Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality

and the basis of personality

Tad James

• Verlag: Crown House Publishing
• Jahr: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781785832857
• Thema: Psychology
• Thema: History & Theory in Psychology

Written by Tad James and Wyatt Woodsmall, Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality is a compelling study of the important elements that make up a person's core personality, and a detailed exploration of and introduction to how Time Line therapy works in practice. Utilizing discoveries made by Richard Bandler, Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality expands and updates our knowledge of how people actually store their memories, and sheds light on the effect that the system used for memory storage has on the individual. The authors contend that the concept of Time Line, or the notion of time that you have stored in your mind, shapes and structures your experience of the world, and consequently shapes your personality. Time Line therapy is therefore based on the premise that the client goes back to the first time they remember a particular problem, does change work utilizing Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) to eliminate irritating behaviors or issues and, if necessary, goes to subsequent times when their behavior or response was a problem, and undertakes further change work to resolve it. Written in an informative and engaging manner, Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality offers readers the opportunity to see how Time Line therapy works providing a clear description of how to elicit the Time Line, and sharing step-by-step methods to subsequently help the client to release a limiting decision or trauma, remove anxiety, or set a future goal. All of these key aspects are explained using clear language and easy-to-follow steps, and the authors' expert commentary is further complemented by examples, exercises and transcripts in order to help the reader transfer the theory into effective practice. In Section I, the authors explain the NLP Communication Model and share their in-depth analysis of the filters values, beliefs, attitudes, decisions, memories and meta programs which we subconsciously use as we process the world around us and which form the basis of our personalities. Section II provides a comprehensive description of the Time Line and how it works: laying down a theoretical basis for the technique before offering insight into its practice and application with a demonstrative transcript of Time Line elicitation and change work in order to illustrate the concepts explored. In Section III the authors move on to carefully survey simple and complex meta programs (and how they can be changed) before exploring the formation, evolution and changing of values in Section IV, which includes a helpful exercise that gives guidance on how to elicit values from the client. Exploring many interesting contexts and how personality can be positively changed to help people live happier lives, Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality is a worthy addition to any therapist's or NLP practitioner's library and is suitable reading for anyone interested in behavioral change. Sections include: Section I Introduction; Section II Time Line Therapy; Section III Meta Programs; Section IV Values. Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality was originally published in 1988 by Meta Publications.

Appendix 1:

Changing The Basis Of Personality

THEORY

Who we are is a result of our collection of memories, our values and beliefs and the parts that maintain them. Any incongruities, inability to get things done or health problems are a result of basic-level, core-parts conflicts. In addition, there are parts responsible for maintaining values and values hierarchies inside the individual. Finally, our personality is based on the collection of our memories and the templates of perception that are a consequence of significant events in our past.

