I’m suffering post viral fatigue. I know this can work as in the Lightening process. I want to put energy in my good picture how can you do that with no behaviour?
@@tessgirl383 you can see an ideal image of yourself that look vibrant. You can see your eyes wide and bright and a spring in the body that looks ready to take action.
@@tessgirl383 no because that would tie this to a past experience, which means you would be looking to the past rather than the future. Also, you may not be able to perform the behavior when the impulse is triggered. In which case the Swish wouldn't work.
Amazing, I found a book by Steve and Corrine Andreas, "How to Change Your Mind." The Swish technique helped me SO much with my chronic suicide ideation issues. I am absolutely convinced NLP will help me gain emotional control of my life
I quit smoking and got over my cravings for my sweet tooth, with this tool. I also got over a toxic relationship and bad working experience with these NLP techniques. I also showed it to others and they reported good results. It doesn't always work the first time, but with repetition it works for sure.
Someone was explaining the swish pattern on youtube and he said: if you have a habit of drinking sugary drink imagine yourself eating apple instead and make that image bigger. I was like: dude, what if someone offers me sugary drink and i don't have an apple at hand😅
I had been using core transformation technique for the past 30 yrs. Sometime it work sometime it didn't. I stopped swish pattern because I was mostly unsuccessful. I had been using the original protocol as taught by Richard bendler. Compulsion image in 1st person and the ideal image small and out far in front. Then swish in and out. You taught a different protocol, and I tried it and it worked!! Thank you so much. I'll not leave core transformation though because after 30 years it had made me in deep connection with my consciousnesses. It had become spiritual.
Glad it worked. Core Transformation is great especially for more state based interventions. Steve Andreas mentored me so I picked up his style of teaching. His Self-Concept Model is the most powerful model I've ever used.
Ok, I didn't even think I could visualize well. I did this pattern with you on a video. I had zero faith in it. I think it was this video. Fast fwd a week later I decide to diet. And I've been on it for a week or more. And I'm doing great! I just came across an NLP video about the swoosh pattern. And it clicked. Your video is what did this for me. Thank you!
Same thing. Something is happening when you intend to do something and yet you get sidetracked to do nothing or something else that's not productive. Find that visual that triggers you to procrastinate.
Omg Damon. Ive taken NLP a couple of times and not once did i understand this technique. So of course... i did try to avoid it... as deep down i felt that i did not "get it". And now i understand it!! Thankyou so much!!
I've considered it, but haven't gotten around to it. If you really want to learn what's in this video, you might try breaking this video down into chapters yourself. When I come across something I know is important and I want to learn, I engage with it. For example, I will read a book multiple times, make notes, and find ways to implement the important learnings into my life. Give it a try. I think you will find it far more helpful in learning what's in this video. If you have questions along the way, feel free to ask me. I will respond.
11:30 in summary the swish pattern really is pick two images i 1)one compulsion /undesirable image on top 2) pick the desired image which is on bottom 3) Slide the desired image on top 4) slide the undesirable image below 5)Really get into the feeling place of desired image, make it bright and vivid 6) black out the screen completely and repeat several times However, the part that I didn’t really get is that Damon has described that the desired behaviour/image should be general so that it can be applied to every scenario and I’m not really sure how to do that, I’m working on a fear of dogs and I want to know how can I make a general desired image when I have several memories of being scared of dogs
The general desired image is of the ideal you who has already resolved this issue and any other issue. The image should be in no particular context and without you doing any particular behavior. This may take a bit of effort to construct but it's worth it.
Life Mastery Gym I really appreciate you response, however if you can provide an example of how to construct a generalmemory even if it’s based on some other issue then I will get an idea regarding constructing a general memory. I understand why you suggest using a general memory because it’s applicable in most situations, Lastly, I’m doing the rewind techniques and my understanding of The rewind technique/fast phobia cure is really looking at a problem and then rewinding it seeing everything backwards hearing everything backwards and doing several times e.g doing several times in one sitting and or doing it several times during the day. However if it’s some past event and it happened a long time ago and we don’t exactly remember hearing or seeing something exactly as it was then I’m not sure if I’m doing correctly So do I have to do the technique of bringing a stage screen and watching myself in a film since I have seen many people recommending it that way, I find this method a bit complicated since I’m not very good at visulation, I find the bone method much easier to apply and so I was wondering if the above method described by me is fine and i also want to know should I be performing the swish pattern exercise after the rewind technique whereby I pick an ideal and compulsion image and desired image sliding desired one up and blacking the screen completely and repeating I’m very very very apologetic for a long comment I really like your channel and the fact that you replied to me truly shows your dedication in relaying these materials to us and potential students who by the will of God can achieve success in their life Much love Damon I’m looking forward to hear from you soon 👍👍❤️❤️❤️
You teach this in a way that helps me stay focused, and actually understand the concept's! And that is no easy feat. Haha! I can't wait to keep watching!
What about the activity of taking a deep breath? If I imagine myself as this ideal person taking a deep breath. That way I would get the physiological benefit of deep breathing. Because you can do this anytime. Also for example, if your habit was anger. A deep breath would also crate a moment to reconsider. Curious about your thoughts.
It probably wouldn't harm the process, but I think you're missing the point. Your ideal self is not a behavior. When you're being your ideal self, you're being that when you take deep breaths and short breaths. You do run the risk of only feeling like your ideal self when you take a deep breath if you impose this content. I don't see the need for it.
Hi Damon, thanks for the video but I do struggle with NLP because of visualisation. Around 1% of people have complete Aphantasia and cannot see visual imagery. I wonder if you would make some content that could help us to get more from these techniques without using visual modalities?
You may be more auditory or kinesthetic and you might not rely on the visual modality as much. You can do the Swish Pattern in any other modalities. It tends to be easiest though in the visual modality. Be careful with diagnosing yourself with Aphantasia. Every single person who has claimed to me that they have it, I had them visualizing within 15 minutes. I'm not saying that such a disorder doesn't exist. However, a lot of people who find it difficult to visualize would rather diagnose themselves than work on their visualizing. It also seems to be something people strongly identify with, which is problematic. Just by questioning them they get very defensive and even argumentative rather than open to the possibility that they visualize just fine. I consider myself a visual person but I do not visualize in 3D High Definition. I only see what I need to see. Everyone uses the visual modality, even blind people. I've worked with a blind person who saw plenty of visuals. If Aphantasia is real, it's not because people with it can't visualize. It might be that they can't voluntarily recall visual images. If you couldn't visualize, you wouldn't be able to find a friend in a crowded place and you wouldn't be able to find your way home from work, as examples.
Your explanation was super clear and makes so much sense. One question. When we swish to the desired state, ideal self on top, we make it associated then, right? Have you done Swish in a group setting?
What exactly do you mean by swishing the desired state with the ideal self on top? I'm trying to represent that in my mind and it's odd. You do not associate into the ideal self except if you want to step in to get a feel for it or if you want to make sure it's right for you. Then you step back out and stay disassociated as you swish. If you associate into the ideal self, you will lose the motivation to move toward it and the pattern will fall apart and not work. What do you mean by doing Swish in a group setting?
Great video! Should the images be in first or third person? I imagine the image of the ideal self can't be in first person, but what about the visualization of the compulsion?
