NLP Untold Stories

Citation preview

NLP SECRETS Untold Stories

A455163

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

NLP SECRETS UNTOLD STORIES NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D. 2019

NLP SECRETS: UNTOLD STORIES

0 2019 L. Michael Hall, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved. No part of this may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, etc.) Without the prior writtenpermission of the publisher.

NSP — Neuro-Semantic Publications L. Michael Hall, Ph.D., ExecutiveDirector ISNS — International Society of Neuro-Semantics@ P.O. Box 8 Clifton, CO 81520 (970) 523-7877

Website:

www.neurosemantics.com

Audio and Video Recordings

For a full range of recordings of this training as well as other cuttingedge Neuro-Semantic training, contact Tom Welch and his website: [email protected] www.nlp-video.com.

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NLP SECRETS: Untold Stories Preface

4

12. The Fight Over Ownership (1995-2000)

158

l. Accidents That Started It All (1971-1972)

11

13. The Period of Expansion (The 1990s)

2. Mimicking a Master (1972-1973)

165

14. Expanding by Modeling

22

(1990

2018)

176

3. Then Came the Experiments (1972-1975)

32

15. Walking on the Weird-Side 184

4. The Experimenters' Exemplars

16. Forging into the 21 stCentury

45

(1972-1976)

(2000-2018)

5. Exemplar's Contributions

191

17. The Next Big Secret

201

Bibliography Author

207 216

58

6. On the Shoulders of the Giants (1933-1976) 77

7. The Delivery was a Success:

NLP's Birthday (1976)

89

8. The Un-Acknowledged Giants (1933-1976) 108 9. Established Dis-Unified (1975-1980)

122

10. Murder She Wrote (1986-1987)

138

11. NLP Goes International (1986-1996) 147 -3_

PREFACE "Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. Henry Ford

"Afamily is as sick as its secrets. Virginia Satir

ehind and within every new development—whetherin politics, psychology, physics, etc.—there is a story—stories—and within them are secrets. Typically these stories are based partly on some facts of history and partly on wishful thinking. So it is with the NLP story. Whatever story you've heard, it's inevitable that a great deal of that story is made up of exciting, strange, and untrue fictions. That was true of most of the stories I heard when I entered into NLP. And that's all too common for

received stories, stripped of critical details, and pulled out of historical contexts. Why would anyone do that? Probably as memorable selling points to boost someone's ego. I have written this to tell the NLP secrets that I've heard and discovered. My goal is to tell the all too human story of NLP—a story mostly untold and unknown. The stories that have been told have a lot of spin in. Now given that the history is what it is, my intention is not to change it or fit it into a preformed template. Nor do I want to be an apologist for a person, group, or idea. Instead my intention is to report as cleanly as possible so we can understand and learn from that history. Nor am I under any illusion that the stories in this book tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." In NLP we know better than that! Our stories of what happened are constructs of fallible memories. Yet I believe that these stories do tell the

basic story, and the many sub-stories, as well as possible— given the current data available at the time of this writing. -4-

VI-P

Prelhce

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

The stories I have put together corne from multiple perspectives and often are fragnnented pictures of what really happened. You will find, as I found, that there are still many gaps and unexplained events. I have taken an investigative reporting approach to tell, as best as I can, the stories that define NLP. I have also attempted to document them with facts, dates, quotes, and statements from the original players. Some of it is based on my personal experience with many of the key players. Some of it is based on

my research into the writings of the field. And where there's no

documentation or evidence, some is based on guesswork. I

In my early years in NLP, I focused exclusively on learning to develop my communication skills. I did not pay that much attention to what was going on around me in the field. I would have paid much closer attention if I thought I would one day write about that history! Whywrite about the NLP stories? Primarily to understand where we came from and the factors that have influenced and contributed to our current state. Without learning from history, we are far more likely to mindlessly repeat it. Further, by embracing our history, rather than sweeping it under the carpet, we can prevent ourselves, our field, and our community from becoming sick. Hence, Virginia Satir's comment quoted in the opening of this Preface: "A family is as sick as its secrets."

Now while understanding our stories exposes and frees us from its mythologies, typically it upsets those who have vested interests in spinning history in a certain way. Given the breakups and splits, mythologies arose early in NLP as each party told stories to validate its claims. There's another reason to research and write history. In systems, t'sensitivity

to initial, conditions" plays an incredibly formative role for later developments. This is especially true of human systems. Some of the divisive fruits which NLP reaped in the 1980s and 90s and into the twentyfirst century, are the results of what happened in the 1970s.

Meteorologist Lorenz (1963) describes this sensitivity in his work on weather systems. He found that even the most minute changes in the initial

conditions of a weather system tend to amplify overtime. -5-

This is the

NLP Secrets

Preface

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Tamous "butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world influences the

weather in another part." As you will discover, many of the initial conditions of NLP, are still influencing us today.

What You Will Find in NLP Secrets? You will discover that NLP was created by and in a community. Two men took exclusive credit for it and that disguised the secret ... until now. You will discover that NLP has evolved over the decades to become so much

more today than what it was at the beginning. It began as a rebellious iconoclastic model and over the years became a well-researched communication model. It began as a California-style new-age freewheeling adventure with Gestalt and grew to become a worldwide movement highlighting a professional communication model.

How NLP Secrets Came to Be In NLP, we do not ask the why of history question. ("Why are you that

way?" ) We ask about how. "How do you do that?" "How does that work?" Yet eliminating the why of history does not completely dismiss any value of understanding historical processes. There is value at all to learning when or where or under what circumstances something started. If nothing else,

it hemps us understand ourselves. Developmental psychology seeks to understand how we develop mentally

over the years (Piaget), how we develop socially (Erickson), sexually (Freud), etc. Ideas also have histories. They are born at a specific time,

grow, change, mix with other ideas, and evolve over time. They arise in the mind of a certain person and develop along with that person and others.

When I found NLP, I was fascinated about where those people got their ideas. Upon discovering principles oftransformation in the models derived from Perls, Satir, and Erickson, I decided I would read everything I could from those original exemplars (chapter 5). That led to other historical sources—Alfred Korzybski and Gregory Bateson—who established the basic epistemology ofNLP (chapter 6). Later I searched out the psychology of NLP in the original works of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers (chapter

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L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

All of that led me to write a series of articles in 1991-2,Almost Inventors Q/NLP Titchner, William James, Alfred Adler, etc. As I read and reread Korzybski, I wrote a series of articles in 1992-3 on Missing Linguistics in the Meta-Model. That later led Richard Bandler asking me to co-author a book to celebrate the 25 thyear history of the Meta-Model (Communication Magic) a story you will read about in chapter 13.

In my readings of Maslow and Rogers, and the movement that they launched, the Human Potential Movement, I discovered to my utter surprise that among some of the second generation leaders in that movement were

the very people NLP modeled—Perls, Satir, and Bateson. That led to a series of articles on the Human Potential Movement, one of which was The Secret History of NLP (chapter 6, On the Shoulders of Giants).

In the process of learning NLP, I also had some unique opportunities in interacting with the founders of NLP and most of the original trainers and developers. It began with the privilege of working with Richard Bandler for four years, writing some books for him, and working with him when he was attempting to revive the Society of NLP (an attempt that ultimately failed). Later, when he filed the ninety-million dollars lawsuit against the field of

NLP, I agreed to testify against him on behalf of Steve Andreas. At the same time, I supported Robert Dilts in his attempts to pull the field together with the Visionary Leadership Conference (1997) and the Millennial Proj ect

Anniversary (2015). I then had the privilege of (2000), as well as the meeting Frank Pucelik when he first returned to the field after many years

of being "missing in action" and to work with him in starting the NLP Leadership Summit (chapter 16). Building up to the UntoldStories Given•my interest in the history of ideas, I got the idea of writing a history ofNLP in 2005 when I first discovered "the secret history of NLP." At that

time I approached several key leaders in NLP about the possibility of producing a history book. In 2008, while at the NLP Conference in Sydney Australia, I talked to Terry McClendon about it. After all, he authored the first history of NLP. In the 1989, he wrote and published, The WildDays of NLP: 1972-1981. We first talked about continuing that history while we explored what that would involve and constructed an over-view ofchapters.

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L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Yet because each of us were busy with our own activities, we

did not

sustain that conversation.

Dr. In Nov. 2008 while at the NLP Conference in London, I approached Wyatt Woodsmall with a different approach to the same idea.

focusing in "Why not get a dozen key people to write chapters, each book as on various aspects of the history of NLP? Why not create a

a collection of multiple perspectives—people telling the stories in their own words and voice?"

We let the idea simmer for a year and at the next conference (2009), we took those organizing questions and mapped out an outline of the chapters. We then talked through which one of us would contact different individuals for the chapters. Wyatt and I came up with a list of 20 or so individuals who we thought who would be possible contributors as authors. When we had established a basic outline and some criteria for the contributions, we wrote the basic framework for the book and sent out a letter— an invitation

to contribute. I sent a letter to both Richard Bandler and John Grinder asking each of them

to contribute a chapter. We thought that it would have been especially appropriate to have each of them contribute a chapter—each to offer his perspective about the origins. We both pretty well knew that there would be little likelihood that they would agree. Richard immediately sent word back through John LaValle, "No." John stewed on it and then wrote back. Meanwhile, in May, 2010 while in Moscow, Andrei Pligin interviewed me about the history of NLP that I knew and had been collecting. The reason

for that presentation was because over the years he also had been interviewing many of the original people about the history of NLP. Later that month it just so happened that both Robert Dilts and myself were doing

trainings in Stockholm Sweden at the same time. So.in meeting with Robert, we talked for several hours about the history as I interviewed him about many of the unspoken aspects ofthat history. In November I was back again in London for the 2010 NLP Conference where I met with Wyatt again and interviewed both Frank Pucelik and Martin Roberts aboutfthe history. -8-

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L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

About the same time, John Grinder responded to our letter of invitation. He

seemed vety much upset and wanted to know, "Who are these other developers of NLP?" he asked. I wrote back by email, "Simply those people who were involved at the beginning."

"Who are you to do this?" he then asked. I replied simply as, "Someone interested." And with that we began a series of email exchanges about the project. John seemed to have no patience with me or the idea that Wyatt and I would write a history. He even boldly stated that I should leave NLP

and focus on Neuro-Semantics(apparentlyhe didn't know that NeuroSemantics is a NLP community) because as he said, "I was inept in NLP, and didn 't understand it.

Knowing that I would not get any information from John or any cooperation, I figured that I could strategically provoke him and possibly get him to do something. When I wrote back, I said that we were "going ahead with the project," and that while I had hoped he would contribute a chapter, "we would do it with or without him." That did it! Suddenly all of the people who had agreed to write chapters for that book began to back out. The only explanation was that they did not want to get on John 's bad side and he had let them know that they were not to cooperate with Wyatt and myself. That's when John decided to write his own book

along with Frank Pucelik. The book Origins came out two years later. Origins (2013) provided a NLP history from Grinder's point of view. The story of NLP is both a great and wonderful story and simultaneously a tragic and pathetic story. Of course, that seems to be the way with most things human. Even the greatest humans, upon whose shoulders we stand,

are in the end—people. Fallible human beings. Yet in spite of their

fallibilities, weaknesses, stupidities, blindspots—tremendous contribution are made.

As a communication model, Neuro-Linguistic Programming continues to powerfully enable effectively communication. The model starts from the premise that you never know what you have communicated. That's because you never know what the other person hears. To find out what the other has -9-

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heard, you have to ask. You have to initiate and continue a conversation for understanding and for transformation. This is also where language comes

in. You have to ask people about their words, what they mean, how are they using certain words, etc. Knowing also that meaning is context dependent, you have to check out the context, the thinking patterns (metaprograms), intentionalities, and much, much more.

That's the model, the history is quite different. Those who invented it and turned it into a movement, and eventually a field, did not always practice the model in their communications. If they had, the history would be very different and there would be far fewer secrets to reveal.

Background Notes: 1. Regarding the primary sources for NLP Secrets, I have referred to several histories of NLP: Books: Terrence McClendon's The WildDays.•NLP 1972-1981. John Grinder's Whispering (2002), Grinder and Pucelik's Origins ofNLP (2013). NLP: The New Technology of Achievement (1994) pages 47-51. Articles on the history: Oakley Gordon's What is NLP? A Brief History (1995

Anchor Point), Rodger C. Bailey's Is It Time to Restructure NLP (1991, Anchor Point), Dr. Robert S. Spitzer's VirginiaSatir and Origins of NLP (1992, Anchor Point), Wilson Van Dusen's NLP in Historical Perspective (1994, Anchor Point), Michael Heap's The Validityof Some Early Claims of NLP (2008, Skeptical Intelligencer). Audio Tapes: Robert Dilts' and Tim Hallbom's Early Days of NLP. There is also a history of NLP by Wolfgang Walker which is written in German and so I have not had access to it.

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Chapter 1

ACCIDENTS THAT STARTED IT ALL "The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances. Aristotle

"Accidents, try to change them - it's impossible. The accidental reveals man. J. B. Priestley

t was not planned. No one sat down and developed a vision about what

could be created from Fritz Perls' Gestalt Therapy or how to combine that with Virginia Satir's Family Systems work. What happened was actually a gigantic accident. Or perhaps I should better describe it as a whole series of accidents. It was a series of accidents which arose over several years wherein multiple influences came together in surprising ways. Then, out of that mixture, arose something that no one expected. In fact, at

first they didn't even know what they had or what to do with it. This is the way of accidents— they are unexpected and unplanned. They occur either spontaneously or as reactions fro m unrelated sources. And yet,

how many great discoveries have arisen due to unexpectedaccidents? Velcro was an accident. So was the discovery of the double-helix -11-

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description of DNA. What occurred accidently might have taken years later

before sotneone would have even thought to have tried an approach.

Accident #1

He wanted to be a Rock Star. That's why he learned to play the drums and the guitar. And while he did have some talent and lots of desire, he was no

rock star and never would be. That was not in the stars for him. To complicate things, as a youth he had a speech impediment. Yet that is what set up his original meeting with Dr. Robert Spitzer, M.D., who helped him work through his stuttering. He was only 14 at the time. A few years later that fortune event led to Dr. Spitzer inviting him to teach his son the drums.

And then, because he needed a job, Dr. Spitzer hired him to work in the warehouse of Science and Behavior Books handling the stocking and shipping of books. Nothing out of the ordinary so far. Then something special happened. Dr. Spitzer received a box of audio and video-tapes from the estate of Fritz Perls. Then, because young Richard Bandler was there and working in the

warehouse, Spitzer asked him to transcribewhat was on the tapes and films— Gestalt Therapy sessions and instructions by the co-founder of Gestalt Therapy himself, Fritz Perls. All of these accidental chance events of life in California in the early 1970s came together to led to an unique opportunity. It led Richard Bandler to

listening to and picking up the languagepatterns of Fritz Perls, the cofounder of Gestalt Therapy. Another accident, Fritz had started a book—

his last book—a book on the essence of Gestalt Therapy. But before finishing it, he died. Then nearly two years later, Dr. Spitzer received the unfinished materials in late 1971. That's when he invited Richard to finish the book by transcribing the tapes and editing them into a book which he finished sometime in 1972.

The book, The Gestalt Approach and Eye Witnessto Therapy, was published in 1973 by Dr. Spitzer's publishing company. So proud was young Bandler about this accomplishment, he constantly carried the book with him on the campus of Kresge College on the University of Southern California at Santa Cruz. -12-

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"Richard was quite proud of his first book. In fact he used to keep it with him at all times just to show other people. He would often have it on him

personally, and kept it with him in his car so that he could show hitchhikers whilst he was driving around in his 1966 yellow convertible Chevy 11SS, that he had authored a book." (The WildDays ofNLP, 1989,

Fortunately for Bandler, he had the ability to pick up auditory patterns and to replicate them. That's how he overcame his stuttering he learned to copy the tone and tempo of Hollywood Star, John Wayne. With Fritz, at first, it was simple mimicking hearing and copying what he heard. Yet

because it involved the gestalt therapy processes, processes that were themselves strange, funny, counter-intuitive, and paradoxical, young Bandler played with them to see what he could do with them. Eventually he found out that he could do a lot with them.

Accident #2 He wanted to get his mind cleared of all the horrors of the Vietnam War and get them out of his head. A corpsman and Marine, he had served as a medic and saw far more than his share of the men and boys die in the war. As a

medic, he was right in the middle of things. On several occasions he worked with some of the young soldiers as he attempted to stop them from bleeding out from their gunshot wounds. Yet as war goes, he sometimes ended a day holding a young soldier in his arms as the soldier breathed his last breath and died.

Later, newly back from his tour of duty in Vietnam in the late 1960s, he used the GI Bill, the government program for vets, to pay his way to go back to College and complete his education. Given his experience in the war, he wanted to study Gestalt Therapy with a focus of getting well and getting over the images and memories of the military conflict in Vietnam. For him, it was not a case of regaining sanity. That would presuppose he once had it as he was growing up, but no. Having grown up in a house of alcoholics—childhooditself had been another kind of war, a matter of survival. .Now he needed to find himself, and find out how to live with himself, and having learn a little bit more about Gestalt before, that seemed a good path. -13-

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When back from the war in San Diego, Frank Pucelik met another person

in the Navy, his first sweetheart, Judith. They were students at Southwestern College in San Diego (1970-71). And as an energetic, warm,

and highly social person, Frank became student body president that year. Soon thereafter they were married. A friend, Ken Winston Caine was also there, he was vice-president of the student-body. He was also editor of the school newspaper. Many years later he wrote to me about Frank: "One of the innate talents I saw in Frank— in addition to his affableness and ability to create quick, warm rapport with people— was his role as a

deep listener, encourager, and connector. .

Frank was an active

participant, the gracious encourager and 'the muse' that made the original

chemistry work." (Personal correspondence with Ken Winston Caine, 2011)

After Frank Pucelik and Judith DeLozier married, they transferred to the

University of California at Santa Cruz to continue their studies there. Upon arriving at Kresge College, they moved into the couples dorm. This college as a new experimental school opened in September 1971 as a college within the University of Southern California at Santa Cruz.

Wanting to pursue his studies of Gestalt Therapy, and being a student, Frank had the unique opportunity in the new alternative college to create his

own class for college credit. And that's what he did. Later he and Richard Bandler met. How they met, under what conditionsthey met, is not known. 2 Yet they soon discovered that they had a commonality in wanting to explore and practice Gestalt Therapy. Having a student I.D., Frank was

able to get a room at the college—andit was there that they started the adventure.

As the Gestalt class formed with 12 to 15 students, it wasn't long before they discovered something which totally surprised both ofthem—they were getting the kind of results that Fritz got when he was alive! That wasn't supposed to happen. That was a surprise—a big surprise. How in the world

could that be happening? Fritz, and other leaders in the field of Gestalt Therapy, typically would spend years with new learners mentoring them

through extensive internships to reach a basic level ofcompetency, So how could two untrained persons be getting such transformational results? How

was that even possible?

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Tinw Line 1967

1970

Vietnalll Deaths: War

1971

Kresge Arrival of

Perls (March)College Pucelik Maslow (July)Opens DeLozier in Sept. Grinder Bandler Tapes delivered to Dr. Spitzer

1972

1973

Transcript Gestalt of Perls' Approach materials Published

1974

1975

Manuscript

Magic

of Structure

Published

of Magic Written

Bandler/ Pucelik Gestalt group

Grinder gets involved Satir gets involved

In spite of this favorable turn of events, it left them both surprised and confused precisely because they did not know how it was happening. They would run the Gestalt Therapy processes as Fritz Perls had. They would copy Fritz's mannerisms, language patterns, and even tone of voice. Yet how could they, with so little training, get the kind and quality of responses that they had only read about and had never even experienced? They didn't

know. But they would find out. And finding out became the NLP adventure.

Accident #3 He wanted to make a name for himself and he had been attempting to do just that. A high achiever, a Green Beret in a Special Forces unit, he had seen action during various activities that were highly secretive. To be in that role would have required a strong attitude of patriotism. Yet when he later returned to civilian life, he returned as a political activist against the Vietnam War which he protested whenever he could. What happened that created that change? We simply do not know.3 As a linguist, he also began learning the new field in Linguistics, Transformational Grammar (T.G.),

and eventually completed a doctorate in T.G. After that, he accepted a junior professorship at Kresge College which was just opening. Thinking that therapy was mind-control and therapists as brain-washers, he

wanted nothing to do with anythingrelated to therapy. Yet he had a dilemma. The new college was based on the HumanisticPsychology of Carl Rogers! In fact, it would have been named Carl Rogers College, except that Kresge (founder of K-Mart) was the key financial donor of the -15-

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college. So to make matters worse, John was required, as a faculty member, to be in one of the encounter groups. For him that must have been hell!

Yet that's also where he first met Richard Bandler and, according to his own report, experienced an immediate affinity to him for his similar aversion to the feely-feely nature of the groups. John says that he met Richard some months before . . as Richard had been assigned to be a member of a T-group (so-called

encounter group) for which I had the responsibility of serving as the faculty sponsor." (Whispering,2002, p. 142).

In twing to make a name for himself, Grinder, upon completing his studies in Transformational Grammar, he took T.G. and translated it into a book with Suzette Haden Elgin, Guide to Transformational Grammar: History, Theory, Practice (1973). In the preface, John wrote, "We had intended to call this book The Demystification of Transformational Grammar. (p. xi)" About that time, Richard Bandler who had been sitting in John's classes on linguistics invited him to the Gestalt class that he and Frank were running.

At first John Grinder would have nothing to do with it. "Hell no!" After several refusals, Richard was eventually able to get him interested enough to at least visit the group. That hooked him. After that he stayed on to help

them understand how the language patterns were creating the positive

results they were getting.

In this way all ofthe early accidents came together so that the three radically

different young men came together to figure out an accident— how untrained persons as themselvescould replicate the skillfulness of Fritz Perls. As a result, a very strange collaboration came together. The objective was to figure out how the processes were working. This is where John imposed T.G. on the linguistics of Gestalt Therapy and later on the linguistics of Virginia Satir. Doing that eventually brought about the Meta-

Model (a communicationmodel about language) as they utilized the

students of the Gestalt class to experiment with the language patterns and processes.

