(A inquires about possible resources that A gets from her weight, a very important question. We pointed out earlier in the book that body type was a very powerful and important accessing mechanism. Heavier people tend to generally have more awareness of internal kinesthetic experience; thinner people tend to be more visual. People who change their weight at all significantly often undergo a change in their state of consciousness. A person who is losing weight becomes more conscious of the way he looks and has to deprive himself of many kinesthetic luxuries in the form of food and drink. Many people who attempt diets are not prepared for the accompanying change in state and are not willing to go along with those outcomes. They resist the change in their state, but want the physical changes. This can be a very frustrating situation if one is unaware of it.)

C: Oh I've come a long way since then . . . (eyes move down and right) . . . (voice tone deepens and tempo slows) it hasn't been easy . . . but. . . back then I couldn't even stand on my own two feet . . . I'm a lot more in control of me now ... a lot more grounded ... I really like myself as a person a lot better. . .

(C lists a number of resources that she has gained in connection with her weight, which, judging by her accessing cues and predicates, are primarily kinesthetic.)

A: Mm Hmm . . . Now if you lost weight so that you looked like you did before, do you think you'd be able to still have all of these important resources?

(A tests C's representation of her specific outcome to find if it is congruent with the meta-out-comes she has just named. #3)

C: Ummmm . . . Well (eyes move from up and right to down and right, then to down and left and back up and right) ... I guess so (voice hesitates, eyebrows furrow, eyes move to down and left).

(C expresses her incongruence.)

A: You don't sound very sure about that . . . Would you do something for me . .. would you again describe to me that image you have of yourself being this way?

(A begins to test the specific details of the desired outcome.)

C: (Looks up and right) Well ... I look very thin . . . like I did in college . . .

A: What about her face ... is it smiling? . . . Does she look grounded?

C: Well . . . (looks back and forth between up left and up right.) ... I can't really see the face . . . It's just sort of an image of a body . . . with no head. . .

A: Oh ... I see . . . she doesn't have a very good head on her shoulders, huh?

C: (Laughs) ... I guess not.

A: You know ... I have this theory about people who are overweight . . . My theory is that the reason they are heavy is because they are "weighting" for some special resources that they need ... Do you think that it would be possible for you to get thin and remain grounded and like yourself?

(A states the details of the modified specific outcome of the new strategy that he has been attempting to install. #4. He also has begun the second sub-TOTE of the reframing process — that of testing the strategy sequence to find out if it will achieve the modified outcome. #5

Note also that A takes advantage of the phonological ambiguity between "wait" and "weight" to reframe C's problem with losing weight.)

C: That would sure be nice.

A: I'm wondering if you can look up there (indicates up and right) and see an image of what you would look like if you were able to be thin and be grounded, standing on your own two feet and liking yourself?

(A begins reframing step #6, and starts modify the original strategy steps so that they will achieve the outcome as modified in steps #3 & #4.)

C: Ahhh ... (looks from up right to up left and back) . . . I. . . I'm having a hard time . . . (furrows eyebrows) . . . I'm going blank. . .

A: Okay . . . stop for a minute ... I want you to try something that I think will help you out . . . (moves C's right hand so that it is resting palm up on her right knee) ... I want you to look down here and see on this hand a picture of what you look like now . . . Can you do that?

(A begins to establish an internal visual anchor for C's present state. Note that A has C orient her head to the kinesthetic accessing position by having her look down and right at her hand. This will serve to help anchor the reference structure he is eliciting to the kinesthetic abilities and resources C has achieved through her present state.)

C: (Looks down and right at hand) . . . Uh Huh.

A: And as you continue looking at it. ... I want you to be sure that you can clearly see the details of her face, so that you can see the expression, and her posture and gestures . . . Can you see her expression?

C: Uh Huh . . . She looks very grounded and comfortable with herself. . .

(A calibrates the image to make sure it is completely visual.)

A: (Interrupting) I don't want any interpretations, now ... I want you to be able to see the color of her skin and the muscle tensions around her nose and mouth and eyes . . . You can see those can't you?

C: Sort of. . . (squints her eyes as if she is focusing) . . . It's getting clearer now.

A: Okay . . . good . . . now keep looking at all of those details and as you do I want you to begin to imagine the feelings of having stepped into her body so that you can feel all those feelings of groundedness . . . self-control . . . and self respect ... all those resources . . . and feel the problems she has too . . . like her difficulties with eating . . . and as you feel those feelings . . . imagine her describing them to you so that you can hear the sound of her voice . . . the speed with which she speaks . . . the tonal qualities . . . and as she speaks, observe her breathing patterns . . . how fast and from where in her body she is breathing . . . and any smells that she may be aware of as she breathes . . . Can you do all that?

(A elicits a full internal 4-tuple representation for C's present state, to be anchored to the constructed image of herself.)

C: Mm Hmmm . . . (eyes remain transfixed down and right, pupils defocused).

(C's behavior indicates that she has developed a light trance state.)

A: Good . . . now come back here . . . and back with me, look at me so that you can see me clearly and hear my voice . . . (waits for C to respond) ... Now I want you to look down at the other hand (moves C's left hand so that it rests on her left knee palm up) and make a picture of what you used to look like when you were thin ... in college . . . and I want you to look closely at her face, now, so that you can see her expression, and all the details of her eyes and mouth . . . Do you have that picture?

(A interrupts the state to bring C out of the 4-tuple for her present state and begins to have C create a visual anchor for her current representation of the desired thin state. Note that for this reference structure A has C look down and left (the access for internal dialogue). This is to help associate it with the internal dialogue she experiences in connection with her existing eating strategies (that has been postulated to be a residual of her mother's influence). Also note that, because the author has C orient her head to accessing cues other than visual, she has experienced some difficulty in getting the image until she overlaps the visual accessing cue of squinting onto the other accessing cue. The task he is having her do is quite complicated and in both instances she eventually develops a slight trance state (which is a general access to all internal processes —see Patterns II) in order to carry out the task.)

C: (Squinting) Sort of . . . It's hard to imagine her face.

A: Do you have any photographs of what you looked like then? . . . What do they look like?

(Accesses a reference structure to help C with the task.)