THE MODEL

1. INVESTIGATE – GATHER INFORMATION: Meta Model, Keys to an Achievable Outcome, Presuppositions, Ecology
2. FIND PRESENTING PRORLEM: Presenting problem is the problem that the client presents to you as you begin the therapy. At this time you may also want to find the causal problem, although it is not absolutely necessary.
3. PRESENT MODEL FOR CHANGE TO CLIENT: (the language used is intentional) “A lot of things underlie other things, and sometimes when we do something, what we do is based on a belief that we have. Everything we do is a response to a situation, and so change is very easy, and frequently when we change something fundamental, as we are going to do today, everything in life changes. Sometimes when we dig up a weed, we find one root, or sometimes we find several roots that all go together to form the problem. So we can deal with all that easily by dealing anywhere in the system, since like a weed, everything is connected.”
4. INSTRUCT CLIENT TO GO TO THE CORE: “We’re going to go to the core belief or value that makes this possible.”
5. QUICK INFORMAL REFRAME: “We’re going to explore new ways of doing things that will still allow you to get everything you want; we’re going to get you everything you want today and you’ll discover how to get it more easily, and you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
6. BEGIN COMMUNICATION WITH THE UNCONSCIOUS: “I’d like to talk to the unconscious mind…” (If necessary, set groundwork with hypnotic language: “Now, you know you have a conscious mind, and I know that you have a conscious mind. But one thing that many people don’t know is that they also have an unconscious mind, and the unconscious mind is the part of the mind that is here, and it is really responsible for all that you do. And as I talk to the unconscious mind, there isn’t really any need for the conscious mind to listen to me, because the unconscious mind will hear everything that it needs to hear here, and that’s what we want (need) today. And I want the unconscious mind to comfortably and easily decide what the conscious mind can do while we talk. Let him go off somewhere while we talk. I want to know some things about him…” etc.)
7. ESTABLISH SIGNALS: “… and what helps me when I talk to the unconscious mind is to have signals that I can see easily set up so we can communicate more clearly. Now I know you’ve seen people unconsciously moving their heads up and down when they meant ‘yes’ and back and forth when they meant ‘no.’ And that’s one easy, comfortable way to communicate. Or even the movement of a finger could mean ‘yes,’ like this.” (Grab finger and move it as a demo.) And the movement of another finger could mean ‘no.’ (Demo it.)
8. SET UP PROBLEM: “You know, I can guess what’s the most important problem to you to change right now, but that’s just me, and I want you to know that we can change that easily, and it probably would be useful, and yet that’s just me. You, however, really know what’s most fundamental, and what change will actually create the most powerful effect in the broadest area to completely transform the individual’s whole life.” (At this point you should be getting strong signals.) “So, you know what situation it is that’s most important to the individual right now?” (Signal) “Great!”
9. IDENTIFY THE FIRST PLAYER: “Do you know which part it is that does the thing you’re most concerned about?”
10. TALK TO THE PART: (Still include the unconscious mind.) “I’d like to talk to that part, and if that part could come out on the hand, and let me show the hand how the part could be the most comfortable here (taking hand and turning it over), now.”
11. DEMONSTRATE SIGNALS: (See #7)
12. ASK FOR PERMISSION TO CALL IT “PART #1”:
13. IDENTIFY OTHER PLAYER: (Still include the unconscious mind.) “Is there another part that is involved in this, or a part that is the reciprocal, you know, the opposite number, the flip side of the coin?”
14. DEMONSTRATE SIGNALS: (See #7)
15. TALK TO THE OTHER PART: (Still include the unconscious mind.) “I’d like to talk to the other part, and if that part could come out on the hand, and let me show the hand how the part could be the most comfortable here (taking hand and turning it over), now.”
16. OPEN COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PARTS: “Can you introduce yourself and tell Part #1 what your behaviors are, what you do, how you do it, and what you hope to accomplish with that ([optional] because you know that every behavior is a response to a situation), and so what is it that you’re actually doing? What is the ultimate purpose of these behaviors?” (Pause)
17. CHUNK UP: “And as you realize the purpose, what does that in turn do for the individual?”
18. DO THE SAME FOR PART #1: (Follow steps 15 – 16 for Part #1.)
19. CHUNK UP AGAIN: “Now, both parts, noticing what purpose that serves, and in turn what purpose that serves, chunk up, continuing to go up the hierarchy of logic until you can clearly see, hear and feel that your ultimate purpose, your values, are really quite similar (pause), if not identical (pause), even exactly the same.” (Get yes signal from both.)
20. ACKNOWLEDGE SAMENESS AND TELL IMPLICATIONS: “You know, there is quite a lot of (complete) similarity in your intentions, beliefs and values.” ([Optional when not integrating parts, only getting agreement:] “I propose an alliance that might be useful to both of you.”)
21. INTEGRATE AND PRESERVE: “I’d like to suggest that since there’s so much similarity between you that you become as if one, that you become one and preserve the good intentions, wisdom, skill and power that you each have, becoming more powerful as you do to achieve your intention. Integrate and become 1,000 times more powerful.” (Signal, hands move together.)
22. CALL FOR OTHER PARTS: “As you are realizing this, you may also begin to notice that you were really just two pieces of what once was a complete whole. (Signal) I’d like you to realize what other pieces of the original whole are missing and bring them forward and put them here.” (Suggesting the space between or on top of the hands.)
23. GET AGREEMENT FOR ALL PARTS TO INTEGRATE: “Now, I’d like to have everybody introduce each other, and… “(going to 15) “…until you see, hear and feel that your purposes are the same.”
24. THE POOL OF LIGHT: “I want you to go inside and find the pool of light that exists inside in your center: you may have not even been aware of it until I mentioned it, and I want you to have the parts jump into it. Notice that the pool is pure light and energy, and pure love. It is your own pure essence. Bring it out here (outside the body). Now, as the parts jump in, watch them dissolve and become one with the light, (stop talking about parts) and draw this love, light, energy and any other good you need inside the body. Allow your hands to bring the light inside, into your center only as fast as it integrates into the center and watch… (pause) as the light goes out to all parts of the body, (pause) and the body becomes hollow (pause) as the light expands, expands, (pause) expands, (pause) expands to infinity. (pause) Notice that the entire universe is contained inside your body (pause) and that you are the universe. (pause) Now bring it back. Into your body. Make the light into the most useful shape that the new part will be, someone who has the characteristics of what you want your new part to be.”
25. FIND TIME LINE ORGANIZATION: “Now what I’d like you to consider is how you store time. How do you, for example, know the difference between your memories… How do you know if you’re looking at a memory or an event that is going to happen in the future? Because I’d like you to notice… Can you recall a memory from when you were age five? Notice where that came from. Good. Can you imagine what it’s going to be like five years from now, or what will you be doing a year from now? Can you imagine that? Good. What direction did that come to you from? Over there? Good. So what I’d like you to notice is that your memories are arranged, for want of a better term, it’s sort of a line that stretches from your future through now all the way to your past, and if you could float a little above that line, could you look down on the entire continuum of past, present and future so that you are seeing all your memories arranged in that line? Can you do that now? Do you notice the entire continuum of past, present and future?
    
