Creating Change with Submodalities, Part 1
The impact and meaning of a memory is affected more by the submodalities used to code it than the actual content. Once something's taken place it's impossible to change what actually happened, but what can be altered is the way the experience is coded. This alters the meaning of our internal representation of the original event, and how we feel about it. The desired outcome of many NLP patterns is either to diminish or amplify the intensity of a remembered experience.
Many people have memories that are unpleasant and uncomfortable, and which cause them problems in the here and now. There might have been a traumatic incident or some other kind of significant emotional experience. The result is a phobia, a panic attack, or an irrational fear that is debilitating and makes life difficult.
What happens is that when we recall the event or something happens to trigger a memory of it, the emotion comes flooding back. Since the event itself is in the past, what's causing the problem has to be the way it's been coded into memory. And that's largely down to the submodality distinctions. By changing crucial details of the coding, it's possible for the intense emotion to be drained from a memory, and for the person never to be troubled by it again.
Another thing that can be changed is how believable something is. Some people, for example, have an internal voice that gives them a really hard time, pointing out all their 'mistakes', reminding them of their stupidity and utter worthlessness. If this happens to you why not change the quality of your internal voice? Make it sound like Mickey Mouse or slow it down until each word is drawn out. The voice will soon lose its credibility. According to Richard Bandler, when people say they're depressed they often have an internal voice that's so quiet it can barely be heard. This means the voice has a hypnotic effect. One solution is to turn up the volume and change the tonality so the voice sounds cheerful.
It's also possible to change the meaning and impact of your internal coding for future outcomes, hopes and dreams. The right submodalities will make your goals appear attractive to you, undesirable or somewhere in-between. Simply adjusting your submodalities can make an outcome totally compelling.
You may or may not be surprised at the ease with which you can make these changes. The only way to discover the power of submodalities is to play around with them. The more you experiment the more you discover.