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I believe its because they to practical things with their time and utilise this in best way possible.

 You can read all the N.L.P books on the shelves, but which ones are actually going to get you moving and getting everthing you want out of life?

  You can read how to ride a bike and be an expert at knowing how to ride it, but do you think it would be the same as actully getting on and riding it?

With the guidence of 3 Fabulous trainers and lots of friends, I am constantly getting some seriously amazing results in my life, and Im now incorperating it into my work, because I want to share it with you.

I will put some little tasters on here now, you can either try them yourself and discover the amazing results for yourself or you can call me and get even more.

We can all massage our aching legs yet for those of you who have paid for a massage?  did you notice the difference? what was different? what did you feel that you may not have felt massaging your own?

Beliefs reside in most of the Meta Model patterns. It nearly goes without saying that when you spot the Meta model pattern you will reveal a belief.

Take something you are struggling to achieve, and work through the following questions.

1st Position – Being a Learner

1. Think of at least three situations when you were learning in a way that was effective and pleasing to you. They may be quite different in their nature.

2. Allow yourself to experience each experience fully. As you do, come up with a metaphor for each of them which sums you up as the Learner. As a Learner I am ….

3. Now looking at all three, what common features emerge?

ANSWER 1

2nd Position – Learning

1. Now become your concept of learning, from each of these situations.

2. As you do, come up with a metaphor which describes each of these. This Learning is like ….

3. Now looking at all three, what common features emerge?

ANSWER 2

3rd Position – The Relationship between Me the Learner and Learning

1. With each of the metaphors for each of the situations, look at the relationship between You the Learner and Your Learning.

2. As you do, come up with a metaphor which describes each of them. This Learning Relationship is like ….

3. Now looking at all three, what common features emerge?

ANSWER 3

4th Position – ?

1. Place your three answers at the points of a triangle.

2. Starting with Answer 1, connect with the structure of You as a Learner. Without breaking state, move to Answer 2, and connect with your structure for Learning. And once more without breaking state, move to Answer 3 and connect with your structure for your Relationship with Learning.

3. And when you are ready, stand in the centre of the triangle, and notice whatever emerges. If it feels significant and powerful, anchor it.

STAGE 2

What’s on offer is the model which emerged from our group of Learner Exemplars.

(It is worth noting that these answers came from a group of individuals who are very aware of themselves as Learners. They would be the first to say that their answers would have been very different at the start of the programme.)

1. You may notice some similarities and differences between your Answers and those given here.

2. Taking on another’s model can bring new information. So Repeat the last part – 4th Position – ?, this time using the Exemplar Answers. Step fully into the landscape of the metaphor, and act as if it is true for you. Stay with it long enough that you gain a real experience of the possibilities offered.

3. When you step into the centre of the triangle, notice what comes up. How significant is it for you? Anchor it if you feel it is valuable to keep.

4. Now notice the differences between your initial experience and this one.

5. What label would you give to these differences.

6. What has to be true for you for this label to be valid?

 Now an article I picked up whilst browsing the internet, some very beautiful words and useful info on here I think.

Heard from a fallen Moai, Easter Island.

for me a deep understanding of the importance of ‘speaking our truth’. Only in

these moments, do we fully connect with ourselves, and others fully connect

with us. At this point, we and our spirit flows and reaches out to them. We

are able to state congruently and clearly, what we want, what we don’t want,

what we stand for and what we believe. When we can do this, only then can

we truly claim who we are, and the ground we stand on.

When we know it for ourselves, we teach others ‘the who’ we are at the same

time.

So what stops us? How come we don’t do it instinctively?

Well obviously there are many people who do. You may know of one or two.

I had a flatmate called Bernadette, who was able to stop a Lothario, at 20

paces, with just one look. And you knew in no uncertain terms, should you be

about to cross a line. This force field emanated and halted you in your

tracks, rather like Peter Schmeichel, the Man U goalkeeper. She was very

clear about what she didn’t want and knew she had a God given right to ask

for it. She was less certain about asking for what she did want.

Defending yourself is to be applauded. Asking for yourself invites more

controversy. There are concerns about being too pushy at best, or ruthless

at worst. Do we have permission to put our needs before others’? Will we

still be accepted? Will we be granted our wish, or are we risking rejection?

All those childhood injunctions “I want never gets.”, come flooding back.

But it you do have examples of when people ask for themselves, clearly and

cleanly, you will know the simple power of it. You know in that moment that

here is a person who honours herself. How can you do anything other than

respond? The secret is in the level of congruency – with no whining leakage,

‘pretty please’ placating, or over bearing demands. Just a clear statement of

desire or intent, with all parts fully in alignment, The minute we do step up to

the mark and state our case, our inner power rises up and communicates

itself magnificently. Others can only marvel, and seek to emulate.

