In 1929, Hans Berger discovered that the mind exhibits continuous electrical activity and cast doubt on the Pavlovian model of perception and response because, now, there appeared to be something going on in the brain even without much stimulus.

At the same time, there were many mysteries. For example, if [...]]]> As extracted from Wikipedia
photo credit: neurollero:

In 1929, Hans Berger discovered that the mind exhibits continuous electrical activity and cast doubt on the Pavlovian model of perception and response because, now, there appeared to be something going on in the brain even without much stimulus.

At the same time, there were many mysteries. For example, if there was a method for the brain to recognize a circle, how does it recognize circles of various sizes or imperfect roundness? To accommodate every single possible circle that could exist, the brain would need a far greater capacity than it has.

Another theory, the Gestalt theory, stated that signals to the brain established a sort of field. The form of this field depended only on the pattern of the inputs, but it still could not explain how this field was understood by the mind.

The behaviorist theories at the time did well at explaining how the processing of patterns happened. However, they could not account for how these patterns made it into the mind.

Hebb combined up-to-date data about behavior and the mind into a single theory. And, while the understanding of the anatomy of the brain did not advance much since the development of the older theories on the operation of the brain, he was still able to piece together a theory that got a lot of the important functions of the brain right.

His theory became known as Hebbian theory and the models which follow this theory are said to exhibit Hebbian learning. This method of learning is best expressed by this quote from the book:

When an axon of cell A is near enough to excite cell B and repeatedly or persistently takes part in firing it, some growth process or metabolic change takes place in one or both cells such that A’s efficiency, as one of the cells firing B, is increased

This is often paraphrased as “Neurons that fire together wire together.” It is commonly referred to as Hebb’s Law.

The combination of neurons which could be grouped together as one processing unit, Hebb referred to as “cell-assemblies”. And their combination of connections made up the ever-changing algorithm which dictated the brain’s response to stimuli.

Not only did Hebb’s model for the working of the mind influence how psychologists understood the processing of stimuli within the mind but also it opened up the way for the creation of computational machines that mimicked the biological processes of a living nervous system. And while the dominant form of synaptic transmission in the nervous system was later found to be chemical, modern artificial neural networks are still based on the transmission of signals via electrical impulses that Hebbian theory was first designed around.

Contrary to popular belief, NLP has no formal roots in psychology. Richard Bandler, the founder of NLP, has also on several occasions disclaimed NLP’s position in psychology. The main reason for this [...]]]> Neurolinguistic Programming is one of the most powerful approaches to understanding behavior to date, unparalleled by any other method at present.
photo credit: robclimbing

Contrary to popular belief, NLP has no formal roots in psychology. Richard Bandler, the founder of NLP, has also on several occasions disclaimed NLP’s position in psychology. The main reason for this is that the methodology is not psychological, but linguistic in nature.

NLP, based on its description at first glance appears to be a field within “neurolinguistics”. The definition of neurolinguistics by Wikipedia is “the study of the structures in the human brain that underlie grammar and communication”, which deviates from the original intent of NLP, which is the means to study the underlying representations within the mind in order to reconstruct behavior and turn such modeled behavior into permanent unconscious habit. Technically, it means that NLP should really not be just “neurolinguistic”, but really “neuro-psycholinguistic” in nature.

One of the main influencing theories that shaped NLP is the field of  General Semantics (not related to the main field of linguistics, developed by Alfred Korzybski.

Here’s what NLP does.

First, NLP studies three patterns of behavior: (1) physical, (2) linguistic and (3) cognitive (in Dilts, 1990, “Modeling With NLP). Physical modeling can be done by identifying patterns of physical behavior, sequence and structure. For example, one observe the processes of playing tennis and detect recurring patterns of physical behavior under differing circumstances.

Linguistic modeling requires one of observe sentence structure and patterns of behavior in speech and communication. Bandler and Grinder created something known as the Milton Model by observing the linguistic patterns of behavior of the clinical hypnotherapist, Milton H. Erickson. They also created another model called the Meta Model by observing the linguistic patterns of Fritz Perls, the developer of Gestalt Therapy, and Virginia Satir, the developer of the Satir Model of Family Therapy. It must therefore be noted that such models are merely a representation of reality, and NLP is the process to conduct such modeling.

Cognitive modeling in NLP itself was based on the models derived from Korzybski. Dilts utilized Korzybski’s processes in General Semantic theory to analyze how cognitive strategies are processed in four parts: (1) the trigger which is what kickstarts a cognitive strategy; (2) operations, the process within the strategy, (3) the test, which allows alternatives or contingencies in the event that a goal is not achieved, and (4) the exit, which tells an individual that the goal has been achieved.

The word chunking comes from a famous 1956 paper by George A. Miller, The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two : Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information.

In NLP we have adopted the term “chunking” as a process of moving to details and specifics as “chunking down” versus “chunking up” [...]]]> As quoted from Wikipedia,

The word chunking comes from a famous 1956 paper by George A. Miller, The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two : Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information.

