or the other. Suppose you desire to do something that you know you need to do but presently you do not wish to do. And even though you need to do it, or you feel you must do it, because you don’t enjoy doing it, you prevent yourself from doing this particular task. Richard Bandler developed a submodality change pattern that he calls the Godiva Chocolate Pattern that will help you change your feelings from apathy to desire. Wanting to (desire, compulsion) and not wanting to (apathy) do something can be conceived of as operating as primary level experiences. This makes it easy to shift these experiences with a submodality mapping across.
“B” begins by thinking about something they have enthusiasm or a compulsion about. This procedure gets its name from the way some people compel themselves over eating chocolate. Utilize all three rep systems in the image.
“B” thinks of something they have to do or needs to do so that “B” might as well enjoy doing it. The decision must be congruent with the total system. “B” chooses something that “B” not only needs to do but wants to do. “B” checks their ecology by asking if there any parts object to “B’s” enjoying carrying out this decision enthusiastically.
“A” leads “B” in the formation of this decision (# 2) in their mind. Then, “A” asks “B” to open up a small hole right in the middle of the image.
“A” leads “B” to form an image of # 1 right behind # 2. “B” will see a small portion of # 1 through the hole of # 2.
Now “A” leads “B” to allow the little hole to open up but only AS RAPIDLY as “B” needs to get a full feeling response to # 1. Then “A” directs “B” to allow the hole to close but NO FASTER than “B” can KEEP the feelings generated by experiencing # 1.
“A” directs “B” to repeat the process done in # 5 three or four more times. “B” performs these repetitions rapidly. Do a break state between each repetition. Make certain that th
e feelings of # 1 attach to # 2.
“A” asks “B” to look at # 2 and experience the feelings of # 1 simultaneously.
Do a round robin.
15.6.0.106 VI. The Swish Pattern
The Swish Pattern provides a tool to exchange memories or to replace the visual of deleted memories. In his book Using Your Brain For A Change22 Bandler describes a procedure for the purpose of working on specific behaviors that the client may not want anymore. The pattern has proven effective in eliminating unwanted habits. It also provides an extremely effective means in the removal of negative images and their replacement with positive images. The Swish Pattern equips the NLP Practitioner with an effective tool in generating new responses. Such work results in positive behavioral changes.
This procedure generates a new direction for the person to take their brain in. The Swish Pattern has two basic elements:
1) A chain that leads from the cue for the Problem State toward the desired state.
2) A motivation piece, utilizing a dissociated self-image with compelling submodalities.
We will cover the outline of the general model for The Swish Pattern here.
Identify a specific behavior that you wish to change. The procedure has proven effective with nail-biting, over-eating and, on occasion, smoking. It works best with changing minor habits. Would you like to respond differently to someone than how you presently respond?
The User's Manual for the Brain Volume I Page 36