We're getting down to the nitty gritty now; today you will learn about more memory editing techniques and how to identify your phobias.

Whilst you don't necessarily have had to have read the previous two articles in this series. It will help in the understanding of some of the techniques and terminology I use to describe them. This is particular useful if you'd like to use these psychological tricks to get rid of a phobia you have.

If you haven't read them yet, check out part 1 & 2 to this series here, and here.

Now without further ado, let us dive into part 3 of 4 . . .

Step 6. The Cinema Effect

If you've followed the previous five steps closely, you are getting closer to mastering mental manipulation. This exercise will take you even further along that road.

Start by choosing a memory, analyse how it makes you feel, and make sure it is a clear and crisp image, if you need to enhance it to do so, go ahead.

If the memory is a first person one, I want you to change it to the third person, so that you are essentially a camera viewing yourself in the remembered scene.

Then I want you to pull the picture back slightly and put it on a cinema screen. Imagine the theatre around the screen, and imagine that you are sitting on a nice comfortable seat watching the movie of your memory.

If the memory is short, just loop it so that it is playing over and over.

Then after a while, pause the events on screen and imagine yourself back 'inside' the memory. Although this time you are walking around the paused scene. You can even look back out of the screen and see yourself watching your other self, walking around your paused memory!

Still with me?

Good!

As with all the other exercises, repeat this one till you feel comfortable and with multiple memories. Once you feel at ease with the technique, move on.

Identifying Your Phobias

Hopefully you have had a real good go at the previous exercises teaching you how to manipulate not just your memories, but the emotions associated with those memories.

By doing those exercises you have gained a higher level of introspection, which is perfect for the next part of your quest to conquer your phobia(s).

As I mentioned in the first article, there are two general types of phobia, ones that are related to actual memories, and ones that aren't.

So a fear of flying might be linked to a turbulent plane journey you took when you were a child. Conversely you may have a fear of snakes having never seen one in real life.

So whatever your particular phobia is you need to identify why you have it before you can use the memory techniques you've learned thus far.

To give you an idea of how to do this, I shall tell you of my own experience.

The Great Swim Fraud

I can still vividly remember the day I learned to swim as a child.

I can still remember the smell of the chlorine and the echoey sound of the pool. I was about eight years old standing in a group of my peers by the side of the pool, the swimming instructor looked at us and said:

"All of you who can swim stand over there, and those that can't stay where you are."

Well OK; it seemed all the cool kids already knew how to swim. I didn't, but I didn't want to be thought of as uncool, so I went and stood in the swimmers group.

My thoughts were, that the instructor was going to show us all how anyway, so I could learn without anyone knowing I was a non-swimmer.

"Right you" (The instructor pointed at me!)

"Show the class how to swim front crawl"

Oh my god . . Why did he have to pick me? Why not Roy, or Tony? Both of whom where excellent swimmers.

This was the moment of truth, I had already paused a couple of seconds beyond the point I should have started moving towards the edge of the pool.

He was looking straight at me, and I at him; we both knew that there was no mistaking who he was talking to.

"Oh right; me? OK."

What?!

Why did I say that? That was the point where I was meant to say, actually I thought you said non-swimmers over here; or I've forgotten, or something, anything but "OK".

I sidled over to the pool and got in; it was the shallow end and I was only going to swim a width so I knew if I got in trouble I could just stand up.

Oh well here goes; how hard can it be?

I was fairly obsessed with sports back then, and I just remembered back to watching them on TV. I recalled that as well as moving their arms, the swimmers appeared to be kicking their legs.

So off I went . .

and . . .

I did it!

I swam a width of the swimming pool the first time trying! Woohoo! I remember going back to one of my friends and excitedly whispering:

*"I did it! I swam!"

My friend had also been standing in the I-can-already-swim group, apparently much less fraudulently than myself.

Uh, yeah, course you did he said; assuming that I hadn't been lying in the first place.

So is that where I got my fear of deep water? No, that is and always will be a very pleasant memory. The fear came later, and as usual was triggered by potential feelings of embarrassment.

The Gala

Some time later, it may have been a couple of years after this event, or perhaps months, I'm not sure. The school had a swimming gala, a kind of sports day for swimming.

I had been chosen to swim the second leg of the relay; however I was in lane 4. This was a problem for me; because of my duplicitous introduction into the world of swimming. I was not confident swimming in the deep end away from the side of the pool.

Instead of telling anybody this, I just kept quiet hoping the problem would somehow solve itself.

Unfortunately the closer I got to the time of the race, the more nervous I became. I tried to concentrate on that first time I swam instinctively, telling myself it would all be fine.

In reality though, all I could do was visualise myself spluttering and drowning in the deep end as the whole school laughed at me.

The race started, the sound of a hundred screaming kids echoed around the pool. I stepped up to the edge, hoping that for some reason my relay partner wouldn't make it back and I would be saved from racing.

But make it back he did; I dived in the pool, did about two strokes, turned round and swam back to the starting point. Later I would cite stomach cramps as the reason I couldn't continue. I could tell from the looks I received that nobody believed me . . .

and that's it, there started my fear of deep water. However I wasn't able to identify that, until I started using the memory editing techniques.

The introspective insights I had gained using the techniques, had enabled me to make a long since "forgotten" connection, and eventually beat my fear.

OK, all well and good; you have become a memory ninja, and you have managed to locate the source of your phobia buried deep in your long-term memory; what now . . ?

Incredible You! Conquer Your Phobias By Editing Your Memories Pt.1

Incredible You! Conquer Your Phobias By Editing Your Memories Pt.2

TOMORROW WE WILL WRAP UP THE SERIES AND TALK ABOUT HOW TO PUT ALL THE TECHNIQUES YOU'VE LEARNED IN THE LAST FEW ARTICLES INTO A COHERENT STRATEGY FOR BEATING YOUR PHOBIAS.

Cryptogee