by Tim Brunson, PhD

All of us have experienced peak times in our lives when we feel extremely motivated, capable, and in the flow. Former University of Chicago psychology department head Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi popularized the idea of a person being fully immersed in what he or she is doing at any given time. He called this an "in the zone" or "flow" state. The question that I would like to address is whether or not we can trigger this feeling at will. Furthermore, I am intrigued by the possibility that we can store and recall energizing mental resources when needed or desired. Think of this as carrying extra batteries for your cell phone. Therefore, if you were to be in the middle of a sports competition, taking a critical exam, or giving a presentation, what if you could simply decide to re-energize your neurophysiology so that you could tackle the task in a peak flow state?

During my training in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) almost two decades ago Clinton Clay, LCSW, and Edna Clay impressed upon me the possibilities of biographical incidents in my past, from which I could visit and retrieve what they called resources. It seemed that by recalling and practically revivicating a memory of a time that I was performing at my best, triggered specific internal representations and neurophysiological states. By associating (i.e. seeing through my own eyes, hearing through my own ears, and realizing the associated physical sensations) into the event, I achieved a deep revivicating feeling that I was indeed there. Using ANNH terminology, it appears that I was activating (i.e. recalling) specific neurophysiological patterns to include causing a specific distribution of energy in my brain and body.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

Our concept and sense of realty is limited and defined by how we filter our perceptions. The mental states that result become the instigators of our behavior. Therefore, in order to alter states – and ultimately behavior -- a person can merely alter their filters. This concept is the core of the Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Communication Model (NLP is an often controversial rapid therapy system that was developed by John Grinder and Richard Bandler in the 1960's. It has widely been embraced by the self-help and hypnotherapy communities, generating only occasional interest within the main-stream psychology arena.)

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Understanding written or spoken language presumably involves spreading neural activation in the brain. This process may be approximated by spreading activation in semantic networks, providing enhanced representations that involve concepts not found directly in the text. The approximation of this process is of great practical and theoretical interest. Although activations of neural circuits involved in representation of words rapidly change in time snapshots of these activations spreading through associative networks may be captured in a vector model. Concepts of similar type activate larger clusters of neurons, priming areas in the left and right hemisphere. Analysis of recent brain imaging experiments shows the importance of the right hemisphere non-verbal clusterization. Medical ontologies enable development of a large-scale practical algorithm to re-create pathways of spreading neural activations. First concepts of specific semantic type are identified in the text, and then all related concepts of the same type are added to the text, providing expanded representations. To avoid rapid growth of the extended feature space after each step only the most useful features that increase document clusterization are retained. Short hospital discharge summaries are used to illustrate how this process works on a real, very noisy data. Expanded texts show significantly improved clustering and may be classified with much higher accuracy. Although better approximations to the spreading of neural activations may be devised a practical approach presented in this paper helps to discover pathways used by the brain to process specific concepts, and may be used in large-scale applications.

Neural Netw. 2008 Dec;21(10):1500-10. Epub 2008 Jun 7. Duch W, Matykiewicz P, Pestian J. Department of Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Grudziadzka 5, 87-100 Torun, Poland. wduch@is.umk.pl

Full Title: Neurolinguistic programming used to reduce the need for anaesthesia in claustrophobic patients undergoing MRI

To purpose of this study was to assess the success of neurolinguistic programming in reducing the need for general anaesthesia in claustrophobic patients who require MRI and to consider the financial implications for health providers. This was a prospective study performed in 2006 and 2007at a teaching hospital in England and comprised 50 adults who had undergone unsuccessful MR examinations because of claustrophobia. The main outcome measures were the ability to tolerate a successful MR examination after neurolinguistic programming, the reduction of median anxiety scores produced by neurolinguistic programming, and models of costs for various imaging pathways. Neurolinguistic programming allowed 38/50 people (76%) to complete the MR examination successfully. Overall, the median anxiety score was significantly reduced following the session of neurolinguistic programming. In conclusion, neurolinguistic programming reduced anxiety and subsequently allowed MRI to be performed without resorting to general anaesthesia in a high proportion of claustrophobic adults. If these results are reproducible, there will be major advantages in terms of patient safety and costs.

