Thawing the Inner Family of Self

Video and detailed information to orient the learner on the concept of ego states or parts-of-self. 

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Audio Introduction to the "Meet Your Inner Family" Series. The video's have a relaxing motion background for those who don't like staring at a blank screen when listening to audios. If you would prefer, just get comfortable, close your eyes and follow along. You may want to take notes from time to time; if so, just pause the video. 

For each of the following questions write as much as you can in your Journal. Use your intuition and instinct rather than your analytical mind. It helps to close your eyes relax, settle back, and just ask yourself each question – then wait for an intuitive response. Take your time, you can glean a wealth of information from this exercise!

This video describes the dynamics, magical thinking, and child-created ego states involved in a dysfunctional pattern of communication called "The Figure Eight." The next several lectures below provide tools for learning and practicing CBT skills to strengthen the Adult Ego State. Use them as needed, especially if your child-created ego states make it a habit to "drive your bus" by overwhelming the Adult Ego State.

Simultaneous Incongruence is the experience of inner conflict and commotion created by ego states with competing goals. It is very difficult to sort out the issue with all the commotion in our inner world when we get triggered. We need a way to remain objective and not get pulled into the chaos and emotional turmoil as we attempt to heal.

Gestalt Therapy and NLP helps us sort it all out with the concept of Sequential Incongruence ~ the process of projecting the parts involved in a conflict or symptom to our outer world, spatially separates us from them so we can communicate. There conflict remains, but the commotion is quieted down as the parts involved are sorted out.

1.  We literally want to open lines of communication between different parts of our brain that have previously not been well connected. In the self-psychologies the term for this disconnection is “fragmented self”. When one part of you communicates with another part of you, neuropathways in the brain are being utilized to do that. The more we engage in these dialogues, the more open and connected these pathways become. In some cases we are even establishing connections that did not exist. The therapeutic term for this is “Integration.” The neurobiology term is “neurogenesis” or brain growth. 

In this task we will use the trust and rapport we have been developing to gain the cooperation of the parts involved in your Well-formed Outcome goal. Since the protector parts are, in psychoanalytic terms, defense mechanisms they cannot do anything but what they were created to do – i.e., defend and protect the current survival system.

If we ignore these “managing” parts; plowing forward to make changes to your survival system we are asking for and creating unnecessary resistance. Indeed, even in the best of circumstances we will encounter resistance – but it won’t be unnecessary. It will be in the form of concerns or objections by parts we have already taken the time to get to know. 

To develop a healing connection it is important to send the wounded part your empathy and compassion, even if you find the part distasteful at first.

If you do find it difficult to have empathy for this part them ask the part that creates the lack of empathy to step out into the room and work with that part. Find out what it thinks and feels toward the vulnerable wounded part and work to reassure and get it to step aside just as with any other manager.

The Re-imprinting process opens the door to healing by going to the imprint experience or experiences, watching the imprint happen, then using NLP techniques such as visualization and perceptual positions to re-experience the imprint the way it “woulda, shoulda, coulda” been in the ideal scenario. This doesn’t take away what happened in the original experience, it simply adds another experience alongside of the original. Now the brain has a choice on which experience to go to when triggered…it may start in the old direction by habit, but with a little guidance in the beginning, it can go in the new direction.

This is the core healing exercises, these can be very powerful and build on the work you have already done. (Use the Retrieval & Emotional Release process here.)