New York Neurolinguistic Programming

NLP Practitioner New York

Building intuition

2008-11-30T15:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a great Neuro Linguistic Programming NLP technique to help build intuition.

Intuition often shows itself as a feeling, or as we would say in NLP, as a kinesthetic feeling. We know something is right because our body tells us so:

"It just felt right"
"I got a bad feeling about it"

One of the students in our In-Depth NLP Practitioner Training in New York is a massage therapist. He is able to sense his clients slipping into an altered state as he works on their back. He was not sure he could do the same thing when leading a hypnosis client into trance when looking at their face, without the benefit of feeling their muscle tension change!

I suggested he recall the last time he was massaging a client and knew they were going into trance. When he was fully experiencing this, I asked where he felt that knowledge. After checking in with himself he indicated a triangle from his left shoulder to his throat to his solar plexus. I suggested that he could check in with this area when working in hypnosis and this would tell him when his client was going into trance.

Of course, it is not the case that everyone will know their clients are going into trance by paying attention to the same feelings in the same area. Indeed, he may find that his intuition for noticing when his clients are going into trance may show itself in an entirely different area of his body.

However, the fact is that by allowing his body, and his unconscious mind, to identify how he intuits he has begun the process of sharpening his intuition. From here he will go through a process of further refining and sharpening this intuition.

Summary of the Technique

Here is the technique:

Select something about which you want to build your intuition
Pick something else where you already have good intuition, perhaps something you do for a living, or as a hobby, or something you just feel naturally.
Remember a recent time when you had good intuition about something. Recall where you were, what you were seeing and hearing. As you get in touch with the memory, begin to notice your feelings, what are you feeling? When in your body do you feel it most? What are the qualities of the feeling? Is it warm or cool? Heavy or light? etc.
Think of some other similar times when you had good intuition. Notice again this area and these sensations that tell you you are making the right decision. Notice how the feelings are different depending upon whether your intuition says "yes" or "no", "accept" or "decline".
Now consider the something you want better intuition about. As you think about that issue, pay attention and notice your feelings.

By allowing your unconscious to communicate with you in this way, by really paying attention to the somatic feelings your unconscious presents you with, your intuition will increase exponentially.

What happens if it doesn't work?

If you are unsure about the messages your unconscious is giving you, simply ask: "I am seeking guidance on this issue, should I say yes or no [or accept/decline, go/stay]". Now breathe and wait for your unconscious to answer. Notice any changes in how you feel.

If you are still unsure, say "I am feeling a warmth in my chest, if this is the signal for me to accept this offer, please increase that feeling, if not decrease that feeling". Now once more breathe and wait.

How does this work?

Your unconscious now sends messages to you conscious mind in various ways, it can be in pictures, or sound, or feelings.

By identifying a past time when you had intuition and noting the feelings associated with that, we are communicating with your unconscious, letting your unconscious know that you are listening and understand this signal to have a certain meaning. This is the start of the process of building intuition.

Shawn Carson

The ING Game

2008-11-29T08:42:00.000-08:00

Manipulating our brain's sense of time is an important skill we can all be developing and integrating into our toolkits for change.

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Hypnosis offer us fantastic tools to do just this, for ourselves and our clients, and we will be discussing one of these tools here.

We can of course be using NLP's many time based patterns, such as time line. Alternatively we can simply be using linguistic tools such as verb tense, creating change.

Verb tense tells us what part of time we are dealing with, and how the action of the verb moves through time. This sounds confusing, but for a moment:

Consider a time in the past where you had spoken to a client
Compare this with those times when you are speaking to clients.

You may notice that the first of these instructions put the the action of speaking to clients very firmly in the past. This is because it used the past perfect tense "had spoken". This is called the past perfect tense because the action is "perfected" or completed, in the past. It is over and done with.

In contrast the second instruction uses the present progressive tense ("are speaking").Not only is the time the present (using the present tense "are") in addition there is a sense of movement, the verb focuses on the progression of the action through time. It does this by using the ING form of the verb ("speaking").

The technique we will discuss here uses the present progressive tense to give the client a little more room to change.

Summary of Pattern

The client selects an issue they want to work through. Let us say they have fear about an upcoming test.
Change the problem into an active progressive verb. In this case encourage the client to say: "I am fearing". How does the client feel when they say this?
Lead the client through statements indicating change and choice. Calibrate to the client's response. Examples might include:
"I am fearing, I am changing, I am choosing, I am choosing confidence, I am confidenting, I am choosing, I am choosing calm, I am calming, I am relaxing,..."

Other Words

This exercise also works well with other process based words, learning, growing, developing, evolving, etc and other awareness words knowing, seeing, feeling etc.

How it works

There are several powerful linguistic techniques and presuppositions being used here in this seemingly simple technique:

Removing Nominalization

"Fear" is a nominalization. It is a verb masquerading as a noun. Turning problems into nominalizations makes it more difficult to shift them (in general).

Turning the problem back into a verb, particularly in the progressive tense, shows the client that they are "doing" the problem. This may make them uncomfortable but it gives them back control.

Allowing Change

Using words such as changing and choosing allows the client a little more room to change, and to choose new responses. Again by using the present progressive tense we allow the client to experience choosing and changing as a process.

Moving into the future

Another benefit of the progressive tense is that it allows change to move from the present and continue into the future.

Widdershins Spell

2008-11-28T07:06:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

I'm back posting after spending time doing other stuff.

Here's a fun technique we were playing with last night at Practice Night at Melissa Tier's Center for Integrative Hypnosis. We hold biweekly Practice Nights for our past and current students from Melissa's Hypnosis Training in New York, and our NLP Training, and In-Depth NLP Training.

As part of our In-Depth NLP we love to explore new techniques, deconstrct them to notice how they work, take out unnecessary pieces to make them more efficient, and add in other pieces to make them more effective.

I'm not sure what the technique is called, so I'll call it the Widdershins Spell because of a comment made by Charlie.

Widdershins of course simply means anti-clockwise. However, it has an implication of magik and spells. In particular a widdershins spell may be used to undo some other spell, a sense of unwinding. This widdershins spell is designed to unwind the power that a particular image may have on us.

In doing the technique we used Melissa's office chair which has rollers. This made it easy for the client to turn. If the client is standing you may want to stand near them to support them and keep them safe, although note that the turning is not intended to make the client dizzy and should be done at whatever rate is comfortable.

We will be writing a fuller post including details of the language patterns used, but here is a summary:

Summary of the technique

Client picks an issue or problem they want to change
Coach leads client to identify a picture associated with the problem
Coach helps client to locate the picture in space (i.e. where is the picture located in the space around the client)
Coach suggests that the picture will be changed when the client turns around and looks at it
Coach guides client to all the way around (while the picture stays fixed in place)
Coach asks client how picture is different
Repeat 7 times (or until done)

Practice Group Demo

Desi volunteered to be the client (the exercise was done entirely content free). I asked her to sit in Melissa's chair. I then asked her to think of something, some issue, that she would like to change.

When she had selected one, and was associating into it, I suggested that there was a picture associated with the problem, and asked her where this picture was. She pointed up to the right; the picture was perhaps 12 feet away from her, 3 feet square. We explored other submodalities, the one that seemed most significant was that the image was very bright, so bright it was difficult for Desi to look at.

I used some metaphors to suggest to Desi that when she turned around the picture would be different. I then asked Desi to turn in a full circle and when she was facing forward again, invited her to look at the picture and notice what was different about it. The major difference Desi reported was that the brightness had gone down and the picture was much more comfortable to look at.

We repeated the turning. By the time we had reached the fourth turn, the picture was entirely gone.

The plan had been to rotate up to seven times, so I suggested that Desi turn around once more and she would see a picture of an alternate outcome, some other state of being that she chose instead. She did so and accessed a positive state. We repeated this a few more times to build up the resource state.

How the Technique Works

Well, this is anyone's guess. But let's identify a few elements that are included in the technique:

Dissociation

Of course, using the visual modality tends to be dissociative, this after all is the whole basis of the V-K Dissociation ("phobia cure").

This technique takes the dissociation one step further: by fixing the picture in a certain location while the client rotates, it is made even more obvious to the client that the picture is "separate" from them.

Submodalities

By noticing the submodalities of the picture, and suggesting that they will be changed, the client is free to notice changes that do occur (and after all, all we are is change).

As with Desi, it is very likely that the changes the client notices will be in driving submodalities.

Change in Physiology

It is a truism that all trance begins with a change in physiology (after all what does "relax" mean?!?!).

By using client rotation we are allowing the client to change their physiology and hence access altered states of mind.

