THE MAGIC OF NLP

According to encyclopedic dictionary, the word "magic" comes from the Greek term mageia, and means "witchcraft, magic, as well as rituals associated with belief in the supernatural ability of a person (sorcerer, magician) to influence people and natural phenomena." Initially, priests were called magicians in ancient Iran, and now this word often refers to all wizards, sorcerers, sorcerers, and even astrologers. According to scientists, magic has existed at all times among all peoples. There were periods of its heyday and decline (the Holy Inquisition and the ideological departments of the Central Committee of the CPSU fought with it with the same zeal and equally unsuccessfully), but like a fabulous Phoenix bird, magic resurrected from the ashes again.

Why does magic have such an attraction for people?First of all - the possibility of creating miracles, unusualness, going beyond the usual framework of reality. From childhood, people want a miracle that can brighten up gray everyday life and violate the disgusting laws of nature. Who said that it is impossible to restore youth to a person, turn lead into gold or soar above the earth? What if you really want to? And the person begins to look for the philosopher's stone and cast spells ... Secondly, magic helped people fight their eternal fear of an unknown future. After all, we never know for sure what awaits us beyond the horizon of tomorrow - success or failure, happiness or sorrow, health or illness. And therefore, there were always people who not only undertook to predict the future (with the help of cards, stars or coffee grounds), but also to manage it according to their own understanding. Thirdly, with the help of magic, people tried to get additional resources - strength, courage, wisdom or health, which they lacked in life.

At the same time, almost any kind of magical arts possessed a number of common features, uniting the ancient Chaldean sages, Siberian shamans or modern Satanists. This is the closeness of the magical group from the rest of the society, the presence of its own language, understandable only to the initiated, certain rituals and sacraments, which, as a rule, are performed during a trance - a special altered state of consciousness, as well as the obvious dependence of the results of magical procedures on the level of faith involved in them. person.

In modern psychotherapy, there are several areas that have these "magic" features, and a special place among them is occupied by neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), which arose in the United States in the late 70s of the twentieth century. Unlike other types of psychotherapy (for example, rational, cognitive or psychoanalysis), NLP methods work very quickly, are quite expensive and do not have a serious theoretical basis. In general, NLP treatment is very similar to magical rituals, except that the therapist does not use magic potions or black magic spells. The client comes to the therapist with a problem that has tormented him for many years, and after a while leaves him, bewildered, not understanding how, in fact, the cure took place. Some manipulations and techniques of the therapist seem meaningless, others at least strange, but the main thing is that these techniques often help people who for many years could not be helped by other psychotherapeutic approaches. The founders of NLP, John Grinder and Richard Bandler, were rightly proud of the high efficiency of their method and were not too zealous in dismissing accusations of the witchcraft nature of this bastard child of psychotherapy. Moreover, one of the first books on NLP was called The Structure of Magic, which should have emphasized the special status of the new direction. The rituals of some techniques also provided food for thought for both psychiatrists and ordinary people, for they included the drawing of magic circles, the creation of virtual doubles, and the materialization of unconscious parts of the personality.

Of course, neuro-linguistic programming did not arise from scratch - Grinder and Bandler created a very effective cocktail of non-directive hypnosis by M. Erickson, family therapy by V. Satir and Gestalt therapy by F. Perls, adding a lot of other ingredients, some of which were invented by themselves, and some are "borrowed" from other authors. The founders of NLP attached a special role to human language, emphasizing that it is the main channel of interaction between the brain and the environment, while special techniques were developed for modifying language messages that allow not only to significantly improve the quality of interaction with other people, but also to effectively communicate with one's own unconscious. .

If we turn again to those basic needs that "classical" magic helps to realize, we will be surprised to find that NLP does the same thing quite successfully. The need for miracles is realized in periodically occurring miraculous healings, the fear of the unknown future is overcome using the “time line” method, which allows people to program their future, and the resources a person needs can be obtained by connecting to one’s subconscious or the collective unconscious of all mankind.

In order not to be unfounded, let's illustrate what was said on the example of the NLP technique "Circle of Perfection". About a year ago, a 34-year-old woman working in network marketing came to me with the following problem: when she offered a product to potential customers, she felt insecure, embarrassed, and as a result, her effectiveness as a seller of cosmetics was rather low, she was not satisfied with the salary, and the very fact of selling caused mental discomfort, so she was about to quit her business. First, I put her into a light trance, asking her to follow her breathing and listen to the sounds of the world around her, and in this state I revealed her attitudes, which were introduced by her parents in early childhood into her consciousness. I then asked the woman to mentally draw a circle in front of her and color it in her favorite color. After that, they asked me to recall some situations from her life when she was successful and confident in herself, and when the woman seemed to re-experience these sensations, I touched her forearm several times. Then, in some miraculous way, he repeatedly increased her emotions and asked her to enter the circle mentally drawn on the floor, connecting it with the positive feelings that she experienced at the same time. After that, I turned the circle into a belt worn around her waist. A couple of weeks later, the woman came to the reception and said that during the presentations of cosmetics she feels great, and the success in the business has exceeded all her expectations. Well, why not magic?