I explain this in the video and in the PDF guide. Your ideal self is 3rd person or disassociated. The compulsion image is almost always 1st person or associated. I've never come across anyone who had a compulsion image that was disassociated, but it's theoretically possible.
these things are what i explain to people whom have encountered a narcissist or psychopath and how they do these things to manipulate them and why it is confusing to them and has lingering effects afterwards. thank you so much for this information to be put about
With the Swish Pattern you view yourself, not someone else. In this video I explain tactic that narcissist use: ua-cam.com/video/ydrmlMikZG4/v-deo.html
Thanks Damon. Another great video…❤ What techniques would you recommend for catastrophizing, worrying and ruminating thoughts? My thoughts which are mainly movies in my mind, very quickly become catastrophic and I struggle to snap out of it. Often leaving me feeling exhausted with this nervous tension in my stomach, I just cant shake off. Some techniques like spinning feelings has helped a little bit with anxious feelings
I've done several videos about this. Here are a few: ua-cam.com/video/rFH-jl7UW9g/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/cO8dt-vp9Go/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/users/liveN9BeC9iywcM ua-cam.com/users/liveQmu-bvqPq5w
Hi Damon, What a great explanation of this awesome NLP technique. There's just one thing that's still not entirely clear to me... In this video, you mention a very common example. Oftentimes, the trigger for the need to smoke is stress. And stress is a feeling and not something visual. So you then ask what it is they see that causes the stress. So far, I'm still able to follow you. But what if the cause for their stress isn't something they see? What if it is a thought or a sound or something else that isn't visual? And what if it's an event (which could be visual) that is something random so that it can be a different event every time that causes the stress? I know I basically asked two questions. And I hope your answers will help me understand this technique even better. Thank you in advance!
Any feeling is caused by sensory based information whether that information is something you're experiencing internally or by an internal representation (memory). The feeling is an evaluation of the sensory based information. So just saying stress is a feeling and leaving it like that is inaccurate. What are you seeing or hearing that causes you to evaluate it as something that causes the feeling of stress? Stress does not (nor does any other feeling) just suddenly happen without a cause. You have to have some sensory based stimulus to evaluate in order to feel anything. You can do the Swish Pattern using other modalities like auditory or perceptual kinesthetic (touch or proprioception). You wrote: "What if it's just a thought?" How would you know you're even having a thought if it doesn't show up in one of the five modalities? If a thought is not visual, auditory, and you cannot touch it, taste it, or smell it, how would you know you're having a thought? You wouldn't. Thoughts are represented in one or a combination of the five senses (modalities). When it comes to the Swish Pattern, you're looking for the structure of an experience that causes compulsion. For most people this is an associated image. It could be auditory as well. Once you recognize that image and you start Swishing it to your ideal image of yourself, next time you encounter an experience that has the same structure of compulsion, instead of going with the compulsion, the compulsion pattern is interrupted by your ideal image. The reason this works so well is because we generalize information from old experiences to new experiences. We look for similarities. Your experiences and how you feel about them has less to do with the content of your experiences and a lot more to do with how you unconsciously structure those experiences. It's the structure, not the content, that causes you to evaluate your experiences the way you do.
I love this Damon. I have used the Swish - and the distinction you make in how to use the Ideal Self is very good. I have used it contextually before and it worked - but I see how it could be problematic in certain situations. Great job!
Tried this and quickly realized that the best I'm able to imagine right now is a blurry idealized version of myself. Whoops, that lack of clarity probably hasn't been helping much =O I would imagine that that image gets clearer the more you practice this, and the closer you get to becoming that person... Has anyone gone through such an experience before?
I'm 20 years old and interested in learning NLP, the only techniques that i know recently is Anchoring and Swish Pattern but I didn't master yet. Do you know any books that you recommend for beginners? For self purposes only. Can you suggest techniques that could help my self to improve? Thanks a lot sir Damon!😊
It's quite difficult to learn NLP from books. I've tried. For the cost of a few NLP books, you can access my Ultimate NLP Practitioner training. It's the most complete NLP Practitioner training I know of. You also get access to a community of NLP practitioners to practice with. NLP is an experiential model. To learn it, you have to practice it. You can't get it just by reading about it. ultimatenlppractitioner.com/
So well explained. Thank you for this. One aspect is not yet clear to me: understanding the trigger? So we picture the trigger that prompts the compulsion behaviour, but then, what do we do with it? Thank you again!
You're welcome. The trigger image is one of two of the images you swish. You start the swish with the trigger image in front of you and big. The ideal image of you is underneath the trigger image. When you swish, the trigger image goes down and becomes smaller as the ideal image of you comes up and gets larger replacing where the trigger image once was.
What are some good examples? What would be a good image for someone with poor eating or spending habits? I try to picture myself as fit or frugal, but I think you are trying to describe something I am not grasping.
Fit and frugal are too specific and impose too much content. Just see an image of yourself in no particular context and not doing any particular behavior. I find that this is easiest if you picture only your head and shoulders. See the you who is the ideal you, the you who has solved all of your problems and who is living your ideal life. Don't look for specific examples of this. Create a general image of your ideal self. This make take some time and effort but it's quite powerful when you do.
Hi Damon Loving your content Was just wondering how far apart could I do the swishing pattern if I have two problems Like loosing weight and biting my nails Should I do the one first and the next day do the other or could I do both together?
Then its not good cos I don't like the way I am now. The photo I had in mind makes me feel happy and I'm my ideal weight. So I just have to visualise that but not as me in the photo. Thanks Helen
Is it important to have only one version of your ideal self? Can I visualize myself in many different contexts and activities? I feel like that would be more “real”
Good question. For the Swish Pattern to be effective, no. When you add content, the Swish Pattern becomes less effective or not effective at all. The reason for this is that the Swish Pattern is a very simple pattern that works rapidly. If you add content like context and activities the change won't generalize to multiple contexts of your life and if you Swish from compulsion to activity, you don't know for certain you will be able to perform that activity in the moment. To get a sense of what I'm talking about, imagine yourself doing a particular activity. You probably see the context as well. Now delete the context by making the background blank. I could be black like being on a stage or in front of green screen? What happens? It should feel like you could do that activity anywhere. Now just think of a context. See yourself in the context doing no activity. What happens now? It opens you up to doing any possible activity. If you want more complexity and you want to go deeper and make it more real, that's what the Self-Concept Model does. It's the model created by my mentor Steve Andreas and it is the basis of what I teach and the basis for my coaching. The Swish Pattern was what inspired Steve to make the Self-Concept Model which is a very precise and thorough way to create lasting transformation. It's worth taking the time to work on an ideal image of yourself that summarizes you being fulfilled without being limited by context or behavior. Add the Self-Concept Model to that and you'll become fully realized.
1) Identify the compulsive behavior you want to change. 2) Identify what you see, hear, feel when you are triggered to go into the compulsive behavior. It should be a memory or an image that you are associated into. 3) Create the image of your ideal self. 4) Put the compulsion image at the top, about eye level. Put the ideal image below it. Swish them so that the compulsion image goes down, shrinks, and gets dark as the ideal image comes up and grows bigger and brighter. Do that 7 to 10 times. Make sure that you follow the instructions I give in the video so you don't make the typical mistakes most people make, which prevents the process from working.
What specifically do you want to know about unconscious assimilation. I've done videos on positive intention especially as it relates to resistance. Here's a recent one: ua-cam.com/video/q8MKS_MGZE8/v-deo.html I learned isomorphic metaphors but it's not something I practice regularly. I wouldn't be the best source for it.
@@DamonCart Sir I want to become a comedian and I have a little difficulty in modelling micro muscles, so that's why I was asking about Unconscious Assimilation. And at some point in my life someone (my greatest source of love) rewarded me for being weak and now everyday I feel that I am not enough and struggle for proving myself worthy of love because I think that I'm not truly my self. And everyday I'm pretending to be someone I am not! And I don't know what to do or how can I connect with my true self? Please help me!