Discomfort and Disorientation

Putting the client in a position of mild discomfort can also assist them in entering altered states. This is why, for example, Dr Richard Bandler, will stare at his clients, he wants to make them sufficiently uncomfortable that going into trance is preferable to being stared at.

Hypnotic Language

Goes without saying.

In Depth NLP Training

2008-11-27T06:58:00.001-08:00

Hey Everyone,

We are running a new round of In-Depth NLP weekends and I thought I would put the info out there in case any of you are interested. We had so much fun doing this course and I am excited and grateful to be doing it again. I know a few on these lists asked me to keep you posted on the next one, so, consider yourself posted :-)

I know of a few inexpensive hotels up the block, so if anyone is interested, give me a call. 212-714-3569

The classes are held in New York City at The Center for Integrative Hypnosis, 292 Fifth Avenue, suite 416 (a few blocks down from the Empire State Building).

10:00 to 6:00

I'm pasting the page from my web site with the details, below....

be well,
Melissa Tiers

In-Depth NLP Training and Certification
In-Depth NLP is a synthesis of Integrative Hypnosis and Humanistic Neuro-Linguistic Psychology. It takes traditional NLP and combines it with all the newer techniques and processes in rapid change to create a comprehensive system for transformation.

Shawn Carson and I have put together the NLP training I wish I had had years ago. It is far more unconsciously oriented and draws from the best advances in fields and modalities ranging from energy psychology to neuro-hypnotic repatterning and all the fun stuff in between. In the true spirit of "do what works" we pull from the best and are all ways changing, learning and updating as experience and research dictates.

We are doing this as separate weekend modules so those of you who want to jump in on a particular segment can do so and it will be cohesive. We will do one weekend a month so you can really integrate each skill set into your practice. If you would like to do the full certification combined with my NGH hypnosis certification course you will get a $600. discount due to the
overlap.

Below are brief blurbs on the weekends involved. If anyone has questions about any of it, please give me a ring 212-714-3569

The next full certification course begins in November and will include the following workshops as well as optional biweekly Wednesday evening classes from 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Workshops

In-Depth NLP: Fun-de-mentals- Nov. 8/9
In this workshop you will learn the basic ideas and techniques behind In-Depth NLP. You will experience why this more unconsciously dynamic model of NLP allows for more flexibility and integration in your changework. You will learn the basics of calibration, pacing and leading, anchoring (stacking, sliding and collapsing) and the core foundational patterns, as well as some rapid hypnotic inductions to take it to a deeper level. This weekend is intensive and inner-active and packed with vital tools that you can immediately incorporate into every aspect of your work and play.

Conversational Change-Dec. 13/14
This workshop will cover some of the most powerful ways of producing change by using language that directionalizes the mind. You will learn the meta-pattern underneath all
successful transformation and a model for setting up on going generative change. You will learn the many ways of linguistically shifting awareness using spatial and temporal predicates, presuppositions, metaphor and clean language. You will learn how to use the clientâ€™s inherent anchors and representations to produce unconscious and in-depth changes for lasting results.

In-Depth Time Lines Jan.10/11
This workshop will take traditional time line work to a much deeper level to create both conscious and unconscious change. You will learn different ways of re-imprinting the past
and unconsciously programming the future to change the present state. You will experience the most powerful time based techniques, including, the decision destroyer, change personal history, future sourcing, end-state energy and linguistic timeline. You will also learn a recently developed In-Depth "time heals" process for physical and emotional healing.

In-Depth Emotional Change- Feb.7/8
This workshop covers many of the most powerful techniques for emotional release and transformation. You will learn how to work with the biochemical as well as the energetic aspects of emotions while providing your clients with self-applied techniques for personal growth. You will experience and learn the backward spin, EFT, changing perceptual positions,
emotive journeying, expanded awareness, heart coherence, emotional reimprinting, visual squash and the grief resolution process. This weekend will change how you feel on many levels.

The Deep Structure of Issues- Oct. 18/19 and March 14/15
The deep structure of issues- This workshop will teach you how to get inside your client's head and discover the strategies they use to create or perpetuate the problem and how to change them. We will cover the typical problem strategies and the different ways of altering them to create new and more productive ones. You will learn ways to help clients to change habits, overcome compulsions, end procrastination and install motivation. You will learn to help
your clients achieve individual goals, turn limitations into resources and understand the delicate art of recovery strategies.

In-Depth Certification weekend- April 4/5
Certification weekend- This is the weekend where you bring all the pieces together to develop and implement client change. You are encouraged to use your flexibility, your own personal style and the clientâ€™s model of the world to create a break through session. Students who attend all modules and can demonstrate flexibility and skill, will qualify for full certification.

individual workshops cost $300.
full certification tuition: $1,950
tuition includes all weekends, biweekly focus nights and $150. certification fee

John Overdurf Training

2008-11-27T06:44:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone,

I'm really excited to bring my favorite teacher, John Overdurf, to New York
City. He is the most skillful teacher and change worker I have ever studied
with and the author of one of my favorite hypnosis books, "Training Trances".

If any one is interested just let me know. I would be happy to chat with you
about any questions you might have. 212-714-3569

If you want to learn more about him, his site is _www.johnoverdurf.com_
(http://www.johnoverdurf.com)

I'll post some of the details below.

happy holidaze! I hope you all get stuffed full of things to be thankful for.

-Melissa Tiers

Coaching Beyond Goals Mini-Master Class

3 Full days - 10:30AM - 6PM, Fri, Sat & Sun, Dec. 5th, 6th & 7th.

In this intimate three day Master Class youâ€™ll discover why goals don't work
and experience what does! Learn the nuances in the HNLP coaching model for
resolving the most common, challenging coaching issues such as
procrastination, values conflicts and life transition issuesâ€¦
conversationally!

Through the refined use of the HNLP Coaching Beyond Goals Model, you will
discover that it is possible to address deep issues involving parts conflicts
such as sequential incongruities conversationally, enabling you to work deeply
with clients in business contexts where obvious therapy patterns would not
be appropriate. John will share his experience and insights when working with
the most common and challenging issues that you will encounter in your
coaching practice. Since this is a Master Class, youâ€™ll have the opportunity
to
experience unique, real time commentary,feedback, supervision from John during
live coaching sessions, which makes for an extremely effective way of
integrating new coaching skills.

You will also learn an entirely new way of working with the issue of goal
setting. Most of us have had the experience of setting goals and not achieving
them. The usual culprits are various forms of incongruence, but there's more
to it than that. How can you develop the ability to deal with the uncertainty
that we use most goals to help us avoid? How can you literally use the
momentum of outside energies and influences to create sometimes magical
manifestations that some have called Grace? â€¦And by the wayâ€¦.We're not
talking about
"woo- woo out there" stuff. We're talking about strategies that can be learned
and integrated. These breakthrough, flexible processes will help you
flourish in the sometime bewildering nominalization called 'Life'!

Addtionally, John will be presenting some of his newest work on attention
shifting coaching.
It is a dynamic, new way to work, conversationally, at the level of
structure, process and attention.
Curious?

Topics Include:

How to do precise, multi-level work
How to create motivation and response potential
Conversational elicitation of strategies
Determining unconscious congruence and motivation
Utilization of naturally occurring states to create powerful change.
Integrate transformative, non-linear and hypnotic language patterns into your coaching work
Incorporating the Meta Pattern of all NLP patterns into your work
Practical approaches for working with the most common coaching problems
Where and when to use the Beyond Goals Model
Application of Chaos Theory to goal setting and successful manifestation
Conversational elicitation of deeply rooted unconscious states that prevent forward movement.
Elicitation and utilization of end state energy
Determine appropriate chunk size of tasks and goals
Techniques for producing spiritual states of non-attachment to facilitate ecological change and manifestation

Location- SLC- 352 7th Ave. 16th floor (at 30th street)
cost of the three workshop is $650.

contact Melissa Tiers-212-714-3569

mmtiers@aol.com

www.melissatiers.com

Stop smoking

2008-10-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

'Time to Give-Up Smoking' you say. You want to become a healthy non-smoker for life. Tools such as NLP and Hypnosis for smoking can help. For a free consultation call Shawn Carson on 917 972 5776 or email iphnewyork@aol.com

Sometimes you're bored or feel stressed. Your friendly tobacco buddy is there for you, as always. Ready to relax you with a cocktail, keep you company. He melts away that stress and makes you feel great!

Well, here's some news: that cocktail he mixed for you is poisoned. And he's stealing from you, slipping 8, 9 10 dollars at a time from your wallet, hoping you won't notice.

