Instant BSFF Tips

I’ve been telling folk since 1993 that in order to get anywhere in this world, we have to increase the level of conscious/unconscious communication any way we can, and as a matter of the greatest urgency.

For how else is the conscious mind going to be able to tell the unconscious mind what it wants from it, or the unconscious mind going to tell the conscious mind what it needs?

It really is a top priority to do some more work on this level, and you can do dream books, metaphor work, creative stuff like writing poetry or doing sculpture, Project Sanctuary style stuff, unguided meditations, focussing, Grovian metaphor stuff, Charles Faulkner type metaphor stuff, image streaming, whatever. But I digress.

The experience and uptake of Instant BSFF is in direct relation to how much or how little connection the individual at the receiving end has with their own unconscious and body-mind processes.

Folk who have a reasonable amount of communication between the two experience Instant BSFF physically – they really notice how something changes when they say the keyword. Some talk of energy moving around, some say they get a particular physical sensation such as the hair on their neck standing up, some just say, “Wow, I really felt that!” and
these people know consciously that something has happened and they are very happy with the treatment, in awe and amazed and, importantly, convinced.

However. If the client doesn’t have much or virtually any connection with their own unconscious and body mind processes, they will change unconsciously but consciously NOT KNOW IT!!

This has the problem that they may go on with their behaviours as before, still think they’re afraid of something, for example, and never get to test and find out that in fact, they’re not anymore! It could also represent a “hook” which is the term Larry Nims uses to describe something left over from the original problem from which the old symptoms can re-grow.

It is therefore extremely important to have a satisfactory and full bodied, as it were, outcome to IBSFF treatments to “ratify the change at the unconscious level to the conscious mind” (NLP term) so that they “get it” in consciousness as well.

Three ideas that sprang to mind:

1. The greatest convincer is a reality check in the form of a real life test. I mean a practical test NOT a muscle test!! Take them out, shout at them, show them a packet of cocain, whatever. Test, test, test and test again. The very worst that can happen is that you find further aspects or other problem areas relating to the same problem and get to clean them up real quick.

2. You can set up before the treatment starts a signalling process that will convince the person that the problem has, indeed, been removed right down to all its root causes. This could be an action, or a body feedback system, such as a particular feeling, thought, or symbol flashing into the person’s mind. This is really easy to do. Ask them, “How exactly will you know that your problem has, indeed, disappeared and disappeared for good?” or, “What exactly has to happen for you to really know that your problem has disappeared for good?” and take it from there to make THAT happen.

3. Make sure you get longer term feedback, a week to ten days after the session, to mop up remaining aspects that have come out of the woodwork after the change in the system during the treatment and to talk about doubts, unexpected side effects, or anything else for that matter that could show that work remains to be done. This is testing YOUR OWN
work and something you should never be afraid of, for it is here that the most profound learnings and insights are to be had.

IBSFF is a great tool. Applied with some respect for the clients internal experiences, who might never have come across such a thing before, it becomes more acceptable and more powerful still for both therapists and their clients.

Silvia Hartmann
November 2000