Neuro-Linguistic-Programming (NLP)

Neuro

Refers to our nervous system, the mental pathways of our five senses by which we see, hear, feel, taste and smell.

Linguistic

Refers to our ability to use language and how specific words or phrases mirror our mental worlds. We use language to understand our own world, telling ourselves things about it according to our upbringing and belief systems. Our experiences tend to follow the words we use.

For example: if we tell ourselves often enough and for long enough, that we are clumsy, things will appear to fly out of our hands and we may stumble a lot. Interestingly, if we start saying to ourselves ‘I used to be clumsy’ then life seems to follow and change according to the words of our story, especially when these are positive in nature.

Linguistic also refers to our body language, the silent language of postures, gestures and habits that reveal our thinking styles, beliefs and attitudes.

Programming

Is a term borrowed from computer science to suggest that our thoughts, feelings and actions are simply programmes which we run out of habit, that can be changed by upgrading our mental software. Through use of language and holding our body’s posture, we create and change our personal experience of reality.

So if our life experience is not progressing as well as we would like it to, this is a good time to realise that we have unlimited resources to change experiences to match our positive expectations.