Overlaying is used to replace a dislike, fear, or bad habit with a positive one. It works like this. Go into the alpha state. Picture in your mind the thing you dislike, say, being stuck in a traffic jam. Now shrink that picture to the size of a postage stamp. Then picture a pleasant scene or experience. Attach strong emotion to your pleasant scene. Hold the positive though for a few seconds and then repeat the sequence three times. Next time you get stuck in traffic, your neurological system will not react negatively because it will associate the event with the positive feelings.
Another variation is to write the thing that bothers you on a piece of paper. Close your eyes, go into alpha, and then visualize something very positive and happy. Then open your eyes and look at what you wrote on the paper. Repeat three times. Now when the negative thing comes up, it will be associated with positive emotions so that it will not bug you and you can face it objectively. This method is useful to curb an unrealistic attraction to something like, say, chocolate candy. Close your eyes, go into the alpha state and visualize lots of chocolate candy. Reduce the size of the picture. Now visualize something of the same color as chocolate but that is disgusting. Smell the foul odor. Feel the icky, gooey, unpleasant texture. Taste it if you have the nerve. Just the thought makes you sick. You feel like you want to throw up. Repeat three times.
Anthony Robins, the positive-thinking guru, describes the use of overlaying a bit differently. He suggests you mentally picture a scene of the thing you want to change. Say you want to change a habit of overeating. You would picture yourself eating gluttonously, really making a pig of yourself. See how disgusting you look wolfing down big bites of food. Feel the sickening sensation that comes after you overeat.
Then, in the lower right corner of your mental screen, place a very small screen. In that small screen visualize yourself eating properly and quitting before you feel full. Feel good about yourself for eating this way. Feel and think about being healthy. See yourself eating properly. See yourself stopping before you feel full. Feel good about yourself for being in control. Then, quickly magnify the positive small screen and let it replace the large picture of your gluttonous eating. As you do this, say aloud, “whooooosh.” Repeat the process three times. Robins claims the “whoooosh” is important.
You may have to do this a few days to reinforce the positive habit. Be sure to add strong positive emotions to the good picture.