NLP Processes: Recipe, Ritual, Neurological Change, or Distractor?
An NLP process can be viewed as a recipe where the practitioner leads a person through certain fixed steps.
Or it can viewed as a ritual, which incorporates a healing intention, a relationship with the client, and steps to follow
In the video series, NLP Mastery, Jamie Smart says
“When change takes place, people want to be able to ascribe it to something.
I did this thing …”
People don’t want to just say “I changed my mind!”
Or as a neurological process …
“A process can also be described as a set of discrete identifiable neurological processes which take place … doing certain things with the mind and body to get certain results.”
Or the NLP process can be “viewed as something to distract the unconscious mind while the conscious mind does its stuff”
The map is not the territory, so our description is always different to what is actually happening.
Each person doing an NLP process has their own interpretation, their own style, and their own map of the world – which is also interacting with the client’s unique map of the world. And personalizing the process is a good thing – making it your own.
In the video, Jamie reminds us that there is no replacement for sensory acuity (open sensory channels in Jamie’s words), behavioral flexibility, and a sense of direction based on a positive intention. In addition, we must keep the relationship in mind and remember that the person’s map of the world makes sense to them, no matter how strange it may appear to us.