History of NLP

What is NLP?

 

 

I asked my 6 year old "what is NLP?" and her response blew me away .... She said "NLP is not arguing daddy!". There you have it, no truer words were spoken, NLP is about alignment, with our self, our unconscious minds and with others through Rapport. It is about Integrity, when we think, say and do the same thing, and about Authenticity, when we think, say, do and feel the same thing, and about Impeccability, when we do the best that we can with the resources that are available to us, within our model of the world.

 

 

“A man being followed by a hungry tiger turned in desperation to face it and cried: ‘Why don’t you leave me alone?’ The tiger answered: ‘Why don’t you stop being so appetising?”(Sufi tale from Neuro-Linguistic Programming for Dummies by Ready, R. & Burton, K.)

 

Neuro-linguistic Programming is a communication model entrenched within behavioural psychology that is based on subjective experience with pragmatic psychological theory. It consists of a set of models, then techniques and then understandings about human experience that encompasses neurology, language and programming.

 

NLP is an understanding of the way we encode meaning and can be considered an epistemology or pragmatic school of thought. In many regards NLP is the study of how humans think and experience the world, and in understanding our behaviour we use NLP tools to create change that we seek for ourselves and others through modelling excellence and applying it.

 

When we ask “WHY” we are often taken down the rabbit hole, NLP rather focuses on “HOW” we do things and through this understanding assists us to achieve success in our lives. NLP is about getting clear about HOW we do things in order to change them should we so choose. Our true power is in our ability to chose. We become aware, and then we can change our mind if we so choose.

 

NLP is often described as the practice of understanding how people organise their thinking, feeling, language and behaviour to produce the results they do. At the heart of NLP is modelling, asking the question “How do they do that?” It practically shows how what one person can achieve, so can someone else in a much shorter time.

 

There are as many explanations of NLP in the world as there are practioners, and it is not surprising as it is the study of subjective experience.

 

1.1 Definitions of NLP:

 

When we look at some of the definitions of NLP we find a greater insight into what NLP is. Let’s unpack some of the definitions and start to model what some people have said about NLP.

 

1.1.1 Definition #01:

 

The most common definition of NLP is breaking down the name into its component bits:

 

Neuro:

 

Neuro is about mind (nervous system) through which our experience is processed and where we filter the data we receive. According to research we are being bombarded by approximately 2.5 million bits of information per second and are capable of paying attention to only about 7 bits of information. Each individual has established their own unique mental filtering system for processing the millions of bits of data being absorbed through the senses. Our first mental map of the world is constituted of internal images, sounds, tactile awareness, internal sensations, tastes and smells that form as result of the neurological filtering process. The first mental map is called ‘First Access’ in NLP.

 

We experience the world through our five senses:

 

 

Linguistic:

 

Linguistic is about language and the main filters that we have here are distortions, deletions and generalisations. This also includes our other non-verbal communication through which we find meaning.

 

We then assign personal meaning to the information being received from the world outside. We form our second mental map by assigning language to the internal images, sounds and feelings, tastes and smells, thus forming everyday conscious awareness. The second mental map is called the Linguistic Map (sometimes known as Linguistic Representation)

 

Programming:

 

Programming is about a set sequence of events or pattern. We all have patterns of behaviour or strategies through which we respond to situations in specific ways. Some are useful, and some are not and it is about awareness of those patterns in order to change or re-programme them to produce the results we desire. It is about the behavioural response that occurs because of neurological filtering processes and the subsequent linguistic map.

 

1.1.2 Definition #02:

 

NLP is an attitude and a methodology that leaves behind a trail of techniques (Richard Bandler)

 

An attitude of curiosity and “wanton experimentation”.

 

NLP is pragmatic and includes all tools that work. It is subjective and holds the premise that you start of with getting curious and pretend that something works and try it out and notice the results you get. If you get the desired results keep repeating the action, if not do something deferent. i.e. use behavioural flexibility. This curiosity is about “How Stuff Works”.

 

A methodology of modelling.

 

Modelling is a process of recognising, extracting and replicating the language structure and behavioural patterns of an individual who is excellent at a specific activity or behaviour. In essence it is about finding someone who is successful at what you want to do, observe what and how they do it, and then emulate them in order to achieve the same results.

 

The powerful change techniques of NLP

 

NLP techniques are the set of tools that have been proven across the years to work. Some of the more popular techniques include:

 

 

6 Step Reframe

 

1.1.3 Definition #03:

 

NLP is a Science and an Art of communication and excellence.

 

Science is about techniques, tools and replicating results of excellence.

 

Art is about magic, patterns and the stuff of change.

 

1.1.4 Definition #04:

 

“The study of the structure of our subjective experience and what can be calculated from it.” (Richard Bandler, retrieved 27 February 2008 from http://www.purenlp.com/nlpfaqr.htm)

 

NLP studies the structure of how humans think and experience the world.