I feel this is what Marianne Williamson means when she says, “And as we let

our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the

same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically

liberates others.”

But we have to know what our truth is, before we are able to speak it. For

many this is a lifetime’s journey, and for some never attained. Our truth lies

buried under the layers of ought’s and should’s handed onto us in our early

years. It’s strength was weakened by all the futile attempts by us children to

be heard, and seen, by the grown up world. How many times can you

remember being truly heard by an adult, be it a parent, a teacher or a family

friend? How was your truth too often greeted – with frustration, mockery,

embarrassment or just overlooked?

Some just gave up. Others took the feisty, rebellious route – “If they won’t

listen then I’ll show them!” They may have gone on to make their aggressive

mark, but the force of their approach belies the deeper insecurity. Such

actions are based on the belief “I’ve got to grab it. I would never get it

otherwise.”

Or maybe you have memories of being listened to, asked respectful

questions, consulted and having your opinions acted upon. In these glorious

moments, you learnt early that you and your spirit had something worth

saying, and deserved the right to be expressed; that others would pay

attention. And, wonder of all wonders, the more you practised it, the stronger

this certainty became.

Starting from today, listen to yourself first. Until you do, no-one else will.

Listen to when your body says ‘Yes’ and your body says ‘No’. Feel when your

spirits rise and when they fall. Notice when your step is lighter and your

shoulders are heavier. Register your fear, your bravado, your retaliation, with

their sour after taste. Delight in your pleasure and pride, allowing that glow to

last its own lifetime. Check your doubt and disbelief, for today’s evidence not

that of yesterday. These are the lessons we have now. These invisible lines

vividly draw the space between what we want and what we don’t want. These

lines are shaping our values and so describing who we are – at heart. These

signs have always been there. Turn up the volume. They are urging us to

turnaround and be heard.

And while doing so, let go of any belief that others are more important than

yourself. Know at the deepest level that you are just as important. Dismiss

the idea that your wisdom is meaningless, your inner worlds shallow, or your

longing frivolous. If you don’t your voice will be a whine, and your words

petulant.

Take this universal permission to give voice to who you are becoming, in your

amazing uniqueness, through your words and through your actions. We need

to grow into and fill the space we live in. At the same time, we need to know

our shrinking, and holding back. We need to recognize our optimum state

and our own individual routes to reclaiming and holding it.

We need to know that it is our purpose to honour ourselves and make our

journey in this world worthwhile. Otherwise what are we doing here? What

else of value can we bring to this world?

As Mary Oliver said in ‘When Death Comes’ “I don’t want to end up simply

having visited this world.”

Do it now do it……………………………………

I Charge £50  per session (sessions are based on 1 hour)

By Robert Dilts

During a crisis, we have a choice. Either we find our “inner zone of excellence” and re-energize by connecting with the strength within. Or we regress into survival strategies that weaken our position further.

The inner zone of excellence is a key part of what is known as the “inner game” of business. The concept of the “inner game” was developed by Timothy Gallwey as a way of helping people to achieve excellence in various sports (e.g., tennis, golf, skiing, etc.), music and also business and management training. Fundamental to the inner game is our ability to stay in a high performance state when confronted with difficult circumstances.

Many challenges will present themselves in our business : fear of the unknown (i.e. what will happen tomorrow ?), dealing with loss (i.e. losing a member in the team) and a general sense of vulnerability (i.e. how can I succeed in spite of unfavorable circumstances ?). These can plunge us into unhelpful survival strategies: attack, escape or rigidity. This frequently results in temporary regression or inertia.

On the contrary, we can focus in our “inner zone of excellence” and feel :

o No fear of failure or anxiety about achieving our goals

o A  state of focused spaciousness in the mind and relaxed readiness in the body

o Performance coming without effort and without having to think about it

As an example, I was coaching a man who was a vice president at a major international bank. For a number of years he had been in charge of a large project in which he had invested a lot of time, energy and emotion. However, the top management had recently begun to make changes to the project that the man felt were taking it in the wrong direction and did not match with his values. It reached a point where he scheduled a meeting with the board of directors to try to get the project back on track. If they did not make some key adjustments, he would feel compelled to leave the company.

In a very real sense, his position was on the line and he would clearly need to “play the game” of his career. When he had been in front of the board of directors previously, however, he had always struggled. As he put it, the atmosphere was so “heavy” that he felt tense, contracted, constrained and unable to express himself easily. By my helping him to practice finding and grounding in his inner zone of excellence, he was able to feel confident and calm and make a clear, compelling and charismatic presentation to the board. As a result, he was able to save his project, his integrity and ultimately his career.

A simple exercise can help you to find your “Inner Zone of Excellence”. This exercise can be done on your own by following the 6 steps below:

1. Sit or stand in a comfortable position with both feet flat on the floor and your spine erect but relaxed (i.e., “in your axis”). Check that your breathing is regular and from the belly. (Shallow, short or rapid breathing from the chest would indicate that you are in a stressed mode.)