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Accident #4 By themselves, however, they did not create, and probably could not have created, the new field of NLP. There was another person actually, many persons, the experiencers. These were the college students who became the first of two groups4who contributed to the creativity and the collaboration

which eventuated in NLP. Eventually a process developed in the first group that separated those learning and experiencing Gestalt and the two designing the processes: Frank Pucelik ran the classes and would report about what happened in the class with a given exercise— Richard and John then would talk through what that meant and what to do next. Frank would explain those meanings to the group the next week, run the practice,

and then report back which would lead to the next insight or suggestion. In this way they used Transformation Grammar in the context of a Gestalt Class to develop the Meta-Model by which they organized "the structure of magic" as they found it in Fritz Perls. Now this "structure ofmagic" did not

refer to actual magic or to stage magic. The term "magic" was used metaphorically. It referred to the seemingly magic-like transformations that

people experienced from the processes. It was as if the languaged interactions were "incantations of growth" from a magician. "Perls was not ... the only therapist to present himself with such magical potency. Virginia Satir and others we know seem to have this magical

quality. ... Our desire ... is not to question the magical quality of our experience of these therapeutic wizards, but to show that this magic which they perform ... has structure and is, therefore, learnable..." (The Structure of Magic, 1975, p. 6)

This group had no name from 1972 through 1974. The word they often used for themselves at the time was meta. They were the meta-people. That's because they were "stepping back" from the content of the processes

and looking at the processes themselves from a higher point of view ("meta"—above or about). The idea of focusing on the how something worked was a basic principle within Gestalt Therapy as articulated in the book, The Gestalt Approach and Eye Witness to Therapy (p. 77). So

looking at the language and the content information from a meta-17-

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perspective naturally led to a model about language as a model, a MetaModel.S

In 1973 they became aware of Virginia Satir who was living in the area and whose publisher was also Dr. Spitzer. And with the discoveries that they

were making, Spitzer thought that they ought to examine the languaoe patterns of Virginia. To that end, he sent Richard up to Canada to record one of Virginia's family system trainings. 6 From her, they adapted her five communication stances (the Satir Stances or Categories). They also studied

her ability to gain almost instant rapport with people. They noticed how Virginia distinguished the different representation systems (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic). As John Grinderjoined the faculty of the College in 1971, so did the British

anthropological and systems thinker, Gregory Bateson. Accordingly, almost everyone who was part of the experimental groups sat in Bateson's classes. This was yet another favorable accident because it was Bateson who later introduced them to his friend, Milton Erickson in 1974. It was his

influence also that later convinced Dr. Spitzer to publish their book on language and change, The Structure of Magic. Dr. Spitzer did this in spite of Jay Halley's criticisms ofthe manuscript and view that it was not worthy of publication (more about that later). By 1974, the first group was finishing its work on the Meta-Model language model and were beginning to make additional discoveries—representational

systems, eye accessing cues, etc. Those involved were also wrapping up their education at Kresge College and were ready to move on—taking jobs

and/or going on to higher education. And so the first experimental group ended. Yet as that group ended, a second group and probably a third and

fourth were beginning—groups whose members would go on to become the

first generation of trainers in NLP. They would eventually organize the NLP training materials—materialswhich would become the practitioner training course. They would create a society and develop certification processes. With the publication of The Structure of Magic in 1975, the new field was given impetuous into the larger world. It was still nameless. Most referred -18-

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to it as Meta. It would be yet another year, mid-1976, before it would get its name, Neuro-Linguistic Programming or NLP. The publication of the books enticed therapists and mental health workers in all of the schools of psychology to want to learn this new linguistic approach— "the incantations

of growth" that Bandler and Grinder had deduced from Fritz Perls and Virginia Satir. Suddenly the local Gestalt classes were gaining international attention.7

Accident #5 With the publication of The Structure of Magic, something most unfortunate occurred and it was probably not an accident. In fact, I offer it as the first NLP secret. With the publication, only two names became associatedwith the founding of the new field. Only two names are mentioned in The Structure of Magic. By presenting the discoveries as theirs, and theirs only, Richard Bandler and John Grinder took complete and

total credit for all that had been discovered. All of the two-dozen or so members ofthe community, and especially Frank Pucelik, were absent from any mention. "Absent," in fact, may be too soft a word. Later Frank noted that Richard Bandler had essentially "erased" all trace of him from NLP. 8

In fact, reading The Structure of Magic you would never guess, or even suspect, that NLP was created by a community of people or that there was "a third man" involved.9 You would never know that there was an experimental group at the core of the discoveries. You would never have guessed that it arose as a set ofexperiments within that community. Instead you would conclude that it was created solely by Bandler and Grinder— a conclusion they have perpetuated to this day. And this attribution of NLP

creation solely to Bandler and Grinder would have some significant and disastrous results in the following decades. With the discoveries, both those,who lead, and those.who participated, never really knew what they had—not in those early years. And how could they? They were at a new experimental college and they were wildly experimenting as college students,'do. Who would have guessed? and went)their Consequently, almost all of those in the first separate ways. Only TerryMcClendon continued into the second group and 10 stayed on to become one of the first generation NLPtrainers.

NLP Secrets

Chapter I

Accidents That Started It

Created by a Series of Accidents

It was a serendipitous accident that two college students (21 and 26 years

of age) and one young professor (31) came together to create a "new therapy" model. And all the more so because one of them hated therapy and anything that looked like, sounded like, or smelt like therapy. He

viewed it as "mind-control." Another thought the particular therapy was more like good comedy. How silly to put your mother in a chair and yell at her! But it was fun. It was only the third one who actually appreciated it as therapy and wanted it— first for himself. What emerged from this was not the result of a vision or a plan. No one scheduled it. No one even knew that they were inventing something new. They were just exploring. It was also an ideal time and place to explore— it was the beginning of the 1970s as the "love" decade was ending. It was also the land of the hippies when Rock'n'Roll was at its height, room-size computers were coming on the scene, and it was cool to play around with altered states of conscious, new age fantasies (channeling, remote viewing, etc.), psychodelic drugs, etc. It was in that context that all of the accidents and coincidences came

together in a very strange way to create a cognitivepsychology model of communication. Who would have guessed that they were creating a model that would soon go international and change the lives of millions of people?

Reflections and Secrets Given the accidents and the different motives and intentions ofthese players in the drama, what could we expect of the future that they were creating? If these were some of the conditions under which it all came together and gave direction to what would become a movement—what surprises and what dangers lie ahead? The answer is many, and many of them were not particularly pleasant.

NLP was an accident—a series of accidents. Nor was NLP the product of only two men, it was the co-creation of a communityof people. It was created in a community and during its early years, it thrived in a community.

It arose also as very much a part of the general zeitgeist of that period as it unwittingly tapped into the knowledge, insights, and wisdom of the Human Potential Movement, coinciding nearly at the same time in the same general locality as Esalen was down the road at Big Sur, California. -20-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 1

Accidents That Started It

ONLPwas not planned. No one ran a well-formed outcome process or set out to intentionally create it. It was an accident at a certain time and in a certain place. It was also a slow evolving development which explains why all of the original Gestalt class left and moved on and did not become a part of what later became NLP.

Background Notes l. Robert Spitzer wrote the Foreword to Peoplemaking (1972). Robert "Spitzer owned a weekend cabin and agreed to let young Bandler build his own house nearby and be caretaker for their property." (Spitzer, 1992:l)" P. 43 Tolsey. 2. I have asked, but Frank has repeatedly said that he just does not remember how they met.

3. John Grinder was transformed from a soldier, a military man to a war protester. How did that happen? There must have been something very significant. But what? In both of Grinder's books wherein he speaks about himself, he does not leave so much as a clue. 4. There were apparently several groups, anywhere from two to five. After Frank, Richard, and John came together with the first group, apparently both Richard and John had their own groups—probably made up of the same members plus a few additional ones. Some were recognized as "classes" at the college, some were not. 5. The Greek term meta literally means "above"or "about" and refers to viewing something from a higher perspective. A meta-analysisis an analysis about multiple analyses. The Meta-Model is a model that views language and how it works. 6. In Whispering (2002) Grinder writes that Richard went to Cold Harbor, Canada and attended a month long seminar for family therapists presented by Virginia Satir in the summer of 1973. (p. 147). 7. In both of The Structure of Magic volumes, published in 1975 and 1976, and which was prepared as a manuscript in 1974, Bandler and Grinder described how that they had been conducting "Therapist Training Seminars" multiple times. But that would have been

before they had created the Meta-Model and the basics of NLP! So these so-called "Seminars" for "Therapists" must actually refer to the first Gestalt Class. However, the impression left in the books is that they were already "on the road" and already recognized as having a new model. Terry McClendon still has a copy ofthe full text of The Structure

of Magic in manuscript form that was put together in 1974. 8. Personal correspondence (May, 2018). "Richard made every effort to expunge my name from everything he could..." (Email, July 1, 2013). 9. "The third man" who helped to co-create NLP was not part of the original NLP narrative until John Grinder mentioned it in his book, Whispering, in 2001. 10. Terry McClendon says that he along with two others, Devra and Ken, were members of both the first and the second group. Frank doesn't remember that Terry was a member of the first group.

-21-

Chapter 2

MIMICKING A MASTER "There is no great genius without some touch of madness. Aristotle "Do something wonderful,people may imitate it. Albert Schweitzer

he process was tedious. Listen to a line or two of the audio-tape, stop the recording, write down the words. Back up the audio-tape, listen

again to check the words. "Where did I stop? What was the last word?" Correcting a word here and there, sometimes he was pleased that

he got it right the first time and movedon to the next few secondsof recording, sometimes he was frustrated that he couldn't quite get the word due to the heavy German accent. Transcribing the audio-tapes was tedious as was also the old 8-mm films which were more difficult to rewind. Yet it was also interesting, even fascinating, and that was precisely because

of the strange voice and the strange accent on the recording. The fascination was also about what that voice was saying. Fritz Perls had recorded these tapes in his 70s while doing gestalt processes with various people. By then his voice had become raspy and gruff, and so sometimes

it- sounded exceptionally harsh. And with his heavy German accent, sometimes it was hard to understand. So Richard frequently had to turn the tapes on and off and re-listen several times to catch all of the words.

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NLP Secrets

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Mimicking A Master

Not only was Perls doing gestalt therapy on these tapes, but these were the

very tapes and the very experiences which he chose as some of his best examples of Gestalt—examples he chose to compose his next book. But all

of that was suddenly interrupted. He died. Fritz had not been well for years and had struggled with bad health for more than a decade, so his death was inevitably close at hand. Even when he first went to Esalen (1963) he was suffering from intense angina pectoris near his heart and in the left arm.

His death occurred seven years later—March 14, 1970. Afterwards the

tapes were sent to the publisher by beloved members of his Gestalt community in Canada. They were sent in hope that it would produce Perls' final book on Gestalt, maybe his best. They sent the tapes to his publisher, Dr. Robert Spitzer, Science and Behavior Books.

Now the talk on the tapes and films were a combination. Typically Perls

was both doing Gestalt and then he would be explainingGestalt. One minute Fritz would be talking to a client about his dreams and asking him to be one of the dream elements. The next he would talk to the audience about the person not "having ears," or about the cursed "why" question, or making sexually explicit comments just to provoke people. In some ways, it reminded Richard of a "Stand Up Comedy" scene. In Stand Up, a person would tell a story regarding some minor issue to make fun of the silliness of human beings being stuck up and serious.

When the transcribing got old, Richard's mind would lapse. He began envisioning other things. The thought about being stuck in this warehouse

job was enough to get him thinking about more exciting things to do —mostly playing in a band, playing the drums, playing the guitar, becoming

a rock star. That was his dream. And he looked the part. At 21, small, skinny, with long hair, and an unkept appearance, he fit into the hippie generation of 1972. And that's, after all, how he picked up this gig.

Back in 1968 when Bandler was 17, Becky Spitzer, wife to Robert Spitzer, hired Richard to teach their son Dan the drums. This partly explains how

in 1972 at 21 he fell into the warehousejob. Dr. Spitzer's company,

Science andBehavior Books, the publisher for Fritz Perls and Virginia Satir,

needed someone in the warehouse for packing book orders and handling

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NLP secrets

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Mimicking A Master

orders of the books. And Richard needed a job while taking courses at the Kresge College.

Prior to Santa Cruz

That opportunity, however, didn't just fall out of the sky. Several years

earlier, Richard had met Dr. Spitzer as a patient. It happened when he was 14 years old as a youngster growing up in San Francisco. Struggling with a speech impediment or "language disorder" (Clancy and Yorkshire, Mother Jones, 1989, p. 34), which some have guessed was stuttering. Dr. Spitzer

had been referred to him as a psychiatrist who helped him. Even more

strange, the psychiatrist liked Richard. Of course, that was when Richard was still quiet, modest, and retiring. Only later would he become known for arrogance, cockiness, and bluntness. During this time, Robert Spitzer loaned Richard lots ofpsychology books which he devoured—mostly books on Gestalt Therapy. When Dr. Spitzer worked with Richard on the speech impediment, he asked him a very strange question, "Who would you want to be if you could be someone else?" That could have been his opening question for assessing

where his client would find resources for his problem. Or it could have been a question from a comment like, "I don 't like who I am; I wish I could

be someone else." Anyway, what Richard said was just as strange as the question. Who would he like to be? He answered, "John Wayne." I The assignment that Robert then gave young Bandler was to go away and

watch John Wayne movies. He was to then return in one month and

"convince me that you are John Wayne." Surprisingly, that's exactly what Bandler did. One month later, having watched the old western movies of John Wayne, Richard overcame his speech impediment. Why John Wayne? Well, he was a famous movie star and they were in California. There was also the fact that he was Richard Wayne Bandler. Could that give us a hint about the choice of John Wayne to this strange assignment?

Dr. _MartinRobert's comment to me was that he recalled that Richard had more of a western American accent rather than an eastern New Jersey (his

place ofbirth and young childhood) or a Californian accent (San Francisco).

He also commented that there was a certain swagger to the way he walked -24-

Chapter 2

NLP Secrets

Mimicking A Master

and conducted hinnself.2That was also typical of John Wayne who played a tuacho cowboy. My own first recollections of Richard was that of him wear all black, carrying his knife and keys on his belt, being grossly overweight with a large protruding belly, and swaggering around on stage.

Now in 1965 young Richard Bandler (14 years of age) was an intelligent young man who constantly talked about his dream of one day being a rock star. Some five or six years later, he showed up in Santa Cruz just after Kay

Spitzer had been talking about getting a tutor for their son. That's when Robert asked Richard to call his wife about teaching their son the drums. Time Line 1970

Deaths:

1971

Kresge

Perls (March)College Maslow (July)Opens

1972

1973

Bandler transcribed

Gestalt Approach

Perl's tapes

& films Meet Pucelik Tapes delivered to Gestalt class Starts Dr. Spitzer

1974

1975

Manuscript Magic of Structure

Published

ofMagic Published

In 1972 Richard would sometimes think about the connections: stuttering, rock star, drums, Dr. Spitzer, the book company, working in the warehouse, having a job for some cash when taking some classes at the college, gestalt psychology, etc. "Was it all just happen-chance? Was there any pattern in all of this?"

After all, Richard did his undergraduate work in psychology at Foothill College, a local junior college. Yes, Richard took some courses in mathematics and computer science, but he was never a mathematician or a computer scientist. That myth was created and perpetuated later. From the beginning his love was psychology. And why not? Raised as a only child by his mother after his father "disappeared," life that had always seemed a mystery to him which led him to wonder why things were the way they were. In 1976 he completed his Masters degree inpsychology at Lone Mountain College.3 -25-

NLP Secrets

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MimickingA Master

After Foothill College, Richard switched to UCSC and built for himself a small cabin on Dr. Spitzer's property. He was 20 or 21 at that time. As a teenager he had been withdrawnas well as temperamental. And even moving to Santa Cruz, he did not participate in the communal life. While he had a quick wit and an agile mind, he also seemed to have always been given to exaggerations. In their 1989 article about the Bandler Trial

in Mother Jones magazine, Frank Clancy and Heidi Yorkshire quoted Richard as saying that he was once a professional rock musician, that he owned a topless bar at 16, was a millionaire at 18, had a black belt in karate, etc. (Mother Jones, 1989, p. 27). Those are just the beginning of his exaggerations; in the coming years there would be many, many more— many that were far more outrageous. Yet for

those of us who knew him, that was "typical Bandler," exaggerating and telling fantastic and fabulous stories. And sure enough, he eventually became a skilled storyteller—veryentertaining. Even though we enjoyed the stories, we usually felt that it was "just a story," and not often true. 4

Mimicking One's Way to Gestalt It was now 1972 and Gestalt Therapywas still a fairly new and exciting psychotherapy and here was an opportunityto transcribe actual therapy sessions which Perls himself had conducted. "This is great!" Richard thought. Further, it fit his sense of the weird and crazy stuff that goes on in people. Perls' psycho-drama really brought this out. Sometimes he would have someone put one 's mother, who they were imagining in their mind, in a chair and yell at them!

"Tell them about all the bullshit you are not going to put up with any longer!" And as they would do that, they would hallucinate their mother in front of them in the chair. Then, yelling at her, they would have a good cry, feel a

tremendous relief, perhaps a catharsis, and maybe a therapeutic

breakthrough. It was funny and ridiculous and amazing and touching all at the same time. It was psycho-drama, Perls' way, in full display.

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NLP Secrets

Chapter 2

Mimicking A Master

The transcription went on day after day, an hour here, two hours there. It was still tedious. In another way, it proved to be fascinatingly appealing to Bandler. Pan of the appeal was the words being said and the human

interactions going on and part of the appeal was the voice. Fritz Perls'

voice, that is. There was something funny and compelling about that raspy voice. Sonnething so compelling that Richard could not help himself but also to take it on and mimic it. He would play around with talking the way

Fritz talked and unknown to him at that time, this was one of his natural gifts. He had a natural ability to hear tones and pitches of a voice and to replicate both what was said and how it was said. In that back office of the warehouse, Richard began repeating the words as he mimicked the voice of Fritz Perls. At first it was just for fun. Then as a joke, he would imitate Perls when with friends. He would even do this from time to time when Dr. Robert Spitzer would come into the warehouse.

Upon hearing Richard imitating Perls, Richard would say with the gruff voice and style of Perls, "Hello, Robert, why don't you come in and sit for a spell?" He would then burst out with laughter. In an article for The Avanta Network, quoted in Anchor Point (1992), Dr. Spitzer wrote: "Richard spent day after day wearing ear phones while watching the films— making certain that the transcription was accurate. He came out of it talking and acting like Fritz Perls. I found myself accidentally calling him Fritz on several occasions." (1992, p. 41) 5

Numerous times, Robert himself would say, "Now Fritz, I have something I mean Richard..." To Robert who had known Fritz very well, the voice was that compelling and authentic. And so the transcription and editing continued until the book which Fritz began in 1968 and stopped working on prior to his death, was now being completed.

In 1972 the transcripts were completed, edited, and adapted for chapters. Finally Fritz Perls, The Gestalt Approach and Eye Witness to Therapy, was published in 1973 by Science and Behavior Books. As Richard Bandler had been given the task of editing it, his name was in the book as the editor.

Once published, Terry McClendon noted how Richard would carry a copy of the book around everywhere he went on campus. He was very proud of -27-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 2

Mimicking A Master

that book (The WildDays ofNLP, p. 7). That was 1973. Now sometime prior to the publication of that book, Richard met Frank Pucelik on the Kresge College campus. There they both discovered they were both very interested in Gestalt Therapy and wanted to experience it much more fully.

Both brought unique experiences ofGestalt to the collaboration. Richard's experience was with the transcribing and Frank's was his studies in Gestalt

Therapy at the University in San Diego. These experiences gave them something very much in common. Frank knew a lot of the content of Gestalt and Richard could reproducethe voice and words of Fritz to a frightening degree. In fact, that's how Richard and Frank came up with their idea of doing a Gestalt Class at the College. I wonder how the conversation went. Richard: (in Fritz' voice) "Frank, wouldn't it be cool to ... do ... a Gestalt Class and play with this stuff with a group to see what we could get people to do? We could get them to yell at their mothers and be the horse that they dream about!" Frank: "Yeah, that could be fun. And we'd get credit for it. And we could practice the gestalt practices..." Richard: "and we could smoke while doing it...!" Smoking was an intimate part of mimicking Fritz. It was one of six things that Fritz said he needed in order to do therapy. "In order to work I brag about the six components of my work. To work I need my skill, the so-called hot seat ... the empty chair, which has the task of taking up roles which you have disowned, and other people which

we need to understand our life script.

and we need ... kleenex, my

cigarettes, and ashtray, and then I'm in business." (The Gestalt Approach, p. 122). 6

As a master of Gestalt Therapy, Perls was the founder. He left Psychoanalysis after being rebuffed by Sigmund Freud when he attempted to visit him in Germany. He had traveled from South Africa to pay homage

to him. But Freud would not even meet with him. After that, Perls

abandoned Psychoanalysis. He later looked to Max Wertheimer (who was also Maslow's mentor) and from the principles of Gestalt Psychology he built a therapy upon it. -28-

NLP Secrets

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Mimicking A Master

In part, Perls' style came out of Psychoanalysis, the therapy in which Fritz had been originally trained. Freud and others smoked their pipes as part of their persona of being a thoughtful, reflective psychoanalytic therapist. Sometime over the years, Fritz shifted to cigarettes.

There was another central factor to Fritz's personality—namely,he considered himself "a dirty old man." That self-identification arose as he got older and especially in his time at Esalen (1963 to 1968). There he was "the scholar in residence" at Esalen and there he tried to "capture the flag"

so that Esalen would become a Gestalt Kibbutz. It was also his selfdescription in his autobiography, In and Out of the Garbage Can. And he looked it— wild hair, gruff old beard, usually dressed in a jump-suit. And to fulfil that image, he was known for his flirting and sexually aggressive behaviors with the young women in the hot sulphur pools. 7

The Man Mimicked This was the man Richard Bandler first mimicked—Fritz Perls. He modeled his gruff way of talking, his sailor-like use of the F- word, his joy and delight at shocking people, and violating any and every social norm he could. Richard copied his smoking, his carousing with women, his arrogant and egotistical assumptions that he could see what others did not, and that

he didn't need feedback from anyone. The lack of feedback would stay with Richard into his future and become one of his greatest weaknesses. As

Fritz was gruff, confrontational, confusing at times, and sometimes frightening— so Richard took on this persona.

In spite of this external mimicking, in actual fact they did not model Fritz. They only modeled some of the Gestalt Therapy processes. They did not model the man himself. Even today, there is very little written or known

about Fritz' beliefs, values, the strategy he used for being creative, for

thinking and deciding about what to do when he worked with people, etc. Richard did copy many of the external mannerisms and that was about it.

Reflections and Secrets We could say that NLP began with mimicking which then became more intentional copying, and finally, modeling. It unwittingly took on many of

the Human Potential Movement ideas through Fritz— even some of his -29-

NLP

Secrets

Mimicking

2

Chapter

and Pucelik Cld-awareness. And yet Bandler of the historical Fritz had significance. ranscribed, that

purpose was

his

A

Master

so withoutan awareness and Bandler had written,

did

into real people"paper people" and people who the here-and-now,

to turn

people alive to the moment, present in had recovered their innervitality and joy.

Al

of

this

also

exposes the mythology

atnematician and computer

scientist.

He

Richard Bandler was a was not. The truth is that he did that.

the record goes, bachelor and master degrees in psychology. As far as ne did not even minor in either mathematics or computer science. Nor did level. His self work anywhere at the doctoral do any university designation of "Dr." apparently arose for purely promotional purposes. his

ver

Background Notes: of Western played in scores and scores the end Movies. He achieved stardom in motion pictures by 1941 and, by of the decade, was one of the cinema's top ten box office attractions. During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, in the John Wayne ranked as an American icon and one of the top box office attractions of Westerns. cinema. Wayne's output of films consisted largely 2. Martin Roberts, Ph.D. was a combat pilot in the UK military and aBusiness Consultant for many years. He authored ChangeExcellence Management. Martin along with his wife, Glenda, started Crown House Publishing He also sponsored Richard Bandler into the UK

Wayne was

1.

John

in

the 1990s.

famous movie

a

star

who

3. Richard Bandler was never a mathematician or a computer

few courses

those subjects,

but

would have been

scientist.

He may have taken

He

never majored in either. a He studied psychólogy and got a Masters Degree from Lone Mountain College and never that. If you google "Richard Bandler" there are many completed any studies beyond websites that provide the following information: in

that

it.

Born: February 24, 1950) [Bandler] is the co-inventor (with John Grinder) of Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).Bandler holds a BA (1973) in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), and an

MA

(1975)

in

no

Psychology

from

Lone

Mountain

are various

College

in

San

Francisco.

(unsubstantiated)reports (on Bandler has earned doctorate. There alt.psychology.nlp) that Bandler has been awarded two honorary doctorates though the details of these awards are not specified"

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Chapter 2

NLP Secrets

Mimicking

A

Master

An example of Bandler's exaggerations is in The Wild Days: NLP 1972-1981 Published in 1989 Bandler writes in the Foreword that "the story of the outrageous things that Grinder and I did 25 years ago.." (p. I). 25 years prior to 1989 puts the beginningof NLP at 1964 and that would have made him 13 years old! I don't think s0. 5. Spitzer, S. (1992). Anchor Point. July, Robert Virginia Satir andthe Origins of NLP. 1992, pp. 40-44]. 4.

6.

Another quotation about

kill

myself than Walter Anderson give a

Fritz Perls and from him regarding smoking. "I would rather give up smoking." (In and Out of the GarbagePail, 1969, p. 160). He didn't (1983) described Fritz as having many striking contradictions.

to

damn what

people thought-"hewould violate rules, behave outrageously, insult do whatever seemed to suit his own personal standards. But in another way he anybody,

was hugely

needy,

made for

approval, forever

striving

to

look good." (1983, p. 90).

7. Yet what no book on NLP before 2007 ever noted was that Perls, Satir, and Bateson knew each other and worked together at Esalen as part of the Human Potential Movement (Self-ActualizationPsychology, 2008).

Now

Fritz's understanding of and being authentie was his own version and self-actualizing not necessarily how Maslow or Rogers understood it. According to gestalt theory, the estranged fragments of the self were reunited into an integrated, fully alive human being.

The previously robotized

corpses begin

to return

-31

to life' (Perls).

(Anderson, 1983, p. 98).

