WHAT IS NLP?

WARNING!
PROCEED WITH CAUTION!
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) has been described as "The Study of Human Excellence". It is a set of principles, models and tools for communication, learning, and change. In the 1970's Richard Bandler and John Grinder created a mathematical calculus that enabled them to extract the pertinent information necessary to model three outstanding therapists; they were Virginia Satir, Fritz Perls and Dr. Milton Erickson. Fortunately, for those of us who have learned NLP, they translated this complicated formula into easily assimilated techniques, that enlighten and enlarge our very human experience on Planet Earth.

For instance, we begin modeling others at an early age. Many times, we choose "idols," whom we model: a teacher, a movie star, an athlete, or perhaps someone who has triumphed over an incredible challenge. Some of the "how did they do that," questions Bandler and Grinder might have asked themselves were: "What are the thought processes, the beliefs, physiology, communication patterns of these people who do something exceptionally well, or have overcome some difficulty?"

If NLP were to teach you to observe people in a different way, see through the surface they present, hear what they are really saying, know how they feel, deep down in their core, would that be of interest to you, now?

Through NLP training you will quickly learn to take these observations, model them, adapt their formulas and begin to maximize your own potential. Similarly, if you excel in one particular area of your life, you can apply your formula to areas where you are less excellent.

NLP is used in virtually every field where EXCELLENCE is the goal, including medicine, business, public relations, psychology, therapy, education, sports, the arts, as well as in day to day living.

Really, is there any area in your life where you would choose to be less than EXCELLENT?

Some basic NLP terms are:

1. Anchoring/Triggers: The principle by which any stimulus or representation (internal or external) connects to, and triggers a response. (Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?)
2. Representational Systems: The way we access our world through our five senses, visual, auditory, kinesthetic, gustatory and olfactory. If we lacked all five of these, we would have no way to relate to our environment, inside or out.
3. Sub-modalities: Distinctions within each representational system that create the smallest building blocks, or in other words, all the pesky details of our thoughts. Most sub-modalities vary continuously, as if controlled by a dimmer switch.
4. Strategy: A set of explicit mental and behavioral steps used to achieve a specific outcome. It is how you know when it's time to do something, buy something, love someone, etc. For instance, you might see a new computer, feel the keyboard, think about it for a while to see if you really need it and then you might buy it. Or not.
5. Language Patterns: The observation of our choice of words and how it affects the way we represent and respond to our world. Can you see what I'm saying? Am I making myself clear? Everybody feels the same way, or does that smell fishy to you?

How does NLP work?

First, are two of the primary principles of NLP: "I am in charge of my mind and therefore, I am responsible for my results" and "People have all the resources they need in order to change."
These are very empowering beliefs.
They allow you to regain control of your life ("Who is driving your bus?") and remind you of your intrinsic excellence ("You are more than you think you are, much more.").
The techniques used in NLP work on a neurological level, a true mind-body connection, so that the changes occur easily and effortlessly and have lasting effects.

How many people have you noticed looking outside of themselves for all the answers, playing the excuse and scapegoat game? Have you ever done that? Well, if you're like the rest of us, the answer is a resounding "YES!"
NLP puts you in the powerful position of being "at cause" and therefore, in control, in all aspects of your life. It literally short-circuits a "pity party" and turns it into a "victory celebration."

NLP training begins with some very practical exercises to enliven your observation of others, and therefore bring you to a more focused view of yourself.
First, we ask you to begin noticing details: skin tone and tonus, breathing rate and placement, the size of the lower lip (have you ever noticed that it might be larger when a person is really interested in something...or someone?), and the focus and dilation of the eye. And once you become adept at this SENSORY ACUITY work, you move on to MATCHING AND MIRRORING other people to gain quicker rapport, EYE ACCESSING CUES that let you, literally, see how a person is thinking, whether it be VISUAL (seeing), AUDITORY (hearing), KINESTHETIC (feeling) or AUDITORY DIGITAL (self talk, as opposed to talking to yourself). These are but the tip of NLP iceberg. And, as you apply these observations to yourself, or others, there is the potential for amazing insight into what motivates us, what makes us tick.

One interesting example of how NLP can work took place in the 1980s when the United States Army hired an NLP Practitioner to improve the soldier's shooting skills. First he worked with the best marksmen to ascertain what thought processes they had: what they visualized and said to themselves internally. What self-beliefs did they have? What were they doing, physically? Next, he had the less successful soldiers replicate the sharpest shooters. The result was a significant growth in the number of soldiers who became expert marksmen--and a decrease in time and money to train them.

What if you could see, hear and feel, just by observation, how a person does a magnificent job? What if you knew, immediately, how to apply it to yourself? What if you knew how, right now, to ask the right questions to elicit their strategies, or your own, in making decisions? What is of most value in their/your model of the world? What limiting decisions have they/you made and how can it be re-framed, making a negative into a positive? What would they/you have learned? How empowered would YOU feel?
If you would like more information about our work...only contact us, when you DEEPLY DESIRE to CHANGE YOUR LIFE!