HOW TO REDUCE THE TRAUMA OF WATCHING THE WTC CRISES
Author: Peter Baldock

"Teaching someone how, and when, to associate or dissociate is one of the most profound and pervasive ways to change the quality of a person's experience, and the behavior that results from it. Dissociation is particularly useful for intensely unpleasant memories."

Richard Bandler - Using Your Brain For A Change.

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HOW TO REDUCE THE TRAUMA OF WATCHING THE WTC CRISES
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ September 21, 2001

The day the WTC was attacked I sat riveted to my TV screen watching as the horror unfolded. Watching it made me feel sick in my stomach. By the third day after the attack I had to turn the TV off to stop feeling bad.

Witnessing this event once is bad enough. Watching it time and time again leaves me feeling despondent and unmotivated. These are states I try to avoid at all costs.

On the third day, after turning the TV off, I looked outside. The sun was shining, it was lovely and warm, the harbour was smooth with flocks of sea gulls bobbing around. The air was clear and fresh and with each deep breath I realized that all is not bad in the world, there is much to look forward to and heaps of work to do.

I thought back to the Gulf War and remembered at the time that I believed it was indeed WW3, that the "Mother of all Wars" would be our downfall. Of course I was wrong and we have had a decade of prosperity in many parts of the world.

I don't know what will happen tomorrow but I am given the chance to make the most of today. Our focus becomes our reality. I say it all the time. It's not something new but it is something of importance.

The following is an exercise that only takes a few minutes to do. Indeed you can do it while you are reading this. What it will do is decrease the negative feelings associated with watching the events unfold on TV. Some people like to wait a long time before getting on with their lives. If you are one of those, just keep this newsletter handy for when you are ready.

For the rest of you it will allow you to watch the repeats on TV without feeling overwhelmed. Please note - The idea is NOT to make you un-sensitive - rather it's to stop feeling bad every time you watch the news. You decide when this is appropriate.

I will use the events of the WTC as an example.

Step 1.

Think of the event you would like to do the exercise on. It can be anything that when you see a replay of it, or think about it in your own mind gives you a bad feeling. For me it's the footage of firstly the planes going into the building and secondly the buildings collapsing.

You choose what is appropriate for you.

Step 2.

I want you to imagine being in a movie theater, sitting on your own and watching the big screen. You can imagine it anyway you like and it can be a theater you have been in or just one you imagine.

As you look at the screen I want you see the projection of a black and white film that has been paused. The frame that it is paused on is you PRIOR to the event that makes you feel bad. In this case the WTC attack. It can be whatever is meaningful to you. Just know that this is before anything bad has happened and your feeling safe, secure and relaxed. Step 3.

As you sit in the theater watching the black and white still frame of you feeling good, imagine that you drift out of your body up into the projection booth. Inside the projection booth you can look out through the glass and see the you who is sitting in the theater and also the you on the screen.

(Sounds strange but works - believe me.)

Step 4.

I want you to run the movie from the projection booth. The movie is what happens in the event that makes you feel bad. I want you to run the movie for a time period that brings you to a point in which you are again feeling safe, secure and relaxed. It can be as long or short as you want, covering days or weeks or months.

Run the film quickly and pause it where you are again feeling good. Remember, the movie is in black and white and your watching it from the protection of the projection booth. You are like the director of the film and can eat popcorn and enjoy the show. While running the movie you can also observe the you who is also sitting in the actual theater.

Step 5.

After you have paused the film at a spot in which you are feeling good, imagine flying out of the projection booth and landing inside the actual film.

Turn the film into colour and add sound if you have not already done so. Now the fun bit. If you have a VCR or watch cartoons do you remember what it's like to rewind a film at high speed? All the character racing backwards, the fuzzy lines on the screen, the sound going zzzzzzzzzooooooopppppp.

What I want you to do is rewind the film you just played at high speed. Remember the black and white still that we stared with? That's where I want you to rewind to. At that pint prior to the event you were felling safe, secure and relaxed. I want you totally rewind in just under 2 seconds.

Imagine walking backwards, everything racing in rewind in real life.

Right, do it now, zzzzzzzzzzoooooooopppppppppp. Back to the beginning.

If you like repeat this three or four times.

Step 6.

Jump back out of the screen and into the you who is sitting in the audience.

Now when you see the footage on TV. What is it like?

I have done this exercise many times and it works. It's called a fast-phobia cure and was developed by Richard Bandler. You can read more about it the following books. "Using your brain for a change" By Richard Bandler ISBN 0-911226-27-3 "Heart of the mind" By Connirae and Steve Andreas ISBN 1-85788-122-2

I know the sceptics out there will be saying WHAT? This exercise is crazy! I love that attitude. Whatever you do, don't take my word for it. Prove me wrong in as many ways as you can.

I get to learn from your feed-back and I love learning.

Remember, there is a time to feel bad and a time to live again. You decide when it is appropriate for you. Just remember you have the choice to focus on what you want to.

Please keep an eye out for our next issue. It can literally change your life.

Yours Sincerely,

Peter Baldock - Modelling Excellence








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