The title, Using Your Brain for a Change , is a play on words. Most people assume they are using their brains effectively, but Bandler argues that for the majority of us, our brains are running on "autopilot" or following old, inefficient programming.
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The book is organized into thematic chapters, each building on the last to provide a comprehensive understanding of how to run your own brain:
You don't need a PDF to begin experimenting with Bandler’s methods. Try this simple exercise right now: using your brain for a change richard bandler pdf
When you remember an event, your brain does not just see a picture; it sees a picture with specific qualities. Changing these qualities instantly changes your emotional response to the memory. Visual Submodalities : Is the mental image large or small? Distance : Is it close to your face or far away? Brightness : Is it vivid and bright, or dim and dark? Movement : Is it a moving movie or a still photograph? Color : Is it full color or black and white?
Are you looking through your own eyes (associated), or are you watching yourself in the scene (dissociated)? Auditory Submodalities
: Changing the context or "frame" of an event to change its meaning and your subsequent behavior . Book Structure The title, Using Your Brain for a Change
However, it isn't just the sense that matters; it is the submodalities —the finer qualities of those senses.
The most significant contribution of Using Your Brain for a Change is the formal introduction of . While modalities are our primary senses—Visual (sight), Auditory (sound), and Kinesthetic (feeling)—submodalities are the building blocks within those senses.
Bandler’s genius was not in inventing new psychological categories, but in showing that the brain operates on specific, repeatable patterns. If you run the pattern of depression, you get depression. If you run the pattern of curiosity and resourcefulness, you get a new life. which determine our thoughts
Bandler emphasizes that the brain is a highly adaptable and dynamic system, capable of reorganizing itself in response to new experiences and learning. He explains that our brain's neural pathways, which determine our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, can be modified through conscious effort and deliberate practice. By becoming aware of our brain's functioning and using specific techniques, we can rewire our neural connections, leading to positive changes in our lives.
This is where the "change" in the title happens. Bandler demonstrates that by simply altering a specific submodality of a thought or memory—such as moving an anxiety-inducing picture far away or draining its color—you can immediately change the feeling associated with it. A reviewer emphasizes the power of this approach: ""