What Is NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming)
Table of Contents
NLP means a lot of things to a lot of people. There are many ways to define it. I will try to give you a sense of what NLP is at it’s core.
The acronym #
Often, NLP is “explained” by just dropping the expanded form of the acronym and leaving it at that. Like that’s the ultimate truth. (To be fair, I’ve done that 😄.)
“Neuro Linguistic Programming” is what Richard Bandler came up with, because at the time, he had Neurology, Linguistics and Programming text books in front of him. Yes, NLP is concerned with how the brain works (Neurology) and uses words (Linguistics) to program the mind. But what does this actually mean?
The founder #
Richard Bandler, the co-founder of NLP, describes the field in a few different ways.
NLP is a user manual for your brain.
It’s the study of the structure of conscious thought and how it influences you.
The conscious mind and the way we think determines how our Neurology functions and how we build neurocotical pathways.
It’s all about using language itself, either on you or another person, to change Neurology to build permanent solutions to problems.
NLP is more than the techniques that come out of it:
NLP is an attitude and a methodology that leaves a trail of techniques behind.
The mentioned attitude is an insatiable curiosity about human beings
.
NLP is the study of the structure of subjective experience and what can be calculated from it.
It explores how the brain works subjectively and aims to elicit working strategies and formulates them into useful techniques – better ways to use your brain, as measured by the outcomes one would like to achieve.
My teachers #
These are some quote from my Practitioner 🇩🇪 . Their definitions focus on the freedoms that NLP gives you, when you apply it to your life.
NLP is freedom.
– Alexander Hartmann
NLP bedeutet, die Freiheit zu haben, in jedem Moment deines Lebens durch deine Gedanken entscheiden zu können, wie die Welt auf dich wirkt und wie du auf die Welt wirken kannst.
– Vanessa Buchner
English translation
NLP means to have the freedom to decide, in every moment of your life through your thoughts, how the world affects you and how you can affect the world.
NLP is the part of psychology that works.
– Christian Goebel
This hints at the history of NLP. In the early development of NLP, Bandler and Grinder (the founders) modeled the strategies of psychologists, who could reliably achieve successful outcomes. They created simple but powerful techniques out of those strategies, which effectively can be used for getting rid of phobias, trauma, etc.
Since then, Bandler and Grinder have gone their own ways, but both agree that modelling is the real key to NLP.
Mine #
Instead of a definition, I have a set of questions, which NLP provides the answers for.
- How do I let go of a memory/picture1 or a sound2 that has been plaguing me?
- How do I get into a desired state3?
- How do I get rid of a fear/phobia4 or a limiting belief5?
I’m sure, the way that I see NLP will expand, as continue on my NLP journey.
Sometimes I am haunted by something stupid I did, something uncomfortable or something I saw that produces an undesired feeling. I can decrease the intensity by making the picture smaller and pushing it farther away, view it from a different perspective or make it go away with a swish. ↩︎
Sometimes I have caught a catchy sound or have some internal dialogue that I don’t like. I can just turn down the volume or stop it from looping through a (imagined) control panel I have installed through Design Human Engineering (DHE.) ↩︎
You can create reusable anchors or circles of excellence to get into a desired state. NLP also gives you the tools to bringing about and intensifying any feeling you’d like. ↩︎
For phobias, the quick phobia cure is usually best. A swish or 6-step reframe can work better, if the fear is more general. ↩︎
To get rid of limiting beliefs I usually use the 6-step reframe or a parts negotiation. ↩︎