Chapter3

THEN CAME THE EXPERIMENTS "Allife

is

an experiment. The more experiments Ralph Waldo Emerson

you make-the

better.

"Everybody's a mad scientist, and life is their lab. We're all trying to experiment to find a way to live, to solve problems, to fendoff madness and chaos" David Cronenberg

W

Then Frank

Pucelik

and

Judith

DeLozer moved

to

Santa Cruz

in

very time 1971 as newly married couple, they when the new college was beginning. They had both been in the and had been living in San Diego, California. Upon returning from military his tour in Vietnam, Frank met Judith and after a short time,they fell in love a

arrived

andmarried.Attheirwedding, theywere dressed

at the

in their

military uniforms Both were also anxious to continuetheir education, and so with the G.I. bill, they moved to Santa Cruz. The purpose was to attend the new experimental collegewhich had been planned as an experiment in new teaching methods including small groups andno grades.

not

in the city

of Santa Cruz proper. You won't find it head up into the mountains. It is nestled in a giant redwoods forest along with nine other colleges that's part of the University. From certain vantage points, you can look out over the city and catch a panoramic view ofthe Pacific Ocean. With its initiation in 1971, Kresge Kresge College

there.

To

find

is

it,

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NLP Secrets

Chapter 3

Then

Came the

Experiments

was designed as an experinent in community. It broke with tradition by coed and being by eliminating official grades as part of the educational experience. It was truly new and liberal as was bascd on the thinking of Carl Rogers and the Human Potential Movement which he and Abraham Maslow had established. Paul Tolsey and Jane Mathison (2009) write that the college would have been called Carl Rogers'College (p.46). Grinder describethe new college. "The particular form used to develop this Living/Learning Community was a model of communication lifted from the National Training it

Laboratory

T Group or sensitivity training. Originally a form the T Group was adapted for non-therapeutic developmentofcommunity, studies in small (8-15 members) called the

of group psychotherapy, purposes:

group dynamics. Thus at a minimum of once a week for several hours (often, more frequently and with longer hours), T-Groups assembled (groups of 8-15 people, consisting of a faculty member, a trained T Group facilitator and a mix ofstaff and students." (Origins of 2013,

NLP,

p. 173)

As the was had

a

college experimented with mutual leaming, community, etc., there

strongfocus

to participate

in the

on group dynamics. Every studentand every professor group experiences, called a T-group (Whispering

in the

Wind, 2002, p. 142).

With Frank's interest in Gestalt Therapy, and with his full-time association with the College,he set up the Gestalt Class which he and Richard ran with Cass

or

to

dozen more students. The Gestalt enabled students be in a group which had Gestalt Therapy as its focus.2 a

choose

to

The Experimental Group In the spring of 1972 the class was entirely about Gestalt Therapy.3 That was its design to follow the Gestalt protocol and procedures,to use the Gestalt language and concepts, and to practice the "here-and-now emphasis. Perls popularized that focus as stated in his common refrains: Lose your mind and come to your senses;""Be here now."

Then something happened. What began were the class,

positive

were

therapeutic

getting.

to surprise both

and the participants in the fairly new to it all, they were

results that they,

Although they were -33

Richard and Frank

NLP

Secrets

Chapter

Then

3

Came the

Experiments

of

the quantity and quality of results that was characteristic able to emulate himself. So they began watching films of Perls to be

geting

they saw and heard more

fully

Now

who gathered for the class were

the group of people

and

Perls

what

accurately. a

mixed group;

interested specifically in psychology, some where in the group Gestalt Therapy, and some were not. They were interested seat." Others in "the hot experience,or in having an experiencelike being

Some were

Were

in

interested

there for a

those in the experiencerrole,

good time. But when

and in

hot seat, began having significant and lasting changes in their lives, the and the feel of the group itself began to change. Something was happening two guys in charge (Richard and Frank)really didn't understandwhat it wa the

themselves. They

knew

certainly

that they

could not

explain

what was

happening." and processes worked. "Wow! It works! It really works!" This raised questions for them, and for the group who were experiencing Gestalt Therapy, "How does this work?

What

surprised

them was how

What's going on? What

well the interventions

explains this?"

Gestaltwas designed to help people get real and to change them, as Perls often said, from "paper people" into "real people." After all, he was part of the Human Potential Movement that Maslow and Rogers had initiated

and

Gestaltwas one aspectof that movement

to

enable people to

self-actualize.

Enter the LinguisticsProfessor While the confusion of not understandingwhat they were doing and why or how it worked, Richard was, in the meantime, sitting in on a class with a new professor, Dr. John Grinder. The classes were on Transformational Grammar (T.G.). This was a new school of linguistics that had recently been created by Noam Chomsky (1965) and John was one ofthevery first to

complete

a doctoral

time,John was

also

dissertation

in

lookingfor some

TransformationalGrammar,

way

to

At that

use T.G. to promote his work.

While Richard and Frank were gettinggreatresults and unable to explain them, John was completing a book on Transformational Grammar with Suzette Haden Elgin (1972). The next year, the book was published -34

NLP

Chapter

Secrets

Gtuide

to

Grammar:

Transformational

Then Came

History,

the Experiments

7heory, Practice

(1973).

book? They were secking And what were they attempting to make it more appealing to the average attention to T.G. and to gain public wanted to give it a pop title, The De-mystification person. Originally they Grammar, That did not happen. While Idon't know to

do

3

with that

ofTransformational

the book did not demystify T.G.! t was still too why, butI do know that arcane and complex. Yet surprisingly the content of the book significantly showed up as the content of The Structure of Magic corresponds to what

two years

later.

Interesting.

not fit the normal picture aprofessor, John Grinder did of a in the Special Forces as a Green of he had been all, college professor. First Beret stationed in Germany, yet by the time he got back to the States, he had

Even though

Something happened to him so that he was no longer a military Now he had adopted a lot of man and maybe not even a patriot. left stance ideas. This revolutionary and political revolutionary political caused him to lead protests against the War in Vietnam and to teach Marxist changed.

economics.

He even wrote a book on

Marxist

economics (Origins,

p. 149).

John described himself as involved in "radical left-wing politics" (Origins, wrote that he wanted to "overthrow the United p. 184) and StephenGilligan States

Gov rnment by any means"

(Origins,

2013, p.

82)."

group came at Richard's insistent invitations. Because Richard did not know what was going on, he approachedJohn on several occasions trying to get him to take a look. He wanted John to see what was happening to make sense of it. He wanted him to help them out how the personal transformations were happening. But John John's

introduction to the

figure

would have none ofit. Every time he was because in his perception, "therapy" purpose was

to

fit

invited, he refused.

He refused

device whose sole ofthe society. That for him, was not designed

wasa social control

misfits into the control system social

was his revolutionary

filter

at work. "Therapy,"

them to be free or empowered, or their own person, but to control them. So he wanted nothing ofit Therapy is a form of mind-control by the culture, I don't like it. And I won't be apart of it.."Therapyis highly counter-revolutionary. It is an to

enable

adjustment of people

to

an inequitable system." (Whispering, p. 143)

-35-

NLP

Then Secrets

Came the

Experiments

Chapter

class began experiencing lots Meanwhile, the members of Gestalt Therapy As that happened, the class even transformations. OT personal changes, the picture to see if he TESelT started to change. That's when John entered

could

the

explain

processes behind the changes.

more

AS

than

a class

on

the group slowly evolved to become something Then they gestalt. They started out as an encounter group using gestalt. for testing the language patterns became an

experimentalgroup Perls as they began in 1973,they moved beyond Satir. In 1973 or experimenting with the language patterns of Virginia became an 1974, the group ceased being a Kresge College "class." They of experimentalgroup for exploring how the therapeutic language patterns eventually of Perls

Perls

and of T.G. Then

and

Satir

worked.

What happened when Grinder entered

into

the

of John

off.

He finally

group? Richard's begging agreed he would at least take a look. At first all he agrced to do was visit the group to see what he could discem in the language patterns of the gestalt practice which Richard and Frank had picked up from Perls. to visit the

group

finally paid

Now

one of the language patterns of Fritz Perls involved listening for "shoulds," "musts"and "have tos." He would listen for these types of words and expressions and then challenge people. He would ask them to change the words. He would ask them to replace them with want," "1get

I

to,"

or "I can."

h

In Transformational Grammar these words are called modal operators and should" or they speak to the mode in which a person is operating. must indicates a mode of necessity-itis as ifthere's a rule, law, order, or

I

1

I

something that makes it necessary for a person to operate in that way. want to and "I can" indicate the mode of desire and the mode of possibility.

Perls

didn't

use

should" and"must"words.

these

linguistic

terms, he just heard the change them and

As he did, he asked people to

notice the difference.hat was his gestalt "experiment," Yet when a person changed the words, suddenly experience changed and/or one's world was transformed. experiential

-36-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 3

This excited John Grinder. Since

Then

his dissertation,

Came the

and

his

Experiments

work

with

Suzette Haden Elgin, he had been looking for a vehicle by which to popularizehis work in Transformational Grammar. Suddenly this looked like a possibility. So noticing that Perls used a T.G. distinction, John joined the process of modeling the language patterns that were all of the creating

changes. In doing so John used the Transformational Grammar with set within it- unspecific nouns and verbs, templatealong the oftools modal etc. to model their modeling. nominalizations, operators, positive

Eventuallythe Gestalt distinctions

to

class began playing around with all of the linguistic see what else they could find. In this way, the group/

of T.G. groups which came togetherto studyGestalt began studyinghow aperson's linguistics affected their responses,emotions,physiology,neurology. And John, having a whole list oflinguistic distinctions in the ficld of T.G. began introducingthem

into the group to play with. It was actually not the case and later Satir, used that many of these distinctions. It was rather that John was ready to introducethe T.G, distinctions and make a name for himself. And that's precisely what he did. that Perls,

We have

stated that

NLP." (Whispering, While

T.G. was

the experimental group

entirely

the single

most

pervasive

influence

on

2002, p. 92)

met on Monday

nights,

John

tells

about an

second group:"

..on Thursdaysnights

I

would conduct

would attemptto replicate from the previous Monday

my own

group during which I by Frank and Richard night..." (Whispering, 2002,p. 147). the miracles

achieved

John and Richard were, or became, the "mavens" of the group. They had the specialized knowledge and/or ideas for testing became the "connector" with the things. Accordingly, Frank Pucelik For me,

it

sounds

like

experimenters ofthe first

class.10

Began to Blossom My guess is that it was during this time that the three realized they had here!" But they did not know something of value. "We've got something be realized what exactlythey had. And would years beforethey fully it. Yet as time passed they began to realize that they had a conversational Realization

it

-37-

NLP

process

Then

Chapter 3

Secrets

Came the

Experiments

What seemed like a "magical and Satir, was not real magic. It was a

of change and

transformation.

quality" in the persons of Perls process for a highly effective change

conversation.

What they called "'magic"was a structural process-a process that could enable a person to create a more accurateand useful mental map for one's experience. internal

By reframing one's mental model,

thinking

person'sexternal

would

affect

neurology,

and emoting, and physiology. This would change the experiencesof speaking,acting, and relating. In this way

these non-therapists

they even

it

identified

entered into the field oftherapy. In the first NLP book, themselves as "therapists," even though they definitely

were not. Time Line 1970 Deaths:

1971

Kresge Perls (March) College Maslow July) Opens

1973

Bandler

Gestalt

transcribed

Approach

Structure

Perl's

Published

ofMagic

&

tapes films

Met Tapes delivered Dr. Spitzer

From

to

1974

1972

Pucelik

Gestalt

class

Starts

Manuscript

Grinder introduces into the Gestalt

1975 Magic Published

T.G. Class

Group works out

the

Meta-Model

using the group as a laboratory for The experimenting. person who was sufficiently skilled and dispositionally able to run the group was Frank. He was personable, friendly, and the only person with some training in psychology. So the group became a laboratory for testing the ideas and the challenges Richard and John came up with. They became the mavens (the knowledgeable sources) and Frank the connector who made the testing possible. that

point, they began

Much later (2015),Italian NLP TrainerAndrea

Frausininterviewed Grinder Pucelik."In that Frank interview, John noted: Frank had a very special contribution. He worked out some of the patterns... he would run tests and was very rigorous and very precise. He would take a group of people and set up exercises and tests to determine the limits of the Meta-Model."

about the

role of

-38-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 3

Then

Came the

Experiments

In those early years (1972 to 1974) the three of them, Richard,Frank, and John, began "modeling" Fritz Perls. Obviously they did not model Perls in then he had been person. By long dead (March, 1970). So contrary to later descriptions, they began by "modeling" a dead man." They studied him through his writings, his audio-tapes,and some 8-millimetervideo filmsof him teaching and Since they did not actually doing Gestalt Therapy. Fritz as a person--what Perls thought, his states, his beliefs, model strategies, etc., they modeled whathe did. They created individual patterns which came from Fritz. also Transformational Grammar They imposed distinctions upon Fritz's language and from that created the first NLP the Meta-Model of model language.

the process they began discovering, or at least validating, certain like processes eye accessingcue, anchoring,pacing,etc.patterns that they had and recognized in Virginiaand in Fritz. They then put these pieces seen togetheras the first tools of Meta. In

Given

Frank, as "the third man" (Grinder'sdescription in Whispering) a role atthe beginning that almost no one knew about,it's fitting that played we ask, "Whatrole did Frank Pucelikplay?" Terry McClendon described as more an apprenticeto Richard and John than a co-founder." This seems to be confirmed by a staff picture of Frank with the team of the Meta Institute in San Diego around 1978. The description says: "Meta Institute of San Diego is a training institute directed by Frank research team for sevenyears." Pucelik, amember of theBandler-Grinder that

Yet McClendon also acknowledged that he was in the group that Bandler led, first asa class at Kresge, and later in an evening class that Bandler and Grinder together led.

Uncommon Levels of Intimacy Now the early 1970s were not that far from "the summer which was happened

of love" (1967)

the height of the sexual revolutionin California. coed dorms did not seem to stay in the dorms.

And what

in the

break up was Frank and Judith. They were newly married when they moved to Santa Cruz, but Frank-still pretty torn-up

The

first

couple

to

-39-

NLP Secrets

Chapter

Inside over the Victnam

War-was

Then

3

still

suffering

Came the

Experiments

from some of

the

memories and conflicts that he brought with him. In 1974 they broke up and divorced. Some time after that, Judith began dating John Grinder and, lo and behold, not long afterwardsthey married.

Meanwhile Frank met Leslie Cameron, who by his description was "a busty blond." She was studyingtherapy. After getting acquainted,they began living together as life partners. For awhile they lived together in the same house with Judith. They later broke up in 1975 after Leslie went to visit with Richard ... and some time after Richard and Leslie Milton Erickson married (1978) but that marriage only lasted a little over a year. They broke in 1980. When up Frank returned to NLP in 2010 he frequentlyjoked in public, "I prepared Richard and John'swives forthem." Ajoke that Judith did not like or appreciateat al

Reflections and Secrets the early My big take-away regarding NLP as an

development ofwhat became

NLP-

began experiment and was itself an experiment. It began from a shocking awareness that somehow, in some way, they had stumbled upoon something incredibly powerful and liberating, and yet they didn't know what that something was. That induced an incredible state of curiosity which led to an exploration and many experiments. No wonder the meta

community was very creative

in those early days.

Inasmuch as NLP grew out of experimenting-the spirit of experimenting was the most powerful social mechanism at the beginning. Later this led to the realization of the know-nothing state which the early meta people used as the basis for being open, curious, and not committed to the current paradigm. That also enabled them to be very creative.

A common myth ofNLP

is that it

began by modeling Perls and Satir. That not exactlywhat happened. Modeling eventuallyemerged, but it did not start that way. NLP started asa study group of the technologiesof Gestalt. The techniques is what they copied and replicated. They did not model the the those just products persons, persons created. is

-40-

NLP

Chapter 3

Secrets

Nor was

Then

Came the

Experiments

was later claimed. Grinder'simpositionof Grammar onto Perls and Satir was Transformational precisely that-an the process"pure"as it

He

imposition.

did

not begin with a know-nothing state

looking for transformational

grammar

distinctions

in

Perls

he

began by

linguistics.

And, 1/hey did not know what they had. As far as can tell, no one during those early years ever took any pictures. Imagine that! During those same took many pictures ofwhere Ilived, the cars I drove, family,friends, years special events, etc. Yet in asking for pictures from those who were there at the beginning,no one seems to have any pictures. Yes those were the years before selfies, and yet people did have cameras back then, and yet they did not seem to use them! I

I

Background Notes: 1. "If Kresge College could have adopted the name of its patron saint rather than its benefactor,itwould have been called Carl Rogers College." (Grant and Riesman, 1978:77) 2. McClendon writes that Richard Bandler "taught" a "student directedseminar on Gestalt

Therapy." (WildDays ofNLP,p. 9). There's disagreement about whether Richard Bandler was even enrolled at Kresge College. Frank Pucelik says that he was not because he did not have a student I.D. John Grinder presents Richard as

some ofhis

classes.

and that the

first

a student, one who even

MeClendon remembers attending psych Gestalt class was a Kresge College class that

taught

classes along with Bandler

Richard

was conducting.

3. McClendon dates this 1972. "In the spring of 1972, Richard held his first class at Kresge College.." (1989, p. 9). He also dates John becoming Richard's supervisor at the same time (p. 10). 4. Members of the class for Gestalt Therapy were: Joyce Michaelson, Trevelyan Houck, Lisa Chiara, Marilyn Moskowitz, Gary Merrill, Devra Terry Rooney, Ken Block, JeffParis, llene McCloud,and Paul Carter. Frank adds that others Canter, Jody Bruce, Bill Polansky,

who were

there "on the edge" were Terry

McClendon,David Wick, Michael

Patton, Peter

David

Gordon, Steven Gaarn, and Pat LeClair (Origins, p. 23). Terry McClendon adds and Judith Gilligan,Leslie Cameron, DeLozier, Robert Dilts (Origins,p. 43), but they were the key membersof the second group. McClendon has the same list in The Wild definitely

Days (1989, p. 27). and 5. The theme of getting real-ofbecomingwhat a person can potentially authentically can becomewas the center ofgravity forthe Human Potential Movement.Maslow wrote about

it

explicitly

6. John Grinder's

in

Toward a Psychology of Being was on Deletion: On

dissertation

(1968). the Deletion

Phenomena in

English

(1972).

7. What happened

to

John?

do. Wyatt Woodsmall suggested to dark underbelly of the government

who

might know,but none seen and experienced the me once that John may have mission and decided he wanted while on some secret

I've asked this question of several

41

NLP

Then

Chapter 3

Secrets

Came the

Experiments

he had something could get out if nothing else to do with that. And he possibly Just conjecture. But alas it is all speculation without any evidence.

.

Superior.

My

There were other groups and classes. involved all three, Richard and John started

.

participants

in

best

guess

up other classes

is

after

that

the first class

involving most or

the first group. It is just a guess.

describes three roles

on

a

that

many of the movements

in social

alcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point (2000) "Connectors are people with a special maven, the connector, and the sales-person. git tor bringing the world together." A "Maven means one who accumulates knowledge."

A

mavin

to

is

not

a

persuader; to be a maven

is

to

be a

persuade." Was there yet another group? Grinder even claims

10.

on Thursdays. Who was

regarding

to

have

Were they some of the

in this

group? ever mentioned about this and as

Nothing is name has ever emerged

"Salesmen

teacher."

this

mysterious group.

skills

conducted his own group in the first people group?

as I've been able

far

have the

to

The

discover

best

-nota Single

explanation

for this

comes from Terry McClendonwho says that there were probably in total fíve to six groups in those years. Some run by the three founders, some by Richard alone, one run by John alone, etc. Pucelik once noted that there were "3 different groups ofpeople, some whom of

overlapped." (Personal email, July 1, 2013). 11. In The Structure of Magic they refer to themselves as

"therapists," in

a term that

is

1974, only two years after

actually pretty ridiculous given that they wrote the manuscript the Gestalt Therapy class and having essentially no training in psychotherapy starting themselves. In Volume II they repeatedly talk about their "Therapist Training Seminars"

(pp. 19, 22,23,31,54, 55, 65,70, 73, etc.). Since this was before any publications,before they were known, it must refer to the Gestalt Class itself. 12. There

a video of John Grinder commenting on the role that Frank Pucelik played in Andrea Frausin ([email protected])interviewed Grinder, July 15, 2018early years. https://vimeo.com/275398372/6a48cc5591 13. Just as Grinder criticized Robert Dilts for modeling "dead people," namely Disney, is

the

Freud, Einstein,etc. so he also modeled a "dead person," namely Fritz Perls! 14. Private email correspondence with Terry McClendon, July 2018. 15. Pictures from theearly years. There are almost none at least that I can find. On the next page, you and John Grinder with Virginia Satir on the can see young Richard Bandler 1976 cover of the book Changing with Families (there's another picture inside the cover). Next is a picture ofJohn Grinder and one of Frank Pucelik. On the following page there meta people at the Meta-Institute, is the picture San Diego, 1978. of the

edoie 42-

NLP

Secrets

Chapter3

Then

Camc the

Changing WithFamilies ABook About Furthr Ecticatio ForBeng tuiid

Richard Bandler John Grinder

VTgina

43-

Satir

Experiments

The

Staff:

What

from

Is

left

to

rightTim

Criswell, Director Frank

Pucelik, Lisa Chiara, Steven

Lorei, Marilyn

Moskowitz,

Jeffrey Paris

Meta?

from the Greek, meaning above'," beyond" or "about", Meta is a modeling tool or method which allows you to examine the patternsand consistencies in language and experience in order to step outsideot those patterns and change them. Meta is not a new therapy. It is à systemof constructingmodels which are applicable to, and can be incorporated into, any form or content area, Derivedin especially people-helping. part from the bodies of knowledge of transformational gramrmar, systems theory, hemispheric function and cybernetics, Meta tools are specitic in assisting you in understanding communicational and behavioral patterns, thus enabling you to utilize them tor immediate and effective change. Literally

About The Meta Institute

Institute: of

San

the past

five

Diego

is

atraining

directed by Frank Pucelik, a member of the Bandie Institute, originally formed in Santa Cruz, foundea Septemberof 1977 Meta Institute has been training people throughout the woridl years in Meta Techniques of change.

Grinder research team San Diego branch in

for

institute

seven years. I he Meta

Chapter

4

THE EXPERIMENTERS' EXEMPLARS "Tt's

not an experiment

if

you know

it's

going to work."

Jeff Bezos

"Good and bad ideas

come from the samefountain and experiment. ofspeculation Shaun Tan both

W leaders

That began as a party-began as an experiment,a Gestalt class, an encounter group experienceat an avant-gardecollege. And what made the adventure real and powerful was the influenceof the they modeled-Perls, Satir, Bateson, and Erickson. These

exemplars not only provided the original stimulus for the development of NLP, they also provided a greatdeal of the content. NLP came from them. Virginia Satir-The Big Woman After the publicationof Fritz'last book in 1973, The Gestalt Approach amd Eyewitness to Therapy, Dr. Robert Spitzer introducedRichard Bandler to

whom he was was personallyassociatedVirginia Satir. Now Virginia another secondgenerationleader in the Human Potential Movement as was Fritz Perls. Yet published and with

the other person Spitzer exclusively

her style was very

different, in fact,

completely different as Fritz noted

in

his autobiography:

Virginia,you have respects

we

recognition.

my

are alike.

Not willing

love and Restless

my

Gypsy.

to settle for

45

In many admiration. and for success Greedy

unstinted

mediocrity.

You

are

a big

woman

NLP

Secrets

The Experimenters

Chapter4

for things to come. Your Eager to learn. Fantasy You sutfer, Iike me, from greatest asset is that you make people 1listen. what you do don't come intellectual systematitis, but what you think and and Out of the Garbage quite together. Too much explanatoriness." (In

with

a big heart.

Pail, p.

Unlike

Fritz

214)

who could be obnoxious, rude,

insulting,

crude,etc., and

of

all

the traits of"a dirty old man," Virginia

was a mirror-image opposite. She was a big-hearted lover. Although a large woman at six-foot-two, she had a heart of gold. And the theme in her writings and trainings focused on helping people to feel good about themselves. That's because she believed that when a person feels good about oneself, that person will be able to feel good about others, and treat them well. The question she regularly asked was, "Is your self-esteempot full or empty?" And her best selling book was,PeopleMaking. Also, unlike Perls, she was still introduced John and Richard to 40). Then

later that year,

So sometime in 1973, Dr. Spitzer Virginia (Spitzer, Anchor Point, 1992, p. alive.