Maybe it's time for you to kick this so-called friend out of your home. Who wants a 'friend' who is stealing from you? Who needs a 'friend' who is trying to poison you?

Below you will find 10 simple steps to help you to become free of this habit and become a healthy non-smoker for life.

Tip 1: Write down why exactly you want to become a healthy non-smoker for life.

Just considering the health risks would make anyone want to become a healthy non-smoker for life. Lung, throat or stomach cancer, emphysema. Cigarettes can kill you in many colorful ways, and when you stop smoking right now your body begins to recover and your health riks begin to go down.

Of course it is not just your health that is at risk. If you have loved ones, especially children, or friends, where you smoke you are also putting their lives at risk. Second hand smoke kills.

Maybe you realize that your breath smells of stale cigarette smoke. Maybe you realize the effect the tobacco is having on your complexion or skin.

Cigarette smoke makes your clothes smell. Maybe you can't smell it but everyone else can.

Maybe you simply can't breathe the way you used to, or the way you would like.

You have your own reason for wanting to quit. What are they? Write them down.

Tip 2: What is different NOW that makes this the time to quit?

What has changed that makes you want to quit now? Has it just become too much? Has there been some other event in your life? The more reasons you have to quit the better.

Tip 3: Now that you are on the brink of quitting, make a decision and stick to it.

So now you have decided to become a healthy non-smoker for life. Now is the time.

The decision is made. You are a healthy non-smoker for life!

Tip 4: Tell everyone!

Tell your family and friends about your decision to quit. Tell everyone. Let them help you stick to your decision.

And the more people you tell, the greater the support will be for your decision.

Tip 5: Learn about the effects of cigarettes

The more you know about your enemy the better. Ever fact you learn will make you more convinced of your decision. Do some on-line research.

Cigarettes don't only cause cancer. Of course they do, and there is a long list of a carcinogens (cancer causing chemicals) in cigarettes. But cigarettes also contain more every-day poisons such as arsenic and cyanide. In fact, as you learn more about cigarettes you will be amazed and appalled by the long list of poisons that cigarettes contain. Did you know, for example that cigarettes contain formaldehyde? That's the stuff they keep dead bodies in, or the frogs that you may have dissected in biology class.

Just thinking about cigarettes may make you wonder how you ever brought yourself to ever put one of those things in your mouth, in fact you may become a little nauseous just thinking about them.

Tip 6: Admit that smoking did bring you some benefits and as you recognize this find other ways of maintaining these benefits.

Smoking may have provided you with relaxation, or the companionship of other smokers. Maybe it made you feel "cool" like you may have felt as a kid sneaking a cigarette at school. But these things are not worth risking your life for.

There is no need to lose the benefits that cigarettes provided just because you are now a healthy non-smoker. Take a moment to identify what those benefits are. Now allow your creative mind to find some ways for you to keep those benefits. For example if smoking used to relax you, thenmaybe you can learn self-hypnosis instead.

NLP's six step reframe is a perfect tool for this step!

Tip 7: Seek help if necessary

Go and get help if you need it. There are hypnotists, doctors and others who can help.

Tip 8: Imagine your life now that you are a healthy non-smoker for life

Every day that passes, you are healthier. Your body is repairing itself. Your risk factors are diminishing. Your lungs are stronger. Your breathing better. Enjoy your blossoming health!

Other things are different. You can go to the grocery store and not think about cigarettes. The cravings are fading. You are beginning to forget that you were ever a smoker.

Now just imagine a friend of yours is in the process of stopping smoking. They have come to you for advice and help. what advice are you giving to them? Hear yourself speaking to them and telling them about the benefits of quitting and how good you feel now that you are a healthy non-smoker for life.

Tip 9: Teach yourself to handle cravings

Even the tobacco companies admit that cigarettes are addictive. In fact they are designed that way, it makes it easier for the cigarette companies to keep you under their control. But you can control the cravings if you know how.

You can use nicotine replacement products such as the patch or gum to wean your system off cigarettes. As a hypnotist I would also suggest using techniques such as NLP, self-hypnosis or EFT to control any cravings.

In a short time the nicotine will disappear from your system and you begin to return to normal functioning, the cravings begin to reduce and eventually disappear. Staying off coffee and other acidic drinks in this time may help, as may avoiding or reducing alcohol intake. Give your body the chance to heal in these first 72 hours.

Tip 10: So now you've quit. Thank yourself. You're saving money. What are you going to do with that money you've saved?

Acknowledge what you have done for yourself in quitting. You owe yourself a big thank you.

And you are saving money, so treat yourself to a nice thank you. Work out how much you are saving, and what you would like to treat yourself to. Perhaps you want to save up for a year and get something really nice. The choice is yours now.

Final Bonus Tip: How do you deal with Mr Tobacco when he comes crawling back whispering inside your head?

Now your a healthy non-smoker. You understand your enemy. You now he was poisoning you and stealing your money. Your free of the chemical cravings.

Your so-called friend may well come back telling you how much you need him.

The voice may sound superior, talking down to you:

"Quit? You can't quit! You're not strong enough. You're weak! You'll be back!"

Of course, he could plead:

"Go on, smoke one. What harm is there?"

Sure, it's a pack of lies, but maybe just one...

You didn't invite this voice into your head so it is time to throw the unwelcome guest out. Notice where the voice is coming from, in front or behind, right or left. And notice the sound of the voice. Now begin to move the source of the voice downward until it is coming from the ground somewhere near your eft foot. As it moves down, notice the voice becoming higher, like the buzz of an insect.

As you listen to that whiney voice, you may begin to laugh thinking that you were ever fooled. Of course, with that whiney insect voice down by your left foot, it would be so easy to lift your left foot up and simply squash the bug...

Finally, imagine someone you respect talking to you about your decision. Imagine them praising you. Hear their voice. Hear the pride as they tell you how pleased they are that you are now a healthy non-smoker for life.

Shawn Carson is a Hypnotist and Neuro Linguistic Programming Master Practitioner and Trainer offering NLP training in New York. He is also a certified coach and offers NLP Practitioner Training for Coaches in New York. www.nlptrainingnewyork.com Tel:212-714-3574 email:iphnewyork@aol.com

In-Depth NLP Change: Is it ecological?

2008-08-31T18:27:00.000-07:00

NLP ("neuro linguistic programming") offers effective tools for designing and implementing the changes we want in our lives. It is designed to be used by hypnotists and others who access the unconscious mind in making change with their clients.

In-Depth NLP was designed by NLP Master Practitioners and Hypnotists to allow hypnotists to use NLP principles in trance work. In-NLP can be learned by attending our New York training courses.

Here we will describe how we check for ecology in client change using NLP's ecology check. This allows us to make sure the client's goals and values are fully aligned. Let's take an example: suppose our client tells us they want to continue with their existing job for financial reasons, and at the same time build a successful consulting business on the side. By exploring the consequences of these goals we may find that they would have insufficient time to spend with their family. As a result their goals may need to be rebalanced to allow for this.

In NLP we use the ecology check to ensure that the client's values are fully aligned and in agreement with the changes the client desires. We may for example ask questions such as:

When this goal is achieved, how will things be different for you?

What will this do for you.

When you make this change what will you no longer have? What will you have given up for this?

What other areas of your life will be affected by this change, and how?

These will provide useful future oriented data concerning the real world consequences of the changes that the client is seeking. In the above example, the client may notice his professional desires may not be fully aligned with his family goals and values.

Having said this, if we limit the ecology check to the conscious level, we may miss invaluable unconscious communication from the client.

Rather we must begin to communicate directly with the client's unconscious mind. This takes hypnosis skills or calibration skills learned on In-Depth NLP courses. Once we have these skills we will find ourselves noticing the client's unconscious communication and responses and beginning to truly communicate on the unconscious level.

In-Depth neuro linguistic programming allows us to listen and watch for unconscious response as we ask the ecology questions. The client's simple verbal (conscious) response is not taken as determinative. This does not mean that we disbelieve the client, simply that his conscious and unconscious mind may have different views of the matter. To assist with this process we may modify the questions as follows:

Suppose you have already made these changes. Notice how your life is different. What is happening? What do you notice (see, hear and feel) that is different?

Now as you have already made these changes in your life, notice what aspects of your life are different now? What aspects are better than they were?
And having made these changes in your life, notice now what is worse about your life. What have you sacrificed for this? What do you notice (see, hear and feel)that lets you know?
And as you think about these questions, hearing what you, feeling what you feel, and seeing what you see, notice what else is different now.