@@muhammadalihaider1153 I don't understand what micro muscles have to do with what you're asking about. I think what you're wanting is bigger than just an answer I can give here. I do one-on-one coaching. If you want to explore that you can email me at damon@lifemasterygym.com
Thanks a lot Damon for this insights , it's really interesting point of view on this technique! I wanted to ask you how often you advice to do that exercise for better results? And also I wanted to know if you are still using this technique for yourself and how often you prefer to do it?
Once you've done it and practiced it about 7 to 10 times and tested it to make sure it works, let it go unconscious, which means don't keep practicing it for the particular habit you worked on. It's more powerful when it happens unconsciously. You can use this technique for as many things as you wish to work on. There's not limit. Yes, I still use it from time to time.
Of course, my Swish Pattern videos are meant for the user, but of course coaches can use it too. The ideal self part is actually the correct way the Swish Pattern works and the way it was originally taught. It was taught to me incorrectly by a trainer who should have known better (who I will not name). My mentor Steve Andreas set me straight.
@@DamonCart thank you Damon, I appreciate your candidness. As someone who is practicing to be an NLP coach, there's nothing more I'd want than to perform this properly. Love your videos, thanks for posting them!
Hi Damon. I have a doubt... When you say to think about what exactly triggers the bad behaviour I want to stop doing, I am confused. For example, I want to stop eating biscuits but if I think of what it triggers that behaviour I can't see an image... What I see, is myself opening the cupboard in the kitchen but I cannot visualize the image of my stressor and the feeling associated...
I'm confused. You say you don't see anything and then you say you see yourself opening the cupboard so you're seeing it. Do you actually see yourself like you're watching a video of yourself opening the cupboard or is it point of view perspective? The key is to find that point of no return, where you're going after the biscuits no matter what.
This was very, very good! What if my ideal self-image is the future version of me as a mom? I did a TIME technique of placing a goal in my future timeline and now I always visualize the version of myself as me with my daughter on my hip. It's a very compelling, toward-motivating image for me. Would that be a good one to use for swish?
It's better to be context free when you make an image of your ideal self so that the ideal you generalizes to all areas of your life including parenthood. If you give it a context like adding your daughter, you're only swishing to that context and it's likely the change will be limited to that context. Technically that's called chaining instead of swishing.
In a sense, I suppose any time you imagine something it's sort of like an animation. As long as it looks realistic (not like a cartoon) and you follow my instructions, it should work.
Definitely, in fact it will probably be more powerful if it's more like a movie. You can definitely use it to overcome procrastination as long as your trigger image is very specific regarding how procrastination is triggered, when it's triggered, and for what activity.
Question, does having something in your ideal image mean it has context? For example, I have an ideal image of me and there’s also a brand new forest green Jeep Wrangler which I’m sitting in. Do ideal images have to be just you, and absolutely zero context as if you were in outer space, or in front of a green screen? Thanks!
Yes, it needs to be just you and yes a green Jeep Wrangler creates context, which your mind will attach your ideal self to, which means it won't generalize to all areas of your life.
Hi Damon, Amongst other things, I also tried this on a person with sleep problems. His sleep is interruped by constant mental processing- which in his case is a chatter (audio) in his head- a voice similar to his own. I swished it for his desired image (of when he slept very well more than 20 years ago). Unfortunately it didn't work. How can this be done better?
I think you answered your own question. Follow the instructions I give in the video. You didn't swish to an ideal self, like I teach, in no particular context and doing no particular behavior. You swished him to a specific context and doing a specific behavior that obviously didn't match his circumstances. Re-watch the video and pay attention to the instructions. Furthermore, the Swish Pattern is probably not the best technique for sleep issues unless the sleep issue is caused by a habitual or compulsive pattern of behavior. It never hurts to try it though. There are no harmful side-effects. If it works, great. If it doesn't, try something else. However, make sure that when you try it, that you do the process correctly or else there's no way to know if the Swish Pattern truly works for his issue.
@@DamonCart Thanks for the response. You're right about context-specificity of desired image(I discovered your video AFTER I ran the process on him. I will re-do the right way.
I have two questions. Do I need to see the compulsion (trigger image) from a third person perspective or just imagining myself from the first person perspective (so just like recalling a memory)? And then, about the "ideal self", do I only need to picture myself smiling, standing, in a good shape with a blank background in it then? Since there shouldn't be no context at all... Thanks in advance
How do you normally see the trigger image when you feel the compulsion? That's how you want to set it up when you swish it. Compulsion images are usually associated (point of view perspective). If you see it from a 3rd person perspective it will likely not feel as much like a compulsion. For the ideal self image, there should be no particular context and no behavior.
It can. There's definitely no harmful side effects even if it doesn't work. Addiction can be simple or it can be complex. If it's complex, you'll probably need more than the Swish Pattern.
Hi. It's more about the right tool for the job. For example, what's better, a hammer or a wrench? You get the idea. I like the Swish Pattern because the ideal image of yourself is very powerful when you create it. If done correctly it generalizes widely throughout your life. By that measure, the Swish Pattern is very powerful. I often use pieces of it for other things I'm wanting to accomplish.
You don't visualize the compulsive worrying. Find what triggers the compulsive worrying. It doesn't just happen randomly. Something you see triggers it.
Hello Damon, this may be weird, but my ideal self, for as long as I can remember, is a cartoon version of myself. I doubt this works for swishing. Any feedback? Thank you!
Hey Damon. I find the idealized self image hard to conjure in the way you described. Would it hurt if ideal me were wearing a tuxedo and holding a glass of champagne?
That's a bit too much content. You can certainly be wearing something nice but a tuxedo is very specific for only special events. A glass of champagne is similar so I would leave the champagne out entirely. You don't only want to be your ideal self during special events. You want to be your ideal self everywhere. Keep working at this. It will be worth it once you get it. It will get easier the more you work at this image.
You don't want to do that because that's a form of association. If you want to do that to get the feeling of what your ideal self feels like, that's fine. Just make sure you put the image back out in front of you. The image of your ideal self serves as a vision, a direction of where you want to go. If you associate into it and stay there, you won't see the direction out in front of you. You will feel less motivated to become your ideal self because you will feel like you're already there. And that's never true. We can always become better. We always want to be answering the call of our potential instead of trying to make ourselves feel overly comfortable with where we are.
What if the behaviour I want to change is a kinesthetic feeling triggered by a cue? Converting the kinesthetic feeling into an image results me having 3 pictures (cue, feeling, ideal self). Which pictures do I have to swish?
Do you mean kinesthetic perceptual (like tactile and proprioceptive sensations) or kinesthetic evaluative/emotional (as in how you feel about something)? If it's the latter, those types of evaluative/emotional feelings are always the result of seeing, hearing, touching (also posture), and possibly taste and smell, in other words the response to some representation happening outside of you or the response to internal representations in your mind of seeing, hearing, touching something. For the Swish Pattern you're finding the visual trigger that cause you to feel a compulsion toward something that you don't want to indulge in. You want to swish that visual trigger with an ideal image of yourself.
Probably because it happens so fast and that's also why it's a compulsion. This may take you a bit of time and practice but definitely worth it to get clear about this so you can finally quit smoking for good. Slow things down. The last time you had a cigarette, what happened just before that. Walk it back slowly until you find the moment you felt the impulse to smoke. That's the trigger point and that's what you want to swish.
Hi, newbie here. Question: how do you create an image of the ideal self/identity with no context or behaviours? Because wouldn't you need to have some sort of description of the behaviours of the ideal self to have some appeal for change (or the “Swish”)? (Or maybe I've completely misunderstood this pattern). I mean, other than inner drive and a strong passion for something, the ideal self is about behaviours - things you do differently from now. Or does this pattern not require such a like for like exchange? By the way, your videos are awesome and I’ve learnt so much from your content. And thank you so much. This one, I’m a little stuck.
