how to change beliefs using nlp...

How to Change Be lie fs Using NLP Submodalit ie s

WWW.INSPIRITIVE.COM.AU Copyright Jules Collingwood 2015

How to Change Beliefs Using NLP Submodalities

Contents

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02

03

04

In t roduct ion

Subm odalit ies

Belief

Con clusion

www.nlp.edu.au/email-newsletter-opt-in-ebook/?utm_source=ebook&utm_medium=ebook&utm_campaign=emotional%20intelligence



In th is ebook, we sh all d iscuss th e fun ct ion of subm odalit ies as carr iers of m ean in g an d th e observat ion th at in d ividual people use d ifferen t subm odalit ies from each oth er to create m ean in g for th eir represen tat ion s. We sh all st ar t by descr ib in g represen tat ion an d represen tat ion al system s. We sh all rela te subm odalit ies to th eir respect ive represen tat ion al system s, descr ibe subm odalit ies an d list a n um ber of th e m ost com m on ly applied subm odalit ies for each system . We sh all follow th e pr in cip les of a subm odality ch an ge process an d th en d iscuss th e Submodality Belief Change process.

Th e previous ebook d iscussed th e Swish Pat tern , wh ich is a ch an ge process usin g a person ’s own an alogue dr iver subm odalit ies. Subm odalit ies are th e subcom pon en ts of each represen tat ion al system . Our represen tat ion al system s are th e in tern al exper ien ce of sigh t , h ear in g, feelin g, t aste an d sm ell. Th ese correspon d to our extern al sen ses an d allow us to rem em ber previous exper ien ces an d to im agin e scen ar ios.

Represen t in g sen sory in form at ion is a n orm al par t of everyon e’s th in kin g processes, bu t n ot everyon e is aware of th e exper ien ce of h ow th ey are th in kin g. Most represen tat ion s occur a t h igh speed , so our ord in ary exper ien ce is of form ulat in g ideas an d accessin g kn owledge with out awaren ess of h ow it is bein g com piled .

Som e people fin d it d ifficu lt in it ia lly to access th eir in tern al represen tat ion s, bu t it can be learn ed by m ost people, an d can be a very rewardin g skill. For exam ple, if you wan t to im agin e com plet in g a project or wh at you would look like in a par t icu lar ou t fit , it h elps to h ave im ages th at are large en ough to see in detail. However you can on ly d iscover th e size an d locat ion of your im ages if you can see th em con sciously.

Introduction



Som et im es, just h avin g th is in form at ion is sufficien t to prom pt explorat ion an d d iscovery. If you would like to see an im age, th in k of a favourit e it em ( flower , an im al, your car) an d look upwards. Lookin g upwards facilit a tes seein g in tern al im ages.

In th e 1980s, th ere was a person al developm en t group for wom en , wh ere th e par t icipan ts were in st ructed to perform a walkin g m editat ion . Th ey were told to repeat to th em selves, “I am a m agn ificen t , rad ian t , successfu l wom an an d I express m y beauty freely”. Sim ultan eously, th ey were required to en visage an d retain an im age of th em selves as th at person . Th is was th e on ly in st ruct ion th ey received apar t from th e requirem en t to walk br iskly for 20 m in utes repeat in g th e t ext wh ile th ey stared at th e im age.

Som e of th e par t icipan ts h ad rewardin g exper ien ces with th eir walk, wh ile oth ers foun d it ar t ificia l an d poin t less. With awaren ess of th e workin gs of represen tat ion s an d subm odalit ies an d th eir rela t ion sh ip with psych o-ph ysiological st a tes, th is m akes perfect sen se. Un for tun ately for th e un sat isfied par t icipan ts, th e facilit a tor d id n ot kn ow about subm odalit ies an d fram ed th ose wh o ben efit t ed from th e exper ien ce as bein g m ore “open an d evolved”.

To m ake an exper ien ce of th is n ature rewardin g for a ll, a n um ber of d ifferen t fram es n eed to be set . For a st ar t , th e t ext sh ould be ch osen an d writ t en by each par t icipan t an d sh ould reflect a desired sta te of th eir own th at is m ean in gfu l to th em . Som eon e else’s t ext is on ly applicab le to th e writer . Th is a lso applies to books of affirm at ion s. Th ese are th e au th ors’ words an d th e au th ors’ m ean in gs, yet th ey h ave sold in h uge n um bers. No doubt m an y readers h ave foun d m ean in g for th em selves an d if so, th ey m ake th eir own represen tat ion s an d apply th eir own subm odalit ies to fit .



Th e im age a person uses to accom pan y th eir own text sh ould be large en ough to see in detail an d large en ough to en ab le th em to step in to th em selves in th e im age an d wear it com for tab ly. Close to life size is ideal for th is. Th en th e person can h ear an d feel th e am bien ce as well as observe th e act ion . Th e con ten t of th e im age is th em selves in th eir desired sta te, wh ich relates to th e t ext . Th e im age an d th e t ext can be created in eith er order as th e user ch ooses.

For a walkin g m editat ion th ere is an oth er elem en t th at was m issin g from th e person al developm en t group. If you are creat in g large, lifelike represen tat ion s to walk in an d you wan t to give it your fu ll a t t en t ion , you n eed som eon e with you if you are goin g out in to th e st reet s. Th is is n ot a recom m en dat ion for th is par t icu lar exercise, sim ply a descr ip t ion of h ow to m ake it work for people. Th ere are sim pler ways to exper ien ce desired sta tes, th ough m an y of th em in clude associated represen tat ion s of bein g in th e desired sta te for a b r ief per iod to t ry it on . Th e poin t h ere is to illust rate th at deliberate use of subm odality sh ift s will ch an ge your exper ien ce an d can be very usefu l.