In Neuro-Linguistic Programming, there are more fantastic tricks. For example, in the Addiction Break technique, effective in cases of unhappy love or death loved one, the client is asked to mentally create (sculpt) his virtual double, to which they switch the connection with a loved one that has become an unbearable burden. I remember a case when only this technique was able to help a woman, to whom her dead husband came to her every day for a month in a dream and called to him. It wasn't until she applied the "addiction break" that she was able to sleep without tranquilizers or nightmares.

From the outside, the “anchoring” technique, often used in NLP, seems very unusual and magical. Its essence lies in the fact that the therapist, touching the client's hand, can cause him certain emotional experiences (feeling of fear or vice versa, courage, a sense of calm or self-confidence). In fact, here we are dealing with conditioned reflexes discovered by the great Russian physiologist I.P. Pavlov. At the same time, touching the hand, as a conditioned stimulus, causes certain sensations in another part of the cerebral cortex of the brain, accompanied by emotional experiences. At its core, Grinder and Bandler's "anchor integration" method is nothing more than a "collision of positive and negative stimuli" discovered by Pavlov back in the 1930s while studying experimental neuroses in dogs.

However, by and large, we can explain no more than 10% of the phenomena observed when working with the NLP method. And what about the other 90%, what to do with them? Most NLP practitioners try not to think about it. The main thing is that the method works, but how is a secondary question. However, with such a purely pragmatic approach, many therapists, especially beginners, work almost blindly, which can even cause the client's condition to worsen. If we turn to the beginning of the article, we will see that NLP has many features that are characteristic of magical cults: the presence of its own terminology, rituals and myths, the widespread use of trance states, suggestions and self-suggestions.

My attitude to NLP is ambiguous: on the one hand, I admire this approach, because with its help, sometimes in one or two sessions you can get great results that cannot be achieved by other methods (I have had cases of very quick cure of obsessive fears or spasms, tormenting people for many years), but, on the other hand, the true reasons for such amazing successes often remain a mystery to me. At the same time, it is difficult to agree with the NLP analogy of the human brain with a computer, because I have given 30 years of my life to the study of the brain and I understand what an abyss lies between a rigidly designed silicon processor and an accumulation of nerve cells that flexibly change their behavior in accordance with the requirements environment. But, on the other hand, this lack of understanding of the mechanisms of action of neuro-linguistic programming methods on people has its own charm, its own NLP magic, which attracts more and more adherents to it in all countries.

Yu.V. Shcherbatykh (Journal "Man and Science" No. 2, 2003)

Many people call NLP the magic of communication and success. Thus, they emphasize the uniqueness and unusualness of this technique, emphasizing the exceptional results that can be achieved through its application. There are indeed certain similarities between magic and NLP. Main feature What unites them is that both of these phenomena are not yet recognized by science. However, if the fact of the existence of magic is highly doubtful, then e has long been proven in real examples. Despite the fact that NLP techniques still cause irreconcilable discussions in scientific circles, they continue to be actively used in everyday life. These techniques are used in almost all areas of human activity, demonstrating results that would be impossible to achieve with the help of other, scientifically based and officially recognized psychological methods.

Best Book on NLP Technology - The Structure of Magic

There is another reason why magic and NLP so often compared with each other. The key prerequisite for such identifications was the publication of a book that marked the beginning of neurolinguistic programming. The title of this NLP guide is The Structure of Magic. The co-authors of the book are the developers of the Neuro-Linguistic Programming methodology - John Grinder and Richard Bandler. They told readers about the key concepts and main aspects of the new methodology, showing examples of how Neuro Linguistic Programming techniques help people overcome perceptual problems and become happier.

NLP Basics in the Structure of Magic

In their first book on NLP, The Structure of Magic, Bandler and Grinder talk about how they were inspired to create Neuro-Linguistic Programming by observing the work of such eminent psychotherapists as Virginia Satir, Fritz Perls, and Milton Erickson. The authors calculated the methods by which and on the basis of which they created clear models that are available for use by every person.

The NLP manual The Structure of Magic makes the important assumption that "a map is not a territory." This means that our perception of the world does not necessarily correspond to reality. Most often it is narrower and more limited. If the perception is too distorted, the subject begins to face many limitations and problems. Correcting such an unfavorable situation is possible only by expanding the map of the human world. It is to help people do this that this book was created. Structure of magic and NLP technique generally.

Written by Bandler and Grinder, the guide consists of two volumes. The first part of the book on NLP The Structure of Magic is much simpler. It deals with the basic methods of restoring the deep structure. The second volume of the book is more complex. He talks about ways of reflecting and perceiving information, as well as methods aimed at overcoming incongruence.

Do you want to win over anyone quickly? Womanjournal talks about NLP techniques that will instantly attract anyone!

NLP techniques

Sympathy is not an easy thing. We like some people at first sight, while others we can't stand from the very first minute. What is the trick? And how to become a universal favorite?

In NLP (or Neuro Linguistic Programming), sympathy is scientifically called "rapport" - this is a feeling of connection with another person, a feeling of reciprocity, a feeling of trust.

