We construct our understanding of the world by gathering data with the help of our five senses. Nonetheless, every one of us tends to establish a preferred mode of focus or a modality as it is sometimes known. For instance, some people’s visual systems are more predominant, causing them to be more influenced by what they see. Another person’s best life experiences may be sparked by sounds, while another person may be inspired by feelings.
There are specific elements of visuals, sounds, or other sensations that can be changed in order to increase or decrease the intensity of our experience. These foundational ingredients are called submodalities. For example, you can make a picture in your mind and then take any aspect of that image (a submodality), and change it to change your feelings about it. You can brighten the picture, immediately changing the amount of intensity you feel about the experience. This is known as changing a submodality.
You can radically raise or lower your intensity of feeling about anything by manipulating submodalities. They affect how you feel about virtually anything, whether you feel joy, frustration, wonder, or despair. Understanding them enables you to not only change how you feel about any experience in your life but to change what it means to you and thus what you can do about it.
“Life is short, Break the Rules. Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably And never regret ANYTHING That makes you smile.” ~ Mark Twain
Submodality as UPC Bar Code
For a better understanding think of submodalities as the grocery store UPC bar codes, those clusters of little black lines that have replaced price tags in just about every supermarket you visit today. The codes look insignificant, yet when pulled across the checkout scanner, they tell the computer what the item is, how much it costs, how its sale affects the inventory, and so on. Submodalities work the same way. When pulled across the scanner of the computer we call the brain, they tell the brain what this thing is, how to feel about it, and what to do. You have your own bar codes, and there is a list of them coming up along with questions to ask to determine which of them you use.
For example, if you tend to focus on your visual modalities, the amount of enjoyment you get from a particular memory is probably a direct consequence of the submodalities of size, color, brightness, distance, and amount of movement in the visual image you’ve made of it. If you represent it to yourself with auditory submodalities, then how you feel depends on the volume, tempo, pitch, tonality, and other such factors you attach to it.
If someone says, “This is weighing heavily upon me,” you can assist them by helping them feel lighter about the situation and thereby get them in a better state to deal with it. Our ability to change the way we feel depends upon our ability to change our submodalities. We must learn to take control of the various elements with which we represent experiences and change them in ways that support our outcomes.
Manage A Challenging Situation
Let’s try this if you would. Think of a situation that is challenging you currently. Make a picture of it in your mind, then imagine pushing that picture farther and farther away from yourself. Stand above it and look down upon the problem with a new perspective. What happens to your emotional intensity? For most people, it drops. What if the image becomes dimmer, or smaller? Now take the picture of the problem and make it bigger, brighter, and closer. For most people, this intensifies it. Push it back out and watch the sun melt it. A simple change in any one of these elements is like changing the ingredients in a recipe. They’re definitely going to alter what you finally experience in your body.
Remember, how you feel about things is instantly changed by a shift in submodalities. For example, think of something that happened yesterday. Just for a moment, a picture of that experience. Take the image of this memory and put it behind you. Gradually push it back until it’s miles behind you, a tiny, dim dot far off in the darkness. Does it feel like it happened yesterday, or a long time ago? If the memory is great, bring it back. Otherwise, leave it there! Who needs to focus on this memory? By contrast, you’ve had some incredibly wonderful experiences in your life. Think of one right now, one that happened a long time ago. Recall the imagery of that experience. Bring it forward; put it in front of you. Make it big, bright, and colorful; make it three-dimensional. Step into your body as you were then and feel that experience right now as if you were there. Does it feel like it happened a long time ago, or is it something you’re enjoying now? You see, even your experience of time can be changed by changing submodalities.
My Own Experience
I personally experienced this when I was staying away from my home during engineering. Even at that time, I was not aware of this phenomenon of submodalities. I had never left my home for such a long period of time. I was feeling lonely. Sometimes the intensity was so strong that I found it difficult to concentrate on my studies. My house was far distant, and it used to take about 10 to 12 hours to go there by public transportation.
One day I was standing on the balcony and something clicked in my mind. I closed my eyes and start visualizing myself going home. It was in detail like changing uniform after returning from college, traveling bag packing, descending the stairs from your apartment, opening the main gate, then moving out and closing the main gate.
Then go toward the rikshaw stand, take a rickshaw to the bus stand, then searching for the desired bus, and even wait for the right bus. Then, sitting inside the bus, getting a ticket. Now bus has started its journey, then there is an intermediate halt for breakfast. All the passengers get off the bus and eat breakfast, some of them taking a bio break. When the bus is prepared to depart, it blows its horn, signaling for everyone to get inside.
Bus started moving again and we reached the destination. There again, I take a rickshaw and reach my local bus depot. Got the local bus from there. Bus reached a small city, near my village and I get down from the bus. I took a horse cart which leads to my village. I get down from the horse cart and give the fare to the cart driver. Then I started walking towards my home, on the way I met my village people and greeted them. Then I reached my home, opened the main gate, and enter the home. My mother is busy with domestic chores, I greeted her & touched her feet. I ask about my father, she said that he is at the farm. Then I went to the farm, greet my father, and touched his feet. It was a pleasant moment for me as well as for my parents. I met other family members as well in the next couple of hours.
I eat food and other homemade recipes. Now it’s time to depart from home. I greet my parents and then start my reverse journey in my visualization. Come back to my apartment, where I was standing on the balcony and visualizing this sweet short trip to my home. This complete visual journey took around 7-10 minutes. I was relieved and energized after meeting my parents virtually.
Anyone who is missing family members can try this phenomenon of submodalities. I am sure, that this individual will have an amazing and pleasant experience. (Inspired from “Awaken the Giant Within” by Anthony Robbins.)
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