Robert Spitzer sent Richard Bandler

to

see

one ofher forthe purpose ofrecording Virginia Family Systems trainings the seminar. The design was to get material for another book. in

The story that Dr. Spitzertells is that he sent Richard to Cold Harbor Canada in the summer of 1973 (also recorded in Whispering,p. 147) for a month-long workshop (Spitzer, p. 41). This was to record one of Virginia's trainings at a Universitywith people in their Master Degree program as counselors. In that process, however, Richard did much more than learn Family Systems from her, he also accidently began to mimic, copy, and model Virginia's way of operating. In an interview, Grinder noted: During the summer of 73 Richard was asked to record for transcription a seminarVirginia Satir was doing in Cold Harbor, Canada.

While watching her one day from inside the sound booth where he was recording the session, he was playing the rock-n-roll music of Pink Floyd. Apparently, he had turned up the music so loud that it got Virginia's attention. Suddenly, shewas not a happy camper. "What do you think you are doing, young man?! she said as she jerked the door to the sound booth oDened. Richard was caught speechlesslike a rat at a dead-end in a maze. -46-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 4

The Experimenters

You arehere to record the session, you don'thave to but you do have

to

be

pay

attention,

quiet."

Young Bandler, now 22, was taken aback wit, however, he immediately retorted,

for

a moment. With

Iwas paying attention

his

quick

to everything

you'resaying and doing." Not believing a word he was saying,all six-foot two ofVirginialooked downon the scrawny five-foot-six Richard and said,

What pattern Unknown

have

I

been demonstrating?"

was Richard's talent and special area of capability and -hearing detecting patterns. "Seven of them," he immediately said. And with that he named seven ofherpatterns. She later commented that the first five she knew andwas familiar with. "Hewas absolutely correct about those." But, she noted, she had never identified the sixth and seventh,and yet when she heard them, she immediately recognized them. "They are my to her, this

Having been unconscious to her, his words awakened her awareness about her patterns which absolutely intrigued her." patterns."

The confrontationwent quiet ... What seemed break the discomfort of that patterns."

It

was

silence,

minutes went by, and to Richard spoke up. "I could do those

the arrogance of those

like

words

that

struck

Virginia

hard -hard enough to ignite herneed to confrontthat kind of insolence. To put him in his place, she said, "Then young man, you march right up to the front, and demonstrate those seven patterns

in

Family Systems

to the class."

To her surprise, her challenge did not shut him down. Nor would she have guessed that he would be equally challengedby her. He would not allow the confrontationto end like that. So marching to the front of the class of people at the University in the Master's Degree program for Family Systems, and having never studied Family Systems, Richard calledon someone wiho wanted to "work," selected a group of people to be "the family,"and proceeded to do the intervention. Virginiawas stunned.

A

slightly different

story is told by Joseph O'Connor and John Seymour

(1990):

47-

NLP

The Experimenters

Chapter 4

Secrets

a month-long training job observing and videotaping for family therapists. Canada programme that Virginia Satir was hold in Richard had met Virginia before and they were already onfriendly terms.

Richard

then got

a

his

own

recording programme, he was isolated for the microphones to the seminar room. He had a split earphone and would monitorrecording levels through one ear and play tapes of Pink Floyd through the other. Inthe last week Virginia had set up a counselling situation and asked how the participants would deal with it, using the material that she had been

Throughout room except

in

the

little

them. The participants seemed stuck. Richard came storming down from his room and successfully dealt with the problem. And Virginia said, 'That's exactly right.' Richard found himselfin the strange situation of knowing more about Virginia's therapeutic patterns than anyone else, without consciously trying to learn them at all." (p. 173)

teaching

Whatever story is true, if either, Bandler's innate ability to detect and was again on display. This time it focused on Virginia replicate patterns Satir's patterns. Thereaftershe became a regular visitor at the group in Santa Cruz, watching what Richard, Frank, and John were doing and she wrote the Preface to the first NLP eventually book, The Structure of Magic (1975, 1976), as well as co-write the next book, Changing with Families that she wrote with Richard, John, and Leslie Cameron (1976).

It

was

in this

Potential

way

that

Movement

communication

another second-generationleader

became

from which the

one first

of

the

NLP

models

in the

of

Human

therapeutic

model, "the Meta-Model of

Therapy," was created.When Richard returned, the experimental group studying the language patterns of change now had another person to study and model Virginia Satir. Immediately, the Satir Categories of communication was studied and added to the list of distinctions and can be found in all of the NLP

Language

in

early

Yet even more important for the

distinctiveness

Virginia's use of the sensory representational aspect of her geniusas Perls automatically Virginia had trained

books.

of the

NLP model was

systems. This was one heard modal operators,

to intuitively know and distinguish the sensory auditory, and kinesthetic. From Virginia they also herself

systemsvisual, modeled the way she did anchoring,future pacing, reframing,and handling -48-

NLP

Chapter 4

Secrets

The

Experimenters

nominalizations(Anchor Point, 1992. p. 43). She did not use the term "nominalizations,"but when she heard a nominalizationlike "respect," she

what

would look

would ask the person to seulpt "respect" this way she de-nominalized vague terminology (like frozen verbs back into sensory-based representations. kinesthetic demonstration of the term.

like to

"respect"),

him. In and turn

She would get a

Many years later John Grinder told another story about how they discovered systems. They discovered them during a visit to a Bandler said heard a "funny"thing in the language of the he at the check-out girl store. She had said, "I see what you are saying" the representational rocery store.

Bandler and Grinder laughed about theyplayed about predicates. used sensory-representational meeting

I

find

it

either

Later

it

led to a

game

that

find that storyless credible because Virginia systems in her work for many years before

of them and before their

first

encounter with her. Given

that,

believable that they would not have picked that up. An interpretation-perhaps they did pick it up, but they didn't

less

alternative

become conscious of it

Time

I

that incident.

until the

grocery store incident.

Linne

1973

1974

1971

1972

Kresge

Bandler

Gestalt

College Opens Bateson

transcribed

Approach Published

Perl's Gestalt

tapes class

Virginia

1975 Structure

Satir

Milton H.

published

Erickson

NLP

of Magic

introduced

Patterns

publically

Ipublished

starts

Gregory BatesonTheBritish Gandalf Some time after the introduction to Virginia and the integration of the in Virginia's language patterns, linguistic distinctions that they were finding Gregory Bateson began taking interest in what the three young men were doing In one way, Bateson's interest was inevitable. After all, John first, and then the same property in the Richard lived on Dr. Spitzer's property. This was

49-

NLP

Chapter 4

Secrets

TheExperimenters

mountains above Santa Cruz where Gregory Bateson also lived. Not only that, but Bateson was a senior Professor at Kresge College.

Yet there was more. For decades, Bateson had been working with his team-John Weakland, Steve de Shazer,Richard Fisch, Paul Watzlawick, Jay Haley, Ronald Lang, Don Jackson, etc. at MRI (Mental Rescarch Institute) on the very issues that were coming together in the linguistic model that they were a foundation for human creating.

Namely

consciousness and the mechanisms of change. He and his colleaguesalso studiedthe structure and meaning ofchange in human personality. And the book, Change: Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution (1974)preceded NLP by one year. Odd enough, that book included many of basic NLP ideas as well as Milton H. Erickson wrote the Foreword.

a Bateson, British anthropologist, "looked like Gandalf from Lord of the movies with Rings shorterhair," (Origins, 2002, p. 116). Bateson, a genius in his own also had ties to Alfred Korzybski. Several years prior to right, he spoke at the General Semantic meeting Bandler,Grinder, and Pucelik, Conference (1969) on "The Difference that makes a difference." His concern was regarding what gets onto the map from the territory which he concluded that "the difference which makes a difference" is information (Pp. 458-459). "Let us go back to the map and the territory and ask: What is it in the territory that gets onto the map?" We know the territorydoes not getonto the map. That is the central point aboutwhich we here are all agreed. Now, if the territory were uniform, nothing would get onto the map except its boundaries, which are the point at which it ceases to be uniform

some larger matrix. What gets onto the map, in fact, is difference, a difference in altitude, a difference in vegetation, a difference in population structure, difiference in surface, or whatever. Differences are the things that get onto a map." (Steps to an against

be

it

Ecologyof Mind, 1972,p.

457) Bateson further had ties with other leaders of the Human Potential Movement. His first wife, Margaret Meade was the protégé of Ruth Benedict who was Abraham Maslow's mentor in the 1930s

and who

modeled. In 1963 Bateson presentedthe second workshop as was Esalen justbeginning. Later he would retire to Esalen in 1978 as the

Maslow

first

-50-

NLP

Chapter 4

Secrets

he died "Scholar in Residence," where Bateson was the third Human Potential influenced

In

ofthe

in

1980.

this

In

Movement

leader

way Gregory

who deeply

the content and focus of NLP-one of the great secrets of NLP.

terms of his first

The Experimenters

relationships

generationNLP

to

NLP, he was the teacher of all, or nearly

all,

and trainers. That'sbecause most co-developers

of them studied systems, cybernetics, sociology,culture, ete. under him. From his levels of learning, his popularization of framing,the meta-levels,

.

came Dilts' Neuro-Logical Levels,framing and reframing,the Meta-States and much more. Model that contributed, It was also Bateson who introduced Richard and John to Milton Erickson. Joseph O'Connor noted this in an article many years later (1997, Anchor Point): "Bateson was a major contributor to systems thinking, cybernetics, He was a participant at the communication studies, and psychology. I

seminalMacy Conferencesin the 1940s together with Norbert Wiener, Margaret Mead, John von Neumann, and Warren MeCulloch." (p. 3)

The Macy Conferences were about systems,systems thinking, ecology,etc. And because they had a long relationship, Bateson was able to introduce them to Erickson. Bateson had studied the Bali dances and hypnotic books. He was the patterns and had written a prefaceforone of Erickson's person who thought Richard and John should meet him since they were studying language patterns and how language influences neurology to facilitate

change.

meeting with Erickson in 1974, Leslie Cameron went along with Richard and John. That forever changed things between her and Frank. When she returned, she left Frank and soon thereafier moved in with In the initial

Richard. Milton

In

1977 she became

H. Erickson

Leslie

Cameron-Bandler.

The Purple Wizard

Milton H. Erickson, M.D. lived in Phoenix, Arizona and had developed an so John and Richard set out to model his expertise in medical hypnosis interested in adding hypnoticcommunication skills and patterns. They were communication skills extrapolated from Perls and this Satir. Fitting with the premises of the Human Potential Movement, and the idea ofunleashing opened up the whole realm of "theunconscious" these distinctions

to the

-51

NLP

Secrets

The

Chapter 4

Experimenters

of the unconscious mind. They immediately turned out two volumes of The Hypnotic Language Patterns of Milton H., Erickson and a model of hypnotic communications which they called "The Milton Model" (1976, 1977). potentials

The Milton Model

about communication from 1972 to Meta-Model of Language." In that to

way

they had developed 1974 which they incorporated into "the to create a first model they had sought

essentially reversed

generate precision and constructfalse and limiting and actually for eritical thinking.

everything

that

communicating. That 1s, to demaps ofthe world. It was a model

clarity in unuseful

"an artfully vague way" to construct new realities within a person's mind and neurology. Whereas they began with a de-hypnotizing model, they now shifted to a model for hypnotizing.This also opened up the field of NLP fortrying out every hypnotic phenomena that they could find to seewhat they could dohow far they could push things. That, in turn, led to a lot of fun as well as Thereafter they reversed

things

and used language

the excesses described in McClendon's

An

in

The Wild Days of NLP.

story that Grinder tells is that after Erickson suggested that Erickson,while Richard said that hewas immediately ready,John he was not. "I need at least two months to prepare." John's fear

interesting

they

visit

said that

was based on

his

assumption

he needed

that

himself against of picking up Erickson Erickson's physical disability. was afraid ability to create polio which occurred in Erickson'slife on two separate to protect

He

Occasions.

Nor were

ones Richard and John the only who went offto of the Desert."Other NLP developers did the same,

visit "theWizard

especially

Gilliganwho was one ofthe first generationNLP Trainers. his speciality and niche and to this day runs Trance

Camp

world.

52-

Stephen

Hemade trance all

around the

NLP

Chapter 4

Secrets

The Experimenters

The Experimenters The Meta-Model was originally created by those of the first group who, strange as it might seem,did not become the NLP Leaders or even apart of the NLP Comunity. Now that's strange and it raises several questions. Why they did not stick around? Didn't they know what they had? Didn't they have a vision of where their experimental work would go? The apparent answer is "No, they did not." They apparentlydid not see what they were creating would result in a new model in the ficld of psychology or take the field of self-developmentby storm in the coming years.

This remains one of the mysteries of the origin of NLP. The founders stayed. Of course, they had a vested interest in staying. But the members did not. This more than likely indicates the of the first experimental group lack of leadership by Richard and John in helping them own what they had

None but Terry MeClendon stayed to becomea NLP trainer and first history, The Wild Days of NLP: 1972-1981.

co-created.

also to write the

The publication of The Structureof Magic in 1975 took the creation ofthe Meta-Model public. Suddenly what had been occurring quietly and privately

in the

redwood

forest

that

small college tucked away in the became a public phenomenon. Today NLP is dated from experimental group

at a

public presentation.

That was

also

the time when the

final

group came together which was

comprised ofthose who would become the first generationof NLP trainers and leaders. These were the people who stayed to organize, train, and lead the early days of the movement in Santa Cruz. Those who made up this group were the co-leaders of the movement that became NLP. They were the ones who became the leading personalities in NLP-Judith DeLozier, Robert

Dilts,

Gilligan,

and

Byron Lewis, David Gordon, Terrence McClendon, Stephen Leslie

Cameron.

but only temporarily. In late 1976 Richard Bandler "chased him away" when he threatened to kill Leslie. So Frank left. He left because, as he said, he believed Richard. In 1977 he went to Frank Pucelik was

also there,

Nebraska for a year California,

to

sabbatical.

San Diego, started

At the end of that year, he returned to the Meta Institute. Going along with him -53-

NLP

were

The Experimenters

Chapter 4

Secrets

several

keypersons-Paul Carter, Marilyn Moskouitz, JeffParis, and

Lisa Chiaia from

the

first

Lewis and Stephen group and then also Byron

Gilligan.

NLP

Another

ever

secret

Richard Bandler nor John This occurred them

concerns how

neither

as astudent. in spite of with the key figures in the field of acquaintance naving so psychotherapy. They were the teachers. They were the thinkers. They did not experience the noted this in his article as leaners. Dr. Grinder

participated

intimate

patterns

about

his

personal associations

However,

Spitzer with Bandler and Grinder.

neither personally experienced

a family

reconstruction

in the

of an extended training. I think such an experience for either of them would have added a new dimension ofappreciation of Virginia and life. Richard and John also had very limited contact with Virginia during the last 10 years full expression of her spiritual of her life and missed the context

development."(AnchorPoint,

1992, p.

Reflections and Secrets becanme NLP did not only begin What

44)

experiments (chapter3), it was up ofacommunity ofincredibleexperimenters-and notjust the two men who we usually credit the creation. Without the exemplars that they studied(Perls, Satir, and Erickson)and withoutthe key mentor who guided via

made

NLP them along the way and opened all sorts of for them (Bateson), would never have been formed as did. It was trulya collaborativegroup project that came about through the contributions of many diverse doors

it

people.

Given the presence of the experimentalgroups,however many there were, the mythology is that NLP was created solely by Bandler and Grinder. That's just not historically accurate. It was also created by Frank Pucelik, as the connector who put them together in the first place and who worked with the first group of experimenters. It was that first group of who ran the operational experiments for testing and demonstrating the language model. This highly significant and shocking to the received revelation reveals that NLP was a narrative group discovery intimately

the Gestalt Class

Richard Bandler and John Grinder took credit for it and because they did, they are still given sole credit for creating it even to this day. But at best -54-

NLP Secrets

Chapter4

The Experimenters

they were the mavens who had the ability to articulate the specialized knowledge which became NLP. They were the two who rush a book into print about it and took credit for the whole thing. In this way, they essentially hijacked NLP so that thereafier they promoted the existence of NLP as founded solely by them.

The

Achilles Heel of the movement, in terms of the

they

kept themselves

exclusively

experiencers

two founders,was that from the apart groups and they positioned themselves as "the developers." They did not see themselves as and so they did not let others lead them through the processes.

not apply the Meta, or the NLP, patterns to themselves. As a were not and still are not leaders, especially exemplar leaders. they

did

They result

They were the mavens

only.

Out of the strangeconglomeration of three diverse therapies, NLP emerged not as a therapy,but as a meta-discipline-a cognitive psychology model of communication. Unseen at the beginning was an incredible fact -the key players were leaders in the Human Potential Movement. That's where their

transformationalideasoriginated

What was model.

lt

from.

"NLP" at this stage of development? It was a communication was a conversational change model. The amazing act of

extensionalizing

"thinking" to the sensory components of

sights,

sounds,

sensations, smells,and tastes (the VAK), gave the Meta group the critical variables. With that they could effectively alter and change, and even transform,human experience for the better.

Background Notes: 1.

When

N9Yd0e1nspo zd otisdces sid

was in Cold Harbor Canada, John Grinder was in East Africa and Oklahoma (Whispering, 2002, p. 147) Virginia Satir's writings

Richard Bandler

Frank Pucelik

was

in

include Conjoint Family Therapy (1964), Peoplemaking

(1972), Making Contact (1976),

Self-Esteem (1975), Your Many Faces (1978). 2. Interview with J.Grinder by Patrick Merlevede, 1999,

p.51.

55

NLP

World,

Volume 5, No.

1,

NLP

The

Chapter 4

Secrets

. .

Experimenters

were those seven patterns that he manuscript asked, "What detected in Virginia's work?"" I wish knew! That was a part of that story Bandler offered those details. presented at my Master Prac. in 1990, something he never in all of the early Ihe Satir Categories, the five communication stances was included even added them to my NLP books and began dropping out ofthem in the mid-1980s. are not replicated book, SpeakUp, SpeakKind, Speak Clear in 1987. Today, however, they in any NLP books. times. After they laughed about S. Grinder wrote about the grocery store incident several to the distinguish the funny words of the girl, "I see what you are saying," they used that this

I

I

Several reviewers of

predicates in language 164-165, 171). 6.

in

terms ofvisual,auditory,

from the book,

(1999),

is

(Whispering, 2001,pp.

kinesthetic.

of Crown House Publications and author Change NLP ideas of came early convinced that many of the and Problem Resolution of Problem Formation

Martin Roberts, Ph.D., the founder

Management Excellence

and

of

Change: Principles about the Palo Alto (1974)(Private correspondence, 1999). Martin wrote extensively Medical Research Foundation and the Mental Research Institute. arm of the PAMRF a not for Originally the MRI was founded as the training and fulfilled the role a profit organisation of which Don Jackson was already part of foundation Don Jackson At the time Consultant. of Director and Psychiatric and as Assistant Director was joined by Jules Rankin, Virginia Satir, MSW, and one as Director of Family Therapy Training secretary to serve all three. one of the most creative to form formation Paul Watzlawick joined Shortly after and in the field family therapy. Later teams ofresearcher/practitioners ofmarriage and John Weakland joined. when the team was further Jay Haley strengthened

MD

associates at MRI begins to read the list of people who have been research a veritable "Who's Who" of family and brief therapy including Don Jackson, John Weakland, Jay Haley, Virginia Satir, Paul Watzlawick, Antonia Ferraira,

Now like

Richard Fisch, Janet Bevin, Bavelas, Art Bodin, Lynn Hoffmanand Lynn Segal, have to name but a few. Since its inception more than 50 major research projects books have been been housed at MRI and more than 500journal articles and 50 produced by various research associates. "Oneof the most influential research projects housed at MRI is the BriefTherapy founded by Richard Fisch in 1965. After Don Jackson's death Project, which was and Boden that were to go on and in 1968 it was Fisch, Weakland, Watzlawick, models of Brief the most influential Therapy in existence today. create one of in a which is detailed article, Much of ground breaking Brief Therapy: Focused Problem Resolution by Weakland, Fisch, Watzlawick and Bodin. Two pivotal written by he group: Change: Principles ofProblem Formation Resolution Problenm (1974) by Watzlawick, Weakland and Fisch and The and (1982) by Fisch, Weakland and Tactics of Change-Doing Therapy Briefly

books were also

Segal."

Regarding

Bateson's role with MRI, Martin described it related to NLP. it focused on, and how

how

it

was

formed,

who was

involved, what

Formed under

the auspices

ofPAMRFand headed -56-

by the eminent anthropologist

NLP

Chapter 4

Secrets

Gregory Bateson

Bateson attracted

John Weakland,

The Experimenters

numberofwideranging research projects were started in 1953. to him a powerful research team which included Don Jackson, Jay Haley and William Pry. Together they conducted one of the a

and intluential most important sciences. The basis for their

of research projects

series initial

ever

in

behavioural

rescarch used the theories of Russell and

logical types as a conceptual framework. Overall their focus of the nature ofcommunication processes,context and paradox. The first nquiry was published article ofthis group was entitled "Towardsa Theory ofSchizophrenia"

Whitehead's

published in 1956. This article was seen as ground breaking at the time. the next ten years the group went on to produce more than seventy "During articles andbook chapters. Much of this work had drawn upon ideas set forth in These systems theory, communication theory, information theory and cybernetics.

works

laid

human of a revolutionary approach to understanding gave rise to communication (i.e. interactional) theory. It

the foundation

behaviour which

in turn

on this that a major part field of marriage and family therapy, as well as ofthe brieftherapy became based. This group was also influenced significantly by the work of US. psychiatrist, H. and brief Milton hypnotherapist, therapist, is

his

Erickson-especially paradoxical heavily both

change, such as Project eventually contributed the foundations of the field we now call

innovative use of

for

strategies

Thus the Bateson Research

directives.

and

directly

indirectly

Neuro-Linguistic Programming

to

(NLP)."

ofErickson was but one ofseveral attempts to model Erickson. In a series on Modeling, Martin Roberts quoted other models of Erickson, Herbert Lustig, M.D. produced a model of Erickson's work, The Artistry of Milton H. Erickson, M.D. and (1975). Jay Halley published two books on Erickson, Uncommon Therapy (1968) 7.

This model

of articles

AdvancedTechniques of Hypnosis and Therapy (1967). 8. See Executive Thinking (2018) which is the first NLP book to subject of

critical

with Erickson developed 10.

address the

thinking.

Of course, since no one

9.

specifically

else

among

polio, that

One possible exception

is

the thousands

who

studied

was undoubtedly an unfounded

McClendon's

Ericksonian Hypnosis fear.

short paragraph about Bandler doing a family

sessions (The Wild Days of NLP, p. 34). in one of the training 11.John Grinder says that they "decided to write a book"-sometimeafter it becameclear overlaps in the verbal patterning of the two to the two of us that there was significant 147-148. and p. performers (Perls Satir). Whispering,

reconstruction for Grinder

-51

Chapter5

EXEMPLAR'S CONTRIBUTIONS "The space shuttle

was often

ofwhy you shouldn't even attempt

used as an example make something reusable.

to

But one failed experiment does not invalidate the greater goal. fthatwas the case, we'd never have had the light bulb. Elon Musk

"

he

of

richness of the original

all

not

of the players

created

in the

NLP

model arose from the

drama. The

by just two men

secret is

now

contributions

out-NLP was

who put

it together and claimed them and by many, many others. by exclusive credit It Yet many of these other creators have not been recognized for their So is in contributions. this chapter designed, part, to set the record straight about who should be given credit and recognized for of the

for

it.

was

created

developments within NLP. Here

we start with

many

the exemplars themselves.

Fritz Perls'Contributions

Where

did

NLP come

from?'"It came, first of all, from Gestalt Therapy. Gestalt Class that Richard Bander and Frank Pucelik started at Kresge College. There they practiced Gestalt practices and principles. Frank contributed his knowledge of Gestalt Therapy which he had learned at a Universityin San Diego and Richard contributed what he had learned from the books, the audio,and the videos tapes of Fritz Perls It

arose

in

which he

the context of a

transcribed.