If subm odalit ies are th e subcom pon en ts of represen tat ion s, wh at specifically do th ey do? In th e visual system , subm odalit ies in clude but are n ot lim ited to:

- Size- locat ion- b r igh tn ess - colour saturat ion - focus- m ot ion - d istan ce- h ue - grey scale or colour



- pan oram ic or fram ed im ages- sin gle im age or sp lit screen- t ran sparen cy or opaque- lifelike or d istor ted

- Volum e- locat ion- sin gle or m ult ip le source- p it ch- reson an ce- lifelike- d istor ted

- Tem perature- pressure- locat ion- area- volum e- t exture- sin gle or m ult ip le source- touch- in tern al sen sat ion- in ten sity

Auditory subm odalit ies in clude:

Kin aesth et ic subm odalit ies in clude:

Taste an d sm ell are gen erally in cluded with th e kin aesth et ic system un less th ey are im portan t , for exam ple in cookin g, win e m akin g an d scen t m akin g.



CHAPTER 1

Submodalit ies



THE IMPORTANCE OF ECOLOGY:

DRIVER SUBMODALITIES

THE FUNCTION OF SUBMODALITIES

Subm odalit ies en ab le people to m ake m ean in g of th eir m em ories an d im agin in gs an d to kn ow th at th ey believe cer ta in th in gs about th em selves an d th e world th ey live in . Wh at is im portan t to appreciate is th at d ifferen t people use d ifferen t subm odalit ies from each oth er to create th e m ean in g th ey wan t for th eir exper ien ces. All of th is t akes p lace au tom at ically, with out con scious awaren ess an d m ost people live qu ite adequately with out kn owin g subm odalit ies exist . However , a workin g kn owledge of represen tat ion s an d subm odalit ies can en h an ce m em ory, creat ivity an d en ab le people to m ake a var iety of ch an ges to th e quality of th eir exper ien ce, in cludin g ch an gin g wh at th ey believe about just about an yth in g.

In th e in terest s of person al safety, rela t ion sh ips an d life ch oices, th is class of ch an ge sh ould be fram ed with carefu l in form at ion gath er in g to en sure th e resu lt h as ben eficial in ten t ion s an d con sequen ces for th e in d ividual in th eir life. Th is is kn own as Ecology an d it proposes th at th e in d ividual becom es aware of th eir own outcom es an d in ten t ion s for m akin g th e ch an ge th ey are con tem plat in g. Subm odality work does n ot con tain an y in h eren t safeguards to support ecological ou tcom es, th erefore it is up to th e ch an ge agen t to provide ecological ch ecks.

To m ake ch an ges usin g subm odalit ies, it is usefu l to fin d th e on es th at ch an ge m ore th an just th em selves. Not a ll subm odalit ies h ave

SUBMODALITIES

01



th is proper ty. If you ch an ge a subm odality, such as b r in gin g an im age closer to you , th at m ay th e exten t of it . If th at im age becom es br igh ter ( or d im m er) , larger ( or sm aller) or feels m ore ( or less) in ten se wh en you br in g it closer , th en for you , d istan ce is wh at is kn own as a Driver subm odality. Driver subm odalit ies in fluen ce ch an ge in an oth er subm odality wh en th ey are a lt ered . Th is m akes th em par t icu lar ly usefu l for creat in g ch an ge. Note th at th e Swish pat tern in th e previous ebook relies on fin d in g an d applyin g two an alogue dr iver subm odalit ies to m ake a ch an ge for th e in d ividual.

An an alogue subm odality sh ift s in crem en tally, like a d im m er switch or volum e con t rol. An im age becom es br igh ter or larger or m oves across a space. It can also becom e sm aller , d im m er, fla t t er , ch an gin g from a life like scen e to sm all, fla t d issociated im age. A soun d m oves across a space or passes like th e soun d of a passin g car or th e p it ch can sh ift in a glissan do or be m ore like a doppler effect wh en a siren ch an ges n ote as it d r ives away.

A d igit a l subm odality is like an on -off switch ; a ll or n oth in g or possib ly stepped . An im age becom es lit wh en th e ligh t is tu rn ed on in a previously dark room . Music is switch ed on with th e volum e already set h igh . A car is st ar ted .

For m an y people, learn in g about th eir own subm odality use is easiest usin g th e visual system . For a first deliberate exper ien ce, t ake a recen t m em ory

ANALOGUE AND DIGITAL SUBMODALITIES

INTRODUCING SUBMODALITIES AND ELICITING PERSONAL DRIVER SUBMODALITIES

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th at is m oderately p leasin g but h as n o great value an d look at your usual im age of it . Br in g th e im age to con scious awaren ess by th in kin g about th e m em ory with your eyes d irected above th e h or izon tal lin e to facilit a te visualisin g. You can take a copy of th e im age for safe keepin g in case you alt er th e on e you are about to explore. You will probably like an y ch an ges you m ake, bu t som e people appreciate th e secur ity of h avin g a copy, especially th e first t im e wh en th ey do n ot kn ow wh at to expect .

