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The Destination Method Video

This is an interesting fast-paced video by Robert Dee McDonald talking about his Destination Method.

I watched a webinar of Robert in the NLP Planet online conference and found his ideas interesting. I first heard about him through his work on the Tools of the Spirit book which he authored with Robert Dilts. I have used several of the processes in this book and found them useful (even if just a little bit weirder than even the average NLP process!)
In the Destination Method, Robert McDonald suggests that change can occur at many different levels and that the higher levels (e.g. Spirit and Soul) affect the psychological levels. People familiar with Robert’s Dilts’ model of Neurological Levels may like to note the similarities and differences. A screenshot from the video is shown below which includes the levels in the Destination Method.
Screen Shot 2013-02-23 at 8.51.39 PM

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Grandfather

Of Water and the Spirit – Slowly Becoming
Grandfather’s respect and love for children was Universal in the tribe… To the Dagara, children are the most important members of society, the community’s most important treasures… This love and and treasured importance is where the saying it take a whole tribe to raise a child…
Grandfather had been my confident interlocutor for as long as I can remember… There is a close relationship betweens Grandfathers and grandchildren… The first few years of a boy’s life are usually spent, not with his father, but with his grandfather… What the grandfather and grandson share — that the father cannot — is their close proximity to the cosmos… The grandfather will soon return to where the grandson came from, so therefore the grandson is bearer of news the grandfather wants… The grandfather will do anything to make the grandson communicate the news of the ancestors before the child forgets,as inevitably happens… My grandfather obtained this news through hypnosis, putting me to sleep in order to question me…
Grandfather knew how to talk with the void, or rather to some unseen audience of spirits… Among the Dagara, the older you get the more you begin to notice spirits and ancestors everywhere… When you hear a person speaking out loud, alone, you don’t talk to them because he or she may be discussing an important issue with a spirit or an ancestor… This rule applies more to holy elders than to adults in general. When I was with Grandfather, I felt as if there were more people around then could be accounted for… When he knew I was not following his stories, he used to redirect his speech to these invisible beings. he never seemed bothered by my not listening…
– Of water and the Spirit
– Malidoma Patrice Some

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The Special Occasion

A brother and sister are clearing up the house of their recently departed mother. They come across the expensive dress she bought years ago for a special occasion and realise it is still in the store wrapping, there was never an occasion special enough.

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Paper on Using Meta Programs in Education

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This is a paper that I published recently in the proceedings of the Pansig2013 conference. My co-authors are Avril Matsui-Haye and Sarah Mulvey. A download link and the abstract are given below. PanSig2012_Metaprograms Abstract: This paper presents the concept of metaprograms as a useful tool for exploring critical thinking skills and literacy development. Metaprograms can be defined as mental processes which manage, guide and direct other mental processes. The first four metaprograms are more commonly known as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a common personality assessment tool in schools and workplaces. This paper presents a comparison of data from the U.S. and Japan on the MBTI in order to highlight the differences in cognitive style between different cultures. This is followed by a practical activity showing how metaprograms are useful in examining and discussing people’s cognitive and social strategies. PanSig2012_Metaprograms

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The Plane Crash

Not so long ago, a plane landed seemingly miraculously on the River Hudson. All 155 people came out alive. What did those 155 people feel as they stood on dry land and realized what they’d been through? Would they all have had the same reaction? Absolutely not! Many would have felt very distressed and upset – they nearly died, and they might decide never to fly again as it’s clearly too dangerous. Others might been overwhelming relief and happiness at having survived. Some might decide to live life to the full as a result of their experience, and be determined to fly even more. There could be 155 different reactions. Same event, different responses. It’s not the event which causes our emotions, it’s the meaning we give them. Those who interpreted the event as terrifyingly dangerous may feel very distressed, and be too anxious to fly again. Others will feel ecstatic as the meaning they gave the event was that they were incredibly lucky to survive.