[form] REBT Inference Chaining Tutorial(01) "Identifying Core Beliefs about Self, Others, Life or the World, God" Your Name please: [text,r_name,30] Email: [text,r_email,30] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The idea behind inference chaining Our core beliefs sit in out thinking in a place abstracted from our conscious thinking. Or you could say they sit like the hidden part of an iceberg, just below the surface, but certainly supporting the part of the iceberg that is visble or shows itself to the weather. The core belief may look rather ordinary when you surface it, or it may surprise you as to how its expressing itself in your life in terms of the emotions and behaviours and feelings. The idea of chaining, is to take your surface thought, which may be a statement of some kind, or an evaluation of some kind about your self, others, or life in general, and with the use of a linking question, work through the association of meaning that links it through to the belief sitting underneath it. It's important you keep the chain anchored with where you're focused. E.g. if it is about how you're feeling about your self, then keep the questions linked to the meaning for you. (if others then others etc.). Each stage is where you determine the meaning of the previous one, NOT the original one. When you appear to be going around in circles, try and look at the last point where things began repeating. Sitting in and around that idea, you'll find the threads of your core belief. Why do all this? Because if that core belief, when disputed, is found to be irrational, you can largely improve the quality of your life, by altering that belief into a rational form, and then acting energetically and repetitively until it becomes your new habit of thinking. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ========================================================================== REBT Inference Chaining: THINK about the main target of your thinking In relation to the issue you are writing about, SELECT where your thoughts are mostly focused. Once you've selected this, keep your questions and answers anchored in terms of that focus. IF other people are part of this, and you do not feel you've surface the core, try working it through with them as the focus and keep it anchored in that. [list,Focus] [option,Self,Mostly focused on ME my sense of self] [option,others,Mostly focused on an OTHER person or persons] [option,life in general,Mostly focused on LIFE in general and how I view it] [option,God,Mostly focused on GOD's part in what's happening] [/list] NOW KEEP IN MIND THE FOCUS YOU'VE JUST CHOSEN It does not help to suddenly switch from e.g. SELF to OTHER. Again, If you discover in the process of doing your inference work that your original choice of focus is not the true undercurrent, then go right back to the start and choose that new focus to inference chain. You can use this form two ways. You can form a HOT sentence (HOT means the current issue that occupies your thinking in regard to being upset) using the sentence completion tool below OR you can simply use a troublesome thought as the starting point. SENTENCE COMPLETION TOOL Try and sum up with one sentence the core of your UPSET. You get to choose the form of the first half of the sentence using the selections in the menus THEN you freely write and complete the sentence using the text box. IF there is more than one aspect. Work each aspect through separately to where your chaining ends. You might choose ------------------------------------------------------------------ I am hurt when you (finishing the sentence) disregard my feelings and do not talk to me. ----------------------------------------------------------------- MAKE up the first half of your UPSET or HOT sentence [list,upset01] [option,I am,I am] [option,I was,I was] [option,I will be,I will be] [option,I feel,I feel] [/list][list,upset02] [option, angry ,Angry] [option,content,content] [option, annoyed ,Annoyed] [option, blissful,blissful] [option, anxious ,Anxious] [option, confident, confident] [option, concerned ,Concerned] [option,joyful,joyful] [option, curious,curious] [option,satisfied,satisfied] [option, depressed ,Depressed] [option, sad ,Sad] [option, shocked,shocked] [option, ashamed ,Ashamed] [option, sympathetic,sympathetic] [option,peaceful,peaceful] [option, regretful ,Regretful] [option, happy,happy] [option, jealous ,Jealous] [option, envious ,Envious] [option, competitive ,Competitive] [option, guilty ,Guilty] [option, comfortable,comfortable] [option, remorseful ,Remorseful] [option, hurt ,Hurt] [option, excited,excited] [option, disappointed ,Disappointed] [/list][list,upset03] [option,about,about] [option,because,because] [option,due to,due to] [option,when,when] [option,with,with] [option,at,at] [/list][list,upset04] [option,you,you] [option,I,I] [option,things,things] [option,others,others] [option,them,them] [option,life,life] [option,situations,situations] [option,God,God] [option,myself,myself] [/list] Now finish your sentence as the extension of the words you've selected. Remember that you're keeping this anchored in terms of where you are focused. IF you selected 'self' then the second half of this sentence is about what the other person or persons did or did not do, about which, you are upset FINISH your UPSET sentence here OR Wait until later to write your own complete HOT thought in just before you begin chaining. [text,finish of sentence,100] HOW intensely do you feel this issue? [list,Intensity] [option,0,Choose how Intense] [option,Not at all 0%,0% Not at all] [option,10%,10%] [option,20% A little,20% A little] [option,30%,30%] [option,40%,40%] [option,50% Medium,50% Medium] [option,60%,60%] [option,70% A lot,70% A lot] [option,80%,80%] [option,90% Quite a lot,90% Quite a lot] [option,100% Most Ive ever felt,100% Most I have ever felt] [/list] HOW will I know when I have finished chaining? You will know when your chaining work is complete, by observing yourself giving the same type of answer. The object is to stop when you find yourself going through the same answer set again. This may take as few as 3 question links or as many as 9 or 10. CHECKLIST 1. Remember the focus you selected (self, other, life, God) and keep connected by selecting the relevant question form. 2. Remember the mood or emotions that come with the issue for you. The reason for this is if you can keep connected to the emotion or feelings involved, you increase the efficiency with which you locate the core belief. Okay, remember to keep the THREAD or TARGET in mind, and the MOOD or main emotion, then when you are using the questions that relate to the target, write down your answers in the textbox. If you chose self then use only questions about ME (if OTHER, LIFE or GOD use those as your thread) until you feel you can go no further. ===================================================================== START by writing your FULL sentence in here for you to begin chaining your thoughts [text,my full HOT sentence,100] [list,infer01] [option,0,Keep connected to the sentence just above by selecting the same question form] [option,01 ME,01 ME - What am I telling myself this thought means about ME to feel my MOOD?] [option,02 OTHER,02 OTHER - What am I telling myself this thought means about OTHER to feel my MOOD?] [option,03 LIFE,03 LIFE - What am I telling myself this thought means about LIFE or the WORLD to feel my MOOD?] [option,04 GOD or the DIVINE,04 GOD or the DIVINE - What am I telling myself this thought means about GOD to feel my MOOD?] [/list] [textarea,infer01b,3,70,write here.....] [list,infer02] [option,0,Keep connected to the sentence just above by selecting the same question form] [option,01 ME,01 ME - What am I telling myself this new thought means about ME to feel my MOOD?] [option,02 OTHER,02 OTHER - What am I telling myself this new thought means about OTHER to feel my MOOD?] [option,03 LIFE,03 LIFE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about LIFE or the WORLD to feel my MOOD?] [option,04 GOD or the DIVINE,04 GOD or the DIVINE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about GOD to feel my MOOD?] [/list] [textarea,infer02b,3,70,write here.....] [list,infer03] [option,0,Keep connected to the sentence just above by selecting the same question form] [option,01 ME,01 ME - What am I telling myself this new thought means about ME to feel my MOOD?] [option,02 OTHER,02 OTHER - What am I telling myself this new thought means about OTHER to feel my MOOD?] [option,03 LIFE,03 LIFE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about LIFE or the WORLD to feel my MOOD?] [option,04 GOD or the DIVINE,04 GOD or the DIVINE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about GOD to feel my MOOD?] [/list] [textarea,infer03b,3,70,write here.....] [list,infer04] [option,0,Keep connected to the sentence just above by selecting the same question form] [option,01 ME,01 ME - What am I telling myself this new thought means about ME to feel my MOOD?] [option,02 OTHER,02 OTHER - What am I telling myself this new thought means about OTHER