In Part 1 of this article we talked about the ancient method of educating the mind called The Trivium Method and we described why it was important and reserved for the upper class of society and we described what it was. In Part 2 we discussed why without these basic skills the mind is left in darkness, without choice and most important without the ability to think critically and independently. we also put forth our opinion as to why many times the misguided notion that because NLP has been used by bad people for mind manipulation, that means that NLP is dangerous and therefore you should be afraid of it.
We remembered the time when hypnosis was considered “magic” and grammar was part of the old “grimoires” of spells… and healing with herbs meant you are a witch and you were burned at the stake. And we ended Part 2 with the question: does that mean that hypnosis in itself is an evil thing?
I personally don’t think so. Since I learned hypnosis (1) use it as a method of self-hypnosis to talk directly to my Unconscious Mind and get it to do a lot of useful things, like help me to sleep better, allow me to get through a cold without suffering head aches and sneezes and many more and (2) I am aware of how it works and therefore nobody can use it “on me” without my knowledge
Hypnosis has been used for millennia in every shamanic trance involving ceremonies (of course it was not called hypnosis at that time), it is used in religious ceremonies all over the world, it is used by the television set, what have you! People love trance- this is why you see so many addictions to recreational drugs says addictions canada. What if you could use it to obtain the same effects but without the need of drugs?
Trance is a normal human phenomena. You do it every day when you drive, space out, day dream, etc. And because some bad people have found this modality advantageous for their immoral purposes and used it unethically, now we have to throw it away as evil? Somebody is missing the point here or simply does not have the logic (the second part of The Trivium Method) to think clearly about it. In this logic we should keep the (bad) people and throw away the technique? So we should not learn how to use it fully under our own control because it is a bad thing? That is indeed illogical!
From the NLP point of view this is another example of misplaced Complex Equivalents: because it has been used badly it means it is bad.
Now let’s go back to NLP.
Is it true that NLP can be used and has been used for manipulation?
Absolutely. I see it every day. I see the linguistic constructions taught in NLP used by people who are obviously trained but also by people who are not trained. They are using the same linguistic constructions unconsciously – they have no clue what they are doing, but they feel it works … somehow…
It is my contention that NLP is no more or less dangerous than anything else used to manipulate people. As a collection of techniques coming from all different fields (like Transformational Grammar, Linguistics, Sociology, Psychology, etc), it can be used for anything. To be afraid of techniques because the intent of the people using them is bad, makes really no logical sense.
Is it possible to teach NLP and learn NLP for the purpose of personal empowerment?
Of course.
Am I aware that not all people teaching NLP are following the “empowerment” intent?
Yes I am. But I am not one of these people. Growing up with a lot of manipulation and indoctrination around the very idea is abhorrent to me.
Now, if you look on the web, the original NLP set of techniques as it has been developed by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the 70s contained four major approaches: rapport, sensory awareness, outcome thinking and behavioral flexibility. That is what many NLP training companies teach and this is what most business people want to learn.
From this model alone to using NLP together with many other techniques from Hypnosis, Coaching, and especially Time Line Therapy® for developing critical thinking and control over your own emotions and behaviors is a long way. From the four major approaches which involve mainly the “left brain” (Conscious Mind) or maybe the Conscious Mind trying to trick the “right brain” (Unconscious Mind) to aiming toward consciousness (read awareness) of the unconscious responses, behaviors and reactions and toward integration of conscious/unconscious behaviors (which means left/right brain) is a very different road. This is what we involve when we teach what we call NLP.
Maybe we’re very unusual in the way we think about all this – it is possible. I have never been exposed to an unethical NLP training so I would not know. I assume they are “out there” because there is never smoke without fire.
What I know is that we don’t tell people what to think, we teach people how to learn to think for themselves and find what suits them in terms of results based on what they want… well, we have an enormous amount of inbuilt integrity and honesty in our trainings and we are willing to ask students to leave the training if we find out they try any unethical behaviors during the trainings. Therefore, since I trained from the beginning with one of Tad James trainer graduates, I don’t know anything else.
