As human beings we rely on our memories to help us make sense the world and our experience. We also rely on the belief that our memories are exact records of our experience.
This is not the case.
Every time a memory is remembered it is altered in some small way. Perhaps the most subtle of these alterations is our emotional responses to the memory.
The original event is likely to have had some emotional content to it, excitement, fear, joy, pleasure, etc. but each time the memory is recalled that emotion is different from the original experience.
As an example a young man may have a profound romantic experience that was filled with love, pleasure and affirmation. He may attempt to recreate that experience but finds that all of his efforts fall short. He then starts to view the original experience as an evil and addictive delusion.
In NLP terms memories can be “reframed” and seen in a different light. Once that seeming small but insightful change has taken place it can be modified even further, much like inserting a wedge into a small crack can eventually split a stone.
This can be done by simply asking the person if they could look at the event in different light. This first suggestion should be a very small step and easy to manage, like asking them to examine the memory as if you had a third-person perspective. By examining the memory from outside the body and from a different angle the person can gain some emotional detachment from the memory.
The next step can be to see the memory from the other persons point of view or from the point of view of a complete stranger who doesn’t speak the language.
This process can be done to such an extent that a life altering memory could be manipulated so that it can be remembered in a completely different light. It could even be seen as something that didn’t happen.
The positive aspect of the process is that memories with negative emotions attached can be altered to become “just something that happened”. This is done in Scientology auditing sessions as well as through other modalities like NLP.
The destructive aspect of this is that memories can be created out of nothing. There is documentation that some police interrogations have lead people to confess to things they did not do. During the time of the interrogation the suspect would openly confess to crimes in all sincerity when later evidence proved it impossible.
There is an “auditing” process that is done in Scientology in which the subject, a.k.a. pre-clear, is asked to describe in detail a traumatic memory. When the description ends they are asked to do it again, and again and again. Each time the auditor is looking for more and more details of the memory. For the subject/pre-clear each retelling of the memory alters the memory slightly and helps distance the subject/pre-clear from the emotional aspect of it. The end result is that after several retellings the subject/pre-clear is upbeat and joyful when describing the memory. This is then described as a “big win” for the auditing process.
