NLP is the acronym for Neuro-Linguistic Programming.  Established in 1975 by Richard Bandler and Dr. John Grinder, NLP ‘is the study of human excellence, the ability to be your best more often, the powerful and practical approach to personal change, the new technology of achievement’

‘Neuro refers to our nervous system, the mental pathways of our five senses by which we see, hear, feel, taste, and smell.  Linguistic refers to our ability to use language and how specific words and phrases mirror our mental worlds. Linguistic also refers to our ‘silent language’ of postures, gestures, and habits that reveal our thinking styles, beliefs, and more.  Programming is borrowed from computer science, to suggest that our thoughts, feelings, and actions are simply habitual programs that can be changed by upgrading our ‘mental software’. ‘ (Steve Andreas and Charles Faulkner, NLP:The New Technology of Achievement, Harper, 1994) 27.

A poster board used in presentations says:  NLP, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, is the way we use our brain (neuro) to communicate with ourselves and others verbally and non-verbally (linguistics) and how our behaviors are a result of the programs we are running in our mind.  We can re-program the way we think so we get the results we want.

Some common sessions include:

Breaking Patterns: There are times in our lives when we discover that we are living out a pattern that is all too familiar to us either with our spouses, intimate relationships, children, family members, colleagues, and bosses.  We thought we made changes, but the same dynamic is playing out again, only, now it’s with a new partner, friend, neighbor, or a new job, with new colleagues and superiors.  We know the pattern because life has repeated it often enough to realize we’re the common denominator, and we’re ready to look at it.  We’re not sure why this dynamic is playing itself out, we’re simply aware that it’s occurring again and we don’t like it.

NLP, with or w/out Hypnotherapy, offers techniques to help us discover underlying patterns that have been directing actions unconsciously.  Helpful insights toward getting more of what we want in our experiences.

A guided session leads to that ‘ah-ha’ moment when we can see what’s been playing itself out in our mind, just below the surface.  We know when we’ve tapped into something– it resonates in our body, it releases energy that begins to flow more freely and expansively toward more inspired responses.  We see ourselves responding differently and can imagine ourselves free of this cycle, in a place of ease and expansion- naturally a more resourceful state to experience life.

Integrating Parts: Have you ever known a part of you that wants to do ‘such-and-such’, yet another part of you wants to do ‘such-and-such’ and they don’t agree?  Leaving you feeling stuck? ” This is a common dilemna. These voices, our internal chatter or guidance, depending on how we’re listening and responding, are offering us guidance toward a more inspired, empowered decision.  We want to discover the higher intention of these seemingly ‘conflicting’ parts and integrate them into a unified intention.  Sessions bring forth underlying intentions that allow us to move forward with greater conviction and purpose. Again, a more resourceful state to naturally experience life.

Discovering Purpose: Discovering our purpose, or mission in life, lures us into the future. It unifies our beliefs and sense of ‘who we are’ and most of all it’s fun!  We get to utilize our strengths, we’re curious about our growth, and we’re feeling the momentous joy in moving forward with conviction and purpose.  This is our life promise-find it and live it!

Our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energy strives to be in balance.  We know when we’re experiencing physical health, mental clarity, emotional stability and spiritual awareness.  This is every human beings’ deepest personal quest…isn’t it invigorating to know your lifestyle and livelihood are in sync with this drive?  Don’t we all want to believe our daily experiences of work, family, home, community, and environment are contributing to this overall health encompassing all the elements of our being-physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual?  To begin with, consider what amazing creatures we are:

‘We have 15 billion brain cells working together, twinking with the circuitry of a thousand cities. Our ears can hear 1,600 different frequencies, ranging from 20-20,000 cycles per second.  Our eyes can detect a single photon of light. And the 800,000 fibers in each of our optic nerves transmits more information from 132 million rods and cones to our brain than the world’s largest optical computer system.  The more than 300 million tiny air sacs in our lungs provide oxygen to the 100 trillion cells thoughout our body.  Our 206 bones and 656 muscles form a more functionally diverse system of capabilities than any known creature.  All these and other tremendous abilities to function and learn can be applied in many different ways.  You can’t count all your capabilities–there are too many.’ (Andreas, Faulkner, NLP The New Technology of Achievement, Harper, 1994) 83.