    IF PROBLEMS HERE: “OK, I know there’s a part of you that likes to do this and a part of you that thinks perhaps you shouldn’t be doing it, and I think that’s OK, and I’m wondering if the part that THINKS it doesn’t want you to or THINKS you shouldn’t be doing this is willing to play, explore and discover new ways of achieving its intentions while still allowing you to do this. Could you float above your time line now? I want you to tell that part that it’s all right, that you’ve done this before and that it’s really a simple procedure. And it increases choices and allows parts to achieve their intentions easier, far more easily than they had before this. And if it doesn’t want to do that, perhaps it can do it just for purposes of this experiment. Can you do that? OK.
26. HAVE THEM FLOAT ABOVE THEIR TIME LINE: “Good. Excellent. Now, do you notice that all those events form sort of a line in your mind? Excellent. Very good. Very good. Now what I’d like you to do is to imagine that you’re looking down on the events that form your past, present and future, as you float up above all that, so just sort of pretend that you’re floating and that you’re floating right up above your Time Line. And notice how good it feels to be above all that, that you can look down on the entire continuum—past, present and future. Very good. Excellent. Excellent.”
27. NOTE THE SUBMODALITIES: Ask him to notice the Submodalities (SMDs), and make sure that the client’s experience is that SMds are similar for the past, present, and future. It’s OK and quite usual for the future to be brighter than the past. It’s not good; it’s unusual if there are black holes or missing pieces in the past. If the Time Line is not contiguous regarding the SMds, then change the SMds so that they are the same brightness and approximate color.
28. GIVE THEM AN EXPERIENCE OF POWER OVER THE TIMELINE: “And as you do that, I’d like you to go back on your Time Line to an earlier time, and I’d like you to recall a pleasant memory… when you were much younger, somewhere between the ages of eight and 13. I’d like you to recall a pleasant memory. And I’d like you to notice that the memory has the same characteristics as… any other picture you make in your head, or any other value or belief. I want you to notice that the construction of the memory is exactly the same as anything else. And now I’d like you to float up above it all and feel good being above it all. Leave that memory behind for a moment and float up above your time line again and come forward to an age more than 21; more than age 21 and less than now, and I’d like you to take an unimportant memory. I’d like you to take a memory that doesn’t matter, and I would like you to take that memory out of your time line. I want you to make sure that this memory has absolutely no significance, it doesn’t matter, and that you can take it out of your time line. I’d like you to take that memory out of your time line and push it far away from you. I’d like you to push it further and further and make it darker and darker so that it becomes a little dot, and now push it into the sun and watch it blow up. Now I’d like you to take that memory or that space, actually, where the memory was, and fill it with something that matters, something that makes you happy. Perhaps it’s a funny time or a time when you felt good about yourself. Or a time when someone else felt good about you. And make it so you smile. So you feel good about it. Excellent. And now I’d like you to come forward to now. Take as much time as you need to complete that before you come forward to now. And when you’re at now, I want you to look forward into the future. Notice how far your time line extends into the future. And I’d like you to go out into the future all the way, but not quite to the end of your time line, and when you do that I want you to turn around and look back. Look back toward now so that the entire continuum— future, present and past stretch out toward you like a line. And I want you to notice as you look back from the future to now to the past, I want you to notice if there are any events there between the future and now that shouldn’t be there or that you would prefer weren’t going to happen. Just like the event you changed a moment ago. You can also manage the memory of the future in the exact same way. I’d like you to make sure that all the events between now and the future, as you look back from the future to now, support you. Support you in becoming the kind of person you want to be. Support you having the happiness and those things that you deserve. I want you to make sure that all those events in the future are of your creation and are those things that help you be the fullest person you can possibly be. And if there are any events in the future that you particularly want, I’d like you to pick one right now.
    
    Pick an event in the future, something that you want to have happen. Move right up to that event, something that you really want, and I’d like you to look at that event in the future, and I’d like you to notice if that event in the future is something that is really compelling, that is, is it something that is really compelling you, something you really want? And what I’d like you to do is, I’d like you, for a moment, to step into the picture. See it through your own eyes, step into your own body and see what you’ll see, hear what you’ll hear and feel the wonderful feelings, and I want you now to turn up the brightness, make it sharper and more focused and closer, make it bigger, make it brighter, whatever you need to do, turn up the brightness on that picture so that it is the most compelling and make it even more compelling so that you really want it. So that you really, really want it. Excellent. Now, step outside of the picture so that you can see yourself. And put it in the future. Take all the time you need to complete this now, and come back now, float right back to now, and…”
29. COME BACK TO CURRENT THERAPY: “Now, every...