This type of questioning, when properly done, will allow the client to fully associate into the future they are seeking for themselves. By really imagining that they are in this future, their unconscious mind will be fully engaged in the process and will begin to notice all the consequences, good and bad, of the changes.

The client may still state on a conscious level that they are happy with the change, even if the change is not actually ecological for them. However, if my unconscious mind was fully engaged in the process of imagining my future life, then m unconscious will notice the adverse changes and will begin to communicate (perhaps unconsciously) that the changes are not ecological.

We have to be able to notice when the client's unconscious raises concerns via incongruity. This incongruity may show up in any number of ways. Some examples are given below:

The client's voice tone may rise or fall from their normal level
We may see an incongruent expression pass over their face.
The client's posture may change
Hand movements or other gestures may show incongruity

Attending to the client's unconscious communication, particularly incongruence, is the key to using the ecology check of In-Depth NLP.

Attend our New York training to learn these and other principles of deep unconscious change.

Shawn Carson is director IPH New York; NLP training in New York, hypnosis, individual coaching, www.nlptrainingnewyork.com 212-714-3574 Melissa Tiers is an NGH certified hypnotist; hypnosis training in New York, hypnosis for weight loss, hypnosis to stop smoking www.melissatiers.com 212-714-3569 In-Depth NLP Training

Having it all with Neuro Linguistic Programming

2008-07-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

My friend Sandra sighed.

"It's my audition on Saturday. I' wish I could just stay home!
"So stay home, what's the problem?" I asked
"Because I want to sing!" She laughed, "I know I'm crazy!

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) has great techniques generally called "parts integration" to help us find the perfect answer to these decisions where we want two things that appear to be mutually exclusive. We teach this pattern in our NLP Practitoner Course in New York.

The Visual Squash pattern of NLP can be used to help us help our clients get what they realy want, and make decisions which are fully aligned with their desires.

The first step of the visual squash is to identify two conflicting desires in ourselves.
Secondly we visualize images (in the visual representational system) to represent each of these parts. These are normally an image of the part of me that wants the first outcome and an image of the part of me that wants the second.
We place each picture in one of our hands. Allow the unconscious mind to decide which hand should hold which image. This allows us to "feel" the conflicting parts using the kinesthetic representational system. Anchor each of the states or desires using the image and the client's description of the image.
Ask the image or part on your right hand what it wants for you, or what its positive intention is? By speaking we bring in our self-talk or inner voice, the so-called auditory digital representational system of NLP.
For each positive intention that each part or image gives us, we ask "and what is the positive intention of THAT?" In this way we ultimately reach the highest positive intention.
Turn to the other hand and ask that part for it positive intention. Continue to ask until you find the highest positive intention.
During the pattern make sure that the two parts come to appreciate each other. We might ask "what can you learn from the other part?" or similar questions to build this appreciation.
As we continue the exercise we often see the client's hands begin to move together as the two parts become closer in intention
When the positive intention of each part reaches a level such that the positive intentions are the same, we can expect the parts to reintegrate and they can be brought back inside the body by moving the hands toward the heart.

The NLP coach requires good hypnosis skills to fully involve the client's unconscious mind in this highly symbolic process.

In our NLP training in New York, we focus on these hypnosis skills to allow the NLP practitioner to engage the client's conscious and unconscious mind.

Because we are relying on the client's unconscious mind, we want the client to be able to access their unconscious resources. We do this through trance induction.

One way of leading the client into trance which may be particularly appropriate would be the arm catalepsy induction, or arm levitation.

The NLP coach will notice from the movement of the arms when they are actually being controlled by the unconscious mind, as the movements become more jerky.

The involvement of the unconscious mind leads to more lasting and powerful change.

Take our NLP course in New York to fully learn the Visual Squash pattern.

Call Shawn Carson 212 714 3574 email iphnewyork@aol.com. www.nlptrainingnewyork.com for NLP training, hypnosis, coaching.

Kinesthetic submodalities

2008-07-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

In NLP, submodalities are the finer distinctions of our visual, auditory and kinesthetic representational systems.

So when we refer to kinesthetic submodalities, we are referring to distinctions that can be made about our feelings.

In NLP we do not make a specific distinction between emotional "feelings" and actual feelings in our body, on our skin, etc. This is because we believe that our experience is coded in a sensory manner. What this means is that when we have an emotional feeling, we likely actually feel this somewhere in our body, perhaps in our chest, or stomach.

So what are the specific submodalities of the kinesthetic representational system? These submodalities include:

Location. Where precisely is the feeling? Is it inside the body or outside the body? Usually we find that feelings are inside the body, perhaps not surprisingly! Assuming it is inside, where precisely is it? Perhaps it is in or around the heart, or the stomach or some other area.
Size. Does the feeling have a particular size? Is it large or small?
Shape. What is the shape of the feeling? Is it round? Does it have sharp edges? Does it conform to the shape of the body around it?
Metaphor. What is the feeling like? Is it like a warm glow? Or maybe like a sharp spike inside us? Or like a heavy weight?
Texture. Is it rough or smooth?
Temperature. Is it warm or cool? Hot or cold?
Color. While color is a visual submodality, sometimes feelings appear to have a certain color associated with them, so we include it here.
Movement. Does the feeling move? Perhaps it expands or contracts, moves out or in, or spins or rotates in a certain direction?
Direction. If the feeling moves, what is the direction of the movement?
Weight. What is the weight of the feeling? Is it heavy or light?

Warmly

Shawn Carson

Auditory Submodalities

2008-07-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

The auditory representational system is the things that we hear. We may hear things inside our head, such as sounds, or voices.

The submodalities of the auditory representational system include the following:

Location. Where is the sound? Is it coming from the left or the right? From above or below? In front or behind?
Distance. How far away is the sound or voice? Is it close or far away?
Volume. How load is the sound?
Tone. Is there a particular tone associated with the sound or voice? What is that tone?
Identity. If the sound is a voice, whose voice is it? Is it your voice? Is it another person's? If so whose voice is it?
Duration. How long is the duration of the sound?
Repetition. Does the sound or voice repeat or does it play once then stop? If it repeats, what is the cycle of repetition?

As always, identifying the key submodalities, the so called driving submodalities, allows us to make changes in our experience and the emotional content of our experiences. A key example which we hear about all the time deals with our internal voice.

Our internal voice, or critic, is the voice inside our head that tells us when we are doing the wrong thing, or when we have messed up, or when we are going to mess up in the future.

By playing with the driving submodalities of the internal critic we can change the emotional impact of the critical voice. For example we could:

Move the location of the voice, perhaps down to the ground.
Change the tone, say to a sexy or funny tone.
Change the identity of the voice. Was it your mother? Make it into Donald Duck.

By changing driving submodalities we can change the associated emotional content.

Harmoniously

Shawn Carson

Visual Submodalities

2008-07-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

We have talked recently about submodalities and their role in NLP.

Each representational system has its own set of submodalities, and depending on the individual, its own driving submodalities.

Visual submodalities include the following:

Location. If we see a picture in our mind, where is it? And yes, I know it is inside your head. But if it was outside your head where would it be? Would it be on the left of the right? Would it be up or down? How far away would it be?
Size. How big is the picture? Is it large or small?
Framing. Is the picture framed? If so, what is the frame like? Does it have a particular style or color? If it is not framed, is it wrap around? Or does it end? If it ends, how does this happen?
2 dimensional or 3 dimensional. Is the picture three dimensional or two dimensional like a photo?
Movie or still. Is the picture still like a photo? Is it more like a movie? Sometimes it is in-between, it moves but only a little, essentially it stays as the same scene, but has some movement.
Associated or dissociated. Does the client see themselves in the movie, or are they seeing out of their own eyes?
Color or black and white. Is the picture in color or in black and white?
Brightness. How bright is the picture? Is it bright or dim?
Contrast. What other aspects of the picture are key? For example is there a particular degree of contrast between the various aspects of the picture, for example foreground and background?

Shawn Carson

Submodalities

2008-07-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

Representational systems is the term we use in NLP to refer to our sensory systems.

So we talk about our visual (V), auditory (A), including our self talk (Auditory digital or Ad) and kinesthetic (K), systems or VAK.

Let's take a moment and consider how we think of a happy memory. Perhaps a picture comes to mind of a favorite vacation, a dear friend, a beloved family member...

Focus on that picture for a moment:

Now make it brighter. How does that impact on the emotional impact of the memory?
Move the picture closer. How does that change your feelings?
Make the picture bigger. How does that affect it?

The brightness, location and size of a picture are known as the submodalities of the picture.

Each representational system (VAK) has its own set of submodalities.