2. Bring your attention to the soles of your feet (i.e., put your “mind” into your feet.). Become aware of the universe of sensations in the bottoms of your feet. Feel the surface of your heels, toes, arches and the balls of your feet.

3. Begin to expand your awareness to include the physical reality (the 3-dimensional space) of your feet and then move up through your lower legs, knees, thighs, pelvis and hips. Become aware of your belly center and say to yourself, “I am here.”

4. Continuing to stay aware of your lower body, move your awareness up through your solar plexus, spine, lungs, rib cage and chest. Focus on your heart center and say to yourself, “I am open.”

5. Expand your attention to move up through your shoulders, upper arms, elbows, lower arms, wrists, hands and fingers, and up through your neck, throat, face, skull and brain. Bring your awareness to the center in your head, behind your eyes, and say to yourself, “I am awake. I am alert and clear.”

6. Staying in contact with the ongoing physical sensations in your body and the three centers, become aware of all the space above you, reaching into the sky; all of the space below you, going into the center of the Earth; all of the space to your left; all of the space to your right; all of the space behind you; all of the space in front of you. Say to yourself, “I am ready.”

Robert Dilts is a developer and expert in the field of Neuro-Linguistic Programing (NLP). He has had a global reputation as a leading behavioral skills trainer and business consultant since the late 1970s. Robert has provided coaching, consulting and training throughout the world to a wide variety of individuals and organizations.

NLP stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming.

Its strange name stems from its origins in the 1970′s: learning how to do things by combining the best parts of different fields, including neurology, linguistics and systems theory

Tools from NLP work so well that it forms the basis of much of today’s communication training and performance training.

NLP is for business courses are widely respected by leading employers. NLP has found its way discretely into many courses on sales, presentations, planning, and team building, often without being mentioned by name.

In the expanding field of coaching, many coaching training programmes borrow from NLP or use it as a base, and our courses have attracted many coaches seeking to deepen their understanding of their profession.

In personal development, NLP is an ideal way to address a personal issue, or build strengths in both familiar and unfamiliar areas. NLP offers a cognitive framework, a supportive environment and practical tools that can help you in many ways.

Within the Human Resources profession, an understanding of NLP can help make the most out of investment in staff by working on beliefs as well as behaviours and by making learning sustainable.

NLP is also used in many additional fields including sports, art, health, education, politics, in fact, anywhere that involves human endeavour.
What will an NLP course do for me?

NLP communication training will enable you to:

• Improve your verbal and non-verbal communication
• Deepen your appreciation of thinking styles
• Learn techniques for high performance states
• Change unwanted habits for desired ones
• Set goals to fit (and change) your life
• Use language with greater precision
• Perform at your best
• Enjoy activities you used to fear

 
Who invented NLP?

NLP originated with the meeting of two remarkable minds at the University of Santa Cruz in the 1970s. John Grinder, a professor of linguistics, met Richard Bandler, a student of mathematics who was trying out therapy on his fellow students based on the transcripts of a famous therapist. The results were remarkable.

Grinder reputedly said to Bandler, “If you show me what you are doing, I will explain to you how you are doing it.”

The result was a collaboration on the idea of making explicit the verbal and behavioural patterns that create excellence in human life.

Their first subjects of study were Fritz Perls (the creator of Gestalt therapy) and Virginia Satir, an exceptionally effective family therapist. They went on to study Milton Erickson who was the founder of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, and perhaps the greatest influence on medical hypnosis of the 20th century.

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How has NLP evolved?

From its conception in the 1970s out of an academic enquiry into how people excel in various fields, NLP has mushroomed. The result has been the distillation of certain principles and subtle communications structures that can be taught, learned, and applied in any area of your life.

You will be able to enhance, discover, adjust or transform thought into action, allowing you to attain far-reaching positive changes in yourself and inspire them in others.

Over the past 30 years NLP has undergone and continues to undergo considerable refinement.

Many of its techniques and principles have passed into common usage under other names and appear to us daily, not only in the classroom and in coaching situations, but also in cinema, television and, of course, in business communications.

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NLP today

A further group of interested people in Santa Cruz assisted in the creation of the original modelling and research.

By the early 1980′s, Bandler and Grinder’s cooperation ended and NLP found a new direction under others within this Santa Cruz group. Of this group, it was Robert Dilts who firstly revolutionised the therapy and health models. He also created wider models, adding to the individualistic focus of the founders.

NLP was now evolving to include systems thinking with much wider applications for the fields of business and organisational processes. For example, Dilts’ “Disney Imagineering” project creation process is now used by Disney themselves.