Fortunately, rapport can be evoked in anyone, and fairly quickly. The main secret lies in the fact that we subconsciously sympathize with people who are somewhat similar to us, have something in common with us. And vice versa. If you want to win over someone, you need to find and discover some similarity between you and the other person.

Pay attention to the ease with which compatriots converge when they find themselves in a foreign, unfamiliar country. And if you came for an interview and found out that your employer graduated from the same university as you, most likely, easy and trusting communication will be established between you right away. Brunettes are especially quick to take an interest in brunettes. Blondes often prefer blondes. And with what pleasure people can communicate in a queue to the doctor. "Friends in misfortune" instantly imbued with sympathy for each other.

In a word, one of the postulates of NLP says: people want to communicate with their own kind. First, people who obviously have something in common have something to talk about, and they can always understand each other. Secondly, meeting a person who shares your position in some way usually strengthens self-righteousness. (“Are you a vegetarian?! So am I! Really, without meat in the diet, you start to feel much better?!”).

Thus, coming to new team, first of all, you can seek support from "your kind": women with a similar build, style of clothing, hair color, position, etc.

But what if you need to win over a person who has nothing in common with you? For example, a pretentious employer in an Armani suit or an old examining professor with a beard to the navel. In part, in NLP there are simple and universal techniques that will affect any person and help you win over anyone.

NLP techniques

So, you are faced with a task: to quickly charm a person. What to do? If you have something in common (make of a car, diploma, profession, problem) try to play on it. Sometimes it’s enough just to drop one remark that indicates your likeness for a person to like you. For example: “I myself am a non-Muscovite. Came from N-ska. If your interlocutor is also not a Muscovite, he will instantly feel rapport. However, if there is nothing in common between you and nothing to cling to, try the following trick:

mirroring

It is "the process of mirroring the physical behavior of another person." When meeting with the one you need to charm, for starters, just assume the same pose as him. This is called mirroring. He sits upside down, sit down the same way. He slightly bows his head - unobtrusively repeat this gesture. You can mirror anything you like: posture, gestures, facial expressions. In most cases, your interlocutor will not notice that you are mirroring him, but will feel rapport. In life, we ourselves often unconsciously mirror each other. For example, when you chat with a friend, you most likely involuntarily copy her posture or head tilt. When you start communicating with people of a different circle and cultural level, you involuntarily adopt their manner of communication and vocabulary. So mirroring is very simple. effective method position the person. The main thing is that your mirroring does not look like a mockery or a parody. To do this, repeat gestures and poses not immediately, but with a delay of several seconds. Aerobatics - to mirror the interlocutor's breathing. That is, adjust your breathing to the pace, rhythm and depth of breathing of another person. It is not easy, but it brings amazing results.

NLP techniques

This technique is a little more complicated and subtle. When performing joining, you first need to determine which perceptual model is typical for your interlocutor. You probably know that all people in the world are divided into 3 groups, corresponding to the three main types of personality or ways of perceiving the world. The first group is visuals, or people in whom sight dominates of all sense organs. The second group is the auditory people, or those who perceive the world by ear. And the third group - kinesthetics, people of feelings and sensations. The trick is that representatives of each of these types speak their own language. Visual language includes many descriptive words: “You see, what beautiful I checked the deal. With my points of view This brilliant victory. On my sight This obviously! Audials will have their own auditory vocabulary: “ Heard, what loud did I close the deal? Honestly, This deafening success. I just I was speechless when I heard that everything worked out." Finally, kinesthetics usually say, based on their feelings: “ Do you feel, which tough did I check the deal? I feel waiting for us dizzying success!"

Your task is to listen to the speech of your interlocutor and understand who he is visual, auditory or kinesthetic. And having understood, switch to his language. Of course, this requires certain skills and practice. But at least try to return to him his own words first. For example:

I I do not see you in this position.

Then maybe you describe what kind of person do you need, and I, in turn, will try show what I am capable of as a professional.

Although this technique is somewhat more complicated, it will allow you to win over even those who were initially not very friendly.

“Miss McCalvary was my teacher in the third grade. I remember her well, maybe even fondly. She was so tall and skinny that we called her an ostrich, although it is possible that she deserved such a name because she wore sometimes a flamboyant "outfit. She seemed to always look down on everyone, and also constantly made squeaky sounds when she spoke to you."
This description of the fictitious Mrs. McCalvary is good example some properties often exhibited by "visuals". Usually the typical "visual" is thin, although you may encounter a very fat or obese "visual".
They usually stand straight, with straight shoulders or back. Visual people keep the neck straight in line with the body. When they walk, it seems that they are "led by the chin", and their movements can be characterized as abrupt or impetuous. Typical "visuals" have less protruding ribs than individuals in other categories, and they usually breathe more from the upper chest. Quite often you can see that the "visual" speaks quickly, clearly or distinctly on higher notes than people from other categories. Some of these traits can be observed in individuals operating on the basis of the visual system, although their preferred system is not visual. This may involve breathing and movement, although the typical "visual" is most likely to have a visual body type and chest. This ability to operate in systems other than one's preferred system holds true for all categories of communication.