Yes, this is hard to grasp for most people including myself when I first was taught this especially since it was originally taught to me incorrectly. It's time to realize what it means to identify with your behavior. It's not the behavior itself that creates who you are, it's the generalizations you make about those behaviors as it relates to yourself that creates who you are. We call these qualities. So for example if I do a lot of kind behaviors, I can generalize that, because I do those behaviors regularly, I must be a kind person. If kindness is one of my ideals or values, then I will feel good about myself because I'm fulfilling one of my ideals. The ideal image of yourself is an image of yourself that embodies your highest ideals. It will take a bit of creativity, but it's absolutely worth making an image of yourself who you just know when you look at it, that it's you embodying your highest ideals and who has resolved all of your problems. If you add behaviors and context, you will be linking this you with only that context and only those behaviors so this ideal you will not generalize to all areas of your life. You definitely want it to generalize to all areas of your life and with all of your behaviors. By not adding that content, you free this ideal generalization of yourself to go with you wherever you go and with whatever you do.
@@DamonCart Oh wow, that definitely explains it. Yes, thank you so much. That took me back to the basics. And thank you for you response. You’re awesome.
Could you use this technique for someone for example that has the belief that they have a large nose? Regardless if they do or not, if they feel that they're constantly being made fun of, etc. what could they do to change their belief.
This is probably not the best technique for something like that. I've done videos on belief change. It's too much for me to explain here. Here's an old video I did on this topic. ua-cam.com/video/MT5HkIkIH_M/v-deo.html
Let's say I ALWAYS find myself thinking about the worst case scenario. Is it possible to use this technique to stop doing that? If so, what do I need to envision? Thanks!
Yes. You can do this. It may take some experimentation so have fun with it. Break your life down into 3 to 5 major life contexts. Notice when you think about one of them, if your mind starts to think about the worst case scenario, stop and walk it back until you find the trigger that prompted you to start thinking it. In other words, what happened just before your mind started to go there? That's your compulsory image. Then imagine an ideal image of yourself, the you who could handle a worse case scenario of any kind and come out ahead. Then Swish away. Do this for every one of your major life contexts.
Damon, appreciating your teaching style. Thank you for your kindness in sharing at this level. In my Master Practitioner training, part of the focus was on breakthrough sessions. A client chooses a domain (say, career), and part of the process is eliciting their values for (career), before and after the "release work." If a client were to use the values elicited to create the image of their ideal self to be used in a Swish, would this ideal self, even if it's visualized with no context or behaviors, still only behave differently within career since the client used the values elicited specifically for career? Psyched for your response!
Great question and I think it's great that you're thinking in terms of values for building the image of your ideal self. For what it sounds like you're wanting to do, I would elicit your values from the 3 to 5 major contexts in your life. In other words, if you had to chunk your life into 3 to 5 major contexts, what would they be? It sounds like career would be one of them for you. Ask yourself what do you want within each context and elicit your values in each. You will likely see values that are present in each context even though the hierarchy will likely be different in each context. Those high level values that are present in each context or most contexts, are great values to use to build your ideal self image.
Hi Arch! If I may...the notion of a person having different values for different domains of life is a conscious, rational concept. As I'm sure you are aware, values are mainly unconscious filters with some content. When you elicit a person's core values, or threshold values you easily come to the conclusion that they're transversal to the different domains. If it wasn't like this, a person would hardly have values conflicts, for example, not accepting a job offer abroad because of the family, etc. So you may go ahead and elicit a person's values in as many domains as you like, but at the end of the day and specially when you know what hits the fan, it all boils down to 2 or 3 deeply unconscious values, which are most likely filled with "pain".
I work form home in front of a computer and I smoke while working. I cannot replace sitting in front of the computer with anything else, because it's my job :/ A healthy image of myself will still be sitting in front of a computer with a blurry background :/ What can I do? :/
The ideal image of yourself should have no context. Sitting in front of your computer is a context. Remove the context so that all you have is your ideal image of yourself in no context and not doing any behavior.
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I’m suffering post viral fatigue. I know this can work as in the Lightening process. I want to put energy in my good picture how can you do that with no behaviour?
@@tessgirl383 you can see an ideal image of yourself that look vibrant. You can see your eyes wide and bright and a spring in the body that looks ready to take action.
@@DamonCart thank you so much for answering . Do I not put my self in a behaviour of when I had energy & felt well ?
@@tessgirl383 no because that would tie this to a past experience, which means you would be looking to the past rather than the future. Also, you may not be able to perform the behavior when the impulse is triggered. In which case the Swish wouldn't work.
@@DamonCart it’s so confusing Donald Currie says to remember when you had that energy or courage . I will try yours now lol
Amazing, I found a book by Steve and Corrine Andreas, "How to Change Your Mind." The Swish technique helped me SO much with my chronic suicide ideation issues. I am absolutely convinced NLP will help me gain emotional control of my life
I quit smoking and got over my cravings for my sweet tooth, with this tool. I also got over a toxic relationship and bad working experience with these NLP techniques. I also showed it to others and they reported good results. It doesn't always work the first time, but with repetition it works for sure.
Thank you mam ❤
Here for the first time and just feeling so grateful the efforts in explaining the concept.
1. Be fully associated.
2. No context. No activity.
3. No yo-yo. Reset every time.
4. No external role model. Do you. Be your own ideal.
Someone was explaining the swish pattern on youtube and he said: if you have a habit of drinking sugary drink imagine yourself eating apple instead and make that image bigger. I was like: dude, what if someone offers me sugary drink and i don't have an apple at hand😅
Exactly
I had been using core transformation technique for the past 30 yrs. Sometime it work sometime it didn't. I stopped swish pattern because I was mostly unsuccessful. I had been using the original protocol as taught by Richard bendler. Compulsion image in 1st person and the ideal image small and out far in front. Then swish in and out. You taught a different protocol, and I tried it and it worked!! Thank you so much.
I'll not leave core transformation though because after 30 years it had made me in deep connection with my consciousnesses. It had become spiritual.
Glad it worked.
Core Transformation is great especially for more state based interventions. Steve Andreas mentored me so I picked up his style of teaching. His Self-Concept Model is the most powerful model I've ever used.
Ok, I didn't even think I could visualize well. I did this pattern with you on a video. I had zero faith in it. I think it was this video. Fast fwd a week later I decide to diet. And I've been on it for a week or more. And I'm doing great! I just came across an NLP video about the swoosh pattern. And it clicked. Your video is what did this for me. Thank you!
You're welcome.
That's how it works.
ITS SO CLEAR AND LOUD and PAINTED A CLEAR PICTURE!! Thank you!
You're welcome. Thank you for commenting.
Gol, gold, gold. Nothing more to say Damon. This is what coaching is all about !
Thank you.
Very interesting. What about something like procrastination where it is a state of avoidance? How does one visualize that ?
Same thing. Something is happening when you intend to do something and yet you get sidetracked to do nothing or something else that's not productive. Find that visual that triggers you to procrastinate.
Multumes , nu stiam de ce i mi plac videorile tale...your nlp a very clearly explained...very helpfull .
Multumesc. Cu placere.
Omg Damon.
Ive taken NLP a couple of times and not once did i understand this technique. So of course... i did try to avoid it... as deep down i felt that i did not "get it".
And now i understand it!! Thankyou so much!!
You're welcome. Glad you're making good use of this video.
