NLP

What is NLP?

NLP has been called the science of achievement. It is an innovative model for understanding and directing human experience, communication, and behavior. NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming, neuro meaning brain, linguistic meaning language, and program, meaning the patterns that people run in their minds. Another way of saying this is that the language you use literally rewires the neural pathways in your brain. If the human brain came with a user’s manual, it would encompass the principles of NLP. NLP explains how the mind, body, emotions and actions are interrelated. With this understanding, you can create what you want by changing how you process your thoughts and emotions. . You can learn to diminish the power of negative past experiences to impede your goals. You can use NLP to model behavioral excellence in highly successful people. NLP can help you align your values and beliefs. NLP helps people use the structure of language to create empowering thought patterns which will enable them to get what they want.

What set of principles is NLP based upon?

The NLP Presuppositions:

1. Communication is redundant.
You are always communicating in all 5 major representational systems.

2. The meaning of your communication is the response that you get.
Communication is not about what you intend, or about saying the right words; it's about creating an experience in, and getting a response from, the listener. The "bottom line" is the response you elicit.

3. The map is not the territory
People respond to their map of reality, not to reality itself. NLP is the science of changing these maps (not reality).

3a. You create your own reality.
You experience your personal reality, not the "truth".

4. Requisite variety.
The element in a system with the most flexibility will be the controlling element.

5. People work perfectly.
No one is wrong or broken; it's simply a matter of finding out how they function now, so that you can effectively change that to something more useful or desirable. People don’t need to be “fixed”.

6.People always make the best choice available to them at the time.
(but often there are lots of other better ones)

7. Every behavior is useful in some context.

8. Choice is better than no choice.

9. Just about anyone can learn to do anything.
If one person can do something, it is possible to model it and teach it to anyone else.

10. People already have all the resources they need.
What they need is access to these resources at appropriate times and places.

11. There is no such thing as failure, only feedback.

12. Chunking. Anything can be accomplished (by anyone) if you break the task down into small enough chunks.

13. Behind every behavior is a positive intention.
While a behavior may be harmful or seem “bad”, there is always a positive intention behind the behavior .

14. Symptoms-- pains, anxiety, depression, tumors, colds, etc. etc. are communications about needed action.

15. We are all responsible for creating our own experience.
Even when challenging events that we cannot control happen, we are responsible for our responses to these events. Typically, however, we have much more control than we think we have. Another way of stating this presupposition is that “We consistently create our own environment” through our beliefs, filters, capabilities and behaviors.

16. (From Huna) Energy flows where attention goes.

17. It is useful to sort the person's behavior from his or her "self".