SNEIA SNOOPY FITS TABLE

This is the part of the exercise when you begin to ask yourself some difficult questions.

Question 1: Is your outcome aligned with your values?

Many of us chase goals we don't really want, and wouldn't enjoy if we had them. So now is the time to take a good long look at your goals and ask yourself, “When I have achieved this goal, to what extent will I then be living my values?” For example, if one of your high values is 'freedom', and your goal is to be a successful Wall Street trader, ask yourself: “If I was a successful Wall Street trader, would I be experiencing freedom?” If the answer is yes, then all well and good. However, if the answer is no, then you may wish to rethink your goal, rethink your values, rethink both, or reconcile them so you can experience freedom by being a successful Wall Street trader.

It may be particularly important for you to reconcile your values with your goals if you are the sort of person who often finds it difficult to achieve your goals. This may indicate that your goals are not aligned with your values. If you find that you are pursuing goals not aligned with your values, you may want to explore this with a coach, adviser, or other confidante.

Question 2: To what extent are your beliefs supportive of your goals?

There are several ways in which your beliefs may not be supportive of your goals, for example you may currently believe any of the following (based on Robert Dilts’ Belief Audit):

Deep Trance Identification is not effective for learning and changing’

Deep trance identification is effective, but I'm not a good hypnotic subject, and it probably won't work for me’

Deep trance identification is effective, and I am a good hypnotic subject, but I don't think it will work for this particular change’

Deep trance identification may work for this particular change, but I don't really deserve it If you have any beliefs, such as those above, that might limit the effectiveness of the DTI, you can use the NLP belief change described in Chapter 21, or consult a qualified coach to help you through this issue.

Of course, you may believe that DTI is a great hypnotic tool for learning new skills, and you’re a great hypnotic subject, so DTI is going to work amazingly well for the change you are seeking, which is great news because you certainly deserve the best of everything in your life!

Question 3: What are your ‘modal-operators’ in this context?

Modals (rather than ‘models’), often referred to as modal operators, are concepts or beliefs about the possibility or impossibility, and necessity of doing something. Modals are represented by words such as:

Can Can't Should Shouldn't Must Mustn't Have to Will Won't

In our experience, models are one of the most important drivers for many DTI experiences. We often select models that have a strong drive to do something. Think of people like Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, Superman, Milton Erickson. Each of these individuals is driven to do what they did, to pursue their dreams.

It isn't simply a matter of determination that “I will do this.” Rather it was almost as if they had no choice; Thomas Edison was so determined to prove his Alternating Current superior to the Direct Current of his rival Tesla, that he suggested the Department of Corrections use Tesla's Direct Current to execute criminals in the hope of discrediting Tesla! Superman attempts to walk away from his life as a superhero but is always pulled back. Milton Erickson, weakened by his polio, nevertheless spent endless hours carrying out hypnotic experiments. Steve Jobs was driven to create the 'perfect' computer, spending millions of dollars on seemingly irrelevant details, to the point where he was driven out of his own company by his colleagues. In each case they appear almost obsessive in their drives, and it is this sense of obsession that captivates us when we choose a model.

Associate back into the context in which you want the skills. Where are you? What are you seeing?

What are you hearing? What are you feeling? And as you feel yourself there; ask yourself, “What can I do, what is possible for me here and now? What can't I do, what is impossible? What can't I do?

What must I do? What drives me?” This will help you to identify your own meta-programs in this context.

Chapter 8: Checking for Unconscious Alignment

What follows is a metaphor. It’s not an actual description of how your brain works. As such you should pay special attention to it.

You have two halves of your brain, the left-brain and the right-brain. As you probably know, your left-brain uses language and logic to process thought. It is the rational part of your brain, if you will.

Your right-brain uses sensory experience, pictures and feelings, to process thought. It is the part of your brain that pays attention to everything you are not rationally thinking about at the moment.

As hypnotists, we talk about the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. Now it is certainly not completely true to say that the conscious mind is the left-brain and the unconscious mind is the right-brain. At the same time this comparison does have some truth to it, and can be very useful as a metaphor.

We think things through logically using our left-brain. However, this does not mean we will follow through on these logical decisions with actions, unless our right brain has been involved in the decision-making process and is emotionally invested! For example, as hypnotists we see many people who have decided to quit smoking, and yet are finding it very difficult to do so. Their left-brain, their conscious mind, might have made a decision to quit, but their right-brain, their unconscious mind, has not yet bought into the decision.

Now you've made a conscious decision to DTI with a certain person, to take on the skills and abilities of that person. But just because you have made a conscious decision to do so, does not mean that your unconscious mind is necessarily on board, and if it's not it will likely sabotage the process!

So in this step we are going to check to see if your unconscious mind is on board with the DTI.

If not, we are going to negotiate between your conscious and unconscious minds.