Changing Timelines

A Structural Change Pattern

Developed by Steve and Connirae Andreas

Connirae Andreas, Ph.D.

 
How  is  it  that  some  people  are  more  past-­‐,  future-­‐  or  present-­‐oriented?  What  
makes  it  difficult  for  some  people  to  have  goals  or  to  move  forward  on  the  
ones  they  have  already  set?  And  what  is  the  basis  for  some  people  feeling  
every  experience  strongly  while  others  are  more  detached?  
 
Changing  Timelines  teaches  a  powerful  way  to  understand  and  change  these  
and  other  basic  aspects  of  who  we  are.  You  will  get  demonstrations  of  three  
fundamental  elements  of  changing  Timelines.  First  Connirae  will  guide  you  
through  eliciting  a  Timeline;  next  you  will  observe  how  to  explore  having  a  
different  Timeline;  and  finally,  you  will  learn  and  experience  how  to  change  
one.  (77  minutes  in  length)  
 
About Connirae Andreas, Ph.D.
Connirae  Andreas  for  many  years  has  
provided  international  training  in  the  
latest  innovations  in  NLP.  She  has  co-­‐  
authored  or  edited  more  than  ten  books  
and  manuals  of  wide  acclaim  (with  her  
partner  and  husband  Steve  Andreas),  
including  the  best-­‐selling  NLP  book  Heart  
of  the  Mind.  
 
Co-­‐founder  of  NLP  Comprehensive,  
Connirae  is  experienced  at  training  design  
and  supervision,  and  works  with  the  
outstanding  NLP  Comprehensive  Training  
Team.  She  is  well  known  for  her  
contributions  to  the  field  in  Advanced  
Language  Patterns,  Timelines,  Grief  Resolution,  Shame,  and  her  
groundbreaking  work  with  Aligning  Perceptual  Positions  and  Core  
Transformation.  Her  warm,  personally  respectful  training  style  is  steeped  in  
artistry  and  depth  of  skill.
Changing Timelines  
A Structural Change Pattern developed by Connirae and Steve Andreas in 1984.
 
There  are  two  major  kinds  of  Timeline  processes:  
a. Processes  that  utilize  Timelines  such  as  Richard  Bandler’s  “Decision  
Destroyer”  process.  
b. Structural  Timeline  change  in  which  the  shape  and  location  of  the  
Timeline  is  changed.  
This  presentation  demonstrates  Structural  Timeline  change.  
 
Eliciting Timelines
1.  Simultaneously  Access  Past/Present/Future.  
a. Pick  a  trivial  everyday  behavior  that  you  have  done  in  the  past,  you  do  
now,  and  you’ll  continue  to  do  in  the  future.  
b. Think  about  doing  this  behavior  5  years  ago,  1  year  ago,  1  week  ago,  
right  now,  1  week  in  the  future,  1  year  in  the  future,  5  years  in  the  
future.  Imagine  all  of  this  simultaneously.  
 
2.  Notice  Location.  Where  do  you  see  each  of  these  events?  Next,  you  can  get  
a  sense  of  where  the  remainder  of  your  Timeline  (tunnel,  or  pathway)  is.  Let  
the  rest  of  your  past,  present,  and  future  fill  in  where  it  belongs.  
 
3.  Notice  Your  Other  Submodalities  Codings  for  Time.  Notice  the  
differences  between  past  and  future;  recent  past  and  long  ago  past.  Do  the  
same  for  your  future.  Check  for  “kinks”  in  your  Timeline,  or  changes  in  size  or  
color  that  make  one  portion  of  your  Timeline  more  visible  or  less  visible.  
 