So, my humble opinion is that in order to be able to protect yourself from mind manipulation, indoctrination and programming you need to learn how to think for yourself.
I am not the first and or the last person to say this. But many others who tell you the same thing do not have the how-to-do-it. We do!
Is this the only way to learn how to think critically and free yourself from outside mind manipulation and programming? Probably not! But this is simple, and relatively easy and it gets results.
That’s what a part of my motivation was when I first started learning NLP. You need first to notice what’s happening around you, what is being thrown at you, and NLP is an incredible tool to achieve just that – and really fast.
Do I think that it requires years of study to learn the Trivium Method? Well, it depends how deep you want to go, but I know that the human mind is capable of extremely fast feats of accomplishment if only freed from the box is stuck in. That’s why NLP is extremely useful – it is fast in accomplishing this needed task.
People cannot observe what is being done to them with the use of words, concepts and illogical links in the train of thoughts unless they learn what “that” is first. They need to understand linguistics and how the masterful use of words, put together in slogans, sentences and paragraphs has the power of changing the internal and therefore the external “reality” experienced by the individual. Karl Rove comes strongly to mind when he said “we create reality for you“.
At least in our NLP trainings we show people how manipulation occurs from the television set to all other media, we discuss and teach how to get out from the duality of “this” VS “that” or “this” AND “that” simultaneously, both techniques having the capacity to freeze the mind or block it in a predetermined response. We show our students how their mind creates their experience of life based on what beliefs they accepted uncritically from the outside world (no, we are not going down the New Age path, sorry New Age people), how individual thinking is paramount to finding positive solutions to life problems, and we teach them how to think themselves from under mind manipulation. This is in our view the purpose for teaching NLP. It is a good and efficient modality of finding out what goes on in the mind and how the experienced reality is directed by thinking every moment of every day. In this way, people don’t need to lean on others for answers. They can begin to think clearly and find creative solutions for themselves. That makes them independent. I know, it isn’t that popular to think independently nowadays.
So NLP can be used to serve people IF people are willing to take the reins of their own mind power and re-learn how to think. It is an enlightening “Aha!” moment when students realize that they can create pain and suffering to themselves with their own minds or they can choose to create something else. It is a very enlightening moment when students get that they themselves can have control in their own lives and become creative critical thinkers on their own.
It is a very enlightening moment when people discover that they don’t have to be prisoners of fear, anger, sadness, guilt… when they learn Time Line Therapy®. Now in the consensus reality this is not possible right? Based on the language used you’re told that once you have ______ (insert here your choice Negative Emotion) (1). You’re stuck with it for the rest of your life and (2). the best you can hope for is to take some medication so you can manage it or to belong to some sympathetic like-minded group. Nothing else you can do.
And yet I see in every training people letting go of Negative Emotions and changing patterns of behavior that used to bother them. And this is done quickly because they learn how to think themselves out of it. NLP is just the tool employed. The power is in the individual’s own mind.
We noticed that our students (from all walks of life, all ages) in general are getting more and more linear and standardized, more compartmentalized and less capable of imagining anything new.
So in order to get our students to comprehend more complex thinking we begin by employing simpler techniques from NLP, to assist them to get there. Remember we never tell people what to think, we explain to them how they can think for themselves and let them choose whatever they want!
One thing I am clear about: it feels much better without the negative emotions stored on the memories on some damn event that happened 30 years ago. For those of you who are familiar with the work in the field of epigenetics by Dr. Bruce Lipton, you will recognize his take on the inner and outer environment, including the presence of Limiting Beliefs.
In general based on the feedback we receive, people can think much better if they don’t have anxiety about the future. If their thinking is clouded in unconscious emotions like fear, they make mistakes.
This is what we teach and we give people the techniques to do it themselves. It takes our students 10 min to let go of some massive emotions (like anger or sadness) from the past – and then they think differently. This makes a difference at least we think it does. Maybe we’re deluded… but this is our reality we create every moment of every day and we see the results.
This is why I am looking forward with hope to next year to see many more of you out there with the thirst for knowledge and desire for empowerment.
Be well