Okay, we all have them, those nasty memories of the time when this or that went wrong. Or maybe it is a picture of catching our ex- partner cheating on us or the time when we failed miserably at something. when you remember these things, the emotions are very real and are always experienced now. The good news is, the brain doesn’t know the difference between past, present and future. So that means that we change the experience by changing how are brain is storing the memory. Once we do this it will no longer give you the heart wrenching pain or the embarrassment that it once did in the past.
This is how:
Think of a not so pleasant memory.(Now, be sure to pick one that you don’t mind getting rid of, because you will never experience it the same ever again after this exercise.)
1. Notice if the memory/picture is in black and white or color. Change the picture to color if it is black and white and or change it to black and white if it is in color and notice how that feels.
Decide what one feels better and imagine hitting “save” in your memory bank.
2. Notice if the picture is moving like a movie or if it is still like a photo. Change it to its opposite and see what one feels better and save
3. Notice if you are seeing yourself in the picture(disassociated) or are you looking through your own eyes(associated) and then change it to its opposite, see if it feels good. Then hit save.
4. Can you tell how close the picture is to you and how big is it? Play with moving it farther away from you and shrinking it down. Adjust it until it feels good.
5. If there is any sound or words that go with your memory, play with the tempo and pitch of the voice until it seems ridiculous and makes you laugh.
Next step: Try and remember the experience again….does it feel the same?
If so, then keep playing around with these settings until it no longer has the same charge for you.