NLP is the abbreviation and the common term used for Neuro Linguistic Programming. Neuro focuses on the relationship between the mind and the body, i.e. how we organise our thoughts through our senses; sight, hearing, feeling, smell and taste. Linguistics describes the communication within and between individuals, i.e. their language patterns. Programming refers to the relationship between neurology and linguistics i.e. the way we organise our ideas and actions to produce results.
NLP has often been referred to as the “toolkit for the mind”. This toolkit or manual is based on the discovery that in changing how you think, you can change what you think – in changing how and what you think, you can transform the results you create in your life.
NLP was founded in the early 1970s by Richard Bandler (a mathematician) and John Grindler (a linguist) both based in California. The question they had repeatedly asked themselves was “What was the difference between somebody who was competent at any given skill and those who really excelled at the same skill?”
After studying and modelling three pioneering experts in their own fields; Milton Erickson, Fritz Perls and Virginia Satir (Hypnosis, Gestalt, Psychology) using and studying the expert’s language and their thought processes, NLP was borne; an amazing range of transformational skills and techniques were uncovered.
The modality of NLP is broken down into simple techniques, used by master communicators and delivered in an easy “do with” format to clients. It is how external information can be processed internally resulting in certain behaviours. It is a goal orientated process that generates and leads to lasting and positive changes.
NLP is an art and a science. It is largely based on the idea that the sensory information around us is translated into thoughts and ideas which affect our state, physiology and behaviour and therefore our results. The language we use also affects our experience and the experience of others.
The purpose of NLP is to empower the client to find solutions to their everyday challenges such as anxiety, low motivation, low self-esteem and behavioural problems. NLP involves the client gaining mastery over their own mind, resolving any inner conflicts and releasing any negative programming from the past.
NLP can assist you to increase your ability to see, hear and feel things you were never aware of before; create compelling goals for yourself and allow you to manage your future; improve your self-confidence and resourcefulness and develop a more positive self image.
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” – Buddist Proverb