In NLP we believe that our brains code information according to certain submodalities. For example, we may code experiences as pictures of the events. We may then keep pictures relating to memories, or past events, on one side of our body, and pictures relating to goals or other future events on the other side of our body.

The most important of these submodalities are known as the driving submodalities. Driving submodalities are the submodalities that our brain uses to code information. By changing these submodalities we can change the meaning or the intensity of the experience.

For example, if we move the picture of a memory further away, we may decrease the emotional intensity of the memory.

We will explore the submodalities of each representational system in other postings.

Shawn

STRATEGIES AND MODELING

2008-06-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

Modeling as Strategy Elicitation
NLP Modeling can be thought of as multilevel strategy elicitation. Strategies are the basis of modeling.

Modeling is wider than strategy elicitation because modeling includes higher level experience such as beliefs, values, identity etc. However, even beliefs can be thought of as startegies as typically a belief can be modeled as being supported by internal pictures, dialogue etc.

Eliciting Strategies
Recall how we elicited strategies? Eliciting the basic TOTE strategy for the modeled skill is a great start to the modeling process.

Eye Accessing
Remember that eye accessing is directly related to strategies. Therefore modeling the model’s eye accessing cues can act as a proxy to the underlying mental processes.

Other Cues
Remember also that predicates, breathing, posture, rate and pitch of speech and other BMIRs can also act as proxies to underlying mental processes.

Shawn

Logical Levels and Modeling

2008-06-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

When modeling in NLP we can use Logical Levels to structure the modeling as follows:

Modeling as Multiple Description
Remember, modeling is finding out how things work from multiple perspectives. If enough perspectives are considered then a model with requisite variety can be created. In NLP this is sometimes referred to as a “triple description”.

Another way of organizing these descriptions is through logical levels.

Logical Levels as Multiple Description

Environment
When and where precisely, does the model do the behavior?

If we are using logical levels to build a description, it is not sufficient to learn “I do this on the sports field”, or “I do this on the stage”. In order to gain a useful description of the model, i.e. the “difference that makes a difference” we need more specificity; everyone is doing what they do on the sports field, what makes our model unique?

“When do you do this?” “As I walk onto the stage I look at the audience and pick a face in the third row, when I begin to sing I make eye contact with that person” “When exactly do you make eye contact?” “As I sing my first note” “Exactly when you sing that note, or just before, or just after?” “Oh, a second before I begin to sing that note”.

Look for precision.

Behavior
What precisely is the model doing? Pay particular attention to:
• BMIRs
• Internal Representations
• TOTEs

Skills, capabilities
What specific skills and capabilities is the model displaying? What evidence do you have that they are displaying these?

What resources does the model believe they have when engaging in the behavior? How do they represent these resources (i.e. how do they know they have them)?

Beliefs and Values
What does the model believe when they are engaged in the behavior? How do they represent this (i.e. how do they know they believe this)?

What is important to them about engaging in the behavior? How do they represent these values (i.e. how do they know these things are important)?

Identity
What is the model’s identity? What do they see themselves (or feel themselves, or hear themselves, or say to themselves) as being? How do they represent this?

Beyond Identity
What is the model’s relationship to something larger, perhaps God, or society, or something more than themselves?

Shawn Carson

Macro Modeling

2008-06-18T19:37:00.000-07:00

MACRO MODELING
What is Macro Modeling?
Macro Modeling in NLP is modeling an entire skill, all at once.

Why Macro Modeling?
Macro Modeling allows us to grasp the entire skill set, all at once.

Macro Modeling in Practice
Because the skill we are modeling is likely complex, we must chunk down in some way to gain an understanding of the skill. As we are not chunking down the activities involved in the skill we have to chunk down in a different way. Other ways we can chunk down include:
• When and where does it take place?
• What are the BMIRs involved in the behavior?
• What strategies are being used?
• What beliefs and values are present?
• What meta programs are being used?
• What interactions with other people are present?
• What meta states are being used?

By exploring a number of these areas we can form a fuller model of the skill.

Shawn Carson
NLP Training in New York

Micro Modeling

2008-06-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

MICRO MODELING
What is Micro Modeling?
We discussed above that a particular skill may be very complex, comprising many actions that take place over many hours or days.

Micro Modeling takes one specific aspect of the skill and models that, using basic modeling techniques.

Why use Micro Modeling?
Micro Modeling allows us to use very basic modeling techniques on a very simple process.

By viewing a skill as the sum of the individual actions, we may lose something of the wholeness, but at the same time it allows us to work on a manageable chunk, before putting the whole thing together.

How to use Micro Modeling
Micro Modeling can be done as follows:
• Ask about the skill;
• Pick a particular aspect of the skill that you want to focus on;
• Ask about that aspect;
• Pick a particular part of that aspect of the skill that you want to focus on;
• Ask about that part;
• Pick a particular segment of that part of that aspect of the skill;
• Continue until you have a small relatively self contained mini-skill, one that can be described in one TOTE;
• Apply modeling to that mini-skill.

NLP Training in New York

Proxy Modeling

2008-06-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

A proxy is defined as something that approximates, i.e. acts as a proxy for, something else.

When we are modeling in NLP we can pay attention to the 'Behavioral Manifestations of Internal Representations' or BMIR's of the model. We can think of the model’s BMIRs as “proxies” for the underlying state of the model.

By adopting one or more of the BMIRs of the model, we can attempt to replicate a portion of their internal state, and experience in whole or part, the behavior or skill with this proxy state.

Implicit Modeling is an example of using physiology as a proxy for the model’s internal state.

NLP Training in New York

Report NLP Master Practitioner

2008-06-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

The International Center for Positive Change and Hypnosis, NLP Master Practitioner group met this weekend for the module entitled Beliefs, Values and Criteria.

The group covered the following topics:

The nature of Beliefs
Changing Beliefs using sub-modalities
Changing Beliefs using chaining anchors
Changing beliefs using reframes
Values
Eliciting values
Chancing values
Criteria
Eliciting criteria
Stacking criteria

And other matters

Shawn Carson

NLP's New Behavior Generator

2008-06-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

New Behavior Generator
The New Behavior Generator is an NLP pattern that uses the Implicit Modeling process.

Here is an exercise taught on our Master Practitioner Training in New York course to experience the New Behavior Generator:

Work in pairs. The modeler picks a person who you know or have seen on film. Someone you would like to model.

• Using hypnotic language, the coach asks the person to see and hear the model doing whatever it is that they wish to model. Focus on the BMIRs shown when the behavior is undertaken, rather than the actual behaviors to be modeled.
• Continue until the modeler has a very clear picture of the model performing the behavior, and until the coach begins to see some physiological shifts. The coach begins to gather verbal patterns the modeler uses to describe how the model acts and behaves and moves and looks and sounds.
• Guide the modeler to begin to move with the model, and in the modeler’s mind, to begin to adopt their posture, physiology, facial expressions, gestures, and micro movements.
• Continue until the modeler begins to feel “in synch” with the model, and the coach begins to notice more defined physiological shifts. The coach continues to gather the modeler’s words as they describe how it feels to be moving as the model moves, including more kinesthetic words.
• At this point, invite the modeler to move inside the skin of the model and experience the experience from the inside. If done properly the coach will likely see a significant physiological shift at this stage.
• The coach uses the words and phrases gathered to this point to guide the modeler through the experience of “being” the model, performing the skill.

Shawn Carson

Implicit Modeling in NLP

2008-06-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

Modeling in NLP refers to the process whereby we model another person's skills and behavior in order to increase our own abilities.

Implicit modeling involves copying another person's physiology, posture and so on in order to get an intuitive feel for how they do what they do.

Natural Implicit Modeling
Implicit modeling can be thought of as “copying”. If you have ever watched children after they have seen an exciting movie they will play at being the characters, mimicking the behaviors they have seen, including facial expressions, movement, language, words and phrases etc.

This is a natural human learning process, and is hard-wired into our brains; when we see an action performed our brains react as if we were actually doing it ourselves. This provides an initial “experience” of performing the action that the brain uses as a reference or model prior to actually do it.

I remember as a child, I would watch the old westerns, cowboys and Indians (not very PC these days!) my friends and I would play for hours creeping through the woods.

Now you may remember some time, some occasion from your own childhood when you pretended to be somebody else. Perhaps you had been to see a movie and wanted to be the hero or heroine. Maybe it was a baseball player, tennis player, or some other sports star. Maybe it was a pop star, a movie star. Maybe it was a teacher or someone else at school you admired. I don’t know, but I do know that we have all had these experiences.

