How do you know you are “You?”
Think about this: If you had no memory, how would you define yourself?
We define ourselves by our memories. We carry impressions in pictures, sounds, and feelings which either guide us or stop us.
Most of us realize that knowing something in our heads can be a very different matter from knowing that same thing in our hearts. When a client comes to me for some assistance with an emotional stress, we will sometimes explore it using this modality. This experience will often bring greater alignment of what we think and how we feel.
Following is feedback from a client that describes their outcome of such an exploration, printed here with permission:
“I spent four years in traditional therapy following a very difficult divorce. I wondered if it was doing much good for me until about six months. At that point there was a major break-through in terms of understanding some major issues in my life. I suspended going after a while for a variety of reasons but figured I needed a “tune up” a few years later. I had the opportunity to meet Tanya and we discussed her work. I was intrigued and started sessions with her regularly. In two sessions, the work had done more for me (heart-wise) than four years of traditional therapy. I am extremely grateful to and for her work in helping me feel great physically, mentally, and spiritually.”
– Craig
What is NLP?
NLP is a model rather than a theory – it is the study of subjective experience geared more toward finding solutions than analyzing causes. For those of you interested in more technical information, read on.
Neuro– from the Greek word neuron- refers to the nervous system, which is the “mind” through which our experience is processed. Our nervous system is the instrument through which we interpret reality and where consciousness flows.
Linguistic– from the Latin “lingua,” or language, indicates that neural processes are represented, coded and ordered to create meaning. Language is one of the fundamental building blocks for creating material reality. If consciousness is the creator of reality, then language is the creating of reality. Language points to the limitations- the boundaries- we impose on ourselves in order to make meaning of the world and to communicate that meaning to others.
Programming- How components of a system are organized to create patterns of activity and/or behavior. People are dynamic organisms growing and transforming their lives, not machines awaiting programming.
NLP is a study of subjective experience with diverse and surprising applications. It’s a tool we can use to explore: helping us to understand how each of us experiences life and to understand ourselves and others in a deeper way so we may relate better in our relationships. It can be used to bring more perspective, and to make better decisions. It can be used as an adjunct to a therapeutic process. For each individual, how it is used will determine what NLP means for them and what they get out of it.
“NLP is an attitude and a methodology that leaves behind a trail of techniques.”
– Richard Bandler, Co-Developer of NLP
Some working principles or presuppositions of NLP:
- NLP is a model rather than a theory, and it is the study of subjective experience
- NLP is a generative rather than a repair model; it emphasizes finding solutions rather than analyzing causes and in NLP we always add choices, rather than take them away
- Mind and body are parts of a singular system
- All human behavior has a structure
- External behavior is the result of how a person uses their representational systems
- If one human can do something then, potentially, anyone can
- Conscious mind capacity is very limited, to around 5-9 chunks of information
NLP is universally useful because it provides you with the means to improve overall effectiveness, rather than preferring specific skills to achieve specific results.
Often described as the technology of the mind, NLP is the science of achievement and the study of success. It is based upon the search for, and the study of, the factors which account for either success or failure in human performance. For over thirty years NLP explorers have studied or modeled the behavior and thinking styles of particularly effective and successful people in business, education, sales, therapy, sports, and personal development. The results of this work are often presented in workshops and extended trainings which, in effect, provide shortcuts to more successful living- the student may learn in hours what may have taken the experts years to discover by trial and error.
Red Willow Center Practitioner:
Tanya Stout 406 544 6679 DimensionalHealthMT.com
