Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
Michele Lucas, LCSW, BCD
Certified NLP Master Practioner
By New York Training Institute
For Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
Michele uses the principles of NLP to shift limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs are held in place
by our perception of how things should be. Shift occurs as negative mental/emotional feedback
loops (neurological, psychological and behavioral) are engaged and challenged, and new
information and possibilities are introduced for consideration.
NLP is a therapeutic process that engages with the multi-dimensional levels of our internal
world. Our internal world is always busy, even when we’re asleep. There is constant interaction
and processing of incoming information occurring within our neurological, psychological and
behavioral systems that happens continuously in real time as we are experiencing life.
To better understand our internal world, it helps to consider how neurology, psychology and
experiencing interact and co-create or shape the structures of mind. In psychology these mental
structures are called schemas. Schemas begin developing in utero and continue to shape and
reshape themselves throughout our life stimulated by the nature and quality of our experience;
and they are the foundation of our thoughts, beliefs, emotions, body sensations and behavior.
This is what NLP calls our programming.
So it is our programming that gives us our own unique perception or way of viewing life. Then language and behavior become the vehicles through which we express our unique view of our self and others as we interact with life as it presents itself to us. In this way, we all enter into relationship and engage with one another based on our own unique perception or set of basic assumptions (beliefs) about the way things should be. You might say it’s our personal bias. And despite the fact that our view is limited since it applies solely to us alone, we have a felt sense of it being true and right.
Ponder for a moment the realization that everyone walks around believing his/her view is the
right view. It is little wonder that things often go awry. When things aren’t working out as
expected, we look for help in figuring out what’s wrong and how to fix it.
The NLP therapeutic process promotes shifts in our basic perception by introducing new information and alternate ways of looking, seeing and behaving. In turn, mental schemas reshape to accommodate the new data. This is the change process in action.
The Big Eight of NLP:
The eight basic assumptions of NLP, presented here, are developed to challenge limiting
perception and beliefs.
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The meaning of your communication is the response you get, independent of your intention.
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There is no such thing as failure, only feedback.
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People have the resources to accomplish their goals.
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There is a positive intention beneath every behavior.
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Power is the ability to produce intended results.
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People make the best choices available to them at any given moment in time.
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The map is not the territory.
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There’s always another choice.
Take the NLP challenge and ask yourself, Do my personal assumptions (beliefs) conflict with any
of NLP’s basic assumptions? How would I be different if I adopted a new belief based on one of
these assumptions? If you think this could be helpful, you might be interested in learning more
about how NLP creates change in other ways too.
For more information about NLP, contact Michele at 203-852-9874 or e-mail at therapydoeswork@yahoo.com.
