Time as a Tool
By Chris Cathey
Copyright 2010
I once read an article by Robert Dilts on Generative NLP and an interesting idea that I walked away with was the idea of utilizing time as a tool for creating change. Recently I was working with someone and I was searching for a resource that would be useful in helping us to bring a successful resolution to the particular type of change that we were aiming to achieve. I came to the conclusion that the person just didn’t have the resource that they needed at that time so what we proceeded to do was to spatially mark out a time line and we literally grew the resource for the person through time until it was exactly what they needed. I had really never utilized time lines in this fashion before but I figured what the heck.
If you read some of Milton Erickson’s articles you’ll undoubtedly come across stories of him using time distortion for things such as helping people lose weight and dealing with pain control. If you listen to some of Richard Bandler’s work you’ll undoubtedly hear him talk about utilizing time in dealing with anxiety and in helping people perform better in sports. The ways in which one may utilize time seems to be limited to the creativity of the person that is utilizing it. Years ago Tad James and Wyatt Woodsmall came out with Time Line Therapy. This seems to be a very effective method for creating change. Steve and Connirae Andreas quite a while ago put out work on how to structurally alter timelines in order to create change.
There are patterns for slowing ones perception of time as well as speeding it up. Personally I’ve used time distortion a couple of times when I had to get to sleep because I had to get up early and I only had a couple of hours to do it. So in order to feel like I received an adequate amount of sleep I had to cut a deal with myself that the next night I would go to bed early and then I would map across the submodality distinctions from an experience in which I experienced something that felt like it took a long time to my current perception of time. This has been very useful indeed though I would certainly never advocate utilizing time in this way for this purpose for an extended period. Sleep is just too important to deprive oneself of.
Really anything that has to do with the past, present, future, speeding up or slowing down has to do with ones perception of time in some form or fashion. It would really be worthwhile for people go about actively experimenting with their perception of time. Movies seem to be filled with numerous cultural submodality distinctions of time distortion. Just watch the Matrix notice what you notice when Neo slows time so that he can dodge bullets. Notice what stands out to you the most in terms of submodality distinctions and then try them on your internal experience. Watch a movie where people are going somewhere fast and then notice what you notice in terms of submodality distinctions there as well and then try that on in your internal experience.
The other day I was driving home from work and I looked at the scenery as it passed by and I thought to myself, “How do I know just from looking around that I am going fast?” and then when I started to go slower I asked myself, “How do I know that I’m going slow?” Notice what you notice and then try on the distinctions that are most salient in your internal experience.
Just go out and experiment and notice what you notice.
If you read some of Milton Erickson’s articles you’ll undoubtedly come across stories of him using time distortion for things such as helping people lose weight and dealing with pain control. If you listen to some of Richard Bandler’s work you’ll undoubtedly hear him talk about utilizing time in dealing with anxiety and in helping people perform better in sports. The ways in which one may utilize time seems to be limited to the creativity of the person that is utilizing it. Years ago Tad James and Wyatt Woodsmall came out with Time Line Therapy. This seems to be a very effective method for creating change. Steve and Connirae Andreas quite a while ago put out work on how to structurally alter timelines in order to create change.
There are patterns for slowing ones perception of time as well as speeding it up. Personally I’ve used time distortion a couple of times when I had to get to sleep because I had to get up early and I only had a couple of hours to do it. So in order to feel like I received an adequate amount of sleep I had to cut a deal with myself that the next night I would go to bed early and then I would map across the submodality distinctions from an experience in which I experienced something that felt like it took a long time to my current perception of time. This has been very useful indeed though I would certainly never advocate utilizing time in this way for this purpose for an extended period. Sleep is just too important to deprive oneself of.
Really anything that has to do with the past, present, future, speeding up or slowing down has to do with ones perception of time in some form or fashion. It would really be worthwhile for people go about actively experimenting with their perception of time. Movies seem to be filled with numerous cultural submodality distinctions of time distortion. Just watch the Matrix notice what you notice when Neo slows time so that he can dodge bullets. Notice what stands out to you the most in terms of submodality distinctions and then try them on your internal experience. Watch a movie where people are going somewhere fast and then notice what you notice in terms of submodality distinctions there as well and then try that on in your internal experience.
The other day I was driving home from work and I looked at the scenery as it passed by and I thought to myself, “How do I know just from looking around that I am going fast?” and then when I started to go slower I asked myself, “How do I know that I’m going slow?” Notice what you notice and then try on the distinctions that are most salient in your internal experience.
Just go out and experiment and notice what you notice.