And what I’d like you to do is to pick an experience, now, like that, when you admired a person, and wanted to be them, and pretended to be them. Some person who was or is your hero! Remember what it feels like, now, really step back into this experience. Feel what it feels like to have that child-like curiosity now, about how things are done, and that child-like belief that you can be another person, that child-like openness to becoming another person, for a time.

And as you’re remembering and feeling that, begin to remember, to see what you saw, when you looked at your hero, with that child-like gaze. It wasn’t necessary to really understand now exactly what they are doing, just looking softly at them and noticing how they stand, and how they are moving, and how they are breathing. Seeing their face and their expression.

And remember what it was like as you find yourself becoming your hero, seeing out of their eyes, feeling what they are feeling, having the skills that they have, believing we can do anything and everything our hero can do..

Implicit modeling uses this principle as the first step to learning a skill.

Implicit modeling relies on the fact that BMIRs reflect the underlying state. While it is not necessarily true that adopting BMIRs will exactly replicate the state, there is a link between the two. Adopting the BMIRs of the skilled person while attempting their skill may offer us some intuitive feel for the skill.

The Nerk-Nerk State
The Nerk-Nerk state is a state of pure sensory observation, uncolored by beliefs, values and other “filters”. It is of course a theoretical state impossible to achieve in practice. However, we can consider the possibility of such a state.

Implicit Modeling in Practice
Here is the process for Implicit Modeling:
• Pick a subject who you would like to copy.
• Ask them to perform the specific skill that you are seeking to model. If the skill is complex, pick one aspect and use the principles of micro-modeling.
• Adopt the Nerk-Nerk state.
• As you watch them perform the skill, take in everything they are doing at the same time. Do not seek to focus on their eye-accessing, or specific behaviors. Just watch them.
• Adopt their posture, facial expression, tone, breathing, on a ‘global’ basis.
• Perform the behavior while “in their state” as reflected in the BMIRs.
• Become aware of what you learn, about performing the skill.
• Now, as yourself, attempt to perform the skill.
• Notice differences between the experiences.

In order to do Implicit Modeling we should copy posture and other BMIRs without judgement as to what they mean.

Report of NLP Thursday practice group June 5, 2008

2008-06-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

Our Thursday NLP practice group met today.

The main topic of conversation was changing meta programs.

The wisdom of changing meta programs, and the circumstances in which they might be changed were discussed.

The methods of changing were discussed:

Changing the meta program
Moving the meta program along the relevant continuum
Adding strategies in specific circumstances

Methods of changing meta programs were discussed. In particular the need to go meta to the meta program either by adopting a meta position, or by using time-line techniques.

Shawn Carson

Modeling and the TOTE Model

2008-06-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

What is the TOTE Model?

Trigger/Test
Decide when to run the Strategy

Operate
Do something, either internally such as make a picture in our mind, or in the outside world

Test
Compare the current state with the desired state

Exit
If the current state matches the desired state, stop, otherwise return to ‘operate’

This is the basic model for running a strategy, where a strategy is a method of achieving some outcome.

In Modeling, we seek to replicate the skill that a person has in achieving some outcome, so the TOTE model forms the fundamental basis of Modeling.

Multiple TOTES
In order to achieve a particular outcome, it may only be necessary to do one simple task, in a very small period of time. Think about bowling for example. The bowler picks up the ball, takes her position, moves forward to the lane and releases the ball. The skill is in doing that one pattern very consistently.

Other skills require multiple actions over extended periods of time. Think about painting a picture. It demands that we pick a medium and materials, a subject, sketch rafts, perhaps prepare and select specific materials for each element of the composition, then actually prepare the work possibly over many hours and days, reviewing and making modifications as we go.

For this reason the TOTE model can be overly simplistic. One way to add sophistication to the TOTE model is to treat a skill as a series of short self contained actions, so for example bowling may be described as one, two or three TOTES, whereas painting a picture may be dozens or hundreds of separate TOTEs.

Shawn Carson

NLP Modeling

2008-06-04T19:11:00.000-07:00

NLP was originally developed by Richard Bandler and John Grinder based upon "modeling" of three famous therapists, Fritz Perls the developer of Gestalt Therapy, Virginia Satir, one of the pioneers of family therapy, and Milton Erickson, the father of modern hypnosis.

The process by which these three giants of modern therapy were modeled in many ways showed NLP in a microcosm. For this reason, John Grinder has defined NLP as being "the modeling of excellence".

Of course, it is also true that through modeling our clients, we can assist them in the change process. In the posts that follow, we will explore some of the modeling techniques that NLP uses. However, in this post we will give an overview of the NLP modeling process.

As with much of NLP, NLP Modeling describes a natural process, namely how we learn to “do” a new skill. Whether we learned how to ride a bicycle by playing with our friends, learned fishing with our grandfather, or learned to play softball at school, we naturally went through the modeling process.

NLP Modeling makes the processes, which we naturally use to learn a new skill, explicit. This allows us to model people we admire to take on their skills, more easily share our skills with other, and practice our NLP skills at the same time!

What is Modeling?
In NLP, Modeling is defined as taking one person’s “skill” and breaking it down in such a way that it can be learned by another person.

Modeling includes the NLP concept of ‘elegance’ which is defined as achieving the desired result in as few steps as possible. Hence, Modeling includes identifying which steps are essential to the process and which steps are not. The superfluous steps can then be deleted from the process.

We can think of modeling as describing a skill in multiple ways. The juxtaposition of the various descriptions gives us the requisite richness in the model.

NLP Master Practitioner Report

2008-06-03T19:23:00.002-07:00

The weekend of June 1 and 2 we held the second weekend of our NLP Master Practitioner course, covering modeling and advanced eye accessing cues.

A complete example of the modeling process was conducted, utilizing macro and micro modeling, explicit and implicit modeling, strategies, logical levels, and perceptual positions.

The eye accessing patterns included advanced eye accessing alignment, and eye movement desensitization.

We also covered proxy BMIRs, and modeled through the dance SCORE model.

Shawn Carson

Kinesthetic Representational System

2008-05-31T16:15:00.000-07:00

The representational systems of NLP include the kinesthetic system, or feelings.

When we talk about kinesthetic in NLP we include any feelings, both sensory (touch, weight, temperature, balance etc) as well as emotional (happiness, sadness, confidence fear etc).

We include both sensory and emotional feelings in the same category as we believe that the two are closely linked. What we mean by this is that we know we are feeling confident because, well because of how we feel.

So confidence has a particular set of sensory feelings associated with it. As does fear, as does happiness or sadness.

When we realize the truth of this, we can begin to change our emotional state by changing the way we feel on a sensory level.

Shawn

NLP training NYC

Time-line techniques

2008-05-30T13:55:00.001-07:00

Temporal Predicates

2008-05-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

Visual Representational System

2008-05-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

The representational systems of NLP are Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic VAK.

The visual representational system includes the things we see around us, the visual memories we have of things we have seen, and other pictures that we make up or fantasize in our minds.

When we "see" the real world around us we are actually taking in visual data through our eyes and converting that data into meaningful representations in the visual cortex and other areas of the brain. So when we are looking at the face of a loved one, light enters our eye and triggers receptors in the eye. Data from these receptors travels along the optical nerve to the brain.

Once the data reaches our brain we begin to spot patterns and recognize that this is the face of a loved one. We also begin to make associations, remembering other times that we have seen that face, and we see what we see as a representation including all the memories and associations that we have.

Try a thought experiment now.

Think of a person you love, think of their face, and notice how you feel as you look at it.
Now think of a person you dislike, think of their face. Notice how you feel as you do so.

The chances are you felt good when thinking of the face of the person you love, and not so good when thinking of the face of the person you dislike. There are emotional states attached to the simple visual image you see.

Shawn

NYC NLP training

Driving submodalities

2008-05-27T15:59:00.000-07:00

A driving submodality is a submodality that creates a change in the intensity of the state associated with a particular Internal Representation (IR).

An example of a driving submodality

Think of some pleasant memory. Perhaps a time of fun and excitement. Get a picture in your mind's eye of the event. Notice the details of the picture, where it is, whether it is in color or black and white, how big the picture is, how close it is, and so on.

Now make the picture bigger. Notice how this changes the feelings associated with the experience. Now return the picture to its original size.

Now make the picture brighter. Notice how that changes your feelings. Now turn the brightness back to how it was.

Go through each of the submodalities in turn. See which one makes the most difference to the feelings associated with the experience. This is the driving submodality.

Shawn
new york nlp training

Sliding Anchors

2008-05-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

Anchoring is a stimulus-response tool that we generally use in NLP to get a client into a resourceful state. Essentially we use a certain word/tone or touch when the client is in a resourceful state. Then by saying that particular word in that particular tone we can make the client feel resourceful again.