More recently, Robert’s international focus has led to an NLP community with an abundant and generative mentality. At the NLP School Europe, we teach the material from the founders, along with the more modern contributions from Dilts, Gilligan, DeLozier, Andreas, etc.
Is now the right time for an NLP course?

If you wish to make a significant change in your career, health, wealth, relationships, family or personal sense of comfort – NLP has approaches that work.

People often come to a “crossroads” in their life when they want to discover something new. NLP’s popularity at this junction point comes from providing tools to improve performance and to feel better about yourself without providing any specific ideology.

NLP is simply a field created by various people who wanted to get the best from numerous disciplines that the academic establishment often insist are to be studied separately.

NLP was founded on the principle of modelling excellence; finding out what high achievers do and then replicating the patterns that had led to their successful behaviour.

Albert Einstein said that a problem cannot be solved with the same level of thinking that created it. If you are ready to try something new to bring real positive change in your life and the lives of people close to you, then it is worth exploring what NLP has to offer.
How do people use NLP?

The applications of NLP are wide and varied.

Often people go to courses with a particular interest in NLP for business, NLP coaching, health and NLP, NLP for personal development, NLP for sales and negotiation, NLP for Human Resources, NLP techniques for teaching or sports, to name just a few.

Whatever your initial area of interest or focus, NLP has a huge breadth of applications. Can you think of any area in life which wouldn�t benefit from better rapport skills, listening and coaching skills and an outcome focus, for example?

Rapport Skills: Good managers, team workers and customer-facing staff naturally show good people skills. NLP training can improve these and, more importantly, it can enable people to value these skills as an essential part of their roles. Of course, NLP communication skills impact on your personal life and family relationships too.

Coaching Skills: Listening is a skill. Being able to listen to people within a coaching framework enables them to identify solutions and construct the steps to implement them. This works just as well with at home with the children as it does with management skills in the workplace.

Outcome Focus: Keeping yourself or others focused requires tact and determination as well as the non-judgmental coaching skills mentioned above. It also requires that people anticipate what could go wrong, as well as being imaginative.

The NLP Project Outcome Process provides a framework that can identify areas that may be overlooked in normal project planning. These areas can be the �difference that makes the difference��and ensure that you or your organisation delivers and promises.

 huge variety of problems and difficulties. These include most eating disorders,

 alcohol

and other substance abuse, anxiety and panic disorder, anger and violence,

 depression—the list goes on and on.

Often the people who suffer from these problems don’t realize that they are caused by

 troublesome voices, because they are so focused on the unpleasant feelings that result

 from them, and the need to escape from these feelings.

Words by “Steve Andreas”

The following is derived from a review of : Self Hypnosis: The Complete Manual, Alman & Lambrou, 1983

Why Milton Erickson’s findings are so important.

Dr. Milton Erickson found that Hypnosis was most likely to succeed by “meeting the client in their model of the world”. He considered every person to be complete with all the resources they needed but as yet, not organised to accomplish change themselves. In considering each person unique he responded to the whole person and their whole ‘world’ thus creating a theory for each person. Erickson’s findings are therefore important in the construction and delivery of anecdotes and metaphors, based on words, symbols and images that individuals will relate to best to get the desired changes.

An example of how this works is illustrated in the well known “Carnegie Hall Metaphor”, wherein a young man rushing down the street carrying a violin case, asks an old gentleman for directions to Carnegie Hall. The answer the old man gives him is “Practice, Practice, Practice”. This clearly meets the young musician’s model of the world on a number of levels. First, by perhaps deliberately misinterpreting the obvious context of the question, the old gentleman adds humour, which gives power to his reframing of Carnegie Hall as a symbol of achievement for musicians, as opposed to just a grand old building in a big City. Secondly, there is probably the suggestion that rushing aimlessly only gets you nowhere fast and that achieving excellence means there’s little substitution for dedication and preparation, followed by repetitive action that is careful and focussed.

Stage Hypnotism versus clinical hypnosis and the “Svengali Effect.”

Stage Hypnotism is very different from clinical hypnosis. In stage Hypnosis, the performer will carefully select subjects for their readiness to go along with the show. Show Hypnotists are usually highly skilled in sensing subtle cues (body language, etc) which can indicate a subject’s compliance or resistance levels. Having been selected, there is then a very high pressure not spoil the show and anyway they’ve been given permission to let go of their inhibitions whilst they’re under hypnosis so selected subjects will do most things asked of them.

The Svengali Effect – refers to the question as to whether or not someone can be made to do something against his or her own will. This is after the film (Svengali) where a man hypnotised women to commit crimes for him. We know from the research done in this area however, that subjects asked to do things against their best interests or values will ignore the instruction and if pressed will come out of trance all together. We can also see this as an illustration of one of the “prime directives” of the unconscious mind (from Huna) being the domain of moral evaluations. As effective hypnotic suggestions communicate directly with the unconscious mind, suggestions contradict an individual’s value system will be rejected.

