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My NLP Journey – Part 1 In October 2008, I enrolled in an NLP Certification Program facilitated by Philippa Bond and conducted in the beautiful setting of Byron Bay. The Program consists of four workshops, each conducted over three full days and packed with lots of theory and and an equal amount of practical experiences and exercises. I was vaguely familiar with the terminology associated with NLP and the ideals and philosophies which underlie this system and I was at a period in my life where I was ready to pursue my learning in this field. Having no preconceived ideas on the NLP framework, I prepared by listening to the supplied materials, by skimming the suggested texts and by researching various articles before venturing to Byron Bay to commence my NLP journey with an open mind and preparedness to learn. The group in which I found myself consisted of a wide spectrum including Dentists and Nurses through to an aspring Actress, Art Dealer and Consultants. This cross section added a richness to my experience and insight into others and their field of expertise. The energy of the group was palpable and this was maintained throughout the three day workshop. Phillipa Bond (2008) describes NLP as “The study of excellence and a model of how individuals structure their learning”. NLP is designed to challenge each person’s philosophy, identity and beliefs so when they engage in skill development programs they are primed and ready to take on the new skills and self management tools. (NLP Workshop 1 – Inform Training 2008) In literal terms:- “N” stands for Neuro and relates to the senses – visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory and gustatorial. “L" stands for Linguistic and relates to both verbal and non verbal means of communication – words, pictures, sounds and feelings. “P” stands for Programming and relates to our ability to communicate with our Central Nervous System – physical behaviours, emotions, intellectual ability.
We are constantly striving to improve our products and service delivery and by incorporating the principles of NLP and weaving the richness of our experiences into our product design, our aim is to provide a multi facted learning experience that will prove to be food for the mind and also for the soul. Both Peter and myself would like to wish you, your family, your friends and your colleagues the very best for a safe and happy 2009. We look forward to your company when next we meet. Kind Regards, Kate Reilly
My NLP Journey – Part 2 As you are aware, my journey through the NLP Maze started in October, 2008 and will continue throughout the first half of 2009. I attended workshop number 2 in the series of four workshops at the beginning of February and I am starting to grasp the terminology, thought patterns and underlying concepts that make up the intricacies of NLP. We covered a range of topics over the three days including
Personality Filters, the Nine Points of the Enneagram and Value Systems. The
work we did with Personality Filters was very thought provoking and saw me
willingly participate in some introspection and application of this information
in my personal sphere of influence. To see and understand why we relate to
others in certain ways and why their interactions with us have the effects they
do was a serendipitous moment for me. It is difficult for us all to understand
that others do not always see things the same way that we do and that neither
party is right or wrong – just different. It is this difference that makes us
all unique. We did some activities whereby the Personality Filters of
participants were clearly identified and then compared to our own filters on the
same continuum – what an amazing exercise and a true ‘Ah Ha’ moment ( as
Phillipa puts it). Working with the Enneagram was enlightening from a number of perspectives. I was not familiar with the nine types described by the Enneagram or their interrelationships prior to this workshop. We were asked to complete a questionnaire prior to attendance which would then be utilised in discerning our particular Enneagram Number, however, we soon realised that in a significant amount of instances, participants are not always open in their responses and answer ‘how they would like to be’ rather than ‘how they actually are’. It can be confronting to be frank and honest with yourself -warts and all, but that is what we were encouraged to do and I determined that the number I thought I was from the questionnaire was not my actual number (once Phillipa went through the nine points in great detail and depth). I have since undertaken a lot of reading on the subject of Enneagram and have made some sense of my own behaviours, traits and responses both good and bad. On the final day we searched the meaning of values and value systems and what became somewhat obvious from this discussion was that what we valued most in a lot of instances did not rate as high as it should on our priority list. Time, energy and money are all things that we put into our everyday life and during one of the exercises, we were asked to compare the input of these three things on the things we valued most highly in our lives such as self, spouse, children, extended family, friends, spirituality, work/career, health etc. In a lot of instances, the highest input was given to something we valued much less than other things in our lives and so this discrepancy may be a reason why stress is becoming so prevalent in our society today. The next workshop is at the end of March and we will be covering the Linguistic component of ‘Neuro Linguistic Programming’ (NLP). I have received my next workbook and have loaded up my IPOD with the CD’s for listening. The journey continues...... Kind Regards, Kate Reilly NLP Journey Part 3 In the last
week in March, I packed up the car and headed south to Byron Bay for the 3rd
Workshop along my NLP pathway. I had listened to the CD’s provided by Phillipa
Bond and had breezed through the accompanying text in preparation for a most
interesting and thought provoking couple of days. I was looking forward to
meeting up with the group once again as previous acquaintances have now become
friends and polite interest has evolved into more meaningful consideration for
my fellow participants. Workshop 3 had the ominous title of ‘Advanced Language Patterns’ and my commonsense mind told me that this would appeal to me and my sense of logical, tangible and realistic thought processes. I thought I had a good grasp of the English Language and how to use and apply language in a wide range of situations, both written and oral. Once again, my eyes were opened to an entirely new way of thinking and doing when it comes to Language applications. Considerable time was allocated to ‘meeting’ and ‘getting to know’ the Clinical Hypnotist – Milton Erickson (deceased), but his work lives on and is a source of fascination for those interested in the processes of the unconscious mind vs the conscious mind. We touched on trance (focused attention) and hypnosis (suggestion) and covered Suggestive Language Patterns; use of Metaphor; Generative Questioning; Swish Processes (verbal and physical), and Criteria Utilisation Patterns to name a few. Quite a few practical group/couple exercises were employed during the workshop. These were given so as to explore the uses for new concepts and the application of these concepts in our own sphere of influence. To speak in a different manner and to use foreign syntax and language patterns proved quite challenging in some instances, however, willingness to participate proved to be the key and persistence paved the road to early successes. At the completion of the three day workshop, my mind was swimming with new and exciting information. I am now looking forward to Workshop 4 in May and the completion of my NLP instruction. It will then be up to me to understand, apply and benefit from this amazing chapter of my personal and professional development. With so many techniques to practice and so much information to ingest, my mind harks back to Phillipa and one comment she repeats to the group; ‘A technique revealed is a technique lost’. So practice I will, and don’t be surprised if next time you speak with me, I am employing a few tricks of the trade – with innocent intent, of course! The journey continues……… Kind Regards, Kate Reilly
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Baraka Training &
Management Pty Ltd Office: 07
49782168
Copyright ©2010 - Peter Reilly - Baraka Training & Management Pty Ltd
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I have only just managed to uncover the very tip of the
iceberg in my NLP learning journey and I began by looking deeply and honestly at
myself - how I relate to others and how others relate to me. My knowledge and
experience on this topic is in its infancy and I will be sharing my thoughts and
progress over the coming months as I complete the remaining three sessions with
Phillipa Bond and the group.