4.  Trade  Timelines  with  others  who  also  have  elicited  their  timeline.  
a. First  carefully  notice  your  own  Timeline  arrangement  so  you  can  go  
back  to  it  when  you  are  done.  
b. Now  “step  in”  to  someone  else’s  way  of  coding  time,  or  “pull  it  on  you.”  
Notice  how  your  state  is  different.  Take  this  with  you  through  several  
contexts  in  your  life,  noticing  what  it  is  like.  What  does  this  Timeline  
arrangement  make  difficult  for  you?  Are  any  of  your  beliefs  
automatically  different  with  this  new  Timeline?  
c. Go  back  to  your  own  way  of  structuring  time.  
Changing Timelines
1.  Advance  Framing:  
Be  sure  to  frame  what  you  are  doing  as  an  experiment:  
 
“You  are  trying  out  another  way  to  code  time,  and  if  you  have  any  objection  to  
the  new  way,  you  can  either  make  appropriate  adjustments,  or  put  your  
Timeline  back  the  way  it  was.  This  is  only  temporary,  to  find  out  if  there  are  any  
advantages  in  your  doing  it  differently.”  
 
2.  Changing  the  Timeline:  
a. Make  guesses  about  what  Timeline  arrangement  will  achieve  your  (or  
your  client’s)  outcomes.  
 
Guideline:  Whatever  is  most  noticeable  (large,  bright,  colorful,  
immediately  in  front  of  the  person,  etc.)  is  likely  to  be  what  they  will  
respond  to  most  fully.  
 
Examples:  If  the  person  wants  to  become  more  future  oriented,  make  
the  future  bigger,  brighter,  and  more  immediately  in  front  of  them.  Let  
the  past  slide  further  to  the  side  or  behind  the  person.  If  the  person  
wants  to  become  more  present  oriented,  let  both  past  and  future  swing  
farther  to  the  side,  or  move  past  behind  the  person  and  the  future  
straight  in  front.  
 
If  the  person  confuses  past  and  future,  consider  making  more  
submodalities  different,  and  check  whether  past  and  future  are  in  the  
same  location  on  part  of  the  Timeline.  
 
b. Identify  and  note  the  positive  outcomes  from  the  old  Timeline  
arrangement.  
 
c. Try  out  new  Timeline  arrangements,  making  adjustments,  making  full  
use  of  hypnotic  language  patterns  that  presuppose  that  the  change  will  
occur  spontaneously:  “Allow  it  to  move  to  the  side,”  etc.  
 
d. Explore  how  to  best  accomplish  all  outcomes:  You  can  use  different  
Timeline  codings  in  different  contexts.  Or,  find  a  way  to  achieve  the  
positive  outcomes  of  the  old  Timeline  (identified  and  noted  during  Step  
2,  b.)  on  the  new  Timeline  arrangement.    
Basic  Guidelines  for  Timeline  Changework:  
• How  is  the  person’s  Timeline  structured  now?  
• How  does  the  person  want  their  life  to  be  different?  
• How  can  we  rearrange  the  Timeline  to  support  their  goals?  
 
3.  Future  Pacing:  
When  you  have  identified  a  new  Timeline  arrangement  that  fully  satisfies  
yourself  (or  your  client),  have  the  person  future  pace  throughout  the  day,  
imagining  waking  up  the  next  morning  with  the  same  Timeline,  throughout  
the  week,  etc.  Be  sensitive  to  any  objections,  using  them  to  adjust  the  
Timeline,  or  to  identify  the  appropriate  contexts  for  using  this  new  Timeline  
(where,  when,  with  whom,  etc.).  
 
4.  Program  Future  Adjustments:  
Suggest  that  they  may  find  themselves  making  additional  modifications  in  the  
future,  as  they  notice  how  this  new  arrangement  works,  and  what  might  work  
even  better.  By  saying  this,  the  person  knows  how  to  continue  this  process  
whenever  future  events  bring  additional  information  and/or  objections  to  
their  new  Timeline.  
 
Since  Timelines  are  the  basis  of  our  experience  of  what  is  real,  changing  
Timelines  can  have  profound  and  far-­‐reaching  effects.  Carefully  future  pace  
and  check  for  ecology.  If  you  do  not  find  a  Timeline  arrangement  that  is  fully  
satisfactory  to  your  client,  put  their  Timeline  arrangement  back  the  way  it  was  
when  you  started.  
 
Additional Resources:
Heart  of  the  Mind,  by  Connirae  &  Steve  Andreas,  Chapter  19.  Change  Your  
Mind—and  Keep  the  Change,  by  Steve  &  Connirae  Andreas,  Chapters  1  and  2.  
 
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