NLP Submodalities - Change your Reality

Unlike the content changes where we changed the content of a memory, now we’re going to change the structure.

For now we’re going to work with two of the three main modalities, starting with visual, as that is, for most people, the easiest submodality to work with, and then we'll move on to the auditory modality. For an introduction to submodalities, read the article NLP Submodalities - what are they and how do you use them. If you managed fine with the content lesson then these exercises should be no problem.

So here goes:

Firstly, remember a time when you were outside or a sunny day and were having a wonderful time.

I want you to concentrate on the image you make, and for this exercise, remember this memory as if you were there, so you are not in the picture, but are seeing the scene as if through your own eyes - in other words Associated.

Concentrate and notice what feeling the memory evokes.

Now, what you’re going to do is play around with the structure of the memory and see what happens to the feeling.

In NLP, for each of the five modalities there are numerous submodalities.

For instance, the following is a list of some of the submodalities that can be adjusted within the visual modality:

• Distance
• Size
• Brightness
• Location
• Contrast

A simple way to think of the difference between changing the content and changing the structure is to use the metaphor of a television set. Changing the structure is like using the television remote to change the brightness, color level, contrast, or speed of the moving picture, rather than changing the actual contents of the picture.

Now one thing that often happens when we start using submodalities is that some people get confused between changing the content and changing the submodalities of the image, so here are a few examples:

Imagine an image floating in space around arms length away directly in front of you.

The image is around the size of a normal television screen and consists of yourself standing on a beach, on a sunny day.

Changing the submodality for location, involves moving the image from its position in front of you, either forward, backwards, up, down, or left and right, or any combination of these, but without changing the picture itself.

Changing the size means keeping the picture in place, but shrinking it or enlarging it.

Changing the brightness can be a particularly difficult submodality to work with, depending upon the type of image you are working with, due to the fact that it is difficult to not change the content of the image.

Imagine trying to turn the brightness up on an image of a candlelit dinner.

Shifting the brightness may just not be a useful thing to do in this case, but for many exercises, brightness is a very valuable submodality to work with.

So let's try one shift to get the ball rolling:

Remember a time that makes you feel really good, and as you visualize this, notice where in space the image is.

Now take the image and push it off into the distance, ensuring that the image stays the same size, and just gets further away (the image will appear smaller simply because it's further away).

How does that memory make you feel now?

Now take the image and bring it slowly towards yourself, aim for around half the distance between your nose and it's original position.

How does that memory make you feel now?

And before you finish, move the image back to its original place.