Now return to th e im age you are goin g to explore. Are you lookin g at a st ill im age or is it m ovin g, like a video clip? Do you see yourself in th e im age or are you in side it lookin g out of your eyes, as if you were th ere? Is th e im age pan oram ic or con tain ed in a fram e with borders? Is th e ligh t n atural or d istor ted? Is th e ligh t of regular b r igh tn ess, b r igh ter or d im m er? Is th ere depth of field or is th e im age fla t? Is th e im age located in space or does it surroun d you? Is it life size, larger or sm aller? How far away from you is th e im age? Is it in colour or m on och rom e? Are th e colours realist ic, h igh ly saturated or faded? Are all colours represen ted? Is th e wh ole im age in focus, or does it h ave par t fuzzed out?

Now you h ave en ough in form at ion to star t to explore som e possib ilit ies. Take on e subm odality, for exam ple ligh t level. Make th e im age br igh ter . Does th at ch an ge th e m ean in g, exper ien ce or in ten sity of th e m em ory? Does th e im age get larger or sm aller or m ove closer or fur th er away? Wh atever th e resu lt , pu t it back to th e way it was. Now dim th e ligh t . Wh at h appen s? Note an y ch an ges an d th en put th e im age back.

If you would like to explore each of th e opt ion s above, do it on e at a t im e, n ot ice wh at h appen s to your exper ien ce, th en put th e im age back to it s or igin al form . If you n eed a rem in der , on e of th e fun ct ion s of your copy is to sh ow you wh at th e m em ory looked like before you ch an ged an yth in g.

As you explore, you will becom e aware th at som e of th e sh ift s you m ake

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act a lon e an d do n ot h ave m uch im pact on your exper ien ce. Oth ers will cue addit ion al sh ift s. For exam ple, if th e im age get s larger wh en you br igh ten it , b r igh tn ess is a dr iver subm odality for you with referen ce to size. Ch eck if th e im age sh r in ks wh en you d im th e ligh t . Th en ch eck if th e im age br igh ten s wh en you en large it . It m ay or m ay n ot do th is. Som e dr iver subm odalit ies on ly work in on e d irect ion , wh ereas oth ers work both ways. As you d iscover your own dr iver subm odalit ies, fin d out h ow th ey ch an ge your exper ien ce an d if th ey work in on e or both d irect ion s. Be carefu l to con t in ue on ly to sh ift on e subm odality a t a t im e an d restore it before t est in g an oth er on e.

If you were lookin g at a d issociated im age, th at is on e with borders in wh ich you can see yourself, m ake it life size an d step in to yourself in th e im age. Th at will probably give you access to am bien t soun d an d sen sat ion s. It is n ow an associated m em ory. Wh en you are ready, st ep ou t of th e m em ory an d restore it to it s or igin al size an d locat ion . If th at was a n ovel exper ien ce, you m igh t be in terested in exper im en t in g with oth er p leasin g m em ories som et im e. Th ere is far m ore in form at ion in an associated m em ory th an a d issociated on e. Associat in g in to un pleasan t m em ories is gen erally n ot recom m en ded. Dissociated im ages con tain th e n ecessary an d sufficien t in form at ion for m ost purposes, bu t reduce th e p leasure availab le in p leasan t m em ories.

Th is explorat ion provides live exper ien ce of iden t ifyin g an d sh ift in g subm odalit ies so th at you d iscover som e of th eir fun ct ion s. Did you do an yth in g th at m ade your m em ory m ore or less in ten se? Did it becom e m ore or less im portan t or m ean in gfu l? Did it becom e m ore or less believab le?

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Subm odality ch an ge processes are pred icated on our ab ility to m an ipulate our own subm odalit ies, as you h ave just dem on st rated . You will h ave n ot iced th e recom m en dat ion s to proceed with care so you can reverse an y sh ift you m ade in your explorat ion s. Th e sam e recom m en dat ion applies to an y in terven t ion s you m ake by ch an gin g subm odalit ies d irect ly. Th ere is n o ecology built in to th is class of in terven t ion , so we add our own an d gath er carefu l in form at ion before m akin g an y ch an ges.

Th ere m ust be an ou tcom e an d in ten t ion for m akin g a ch an ge. If you wan t a ch an ge, you sh ould be ab le to recogn ise wh en it h as been m ade an d wh at h avin g it sh ould do for you . Your in ten t ion is com pared with th e likely con sequen ces of m akin g th e ch an ge an d it is advisab le n ot to proceed if th e con sequen ces are un acceptab le. Fin d a h igh er level of in ten t ion an d explore th e con sequen ces of th at . Wh en you h ave a desirab le ou tcom e th at is self in it ia ted an d m ain tain ed , supported by an equally well form ed in ten t ion an d ben eficial con sequen ces, th ere is on e m ore p iece you wan t to h ave before you proceed .

You wan t your un con scious m in d fu lly in form ed of your proposal an d in agreem en t with your ou tcom e an d in ten t ion s. Som et im es th e un con scious is th e on ly par t of you th at kn ows th e h igh er level in ten t ion s, so it is advisab le to in clude it in th e wh ole in form at ion gath er in g an d fram in g process. Min im ally, th e un con scious sh ould rat ify your proposal, bu t th e quality of your resu lt can be m arkedly en h an ced by en gagin g un con scious resources from th e star t . Th is is com m on to all well-st ructured in terven t ion s an d is an in tegral elem en t of New Code NLP ch an ge work. For everyth in g else, in clude th ese pr in cip les in your fram in g an d your work will be last in g an d ecological.