Br J Radiol. 2009 Jun 8. Bigley J, Griffiths PD, Prydderch A, Romanowski CA, Miles L, Lidiard H, Hoggard N. Department of Radiology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Glossop Road, Sheffield, S10 2JR, UK.

by Alexander R. Lees, DCH, RCC

In our zest to apply the tapping (such as EFT) efficiently, we sometimes phrase this desire in our mind as: "The more tapping, the better." This can be quite a valid assumption, to a point! While teaching EFT, I have observed some practitioners begin tapping the 'client' within a few seconds of sitting down, and continuously doing so throughout the session. Others do not. The question I am asked by students is essentially the following, "Which is the right way?" By way of helping them to understand this issue more fully, I usually suggest they ask: "What is the difference that makes the difference?"

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by Alexander R. Lees, DCH, RCC

I have observed many "masters" in the healing professions at work, and I began to discover certain patterns exist in their approach, and that learning the patterns can be similar to discovering there is a map for the territory. All journeys begin with a first step, and each step leads to another and so on, until the journey is completed. The only variables are when, and how.

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by Alexander Lees, DCH, RCC

I took my first NLP training in 1982. Over the years I have been fortunate to meet, and learn NLP from, many of the "greats" and became a Certified International Trainer of NLP in 1996. Then in 1999 I learned EFT and incorporated it into my private practice, as well as teach it at workshops. Tapping specific acupuncture points (EFT) combined with NLP makes for a perfect marriage, each complimenting the other, beautifully. I purposely use the generic term "tapping" simply because there are so many different names now in the field of meridian tapping techniques. Although each seems to use the same basic acupuncture points, each has their own slight variants as well. I encourage everyone to review them all, and choose the one that appeals.

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by Janis Ericson, Hypnosis and NLP Trainer

One of the most prevalent questions I am asked is, "What is the difference between NLP and Hypnosis?"  Here is a comprehensive answer.

NLP is the study of successful people. NLP modelers study what successful people think, say, value, believe, and do. Practitioners of NLP use this information as a map to guide processes that assist clients in making positive changes in their own minds and bodies. It is an extremely effective methodology for personal growth and development.

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by Ligia M. Houben, MA,CT,CG-C,ACCP, CH

Coaching has developed in recent years as an effective way to promote change in individuals. What starts as a dream for a person, coaching can make it a reality (Joseph O'Connor & Andrea Lages. Coaching with NLP, (p.3). When a person makes the decision to be coached is because he or she has the desire to change. As Napoleon Hill in his classic "Think and Grow Rich" tells us "Desire...[is] the starting point of all achievements" (pg 33). And it is this desire that inspires the person to change the direction in his or her life, but at times they don't know how change their lives or, because their own limiting messages or beliefs, sabotage any intention of growth. NLP may be that "missing link" in how to assist the client in their path to success.

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by Robert W. Fletcher

Having struggled for many years to find more effective ways to work with the hearing impaired and the visual impaired I came upon the concept of use what works and discard what doesn't work. I had struggled in my youth in learning to read and in the early '60s had become acquainted with a remedial reading teacher from the Granite School District in Utah. With the help of Evelyn Wood, and using the techniques in her reading dynamics program, I was able to accelerate my reading abilities to a more except level.

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by Robert W. Fletcher

Introduction
Having worked with NLP and Hypnosis for the past 15 years, I find that there are ways of working with each level of the mind which brings about change quickly. In discussing this with others in the health community, I find that they are amazed at some of the results I have been getting over the past few years. Several years ago, I wrote an article for Anchor Point in which I set forth an engineering metaphor that could be used with a combination of hypnosis and NLP skills. The results, obtained through the use of this mental metaphor, have been extremely successful and gratifying. I would like to review that metaphor, expand upon it, and give some examples of how I use it with people who are in coma and with those who have had brain injury.

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by Gary de Rodriquez

Greetings

I've been sitting here at my computer thinking about what I can write that will be meaningful for people at this intense time in our history. I have received so many calls and e-mails about the chaos that is currently surrounding many of our lives. It is as if life has accelerated at an alarming rate, leaving us confused and exhausted.

I know that in my own personal life there have been many people very close to me that have experienced unpredictable catastrophes, resulting in their lives being completely changed overnight. Is it possible that the current chaos that we are experiencing is a result of not accepting the gifts that life chooses to give us?

