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· Nov 17, 2020

1/ The Memory Re-consolidation Hierarchy is a tool for emotional processing and transformation. First, find how the emotional schema is presenting (row), then gradually work your towards the right until you achieve integration.

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From this blended place, we could begin to easily ask questions of this part, and get clear answers. Through asking the right questions, we eventually found a core belief of this part - "If I do what I want, and am who I am, then people will dislike and abandon me."

Having done this introspection, a core memory that formed this belief was identified at the impressionable age of 17, and we could continue to move up the reconsolidation hierarchy to acceptance.

In this case, the acceptance was rather simple - could he see how at the age, with that experience, this belief was totally valid? And could he see how with that belief his actions were totally sensible and worthy of love?

Having laid the groundwork of the first steps of the hierarchy, the foundation was there for transformation of the part while ensuring that it wouldn't contract, retreat, or deactivate. We began to use a variation the Lefkoe Belief Process to transform his sense of this memory.

First, we got him distance from the part, and examined what other meanings he could have drawn from this memory. This is "questioning" and already began to loosen his clinging to this story. (Note that he wouldn't share the memory with me, but didn't need to for this to work)

Then, we began to bring these different stories in dialogue, by having him experience what it would have been like to actually have drawn these meanings in that moment at 17, meanings like: "These people are trying to control me" or "This is just what kids this age are like."

This was sufficient to create an initial transformation, which we tested by first seeing if he still saw the meaning in the memory (no), then seeing if he held the belief around abandonment (no), and finally if he had the heavy feeling in his chest related to the project (no).

Many coaches would stop there, but this moment of re-consolidation, where a core belief enters a labile state, is precious. It's always good to try to create as powerful a transformation as possible at this step when moving in to integration.

In this case, we decided to integrate the powerful feeling of freedom that comes from a felt connection to emptiness. We did this by going through the Who Am I Really? process. First, I drew his awareness to the fact that since he had changed his beliefs, he was not his beliefs

QC (in Berlin 7/29-???)

@QiaochuYuan

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