THE PRINCIPLES OF SUBMODALITY CHANGE PROCESSES

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Wh en m akin g a subm odality ch an ge, th e n ext st ep is to estab lish th e subm odalit ies you will use to m ake th e ch an ge. For in terven t ion s like th e Swish , wh ere you use a m em ory an d a created represen tat ion , you can d iscover wh ich subm odalit ies you will wan t to ch an ge by sh ift in g subm odalit ies on e at a t im e as we d id with th e in t roductory exercise. For oth er ch an ges, in cludin g ch an gin g beliefs, m ean in gs, self con cept an d developin g outcom es, we create a t em plate.

A tem plate is an em pty represen tat ion space m ade with th e sam e fram e an d subm odalit ies as an exist in g represen tat ion you possess a lready. Ch oose a com parab le con text to th e on e you wan t to ch an ge, with th e proviso th at th e con ten t of th e com parison sit s well with you an d works for your ben efit . Th is will be used to create a t em plate to fram e th e n ew desired sta te con ten t . Th us, if you wan t to ch an ge a belief, your t em plate will be t aken from a represen tat ion of a belief you h old an d value. If you wan t to p lan for buyin g a n ew car , ch oose a represen tat ion of a t im e wh en you wan ted an d were p lan n in g to ob tain som eth in g of equivalen t im portan ce to a n ew car , an d wh ich is n ow in your possession . If you wan t to rem em ber an exper ien ce from ten years ago as if it were yesterday, t ake a recen t exper ien ce with sim ilar qualit ies to use to m ake your t em plate.

To m ake a t em plate, elicit th e subm odalit ies of your com parab le exper ien ce usin g th e list of subm odalit ies above. Wh en you h ave a com plete writ t en descr ip t ion of th e subm odalit ies of th e com parab le, you are ready for th e n ext st age. With topics like ch an gin g an un groun ded wish for som eth in g to a p lan to ob tain it , th ere is on e step .

Represen t th e con ten t you wan t to ch an ge an d n ote wh ich subm odalit ies are d ifferen t from th ose of th e desired sta te t em plate. For exam ple, if it is an im age, it m ay be in a d ifferen t p lace in your field of vision , of a d ifferen t size, be b r igh ter or d im m er, in or ou t of focus. To ch an ge it , sim ply sh ift th ose subm odalit ies th at were d ifferen t , so th at your con ten t

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is fram ed in th e t em plate subm odalit ies. If th e un con scious m in d h as approved th e ch an ge an d you h ave don e accurate work, th e m ean in g of th e exper ien ce will sh ift to reflect th e qualit ies associated with th e t em plate subm odalit ies. You m igh t n eed to repeat th e sh ift two or th ree t im es to au tom ate it . If so, b r in g your a t t en t ion to th e ou t side world between each sh ift , so th at your ch an ge goes in on e d irect ion ; towards th e t em plate subm odality con figurat ion . You will kn ow wh en th e ch an ge is com plete as th e im age will st ay in th e n ew fram e.

For com plex ch an ges, such as th ose associated with beliefs or resolvin g gr ief, th ere are addit ion al st eps. In th is t ext we sh all d iscuss th e subm odality belief ch an ge process in m ore depth .

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CHAPTER 2

Beliefs



A belief is an yth in g th at som eon e th in ks is t rue, kn ows is t rue, h olds as a self-eviden t t ru th , is a “kn owin g”, is t rue, is a t ru th or can n ot be an y oth er way. Som e people m ake a separat ion between believin g an d kn owin g, bu t for our purposes th at would be ar t ificia l. If som eth in g is h eld as t rue, it is a belief an d th at does n ot m ake it less “t rue”. Wh eth er th ere is h ard eviden ce in support of a t ru th , such as th e law of gravity, or n o support in g eviden ce at a ll as in m at ters of fa ith , everyon e wh o h olds a belief does it with subm odalit ies.

For each person , th ere is a set of subm odalit ies th at m ean s “t rue”. Th at is n ot to say beliefs were form ed by m an ipulat in g subm odalit ies. Wh en a belief is form ed, th e person ’s subm odalit ies for t ru th fram e th at con ten t . Beliefs can be created by en gagin g th e person ’s t ru th subm odalit ies, bu t th e n atural way beliefs are form ed is via exper ien ce.

Most people wh o can r ide a b icycle kn ow th ey can . Th ey wen t th rough a learn in g process to ach ieve balan ce on a b icycle an d th en pract iced th e skill un t il th ey could stay on an d r ide com fortab ly an d safely on th e road . At th e sam e t im e, beliefs were form ed n aturally in lin e with th eir exper ien ce. Now, wh en you ask if th ey can r ide a b icycle, th ey say; “Yes”, con gruen t ly. If you ask h ow th ey kn ow th at , an d stop th em from explain in g th e h istory, you will observe th eir eyes m ove to a cer ta in locat ion an d focus with a par t icu lar focal len gth . You m igh t observe m icro m uscle m ovem en ts associated with cyclin g. Th ese represen tat ion s are h ow th ey kn ow th ey can r ide a b icycle.

An y beliefs th at people h old , both gen erat ive an d lim it in g in n ature, are form ed in a sim ilar m an n er . Fam ilia l, cu ltural an d sub-cu ltural beliefs are expressed repeated ly in th e presen ce of ch ildren . Th ey are rein forced in th e adult group by presupposit ion an d allusion . Th e ch ildren m odel th e

Beliefs

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expression an d beh aviour an d take on th e beliefs th em selves.