How mantras can be utilised for better suggestions

A mantra is a sound, word or rhythmical phrase that one repeats to oneself. It could be spoken aloud, as a chant or silently, as in meditation. Mantras have the effect of displacing ones usual thoughts and moving awareness inward. In self-hypnosis, mantras are therefore useful as a strategy for beginning and anchoring suggestions. Constructing mantras with a specific objective in mind provides the inner voice with a clear purpose and foundation upon which to build deeper more elaborate imagery for specific change work. For example “Every day in every way I know that I am succeeding” may be used to underpin work on developing confidence in ones own abilities be successful in a chosen field.

A comparison of the two types of progressive relaxation

Progressive Relaxation is the process of focussing on tension in all the muscle groups of the body in sequence and releasing the tension until a state of physical peace is achieved. Essentially, the tension present in each group is brought into awareness and then gradually released. There are a number of variations of progressive relaxation, the two most popular of which are Active and Passive relaxation which differ in a few fundamental ways. In: -

Active Progressive Relaxation – the subject actively tenses each muscle group in sequence (e.g.,legs and feet, arms and hands, back, shoulders, neck, etc) beyond their normal working tension as they slowly inhale, holding it for a few seconds and then gradually releasing the tension completely, as they exhale. The use of internal imagery to visualise the tension leaving the body may also be useful in assisting the process.

Passive Progressive Relaxation – requires no deliberate pre-tensing of muscles. It starts with a few deep breaths in and out, to create a cue for calmness. This is followed by the subject becoming aware of the tension already present in the body and gradually releasing it from each muscle group in turn. Usually starting from the feet upwards, tension is brought into awareness and then gradually let go with each exhalation and combined with appropriate imagery for tension flowing out, e.g water flowing out of a spout. This is repeated in a smooth sequence, progressing to the calf muscles, thighs and so on.

The application of posthypnotic suggestions and cues

A posthypnotic suggestion is a suggestion given to a subject whilst in hypnosis, for action after or outside of the hypnotic state. A post hypnotic cue is a specific sensory experience, made up of a combination of words, sounds, images, etc, that when experienced outside of trance will trigger a posthypnotic suggestion. Posthypnotic suggestions combined with posthypnotic cues are powerful tools that can be applied to create or modify behaviour or responses to situations outside of the hypnotic state.

The three clues of achievement of self-hypnosis.

The three clues that a hypnotic trance state has been achieved are:

1 Change in overall physical state – Recognising that the state you set out in your suggestions has been achieved. For example this may be the achievement of a deep sense of relaxation.

2 Sense of specific physical change – Sensing that one or more of the physical changes you suggested have been achieved somewhere in your body, e.g., warmth where there was cold and so on.

3 Time Distortion – Calibrating the passage of time against normal expectation. If the time between closing your eyes for the first time and opening them is different to your expectation, for example, this is an indication of time distortion, which is a sign of a hypnotic state.

Mini Trances – are examples of self-hypnosis because they have all the attributes of trance per se but take less time. It is not necessary of for trance sessions to be long drawn out affairs to be useful. Mini-Trances can be useful for the purpose of staying in practice or to instill or redirect a state or behaviour pattern quickly.

How to employ personal self-doubt as a posthypnotic cue.

In a clinical sense, self-doubt can be described as an example of an involuntary response to a stimulus. As with most involuntary responses, including pain and fear it is important to recognise that they have a positive intent and so a purpose which may not be immediately obvious. Understanding the purpose of these responses is therefore key to over riding them if appropriate. Pain, for example, can be an indication of tissue damage; fear as warning against possible physical or mental violation and so on. In self-hypnosis, understanding the purpose of responses like these is extremely useful in their relief. It can be useful to see self-doubt as one of the ways that our unconscious mind voices its concern for our safety. This may be when we are planning to embark on a course of action in which we have little or no experienced for example. It can be described as the voice inside which asks “what would happen if you failed?”. This is an extremely good question, the answer to which can be useful but would be overlooked if self-doubt was repressed or ignored. “Listening” to such utterances from the unconscious mind often provides an opportunity to make a rational evaluation of risks, which can be vital to a successful outcome. It is therefore often appropriate to welcome self-doubt, rather than resist or ignore it and so reduce or even remove the discomfort afforded by it. In recognising the purpose of self doubt therefore and treating it like any other internal distraction, it can be utilised as post hypnotic cue to create safer and more effective outcomes, starting with an evaluation of it’s purpose (as above) and a quick ecology check. By utilising self doubt as a post hypnotic cue we can therefore create more useful, positive behaviors with less stress than ignoring or overriding it.

Can a goal be attained in one step?