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by Jevon Dängeli

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is well established as a powerful method to develop your potential and enhance performance. It can help you create order from chaos and encourages resourceful ways of thinking while expanding awareness of choices.

We're all born with the same basic neurology. Our ability to do anything in life, whether it's learning a new skill, cooking a meal or doing business, depends on how we control our nervous system. So, much of NLP is devoted to learning how to think more effectively and communicate more effectively with yourself and others.

Neuro is about your neurological system. NLP is based on the idea that we experience the world through our senses and translate sensory information into thought processes, both conscious and unconscious. Thought processes activate the neurological system, which affects physiology, emotions and behaviour.

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by Jevon Dängeli

MAD is an acronym Money Anxiety Disorder. Something many of us are experiencing in varying degrees these days.

MADness is not a new epidemic in the world, although it has proliferated with the current economic climate which has many people hiding and protecting their resources.

I suggest that the core problem underpinning the economical crisis in the world is human MADness. However, there really is no problem at all, as MADness is merely a figment on the imagination, and can therefore be dealt with quite easily, as I will highlight in this article.

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by Dennis K. Chong and Jennifer K. Smith Chong

In this article, the male pronoun is to apply to either gender

It is written that: As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

If a perceptive student of hypnotism accepts this as a first principle, his initial and implicit unconstrained interest would logically be:

How doth a man thinketh?

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by Dennis K. Chong MD & Jennifer K. Smith Chong

Neuro-Semantic Programming, NSP, proposed that the form of the tuple depended on the manner of operation by the governances that we use to drive our thinking, speaking and our way of being in any given context. These governances are the semantic paradigms or blueprints that we use to understand ourselves, others, things, and situations. They include our Race, Family, Language, Religion, Culture, Politics Politic, Social System, Myths, Traditions and NSP designated any given context as a space/time intersection, e.g. s/t1 s/t2, s/t3, s/t4 . . . s/tn. As a result, you could have s/t1 . . . s/t1+N. Everything is language or more accurately the language structures (our red inking) of the language. Fritzof Capra: Web of Life, A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems, Anchor Books, Doubleday, 1996, page 288.

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by Dennis K. Chong & Jennifer K. Smith Chong

It was Neuro-Linguistic Programming, NLP, that first proposed a formula by which to understand any state of consciousness and by extension, any given state and therefore, any given ontology.

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This qualitative study shows the results of workshops held with health workers and public health users (raped women), aimed at raising these women's self-esteem and creating awareness among health workers who attend them. Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques were used to bring back life experiences, which contributed to a re-reading and to minimize causal factors of low self-esteem. Themes like repugnance, fear and the fruit of rape; image and place; death; revenge; support and solidarity; domestic violence and bad care delivery to victims were addressed during the meetings. The stories were transcribed and analyzed, preserving content fidelity. Experiences lived at home and with loved and admired people, and mainly experiences resulting from the rape were responsible for the low self-esteem. The evaluations indicated the workshops as an opportunity to reflect, to return to normal life and to reconstruct self-esteem, for the raped women as well for the health workers who deliver care to them.

Rev Lat Am Enfermagem. 2006 Sep-Oct;14(5):695-701. Vianna LA, Bomfim GF, Chicone G. Paulista Medical School, Brasil. lvianna@reitoria.epm.br

by Wil Horton, Psy. D. CAC CMI

Take the following 20 question, multiple choice test on Neuro Linguistic Psychology and test you base rate. Answers are provided at the end.

1. The ------------------ is a great tool for addictions problems as it settles internal conflict

A. Meta Model

B. Visual Squash

C. Swish Pattern

D. Rapport

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by Wil Horton, Psy.D.

In keeping up with the research on neuroscience and how the brain works both physically and psychologically, I came across information that is not only fascinating but could be potentially useful to us in the mind/body field. I feel it is important for Hypnotists/NLPers, if we want to be considered scientists of the mind, to not only have a working knowledge of the brain/mind but to stay up on some of the "hard research" that is being done in medicine (neuroscience) and psychology (psychobiology). Let me share with you two recent findings; and then I will share with you how we can use this information.

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