If a person h as a par t icu lar exper ien ce th at repeat s a n um ber of t im es, th ey are likely to form a belief in lin e with th e repeated exper ien ce. As th e belief fram es expectat ion s of m ore of th e sam e, th e person develops a perceptual filt er th at support s th e belief an d deletes con flict in g in form at ion . Th is is h ow self fu lfillin g proph ecies are form ed.

Logical argum en ts an d scien t ific exper im en ts are design ed to provide con vin cin g exper ien ces to facilit a te form at ion of specific beliefs. Logical argum en ts draw on exist in g, usually dem on st rab le in form at ion to support th eir proposals. Th ese in clude th e resu lt s of previously docum en ted exper im en ts, previously docum en ted cour t decision s an d oth er cu lturally en dorsed eviden ce.

My aun t spen t h er life as an An glican n un . Wh en on e of h er Sisters in th e con ven t exper ien ced a loss of fa ith , sh e asked if I could h elp . Before I m ade an y in terven t ion , I gath ered in form at ion an d got an ou tcom e from th e Sister . Sh e really wan ted h er fa ith back for it s own sake, as th at was very im portan t to h er . Her fa ith a lso supported a life style, social n etwork an d set of product ive act ivit ies th at sh e valued great ly an d could n ot sustain with out it . Sh e h ad lost fa ith in crem en tally over t im e as a resu lt of daily in teract ion s in th e Com m un ity.

We d iscovered sh e was carryin g a previously un con scious com plex equivalen t for fa ith . Un con sciously, sh e h ad been expect in g con sisten t dem on st rat ion s of san ct ity an d un realist ically h igh stan dards of beh aviour from h er m ore sen ior Sisters an d th e Pr iest . As sh e observed even quite decorous h um an n ess dem on st rated on a daily basis, h er fa ith h ad begun to erode.

A SUBMODALITY BELIEF RESTORATION STORY

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Th e Sister was aston ish ed to d iscover th is com plex equivalen t an d it was refram ed with alacr ity wh en sh e d iscovered h ow it began . Sh e was m uch relieved to be in a posit ion wh ere sh e could con sider h er fa ith as som eth in g between h erself an d th e ob ject of h er fa ith . Th en sh e could t ake h er rela t ion sh ips with h er Sisters an d oth ers on th eir own m erit s, wh ile sh ar in g a com m on set of ideals an d outcom es with th em . Th is was h ow we created an ecological fram ework for ch an ge before sh ift in g subm odalit ies to restore an d en h an ce h er fa ith .

To create th e d irect in crease in fa ith , I elicit ed represen tat ion s from wh en h er fa ith was st ron g in th e past an d asked h er to iden t ify th e subm odalit ies used with th ose represen tat ion s. I a lso asked for a recen t m em ory of som eth in g of wh ich sh e was cer ta in an d h appy about . I elicit ed th e subm odalit ies of th at m em ory for com parison . Sh e used th ese two m em ories to estab lish h ow sh e would represen t st ron g faith in th e presen t . Th is gave m e th e dr iver subm odalit ies th at sh e used to in ten sify exper ien ces in h er represen tat ion s. Her curren t represen tat ion of fa ith reflected th e presen t st a te of reduced faith , so we used th e subm odalit ies sh e iden t ified with h avin g st ron g faith , com bin ed with th e subm odalit ies sh e used to den ote cer ta in ty in th e presen t as a t em plate to carry h er curren t fa ith represen tat ion s. We scat tered copies of th e en h an ced faith represen tat ion s th rough h er fu ture, so th at sh e could rely on con t in ued faith for as lon g as sh e ch ose. It worked well an d sh e was ab le to m ain tain h er vocat ion .

COMMENTARY

Th is is an exam ple of m appin g som eon e’s exper ien ces to fin d th e subm odalit ies th at in d ividual uses to m ake specific m ean in g. Th e in ten t ion for m appin g a person ’s subm odalit ies for a specific m ean in g is to apply th em to creat in g a sim ilar m ean in g for an exper ien ce, belief or con cept

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th at th ey wan t to h old . From th e exam ple above, we can in fer th e value of elicit in g th e fram in g th at h as been presen t th at stopped th em from h avin g th eir ou tcom e. We can also see h ow usefu l it can be to update th e fram e to support th e person ach ievin g th eir ou tcom e. It does sat isfy th e n eed for ecology an d also it support s th e likelih ood of th e subm odality sh ift h old in g th rough t im e an d workin g well for th e person .

Som e people’s un con scious m in ds will accept subm odality ch an ges, regard less of wh eth er th e ch an ges are ecological. Wh en an yon e exper ien ces an d keeps a subm odality in terven t ion th at is n ot ecological, th ey often produce an oth er sym ptom of d issat isfact ion . Som et im es it is im m ediate, an d for oth ers it m ay take a few weeks to m an ifest . Wh en a proposed ch an ge is t ested for ecology an d fun ct ion ality with in th e person ’s system of rela t ion sh ips, life circum stan ces an d th eir own beliefs an d values, rela ted , support in g in terven t ion s often becom e apparen t . Wh en th ese are don e first , th ey create a n ew, ecological fram ework for th e subm odality ch an ge to fun ct ion sm ooth ly an d n aturally.