-58-

Chapter 5

NLP Secrets Long before it was

Exemplar's Contributions

called

"Neuro-LinguisticProgramming"-it began as a class encountered people in helping them make and more develop changes fully as human beings. What the original added to Gestalt was the structural developers that John studying how

Fritz Perls

linguistic analysis

Grinder introduced from Transformational Grammar. Together with the experimental group, they began exploring how the language patterns and processes were

experiential

creating

significant

changes.

Yet they did not invent so much as they appropriated what they found. it came under the name Eventually "NLP." NLP inherited many together How these facts got shufled to the back and dethings from Gestalt. emphasized,

NLP didn't

I

don't

know.' Nor

do understand why I

those

who launched

highlight these facts. After all, these factors actually validate and give more credibility to the birth of NLP rather than take away from it.

)

Sensory Awareness. The focus on awareness, especially on sensorybased awareness, came from Fritz Perls. Perls' focus was known for his "Now Iam aware..."exercise. He would have a person start every sentence with this line asa way to develop sensory awareness. It invited people into

to be fully present in this moment. "Become aware of his gestures, breathing,

the present

voice,

emotions,

facial

The more he becomes aware of himself, the more he will expressions. learn aboutwhat his self is. "Now I am aware.."The Gestalt Approach (1973,p. 65) "... the patient must come to his 'senses.' He must learn to see what is there and not what he imagines to be there. He must stop hallucinating, transferring, and projecting." (lbid, p. 104)

2) The Sensory Representational System.

NLP

received

also

focus on the

VAK

from

Gestalt.

An

extensive

is in Gestalt Therapy (1951) in each sensory system detailed There Perls goes through the visual system, auditory, chapter.

description the third

its

kinesthetic

of

(body awareness) and from

there remembering, imagining, did not invent the VAK-it was in the Gestalt

NLP emoting, verbalizing. and processes that goes back experiments

to the early 1950s.2

3)Patterns. NLP has lots of "patterns," yet these are also not new. In the 1951 book on Gestalt Therapy there are dozens and dozens of patterns

-59

NLP

Chapter 5

Secrets

Exemplar's Contributions

called their fritz

"experiments." The design was to get people to experiment with awareness in order to shift and change it, to try on other p0ssibilities. Perls, and his co-authors, Ralph Hefferline and Paul Goodman,

presented the experiments as trials designed to facilitate people to engage in specific observations about themselves and their experiences so they could either confirm or disconfirm an idea or hypothesis. This is what any seientific

experiment seeks to do.

It

but to either confirm or disconfirnm

a

4)

Holistic Patterning

configuration,

does not seek to "prove" something, hypothesisthat they are testing.

and Constructionism.

structure,

theme,

structural

meaningful organized whole.." (1951, p.

defined gestalt

Perls

as

(Korzybski) or he wanted to Originally

relationship ix).

Therapy. He discarded that title as with Jean-Paul Sartre. He named it gestalt closely being human being can be understood only as a whole and within his because or her actual environment." (Anderson, 1984, 95). p.

name his form of therapy, Existential too

associated

a

From

Perls

also

they got the Fritz

content/structure

distinction.

which

NLP

That was the

and repeatedly that It was also from Perls and Gestalt that they became acquainted emphasized. with Korzybski. In Gestalt it was Fritz who quoted and referred Therapy to Alfred Korzybski's General Semantics. He even said that ""you cannot unless you are well acquaintedwith Korzybski assimilate it(gestalt)... (1951, p. xii) Although the content of what is said is important, it is much more the distinction

presented

structure, the syntax, the style, motivation." (Gestalt Therapy,

The

therapy

that reveals character

consists in analyzing

is

the internal structure

of the

actual

remembered, done, remembered, or how what

said..."

"A gestalt is a pattern, a configuration, of the

underlying

being experienced,

experience..not so much what said, etc., as how what is being remembered is said

and

1951,p. 216) is

is

inherited

individual parts that

nature is organized

go

into

its

the particular form

make up.

into patterns or wholes."

oforganization

Basic premise:

human

(The Gestalt Approach, (p.

5) 5) From Why to How. NLP strongly emphasizes that we should not ask why, especially when a person iS in an unresourcefulstate. Instead focus on

60

NLP

Chapter 5

Secrets

how. Focusing on how

Exemplar's Contributions

direct us to

focusing on modeling the structureof an experience. Again, this is not an NLP invention, it came from Fritz Perls. Therapy oriented to the past is invalid because the whys of the patient's neurosis

Why' opens up an endless series of which can only be answered by a first cause that is self-caused. an explanation which makes the aunt the villain in the piece his problem? Such an explanation only gives the patient license to really explain very

little.

questions How will solve

project

all

his difficulties

onto the aunt.

answer." The

These

(p.

It

gives

him

a scapegoat,

not an

54)

Gestalt Approach are the questions that start with

The 'why'

'why?

questions

answers,defensiveness, rationalizations, excuses, and the delusion that an event can be explained by a single cause. Not sowith the 'how." Those inquires into the structure of an event, and once the structure is clear all the whys are automatically answered.... Ifwespend our time looking for causes instead of structure we may as well give up the idea of therapy and join the group of worrying grandmothers who produce only

pat

attack their prey with such pointless questions as

cold? *Why have you been so

naughty?*"

'Why did you catch

Gestalt

that

Approach (p. 77)

6) Figure /Ground Distinction. Since a gestalt is a whole, it involvesthe figure and background relationship. For Perls, in a "good gestalt" the figure standsout againsta ground so that an experience(orpart of an experience) can be perceived against its background. As a synthesis of perceptual elements, we group them togetheras a pattern putting something in the foreground and something else in the background. Fritz explained: "In such a case, all attention tends to flow from the ground of what one is into the figure of what one is becoming." That describes the

structure

behind and within the

NLP Swish

pattern.

be that the NLP Swish pattern came originally from Fritz and NLP invented a pattern from it that led to the Swish? In the Encyclopedia of Systemic NLP, Dilts and DeLozier write, "Richard Bandler and Robert

Could

it

Dilts and developed the essence of the Swish pattern in 1981. DeLozier, 2000,pp. 1361-1362). LaterChristina Hall and Bandler created Dilts

the current pattern."

7) The Phobia Cure pattern. In NLP we have a pattern that "cures phobias. What it actually does is it takes the emotional charge out of a a movie strong reactive emotional state. The pattern involves playing

-61

NLP

Secrets

preter

Exemplar's Contributions

5

it so you are end as you remember it. Then stepping into this Because of process again and rewinding it to the beginning. was written in The following calling it The Movie Rewind Pattern.

through there

Chapter

to the

I

people

entertain

down."Yet long Fritz Perls

and playing around,with the images that in their minds. Perls said, "Turn the pictures upside before Richard Bandler claims to have invented it, in 1951

of reversing

the context

functions

wrote:

Imagine

the motions around

around,as

in

a

reverse-motion

you as if they moving picture

occurred

the other

where

film,

way

a diver sails

from the springboard into the water, and then with equal ease back up from the water to the springboard." (Gestalt Therapy, p. 47, italics added) gracefully flies

8)Meta-Model Distinctions. These are introduced. Most famously was his

the linguistic distinctions that Perls

constant challenge to the modal of have operators to. necessity: should,must, "If you say, I must do them,' who is supplying the 'must'? You, apparently, for you are not compelled from outside. What if you didn't do them? No blow would fall... Supposeyou say, Iwant to do them but some part of me objects.*""

9)Emphasis

on Authenticity. One ofthe things that

Bandler heard on the and transcribed in that 1973 book was about tapes from using Gestalt to enable people to get real. This was Perls way of about selfPerls

talking

actualization-a theme that eluded the NLP movement for many, many years as you will discover in the next chapter. Of course,for Fritz being real mostly meant dropping the masks and saying whatever you thought is true for you in that moment. The downside of that is that

if

it

is

undisciplined, one can behave in ugly and aggressiveways. to Perls himself -and it left him as personally

That happened insecure, jealous, and

combative (Anderson, 1984, p. 133). The idea ofGestalt therapy is to changepaper people make the whole man ofour time come to life and to

to real people. To teach him to use his

be.. a leader without being a rebel, having a center, lopsided." The Gestalt Approach (1973,p. 120)

inborn potential to instead

of living

Ifthere was one 10) Responsibility. thing that the first Movement emphasized, at least what Maslow and

Human

Rogers

-62-

Potential

stressed,

it

was

NLP

Secrets

responsibility. certainly

5

Chapter

AS

a second generation

emphasized

it.

Here are two

Exemplar's

leader

of

movement, Perls the book Bandler

that in

quotations, both

Contributions

transcribed.

Without Approach,

awareness, p.

there

is

(The Gestal

no cognition of choice."

66)

Responsibility is reactions. .. The

really

Gestalt Approach,

p. 79, 80)

the

response-ability,

to

choose

is

not to

ability

one's

therapist's primary responsibility let go unchallenged any statement or behavior which is not representativeof the lack of self-responsibility." (The self, which is evidence of the patient's

Gestalt. may be shocking to realize just how much NLP inherited from It was a lot! NLP did not invent everything that it has claimed to invent. Instead the originators appropriatedit from Gestalt, and then, conveniently failed to give full credit to it as the source. They stood on the shoulders of these giants and saw further, but did not fully acknowledge those shoulders and work of those who preceded them. It

Satir's

Contributions

Acknowledging

the contributions

Virginia

NLP actually

establishes

more

from the

credibility,

and

sources

not

less.

fields. professional modus operandi in academic contributions Satir made significant Virginia

It

is

the

exemplars of fundamental

also a

Similar to Fritz Perls, to

Neuro-Linguistic

visitor Programming. Yet unlike the Perls and Erickson, shewasa constant than the to the early Meta groupsand so may have exerted more influence others. Exceptfor "the Satir Categories" and parts integration, the founders did not take much diretly from Virginia's books. And as already noted, a and Frankwere leading, Dr. Spitzer year after the Gestalt Class that Richard sent Richard

)

Canada for a month work (1973).

to

Constellation

to record Virginia's

Family System

got representational systems from Perls, they found that they were masterfully utilized by Virginia. My guess is that because a big person (6 foot 2), she could easily have been Virginia was such That's probably why she learned to match people intimidating to people. and verbally so exquisitely. From her the early developers Rapport.

As

they

behaviorally discovered

"the structure

ofrapport"-namely, matching

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the behavioral

NLP

Exemplar's Contributions

Chapter 5

Secrets

Dr. Spitzer was talking prior to his death, Fritz said she was "the most Virginia. he had known."(1972, p. x). This was also her tocus. She nurturing person focused on developingi nd nurturing people and famlies as even a cursory

outputs of people. Later, shortly with Fritz when he described

reading of Peoplemaking reveals In the book Whispering, Grinder describes Virginia's pacing and leading abilities in family therapy. He comments on the degree which she.. of the '.expressed herself imitating the voice qualifies emphatically

man,

duplicating

expressions

with

great

and movements.

force

as

initially

Indeed, her behavior

well is

his postures, recognizable as an

version of what he has just done.... As she is working her way through this litany, her voice shifts little by little, arriving finally with an astonishingly smoothing, supportive, almost intimate voice exaggerated

quality- her posture

modifies

itself

until

it

is

non-threatening,

almost

concern and apparent conciliatory, her expressions becomes those of while her words gently of the man's ongoing experience understanding shift to phrases

such as 'and

healthy choice

I

of feeling

hope that each of you have the the that what you are feeling and having

sincerely

ability to express those important

feelings." (Whispering,

p.

308)

2) The Satir Categories. Virginia's focuswas on communication and from her NLP reproduced "The Satir Categories"of communication: blaming, These placating, distracting, computing, and leveling (speaking assertive). in the NLP books. Then over the early years, categories were reproduced no NLP books retain them. they were eventuallydropped until today almost is the factor what kinds of Communication largest single determining he makes with others andwhat to him in the world happens relationships about him. .. We pay a heavy price for not seeing and not hearing accurately as we end up by making assumptionsand treating them as facts.

(Peoplemaking,1972, pp. 30, 48) Peoplemaking Virginia went through each of the systems and describedthem in terms of communication-

Amazing as well representational

in

visual, visual-kinesthetic,

She

also

wrote

extensively

auditory,

and even

about how

communications.

-64

we

olfactory

use each

(1972: 35-39, 41). in our interpersonal

NLP Secrets

Chapter 5

Exemplar's Contributions

3)Systens Thinking and Working. While Gestalt is systemic and holistic in nature, and there is some emphasis on that in Perls' writings, it was even more prominent in Virginia's work. After all, she is recognized as the founder of Family Systems. For her the family is "the factory" where the person is made, so parents are the people-makers (1972, p. 3).

The relationships how

to

What the

in a

familyare extremely complex. ... You must learn system work vitally yourself." leveling response does is make it possible for you to live as a

make

that

whole person-real, in touch with your head, your heart, your feelings, and your body."(1972,p. 78) emphasized "states," even using that term, and it was probably from her that state entered into NLP's vocabulary."The one state

4)

State.

Satir

she

talked about was self-esteem constantly came some otherstates safety,fear, and anger. that

(self-worth).

After that

honesty, responsibility, compassion,love- all flow easily the person whose pot [self-esteem pot] is high." (1972,p. 22).

Integrity,

from

5) Patterns. Satir created various exercises that today we call patterns. There was the "Do you mean...?" exercise (1972, pp. 49-51) where people practiced making guesses and had to continue until they get three guesses right. She warned about mind-reading (p. 52) and clearly distinguished description from judgment (p.55). 6)Not "Why?"-"How?"As Perls made the case fornot asking why and for shifting to focus to how, so Satir presented the very same emphasis. Again, this did not originate with NLP as an unique perspective. Understanding the system helps people to ask 'how' questions instead of 'why' questions. You know how hard you have to work with a 'why' question so it doesn't come out soundinglike a blame question. ... 'How' and understanding, questionsget information 'whys produce defensiveness."

(1972,p.

119)

7)Parts, Parts Parties, andIntegration. A significant contribution from Satir was her emphasis on integration and, of course, her "Parts Parties" were designed specifically forthat. From this came the talk in NLP about for integrating parts. This was a large portion of "parts"and the patterms

Volume

II

of The Structure ofMagic, and one of the 65-

patterns

presented

NLP

Exemplar's Contributions

Chapter 5

Secrets

there (Vol. II, p. 74-76).

8)

Positive

One of

Intention.

the

premises of

NLP

is that

"behind

all

if

not be at the behavior are positive intentions." The positive intention may levels up more or even first level of intention, it may be two or three, not, then you there or, (intention of intention). Yet you can either find it this and may can create it by moving up the levels. Satir operated from have been the original source of that presupposition. Thave never found a human being who was all bad. Such a violent man on the isn't all bad. It takes a good deal of maturity and understanding part of an adult

to

recognize this." (1972,p. 183)

Steve Andreas noted this in his book on Virginia Satir: One ofthe most powerful aspects of Virginia's work was her assumption that everyone's intentions were positive, no matter how horrible the behavior

was..."

(1991,p. 4)

9 Well-Formed

Outcome. Steve Andreas modeled 16 of Virginia's patterns in his book about her, Virginia Satir: The Patterns of Her Magic (1991). What he writes suggeststhat the basic NLP Well-Formed Outcome pattern, at least in its early forms, came from her. "Virginia's work was guided by the basic outcome questions: What do you want? How will you know when you've got it? What stops you now? What do you need in order to get it. She also understood that the answersto these

questions have to

be specific in sensory-based

terms..."

(Andreas,1991,p. 3)

10)Mind-Reading Ifthere was a language patten that Virginia was always sniffing out an challenging,it was mind-reading. She hated it. With families and couples, she considered it the

biggest

destroyer of communication, intimacy, and

understanding

You past

don't really know what I am sensing, what my values are and exactly what

is,

what I

am feeling, what my my body is doing. You have

and fantasies, and I have the same about you. and fantasies are checked out, guesses they become thefacts can often lead to traps and ruptures." (1972,p. 33) istening and looking require one's füll attention. We pay a for not seeing and not hearing accurately as we end up only guesses

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Unless the and assuch heavy prio by making

NLP Secrets

Chapter5

Exemplar's Contributions

assumptions and treating them as facts. How easy it is to misunderstand someone by making about what he meant. assumptions This can have serious results .. This us to what consider one of brings the most impossible hurdles in human That is the relationships. assumptionthat you always know what / mean. The premise appears to be that if we love each other, we also can and should read each other's minds."(1972.p. 48, 50,53) I

11. Meta-Questioning.

While meta-questioning is not specifically asan NLP process, distinguished was mentioned. Yet because the founders did not understand it, were it

they

not able to discover Meta-States.

Now

they were

close to discovering

it,

very close.

This new you

feel

question the part

question, which is characteristic of Satir's work, is: "How do about your feelings about what is Consider this happening?" in the light of the Meta-Model. This is essentially a request on of the therapist for the client to say how he feels about his structure--his

reference

Volume

I,

model

of the world..."

(The Structure

of

Magic,

p. 161).

With a question like this, Virginia was able to "go meta" and get to the frames aboveand beyond the experience. Here the "referencestructure" is a a oneself. "How do you feel (a meta-frame about about your feelings (your first-level primary feclings) about happening (the experience out there in the world)?"°

meta-state structure,

meta-feeling)

what

is

Virgin's Satir's Meta-Model and Inner States

book Conjoint Family Therapy (1964) indicates more Reviewing Virginia's her contributions to NLP. Published by Spitzer's Science and Behavior of Books, this highly significant book was written nearly one decade prior to the In Chapter 8 "Communication: A Process beginning of NLP. of Giving and Getting Information," Virginia presents two of the basic NLP Presuppositions You cannot not communicate and the meaning of your communication is the response you get. She then presents her "meta-model"-distinctions that you will recognize as part of the NLP Meta-Model of communication. The following sample ofherwritings arehere integrated into NLP's communication model. That -67-

NLP 1s,

T

Exemplar's Contributions

Chapter 5

Secrets

have named the

)

Universal

from TransformationalGrammar. that words are only fails to realize

taken

categories

"Ifa person

Quantifiers.

he will tend to over-generalize..." "Everybody is like that," "Nobody likes me." "Al women are..." (l1964, p. 82) "He will assume that what 2)Lost Performatives indicating permanence. *That's the way she is." "T've he or evaluates won't abstractions

change."

perceives

always been that way." "That's life." 3) Either/Or (in the Extended Meta-Model):"He assumes that there are or only two possible alternatives when assessing perceptions evaluation; he dichotomizes or thinks in terms of black or white." "Sheeither loves me or she doesn't." "Thatwill either make him or break him." (p. 83)

Mind-Reading. "He assumesthat he can get inside the head ofanother. He operates as if from a 'erystal ball' and he acts as a spokesman for others." know what you're thinking." "I know what she really means." 4)

I

You know

what I

really

mean." (p. 83-84)

Virginia even presented many of the very questions which, ten years later, il-formedness (1964,p. became Meta-Model questions

forchallenging

85).

Instead of calling the statementsill-formed, she

As examples

of

communication,

dysfunctional

them

calls these

dysfunctional.

states

are unclear

messages.

What

do you mean when you say that picture is ugly?" "What does shedo that strikes you as selfish?" "How can you tell what I'm thinking?" What do you mean, 'everybody' is like that? Do you mean your wife, boss, or

who?"

Do you mean all women

women you have known?" What doesn't turn out right? What in particular?" (Whatspecifically?) "Where, exactly, have such things happened to you? At home? At or just the

work?" (Where specifically?) "Why does it surprise you that

mean

I

What

You

don't, but that doesn't

'right' way?

Do you mean

or what?2"

If Richard, John, Frank, and the Virginia's"structure of magic,"

Meta-Model.

like fish?

don't." (Your map not my map.) do you mean by doing something the

your way

Meta-Model

I

is

distinctions. Interestingly,

early

now

group

we know

created

where

NLP by they

modeling

gotmany ofthe

provided much of the content of the she even warned against over-using these

Virginia

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NLP

Secrets

Chapter5

questions so you don't

Excmplar's Contributions

become a mcta-monstcr!

Anyone who

perpetually clarified and qualified would seem just as as the person who rarely did so. .. A receiver who dysfunctional asked a sender to perpetually clarify would seem testy,uncooperative, and irritating." (1964,p. 89)

What they did not pick up on was other presuppositions from Virginia that could have become NLP Presuppositionssuch as these. "Humans cannot communicate without, at the same time, metaHumans cannot nof meta-communicate."(1964,p. 97) communicating. All messages have requests in them, they are not always expressed These

verbally.

are

of

which

meta-communications."(p.

every

The

100).

message may or may

be

not

is part denotatively." (1964,p. 102)

request,

expressed

Modeling Virginia In researching the sources of where NLP models came from, came across anotherfascinating book. On first look, Inever imagined that the book had do the origins of NLP. Yet Tidings of Comfort and Joy: anything to with An Anthology of Change (1975) is about Virginia Satir, Fritz Perls, Sheldon I

Kopp, and Raven Lang, and it was published and edited by Dr. Robert Spitzer in the very same year he published the first NLP books.

A

most

incredible

chapter in

the

book

"When I Meet

a Person"

is

an

Interviewwith VirginiaSatir.

It occurred in 1974 between Spitzer, Richard of Science and Behavior charge production" (e.g., books) and Peggy Granger "who is on the editorial staff." (p. 111). The chapter is a record of Virginia talking about her beliefs and attitude as a

Bandler

Family

"who

is in

Therapist.

It is

the

closest thing

we

have

that

models Virginia's

and attitudes. Virginiamentioned that Richard Bandler was beliefs in this interview,yet nothing was contributed by him.

present

What givessome insight into her? Virginiasays, "Iwould like to start with what goes on in me when I think about using myself as a helper to another person." (1975, p. 111). Meeting Needs: the end Iinterpret their presence as indicating they have "reached oftheir to better" to search for a new (p. 111). ability ability cope cope"

and as

a

-69-

NLP

What Iam working

is to

am

Worth:

Personal

"thelifethat he

imagine

a different kind of coping help people seek a coping process rather than a dealing with

process." (p. 122).

problem-solving

Personhood and

for

..I

process." (p. 119).

T

Exemplar's Contributions

Chapter 5

Secrets

is

and has"..

"to see his insides." (p. 112)

seek to "reach the self-worth of each member ofthe family." "I feel that no changes can be made in people unless they begin to feel themselves as having woth." (p. 113) I

I

seek to connect with the person's

mine to you. My search and efforts is directed with one another." (p. 117) "I believe that people can handle they feel good about themselves." Positive orientation I

problems more (p. 268)

tough

have learned."

V-K Denominalization: "I like to make an are

more

am giving

become

creatively

will

real

when

a discussion of the problem.

happen to you as

a result

coming here?" (p. 116) (Desired Outcome) I see the people in front of me as doing the very best they they

I

and outcome:

"What do you hope

(p. 113).

these people

to "helping

with what the person wants, not with

start

that

'personhood,""I feel

useful

of your

can with what

(p. 114).

'alive' picture

when

there is

as quickly as possible.

a

picture;

I

call

this

...

Ifind words

'sculpturing'

or

posturing' ..actuallyputting themselves in the position of doing it make it more real. "Thiskind ofsculpturing has value becauseit makes explicit what is going on." (p. 117)

"

Process "I consider

myself the

leader

I

leader ofthe process in the interview but not the check out everything I do with them beforeI do it,

ofthepeople. what am is a strong

leader for the process." (p.

I

118) 2ids People at Cause I want to help people to become their own designers oftheir own choicemaking; and before they can do that, they need to be free to take risks.

Putting

So, my checking out with themtheir willingness to undertake a very important piece of this interaction." (p. 118) Virginia

also

(1964). The

reveals

last

more about

herself

in

is

Conjoint Family Therapy Larger System" (pp. 261-

chapteris titled, "Involvingthe

-70-

anything

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Chapter 5

Exemplar's Contributions

of this sounds and feels very NLP-ish-no it comes wonder directly from one of the persons who were modeled at the beginning "My attitude ofhope goes a long way toward helping people change. If all

269).

am conVinced

that

It is a matter of connecting the therapeutic task." (1964,p. (a constant theme for her): all

people can grow.

with their inner resources.

That is

People at Cause do not blame. "I blame no one-certainlynot parents people a better feeling aboutcoming to group sessions.

264)

I

Putting

them

that also I

set

acknowledges that

I

am dealing

with

and It is

this gIves

an attitude

intelligent people..."