A good one.. I have a few issues to deal with. Shall follow the swish method Damon.. And check out how it works
Thank you. Let me know how it goes.
would be super helpful if you had tabs in the play bar with chapters of what you're talking about. Would be great if you could start adding them in :)
I've considered it, but haven't gotten around to it.
If you really want to learn what's in this video, you might try breaking this video down into chapters yourself.
When I come across something I know is important and I want to learn, I engage with it. For example, I will read a book multiple times, make notes, and find ways to implement the important learnings into my life.
Give it a try. I think you will find it far more helpful in learning what's in this video.
If you have questions along the way, feel free to ask me. I will respond.
Understanding swish pattern, NLP Prac trained and trying this with client tomorrow. Awesome refresher Damon. . Great channel.
Thank you. Let me know how it goes with your client.
11:30 in summary the swish pattern really is pick two images i
1)one compulsion /undesirable image on top
2) pick the desired image which is on bottom
3) Slide the desired image on top
4) slide the undesirable image below
5)Really get into the feeling place of desired image, make it bright and vivid
6) black out the screen completely and repeat several times
However, the part that I didn’t really get is that Damon has described that the desired behaviour/image should be general so that it can be applied to every scenario and I’m not really sure how to do that,
I’m working on a fear of dogs and I want to know how can I make a general desired image when I have several memories of being scared of dogs
The general desired image is of the ideal you who has already resolved this issue and any other issue. The image should be in no particular context and without you doing any particular behavior. This may take a bit of effort to construct but it's worth it.
Life Mastery Gym I really appreciate you response, however if you can provide an example of how to construct a generalmemory even if it’s based on some other issue then I will get an idea regarding constructing a general memory. I understand why you suggest using a general memory because it’s applicable in most situations,
Lastly, I’m doing the rewind techniques and my understanding of The rewind technique/fast phobia cure is really looking at a problem and then rewinding it seeing everything backwards hearing everything backwards and doing several times e.g doing several times in one sitting and or doing it several times during the day. However if it’s some past event and it happened a long time ago and we don’t exactly remember hearing or seeing something exactly as it was then I’m not sure if I’m doing correctly
So do I have to do the technique of bringing a stage screen and watching myself in a film since I have seen many people recommending it that way, I find this method a bit complicated since I’m not very good at visulation, I find the bone method much easier to apply and so I was wondering if the above method described by me is fine
and i also want to know should I be performing the swish pattern exercise after the rewind technique whereby I pick an ideal and compulsion image and desired image sliding desired one up and blacking the screen completely and repeating
I’m very very very apologetic for a long comment I really like your channel and the fact that you replied to me truly shows your dedication in relaying these materials to us and potential students who by the will of God can achieve success in their life
Much love Damon
I’m looking forward to hear from you soon
👍👍❤️❤️❤️
You teach this in a way that helps me stay focused, and actually understand the concept's!
And that is no easy feat. Haha! I can't wait to keep watching!
Thank you.
What about the activity of taking a deep breath? If I imagine myself as this ideal person taking a deep breath. That way I would get the physiological benefit of deep breathing. Because you can do this anytime. Also for example, if your habit was anger. A deep breath would also crate a moment to reconsider. Curious about your thoughts.
It probably wouldn't harm the process, but I think you're missing the point. Your ideal self is not a behavior. When you're being your ideal self, you're being that when you take deep breaths and short breaths.
You do run the risk of only feeling like your ideal self when you take a deep breath if you impose this content. I don't see the need for it.
Hi Damon, thanks for the video but I do struggle with NLP because of visualisation. Around 1% of people have complete Aphantasia and cannot see visual imagery. I wonder if you would make some content that could help us to get more from these techniques without using visual modalities?
You may be more auditory or kinesthetic and you might not rely on the visual modality as much. You can do the Swish Pattern in any other modalities. It tends to be easiest though in the visual modality.
Be careful with diagnosing yourself with Aphantasia. Every single person who has claimed to me that they have it, I had them visualizing within 15 minutes. I'm not saying that such a disorder doesn't exist. However, a lot of people who find it difficult to visualize would rather diagnose themselves than work on their visualizing. It also seems to be something people strongly identify with, which is problematic. Just by questioning them they get very defensive and even argumentative rather than open to the possibility that they visualize just fine. I consider myself a visual person but I do not visualize in 3D High Definition. I only see what I need to see. Everyone uses the visual modality, even blind people. I've worked with a blind person who saw plenty of visuals. If Aphantasia is real, it's not because people with it can't visualize. It might be that they can't voluntarily recall visual images. If you couldn't visualize, you wouldn't be able to find a friend in a crowded place and you wouldn't be able to find your way home from work, as examples.
Your explanation was super clear and makes so much sense. One question. When we swish to the desired state, ideal self on top, we make it associated then, right? Have you done Swish in a group setting?
What exactly do you mean by swishing the desired state with the ideal self on top? I'm trying to represent that in my mind and it's odd.
You do not associate into the ideal self except if you want to step in to get a feel for it or if you want to make sure it's right for you. Then you step back out and stay disassociated as you swish. If you associate into the ideal self, you will lose the motivation to move toward it and the pattern will fall apart and not work.
What do you mean by doing Swish in a group setting?
Great video! Should the images be in first or third person? I imagine the image of the ideal self can't be in first person, but what about the visualization of the compulsion?
I explain this in the video and in the PDF guide. Your ideal self is 3rd person or disassociated. The compulsion image is almost always 1st person or associated. I've never come across anyone who had a compulsion image that was disassociated, but it's theoretically possible.
ideal self as the representation for swish ... find it really simple AND profound
cheers
Glad it helped.
these things are what i explain to people whom have encountered a narcissist or psychopath and how they do these things to manipulate them and why it is confusing to them and has lingering effects afterwards. thank you so much for this information to be put about
Appreciate the kind words. I've done videos on narcissism and passive aggressiveness. However, the Swish Pattern doesn't really fit with those topics.
@@DamonCart it sounds like it would as in the viewing people as an extension
With the Swish Pattern you view yourself, not someone else.
In this video I explain tactic that narcissist use: ua-cam.com/video/ydrmlMikZG4/v-deo.html
Be our own role model, love that. Thank you.
Thanks Damon down to earth honest video
You're welcome. Thank you for commenting.
Was introduced through Vishen's Be extrodinary course, but I remember him having you have some specifics, not just general.
You have explained this beautifully! Many thanks!
You're very welcome!
Thanks Damon. Another great video…❤
What techniques would you recommend for catastrophizing, worrying and ruminating thoughts?
My thoughts which are mainly movies in my mind, very quickly become catastrophic and I struggle to snap out of it. Often leaving me feeling exhausted with this nervous tension in my stomach, I just cant shake off. Some techniques like spinning feelings has helped a little bit with anxious feelings
I've done several videos about this. Here are a few:
ua-cam.com/video/rFH-jl7UW9g/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/cO8dt-vp9Go/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/users/liveN9BeC9iywcM
ua-cam.com/users/liveQmu-bvqPq5w
This was extremely informative - - having the BEST version of yourself 'IDEAL' self vs. vision board is most effective! Thank you! :)
Glad it was helpful.
Hi Damon,
What a great explanation of this awesome NLP technique.
There's just one thing that's still not entirely clear to me...
In this video, you mention a very common example. Oftentimes, the trigger for the need to smoke is stress. And stress is a feeling and not something visual. So you then ask what it is they see that causes the stress.
So far, I'm still able to follow you. But what if the cause for their stress isn't something they see? What if it is a thought or a sound or something else that isn't visual? And what if it's an event (which could be visual) that is something random so that it can be a different event every time that causes the stress?
I know I basically asked two questions. And I hope your answers will help me understand this technique even better.