A sliding anchor is a specific anchoring technique intended to increase the power of an anchor. A sliding anchor is an anchor that we move or slide as the intensity of an experience increases.

Let's give an example:

Say we want to use a kinesthetic anchor, we would get our client to think of a time that they felt particularly resourceful, say confidence, and then touch the client with our hand, perhaps on their wrist.
As we continue to get the client to think of that time that they felt confident building that feeling up we begin to move our hand from their wrist, further up their forearm.
The client's unconscious mind begins to associate their level of confidence with the touch on their arm, the higher the touch the greater the confidence.
Therefore when we fire the anchor by touching the client's wrist they will begin to feel confident, and as we slide our touch higher up their wrist and forearm the feeling of confidence will increase.

Shawn

NYC NLP

Auditory Representational System

2008-05-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

NLP representational systems include visual, auditory and kinesthetic VAK.

The auditory representational system refers to the sounds that we hear. These may be actual sounds in the world around us, memories of sounds that we have heard, or imaginary sounds that we can hear.

There is a special type of auditory experience and that is words which we refer to as auditory digital or Ad. Ad is special because it includes words that may themselves have emotional meaning for us, as well as the normal submodalities of the auditory channel.

Shawn

Report of NLP Thursday practice group Thur May 22, 2008

2008-05-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

The practice group meeting on Thursday May 22 practiced moving time using temporal predicates.

Temporal predicates allow time-line techniques to be used to help a client change, in a conversational manner.

Melissa Tiers Practice Group Wednesday May 21, 2008

2008-05-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

Melissa Tiers held her regular hypnosis and NLP practice group on Wednesday.

The session began with Shawn Carson of International Center for Positive Change giving a summary of his weekend Master Practitioner course. Shawn briefly explained the NLP concept of Strategies and Logical Levels.

The group then practiced using eye accessing or eye movements to calibrate and reset a strategy. Melissa explained that a strategy would be reflected in a person's eye movements under NLP principles. Therefore by asking a client to move their eyes in a different pattern while thinking about a problem (especially a more resourceful pattern) will disrupt the old strategy.

The group then practiced mapping across submodalities for motivation.

Collapsing anchors

2008-05-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

Anchoring is the process in NLP of attaching a stimulus to a response, a sort of kindly Pavlovian conditioning.

So for example, we ask a client to imagine a positive experience then touch their arm or hand as that experience reaches a peak of intensity.

Collapsing anchors is a process whereby we anchor a negative experience to one stimulus, say our client is in a negative state:

we touch the knuckle on the index finger on their right hand to anchor the negative state.
We then ask them to think of a positive experience and when that experience peaks we touch the knuckle on the middle finger on their right hand.
We then fire both anchors at the same time. The positive and negative states both seek to be present in the client's physiology at the same time.
Typically we will see the client go through a state of confusion.
If the positive state is large enough, the client will end up in a positive state.

Collapsing anchors is a principle that is used in the NLP coaching model, and the NLP Meta pattern.

Shawn Carson

We then fire both

Representational Systems

2008-05-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

A representational system is simply the NLP term for a sensory system

The five representational systems are:

Visual (seeing pictures)
Auditory (hearing sounds)
Kinesthetic (feelings)
Olfactory (smell)
Gustatory (taste)

The representational systems are sometimes referred to as VAKOG (i.e. the first letter of each system).

The three systems which are used most in NLP are visual, auditory and kinesthetic systems, sometimes called VAK.

Many NLP patterns are based on changing how we represent the world around us in VAK.

Shawn

New York NLP

Hypnosis Inductions and NLP

2008-05-02T20:31:00.000-07:00

At our recent Thursday practice group, we discussed with our good friend Caty Shannon the type of hypnotic induction (the sort that we learned in our hypnosis training in New York with Melissa Tiers) one would use for particular NLP patterns.

For example, if one decided to lead a client through the visual squash, (a staple technique in NLP practitioner trainings) what would be an appropriate induction? As the visual squash aims for parts integration through movement of the hands and arms, then an induction that pre-frames the unconscious to control the hands and arms, such as arm catalepsy and/or arm levitation.

It is interesting to consider which inductions are most suited to which NLP patterns, perhaps you have some ideas?

Shawn Carson

Top 10 NLP Techniques Part II

2008-04-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

These articles discuss the top ten techniques of neuro linguistic programming (nlp) that we use in our nlp practice here in New York. This part of the article discusses the second 5 techniques, the first 5 are discussed in part 1 of the article.

The techniques should only be used by properly qualified persons. Anyone with a medical or other diagnozable condition should seek qualified medical assistance.

➢NLP Technique 6: Change Personal History

When we have a problem issue that repeats itself in our life, something that we do again and again and wish to change, then the Change Personal History technique of nlp is perfect for you. This technique uses dissociation to get distance from the old events and allows us to identify the resources that we would have needed to have behaved differently at those times. By getting into the state where we have access to these resources, we can relive those events in a more resourceful way. This gives our unconscious mind positive reference experiences that we can use to behave more resourcefully in future.

➢NLP Technique 7: Verbal Reframes

The meaning of any event exists only in our own head. Without the frame we put on an event there is no meaning. By using the verbal reframe patterns of neurolinguistic programming we can change the meaning that is attached to an event. A failure becomes a learning experience, an annoying friend becomes an opportunity to exercise compassion etc.

➢NLP Technique 8: Time Based Techniques

Time Based Techniques using a persons time line or perception of time, use a spatial model of time to make time travel possible. Our unconscious mind uses space when it thinks about time, with the past perhaps to our left or right or behind us, and our future in the opposite direction. Once we understand our own metaphor for time we can begin to move our problems into the past and make a bright future for ourselves.

➢NLP Technique 9: Symbolic NLP

NLP recognizes that we use symbolism to represent the world around us. By exploring and changing the symbols that we use to model the world, we can pick metaphors and symbols that give us more options for changing our real world behavior the way we want.

➢NLP Technique 10: Collapsing Anchors

Finally, and certainly not least, of our top ten nlp techniques is collapsing anchors. In fact collapsing anchors is the basis of most neurolinguistic programming techniques. The nlp technique of Collapsing anchors creates an anchor for the problem state that we want to change, and a second anchor for the positive state that we would rather have instead. By firing off both the anchors at the same time, particularly if the positive anchor and state is stronger than the negative, we come to a new resourceful state exactly at the moment that we need it.

These are some of our favorite techniques to teach on our nlp practitioner and nlp master practitioner training here at the International Center for Positive Change and Hypnosis in New York City, NY.

NLP Meet-Up Group Wednesday April 30, 2008

2008-04-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

The NLP Meet-up group met at Valentino's food market on 14th Street and 5th Ave.

The group focused on hypnotic inductions with Jeff giving several demonstrations of inductions including the Elman induction to a small but appreciative audience.

Shawn Carson

Report of New York Meet Up Group weekend training

2008-04-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

A training course was held April 27, 2008 by the NLP Meetup group in New York with the subject of "Changing States in Self and Others".

The workshop was split into 2 sections:

Changing states in self; and
Changing states in others

During the first section, the circle of excellence was practiced.

After that an exercise in sub-modalities, mapping sub-modalities, and strategies was demonstrated, and practiced.

During the second half of the workshop, the Neuro Linguistic Programming NLP Coaching Model was demonstrated.

warm anchors

Shawn

Overcoming Procrastination with Neuro Linguistic Programming

2008-04-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

Procrastination is often discussed as one of the major barriers to self improvement. By self improvement we mean any actions that we take, including changing our behaviors, or beliefs, or developing new skills or resources, which could be called personal development.

Neuro linguistic programming or NLP offers powerful tools to help us make the changes we want in our lives. Because procrastination is an internal, almost unconscious process, it responds very well to the tools of nlp which are based on psychological principles.

Let’s spend a moment examining the structure of procrastination using nlp tools. NLP states that we all have an individual experience of reality based upon our own unique map of the world. We each have unique beliefs, values, memories, experiences, skills, and sensory preferences, ie that some people prefer to see things, some to hear things, some to feel, some to taste or smell.