Assuming sufficient motivation is present, whether or not a goal can be achieved in one step depends on the size of the “gap” between where one sets out from and the conceptual destination. If one already has all the resources to traverse the gap, it’s logical to assume the goal can be achieved in one step. Otherwise additional resources will be necessary, which infers additional steps. For example, a scratch golfer would expect to negotiate a familiar golf course in par figures “in one step”, i.e., with his existing “resources”. If, on the other hand, his goal was to negotiate the course in 5 strokes under par, this may require some additional work on his game, to first develop the necessary skills, thus making it into a multi stage process to meet the goal.

Why distinguishing the predominant mode of communication is essential for good hypnotic suggestions and what type of suggestions should be eliminated.

Research (e.g. Michael Yapko, 1981) has shown that hypnotic suggestions made using language which matches the subjects preferred “representational system” i.e., Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic (and Gustatory and Olfactory, to a much lesser extent) are responded to more effectively. Utilising representational systems for optimising effective communication is, of course, one of the cornerstones of NLP and is another example of meeting the subject at their model of experience, i.e. a fundamental premise of the Ericksonian method.
Negative suggestions, such as, “I must not eat crisps between meals”, are best avoided, if it is to do with a weight loss program, for example. However, there are probably ways in which negative suggestions are appropriate when used with volition. In order for the unconscious mind to make sense of any negative suggestion, it has to effectively make an image of the (positive) experience, e.g. – of “eating crisps between meals”. This is a corollary of the rule that it is impossible to hold a negative in consciousness. Any command to “not” do something e.g. “don’t touch the oven ..”, “don’t run into the road…”, “… don’t slip”, etc, is understood by the unconscious mind by first making an “image” of the semantic opposite of what is being suggested, i.e. without the negation. It is impossible, after all, to imagine the process of “not eating crisps”. So with the unconscious effectively taking out the “not”, the behaviour could be reinforced rather than reduced. One conclusion we can draw from this is that purely positive suggestions work best. However, from what we know about negation it can sometimes be valid to utilise semantically negative suggestions. With the unconscious mind taking all linguistic input as positive, semantically negative statements are interpreted and therefore responded to in the same way as their logically positive opposites. Adding some auditory marking of appropriate portions of the sentence (for emphasis as in embedded commands) the suggestion “.. and you may not find it easy to relax completely ….” would be acted upon in the same way as if the word “not”, was not there.

A brief summary of the nine varieties of self-hypnosis techniques

1. The Progressive Relaxation Technique – uses “active progressive relaxation”. This is the process of tensing and relaxing each muscle group in order to achieve a state of overall physical peace. This is in preparation for receiving suggestions.
2. The Indirect Language Method – uses permissive “requests” and soft suggestions for greater tranquilly. Requires a degree of creativity in forming suggestions that e.g. feelings in the body “may” become apparent and that “perhaps” something will be more comfortable, and so on.
3. The Eye Fixation Method – focuses the visual attention on a specific spot or object. This effectively distracts the conscious mind allowing for better direct communication with the unconscious to accept suggestions for developing a trance and so on.
4. Guided Imagery – is a technique where internal scenes are created to suggest relaxation, change and so on, through the composition of multi sensory images.
5. The Direct Language Method – is the flip side of the coin to the indirect language method in that specific and direct commands are used as opposed to suggestions.
6. The Dream technique – is similar to the dream experience when sleeping where having achieved a relaxed state through progressive relaxation for example, dream images, which occur naturally can be utilised to suggest positive changes.
7. The Erickson Handshake technique – this takes it name from the position the hand is in at the beginning of the session. Gaze is fixed on a part of the outstretched hand and suggestions are made of greater and greater comfort in the hand. Then attention is diverted to other parts of the body and eventually with the permission to drop or keep the hand suspended in space.
8. Self Hypnosis with music – this utilises the naturally occurring trance resulting from becoming immersed in a piece of music. It is useful to choose a piece, which is particularly absorbing to get the best results.
9. Self Hypnosis deepening – deepening a trance is effectively achieved by coming out of trance and then going straight back in again. Each time the trance is re-entered a deeper level can be achieved.
Is there a tenth type? Trance is a naturally occurring state which people go in and out of during the course of any normal day. Most routine activity from brushing one’s teeth, to driving to work requires a degree of unconscious effort to get it done successfully. Obviously some trance states are more usable than others in terms of an opportunity for self-hypnosis, so the key is to choose the ones which can be used safely. For example, whereas using “the Driving Trance” may be risky, “the Watching Television Trance” may offer more ecologically sound opportunities for change through hypnotic suggestions.

