Beings can be fixed or stuck in a chronic mood (emotion) – always sad, always angry, always bored, etc. Just in life and livingness this makes them rather hard to live with but in an auditor it is fatal. The mood of an auditor, particularly if fixed and chronic, can color the session and the results he obtains.
TRs are a matter of sound, not how an auditor feels. When an auditor has a stuck or fixated mood, such as monotony, timidity, dullness, showing up in his TR drills or in session, this can slow up a pc’s progress or rough up or upset a pc. The auditor’s TRs should sound live and interested and natural.
Mood Drills have been developed to handle fixed, uncontrolled or unsuitable tone levels in an auditor. These drills consist of drilling TR 1 over and over at each tone level of the full Tone Scale (HCOB 25 Sept 71RB, Revised 1 Apr 78 Tone Scale in Full). You start low on the scale and do TRs at each tone level in that tone. then up to the next tone, and the next, i.e. , TR 1 done over and over at “Dying,” then at the tone of “Useless,” and so on up the scale. The coach simply has the student do TR 1 at the particular tone level so that the coach and the student are both satisfied that the student has conveyed that tone and the student has a win.
A technical fact is that moods or emotions are usually “automatic” which means they are not necessarily under control but tend to control the person himself. It is as if he is under other-determinism. Technically, you can “take over” the automaticity and put it under a being’s control just by having him consciously do it over and over. You can also change a chronic tone level by shifting a person’s attention from it by making him do something else. (Reference: “Ability 36” and “Ability – Straight Wire.”)
Body position, voice tone, facial expression and attitude are all part of conveying the mood or tone level. For example, the student doing Mood Drills is on TR 1 working on the tone “Anger.” He gives a line from Alice in Wonderland. and it sounds a bit weak. Coach’s patter: “That’s it. It sounds a bit gentle. Let’s get some more G-r-r-r-r in it. Start.” Student repeats the line, but smiles a bit although he sounds more angry. Coach: “That’s it. It sounded more angry, but you smiled. Do it again – you feel angry. Start.” Student gives the line again, this time frowning fiercely and in a very snarly tone of voice, leaning forward aggressively. Coach: “Good! Do you feel you did it?” Coach continues until the student is certain he can do it easily. The coach must be able to identify the various emotions and if he is in question about it the dictionary should be resorted to until both student and coach are in agreement on what the tone is or means and that it is being accurately and demonstrably expressed.
A student drilling these must beware of Mis-Us and the coach must make sure that he and the student both understand each mood (tone). Any moods that are too easy to do should be spotted by the coach and repeated until the automaticity is broken.
If a mood is too hard for the student to master, have him do TR 1 in different beingnesses, e.g. , a timid student who is trying to sound antagonistic could be asked to do TR 1 as a panther, a lion, a villain, etc. If you had him do it as a timid bird or some such timid thing that would never be antagonistic you would probably have your student where he lived. Again, do such things to a student win and don’t use it to harass him. The whole point is to get him to do TR 1 antagonistically. These shifts of beingness help to shift his attention off a repulsion to an emotion he cannot easily do.
Once begun, Mood Drills should be continued until the whole scale is flat so the auditor doesn’t get stuck on the Tone Scale but can do any mood easily and without strain. When an auditor is upset about his voice, you can have him try speaking melodiously, boringly, enthusiastically, until he can change his voice mood about at will.
Mood Drills should be done when the auditor sounds mechanical, or his tone is brush off, not interested or some set emotion. An auditor can be drilled on assessments in the E-Meter Drill Book with Mood Drills, when his assessment is dull or monotonous. Any set emotion like “sweet,” “light and airy fairy,” or sad, dreary, deadly serious, indifferent can be handled by drilling with Mood Drills.
50 Foot Mood Drills can be used to cure a fixed mood that doesn’t seem to budge with regular Mood Drills. Student and coach go to an area where they can do some shouting without disturbance. The coach and student are at least 50 feet apart and the Mood Drill is done, as described above, at this distance.
Mood Drills are not only fun to do, but also enable an auditor to be at cause over how he sounds in a session, without strain and without his own feelings interfering with the session and thus to get maximum gain for the pc.