The Art, Science & History of NLP

The Art, Science & History of NLP(Neuro-Linguistic Programming)





We’re all born with the same basic neurology. Our ability to do anything in life, whether it’s swimming

the length of a pool, cooking a meal, or reading this article, depends on how we control our nervous

system. So, much of NLP is devoted to learning how to think more effectively and communicate more

effectively with yourself and others.



NLP began in California in the early 1970s at the University of Santa Cruz. There, Richard Bandler, a

master’s level student of information sciences and mathematics, enlisted the help of Dr John Grinder, a

professor of linguistics, to study people they considered to be excellent communicators and agents of

change. They were fascinated by how some people defied the odds to get through to ‘difficult’ or very ill

people where others failed miserably to connect. So NLP has its roots in a therapeutic setting thanks to

three world-renowned psychotherapists that Bandler and Grinder studied: Virginia Satir (developer of

Conjoint Family Therapy), Fritz Perls (the founder of Gestalt Psychology), and Milton H Erickson (largely

responsible for the advancement of Clinical Hypnotherapy).



In their work, Bandler and Grinder also drew upon the skills of linguists Alfred Korzybski and Noam

Chomsky, social anthropologist Gregory Bateson, and psychoanalyst Paul Watzlawick. From those days,

the field of NLP has exploded to encompass many disciplines in many countries around the world. In

fact, it would be an impossible task to name all the great teachers and practitioners in NLP today.



By the way, what exactly is NLP, or, to expand it-NeuroLinguistic Programming?



Neuro is about your neurological system. NLP is based on the idea that we experience the world

through our senses and translate sensory information into thought processes, both conscious and

unconscious. Thought processes activate the neurological system, which affects physiology, emotions,

and behaviour.



Linguistic refers to the way human beings use language to make sense of the world, capture and

conceptualise experience, and communicate that experience to others. In NLP, linguistics is the study of

how the words you speak influence your experience.



Programming draws heavily from learning theory and addresses how we code or mentally represent

experience. Your personal programming consists of your internal processes and strategies (thinking

patterns) that you use to make decisions, solve problems, learn, evaluate, and get results. NLP shows

people how to recode their experiences and organise their internal programming so they can get the

outcomes they want.



To see this process in action, begin to notice how you think. Imagine it’s a hot summer’s day. You go

home at the end of the day and stand in your kitchen holding a lemon you have taken from the fridge.

Look at the outside of it, its yellow waxy skin with green marks at the ends. Feel how cold it is in your

hand. Raise it to your nose and smell it. Mmmm. Press it gently and notice the weight of the lemon in

the palm of your hand. Now take a knife and cut it in half. Hear the juices start to run and notice the

smell is stronger now. Bite deeply into the lemon and allow the juice to swirl around in your mouth.





Words. Simple words have the power to trigger your saliva glands. Hear one word ‘lemon’ and your brain

kicks into action. The words you read told your brain that you had a lemon in your hand. We may think

that words only describe meanings: they actually create your reality.





NLP can be described in various ways. The formal definition is that it is ‘the study of the structure of our

subjective experience.’ Here are a few more ways of answering the £20,00,000 question: ‘What is NLP?’





The art and science of communication





The key to learning





It’s about what makes you and other people tick





It’s the route to get the results you want in all areas of your life





Influencing others with integrity





A manual for your brain





The way to creating your own future





NLP helps people make sense of their reality





The toolkit for personal and organizational change







Here’s a tidbit for those who would like a sampler from the Easter basket of goodies that comprises NLP:





Six-step reframe:





The six-step reframe first appeared in the NLP book Frogs into Princes (p. 137 – 139) by the co creators

John Grinder and Richard Bandler.





In a nutshell the six-step reframe is reframing a positive intention behind poor or less desirable behavior.

It addresses secondary gains works with mild trance and utilizes creativity from unconscious resources.