Dealing with General Adaptive Syndrome

The body’s overall effort to adapt to distress was described by Hans Seyle (1978), an endocrinologist and specialist in Stress research, as the General Adaptive Syndrome or G.A.S. If we take a working definition of stress as: “A gap between the perceived demands and perceived resources to meet those demands”, measures can be taken to manage stress at three levels:
i. Help them to manage the demands by:
· Improving their working conditions
· Start saying ‘no’ to extra work
· Suggest they shift to a less demanding job
· Suggest ways in which they can manage their time better
ii. Assist them in increasing their resources by:
· Building regular relaxation into their daily plan
· Suggesting they reduce their intake of caffeine. Caffeine mimics adrenaline and so will raise background stress levels. For many people cutting down on coffee is all they need to do and will bring an enormous return in reducing stress levels for very little effort.
· Suggest a reduction in alcohol and cigarettes
· Eat more healthily – reduce intake of sugary, fatty, salty foods
· Learn new skills
iii. Help them to change their perceptions
· One responds not to external “reality” but to internal representations of that reality after sensory input has been through perceptual filters (see NLP). If the internal representation is undesirable (i.e. the world as perceived) then changing the filters will change the resulting perception.
· Learn to use peripheral vision to ‘stop the world’ instantly

Starting To Observe Purposefully (S.T.O.P.) is a way of dealing with the General Adaptive Syndrome (G.A.P.). Taking sensory input without interpreting it combined with using post hypnotic cues can help reduce the negative effects of situations, which cause stress. For example, it is perceivable for people to stress themselves at the very sight, or sound, (etc) of some situation or person (as in phobias). By STOPping, attributes of any given situation can be used as cues for post hypnotic suggestions to trigger alternative more ecologically sound behaviour such as relaxation, for example. The same could be applied to any situation which normally “causes” stress (again as with of Phobias for example).

How to deal with panic attacks and anxiety.

Panic vs. Anxiety - Anxiety can be described as a period of ongoing “fearfulness” of some impending situation over which one perceives insufficient or no control. Panic on the other hand can be described as a short period of extreme anxiety, where one is desperate to gain or regain control of a situation or state. Symptoms of a panic attack include heartbeat and breathing speeding up, sweating, muscles tightening and dizziness, which are the result of the body flooding with adrenaline. This is the natural ‘fight or flight’ reaction when we feel ourselves under threat and the adrenaline and its effects are there to help us run faster or fight harder. Sometimes our bodies can make a mistake, so we get this response when there is no threat. To make matters worse, once this has happened we may be anxious about it happening again, which in itself may trigger another attack. We may eventually become nervous about any change in the way we feel away from ‘normal’, so that even pleasant feelings like excitement may set off another ‘attack’. This is the situation many ‘panic attack sufferers’ find themselves in.

Managing Panic and Anxiety

There are a number of steps that can be taken to manage Panic and Anxiety:

Find out what the panic attacks mean – Everything we do and everything our body does has a positive intention behind it. So a good question to ask is: If panic attacks are a message from the body, what are they trying to tell us? In what way is our life out of balance now? Panic attacks are something that have been learned and sometimes perfected – so by recognising the cues to the anxiety and/or panic attacks post hypnotic suggestions can be attached to create different responses.

Relaxation – Developing an ability to relax is a big step towards overcoming anxiety and panic attacks.

Taking control of interaction with the immediate environment – Reducing the ‘normal’ adrenaline levels so that the body is further from the panic state.

a. Cut down on caffeine and sugar. Caffeine imitates the effect of adrenaline in speeding up the body, as do sugary foods, because they raise blood sugar levels unnaturally quickly. This is followed by an equally rapid energy dip as the body releases insulin to restore the balance. The lower the coffee intake, the calmer the feelings, so gradually reducing caffeine levels can be beneficial.

b. Learn to breathe more calmly. In an attack, breathing is rapid and high in the chest. So when feeling OK, it’s good to practice the opposite way of breathing – slowly and from the abdomen. This may feel strange at first but with practice one can learn to breathe without the chest moving at all. This has a naturally calming effect and means that breathing would have to make a big change to get into the ‘panic attack mode’.
Many people make the mistake of waiting until they are actually having an attack to use breathing techniques. It’s much more effective to practice when feeling good until breathing from the abdomen is second nature. Because one is naturally calmer, anxiety will be reduced and so panic attacks will be less frequent and easier to deal with.

c. Learn to be more relaxed in everyday life. Left to itself, adrenaline is reabsorbed by the body very quickly so relaxing deeply every day allows the adrenaline to drain away and allows the rest of the day to flow more easily. As we have already seen, Self-Hypnosis is naturally good for relaxation, via progressive relaxation for example.