People’s un con scious m in ds can learn to reject un ecological suggest ion s, in cludin g th ose d irected at ch an gin g th e subm odalit ies th ey use to fram e a par t icu lar exper ien ce. For people with un con scious m in ds th at are aware of th e d ifferen ce between in st ruct ion s th at su it th em an d th ose th at do n ot , a t t em pts a t un ecological subm odality sh ift s will n ot h old . In som e cases, th e person m ay m ake th e sh ift an d h ave it reverse im m ediately or in th e first few m in utes after th e sh ift . Oth ers m ay fin d th em selves un able to m ake th at specific ch an ge at a ll. Som e people exper ien ce a st ron g sign al in a d ifferen t represen tat ion al system . Cer tain ly, it is usefu l for NLP con sultan t s to t reat an y of th ese occurren ces as ob ject ion s by th e person ’s un con scious m in d to th e proposed ch an ge in it s presen t form . Th ey are sign als th at m ore in form at ion is n eeded to be ab le to create a ch an ge th at su it s th e in d ividual.

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HOW BELIEFS ARE FORMED

Ch an gin g beliefs with subm odalit ies is well kn own in th e NLP com m un ity. However , replacin g on e belief with an oth er is n ot a lways th e m ost usefu l approach . In th e n atural course of even ts, we form beliefs th rough exposure to exper ien ces, com m en ts an d oth er people’s beh aviour th at offers con sisten cy. Wh en we h ave exper ien ced en ough exposure to th e sam e class of in form at ion , be it con sciously or oth erwise, we fin d ourselves believin g it .

We can d iscover th e process each of uses to form beliefs from n atural exposure by elicit in g our Con vin cer or Belief St rategy. In th e NLP com m un ity, th is n orm ally seeks to d iscover h ow m an y repet it ion s a person n eeds or th e per iod of t im e th at h as to elapse before n ew in form at ion becom es a belief. Th e n um ber of exposures or th e t im e per iod relate to stor in g th e in form at ion in our represen tat ion al system s. Wh en th e sam e in form at ion is stored in m em ory an d im agin at ion in visual, auditory an d kin aesth et ic form , a belief is said to be presen t .

Th e oth er way we take on beliefs is th rough sin gle t r ia l learn in g. Th is h appen s wh en we are exposed to a st ron gly im pact in g st im ulus or in con t rover t ib le eviden ce in th e ph ysical world . For exam ple, wh en ligh tn in g st r ikes close to us, th e lit t le h airs on our arm s really do stan d up. Th is h as h appen ed to m e, twice. I a lso believe n ow, th at corn er fish t an ks can explode in a sim ilar con text . Som eon e wh o h ad th at exper ien ce told m e about it an d th ey were con gruen t in th e t ellin g. Wh en I first h eard it , I h ad n ot en coun tered a close ligh tn in g st r ike an d foun d th e idea odd . A year la ter , dur in g a th un der storm on a m otorway n ear Brisban e, I asked th e dr iver if h e h ad h eard of fish t an ks explodin g. Before h e could respon d, ligh tn in g st ruck th e side of th e road an d m y quest ion was an swered . We felt a sh ock wave an d th e lit t le h airs on our arm s stood up.

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Th e secon d en coun ter with ligh tn in g also ch an ged a belief. I h ad been un der th e im pression th at ligh tn in g st ruck th e h igh est ob ject in th e vicin ity, h en ce th e use of ligh tn in g con ductors on build in gs. Th ere was a th un der storm dur in g a Grad Cer t NLP class I was t each in g. Studen ts were spread out th rough our offices doin g an exercise wh en ligh tn in g st ruck th e n ext door garden . We all saw it , h eard it sim ultan eously an d exper ien ced a sh ock wave. Th e groun d between two build in gs wh ere it h it was defin it ely n ot th e h igh est poin t aroun d.

Beliefs act as filt ers, creat in g expectat ion of m ore of th e sam e class of in form at ion . If we are a t t en din g, con sciously or oth erwise, to expect in g life to un fold in a cer ta in way, we m ay be delet in g or ign or in g poten t ia lly usefu l m ater ia l. Deleted m ater ia l can in clude eviden ce th at con t rad ict s or calls th e belief in to quest ion , so th e prevailin g m odel of th e world is supported an d rein forced . If we kn ow for a fact th at X is t rue, th en poten t ia l n ews of d ifferen ce is reduced , wh ich in tu rn reduces th e likelih ood of learn in g in th ose areas. Essen t ia lly, th e m ore st ron gly h eld beliefs a person h as, th e less th ey can learn on th ose m at ters. For exam ple, if a person believes, “All raven s are b lack”, th ey will be less open to th e possib ility of an alb in o raven , yet a t least such b irds do exist an d h ere is youtube footage of on e of th em : You can watch it h ere.

Som e of our beliefs serve us well. Th ey create usefu l h eur ist ics to en ab le qu ick decision an d act ion supported by au tom ated , un con scious capacity. For th ose wh o en joy dr ivin g, you would n ot wan t to h ave to th in k about st eer in g or th e m ech an ics of every gear ch an ge. It soun ds bet ter , feels sm ooth er an d support s th e car’s fun ct ion ality if you h ave au tom ated con ceptual an d m uscle m em ory to rely on . Rem em ber bein g a learn er dr iver with all th e un fam iliar act ion s to t ake, both sim ultan eously an d sequen t ia lly. Th at is wh at it would be like to lose usefu l h eur ist ics an d au tom at ion .