In NLP we have adopted the term “chunking” as a process of moving to details and specifics as “chunking down” versus “chunking up” which is a process of moving to abstractions and conceptualizations.

photo credit: PhotoDu.de

For instance, a starting concept like a “car” when chunked up will go into a higher abstraction called “transport” and can also chunk up toward “convenience”. If chunked down, “car” can be chunked to “brand” like BMW or Toyota. Subsequent chunking down can go into parts of the car.

The use of chunking is primarily for the purpose of getting different individuals to think at the same “chunk size”, because in mismatching chunks, we will end up breaking rapport due to a mismatch of our level of focus.

In the case of [...]]]> I started doing a little research in the area of ‘emotional detachment’ and distancing. It appears that NLP has a great way of reducing the emotional impact of emotions and does help an individual to be more resourceful in handling matters – provided that the dissociation is followed by another resource state.

In the case of some people, this is what seems to happen in depression:

When women are depressed, 99 out of 100 times you’re dealing with people who have lost their voice. With depressed men the issue isn’t that so much, it’s disconnection, and that goes right to the way we raise boys, the way we turn boys into men is through disconnection. We pull them away from their mothers, we now think far too early. We teach them to disconnect from their feelings, disconnect from their vulnerabilities, and to be honest, disconnect from caring all that much about others. And when I deal with a depressed man, I am always dealing with a guy who is cut off.

In other words, a man who gets depressed may show it by being emotionally wirhdrawn – almost similar in nature to the standard dissociative techniques in NLP such as fast phobia cure.

One of NLP’s tenets is the use of well-formed outcomes. To be able to manage our future direction more effectively, it is often recommended we set goals, but I think NLP has gone one step further to infuse cybernetic outcome clarification into human behavior.

By considering the outcome clearly, we can be a little more certain that the direction we are moving toward is more effective. It also struck me, this quote:

When men are distressed, we tend to externalize. They reach out. They get into action, and for years that was one of the favorite explanations about why men are quote unquote, protected from depression. Well, many of the things that men move toward, like drink, or compulsive behavior or rage are not good. I don’t think that they protect men from being depressed. I just think they protect men from feeling depressed. And they don’t work all that well. And even when they do work, they come at a very high cost to their lives.

So in the event where emotional expression is deemed by society to be only a “woman” thing, it causes suppression, and habitual suppression turns into habit and often gets subsumed into unconsciousness. So now, you have someone who may be highly attuned to emotions but completely hides it without knowing why.

In planning the outcome, one ought to be more focused in the state that creates a solution. Depression cannot engulf someone who is acting on the feelings of playfulness, compassion and intimacy. A lot of the time, these states will also drive different kinds of actions than depression and supression.

Emotional detachment, however, does not always mean it’s a guy thing. I also know women who claim that “crying” is for babies.A healthy expression of emotions allows others to see what you are feeling because in the case of people who are unable to experience it, there’s hardly any empathy for someone who does feel sad. The experiencer may feel a Level 10 emotion but the observer may only calibrate to a 1.

Scaling Empathy For Depression

We know that people who are around depressed people need some kind of skill for empathy – that is for us to recognize the feelings before it is too late – relationships could be lost, and lives destroyed, simply because such experiencers don’t know how to really understand the emotions in others.

In NLP, we can do a variety of things to assist in handling our depression.

• Learn to experience the full-blown emotion and process it externally, rather than just internally.
• develop a belief pattern that it is okay to be emotional about certain feelings, simply to process and experience the emotion; to stick it out may not be the best thing.
• generate a sequence of reframing to the process of the emotional experience. When you feel bad, it’s not just about stopping the bad feelings completely. Sometimes, bad feelings are signals (like pain) for something that’s going wrong. We need to experience the bad once in a while, and understand what we need to learn and do after this experience. It could be a breakup, a business issue, a loss of a loved one, a betrayal from someone you care about, etc. What did you learn from this experience?
• generate a timeline sequence that helps you to sustain a corrective action. How do you carry out your change process? What are you doing that leads you closer toward your desired relationship/career/social outcomes once you have learnt what to do?
• Build a propulsion mechanism that enables you to link pleasure toward moving in the direction of your desired goals no matter how distant it may appear to be, while creating an away-from to that which caused your depression in the first place

Finally, learn to create positive feelings everywhere you go and make people around you feel good. I think that’s a great full-dress rehearsal for making things better in your life.

Sources:

http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/mendepressionscript

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/152/3/358

According to reports, he was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma in May, and passed last Saturday. He was 60.

Anthony was inspiring in a subtle manner, and [...]]]> This is a tribute to Singapore’s Father of Counseling. He had trained me in counseling when I was at the Temasek Polytechnic Specialist Diploma in Counseling and Guidance program in 2000.