Stopping Smoking

The key to stopping smoking or any other undesirable behavior seems to hinge on two key factors:

i) Understanding the purpose of the behaviour – The premise that all behaviour has a positive intent would seem to infer that it is essential to understand what smoking does for the individual before making any intervention to change it. In fact one could see this as a general rule in any therapeutic intervention. What we can say then is that taking smoking out, without satisfying it’s purpose, may not be in the client’s best overall interest unless the “hole” left by the smoking habit is “filled” in some way. In fact, leaving the hole empty, may well lead to equally damaging behaviour or the very common “on – off” relationship that some people seem to have with smoking. At best we would risk leaving the resolution to chance. So having a deep and thorough understanding of a persons purpose in smoking is key to its removal and a subsequent installation of some ecologically sound alternative behavior.

ii) Motivation to change – If the person is not ultimately self compelled to change, i.e. the practice of smoking doesn’t already conflict violently enough with their higher level values, long term change is unlikely without first changing the values or installing new ones.

What is EFT?

EFT was developed in the United States by Gary Craig a trained engineer turned personal trainer in the 1990s.  EFT has its roots in kinesiology and acupuncture it is a treatment system for the mind, body, and the emotions, and is specifically designed to remove negative emotions by correcting the flow of energy through the Meridians. EFT is like the treatment of acupuncture but without the needles instead we use the fingers for tapping on the acupuncture points; the points used in EFT are found on the face, hands and upper body.

HOW DOES EFT WORK?

The energy meridians that run through our body can become blocked or disrupted by unresolved emotional issues, it is said that unresolved emotional issues are the main cause of around 85% of all illnesses. And if not dealt with can cause even more ill health and unhappiness. By applying EFT it is possible to alleviate emotional anguish which can result in removing the physical symptoms associated. The treatment is a very powerful  and safe method of emotional healing and can even be used on animals.

EFT CAN HELP:

What to Expect From a Treatment
The initial session will consist of identifying what the issues are, and then identify what the strongest emotion or symptom is, then the practitioner will ask you to bring it to mind and get you to scale the intensity of the emotion/pain on a scale from 1 to 10. Then the practitioner will begin to tap on the specific meridian points whilst you tune into the problem, the tapping gently releases the emotional aspects from the bodies energy system, which is generally a gentle process. Then the emotion or pain is re-measured and is usually reduced in the scale, the process is repeated until it is reduced or eliminated.

• Client: “I just feel terrible.”
• Therapist: “What specifically do you ‘feel terrible’ about?”
• Client: “… my performance yesterday.”
• Therapist: “What ‘performance’, specifically?”
• “…”

The meta model was presented in 1975 in two-volumes, The Structure of Magic I: A Book About Language and Therapy and The Structure of Magic II: A Book About Communication and Change, in which they expressed their belief that the therapeutic “magic” as performed by Perls and family therapist Virginia Satir, and in complex human activity in general, had structure that could be learned by others given the appropriate resources. They believed that implicit in the behaviour of Perls and Satir was the ability to challenge distortion, generalization and deletion in a client’s language. The linguistic aspects were based in part on previous work by Grinder using Noam Chomsky‘s transformational grammar.^[19] Challenging linguistic distortions, specifying generalizations, and recovering of deleted information in the client utterances, the surface structure, was supposed to yield a more complete representation of the underlying deep structure, and to have therapeutic benefit.^[20] They also drew ideas from Gregory Bateson and Alfred Korzybski, particularly about human modeling and ideas associated with their expression, ‘the map is not the territory’.^[21][22]

Satir and Bateson each agreed to write a preface to Bandler and Grinder’s Structure of Magic Volumes I & II. Bateson later introduced Bandler and Grinder to Milton Erickson who they selected as their third model. Erickson also wrote a preface to Bandler and Grinder’s two-volume book series based their observations of Erickson working with clients, Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, Volumes I & II.^[23] These volumes also focused on the language patterns and some non-verbal patterns that Bandler and Grinder believed they observed in Erickson. While the meta model is intentionally specific, the Milton model is described as “artfully vague” and metaphoric; the inverse of the meta model. It is often used in combination with the meta model as a softener, to induce trance, and to deliver indirect therapeutic suggestion. In addition to the Milton model and meta model, Bandler and Grinder, as well as a group of students who joined them during the early period of development, proposed other models and techniques, such as anchoring, reframing, submodalities, perceptual positions, and representational systems.

At this time, the human potential movement was developing into an industry, at the centre of this growth was the Esalen Institute at Big Sur, California. Perls led numerous Gestalt Therapy seminars at Esalen, Satir was an early leader and Bateson was a guest teacher. Bandler and Grinder claimed that in addition to being a therapeutic method, NLP was also a study of communication, and by the 1970s Grinder and Bandler were marketing it as a business tool, claiming that ‘if any human being can do anything, so can you’. After 150 students paid $1,000 each for a ten-day workshop in Santa Cruz, California, Bandler and Grinder gave up academic writing and produced popular books from seminar transcripts, such as Frogs into Princes, which sold more than 270,000 copies. According to court documents, Bandler’s NLP business made more than $800,000 in 1980.^[18]