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfYH7a4RBAo



Beliefs are ideas wh ich we h old st ron gly as t rue ( or fa lse) , th at provide h eur ist ics about life, th e world , con cepts, possib ilit ies, lim it s, oth er people an d ourselves. Drivin g is a skill set th at requires h eur ist ic fram ed au tom at ion to fun ct ion effect ively. Beliefs provide th e h eur ist ics th at support our passage th rough th e world . We are aware of th e ch an gin g season s th rough out th e year an d gen erally dress to opt im ise our own com fort with referen ce to th e prevailin g weath er con dit ion s with out m uch th ough t . We are likely to be m ore con scious of wh at style of dress is appropr iate for th e day’s m ost im portan t con text .

PLACING A BELIEF IN QUESTION

Som e h eur ist ics ben efit from bein g reviewed from t im e to t im e. Life ch an ges, ideas an d beh aviour th at worked for us wh en we were youn ger m ay n o lon ger be th e best opt ion . We m igh t carry som e beliefs foun ded on in com plete in form at ion . All of us can iden t ify th in gs we believe th at we wish were n ot t rue an d th in gs we kn ow are n ot t rue th at we wish were t rue. Som e of th ese are worth callin g in to quest ion . Th at way, we can be open to in form at ion from th e world th at m igh t provide eviden ce of som eth in g else with out com m it t in g ourselves to believin g d ifferen t ly about th at topic. Wh en som eth in g is in quest ion , we can learn , update ourselves an d explore d ifferen t possib ilit ies.

We each h ave subm odalit ies th at fram e cer ta in represen tat ion s as beliefs. Also, we each h ave subm odalit ies th at fram e un cer tain ideas as bein g in doubt . No doubt , as you th in k about an yth in g th at is defin it ively t rue or fa lse, th at is just th e way th in gs are, wh eth er you like it or n ot .

To d iscover h ow you represen t a belief, th in k about som eth in g you believe an d wish to con t in ue to believe. Note wh ere th e im age is, wh eth er th ere is on e im age or m ore, h ow close or far away it is, wh at size it is, if it is st ill or

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m ovin g, an d wh eth er th e colour an d focus are realist ic or d ifferen t in som e way. Also n ote wh eth er you can h ear an y soun d, if so from wh ere, wh eth er it is realist ic or d istor ted an d wh eth er it is am bien t or d irect ion al. Th ere m ay be sen sat ion s wh ich could be from th e m em ory or about th e m em ory. An oth er im portan t feature is wh eth er you are in th e scen e or observin g it from outside. Th is is your t em plate for beliefs you wan t to keep an d for n ew, gen erat ive beliefs.

Som e people h ave m ore th an on e way of represen t in g beliefs. To fin d out if you are on e of th em , th in k about som eth in g you believe an d wish you d id n ot . Pick som eth in g you fin d t rue bu t lim it in g, th e m ore so th e bet ter . Note th e subm odalit ies in th e visual, auditory an d kin aesth et ic represen tat ion s as you d id with th e belief you wan t to keep. If th ere are d ifferen ces in th e subm odalit ies of usefu l an d lim it in g beliefs, wh en you create a n ew belief in th e n ext sect ion , use th e subm odalit ies of a gen erat ive belief as your t em plate. If you h ave on e t em plate for a ll beliefs, th at works just as well.

Now take som eth in g th at for you is in doubt . For exam ple, in Aust ralia th ere is a gam blin g gam e called “Two Up”, wh ich sold iers used to p lay in th e first World War. It uses two coin s wh ich are flipped at th e sam e t im e an d th e gam e is to bet on h ow th ey lan d . Th e opt ion s are two h eads, two ta ils or on e of each . Wh ile th e coin s are in th e air , th e resu lt is un kn own , th erefore it could be descr ibed as bein g in doubt . We are n ot usin g “Doubt” as a colloquial form of “I do n ot believe X”. Th at is close to believin g th at som eth in g is n ot t rue.

Doubt or lack of kn owledge about th e t ru th of som eth in g or th e likelih ood of an ou tcom e m an ifest in g will be represen ted d ifferen t ly from th e way you represen t belief. Th in k of som eth in g wh ere you do n ot kn ow th e ou tcom e an d th en com pare your represen tat ion with th e on e you h ad for belief. Note th e d ifferen ces carefu lly.

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Take som eth in g you wish you d id n ot believe, or som eth in g you wish you d id believe an d ch an ge th e subm odalit ies to con form to th ose you foun d for th e idea th at you doubt . You m ay n eed to do th is two or th ree t im es to p lace th at idea in doubt . Your eviden ce will be a sen se of n ot kn owin g if it is t rue. Th is will g ive you freedom to explore an d d iscover m ore in form at ion to estab lish th e likelih ood of it s bein g t rue all th e t im e, som e of th e t im e or n ot a t a ll. You m ay be surpr ised by wh at you n ot ice in th e en viron m en t th at was bein g deleted from your awaren ess wh en th ere was a belief on th at sub ject . Th is is a usefu l way to facilit a te learn in g as you h arn ess daily life to update your ideas in stead of relyin g on an old h eur ist ic.

CREATING A NEW BELIEF

We h ave already d iscussed th e n eed for ecology for th e person an d th eir life system s with referen ce to ch an gin g beliefs, so n ow we sh all sim ply con sider th e process.