Thank you in advance!
Any feeling is caused by sensory based information whether that information is something you're experiencing internally or by an internal representation (memory). The feeling is an evaluation of the sensory based information. So just saying stress is a feeling and leaving it like that is inaccurate. What are you seeing or hearing that causes you to evaluate it as something that causes the feeling of stress? Stress does not (nor does any other feeling) just suddenly happen without a cause. You have to have some sensory based stimulus to evaluate in order to feel anything.
You can do the Swish Pattern using other modalities like auditory or perceptual kinesthetic (touch or proprioception).
You wrote: "What if it's just a thought?"
How would you know you're even having a thought if it doesn't show up in one of the five modalities? If a thought is not visual, auditory, and you cannot touch it, taste it, or smell it, how would you know you're having a thought? You wouldn't. Thoughts are represented in one or a combination of the five senses (modalities).
When it comes to the Swish Pattern, you're looking for the structure of an experience that causes compulsion. For most people this is an associated image. It could be auditory as well. Once you recognize that image and you start Swishing it to your ideal image of yourself, next time you encounter an experience that has the same structure of compulsion, instead of going with the compulsion, the compulsion pattern is interrupted by your ideal image. The reason this works so well is because we generalize information from old experiences to new experiences. We look for similarities. Your experiences and how you feel about them has less to do with the content of your experiences and a lot more to do with how you unconsciously structure those experiences. It's the structure, not the content, that causes you to evaluate your experiences the way you do.
@@DamonCart Thank you. Awesome explanation.
I love this Damon. I have used the Swish - and the distinction you make in how to use the Ideal Self is very good. I have used it contextually before and it worked - but I see how it could be problematic in certain situations. Great job!
Thank you!
Tried this and quickly realized that the best I'm able to imagine right now is a blurry idealized version of myself. Whoops, that lack of clarity probably hasn't been helping much =O I would imagine that that image gets clearer the more you practice this, and the closer you get to becoming that person... Has anyone gone through such an experience before?
Yes, practice.
Yes...it's true
excellent video watched so many other NLP videos and hands down this is the best!!!
Thank you! Really appreciate the comment and the kind words.
Explanation is super clear!!!
I'm 20 years old and interested in learning NLP, the only techniques that i know recently is Anchoring and Swish Pattern but I didn't master yet. Do you know any books that you recommend for beginners? For self purposes only.
Can you suggest techniques that could help my self to improve? Thanks a lot sir Damon!😊
It's quite difficult to learn NLP from books. I've tried. For the cost of a few NLP books, you can access my Ultimate NLP Practitioner training. It's the most complete NLP Practitioner training I know of. You also get access to a community of NLP practitioners to practice with. NLP is an experiential model. To learn it, you have to practice it. You can't get it just by reading about it. ultimatenlppractitioner.com/
So well explained. Thank you for this. One aspect is not yet clear to me: understanding the trigger? So we picture the trigger that prompts the compulsion behaviour, but then, what do we do with it? Thank you again!
You're welcome.
The trigger image is one of two of the images you swish. You start the swish with the trigger image in front of you and big. The ideal image of you is underneath the trigger image. When you swish, the trigger image goes down and becomes smaller as the ideal image of you comes up and gets larger replacing where the trigger image once was.
Replay
I love this thank you!
Besides The easy explained “Swish technique”.
Carry my ideal image with me
Got it ❤
You're welcome.
love it tried it, will let you know how it goes, hadnt placed an ideal self image before - simple - gracias!
You're welcome. If you liked this one, you'll love this one as well: ua-cam.com/video/9g3Fd9C8I0Q/v-deo.html
What are some good examples? What would be a good image for someone with poor eating or spending habits? I try to picture myself as fit or frugal, but I think you are trying to describe something I am not grasping.
Fit and frugal are too specific and impose too much content. Just see an image of yourself in no particular context and not doing any particular behavior. I find that this is easiest if you picture only your head and shoulders. See the you who is the ideal you, the you who has solved all of your problems and who is living your ideal life. Don't look for specific examples of this. Create a general image of your ideal self. This make take some time and effort but it's quite powerful when you do.
Excellent
You are a great teacher
Thank you
Hi Damon
Loving your content
Was just wondering how far apart could I do the swishing pattern if I have two problems
Like loosing weight and biting my nails
Should I do the one first and the next day do the other or could I do both together?
You could probably do both in one day. You would use the same image of your ideal self so it's easy to appropriate it to other bad habits.
Hi there. When doing the swish technique could visualising a photo of my slimmer self work thank you Helen
Yes as long as it's not a past version of you. It needs to be a future version of you.
Then its not good cos I don't like the way I am now. The photo I had in mind makes me feel happy and I'm my ideal weight. So I just have to visualise that but not as me in the photo. Thanks Helen
@@helennewsome2348 visualize the future ideal you, not the past. Move forward, not backward. You can't go back.
Is it important to have only one version of your ideal self? Can I visualize myself in many different contexts and activities? I feel like that would be more “real”
Good question. For the Swish Pattern to be effective, no. When you add content, the Swish Pattern becomes less effective or not effective at all. The reason for this is that the Swish Pattern is a very simple pattern that works rapidly. If you add content like context and activities the change won't generalize to multiple contexts of your life and if you Swish from compulsion to activity, you don't know for certain you will be able to perform that activity in the moment. To get a sense of what I'm talking about, imagine yourself doing a particular activity. You probably see the context as well. Now delete the context by making the background blank. I could be black like being on a stage or in front of green screen? What happens? It should feel like you could do that activity anywhere. Now just think of a context. See yourself in the context doing no activity. What happens now? It opens you up to doing any possible activity.
If you want more complexity and you want to go deeper and make it more real, that's what the Self-Concept Model does. It's the model created by my mentor Steve Andreas and it is the basis of what I teach and the basis for my coaching.
The Swish Pattern was what inspired Steve to make the Self-Concept Model which is a very precise and thorough way to create lasting transformation.
It's worth taking the time to work on an ideal image of yourself that summarizes you being fulfilled without being limited by context or behavior. Add the Self-Concept Model to that and you'll become fully realized.
The best explanation I ever heard. Thank you!
You're welcome. Thank you.
I still don't understand how to do this pattern from this. What are the steps in outline form?
1) Identify the compulsive behavior you want to change. 2) Identify what you see, hear, feel when you are triggered to go into the compulsive behavior. It should be a memory or an image that you are associated into. 3) Create the image of your ideal self. 4) Put the compulsion image at the top, about eye level. Put the ideal image below it. Swish them so that the compulsion image goes down, shrinks, and gets dark as the ideal image comes up and grows bigger and brighter. Do that 7 to 10 times. Make sure that you follow the instructions I give in the video so you don't make the typical mistakes most people make, which prevents the process from working.
Loved the style. Authentic 🙏🙏🙏🙏
Thank you
Can you use it for frustrating profanity? When communicating
Yes, definitely. Give it a try.
It is possible to cure any disease with swish pattern or other nlp technique ????
I say give it a try. There's no harmful side-effects to using NLP techniques on physical ailments. You have nothing to lose if it doesn't work.
@@DamonCart sorry brother i want to ask it is possible to cure any disease with swish pattern
@@DamonCart i am huge fan of you brother thank you for reply
@@wahidmehmood890 I would say it's possible but that doesn't mean it will. But there's no harm in trying.
@@DamonCart love you brother 😍
Sir can you talk about Unconscious Assimilation, positive intention and isomorphic metaphors?
