Neuro-Linguistic Programming

Now tune into the auditory element of your memory and recall what you heard at the time. What sounds are you aware of - voices, music or a noise of some kind? How many sound sources are there? Are the sounds close by or some distance away? Which direction do the sounds come from? Do they sound as clear as a bell or are any of them muffled? If there are voices are they pitched high or low? Are they speaking quickly or slowly?

Try turning up the volume and get a sense of the difference it makes to your experience. Now turn it down to a whisper. If there are a number of voices or sounds adjust the tone of each one, much like you would if you were using a graphic equalizer. Move the sounds around into different locations. Try changing the speed. What effect do each of these changes have on the way you feel about it?

Finally, get in touch with any feelings you experienced at the time. Where in your body were they? How would you describe the sensations? Were they strong or weak? Diffused or focused? What happens if you move them around or change their intensity?

What you've just done is to briefly experience the 'fabric' of your submodalities - how they're made up. You may have been surprised when you started changing the way your memory was coded, that it could have such a significant effect. Most people have never thought of altering the brightness of an internal image or the volume of an internal sound to feel differently about things.

What you were doing was changing your internal representation, and you can do it with any memory, 'good' or 'bad', strengthening those which you value and weakening those which cause you problems. You can also use the same process when planning what you want to do in the future. By optimizing the submodalities, you can make your 'outcomes' compelling.