How does NLP work?
It’s not so much the experience of life that makes a difference to how we feel, it is how we perceive those experiences.
For example, two people who are involved in the same “experience” will never have exactly the same experience. Therefore no
two people ever represent “the world” in their heads the same way. No one way is better or worse, or real or not real. It’s
completely individual, personal and unique. An example is if two people go on a rollercoaster, one person may perceive it as
fun and exciting and their brain will produce chemicals which are associated with fun and joy (endorphins) where as the next
person may perceive the experience to be frightening and scary, their brain would produce chemicals associated with fear
(adrenalin). This emphasises again that it is not the actual “experience” which matters, but the way we perceive it, which
is completely unique to the individual.
This is where NLP is so important. It is the development of understanding how someone takes in the world through the senses,
and uniquely stores, codes and organises this information. Then, by using specially developed language patterns and
processes we can “talk” to the brain and nervous system in a language it fully understands, thus gaining direct
communication, and program it to respond to things differently - in a way that suits us better and serves us fully.
It is important to point out that because NLP processes are so specific and direct, they have very powerful effects and
positive change is often instantaneous. People therefore could have an idea of an NLP practitioner “waving a magic wand” and
magically “solving” all their problems for them. This is not the case at all. It is not NLP that “works” by itself, it is
you and your brain that “work”! Remember one of the key assumptions of NLP - we are simply reminding the brain of its
inherent excellence. It already has everything it needs (the “hardware”) and all we are doing as an NLP practitioner and
client is working together, and gently guiding your brain in the right direction (reprogramming the “software”). By doing
this we connect those neural network patterns inside your brain to do what we want them to do, not what they thought they
had to, do all that time ago, when they were first connected.
Einstein is quoted as saying “our thinking creates problems that the same kind of thinking cannot solve”. I think this is a
good way of describing how NLP works. If it was just as easy as saying consciously "I’d like to change this behaviour now
please" everyone would be their own therapist and would be completely fulfilled and happy and healthy in life. The only
difference between you and me is that I know how to communicate with the type of thinking that can change you positively.
Mental and physical dis-eases therefore like depression or allergies are just a “way of thinking” (i.e. a neural network
pattern in the brain) and can be changed if you really want them to be.