A basic NLP tenant is, “If one person can do it, anyone can learn to do it”  So, if others have found their mission in life, for example Steven Spielberg who’s quoted, “I wake up so excited, I can’t eat breakfast” Hank Whittemore, CNN: The Inside Story (Boston: Little, Brown, 1990), you can too!

These sessions occur in stages including three to six sessions or more.  Each stage in the process has a function to learn what you love to do, tap that inner excitement, examine deepest values and desires, create a grand vision, find a specific direction for that vision, and most importantly, aligning yourself with it.  It’s at the point of alignment that we see the power of attraction in forming our life and all that’s called forth to bring our dreams to reality.

Manifesting Dreams: This is the finest culmination of human excellence skills brought forth with a combination of NLP, Hypnotherapy, and Reiki.

We have dreams, wishes, hopes that we want to see come to fruition and our minds play a crucial role in bringing them about.  So, beginning with some simple ideas, goals, and wishes, a session begins with fully sensing what it is you want to see happen. Then we strengthen this with guided imagery and a well formed outcome.  Finally  launch this dream knowing that everything necessary is being called forth by the ‘realization’ of your dream.

All of our actions begin first with our thoughts, we either act to bring our goals to fruition through our sheer belief that we’ll succeed, or we fail to makes things happen because of some belief we have that it won’t happen.  Remember, ‘a belief is just a thought I keep thinking’, Hicks, Vortex: Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships, (Hay House, 2009) 223.

One of the hardest questions to answer is “What do you want?” followed with, “What’s keeping you from getting it?”.  Try answering these yourself and discover, “What do I have in mind?”

NLP PRESUPPOSITIONS (10)

1. All experiences have a structure.  Everything we experience we do so through our five senses, so there is a structure to how we see, hear, feel, taste and smell all past experiences and all future experiences, although taste and smell are less prominent.

2. Mind and Body are one Cybernetic System. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and PET (positron emission tomography) technologies clearly demonstrate that negative thoughts create stress chemicals in the body, and happy thoughts produce positive chemicals in the body.

3. You are always communicating.  You cannot NOT communicate.  Verbally and Non-Verbally you are always communicating with others.

4. The map is not the territory. No two human beings experience things in the same way (again every experience has a structure). Each of us gives personal meaning to our experience and from that creates a representation of the world in which we live.  We create a map/model which we reference to determine behavior.

5. Underlying every behavior is  a positive intent. This is one of my favorite presupposition–it is the place we find compassion and forgiveness.  It means that every behavior is useful in some context, it’s not a question of getting rid of behaviors, but about continually expanding our range of behaviors to provide more choices.  The person with the greatest flexibility, most behavior choices, has the greatest ability to influence systems.

6.We are the creators of our experience. At some level, we are always in control and doing exactly what we want. Much of our true motivation and abilities are out of consciousness, based on beliefs and expectations in our sub-consciousness. Co-creative mastery begins when we take responsibility and seek positive intent and learn from experiences.

7. People have all the resources they need to make the changes they want. Another self-explanatory presupposition, that often alludes us.

8. People work perfectly and always make the best choice available to them at the time. This means we are always choosing the best behavior in the moment from our set of learned behaviors.  The person with the most flexibility of behaviors will most influence the experience. Goal is to increase your choice of behaviors to get what you want.

9. Thinking/Behavioral Frames that equal Flexibility include: Outcome vs. Problem, Failure vs. Feedback, and Opportunity vs. Limitation.

10. If one person can do it, anyone can learn to do it. NLP is the study of human excellence and so this presupposition comes up often when someone says it’ll never happen for me.  They need to see where others have accomplished great things, and discover what belief is holding them back from knowing they too can accomplish great things.