Here are the basic steps:





1. Identify the behavior to change

2. Set up signals with the part running the behavior

3. Identify the positive intention behind the behavior

4. Generate a number of possible alternative behaviors which will equally satisfy the same intent

5. Choose the favored three replacement behaviors

6. Check for ecology regarding the change.



Full standard six-step reframe:



1. Identify the problem to be changed. It usually is in some format like ‘I want to stop X behavior but I

can’t’. I would like to act with Y behavior but something is stopping me’. Again as a facilitator you don’t

need to know the problem behavior this can be covert therapy. Also this is an appropriate time to thank

the part that is running that behavior.

2. Ask for the part responsible for that old behavior if it is willing to communicate. Ask them to be aware

of what they see hear and feel. (Calibrate their responses) An unconscious signal cannot be reproduced

consciously. Check if they can reproduce this response consciously. If they can reproduce the signal ask

for another signal. Though this seems odd, note that if you consciously controlled the problem you

would just stop it and wouldn’t be reframing it (O’Connor & Seymour 1990). Have you ever agreed to

something you knew wasn’t right. Involuntary signals and behaviors occur like a sinking feeling in your

stomach, voice tone changes and posture changes. These are unconscious shifts or signals. Can you

control the feeling when a person asks you to work when you know you could be with family? Ask for a

yes and no signal.

3. Thank the part for co-operating and then ask if the part will reveal the intention behind this behavior.

a. With a yes then proceed to ask for the positive intention behind this behavior. Continue to ask if there

any higher intentions for the behavior. This intention will usually surprise the conscious mind.

b. If there is a no signal ask under what circumstances it would be willing to reveal the positive intention.

This can help you find out more about what the part is trying to achieve. Further ask if there were a way

the same intention could be fulfilled better or more appropriately would it be willing to try them out. If

another no comes then the signals are jumbled.

4. Now ask if the part will communicate with the creative part of their mind. Allow the creativity in the

person to generate at least 3 new possible behaviors. These must satisfy the positive intention. Thank

the creative part also.

5. Now ask if the part will adopt these new responses or behaviors for 2-3 weeks. Remind the part that

the old behavior is still possible or an option if there is any objection to the newly created behaviors.

6. Finally check for ecology. Ask if there is any part of you that is dissatisfied with this change. If there is

any signal check if it is a genuine objection. If all interested parties have no objection ok. Be certain

however and congruent, if there is any inconsistency some other part may try to sabotage later.



So what’s next for NLP? It’s certainly travelled a long way from Santa Cruz in the 1970s. So many more

pioneers have picked up the story and taken it forward –made it practical and helped transform the lives

of real people like you and me.





The literature on NLP is prolific. Today you’ll find NLP applications amongst doctors and nurses, taxi

drivers, sales people, coaches and accountants, teachers and animal trainers, parents, workers, retired

people, and teenagers alike.



Each generation will take the ideas that resonate in their field of interest, sift and refine them, chipping

in their own experiences. If NLP encourages new thinking and new choices and acknowledges the

positive intention underlying all action, all we can say is the future is bright with possibilities.



BIBLIOGRAPHY:



Frogs into Princes, Bandler, Richard & Grinder, Dr.John: Real People Press/UT 1979



How to Develop A SUPER-POWER MEMORY, Lorayne,Harry :A. THOMAS PRESTON& CO.(1999)



HOW TO CONTROL YOUR BRAIN AT WILL, Vittoz, Dr. Roger: IAB, 2001. Published by Christian H.

Godefroy



REFERENCES:



STRATEGIES: THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION TO BEHAVIOR-by Tad James, M.S., Ph.D., Certified NLP

Master Trainer Copyright © 1985, 1999



Neuro-Linguistic Programming-The Key to Accelerated Learning: Smee.Dr.EH & Smee, Linda ,Published in

Circle of Excellence Copyright © November, 2002



copyright© -Satrajit Sanyal