to feel my MOOD?] [option,03 LIFE,03 LIFE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about LIFE or the WORLD to feel my MOOD?] [option,04 GOD or the DIVINE,04 GOD or the DIVINE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about GOD to feel my MOOD?] [/list] [textarea,infer04b,3,70,write here.....] [list,infer05] [option,0,Keep connected to the sentence just above by selecting the same question form] [option,01 ME,01 ME - What am I telling myself this new thought means about ME to feel my MOOD?] [option,02 OTHER,02 OTHER - What am I telling myself this new thought means about OTHER to feel my MOOD?] [option,03 LIFE,03 LIFE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about LIFE or the WORLD to feel my MOOD?] [option,04 GOD or the DIVINE,04 GOD or the DIVINE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about GOD to feel my MOOD?] [/list] [textarea,infer05b,3,70,write here.....] [list,infer06] [option,0,Keep connected to the sentence just above by selecting the same question form] [option,01 ME,01 ME - What am I telling myself this new thought means about ME to feel my MOOD?] [option,02 OTHER,02 OTHER - What am I telling myself this new thought means about OTHER to feel my MOOD?] [option,03 LIFE,03 LIFE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about LIFE or the WORLD to feel my MOOD?] [option,04 GOD or the DIVINE,04 GOD or the DIVINE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about GOD to feel my MOOD?] [/list] [textarea,infer06b,3,70,write here.....] [list,infer07] [option,0,Keep connected to the sentence just above by selecting the same question form] [option,01 ME,01 ME - What am I telling myself this new thought means about ME to feel my MOOD?] [option,02 OTHER,02 OTHER - What am I telling myself this new thought means about OTHER to feel my MOOD?] [option,03 LIFE,03 LIFE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about LIFE or the WORLD to feel my MOOD?] [option,04 GOD or the DIVINE,04 GOD or the DIVINE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about GOD to feel my MOOD?] [/list] [textarea,infer07b,3,70,write here.....] [list,infer08] [option,0,Keep connected to the sentence just above by selecting the same question form] [option,01 ME,01 ME - What am I telling myself this new thought means about ME to feel my MOOD?] [option,02 OTHER,02 OTHER - What am I telling myself this new thought means about OTHER to feel my MOOD?] [option,03 LIFE,03 LIFE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about LIFE or the WORLD to feel my MOOD?] [option,04 GOD or the DIVINE,04 GOD or the DIVINE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about GOD to feel my MOOD?] [/list] [textarea,infer08b,3,70,write here.....] [list,infer09] [option,0,Keep connected to the sentence just above by selecting the same question form] [option,01 ME,01 ME - What am I telling myself this new thought means about ME to feel my MOOD?] [option,02 OTHER,02 OTHER - What am I telling myself this new thought means about OTHER to feel my MOOD?] [option,03 LIFE,03 LIFE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about LIFE or the WORLD to feel my MOOD?] [option,04 GOD or the DIVINE,04 GOD or the DIVINE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about GOD to feel my MOOD?] [/list] [textarea,infer09b,3,70,write here.....] [list,infer10] [option,0,Keep connected to the sentence just above by selecting the same question form] [option,01 ME,01 ME - What am I telling myself this new thought means about ME to feel my MOOD?] [option,02 OTHER,02 OTHER - What am I telling myself this new thought means about OTHER to feel my MOOD?] [option,03 LIFE,03 LIFE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about LIFE or the WORLD to feel my MOOD?] [option,04 GOD or the DIVINE,04 GOD or the DIVINE - What am I telling myself this new thought means about GOD to feel my MOOD?] [/list] [textarea,infer10b,3,70,write here.....] YOUR IDEA HOW YOUR CORE THOUGHT OR BELIEF IS MADE UP (the ideas which form it)? [textarea,my core or hot thoughts is this,2,70] ========================================================================== If you have reached this box and feel there is more to be explored, enter your comments in the box below, ask any questions that may occur to you. If you have already exhausted your thoughts, then click on SEND to post your results to ONLINE COUNSELLOR [textarea,comments,3,70,Write in here...] [checkbox,send copy,checked]Check this box if you wish to receive a copy of your work. [submit,SEND this Entry][reset,Start Over again] [/form]