"the stage for awakening inner resources."

By asking

questions

to

getmembers of the family saying that what I'm doing with them-they had never seen before. "Maybe there are other parts you haven't noticed." (p. 266) a In setting up sculpturing: "T've got an idea... do you want to try it out with me?.. Let me have your bodies for a while and I'll give them back to you." I put a lot of humor in do." everything (p. 267) Humor is a very important part of my work." (p. 268) I

Milton Erickson's Contributions to NLP In the early days before the adventure was called called

was designed to model human

Meta, envisioned it. Using it

NLP

and when

it

was

still

excellence as Gestalt Therapy

liberating language patterns and Then representational systems. suddenly everything changed-the orientation changed, the focus changed, and even the creativity changed. Gestalt

they found

After Gregory Bateson introduced Richard and John

to Milton Erickson, discovered a whole new set they of linguistic distinctions-hypnotic language patterns. That led them to studylanguage patterns of hypnosis and to model Erickson's skills of hypnotic inductions.

Thereafterthey created a list of linguistic

which took them into of distinctions, the Milton

distinctions

They fondly called this new set in honor ofthe exemplar. The structure of what's called "hypnosis" works via a unique way of communicating-a specific way of being preciselyvague along with a set of instructions regarding how to deliver suggestionsand messages. altered states.

Model

Reading is that

this history

and talking

things changed radically

many of those at the beginning,my sense as theybegan focusingon hypnoticlanguage to

-71-

NLP

Secrets

Chapter

Exemplar's

5

Contributions

Communication distinctions focused on Afterwards precision and clarity. It enabled people to do critical thinking. could use it to sensed to NLP because they they many people were drawn enabled influence others, even manipulate. Before the patterns people to take charge of their own lives to shake off limiting mental maps, assume and become more fully real and human. personal responsibility, Prior to this, the

patterns.

NLP

Afterwards, the orientation began to shift. It shifted to doing things to people, going around the conscious mind, and even programming the "unconscious mind."0

The

early

sought

to

developersbought lots of books on hypnotic phenomena as they see how many of those phenomena they could produce using the

hypnotic language patterns. This emphasis and development will strongly impress you when you read McClendon's The Wild Days of NLP. The stress slowly moved from precision, specificity, critical thinking, and modeling

expertise

behaviors to inducing people into hypnotic people. And yes, sometimes this improves life and

in actual

things to

states-doing enables new resourcefulness,

yet

it

often

entails the

programmer deciding

what a person needs. to NLP was primarily the hypnotic language the Milton Model. What the group discoveredwas that, whereas patterns, the Meta-Model enabled them to take a person back to real life experience and ground it in see-hear-feel referents, the Milton Model takes a person in the other direction. It takes a person up-up-and-away into a person's imaginations and into a person's wildest dreams and hopes. It takes a person up into the non-specified realm of nominalizationsand unspecified nouns and verbs:

What Erickson contributed

5

And you can enjoy

a loving and deep relationship with your loved one, feeling a rich connection and support asyou have never felt before."

Erickson's work also contributed to a deeper appreciation pacing. From him the basic communication

of matching and

pattern, "pace, pace, pace, lead" arose. The Meta group learned from Erickson just how important it was tomatch,match, and match a person's experience; so by pacing Milton could create a deep unconscious connectionwhich allowed the person to be ore open to change. Because Erickson believed that each person has his

-12

NLP Secrets or her

Chapter 5

own map

personality

Exemplar's Contributions

of the world, he needed to create person. That's what he did.

for cach

new theory of These practices

a

underscored his attitude-one of absolute respect and curiosity for his clients. Milton Erickson himself was highly ethical and didn't tolerate manipulation.

Of course, as a medical doctorand a psychiatrist, Erickson'swork focused and foremost on health, wellness, disease, pain management, etc. He had introducedMedical Hypnosis to the psychiatric community in the 1950s and his series of on his books seminarsHealing in Hypnosis (1983),Life Reframing in Hypnosis (1985), Mind-Body Communication in Hypnosis (1986), as well as his many other books focused mostly on medical first

conditions.

there would pattern

Cure

Yet be

NLP

in

focus on

did not

a

whole NLP."

set

of

patterns

this

from Erickson.

If

similar to Robert Dilts

NLP

had,

"Allergy

In my view, NLP's journey into hypnosis and hypnotic language patterns was poorly managed. The excitement of being able to do things to people

was

not effectively

unfortunately

led

counter-balanced with

some people

the Meta-Model

into

the

facilitation

approach. It

using NLP for manipulativepurposes.

brings them of their nominalizations and unspecified models of the world and grounds them back in the real world. But with these new language patterns After

all,

essentially de-hypnotizes people.

It

0ut

some who came to

sell,

negotiate,

into

NLP, lacking a strong sense of ethics, began using it

seduce,etc.

to the other's

disadvantage.2

The framework for inducing people into states using the Milton Model contains a danger. The client does not need to know what you are doing. That's an astonishingassumption! Even to this day, both Bandler and Grinder think this way. They regularly say,"The conscious mind cannot be trusted to know what's best for it, only the unconscious mind can be

to

That then leads As your therapist or programmer, I know what's best for you; so right now I'm going to speak to your unconsciousmind. So go away and I'll give you what you want;you don't need to know what I'm doing or how I'm doing it."

trusted."3

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Chapter 5

NLP Secrets

No wonder people have gotten

the idea

manipulative." The actual fact Taking the Milton Model, they use it IS

-in

Exemplar's Contributions

from some practitioners that "NU D the hands of some people, it ist

to covertly

do hings

to people

with Or

the technology withou Without their understandingor approval. They used Ihat exists, in and honor for people. Erickson's attitude part.

because

of respect model Erickson,especially his beliefs, developersdid not and values. They modeled what he did-the language patterns he

the early

attitudes,

created.

Erickson

what

contributed

our the positive nature mindof "larger" of consciousness, and how to tap into it as a

NLP

outside

is typically

He contributed

positive resource.

means

to

the idea of

isomorphic metaphor. That

someone using an analogy that completely corresponds speak to the structure of a person'ssituation or problem. David Gordon wrote an amazing book on this subject (TherapeuticMetaphors, 1978).He integrated to

to

into the structure

ofan isomorphicmetaphor representational and modalities, strategies.

systems,sub-

Reflections and Secrets Using hypnotic language still presents an unique challenge. Part of the involves the misunderstandings and myths about challenge hypnosis-thinking that it is aboutmind-control or making people do things that they don't want to do. Part of the chalenge is responsibly guidinga one's inner in a way that respects the person's values. person into world This is where needs a strong ethical core that enables oneto person respectthe integrity and autonomy of others, then the person will not use

a

NLP technology unethically.

A big NLP secret

The content ofNLP came as muchfrom the three it the developerswho put the models together. Both exemplars as didfrom Perls and Satir provided many ofthe communication skills that later ended up under the categories of TransformationalGrammar. When I entered NLPI didn't know that. I did not realize the extent to which that was true until Iread the books of Perls and Satir. PreviouslyI assumed that Bandler and Grinder created all of it. They did not. Then it was a secret, but now is this:

the secret is out.

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NLP Secrets

Chapter 5

Exemplar's Contributions

While

1.

I

Background Notes don't

know why

Richard Bandler and John Grinder did not give given how they took credit for the entire creation, I

sources oftheir materials,

credit

to

the

suppose they also wanted people to think that they created it all. Perhaps they worked under the assumption that to give credit takes something away from them. 2. John Grinder explains the discovery of representation system as a discovery that he and Richard made stopping at a liquor store in 1974. after 3. This also explains the similar focus in all of Steve Andreas' works- his constant of patterns or exercises to experiment so that the reader can test for him or herself This is something I have always deeply appreciated and admired about Steve.

creating

the process works.

if

4. Christina Hall says she collaboratedwith Bandler in developing the Swish Pattern. "Her collaboration with Bandler has produced some of the most outstanding developments of the eighties, including sub-modalities, the Swish Pattern." (www.anlp.org/christina-hall) 5. See the book, MovieMind: Directing Your Mental Cinemas (2002) the of Esalen goes Hollywood in Esalen (2007). In 1966 6. Jeffrey J. Kripal tells story Esalen decided to introduce its vision of "the era of the human potential"to Hollywood. To do that they scheduled a summer party at Esalen and had the Who's Who of Hollywood attend:

JenniferJones,

Rock Hudson, Glenn

most were dressed in more casual

attire,

Ford, Eddie Albert, Shirley MacLaine. While made his entrance later in the night "dressed

Fritz

a formal tuxedo." After dinner, Carl Rogers offered to lead an encounter group and Fritz to the pool to hold a gestalt session. He got Natalie Wood into the hot seat and after a bit her in a harsh voice, "You're nothing but a little spoiled brat who always told wants to get her way." Then in

went out

"A moment

7.

Fritz somehow had her over his knee, spanking her. It was a hard for the senses to register or credit. Natalie flounced away, and briefepisode, her friend Roddy McDowell offered to fight Fritz." (pp. 208-209). This quote is but a short version of what John writes in Whisperings about Virginia later

to get rapport with people by pacing and matching. ability also used the Korzybski terminology of "state" throughout Science and Sanity and the term "state"could have come into NLP through him. Satir's

incredible

8.

they had explored the "meta-question" further, they very well could have discovered about self-reflexivity and developed the Meta-States Model, I describe this in detail in Meta-States: Mastering the Higher Levels of theMind (2012). 9. If

10. The phrase "the unconscious mind" is an immensely thick, vague, and unspecified nominalization. As such there is no telling what it actually refers to and so is a pretty

meaningless phrase and yet it is used constantly in NLP as if it were meaningful. I addressed this in an article, "Which 'Unconscious' Mind do you Train?" identifying at least six

different

11.

Many years later,

referents.

The Dilts,

article is on www.neurosemantics.com. Hallbom, and Smith created the NLP Health

worked together on the Allergy Cure Pattern. 12. This has led to the charge that NLP is manipulative-which

it

is in

Certification

and

the hands of

some

people. There are even those who proudly advertise that they are doing "dark NLP 13. This ideas is most John Grinder in Whispering In the Wind (2002). fully presented by

15-

it "Given that the objective of an intervention is to change the client's representations, is should play any role in the process off whether consciousness empirical question an

classic code," change." (2002, p. 200). In criticizing "the Grinder says "it is unfortunate for these decisions to the the extreme that the classic code assigns the responsibility in client's

conscious mind..." (2002,

p.

214).

-76-

Chapter6

ON THE SHOULDERS OF THE GIANTS "fI have seen further it is

It

is

than

others,

by standing upon the shoulders ofgiants. Isaac Newton

harmful

to sanity

to teach

a disregard

Alfred Korzybski, Science and

Sanity

to theories..."

(279)

or

F

years we have long recognized Gregory Bateson and Alfred Korzybski as the "grandfathers" of NLP. Yet there are othersAbraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, perhapswe could also include

George Miller and Noam Chomsky. These were key people who provided the content information of NLP when it appeared in the early days (1972In this are some of the most unknown secrets of NLP that 1976). history have been hidden for years. Gregory Bateson'sContributions When NLP began at the new alternative Kresge College, British anthropologist and systemsthinker, Gregory Batesonhad just been hired as a Professor. Prior to that Bateson had been into just abouteverything was not only an incredible scholar, he also danced between many Bateson and was one of the most

disciplines, began as an anthropologist trance (Bali), dolphins

interdisciplinary scholars ever.

with Margaret Mead (his

(Hawaii),alcoholism, -77

first

wife),

schizophrenia,

He

he studied

cybernetics,

NLP

(his father a

biology, genetics

consciousness,and

Now

On The Shouldersof

Chapter 6

Secrets

Bateson was

the

list

brilliant

famous

geneticist),

Giants

epistemology. politics

s,

goes on and on.

and sometimes he could be

quite "fatherly

and

times, abastard." Bateson'shistory goesback to the beginning of at other the Human Potential Movement. That's because his first wife, Margaret Mead was the protégé of Ruth Benedictone of Maslow's first

mentors (along with Max Wertheimer, co-founderotf GestaltPsychology). He was also connected to Korzybski and General Semantics. He spoke at the General Semantics Conference (1969) regarding "the difference that makes a difference" in terms of what gets mapped onto the map (Steps to an Ecology of Mind, 1972). In NLP this becamea critical distinction for the process of modeling. Bateson played a crucial role in the creation of NLP. Without his original endorsement, NLP would more than likely never attained world-wide influence. Even Grinder acknowledged his role in Origins of NLP. First of all, Bateson was the teacher of almost every one of the original leaders in NLP-they all studied under him. Second, he wrote the Foreword to The Structure ofMagic. Third, he convinced Dr. the book Spitzerto publish

after others (like

Jay Halley)said that it was not fit to publish." Fourth, he introducedthe early leaders to Milton Erickson.Bateson was also a secondgenerationleader of the Human Potential Movement presenting the second workshop at Esalen in 1963 and moving onto Esalen's to become the Scholar in Residence" until his death in 1980. property

What did

Bateson contribute conscious and unconscious

to

NLP?

Bateson contributed a focus on

communications, framing, reframing, form, ecology, systems,etc. In fact, it was Bateson, more than any other person, who introduced the terminology of frames, framing reframing, meta, ecology, etc. He discoveredthese concepts through his and in his anthropological studies to original contributions the understanding of schizophrenia. They also came from his formulationso the logical-levels of learning and change. patterning,

Bateson further contributed systemsthinking and was himselfakey pione in the field of systenms. He spoke atthe Macy Conferences on Cyberneric -78-

NLP Secrets back

in

On The

Chapter 6

the 1940s and

Shoulders of Giants

50s when systems

was just beginning. thinking Systems thinking corresponds to the holistic system thinking of Gestalt, of Satir's Family Systems, and Korzybski's Non-Aristotelian system. No wonder systems thinking lies at the heart of NLP. Almost every source of influence to NLP involved systems thinking in some way. Amazingly, in spite of this, NLP 1s often taught in a linear (and non-systemic)way." From

Bateson gave NLP an emphasis on flexibility this systems emphasis, and ecology. Several of the NLP premises comes directly from systems,

In

system, the person who has the most flexibility will have the most And from systems we got our emphasis on feedback influence (control)." and feed-forward.3 a

Bateson contributed

logical levels and the terminology of meta. Previously Maslow had introduced the term-he talked about meta-pay and otheruses of meta. Yet it was Bateson who conceptualizedhow logical levels work, how higher levels govern and direct lower levels, how the prohibition from moving to a higher (meta) frame explains the symptoms of schizophrenia, and how making the meta-move begins to resolve that confusion.From that

Robert Dilts

the Neuro-Logical Levels in

created

NLP (1986) and I created

the Meta-States Model (1994).

Long

Meta-Model

the

before

TransformationalGrammar, Bateson words and

He talked

labels.

some words

(i.e.,

describe things

which

distinctions identified

about the

nominalizations).

came

from

many of the problems with

false concreteness (reification)

He

focused

and make sense of things and

on

how

words work

of to

the importance of clarifying

our terms.

The much

'self is larger

a false

field

reification

of interlocking

of an

improperly

processes."

delimited part

of this

(1972,p. 331)

Bateson enmphasizednon-verbal communication, actions that communicate, actions that indicate a negation,and the critical importanceof epistemology.

V

of to These was the theme of Part Steps an Ecology ofMind. "Mental process, ideas, communication,organization, differentiation, of form rather than substance." (p. xxxii) pattern, and so on, are matters

-79

NLP

Secrets

Yet there

Chapter

was

On The

6

Shouldersof

Giants

a lot more that NLP could have learned and developed frOm m

Bateson. For example, Bateson's anthropological thinking and modeling could have expanded NLP's search for excellence. I nis could have led to more of a focus on level themes than individuals, larger

culture

i.e.,

His work on words and language led him to write a lot about critical thinking- getting out of muddles, avoiding shoddy thinking learning to think straight, etc. These are themes in his book, Steps To am politics, etc.

There also he wrote Metalogues-humorous and conversationsbetween himselfand his daughter which deals with imaginary difficult subjects and which addressed"the structure of the conversationas Ecology

of Mind.

a whole."5

Time Line

1933

1956

1960

Alfred

Korzyski George Miller Science Sanity 71-2 General Semantics Noam Chomsky

&

Transformational

& Structure

Plans

ofBehavior TOTE model

1969

1973

Grinder in

Grinder's

Miller's

Lab

book on Transformational

Grammar

Grammar

Alfred Korzybski's Contributions As Bateson is considered one of

the

"grandfathers"of NLP, Alfred Korzybski is the other. And the two were related. In the early 1950s Bateson published many articles in "ETC." the General Semantics Journal.

of those articles are today incorporated in Steps to an Ecology of Mind (1972). Bateson even worked on Korzybski'sformulation,"The map is not the In his 1969 Presentation to the International territory." Conference of General Semantics,he extended the work on it by asking what gets onto the map?" When he answered that questionby identifying difference-"the difference that makes a difference,"he pinpointedthe role

Many

of information in our mapping. Then, from there cinematic features (sub-modalities) of the internal encodes many of the informational differences. Richard and John took Korzybski'sfamous territory"

and made

the basis forwhy

it

foundational

in

quotation,

NLP

developed

representations

"The map

is

the that

not the

TheStructureofMagic. That became (ormap) of the world. Our mental

we create a simulation

-80-

NLP Secrets

map

is

Chapter 6

a map and not

facsimile

of external

the territory.

reality.

It

On The Shoulders of Giants

can't be.

It

is

We then use our created

a

map and at best a

model

to

guide us

in

the world.

..important characteristics of maps should be territory

it

represents, but, if correct,

territory, which

accounts for its

it

has

usefulness."

a

noted.

A map

is

not the

similar structure to the

(Scienceand Sanity,

58-

p.

60)

Now

of the 880 pages of Science and

in spite

Sanity, that is the one and ever took quote they from Korzybski. Did they take other terminology from Korzybski? For example, did they take "Neurofrom him? He used that phrase over and over again and in the Linguistics" 1940s he traveled the United States doing ""Neuro-Linguistic Trainings. If so, they never eredited that to him. And what about "human design engineering?" After all, as an engineer, Korzybski filled his book about

only direct

that

even mathematics, about structures,formulas, engineeraspects of human experience. patterns,

A

central

distinction

time-binders.

He

how

to

Korzybski made about human beings is contrasted the kind of life characteristic

design or

that

by

we

are

plants,

animals,and humans. Plants bind chemicals into themselves,animals bind space by movement, and humans bind time-weincorporateinto ourselves the learnings of people in previous times.

When he created

his Theory

of

Time-Binding, he originally intended to use that as the title for his system, Time-Binding. But in the end, he named it "The Science andArt of Human Engineering" which he called General Semantics.

What

is

not so well known, because most people do not read original the rest of the quotation about the map and the territory. Notice

sources,is

the fourth sentence in the quotation that I have put in italics: A map is not the territory it represents, but, if correct, it has structure to the territory, which accounts for its usefulness.

upon our languages, we find as maps. A word is not the

that at best they

only

object

by

daily

life

we

means.

This self-reflexiveness of languages introduces which can only be solvedby the theory of multi The disregard ofthese complexities is tragically disastrous in

linguistic

serious complexities, ordinality.

If

must be considered it represents; and languages that we can analyselanguages

reflect

exhibit also this peculiar self-reflexiveness,

a similar

and

science." (p.

58, italics added)

-81

20bq

NLP

Secrets

Chapter

NLP

developers quoted Korzybski the territory"), but they did not go

On The Shouldersof

6

the first part

regarding

is

not

that the original

Seeing

NILp of Korzybski, doubt that. More than of the contributions many If so, why did they not neither Richard or John ever read Korzybski. further.

I

lacked so likely

("A map

Giants

on the importance ofself-reflexivity or multi-ordinality? My guess writers and other never direct|ly they picked up that quote from

pick up 1s that

studied Korzybski as an original source.

Twenty

years later

Writing

articles

published

in

it

was

my privilege

to

do

unknown Meta-Model Anchor Point as a series of on

1991-1992

in

began of Korzybski and

distinctions

the

Korzybski's distinction

So

that.

articles

of Theory of Self-Reflexivity,

I

(1991-1993). Using in 1994 created the I

Meta-StatesModel. because Korzybski founded General Semantics in linguistics, he focused on how language works, on how the human nervous system operates, andon how language operates asa psycho-physiologicalfunction. Precisely

That's

why Science and Sanity contains

-patterns

that

make forboth sanity and

many correspond to distinctions.

the Meta-Model

And like the linguistic

indicate

deleted,

limitations

in

generalized,

unsanity.

many Not

linguistic patterns surprisingly,

while

were many new Meta-Model, these information which create

distinctions,

there

distinctions in the

and

mental mapping

a great

distort

processes

and

result

in

leaving

us

impoverished. Writing about Korzybski'soriginal linguistic patterns

were not

neuro-linguistics,

included

in the

first

I

wondered

why these

NLP Meta-Model. "Why

were these not picked up and used?" Bandler and Grinder started with Korzybski's premise, "The map is not the territory," but they did not follow-up with the ill-formed linguistic structures that Korzybski identified and how to questionthem. Strange. Grantingthem the benefit of the doubt, their distinctions from Ifigured that they had hands-full with the linguistic TransformationalGrammar. That may explain why they didn't know about them or incorporatethem into the original work. d2i

In 1997 Richard Bandler asked me to co-author abook on the Meta-Model as a 25 year update of the Meta-Model. He suggested a title for the -82-

NLP Secrets book

Magic

Chapter 6

On

The Shouldersof Giants

Revisited.

with the discoveries

The book would update the original Meta-Model made during those intervening 25 this ycars. Actually,

what Richard and John

predicted would happen to the Meta-Model. about those in Generative speaking Semantics they wrote that these is

.willbe particularly 109, also p.

useful in expanding the

38, The Structure

In

Meta-Model further. "(p.

of Magic, Volunme

1,

1975).

1992 I suggested in numerous articles in NLP journals, both in the US, and in Europe, seven new pattems from Korzybski to the Meta-Model. In the 1997 book we were to co-author (now titled Communication Magic, I added a total of nine. Two additional ones Crown House Publications), In

from Cognitive psychology. All of these patterns continue the design of enabling a person to re-connect one's language to the experience so

that

you can develop a

richer

and more

effective

original original

map for

navigatinglife.3

when Frank Pucelik and Byron Lewis updated

their original book, based Lewis' 1980 work, they on Magic Demystified (1990) included the 9 additional distinctions in their Second Edition (2012). Not surprisingly, Grinder became very upset about the second edition because Later,

of NLP

they quoted the new linguistic distinctions from my work. He threatened Frank telling him that he did not want him to connect his name to that second edition sinceit would give some credit to me. Consequently, Frank did

not include his name on the second

edition

though the book was based on Frank's original

of Magic Revisited even work.

Did Korzybski contribute to some ofthe other NLP presuppositionsbeyond "the map is not the territory?" The most truthful answer I can make is that

know. While there is no evidence for it, there is also no evidence there are statementsthat could have against it. Yet in Science and Sanity some of the been the origin of presuppositions: I

don't

People communicate from their model ofthe world (p. 419). The human nervoussystem works perfectly well (p. 466) Peoplehave all the resources they need. "His [the averageman] nervous system works continually, as does that of a genius. The difference consists in that

working is not productive or efficient." (p. 485) solve your own problems (p. 529).

its

You can learn to There's a structure

in every

structure is the only

sourceof knowledge (p. 544).

experience,

-83

so search for that structure;

NLP

On The Shouldersof

Chapter 6

Secrets

Alfred Korzybski than we know. I

certainly think

contributed

that

he

to

established

NLP, and probably a

lot

the basic language of

Giants

mor

NLP

human engineering, states, etc., and the neuro-linguistics, neuro-semantics, And he did that forty years prior to the birth of central NLP Presupposition.

NLP new

in

1933-1941. His work

then,

as it does today, continues to

inspire

discoveries."

