NLP Today E-zine
October 2002
Something to think about from Dr. Wil Horton
Intro to NLP Today E-Zine
NLP Today E-Zine is a monthly series of articles that will bring you the best information in the world of NLP and Hypnosis. We will bring you articles that have been proven in the real world. Heavy with techniques and information you can use in your daily life, whether it's as a therapist with clients, business or sales, or just for self-development. We will get you the information you want and can't get. We focus on proven applications, not theory. Our trainers all "do the work." This is the difference that makes the difference. We cut the fluff and bring the main course. Mental Food you can use. NFNLP is the leader in this type of technology.
This is a service of the National Federation of NeuroLinguistic Psychology and Dr. Wil Horton. We want people to achieve their highest potential, and NLP is the #1 tool for this. If you feel you have been added to this list in error, check out an issue, and then let us know if you would like to be removed.
You can achieve your dreams.
Captains Chair: This month I want you to take time for you!
As summer winds down and we head into fall, it is time to start planning next year. Did you ever notice that the older you get, the faster the months seem to fly by? I remember being told that hours may drag (especially with some clients) but the days and weeks, and even years fly by. The older you get the smarter your parents and grandparents were. Have you started your plans for next year?
What are your goals?
Professionally, what do you plan to accomplish next year? Are there classes and seminars you want to take? Conferences you plan to attend? How much money do you plan on making?
On a personal level, what are your physical goals? What hobbies do you want to pursue; books do you want to read; relationships you want to expand; relationships you want to start; places you want to visit?
Write down your goals so you can track them as the year progresses.
For your date book!
If you are planning to add training or public speaking to your list, I hope to see you at the Ultimate Public Speaking Course, the Trainers Training, November 14, -17, 2002 in Sarasota Florida. More at the end.
Also the last Basic NLP of the year is at the IMDHA in Detroit, Oct. 24, 25, 28, 29, Call (248) 549-5594. I will also be doing some Stop Smoking-Weight loss seminars in the area that the class will be invited to.
Flash: January 16-19, 2003 Kevin Hogan and I will be doing a Basic NLP training in Minneapolis. This is the first training we have done together in several years. We will also teach some marketing from our new book.
Stop Smoking and Weight Loss Seminars
Virginia Beach, October 19, 20, 21, 22
Detroit, October 27,28,29
Buffalo, Nov 3, 4, 5,
Call (941) 697-9104 for details
From the Road:
This month I had the wonderful opportunity to do a training in Holland. It was a great setting. The training was held in a converted monastery. This setting allowed for maximum interaction. The facility did not have phones or TVs in the rooms. (I learned you can go 10 days without CNN.) We had 25 people for a combined Basic/Master NLP course. It was a great way to cloister ourselves from the world and focus on the learning.
The course went great and I learned so much from the experience and students.
When I arrived I had the chance to visit the world famous Amsterdam Museum and take a boat tour of the canals that line the city. During the week, I had a day off and went to Germany and then visited a WWII museum. The museum was a sobering experience given the current world events. The more I travel, the more I believe what President Kennedy said over 40 years ago. We are all the same. We want a better life for ourselves and we care about and want an even better life for our children.
I also want to recommend a rather interesting book that has hypnosis as part of its plotline, "Last Man Standing" by David Baldacci, Warner books 2002. I must warn you it has the mind control aspects some find uncomfortable, but a lot of you will like. It also has an interesting twist involving ethics in therapy, and what is learned in a regression session.
Theory into Practice:
In case you have not seen this, here is something you can use in your publicity.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters Health) - Using hypnosis in the operating room could cut costs of some medical procedures in half, Harvard Researchers reported Monday at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association.
"Doing hypnosis on the operating room table certainly makes sense, but unless it saves money, you will not be doing it," said study Author Dr. Elvira V. Lang, associate professor of radiology and Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
The National Institutes of Health National Center funded the research for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The study followed 241 patients undergoing various medical procedures such as clearing blocked arteries.
** All the patients were given standard medical care, including the option of self-medicating drugs for pain.
** One-third was also given empathic attention from a health professional in addition to standard care.
** Another third were given self-hypnotic relaxation techniques in addition to standard care as part of preparation for the procedure.
Lang reported that the hypnotized group reported significantly less pain during the procedure. The hypnotized group also took significantly less time to complete their procedures and used half as much pain medication. Based on these and other findings, Lang calculated that the average cost for a procedure using standard care was $638, while the cost for a procedure using adjunct hypnosis would cost $300, cutting the cost by more than half. Even if hypnosis added nearly an hour to the preparation time, it would still save money, she said.