If you wan t to replace a belief th at you h ave put in doubt , th is is an opportun e m om en t to create on e, sh ould you ch oose to do so. Wh en your old belief is in doubt , it n o lon ger h as un due in fluen ce over your th in kin g. Most users of th e subm odality belief ch an ge create a n ew belief wh ile st ill h old in g th e on e th ey wan t to ch an ge. Th erefore th ey are un der it s in fluen ce wh ile developin g th eir n ew belief, wh ich m ay lim it th eir ch oices.

A n ew belief sh ould be gen erat ive. Th at is, it sh ould en ab le con t in u in g learn in g an d developm en t th rough t im e. For exam ple, ch an gin g a belief th at on e is bad at doin g m ath s to on e wh ere th ey are good at m ath s is lim it in g. Th e person is probably sh or t of usefu l represen tat ion s of m ath em at ical pat t ern s a t th is t im e an d th erefore n eeds to gain th e skills an d kn owledge to do m ath s. Th ey would be bet ter advised to believe th at th ey can learn m ath s to th e level of th eir ch oice an d do it with en joym en t ,

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in terest an d facility. Even m ore gen erat ively, th ey could believe th ey can learn an yth in g th ey ch oose to give th eir a t t en t ion an d do th at with en joym en t , in terest an d facility. A belief like th at will con t in ue to serve a person th rough out th eir life an d accom m odate th eir fu ture developm en t .

Havin g form ulated th e con ten t for a n ew belief an d tested it for lon g term fun ct ion ality, represen t it as a quest ion in th e subm odalit ies of doubt . Th en ch an ge th e subm odalit ies to th ose you already kn ow design ate belief. Repeat th e sh ift from doubt to belief two or th ree t im es if you n eed to. Your eviden ce will be th at you h old th e n ew belief as a given .

Wh eth er you are p lacin g a belief in doubt or replacin g it with som eth in g gen erat ive, if th e ch an ge will n ot h old , you n eed m ore in form at ion . It could be as sim ple as t akin g m ore care with your subm odality elicit a t ion to ach ieve sufficien t accuracy or it could be an ob ject ion from your un con scious m in d to th e con ten t you are proposin g. If th at is th e case, do n ot force a ch an ge. Explore your in ten t ion s for h avin g th e ch an ge an d con sider th e con sequen ces both for h avin g th e ch an ge an d for droppin g it in favour of th e in ten t ion s you h ave foun d. Altern at ively, sim ply leave th e old belief in doubt an d allow n ature to provide you with updated eviden ce for an d again st it .

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ConclusionTh ese processes t ake carefu l observat ion an d quest ion in g to perform effect ively. However , wh en you can do th is with yourself an d oth ers, it becom es apparen t th at very lit t le in form at ion is cast in ston e. People figh t an d d ie for th eir beliefs. People are ost racised for flou t in g th e beliefs of th eir cu ltures. Som e of our m ost in fluen t ia l beliefs are deeply un con scious an d on ly detectab le by way of th e presupposit ion s th at fram e all our writ t en an d spoken lan guage. So it m ay h ave com e as a sh ock to d iscover th at we can alt er our beliefs by ch an gin g th e way we represen t th e con ten t of th em . On ce we get over th e d iscovery, it is in cred ib ly liberat in g to kn ow th at even our own m ost sacred cows can be p laced in quest ion , sh ould we so ch oose. It a lso creates m ore toleran ce of h arm less ( n ot dan gerous or in t rusive) beh aviour in oth ers th at we m ay h ave learn ed to judge h arsh ly.

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About the Author

Jules Collingw ood Co-director a t In spir it ive Pty Ltd .

Co-director Dip Train in g an d Assessm en t System s., RN, BSc, Cer t TEFL, Graduate Cer t ificate in Neuro-Lin guist ic Program m in g., Postgrad Dip Con flict Resolu t ion ., NLP Train er Assessor . Ju les both a t ra in er of NLP an d m an agem en t con sultan t specialisin g in system ic ch an ge. Sh e con sult s to corporate clien t s in m an agem en t rela ted areas, an d in tercu ltural com m un icat ion .

Ju les’ backgroun d in cludes exten sive t ra in in g with developers of NLP, in cludin g Dr. Joh n Grin der , Co-or igin ator of Neuro-Lin guist ic Program m in g, Judith DeLozier , Rober t Dilt s an d Todd Epstein . Sh e is cer t ified as an NLP t rain er by Dr . Joh n Grin der . Ju les is a registered Psych iat r ic Nurse. Sh e also h as a Degree in Urban Estate Man agem en t , a Postgraduate Diplom a in Con flict Resolu t ion a Diplom a in Train in g an d Assessm en t System s an d a Graduate Cer t ificate in Neuro-Lin guist ic Program m in g.

Pr ior to leavin g th e UK in 1992, Ju les worked in Lon don with Pace Person al Developm en t LTD, an d as associate t ra in er with Joh n Seym our of Seym our Associates an d sat on th e Execut ive Com m it tee of th e ANLP, th e Brit ish profession al body for NLP.

Co-director of In spir it ive Pty LTD an d a superb n egot ia tor , Ju les is com m it ted to m akin g NLP availab le to a ll wh o dem an d excellen ce in th eir lives. Sh e is an exper ien ced Execut ive Coach an d Psych oth erapist an d is availab le for person al con sulta t ion s, corporate t ra in in g an d con sult in g.



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