If this is true then how can we yalk of something like procrastination? Doesn’t it have to be different for everyone? The answer in neuro linguistic programming terms is yes, it is different as to details. However, the behaviors arising as a result are similar (ie a failure to get things done that we want to do). Also the internal “structure” of procrastination is often similar from person to person. What do we mean by that? We mean that if we apply NLP Modeling to procrastination we will see a similar “strategy” being used to avoid doing things. The details of the strategy might vary but the pattern is the same. It goes something like this:

• Think of something you have to do (but don’t really want to do). Say it’s paying your bills. Maybe you see a picture or a movie of an untidy pile of bills, or maybe its an internal dialogue or voice that says “sigh, have to do the bills”
• Notice how you feel about the thought of doing it. It maybe something like “pay the bills, ugh”!
• Now think of a lots of things you could be doing right now. These may vary from the irrelevant, to the mildly pleasant, to the downright fun. Again maybe you see pictures or movies of these things spread out in front of you, or hear a seductive internal voice saying “oh I should balance my checkbook first, hmmm why don’t I just watch a little TV first, ahhh, the weather is so nice shame to waste it, let’s go for a walk”.
• Pick one of the things, say the walk in the park (after all it is a beautiful day). Make that picture big and bright and close. Make it really attractive.
• Go for a walk in the park (don’t pay the bills).

Sound familiar? There are likely several elements that make the “have to” task undesirable. These may include some or all of the following:

• An unattractive picture of the task. It may be untidy. It may be incomplete, with no “end in sight”
• An unpleasant feeling associated with the thought of the task.
• An unpleasant inner voice complaining about the task
• No sense of accomplishment that will come when the task is complete.

Try this NLP thought experiment for overcoming procrastination:

• Imagine the task you want to do. Say paying the bills. What picture comes to mind? Make the picture more attractive by changing it. Examples of ways it could be changed are to move it directly in front of you, rather than seeing an untidy pile or bills scattered throughout your house, separate the bills in your mind’s eye until you can see each one separately and neatly organized. Experiemtn to find out what looks good.
• Notice any feelings you have now. Maybe they are not as bad as they were. If there are still negative feelings notice where they are. Your stomach? Your chest? Change them, turn them into a tingle in your fingers and toes for example.
• Notice what your internal dialogue is saying. If it is negative “pay the bills, ugh”, change the voice to a seductive “it will be just marvelous when this is done, I will have the rest of the day free”.
• Step into the experience of the task but at the end, see yourself mailing the bills and step into that experience feel yourself dropping the bills into the mailbox. Hear the mail-box close. Feel how great that feels! Say “fantastic another job done!”.

NLP helps people overcome procrastination and other issues. The exercises are most effective when they are tailored to how the individual experiences reality, and when you have someone to guide you through the exercises.

NLP Top Ten Neurolinguistic Programming Tools (Techniques 1 Through 5)

2008-04-25T21:51:00.001-07:00

NLP Top Ten Neurolinguistic Programming Tools (Techniques 1 Through 5)

By Shawn Carson

The article and its sister article describe some of our favorite techniques in neuro linguistic programming (nlp). We teach these in New York. The second part of this article will discuss techniques 6 through 10, the first 5 are discussed here.

The techniques should only be used by properly qualified persons. People with medical conditions should seek qualified medical assistance.

➢Nlp technique 1: six step reframe

The NLP 6 step reframe is a technique for discovering the higher intention of an behavior. For example a client may overeat and may wish to use nlp for weight control. By using the 6 step reframe she may discover that her eating habits arise from her unconscious wish to feel comforted and cared for. By identifying other ways to satisfy this intention, she can redirect this positive intention into a behavior which is more ecological for her, for example to spend more time with friends and family.

➢Nlp technique 2: Swish

The NLP swish pattern is a technique for anchoring an image of how we want to be, onto a situation that normally causes us to act in an unresourceful fashion. Let’s continue the example relating to over eating. Suppose the client says that hse over eats mostly at home, browsing on foods in the fridge. Using the swish pattern we might ask her to form a picture of herself as she would be when she has moved beyond her weight control issue. Perhaps she sees an image of herself as powerful and in control. We would then ask her to see exactly what she sees as she reaches for the fridge door (i.e. an associated picture of her hand reaching for the handle to the fridge), and as she sees this “swish” the image of herself as she wants to be into her view, overlaying the old picture of her hand.

➢NLP technique 3: Self Anchor for Resourceful State

Anchoring is a basic technique of neurolinguistic programming, where a resourceful state is attached to a certain touch (such as squeezing thumb and middle finger together for example) or picture or sound/word. Teaching this technique to a weight-loss client, and teaching them to pick their own resourceful state and their own anchor, gives them control. As they practice the anchor they will begin tor realize now how easy it is to control your own state, and will begin to make more resourceful choices in their life.

➢NLP Technique 4: Visual Squash

The nlp visual squash is a technique to deal with competing parts, as in “part of me wants to do this, but part of me wants to do that”. In NLP terms this is a result of what is called “exclusive or’s” i.e. I can either be this or that (but not both). By using the visual squash technique we reconcile the intentions of each the parts (ie what they actually want for us) into a larger “part” that incorporates the intentions of both parts.

➢NLP Technique 5: Reimprinting

Using the neurolinguistic programming technique of reimprinting we take our client on a journey back to an earlier time, possibly childhood. By imagining a childhood scene we can choose resources that, had they been available to members of the family at the time, would have changed the experience. By changing the childhood experience, we can feel more resourceful and powerful now.

About the Author: Shawn Carson is director of the International Center for Positive Change and Hypnosis in NY, offering Neuro linguistic programming NLP training in New York, NLP practitioner and master practitioner training, hypnosis, personal change, lose weight, stop smoking, goals, overcome procrastination. Business coaching, personal coaching.

Source: www.isnare.com

Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=244507&ca=Self+Help

Swish Pattern: Top Ten Tips

2008-04-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

The Neuro Linguistic Prgramming (NLP) swish pattern is key to much of the change work that we do here at the International Center for Positive Change and Hypnosis here in New York. That is why we are happy to give 10 tips for using the pattern for coaching, personal growth and self improvement.
These are tips that we stress in out NLP practitioner training in New York, NY.

➢Tip 1: Make sure the change is ecological

If the change the client consciously wants to make is not ecological to them then they will not support the change and any work we do with them has a good chance of being ineffective. Check ecology before attempting to make a change using the swish pattern.

➢Tip 2: Find the Trigger

The trigger (or synesthesia) is the visual (or sometimes auditory) stimulus that makes the client want to engage in the unwanted behavior. Let’s take a specific example of a client who wants to quit smoking. The trigger might be a picture of the client reaching for a cigarette.

➢Tip 3: Make the Trigger picture associated

The purpose of the nlp swish pattern is to trigger the resource state when the client is about to engage in the unwanted behavior. Therefore we want the swish to trigger as the client sees the trigger, which they will do (through their external senses, ie their eyes and ears) in an associated state. Hence the first swish picture should be associated.

➢Tip 4: Find a resource

The resource in the swish will generally be the idea of how the client wants to be when they have left the problem far behind. Ask the client to make a picture of themselves as they will be when they no longer have the problem. This will be the resource.

➢Tip 5: Make the resource “bigger” than the unwanted behavior

If the resource state does not create a state that is more compelling for the client than the problem does (ie than the problem brings them pleasure) then the nlp swish pattern is unlikely to work. The way to determine the strength of the emotional response is to calibrate the client’s response to the present problem state and the resource state.

➢Tip 6: Make the resource picture dissociated

The reason for making the resource state dissociated is that as a dissociated picture it draws the client toward it. If the picture is associated, then the client may feel that they already have the benefits of the resource and the state may be less attractive.

➢Tip 7: Find the driving submodality

Find out which submodalities drive the strength of the client’s emotional response to the problem state and or the resource state. Let us suppose it is the closeness or distance of the picture ie that the picture loses emotional impact as it is moved further away and increases as it is moved closer.

➢Tip 8: Using the driving submodality to drive the swish

If distance is the driving submodality, then we should use that to drive the swish. In this case we would begin with the associated problem picture close, and the dissociated resource picture is far away and hence small. Then rush the resouce picture close while the problem picture moves far away.

➢Tip 9: Make the swish fast and furious

The faster we do the swish pattern, the better the pattern will work.

➢Tip 10: Generalize and Test

As always we generalize the change to all the contexts we can find where the client has experienced the problem, and test extensively.

We teach the above in our NLP Practitioner trainings in New York.

The NLP Meta Model

2008-04-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

The Meta Model is the fundamental tool in NLP for connecting a client's words with their experience.

When one first learns the Meta Model there is a temptation to overuse it, and use it too enthusiastically. Unless we have great rapport, this can make our client feel uncomfortable.

However, as we practice more, and begin to get the Meta Model under our fingers, we forget we are using it. It becomes a natural adjunct to our questions, probing with sensitivity, and just enough to get the information we need to help our client change.

So learn this great tool, then forget about it!

Shawn