What specifically do you want to know about unconscious assimilation. I've done videos on positive intention especially as it relates to resistance. Here's a recent one: ua-cam.com/video/q8MKS_MGZE8/v-deo.html
I learned isomorphic metaphors but it's not something I practice regularly. I wouldn't be the best source for it.
@@DamonCart Sir I want to become a comedian and I have a little difficulty in modelling micro muscles, so that's why I was asking about Unconscious Assimilation.
And at some point in my life someone (my greatest source of love) rewarded me for being weak and now everyday I feel that I am not enough and struggle for proving myself worthy of love because I think that I'm not truly my self. And everyday I'm pretending to be someone I am not! And I don't know what to do or how can I connect with my true self? Please help me!
@@muhammadalihaider1153 I don't understand what micro muscles have to do with what you're asking about. I think what you're wanting is bigger than just an answer I can give here. I do one-on-one coaching. If you want to explore that you can email me at damon@lifemasterygym.com
Thanks a lot Damon for this insights , it's really interesting point of view on this technique! I wanted to ask you how often you advice to do that exercise for better results? And also I wanted to know if you are still using this technique for yourself and how often you prefer to do it?
Once you've done it and practiced it about 7 to 10 times and tested it to make sure it works, let it go unconscious, which means don't keep practicing it for the particular habit you worked on. It's more powerful when it happens unconsciously.
You can use this technique for as many things as you wish to work on. There's not limit.
Yes, I still use it from time to time.
@@DamonCart Thanks for your reply , appreciate it
This is really awesome Damon thank you for sharing!
My pleasure.
I love that ideal self bit. It's different from the training with David Key but I like this one better. Can you do swish pattern on yourself?
Of course, my Swish Pattern videos are meant for the user, but of course coaches can use it too.
The ideal self part is actually the correct way the Swish Pattern works and the way it was originally taught. It was taught to me incorrectly by a trainer who should have known better (who I will not name). My mentor Steve Andreas set me straight.
@@DamonCart thank you Damon, I appreciate your candidness. As someone who is practicing to be an NLP coach, there's nothing more I'd want than to perform this properly. Love your videos, thanks for posting them!
@@crioco3648 thank you for the kind words.
Do you think this can help with Day Trading
Possibly. We have a lot of traders coming to us so we're working on discovering NLP techniques that will help traders.
nice presentation, awesome stuff
Thank you kindly.
Thankyou for making these videos
You're very welcome.
Clear explanation! Much appreciated for us coaches out there ;)
Happy to help!
Excellent video! I took lots of notes. Thank you!
You're very welcome!
Hi Damon. I have a doubt... When you say to think about what exactly triggers the bad behaviour I want to stop doing, I am confused. For example, I want to stop eating biscuits but if I think of what it triggers that behaviour I can't see an image... What I see, is myself opening the cupboard in the kitchen but I cannot visualize the image of my stressor and the feeling associated...
I'm confused. You say you don't see anything and then you say you see yourself opening the cupboard so you're seeing it. Do you actually see yourself like you're watching a video of yourself opening the cupboard or is it point of view perspective?
The key is to find that point of no return, where you're going after the biscuits no matter what.
This was very, very good! What if my ideal self-image is the future version of me as a mom? I did a TIME technique of placing a goal in my future timeline and now I always visualize the version of myself as me with my daughter on my hip. It's a very compelling, toward-motivating image for me. Would that be a good one to use for swish?
It's better to be context free when you make an image of your ideal self so that the ideal you generalizes to all areas of your life including parenthood. If you give it a context like adding your daughter, you're only swishing to that context and it's likely the change will be limited to that context. Technically that's called chaining instead of swishing.
Got it! Thanks :)
Great video, thank you for sharing so clearly. I'm going to be following your channel.
Welcome aboard!
Superb explanation
Thank you
How do you hold both the images together in imagination? Will it help if one creates an animation of the swish process and watches it in repetition?
In a sense, I suppose any time you imagine something it's sort of like an animation. As long as it looks realistic (not like a cartoon) and you follow my instructions, it should work.
The image has to be still or it can be like a movie? And can I use this pattern to overcome procrastination?
Definitely, in fact it will probably be more powerful if it's more like a movie. You can definitely use it to overcome procrastination as long as your trigger image is very specific regarding how procrastination is triggered, when it's triggered, and for what activity.
But, start tomorrow.
Haha
When is the enrollment opening?
Got to selfconcept.com and get on the list. We'll let you know.
Would this technique help with anger?
Definitely
Question, does having something in your ideal image mean it has context? For example, I have an ideal image of me and there’s also a brand new forest green Jeep Wrangler which I’m sitting in. Do ideal images have to be just you, and absolutely zero context as if you were in outer space, or in front of a green screen? Thanks!
Yes, it needs to be just you and yes a green Jeep Wrangler creates context, which your mind will attach your ideal self to, which means it won't generalize to all areas of your life.
@@DamonCart Thank you, that helps! I’ve been watching a ton of your videos, so helpful.
Hi Damon, Amongst other things, I also tried this on a person with sleep problems. His sleep is interruped by constant mental processing- which in his case is a chatter (audio) in his head- a voice similar to his own. I swished it for his desired image (of when he slept very well more than 20 years ago). Unfortunately it didn't work. How can this be done better?
I think you answered your own question. Follow the instructions I give in the video. You didn't swish to an ideal self, like I teach, in no particular context and doing no particular behavior. You swished him to a specific context and doing a specific behavior that obviously didn't match his circumstances. Re-watch the video and pay attention to the instructions.
Furthermore, the Swish Pattern is probably not the best technique for sleep issues unless the sleep issue is caused by a habitual or compulsive pattern of behavior. It never hurts to try it though. There are no harmful side-effects. If it works, great. If it doesn't, try something else. However, make sure that when you try it, that you do the process correctly or else there's no way to know if the Swish Pattern truly works for his issue.
@@DamonCart Thanks for the response. You're right about context-specificity of desired image(I discovered your video AFTER I ran the process on him. I will re-do the right way.
Good information!!
Glad it was helpful
I have two questions. Do I need to see the compulsion (trigger image) from a third person perspective or just imagining myself from the first person perspective (so just like recalling a memory)?
And then, about the "ideal self", do I only need to picture myself smiling, standing, in a good shape with a blank background in it then? Since there shouldn't be no context at all...
Thanks in advance
How do you normally see the trigger image when you feel the compulsion? That's how you want to set it up when you swish it. Compulsion images are usually associated (point of view perspective). If you see it from a 3rd person perspective it will likely not feel as much like a compulsion.
For the ideal self image, there should be no particular context and no behavior.
Alright, thanks for the answer
i'm gonna use this to stop vaping. Its a long road but i need this for my health
Let me know how it goes.
awesome and crystal clear!!
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.
Does this work for alcoholism?
It can. There's definitely no harmful side effects even if it doesn't work. Addiction can be simple or it can be complex. If it's complex, you'll probably need more than the Swish Pattern.
Hey Damon. One question. Which is more...powerful? Swish pattern or 6 steps reframing? Thank you
Hi. It's more about the right tool for the job. For example, what's better, a hammer or a wrench? You get the idea. I like the Swish Pattern because the ideal image of yourself is very powerful when you create it. If done correctly it generalizes widely throughout your life. By that measure, the Swish Pattern is very powerful. I often use pieces of it for other things I'm wanting to accomplish.
@@DamonCart thank you Damon!!
Thank you for sharing!
My pleasure!
What about compulsive worrying? How to visualise that? 😖
You don't visualize the compulsive worrying. Find what triggers the compulsive worrying. It doesn't just happen randomly. Something you see triggers it.
Hello Damon, this may be weird, but my ideal self, for as long as I can remember, is a cartoon version of myself. I doubt this works for swishing. Any feedback? Thank you!