George Miller and Noam Chomsky's

Contributions

NLP and its

Beyond the people who obviouslycontributed development, some are less obvious. Two of them were the founders of the Cognitive Psychology Movement: George Miller and Noam Chomsky. Both men created a distinction in 1956 that changed the face of Psychology which has led to dating The CognitivePsychology Movement to 1956. to

Noam Chomsky and Transformational Grammar (TG) In 1956 Noam Chomsky published the TransformationalGrammar

model Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. That landed a death-blow to Behaviorism. For half a century from John Watson's original work in Behaviorism and B.J. Skinner's work, in associative conditioning. To Behaviorism (or Learning Theory) Chomsky introduced a psychology of choice. While Behaviorism had proven useful and effective in many areas in

and

He showed that it

did not work to explain or deal with demonstrated that human beings innately have many things. Chomsky within them what amounts to a *language acquisition device."This is what enables us to learn language. That's why children unconsciously learn, as applications.

were, the rules of language. They can then inventsentences that have never heard or were conditioned for. it

He presentedlanguage in

the

they

TransformationalGrammar model as a rule-

organized and rule-governedphenomenon. He further demonstrated the which it work. He distinguished surface transformationalrules made statementsfrom deep statements and created hundreds of "transformational rules. These rules show how we move from one level to another.This was It formulateda tremendous revolutionary! jump in terms of conceptualizing the role of language in human functioning. This is what John Grinder studied.

He completed his doctorate -84-

in

T.G. and

Chapter 6

NLP Secrets

On The

Shoulders of Giants

wrote a dissertation on Deletionsand then, two years prior to the launch of NLP, he published the essential content of the Meta-Model in a book on TransformationalGrammar with SusetteElgin. Astonishingly, A Guide to Transformational Grammar (1973) offers most of what's in the MetaModel, only in a different form. Grinder connected two distinctions

distinctions

that Perls used and the two linguistic used. Virginia This allowed him to then introject the

that

Grammar (T.G.) model and, with Communication Model-the Meta-Model.

Transfornmational

NLP

overview

ofT.G.

in the

of Magic, Volumes role

significant

in

appendix of the

I and

NLP

II.

and

it

the team, create the

He

put a summary books of NLP, The Structure

first

But after that T.G. ceased to play any was never put into any other book or

appendix. Today, TransformationalGrammar has completelydisappearedfrom NLP. Why is that? One reason is that in 1976, Chomsky himself dis-avowed Transformational Grammar admitting that the model had too many problems.

The model broke down in too many places. Those who work tried -they first created Generative Linguistics, and Space Grammar, and eventually CognitiveLinguistics.

continued his after that,

Another reason is that NLP of "levels." work."

And

we had

So we did not need

the Communication

did

not need

that in

the levels of

Model of

it.

All we needed was the concept in Bateson's

both Korzybski's work and

NLP.g

to substantiate

s

TG

the language in

siqo

George Miller and Cognitive Psychology the face of psychology by Similarly, in 1956 Gcorge Miller changed Number Seven Plus or Minus 2." "TheMagic publishing his famous paper, of "chunks" of information and paper introduced the language the amount of information that we can hold in conscious presented awareness at a given time. This language soon was adopted in the 1960s This

during the early development ofArtificial Intelligence

(A). Then

in

1960

George Millerwith Karl Pribram and Eugene Galanterpublished the book, and the Structure of Behavior which introduced the Test-OperatePlans Test-Exit (TOTE)model forhow to follow the internal processesthat create

85

NLP

On The Shouldersof

Chapter 6

Secrets

Giants

the resulting "behaviors."Both of these developments were revolutiona and with them (and Chomsky's Aspectsof Grammar, 1956) launchcd the

Cognitive Psychology Movement

(Origins,

James

Eicher,

p. 125).

NLP? John Grinder did a post. developments connect with doctorate study for one year in George Miller's laboratory (1969-1970) mentored Grinder. Then in 1977. (Origins,p. 139). In other words, Miller 1978 Grinder,Bandler,DeLozer, and Dilts took the TOTE model added the Model for modeling the representational systems and created the Strategy in papers in structure of experience." While Dilts wrote this 1978, this and first showed up in a book when Bandler Grinder commissioned Dilts

How

do

these

,

The Study of he write Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Volume Structureof Subjectivity (1980). So the key distinctions of the Cognitive to

into Psychology Movement became incorporated NLP right from the beginning. This is why NLP is recognizedas an expression of Cognitive Psychology and in Psychology books is put in the chapters on Cognitive

Psychology.2

From theseroots came the details forhow to model a subjective experience. Without the work of Millerand associates and the TOTE model, NLP might have struggled foryears trying to figure out how to sequence (or structure) what happens inside "the black box" (Behaviorism's term for internal experience). Bandler and Grinder and the original group did not create took into the revolutionary breakthroughs that were just and combined them with representational systems (which came occurring from numerous other people)and presto! The StrategyModel of NLP.

thatthey

Reflections and Secrets Ifthere is any place in the history of NLP that we see the attribution bias in full blossom, it is in the area of giving credit. The attribution bias, which we all struggle with, describes how it is so human to attribute good results This to ourselves and bad results to circumstances, events, and others.

Lake Wobegone Effect governs our perceptions so that we are biased to think that we are above average" in most things driving being considerate, being honest, etc. And it has led so many of the early NLP people

to take credit for much

more than they actually deserve.3

-86

NLP Secrets

Chapter 6

Perls, Satir,

Erickson, Bateson, Korzybski,

Miller,

perspective.

Chomsky,

etc.

all

NLP. Noting this today helps us to put things in A great many of the things that is often claimed that

to creating

contributed

more

On The Shouldersof Giants

NLP invented"were alreadypresentand already then,

as

original

it

is

today,

1S

works or know

that

discovered.The problem than not, do not read the wonder then that we do not know

people more

the history.

No

often

what they actually contributed and what they took from those who came before them. Given all of these subjects, NLP models, a secret by the founders is informational others

areas

for exploration,

and

contributors

to the

of NLP-and one unacknowledged and even denied that

discoveries

NLP has content! What that

is that

content? The

Bateson, Korzybski, Chomsky,

made.

-87-

Miller,

and

NLP

Chapter Secrets

Background Notes this

John Grinder disagrees that 8 under the response in Chapter

quote

has anything

to

do

with him or Richard!

Seehis

Have Known

Should (p. 102 They Robert McAndrews. was committee, members on my doctoral the faculty chose him)and this was his commer ofthe reasons I mentored by Bateson (one

1.

2.

On The Shoulders of Giants

6

One of

section,

A

History

personally about Bateson

7he SiruIcture of Magic, and asked copy of Dr. Spitzer sent Jay Haley a manuseript to tell him whether he thought the and reviewer professional Haley to serve as an impartial on psychotherapy that I had re:ad author of the only books book had value. Haley was the The recommendation was to not publish the and respect. that had captured by attention work oOver the last few of Bateson's seminal book. "It showed an absolute ignorance from being worth the book in Haley's opinion decadesthis alone disqualified 3.

Critical

Appreciation based on systems and 5.

Interesting

The Eye of the Storm

2009 book, Neuro-Linguistic Programming:A that NLP 1s and fundamentally Developers, argue for Managers in their

cybernetics.

Whispering (2002, page 309).

6. Today Bateson continues ongoing

Chapter

"I accept this and argues against it. enough, John Grinder today rejects it is inappropriate in NLP but variety" for importing this law of requisite

responsibility practice.

II,

1

15 of Part publishing." Footnote 4. Paul Tosey and Jane Mathison

studies,

and

theses,

to

influence

dissertations.

His

scholars.

For

more on

is

library

the source for

Bateson, see Chapter

NLP

7,

many Going

Meta (1997/2002),

also The Bateson Report. John Grinder says that Alfred Korzybski is wrong and that the territory is not even the never read This is yet another indication that Grinder, more than likely, territory. 7,

Korzybski. 8.In Neuro-Semantics,

I

have created numerous patterns from Korzybski's

work in

General

Semantics. In NLP Going Meta (2001) which is on modeling, I included an entire chapter on Korzybski, Chapter 8, Korzybski and Levels of Abstraction. 9.I wrote about this history extensivelyin Communication Magic (2001, formally, Secrets

why we didn't put both names on the book was that after he contract, got upset with me and refused! Those who picked up work were Chomsky's George Lakoff, Mark Johnson, Ronald Langacker, etc. Randy Allen Harris wrote about the history of in The Linguistic Wars (1993). 10. levels are known as the Structural Differential. See Science and Sanity Korzybski's

of Magic,1997). The

reason

Richard signed the

TG

(1933). 11.

TodayGrinder

applications of the

goes so

far

TOTE

in

as to deny thatthe

any applied process

TOTE part of NLP?" (Origins,p. 12. NLP is listed in the chapter on Counseling 13. See the fallacies

Model.

its

relationship

is

an

NLP In

pattern...

pattern.

"There are no

what sense,

then,

is

the

141).

"Cognitive Psychology"

and Psychology (2nd. Edition). book Executive Thinking (2018)

and

TOTE

with the

for a

critical

in

Theories

and Strategies in

of cognitive biases, distortions, and thinking skills presupposed by the Meta

88-

list

Chapter7

THE DELIVERY WAS A SUCCESS NLP'S BIRTHDAY "NLP was given who modeled and who

birth by two mad-men three wild individualists

never stayed around Robert

"NLP is

an

father the communityy.

and a methodology

attitude

that brings about

to

Dilts

a trail

of techniques."

Richard Bandler

of The Structure of Magic gave birth publically to what became known as Neuro-LinguisticProgramming. It was in the form of two volumes in 1975 and 1976. Yet the delivered

nhe publication name

however, took yet anotheryear. name and the three initials by which

of thediscipline

of 1976

it

had

known-NLP

a

itself,

or PNL (as it

is in

many

By September it

has become

countries).'

The Structureof up to the 1975 publication of of the three previous years, the Magic had taken place over a period made it public. There was now a book (in two volumes) publication of the first and foundationalmodel for NLP, the Meta-Model presenting system) as well as the representation Language (the meta-representation sensoryrepresentation systems.

Now while the work

Prior to

that led

said was 1975 there was a manuscript which John Grinder

-89-

pretty

NLP

Secrets

Chapter

much completed

in

The

7

1974 (Whispering.p.

148-9).

Delivery

was a

Success

Yet only a small number he knew about it, but that

people even knew about it. Frank told me that he did not think much about it. Apparently,they kept it private not letting Wrole out everyone people know what they were doing. Yet in the end they of

else

who played a role

NLP modelsespecially Frank who were part of theGestalt Class. 15 people

in creating the first

and the group of 12 to renamed the either "a Perhaps worse, they experimentalgroup calling it Seminar. (Structureof Therapist TrainingGroup"or"aTherapist Training Pucelik

Magic,

p.

I1,

22, 39, 54).2

With

the first volume of the book on the Meta-Model of Language, a new focus was introduced about "the structure of change in therapy." What became known as NLP was therebygiven birth as a movement and as a new

force in the

field of psychotherapy. The authors clearly were not presenting a new therapy or a psychology.

asserted

that they

Instead they were

looking deeper to the essential elements for effective change that were presentin all forms of therapy. Accordingly,they subtitled it "abook about language and change:" NLP started as a model about how language personal change. one feature that is

facilitates

The

present in all forms of therapy when they are that the people in therapy change in some way. This change is givendifferent names by different schools oftherapy..." (The Structure successful

is

ofMagic, I, p. 39) At

the

consisted beginning,NLP most essentially ofa linguistic model, the Meta-Model. Using T.G. as a model about how language works, they said they were generatinga model about a model, hence a meta model. This was the focus of Volumel. If language encodes our mental models of reality

which

we

use

to

get around

in the

world, changing

that

code

facilitates

change.

Volume

II

focused

communication Systems model

on

system.

the

non-linguistic aspects of the human There they focused on the Representational

more

precisely how we "think and how we code our thoughts. They also includedVirginia Satir's Categoriesthat provided a template of the five basic communication stances. There was also the beginning of the Srategy Model for tracking down the to detail

representational

90-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 7

steps in creating

The

an experience although it was

Delivery

was

a

Success

not explicitly presented.

Yet while the two volumes presented this new model, what is in The Structure ofMagic books does not have the form of a model. At that time they called it "the Meta-Model of Language in Therapy" and the entire focusand intention was to aid therapists in their work. And while all of the content was there, they did not even include so much as a list of the distinctions in the model. The first model or template of the Meta-Model occurred in the college papers that Robert Dilts submittedin 1976-papers which later became the book, Roots of NLP and Applications of NLP. Later in the

same year the book, Richard,John, and Virginia

Satir

Changing with Families (1975). Also involved in the birth of some other models which were derived from the

co-wrote

NLP were

Meta-Model, namely The Model, a reverse of the Meta-Model forspéaking "precisely vague order to induce a trance state. In 1976 the additional models and

Milton in

showed up in the next two NLP books, The Hypnotic Patterns H. Erickson, Volumes I and II.

templates Milton

of

Naming the Baby

Now there

are several

on the naming of NLP.John Grindertells the of for a name to Richard who threw out several possibilities confirmed and disconfirmed those choices. They did that until stories

he story that then either

they finally settled on "Neuro-LinguisticProgramming." John noted that the name Neuwro-Linguistics was already

was

in use,

Neuro-Linguistics already distinguish what they were doing.

process Because

Richard added "programming" to

In trainings

1980s he explained the origin of the name as occurring one afternoonafter he had been pulled Over on the highway by a policeman forspeeding. When the police officer Richard

tells

a

In that taken.

different story.

in the late

asked what he did for a living, he looked into the back seat of the car. There he saw three books from some of the classes he was taking: Neurology, and Computer Programming. In his versionof the was the magical moment when he proudly announced that hewas

Linguistics, story, that

a"Neuro-LinguisticProgrammer!

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NLP

Secrets

While also

It

I

like that story,

personally

sounds

one of

like

the

also

doubt

it.

the exaggerations that

It

is

was

Delivery

a

Success

just too convenient.

Richard

tells

As a matterof fact, whether known

makes for a good story. (and probably unknown ad traveled around

I

The

7

Chapter

to

because

it

them or not

them), three decades earlier, Alfred Korzybski United States in the 1940s doing"Neuro-Linguistic to

Korzybski who first used the phrases, "neuroand "neuro-semantics"in (941 edition), at inguistics" Scienceand Sanity which time he used the terms synonymously. So given that they took the 1dea that "the map is not the territory" from Korzybski, think that they Training."

It

was

also

I

and adaptedhis teminology, Ncuro-Linguistics, without probably picked up giving him credit. Anyway, the secret of the term source of the term NLP is still unknown."

Then There

Were Earthquakes

All the while NLP was being given birth-there were lots ofinterpersonal turmoil occurring in the lives of the three founders. Just as Meta was the

NLP movement

and moving to become a field, the marriage between Frank and Judith DeLozier came to an end. Some time after that (possibly 1974) Judith joined John Grinder and thereafter they married. Yet because Frank and Judith had a son,Eric, he was raised his crystalizing

into

by

John Grinder. Much later Frank often would say that he could not have wished for a better for Eric than John Grinder." step-father step-father,

After separatingfrom Judith, Frank linked up with Leslie Cameron. As to live they began together, they became "life partners." But then, after the visit to Erickson (1975),Leslie left Frank. A little bit later she got together with Richard. Two years later, Richard and Leslie were married (April 1978). That relationship was also short-lived and ended in divorce

(November, 1980). kill

her at the time

Some time

Much later Leslie

of thedivorce,

said that Richard had threatened to

(MotherJones, 1989, p. 26).

1976 while Richard was connecting with Leslie and their was relationship deepening,Richard'sparanoiaabout Frank surged to such a degree that he ordered Frank to leave. He was "to get out of town." What initiated this no one who knows will say. According to Frank, at some point, Richard even threatened that he would kill Leslie if he did not leave. Taking the threat seriously, and not wanting to Leslie at risk, Frank in

put

-92-

Chapter 7

NLP Secets Santa moved out of Cruz. before

one year

returning

First, he

The

moved

to

Delivery

was a Success

Nebraska where he stayed for

to California.

When he did move back,he went to San Diego taking with him a few of the as he calls them (1978). There with original "meta-kids," Byron Lewis, Moskowitz, Jeft Paris, and

they together started The Meta Institute (Origins,p. 30). Stephen Gilligan and Paul Carter were trainers with Meta. Frank said that in 1976-1977 Richard "asked" him to leave. In an email exchange with Frank in November 2010, he wrote: I was forced out ofthe 'group' in late 1976, but actually left in 1977,by Richard for his own personal reasons. At that time took several of the I 'meta' guys to San Diego with me and we formed 'MetaInstitute'. This organization continued with the development and training in NLP for several years until 1983,when I moved to Oklahoma. I then opened 'Meta and continued the work with NLP. I was also a professor International' at the University of Oklahoma for 4 years and supervised 2 treatment centers for young drug addicts and alcoholics. In 1987 I was invited to visit Moscow, went several times over the next 4 years, and by 1991 Iwas living and working in Russia. Now I live in Odessa,Ukraine, work all over the CIS and love it here. I do mostly business consulting here but keep my hand in the NLP market a bit as well." Marilyn

Lisa Chiara,

During the time in that

his

San Diego, Byron Lewis wrote a book from the trainings Frank gave on theMeta-Model. That writing later became the basis for

MasterThesis (1978-1979). It was

later published as Magic Demystified Lewisand Pucelik (Origins,2002,p. 71). by

(1983) written collaboratively

Time Line

72

1975

Iranscription of

Perls'

tapes

Gestalt class Starts

1976

Structure Patterns

of Magic 1

no

I

3

1

Vol. I1

DOTAR

1978

Pucelik

NLP

Dilts

And Then There were

1977

Vol. II

named Paper

left

Andreas' entero

begins

1979 Goleman

Psychology Today Into Princes

Frogs

Therapeutic Metaphors

Two

Frank's departure, there were two th founders st this

Conflict

breakup did not

seem

to

left in

Santa Cruz. At

endanger the movement, or what would

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The Delivery

Chapter 7

Secrets

was

a

Success

become "the field of NLP." Yet in the long-tem it was disastrous. True in the following years. But enough, everything seemed to move forward Was probably a critical breakup-a breakup that set the pace for NLP for decades to come., It would serve, as it were, as a model for how to handle it

of secrecy for disagreements as well as how to create a bond sweeping things under the carpet regarding what was really happening. They may have founda great communication model, butthey certainly did not live or practice it among themselves.

What was

breakup was that the group lost their comector. Richard and John servedas the mavens of the adventurethey had the specialized knowledge. t was Frank Pucelik who brought them togetherand who had the relational and social skills to bring the first group To this day, Frank can name and describe in detail all of the together. about

disastrous

the

group. NeitherJohn nor Richard had the necessary aptitudes or skills to do that. John has never seemed to care much for people and Richard's care was always off-and-on. It depended on his state people

in the original

on a given day and the amount of drugs and

Much

alcohol

consumed.

Ken Winston Cainc, who was involved with Frank in San Diego, described his memories of Frank at that time-a description that identifies him as a connector. I knew him as a catalytic sort ofperson. He connected people, inspired and encouragedand made things happen. But he didn't take credit. He gave credit. (Likethe teacher who is proud ofhis/her student- how the later

took what was

student

unique with

it

taught and accomplishedsomething great and versus the teacher who grumbles, taught 'em everything

I

he knows.*") the connector of the group, out of the picture. Richard and John were only able to continue their Consequently, collaborationfor a couple more years. Then it all fell apart. By 1978 the

That put Frank,

contention and

between them began creating a lot of distress and One explanationwas that "their egos were too big to sharethe conflict. same stage." Another explanation was that each started playing a very competitive game with the other. It was a win/losegameespecially given the amounts of money that was pouring in. Another explanation went to amount of drugging (cocainemostly) that Richard was doing. Of course, stress

-94-

Chapter 7

NLP Secrets (and maybe

each explanation If Frank was

the

The

were

others)

all

Delivery

was a SuccessS

involved in the breakup.

connector for Richard and John, then without him

to

keep

them together, they would part. And that's what inevitably happened. They to and This was especially inevitable eventually came blows separated. given

their personalty

describes both

characteristics.

In the

following John proudly

himself and Bandler:

The] characteristics

that

I

believe

we

boundaries,

between formand content."

to try

willingness

nearly anything, utterly lacking in self-doubt-egotistical, capability as players in the acting as if game, full behavioral

ofdifferences

by

share: arrogant, unimpressed

authority or tradition, strong personal

(Whispering,

playful,

full

appreciation

2002,p. 121-122)

The Foundation of NLP IfNLP was brought out into the open and delivered publically in 1975, then in the foundationalyears of 1975 to 1980 it was organized into a body of In these years many models and patterns were study and an organization. giving NLP a solid body of content for training and learning. If was "the study of the structure of subjective experience" and the

created

NLP

mechanisms of generativechange, then the models knowledge were these: The Meta-Model The Milton Model

-Making

that

communication

governed

precise

by

NLP

getting

back to the original experience and re-mapping. -Re-map by inducing resourceful states using hypnotic

language

patterns. the variables

Systems-Distinguishing -Recognizing neurological Eye Accessing Cues Representational

of thinking. of the

indicators

representational systems.

Anchoring Strategy

Model

and states representations for effective change. subjective experience

-Managing

-Identifyingthe of

coding (patterning,

of a

program)

an experience.

in just about any Today you can find all of these models fully described best is Introducing NLP (1990) by introduction book on NLP. One of the John Seymour and Joseph O'Connor. It is even well described in Anthony And this contentwas critical as Kobbins book, Unlimited Power (1986). world. Grinder describes this period of exploding into the larger

Was

-95-

NLP

The

Chapter 7

Secrets

Delivery

was

a

Success

Swelling interest. ..immediatesuccess and rapid diffusion of the initial models of NLP in the mid and late '70screated a ground swell of interest leading to a great demand for the presentation to and training of people who desired to become proficient in the patterning.... As the tremendous demand for social workers and clinical psychiatrists, physicians,

traininginitially,

and

Psychologists

in

the

both

people,

athletes, students,

of strange and bazaar shapes and an opportunity and a distraction." (Whispering

musicians and pilgrims of beliefs-constituted

business

subsequently,

sorts

all

Wind, 2002,p. 229-230)

In 1977 John and Richard were

also

working with "impossible"clients from this in some of the books and it

a local psychiatric institutions. They noted became a sourceof many of thewild stories

One wild storythat

Richard

came out of the early years. was getting the schizophrenic

that

told repeatedly

who thought he was Jesus Christ to

a

the heavy and giant-size nails. Then he had him stretch out on the cross

wood beams "measure him"

to

to

build

make sure it was

cross

-hebrought in

right.

"First Ladies" of NLP In addition to the three founders,there were two ladies the two

The Two

"first

ofNLP-Leslie Cameron Bandler and Judith DeLozier. Judith was named on the book, NLP: The Study of the Structure of Subjective Experience (1980). And Leslie joined Bandler and Grinder along with ladies"

Virginia Satir in anotherbook, Changing with Families (1976). Late 1977 in Santa Cruz, Richard Bandler and Leslie Cameron-Bandler created their NLP company, DOTAR (Division of Training and Research),which was part of Not Lid. At first, DOTAR was the division of training and research forboth companies.

As a part of Not Limited and DOTAR, the first NLP trainings, training,

and for putting

Leslie

was instrumentalin

putting together the materials

together

The SocietyofNLP.

David

creating

for NLP Practitioner Leslie

with Robert

at Not Gordon, and Marbeth Meyers-Anderson and Research) put together the first Practitioner and Master Practitioner programs and assessments. Brian van der Horst was also just entering NLP at the time and was a part of Not Limited. This was in the late 1970s. Robert was Vice President and Dilts,

Limited

worked

DOTAR (Divisionof Training

-96

Chapter 7

NLP Secrets Director

of Research

All

for

DOTAR from

of theearly

The

Delivery

was

a

Success

1979 to 1981. He wrote:

developments meta-programsand sub-modalities were team (him,Leslie, David Gordon and later Todd Epstein). We also did the design of thecurriculum and testing procedures for the first NLP Practitioner, Master Practitioner and Trainer certification programs. done with

In

1979, the

the

in

DOTAR

conference was

first

at

Cruz. While there was some research seemed to focus on immediate was

DOTAR done

on Mission

in

application

In

the

end there was very

research

appeared

in

little

research

to

show

for

any peer-reviewed publications

it.

that

joinedJohn Grinder to form UnlimitedLimited(their

Judith

Street

in

Santa

those early days, what they in trainings and products. I

None of the know about.

first

company) became the New Code (1983-1986). Later, 1983, John formed "Grinder,DeLozier and Associates." This later included Michael McMasters with whom John and McMasters produced the book Precision. After separating from John, and later was

active in creating the distinctions

Judith collaborated

with Robert

Dilts

and

patterns that

as part of "NLP University."