"Hypnosis in the operating room is feasible, it is effective and very resource-sensitive," Lang concluded.
Techniques and Tips:
The First Piece is the Same as the Last
By Bryan D. Toder
After eating some chocolate cake at a wedding I noticed, as I was scraping the icing off the plate, that I was still thinking that I wanted just "one more bite" of cake. This interested me because I thought that if l could convince myself (by accessing a past state of "fullness" or "contentedness", before I started eating the slice of cake, that if I took one forkful of cake (and threw the rest away) and thought of that forkful (the first piece) as "the last piece", I would still have the same feeling as when I ate the entire slice of cake!
To test this out a few days later, while watching television, I had a bag of Hershey's Kisses nearby and I wanted some to eat. However, I thought to take just one Kiss out of the bag and put the rest away. Then, I imagined as if I had just eaten about six or seven Kisses and this one was the "last one". After eating it, I (of course) had that I wish I had another one" thought, but for some reason, it passed and I felt content.
I now tell my clients about this technique and it does get the same result. They are amazed.
* * *
(On a personal note...Christina Horton, Wil's wife, has this addiction to a specific type of butter cookie from the local bakery. They are not often available so when she finds them in the bakery she usually buys several pounds at a time (at $5.00 a pound, no less!) and literally will go through a pound within a couple of hours. Then, of course, she beats herself up with guilt, because those who know Christina, know that she does flying trapeze, is a health fanatic, and abhors junk food. But when it comes to this specific cookie, all her barriers drop. So, Christina did this "First Piece is the Last Piece" varying it so that in her mind as she reaches for another cookie, she pictures that she had just finished off a prior one pound box of the cookies. The result is she will actually feel physically sick from overeating! And yet she had only had one piece!)
Eliminating Negatives
One of the most important principles of NLP is that success is measured according to whether what you do works. In NLP the focus is on the desired outcome, or purpose, of the communication and the extent to which this is achieved. To get your message across to transfer understanding from yourself to another person first you need to make sure that what you are saying nonverbally supports what you are saying verbally. Your state of mind and how you feel will affect the information you are trying to convey. To illustrate this, complete the following exercise.
Negative/Positive Outcomes
To demonstrate the power of negative and positive outcomes, do the following exercise. Find a quiet place where you can concentrate and there are no distractions. If there is a television or radio playing in the background, turn them off.
Think about an event you do not want to happen or a situation you would find unpleasant or distasteful. This could involve anything in your life your career or a personal relationship or a project you are working on, etc. Concentrate on it for a few minutes. Put yourself totally in the situation hear the sounds, picture the event, experience the feelings, etc. In the space below, write down the words that come to mind when you think of the negative outcome from this experience.
Words Associated With Negative Outcome
Now think of the same situation, but this time think about it in a positive sense. Fully experience mentally all of the positive aspects. Put yourself totally in the situation hear the sounds, picture the event, experience the feelings, etc. Think about how great you will feel when you achieve what you want. In the space below, write down the words that come to mind when you think of the positive outcome from this experience.
Words Associated With Positive Outcome
When you thought about the two scenarios above, which one did you prefer? The one with the positive outcome, I’m sure. The difference between the two events is not just in the mind, however. If someone had been watching you, they would have noticed a difference in your facial expression, your breathing and your body posture. Physiologically, you become what you think about. How you envision your outcome makes a big difference the difference between success and failure.
Concentrating on what you don t want to happen sometimes known as worrying can have a negative impact on more than just your physical body. It has to do with how your brain processes outcomes or desires. Your brain ignores negatives. You may say to yourself, I don t want to be
late for the meeting, but what your brain registers is LATE.The way to ‘trick your brain,’ if you will, is to tell yourself "I want to get to the meeting ten minutes early. "Your brain hears ‘ early’ and that is what it records as your desired outcome. It may be hard at first to eliminate negatives from your thoughts and speech, but with a little practice it can be done. You will be amazed at the results.
Eliminating Negative Suggestions
Your mind works only in positives. When you tell your mind "don't" in order to understand what you "do not" want to happen, your brain must first think about doing the action. Most of us use the ‘don t’ word on a regular basis. We say things like, "Don't forget to pick up bread and milk on the way home", But the brain hears "Forget to pick up bread and milk" and that's what happens.
Negative Suggestion: Don’t think about the cravings for smoking.
Positive Suggestion: Think of breathing clean fresh air.
Negative Suggestion: Don t think about smoking now.
Positive Suggestion: Keep in mind the reasons you are a smoke free person, or the feelings you get when you remember that you decided to be smoke free.