Yes, I recommend fixing that as soon as possible. Make your ideal self realistic.
@@DamonCart thank you. I really appreciate your fast response.
Hey Damon. I find the idealized self image hard to conjure in the way you described. Would it hurt if ideal me were wearing a tuxedo and holding a glass of champagne?
That's a bit too much content. You can certainly be wearing something nice but a tuxedo is very specific for only special events. A glass of champagne is similar so I would leave the champagne out entirely. You don't only want to be your ideal self during special events. You want to be your ideal self everywhere. Keep working at this. It will be worth it once you get it. It will get easier the more you work at this image.
Excellent video
Thank you
Would holding the ideal self in front of you and bringing it into your body work as a habitual practice?
You don't want to do that because that's a form of association. If you want to do that to get the feeling of what your ideal self feels like, that's fine. Just make sure you put the image back out in front of you. The image of your ideal self serves as a vision, a direction of where you want to go. If you associate into it and stay there, you won't see the direction out in front of you. You will feel less motivated to become your ideal self because you will feel like you're already there. And that's never true. We can always become better. We always want to be answering the call of our potential instead of trying to make ourselves feel overly comfortable with where we are.
@@DamonCart Ok. So pull the image in, or step in to it, yet step back out so the image remains a vision and motivation stays engaged. Got it. :-)
Yep
For some reason, my ideal self was wearing a Hawaiian shirt. I just went with it. Thanks.
Should be fine.
Brilliant. Thank you for sharing!
My pleasure.
What if the behaviour I want to change is a kinesthetic feeling triggered by a cue?
Converting the kinesthetic feeling into an image results me having 3 pictures (cue, feeling, ideal self). Which pictures do I have to swish?
Do you mean kinesthetic perceptual (like tactile and proprioceptive sensations) or kinesthetic evaluative/emotional (as in how you feel about something)? If it's the latter, those types of evaluative/emotional feelings are always the result of seeing, hearing, touching (also posture), and possibly taste and smell, in other words the response to some representation happening outside of you or the response to internal representations in your mind of seeing, hearing, touching something.
For the Swish Pattern you're finding the visual trigger that cause you to feel a compulsion toward something that you don't want to indulge in. You want to swish that visual trigger with an ideal image of yourself.
I’ve been smoking off and on for over 30 years and I’m finding it difficult to find the compulsory image/trigger? Tips?
Probably because it happens so fast and that's also why it's a compulsion. This may take you a bit of time and practice but definitely worth it to get clear about this so you can finally quit smoking for good. Slow things down. The last time you had a cigarette, what happened just before that. Walk it back slowly until you find the moment you felt the impulse to smoke. That's the trigger point and that's what you want to swish.
Exactly what I needed, I will test this method today :)
You found it.
Hi, newbie here. Question: how do you create an image of the ideal self/identity with no context or behaviours? Because wouldn't you need to have some sort of description of the behaviours of the ideal self to have some appeal for change (or the “Swish”)? (Or maybe I've completely misunderstood this pattern). I mean, other than inner drive and a strong passion for something, the ideal self is about behaviours - things you do differently from now. Or does this pattern not require such a like for like exchange? By the way, your videos are awesome and I’ve learnt so much from your content. And thank you so much. This one, I’m a little stuck.
Yes, this is hard to grasp for most people including myself when I first was taught this especially since it was originally taught to me incorrectly.
It's time to realize what it means to identify with your behavior. It's not the behavior itself that creates who you are, it's the generalizations you make about those behaviors as it relates to yourself that creates who you are. We call these qualities. So for example if I do a lot of kind behaviors, I can generalize that, because I do those behaviors regularly, I must be a kind person. If kindness is one of my ideals or values, then I will feel good about myself because I'm fulfilling one of my ideals.
The ideal image of yourself is an image of yourself that embodies your highest ideals. It will take a bit of creativity, but it's absolutely worth making an image of yourself who you just know when you look at it, that it's you embodying your highest ideals and who has resolved all of your problems.
If you add behaviors and context, you will be linking this you with only that context and only those behaviors so this ideal you will not generalize to all areas of your life. You definitely want it to generalize to all areas of your life and with all of your behaviors. By not adding that content, you free this ideal generalization of yourself to go with you wherever you go and with whatever you do.
@@DamonCart Oh wow, that definitely explains it. Yes, thank you so much. That took me back to the basics. And thank you for you response. You’re awesome.
very smooth
Thank you.
Could you use this technique for someone for example that has the belief that they have a large nose? Regardless if they do or not, if they feel that they're constantly being made fun of, etc. what could they do to change their belief.
This is probably not the best technique for something like that.
I've done videos on belief change. It's too much for me to explain here.
Here's an old video I did on this topic.
ua-cam.com/video/MT5HkIkIH_M/v-deo.html
Let's say I ALWAYS find myself thinking about the worst case scenario.
Is it possible to use this technique to stop doing that? If so, what do I need to envision?
Thanks!
Yes. You can do this. It may take some experimentation so have fun with it. Break your life down into 3 to 5 major life contexts. Notice when you think about one of them, if your mind starts to think about the worst case scenario, stop and walk it back until you find the trigger that prompted you to start thinking it. In other words, what happened just before your mind started to go there? That's your compulsory image. Then imagine an ideal image of yourself, the you who could handle a worse case scenario of any kind and come out ahead. Then Swish away. Do this for every one of your major life contexts.
The ideal self image is harder than it seems.
Yes it can be but when you nail it it's quite powerful.
love your work ! thank you
Thank you. You're welcome and thank you for commenting.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
Damon, appreciating your teaching style. Thank you for your kindness in sharing at this level.
In my Master Practitioner training, part of the focus was on breakthrough sessions. A client chooses a domain (say, career), and part of the process is eliciting their values for (career), before and after the "release work." If a client were to use the values elicited to create the image of their ideal self to be used in a Swish, would this ideal self, even if it's visualized with no context or behaviors, still only behave differently within career since the client used the values elicited specifically for career? Psyched for your response!
Great question and I think it's great that you're thinking in terms of values for building the image of your ideal self. For what it sounds like you're wanting to do, I would elicit your values from the 3 to 5 major contexts in your life. In other words, if you had to chunk your life into 3 to 5 major contexts, what would they be? It sounds like career would be one of them for you. Ask yourself what do you want within each context and elicit your values in each. You will likely see values that are present in each context even though the hierarchy will likely be different in each context. Those high level values that are present in each context or most contexts, are great values to use to build your ideal self image.
Hi Arch! If I may...the notion of a person having different values for different domains of life is a conscious, rational concept. As I'm sure you are aware, values are mainly unconscious filters with some content. When you elicit a person's core values, or threshold values you easily come to the conclusion that they're transversal to the different domains. If it wasn't like this, a person would hardly have values conflicts, for example, not accepting a job offer abroad because of the family, etc.
So you may go ahead and elicit a person's values in as many domains as you like, but at the end of the day and specially when you know what hits the fan, it all boils down to 2 or 3 deeply unconscious values, which are most likely filled with "pain".
Great content. Thx
Thank you
Great stuff
Thank you.
Thanks!
Thank you!
Love NLP
Me too
Love the videos man!
Thank you!
I work form home in front of a computer and I smoke while working. I cannot replace sitting in front of the computer with anything else, because it's my job :/ A healthy image of myself will still be sitting in front of a computer with a blurry background :/ What can I do? :/
The ideal image of yourself should have no context. Sitting in front of your computer is a context. Remove the context so that all you have is your ideal image of yourself in no context and not doing any behavior.
Thank you so much 💓
You're welcome