According to reports, he was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma in May, and passed last Saturday. He was 60.

Anthony was inspiring in a subtle manner, and somehow had the ability to bring out the best in the counselors he taught. Novel, creative and yet, passionately caring of people, he will be remembered, especially by the thousands of people whom he has helped. May all counselors aspire to be as amazing in the consistency and impact he made in the world.

Full report: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/437559/1/.html

In any case, confidence building is an important skill for oneself, and I definitely recommend that you learn how to do this. Essentially, confidence is a skill, so you should have the ability to master [...]]]> Oops – I think this is a little bit late because I must have mixed up the postdating on my blog.

In any case, confidence building is an important skill for oneself, and I definitely recommend that you learn how to do this. Essentially, confidence is a skill, so you should have the ability to master it once you understand how to manage your own emotions.

Gee. Am I susceptible to geography? or mathematics? Maybe quantum physics!

I’ll [...]]]> If anyone has asked about the differences between NLP and Hypnosis, it’s probably because they are confused by the two fields of study. I was reading a question of Yahoo Answers and found an odd question: Are some people more ‘susceptible’ to NLP than others.

Gee. Am I susceptible to geography? or mathematics? Maybe quantum physics!

I’ll offer something to get some clarity.

Here’s a more or less official definition of hypnosis.

Hypnosis is a mental state (state theory) or set of attitudes (nonstate theory) usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a series of preliminary instructions and suggestions. Hypnotic suggestions may be delivered by a hypnotist in the presence of the subject (“hetero-suggestion”), or may be self-administered (“self-suggestion” or “autosuggestion”). The use of hypnotism for therapeutic purposes is referred to as “hypnotherapy“.

The words ‘hypnosis’ and ‘hypnotism’ both derive from the term “neuro-hypnotism” (nervous sleep) coined by the Scottish physician and surgeon James Braid around 1841 to distinguish his theory and practice from those developed by Franz Anton Mesmer and his followers (“Mesmerism” or “animal magnetism“).

Although a popular misconception is that hypnosis is a form of unconsciousness resembling sleep, contemporary research suggests that it is actually a wakeful state of focused attention^[1] and heightened suggestibility,^[2] with diminished peripheral awareness.^[3] In the first book on the subject, Neurypnology (1843), Braid described “hypnotism” as a state of physical relaxation (“nervous sleep”) accompanied and induced by mental concentration (“abstraction”).^[4]

Okay, so we know what hypnosis is. Some may even go so far as to say that hypnosis exists even without us realizing it. Is watching TV a “wakeful state of focused attention and heightened suggestibility”? Gee… maybe that’s why TV commercials that work, work well!

How does it vary from NLP? It’s very important to note that NLP focuses a lot on linguistic elements that influence neurological processes. In other words, to study anything in human communication that actually influences other people’s behaviors and actions would constitute part of NLP. The formal definition of NLP is, of course, the study of human excellence, more commonly known as “modeling”.

In this sense, NLP is actually more of a meta tool rather than an application. After all, hypnosis, among other forms of psychotherapy, has its research and foundations in working with people for the specific purpose of reaching a therapeutic goal. NLP is not necessarily about therapy.

NLP can still be applied across contexts – business applications, leadership, persuasion, innovation, team building, health… and the reason why they span such a broad spectrum is simply because NLP is the tool that enables an individual to study the fields in question.

Think of NLP like a magnifying glass, and hypnosis (or any other fields of study) like a thick chunk of tiny text that needs to be deciphered.

Some parts of formal NLP training have involved specific models (such as rapport building and strategies) that have been adopted from various fields (such as communication and information processing/systems theory respectively), and because they are useful, they end up being pretty much permanent fixtures in NLP. However, the process of modeling in NLP is a sequence of questions that leads to an unfolding of a pre-existing model that currently exists.

As we know, focus is about getting into the appropriate emotional state. If you can’t do it right away, it’s [...]]]> I received quite a number of requests to help with focus and concentration using NLP. So, I decided to do a general MP3 recording to show you some complexities, then write out a format to help.

As we know, focus is about getting into the appropriate emotional state. If you can’t do it right away, it’s likely that there are other factors at play, but I believe it’s also about having the resilience and determination to let your brain and mental muscle grow over time. So, be patient and do it.

Focus Using Trigger Method

Step #1 – Identify your environment. Make a list of items that you will see around you.

Step #2 – Think of an emotional state that will make you/force you to focus. It may be a frustration, a belittling statement, maybe even excitement of having achieved it. Feel it as intensely as you can (amplify it if you can)

Step #3 – Build this emotional state to its peak by making it bigger, brighter and louder, then open your eyes and look at the environment around you.

Step #4 – clear your mind

Step #5 – repeat Step #2 – #3.

What you are doing is using your environment as a trigger to engage the states that help you to focus.

Test it out!

Warning: do not do this in a place where you need to rest or relax!

For clarifications, please submit your questions below.