Exercises on Submodalities (SM)

The effectiveness of submodalities can only be experienced through exercises. Please complete these exercises if you want to learn more about submodalities.

The following exercises are to be understood as important preparatory exercises for the successful application of other submodality techniques.

1. Extracting SM (Submodalities)

A enters a positive state. B asks about the submodalities using the SM checklist and notes them down. Break.
A enters a less pleasant state, which they want to de-stress later. B asks for the SM here as well and notes them down. Break.
B ensures that A returns to a good state. Now, compare the SMs of the positive state with those of the less pleasant state. What significant differences are visible?

Tips for Asking About SM (Submodalities)

When you help your A (client) to recall the experience, you can ask the following questions, for example:

Visual:
What do you see? Do you see yourself, or are you part of the scene (associated - dissociated)?
If dissociated: Is it more like a picture or more like a movie?
If it's a picture: Is it framed or unframed? Is it closer or farther away? And so on.

Auditory:
What do you hear?
Are they more like voices, sounds, tones, or perhaps silence?
If it's a voice: Where do you hear the voice coming from? Is it more high-pitched or low-pitched? And so on.

Kinesthetic:
If associated: What physical sensations are connected with this experience? Where exactly in the body do you feel it? Does this sensation have a temperature?
If yes: Is it more warm or cold? And so on.
If dissociated: Does this person in the image also have physical sensations related to this experience?
If yes: Where exactly in the body do they feel it? And so on.

Important: Clearly distinguish between body sensations (kinesthetic) and emotions (meta-feelings)! Meta-feelings are evaluative emotions in which information from all senses is integrated. Kinesthetic sensations are exclusively specific body feelings, like warmth in the chest area. Meta-feelings are only used as a check for the impact of certain SM (submodalities) in this work (=reaction to the sensory representation of an experience).

2. Identifying "Critical Submodalities" and Intensifying a Positive Experience

A returns to the positive experience from the previous one.

► Exercise: Now change each submodality of this state one by one and pay attention to the following:
Does the meta-feeling change?

If yes: Does it move towards worse (K-) or better (K++)? In other words, does it get worse or better?
Do other submodalities also automatically change?

If yes: You have found a critical submodality!
C notes the results.

Now, return the submodalities to their starting position and change the next one.

After finding the "critical submodalities" of the person, take the submodalities that led to K++ and change them. How has the experience intensified for A now?

3. Identifying "Critical Submodalities" and Diminishing an Unpleasant Experience

A returns to the rather unpleasant state from the first exercise.

Now change each submodality of this state one by one and pay attention to the following:
Does the meta-feeling change?

If yes: Does it move towards worse (K-) or better (K++)?
Do other submodalities also automatically change?

If yes: You have found a critical submodality!
C notes the results.

Now, return the submodalities to their starting position and change the next one.

After identifying the "critical submodalities" of the person, now take the submodalities that led to K neutral or K+ and change them. How has the experience changed for A now? Pay attention to the ecology of the experience.