How to Rewrite Your Past and Build a Better Future Using Submodalities

Filed under: NLP Techniques

How To Rewrite Your Past And Build A Compelling Future Using Submodalities

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by a past memory, or perhaps worried about something in your future that hasn’t even happened yet? What if you could change how you feel about these experiences without actually changing the events themselves? This is where the magic of submodalities comes in. By understanding and manipulating the building blocks of your sensory experiences, you can transform the way you think, feel, and behave in profound ways.

Submodalities are the unconscious filters your brain uses to code and store your experiences. They shape your perceptions, from memories of past events to your expectations for the future. And the best part? Submodalities are flexible. You can change them to radically alter your emotional response and shape your reality.

In this blog post, you’ll discover how to use submodalities to reframe your past, energize your future, and gain control over your present experience.

What Are Submodalities and How Do They Affect Your Reality?

At the core of how we experience the world, submodalities are the finer elements of our sensory experiences. Every time you experience something, whether it’s a memory, an expectation, or even an emotion, your brain encodes this experience using submodalities.

There are three primary representational systems in which submodalities operate:

  • Visual Submodalities: These refer to how you see things. The image you create in your mind can be:
    • Bright or dim
    • Close or far away
    • In color or grayscale
    • Clear or blurry
    • Moving or still
    • Framed or panoramic
  • Auditory Submodalities: These influence how you hear things. Sounds can be:
    • Loud or quiet
    • High or low-pitched
    • Clear or muffled
    • Close or distant
    • With or without reverb or echo
  • Kinesthetic Submodalities: These deal with the physical sensations and emotions you feel. Emotions, physical pain, or sensations can be:
    • Sharp or dull
    • Fuzzy or clear
    • Centered in one location or spread out
    • Intense or weak

These are all examples of submodalities, and they play a crucial role in determining your emotional state. By adjusting the visualauditory, and kinesthetic elements of any experience, you can alter how you feel about it. This is where the power of submodality shifts comes in.

The Power of Submodalities in Shaping Your Past

Whether it’s an old argument, a traumatic event, or even a simple embarrassment, how your brain codes certain memories plays a large part in how you feel about them today.

For instance, when you recall a painful memory, you might picture it in bright, vivid colors, close to your face, and in 3D. This type of mental coding makes the memory feel intense and real, keeping those negative emotions alive. But you have the ability to change how your brain stores that memory.

By adjusting the submodalities of a painful memory, you can lower its emotional charge. Here are a few examples of how you can adjust your submodalities:

  • Make the image smaller and push it further away to reduce its emotional intensity.
  • Change the image from color to grayscale to make it feel less vivid.
  • Blur the image or make it fuzzy to decrease its emotional clarity.
  • Make the image static (still frame) instead of moving.

The process of changing these submodalities may be simple, but it’s incredibly effective. By practicing with smaller, less emotionally charged memories, you can gain confidence in shifting your perception of more significant events. Over time, this technique will help you recode your memories in ways that no longer evoke negative emotions.

How Dissociation Helps You Shift Emotional Responses

While submodalities are the building blocks of your sensory experiences, dissociation is a technique used to alter your perception of those experiences. When you are associated into a memory, you feel as though you are reliving it. Every emotion, every detail. But dissociation allows you to step outside of the memory and view it from a detached perspective, effectively reducing its emotional impact.

For example, when you think of a difficult experience, you might see yourself fully immersed in the event. But if you take a step back and imagine watching the memory as if it were a movie or a photograph, you’ll notice that the emotional intensity diminishes significantly.

This technique is a powerful way to change the submodalities of your memories, especially those that have been coded in a way that triggers negative emotions. By mentally observing the event from a dissociated viewpoint, you can reduce the emotional charge and regain control over your feelings.

Read: The Life-Changing Secret to Emotional Control: Association and Dissociation

How to Cement the Changes and Make Them Stick

Once you’ve shifted the submodalities, it’s important to solidify these changes in your mind. Breathing exercises are one of the simplest yet most effective ways to anchor the changes and ensure they stick.

After you’ve adjusted the submodalities to your liking, take a few deep breaths and breathe in the new perception. Do this three times to reinforce the changes in your mind. This simple act helps your body anchor the new emotional state and makes the shift feel real.

In addition, practicing regularly with small, less intense experiences will help you get better at making these changes. Over time, you’ll notice that your brain becomes more adept at shifting submodalities quickly and easily, leading to more immediate and lasting emotional transformation.

Start Transforming Your Life Today

The ability to transform your past, energize your future, and control your emotional state is at your fingertips. By mastering submodalities, you can change how you respond to life’s challenges and free yourself from emotional baggage.

Start experimenting with submodalities today and notice how your perception of the world begins to shift. With consistent practice, you can reshape your reality and create the emotional state you desire, empowering yourself to take charge of your life in a profound way.

Ready to Master Hypnosis? 

If you're serious about truly mastering hypnosis, you've just found the right place.

At the Mike Mandel Hypnosis Academy, we don’t rely on scripts. You'll learn the core principles that make hypnosis truly work—so you can adapt, improvise, and create lasting change with real confidence.

Whether you’re brand new to hypnosis or already a seasoned practitioner, you’ll gain the tools and deep understanding you need to take your hypnotic skills to the next level.

As a member, you’ll also unlock 24/7 access to our exclusive online practice rooms—a place where hypnotists from around the world meet to practice, experiment, and grow together in a supportive, feedback-rich environment.

Click here to join the Mike Mandel Hypnosis Academy today—and experience the difference between reading scripts and becoming a true hypnotist. Just $1 to get started.

World Class Video Training and Certification

Learn Hypnosis Online

"I absolutely love the online course. It completely changed my life and consulting career. The information is the best I've ever seen. You guys are incredible at what you do. I love the course so much."

Jason Cyrus

Connecticut, USA

World Class Video Training and Certification

Learn Hypnosis Online

"I absolutely love the online course. It completely changed my life and consulting career. The information is the best I've ever seen. You guys are incredible at what you do. I love the course so much."

Jason Cyrus

Connecticut, USA