Thorson’s Principles of NLP
Joseph O'Connor, Ian McDermottA clear and concise introduction to the basic concepts and practical uses of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. After more than 25 years, Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP)has not only avoided becoming a passing fad but continued to make substantial contributions to all walks of life. There are dozens, if not hundreds of books published on NLP in numerous languages. For the seriously interested, I usually recommend Joseph O’Connor and Jane Seymour’s Introducing NLP. For those who want an initial understanding, the present book remains one of the best guides. So many people turn to NLP for quick techniques of change. The present book starts with the “Four Pillars of Wisdom”: rapport, outcome, sensory acuity and flexibility in the context of the different logical levels: environment, behaviour, capability, belief, identity and spirituality. The authors rightly emphasize the very positive attitudes, the spirit or presuppositions underlying NLP. They have also succintly explained all the key concepts and repertoire of NLP: state, anchors, representational systems, eye accessing cues, submodalities, timelines, associated and dissociated states, modelling, strategies, beliefs and the different uses of language. Short of any opportunity for attending a NLP workshop, this book gives an excellent initiation.
| status | Copy #1 (7254): in |
|---|---|
| genre | Social Science » Psychology |
| publisher | Thorsons Pub |
| publish date | April 1996 |
| popularity | checked out 2 time(s) |
I feel like NLP is one of those concepts that we don’t naturally give a name to, but something that we all understand in some sort of way. Whether consciously or not, as humans we all have a tendency towards falling into certain social patterns simply by nature of how we’re wired. However, it is very centering to see these as patterns ingrained in particular cues and responses. It’s too easy to fall into a cycle of only interpreting responses in the context of a singular moment, rather than getting in touch with the patterns inherent in our social design. I always worry that I’ll find this sort of pattern-based approach to understanding our social workings disheartening, as it implies a certain lack of free will in our interactions, but the fact that we can also take more of a meta-cognitive approach and dissect our thoughts in the moment then implies a certain level of autonomy and liberation that is both daunting and comforting. One gripe I have here that I have with other similar works is it seems that there is a focus in writers on the mind in applying their writings and methods to others, rather than trying to develop a better sense of self. That being said, as the book says, we are all pursuing excellence, so it must be up to us whether that excellence requires intrinsic, extrinsic, or a combination of factors.