
NLP
Tools for personal
development
Neurolinguistic programming is a rather overblown name for a system originally developed in the '70s for
're-writing' core beliefs held in the subconscious mind. It is based on research that showed that people who are
successful in various different areas have distinct 'beliefs' and ways of thinking which are not shared by
otherwise comparable individuals who were generally unsuccessful in those areas. By areas, is meant different
aspects of life such as social success, wealth building, personal achievement and so on.
The phrase - often shortened to 'NLP' - comes from 'neuro' (of the nervous system, primarily the brain),
'linguistic' (language, the power of the language to represent external realities, and how that language affects
our minds and the minds of others) and 'programming' (the way in which incoming information is manipulated by the
brain - our internal 'programs'). The basic premise of NLP is that the words we use reflect an inner, subconscious
perception of our circumstances. If these words and perceptions are inaccurate, they will literally create problems
and cause us to overlook or avoid opportunities, as long as we continue to use and to think them.
So our preconceptions comprise a self-fulfilling prophecy - "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you
are right" as Henry Ford said. The fact that our behaviour is a result of our internal 'programs' is fairly self
evident. Given identical sets of circumstances, some people clearly are able to create successful outcomes, while
others don't for one ‘reason’ or another. And these are not 'one-offs' - the same people tend to repeat their
successes or their failures over and over.
This is simply because of the way they perceive their situations, NOT the circumstances themselves. If an
average office worker were to stand alongside an experienced mountaineer on the edge of a very high cliff, the
former is likely to perceive extreme danger and to experience paralysing fear and an overwhelming desire to
retreat, while the other sees a beautiful view and experiences a sense of elation at being literally above and away
from the troubles of the world.
They both sensed exactly the same things, but their internal programming took them to very different places.
NLP is therefore a means of analysing and re-shaping our perception of external reality in order to alter our
behavior. Perhaps the easiest way to think of NLP is to see it as a way to analyze the thought patterns of
the mountaineer, and transfer at least some of these to the office worker. When this is successful, the office
worker will then be able to stand on the cliff with much less fear and may even share some of the sense of elation
felt by the mountaineer.
Of course this isn't any king of science fiction 'thought transfer' - NLP is simply a system of structuring
language in such a way that it becomes possible to 'talk' directly to the subconscious mind using metaphor and
other language forms to convey information in a way that is meaningful to the subconscious mind, in order to create
rapid and beneficial change. Because NLP is able to bypass the conscious mind in this way, the messages
embedded in a well-structured recording that makes use of NLP principles is able to address the subconscious mind -
and through it our higher self or ‘superconscious mind’ - to bring about personal change automatically and
reliably.
So what does this mean in practical terms?
In the nearly forty years it has taken to develop fully, NLP has become a subtle but immensely powerful tool for
transformation. It can be used to change habitual ways of thinking by using very special forms of language designed
to alter the way our subconscious minds interpret information - it can be used to change the way we feel about
ourselves, our perceptions of opportunity and risk, the way we relate to other people, our sense of ‘deserving’,
even the way our bodies look and perform. And through these changes of perception it can be used as a tool to
directly engage ‘Law of Attraction’ principles in a way that is simply beyond the ability of the conscious mind
using ‘affirmation’ or ‘visualisation’ techniques.
A core principle of NLP is that “People respond to their map of reality, not to reality itself”. Much of the
methodology of NLP depends on highly-trained therapists who are able to seek out root causes of problems and to
devise therapy sessions that address each of these on a one-to-one basis. However, as NLP practioners compared
notes over the years, certain common factors began to emerge in large groups of people who wanted to change their
lives in particular areas, whether these involved social, business or health concerns. This has enabled sets of
very common unproductive thinking patterns to be identified which are common to whole groups of 'under-achievers'
and which lead to an inability to make progress in the areas concerned.
So with these false beliefs identified, it has also become possible to create powerful language-based programs
designed to show the subconscious mind that these patterns are erroneous, and to use the language of metaphor and
imagery to create whole new belief systems without resistance. Once accepted by the subconscious mind these new
perceptions are matched to external reality by the superconscious mind, in ways that are simply beyond our
conscious understanding.
Unlike other systems for reprogramming the mind, NLP uses persuasion to gain the cooperation of the subconscious
mind, rather than repetition and instruction. NLP will often open the way to ‘paradigm shifts’ - changes in
viewpoint which may occur suddenly or almost unnoticed over time, but which will change your behaviour forever. The
example below may help to illustrate how this can come about:
Perception is everything
Suppose you were in the early stages of a relationship with someone, and everything seemed to be going very
well, to the point where you were seriously beginning to consider them as a potential life partner. But then
suddenly the relationship seemed to cool for no reason as the other person became more distant, didn’t contact you
for long periods and generally seemed to have lost interest. You might experience feelings of rejection and hurt,
possibly suspect that the object of your passions was seeing someone else, and could even end up in a state of
self-blame or depression, thinking that the ‘failure’ is yours - that you are inadequate in some way. Worse, you
could react defensively by withdrawing from the relationship yourself, or even by openly expressing negative
emotions such as anger and hostility.
But then you find out from a mutual acquaintance that at the time the relationship had seemed to cool, the
person concerned had learned that their mother had been diagnosed with a serious illness, and the worry had caused
them to put their life on hold. Mysterious absences are now clearly explained by visits to the sick parent, and
suddenly you are able to reinterpret everything from the date of diagnosis onward in an entirely new light. So now,
instead of moping in dejection and a sense of failure, or feeling betrayed, you suddenly feel sympathy and
understanding and can take steps to re-establish emotional contact so you can provide whatever support you are
able, and perhaps later resume the relationship fully.
Although your feelings and behavior will from now on be completely different, the fact is that nothing will have
actually changed except your perception of the circumstances surrounding the relationship. Just the fact of your
shift in viewpoint is enough to completely transform the outcome of the situation by dumping in an instant the old
negative responses and engaging a series of positive behaviour patterns that were in fact potentially available all
along, but had been blocked by the old, false assumptions.
And so it is with properly formatted NLP ‘therapy’: all that changes is your perception. But that in turn
changes everything - especially how positively and effectively you will behave in response to events in your life.
So if you have stubborn ‘issues’ that have not responded to conventional self help techniques, now may be the right
time to try the power of NLP.
NLP Products
|
|

New 'Enhanced'
versions
(exclusive to
MindWaves)
|
The 'Magical Wizard' programs were created by Robert Siegal, a brilliant American
practitioner who designed this series of audio MP3s to make use of the powerful NLP-based
‘storytelling’ system he developed.
Because the Magical Wizard programs are so effective when compared with conventional self hypnosis
programs, MindWaves has purchased the rights to the original master recordings and produced an
enhanced set of audios which incorporate brainwave entrainment signals to deepen and amplify the
listening experience.
Our proprietory 'phase lag' isochronic entrainment system will gently quiet your mind to exactly
the right brainwave frequency for listening - greatly enhancing listener enjoyment, and the power
of the recordings to bring about deep-seated personal change...
|
 |
|