NLP

Persons at the Beginning Three key persons at the beginning significantly contributed to make NLP and readable- Robert Dilts along with Steve Andreas and understandable Connaire Andreas.

Key

Robert Dilts made major contributors to NLP. They were as significant as the original contributions of Bandler,Grinder, and Pucelik. What Robert contributed extensivelyshaped the very contoursof NLP. At the beginning RobertDilts was

busy finishing his Master's Degree at the University. Yet in doing that, he focused on the burgeoning new field and began writing about it. Coming into the group at Santa Cruz in 1975 and still

prolifically studying writing

from John Grinder and Gregory Bateson immediately about NLP.

directly,

Robert began

n 1975 Robert wrote his first "Application"of NLP when he put together The Meta-Model and the Socratic Method of Philosophical

paper

is

now

in

Inquiry." This In the book, Applicationsof NLP (1983). fact, Robert was

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NLP

Secrets

the

first

The

Chapter 7

to

put

in the

Meta-Model

forth the

ordered

list

was a Success

Delivery

that

we recognize

in the first two books, The today. By contrast the Meta-Model distinctions the bookS and not Structureof Magic (1975/ 1976) were scattered through Robert organized the eleven linguistic presented in an orderly way. distinctions

and put them

two communication

in

and

in

categories

ldentifying

Information Gathering

Setting

1) Deletions

5) Universal Quantifiers 6) Modal Operators

2) Unspecified

Referential

3) Unspecified

Verbs

Index

l975.

Limits

7) Complex Equivalence 8) Presuppositions

4) Nominalizations

9) Cause-Effect 10)

Mind-Reading

11) Lost Performative

Because Robert wrote

in

a

understandable explanations

clear

and

straightforward

what Richard,John, Frank, and the Robert not only first organized discovering.

regarding

groups had discoveredor were the linguistic distinctions in the Meta-Model, but which each

distinction

way, he provided

also listed the questions

called for thereby making the

model easy

to learn

and use. It was Robert who did the research into the work ofGeorge Miller and organized the strategy model-the representationally enriched TOTE model. followed, many of the papers that Robert wrote for his classes became books-books that are today foundationalbooks of NLP: In the years

that

Roots of NLP (1980) Applicationsof NLP (1983) NLP: The Study ofthe Structureof SubjectiveExperience, Volume

t This

(1980) exemplifies the

character

of

so

many of Robert's key and put things in a format The next year, 1976, he wrote

ability to collect, organize,

contributions his that was easy to read,remember, and apply. a paper on Neuro-Linguistic Programming'" (now

NLP

(1983) and

became

in the

book, Roots

which eventually Programming, Volume I(1980). This academic paper framed epistemology based on systems or

cybernetic -98-

of

the book, Neuro-Linguistic

principles.

NLP

as a

There he made

Chapter 7

NLP Secrets extensively

use of Bateson's work and

extensively

The

Delivery

was a Success

quoted him (see pages

He

presented the Meta-Model in an organized way (as indicated above) and added the twelfth distinction: 12) Comparative Deletions. He 22-27).

anothercommunication categoryand put three of thelinguistic in the distinctions categoryof semantic ill-formedness: cause-effect, mindreading, lost performative. also created

When Robert wrote that

"NLP is an outcome oriented

discipline"he then

structured the Present Stateand Desired State space. Later he called this "he NLP algorithm for change" (in the paper,Meta-Model Live, p. 31-32).

tw0 spaces,he put resources as "a transition mechanism." Later he wrote,"presentstate desired state is the overlay"(p.33). From that he later created the SCORE Model which is today a staple for anyone trained in NLP. Between

these

Robert was

to come up with the first set of criteria for a wellformed outcome. At the beginning he had six criteria (1980). Today there are 18 which we use in Meta-Coaching.10 1) The outcome must be stated in positive terms. in sensory 2) The outcome must be testable and demonstratable also the

first

experience.

3) The desired state must be initiated and maintained by the client. 4) The outcome must be explicitly and appropriately contextualized. 5)The desired state must preserve any positive by-products ofthe present state.

6)The desired

state must

be ecologically sound.

was probably Robert also who put together the first list of NLP The evidence Isite for that is his "Applicationsof NLP in Presuppositions. Family Therapy and Interpersonal Negotiation"(1980). There he provided It

a

list

of nine of the presuppositionswith commentary about each of them: 1) The map is not the territory. 2) Mind and body are part of the same system and affect each other. 3) Individual skills are a function of the developmentand sequencing of representational systems. 4) The meaning ofany communication is the response of the intent of the communicator.

S) Human

beings are capable

of one-trial learning.

-99-

it elicits,

regardless

NLP

Chapter

Secrets

6) Individuals have all outcomes. 7)

Behavior is

positive

need the resources they

make

any

adaptation: People underlying point in time,

is

no

sensory channels in time.

substitute to

know

in

communications for

The element

collection

Success

their desired

the best choices

every

behavior

is

a

of

clean, active, open.

at what response you are eliciting

most a system that has the or catalytic,element in that system. Controlling, In a

a

intent.

8) There

9)

was

Delivery

to achieve

toward

geared

available to them at

The

7

flexibility

any moment will

be the

in

papers (1975-1981)

his early

Robert wrote about

He appliedNLP

his

to diverse

and Applications). modeling of NLP (seeRoots realms: Business,Sales, the Socratic Method, Education, Family Therapy commissi1oned to put and Health. Thereafter he was CreativeWriting, Structureof Subjectivity (1980). together NLP: VolumeI-The Studyof the or 40 more books Then in the years that followed, Robert produced 30 massive Encyclopedia of himself and with various authors, including the did nothing else NLP, which he wrote with Judith DeLozier. IfRobert Dilts would recognize his than write and extend the literature of NLP, we But he did as a scholar as massive and extensive. contributions the other founders, Robert has always made more -much more. Unlike himself available for appearances at Conferences and Congresses.

Many years later, Oakley Gordon wrote a two part article in Anchor Point, "What is NLP? A BriefHistory"(May and July 1995). In those articles, he wrote

in part the following:

Volumel'impliesa

VolumeII'.The secondvolume was to present the which the NLP developers of NLP, the processes by

modeling techniques The project was aborted, modeled excellence in human behavior. due to the dissolution (p. however, of the community of NLP developers." 14,

Anchor

Point, July 1995).

(Suzi Smith, Tim Hallbom, Judith DeLozier),put together the Visionary Leadership Conference which brought together 200 NLP Trainers and Leaders during the time when the In 1997 he, along with other significant

trainers

Bandler lawsuit had just begun. Three years later, he sponsored The MillennialProjectto bring people together and in 2015 he hosted the 40

100-

NLP

Chapter 7

Secrels

of NLP during his summer trainings repeatedly demonstrated collaborative

Birthday Robert

The

in

was a Success

Delivery

Santa Cruz.

In

all

of this,

leadershin

from the beginning modeled a great many subjective human He started with SoCratic Questioning,sales, creative writing, experiences. cancer surviving, hcaling strategies, strategies of genius (Einstein, Disney, etc. Given all of this, Freud, etc.), leadership, again he is one of the most Robert,

NLP., During the *40th Anniversary ofNLP" at described how he had been modeling Steve Jobs. That Santa Cruz, he his latest book, Next Generation is now in material Entrepreneurs,Success significant contributors

Factor Modeling, Vol.

of

I (2015).

NLP and Placebos-What

Could Have Been

Origins (2013) tells the story of how they were "always on some type of creative scheme to become "millionaires by working Robert Dilts in

Christmas."

One

them was

market placebos. A placebo is a 'sham drug'that value, such as a sugarpill or an injection of salt but which can water, trigger a dramatic improvement in symptoms in some patients under the right conditions. Placebos, in fact, have been of

to

has no inherent medical

demonstrated psychosis,

of symptoms

to influence a variety

high

blood pressure,

arthritis,

including pain, anxiety,

angina

pectoris,

and even

cancer.

"Bandler and Grinder were convinced that the placebo effect wasa result ofa type of 'neuro-linguistic programming.'They believed that there was immense healing potential in the body that could be released via particular neuro-linguistic processes. Their refreshingly audacious idea

was

to

fake pills under the label on the placebo effect."

sell

the data

°Placebo'

and be very up front about

"One of my surprised

jobs was to collect the necessary research on placebos. Iwas to discover that, since every drug that is put into the

marketplace clinical

must be tested

against a placebo, there is

a large amount of

evidence about their effects.. placebos will work as effectively

as active drugs

35-40% of the

time."

Grinder and Bandlerfigured that their placebo idea would stir up a lot of controversy and thus publicity. In the middleofthe expected hubbub they planned to release 'Placebo Plus,' which would have 20% more inactive ingredients in each capsule' and Designer Placebo'which was based on researched showing that certain representational characteristics -101-

NLP

The

Chapter 7

Secrets

ofplacebos influence

the placebo

Delivery

was a

Success

For example,small, shinv

effect.

red, healing potential than larger.fatt stimulated greater tter, expensive placebos dust on your figures. Bandil white pills that Iett ndler powdery,cheap-looking that would last lon. and Grinder also planned a 'time release' placebo onger

over time." (Origins, 2002,pp. 156-7)

NLP mainstream, in the end while "Placebo Plus" could have taken not happen was because it was did not. The reason that the project did

Now it

shut down.

The Community Grows, More Developers Arise As Frank was leaving, two other people entered into the field of NLP who were destined to make major contributions for the next four decades. Steve and Connaire Andreas came into the picture in 1978. Originally Steve was John O. Stevens,a very well known and respected Gestalt Therapist. His and who created the mother, Barry Stevens,was a mistress to Fritz Perls publishingcompany, Real People Press. Steve and Connaire studiedwith both Richard and John and then he and Connaire translated three seminar books which paved the way to put NLP

on the psychotherapy map. Their earliest contributions included the three books which significantly helped to put NLP on the map: Frogs into Princes (1979);Trance-Formations (1981);and Reframing (1982). These seminar books of Bandler and Grinder primarily got the word out. And that's because of a singular fact-you could read those books. You could imagine being in a NLP workshop and experiencingit. Terry McClendon writes about Frog into Princes:

"Thefirst

NLP book for the laymanwho knows nothing

or therapy. confusion

This was a time of innovation, excitement

and

crises." (The

aboutpsychology as well as some

Wild Days,p. 115)

These books came from the actual trainings and workshops that Richard and John were doing. Similarto what Robert Dilts had been doing since 1975, Steve and Connaire the began sequencing, systematizing, and organizing to make it NLP materials available to the average person.

Of thebooks became a

that

they transcribed and

best seller. In

a very

edited Trance-Formation

short time

-102-

it

(1981 topped 350,000 copies and

Chapter 7

NZP Secreis

The

Delivery

was

a

Success

hccame the best NLP book ofall time (outside of Anthony Robbin's books). The other two seminar books, Frogs into Princes (1979) and Reframing (1982).vhile ditticult to read if you are expecting straight prose, is eycellent and fun reading in terms of feeling like you are in a live seminar. Iater, Steve edited yet another book, this one exclusively from Richard Bandler. Using Your Brain for a Change (1985). After that, he mostly wrote many excellent books as he and Connaire NLP to various applied

subjects.

Later he re-visited

Virginia

Satir's patterns

on forgivenessand

wrote a book about that.

When John O. Steven

therapy, he entered NLP and took the name, Steve Andreas. John O. Steven'sbook Awareness had been a bible for the Gestalt to the

wrote

made

the

community

American

at that time. After his introduction

nation,

way clear with the

helped

thereby

left Gestalt

to

"NLP is

three

put NLP on

the

the way."12

And

to

NLP, he

the Andreases

"seminar books" which they edited and map using the Gestalt Therapy, "Real

People" Press.

The Andreases were also business savvy. They created the first NLP Training Center-a centerthat lasted for decades as perhaps the most wellknown and recognized NLP center in the world. Decades later, "NLP Comprehensive" ofBoulder Colorado became the stable, ongoing Training Center. years to later

They brought Richard into NLP Comprehensive repeatedly overthe introduce his work and whatever he was newly working on, and

John. (That triggered Bandler's lawsuit

United

States,

against the field of

NLP in the

the storyin chapter 11.)

seminar books (1979- 1982),they began writing their own books and developing new NLP patterns. irst Change Your Mind and Keep the After the

Change (1987) and then Heart ofthe Mind: Engaging Your Inner Power to Change (1989). In Change Your Mind Richard Bandler wrote this: "Steve and Connirae are among the few who have gone on to use

NLP modeling is

evident

Criticism.."

techniquesto develop usefiul new patterns, and Strategy for Responding inChapter 8,

A

this to

(1987, p. v, italics added)

What makes the Andreases especially fascinating to the history ofNLP and those who contributed to its development is Steve'spersonal history prior -103-

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7

was

Delivery

a Success

he was a key thinker Before NLP, as John O. Stevens and a well-knOwn, even lamous, Gestale He was in Gestalt alt Therapy. developer had also published several books out Stevens John O. Further, Therapist. even began, he edited and publishe Gestalt Therapy. Before NLP Awareness: Exploring, Experimenting,Experiencing (1971). Then, in th same year that the first book on NLP was published, he published Gestal Is (1975). He did this via the Gestalt Publishing Company of Barn Stevens,Real People Press.

NLP.

to

So

the Gestalt

history

of

NLP

with Fritz Perls goes back through

the

Real People Press, and John O. relationships he had with Barry Stevens, Stevens' book, Don't Stevens, alias Steve Andreas. For example, Barry with Fritz and their time Push the River (1970) tells the story of her life

together

when he moved from Esalen to Canada

to establish

a Gestalt

title as "a dirty During that time Fritz, as his self-proclaimed at Esalen old man,"3 was also naked in the hot sulphurpools making out with as many of the women as he could.

Kibbutz

As Yet

I

there.

already prior to

have noted, when NLP began, Fritz Perls was already dead. that, when Steve Andreas came into NLP in 1977, he brought

personal acquaintance with Bandler, Grinder, or Pucelik had. in his

Therapy

directly

He

from

Fritz

Perls-

By

contrast,

something that Steve learned

neither Gestalt

Fritz Perls.

Therapyfrom Fritz Perls, and combined Gestalt with and social science at Diablo Valley College teaching psychology Out of this came his book of Gestalt California, for seven years. Awareness: Exploring, awareness experiments, Experimenting, learned Gestalt

Experiencing

(1970).14

Yet there's more historical in

connections. Stevereceived his Master's degree

Psychology at Brandeis University

in

1961 where he had

studied Witn

none otherthan Abraham Maslow himself. So ifthere was anyonewho was the direct link between the Human Potential Movement and NLP, it was Steve Andreas. Then after studying with Maslow, he studied with Carl

Some years ago I asked Steve about his relationship to Esalen after he learned NLP. He said he did return to Esalen and presented classes on Rogers.

Gestalt,

but not on NLP.15

-104-

NLP

Chapter 7

Secrets

The

was

Delivery

a

Success

And Then There Were Yet More Others Beyond Robert Dilts and the Andreases, there were aspects

of

recording

the content of NLP.

who also began

others

David Gordon wrote

T7/herapeutic

the first Metaphors (1978)and thenPhoenir(1981). David Gordon was mention to publically sub-modalities in his 1978 book, 7herapeutic Earlier Todd Epstein called them Metapho. "psycho-graphics,"but Richard Bandler thought that was too complicated and so named them "sub-

Unfortunately,the name stuck to

modalities." that the

term

is

this

day

in

spite

of the

fact

inadequate and mis-leading."

Sid Jacobson wrote a

series translating NLP to education in Meta-Cation (1983, 1986).Wyatt Woodsmal excellentsericsofbooks, expanded the Meta-Programs that Leslie initiated by adding severá from Myers-Briggs which originally came from Carl Jung. He distinctions was also part of the early gun shooting modeling with the U.S. Army.

There was

three

volume

days, Lynn Conwell, Barbara Whitney, and Genie Laborde who wrote InstantRapport. also

Annie Linden

in the early

entered into

NLP at the same time asthe Andreases. Her first at the Waldorf Astoria in New York

encounter with Richard and John was

of 1976. She noted that in 1977 "there was no certification was no structure at all. They were really in the first phase of development."17 She was also a part of the first trainers' certification in 1980 when 12 were certified. She also created the New York Training City in the

fall

training; there

Institute.

I

think

NLP's

credibility was, unfortunately,

with the attitude

damaged

ofRichardand John when they were training.." (Anchor Point, 1995,p.6) Reflections and Secrets

Whatever NLP was like at the beginning, it did not stay that way. NLP It grew from out if its cradle and, in fact, it is still growing and evolved. itself, growing, continually renewing itself, redefining who enter into the field as the influenced and by persons being changing, well as by the general social-cultural factors influencing countries and the global world-market.

evolving.

It

is

With the birth" ofNLP formally in 1975-1976, amovement -105-

that started in

NLP

Secrets

Chapter

The

7

was

Delivery

a

Success

Aresge College and the city of Santa Cruz and had been contained there, it exploded onto the world stage. And while it was not a theraPY, and never

was

is how presenteditsclfas a psychotherapy, that perceived Though born as a child of the "Human Potential Movemet," it did not know itself in that way. That identity, in fact, stay hidden until 2005. As a process was exceptionally diflicult to say ofcommunication and change, it to be about precisely what it was or how it differed. It seemed it

first

everything

and

yet nothing specifically-a very strange thing

given

focus on

its

precision!

With the

birth also

came

women came from all so

a

Men and models and processes Eventually that led to a new

new form of leadership

over the world

trainers.

to learn the new

they could now train NLP. management within the movement as those with some managerial skills began putting together a practitioner program and eventually a format for that

certifying

people to be recognized as knowledgeable and

skilled in

NLP.

The apocalypticstory is told that the Pharaoh of Egyptissueda command after Moses was demoted from being a "Prince in Egypt." The command was that the name of Moses was to be scratched out wherever it had been would be lost to history. engraved. And inthatway his name that's what Bandler and Grinderdid to Frank Pucelikand also to

Similarly, all

ofthose the experimental group who contributed in developing NLP. They simply wrote all of them out of the first NLP books. In doing so,they also lost him as the connector -to their own detriment. in

-106-

Chapter 7

NLP Secrets

The

was

Delivery

Success

a

Background Notes: 1. in

Rodger C. Bailey (1991) says that Bandler and Grinder "came up with the name [NLPJ 1977." [4nchorPoint, IsItTime to Restructure NLP2,Oct. 1991, p. 20]. wrote a whole chapter on the of the Meta-Model in development

I

Communication 2.

There's no

indication

Magic (1997/ 2001) either volumeof The Structure ofMagic that

in

there

was a

gestalt

3.

And the only reference must be the so-called "Therapist Training Seminars." That paper later became the foundation of the book, NLP: Volume (1980).

4.

Derren

class.

I

Bandler (p. 5.

Brown relates this story also in Tricks ofthe Mind (2007). may have made the term up when a traffic policeman asked

p.

1974 as

when

Judith

"became more involved

with John Grinder."

42).

More recently it has been updated Crown House Publications, 2015. 6.

Private correspondence,

See Frogs into Princes seminar in London which 8.

Dynamics. 9. Robert Dilts wrote, Therapy, p. 35). 0.The ell-Formed ongoing development

with the extended

Meta-Modeland

(1979), pages 109-113. Richard also told this in his 1989 I transcribed for Time For a Change and Applied Neuro-

"NLP

highly outcome-oriented" (Application of

is

Outcome pattern in NLP. See

that

we use

Coaching

Meta (a book on

NLP

in Meta-Coaching is the Conversations (2010) and

modeling with

"NLP Volume II." The next year, 1998, Robert with NLP and similarly subtitled "NLP Volume II." 12. Rie Anderson, private correspondence, email, May 2017. I subtitled

republished by

2013.

Coaching System (2015). 11. In 1997 Iwrote NLP Going and

that

for his profession..

173).

MeClendon dates

(1989,

7.

"It has been said

it,

NLP Dilts

in

result

Family

ofthe

The Meta-

using Meta-States) published Modeling

it,

13.

He mentioned

the term "dirty old

man" repeatedly

in his

auto-biography, In

and Out

of the

Garbage Can). See Steve Andreas' book, Tramsforming Your Self: Becoming Who You Want to Be, 2002, (p. 274) 15. As an aside, several of the early developers did speak at Esalen and presented NLP, James Eicher did in 1978 (Origins, p. 119) as did Robert Dilts and Terry McClendon. 16. See Sub-Modalities Going Meta (2005). Terry McClendon writes that "Asearly as 14.

1974, individuals in these groups were not only anchoring entire anchoring portions of 4-tuples and sub-modalities and applying amnesia and pattern interruption." (1989, p. 73). creating

but they were pain control and

4-tuples, it

to

4. During the 1990s 1Q. Magazine, 1995, Number 1, Interview with Anne Linden, p. she announced in AnchorPoint Anne Linden created some self-promoting advertisement as 17.

that she

was the "first

lady" of

NLP.

-107-

Chapter 8

THE UN-ACKNOWLEDGED GIANTS about the Sources

Secrets

"Relar, Maslow, there

is

no

full realization of human potential, only an ascending spiral ofdiferences and changes." John Grinder speaking rhetorically to Maslow

Whispering (2002,

p.

Gestalt Therapy is more interested of an individual's dormant Fritz

Perls,

In

315)

in

the uncovering

potential."

and Out ofthe GarbagePail

"Ifyou don't know who you are, it's hard to real be

your

self."

L. Michael Hall

A

Ithough they had modeled Fritz Perls and VirginiaSatir, and having leaned from Gregory Batesonat Kresge College-alias Carl Rogers College of Humanistic Psychology-it is astonishingthat none or them seemed to know or recognize the larger actors were playing. Now it could be that history wherein all of these they knew, but there is no of such self-awareness. indication Perhaps they did not want to see or acknowledgethis. In fact, even to this day it continues asa mystery (and an unknownmystery) to many of them. This is especially evident in Grinders -108-

Chapter 8

NLP Secrets quote

beginning of

at the

this

as one therapy in

actualization

list

book, again being obviously oblivious

ofthe Human

In

chapter. a

of

fact,

therapies

at

to the fact that

he

By making Maslow wrong and mocking him

in

also

lists

"self-

the beginning of his he was in the stream

Movement (Whispering, 2002,

Potential

Giants

The Un-Acknowledged

p.

2).

the quote,Grinder also,

my opinion,shows a misunderstanding of Maslow's work. Why?

in

Because

Maslow never talked about a full realization of human potential." Never. was Maslow who described how that in the process actualizing In fact, anything, new and often unexpected capacities would open up. In The it

of

Farther Reaches

mean

actualization

What

of

Human

in

terms of actual behavior,actual procedure?" (p.43).

Nature, Maslow

ask,

does

self-

Here's his answer: Self-actualization

one by one. Too

is

inspiration to strike

became

a matter ofdegree, so

that they

self-actualized.'

people who

or little accessions accumulated

often our clients are inclined to wait for can say,

'At 3:23 on

People selected as aboutit in these

Thursday

I

self-actualizing subjects,

ways: They listen to are honest; they work hard. They find out who they are and what they are, not only in terms of their missionin life, but also in terms of the way their feet hurt when they wear such and such a pair of shoes and whether they do or do not like or stay up all night if they drink too much beer. All this is what their

fit

the criteria go

some kind of

this

own voices;

little

they take responsibility; they

eggplant the

real self

congenital

means.

natures.."

They find their own (1971,p. 49)

biological

natures, their

the first seven chapters probably sounds asif the series of accidents that brought about NLP simply embraced an odd group of That was not strictly true. Hidden people in a willy-nilly manner. connectionstied thesepeopletogether connections that we can seeclearer is Because from deceptive. today in retrospect. Yet retrospective insight so clear and obvious. But living life forward is hindsight everything seems a different proposal. Usually we can only see a few steps forward and may be very much unaware of the surrounding contexts within which we live

What

I've written

until

much

later.

To discover exemplars

in

the hidden connections, we begin by asking, ""Did

(Perls, Satir,

the

Erickson) who were modeled know each other?" -109-

NLP

Secrets

Chapter

The Un-Acknowledged

8

Giants

When I first not only "yes," it is a resounding yes discovered this in 2005, experienced it as a radical shock. Subscquently Iwrote about it in Self-Actualization Psychology (2008). What no book on NLP before 2007 ever noted was that Perls, Satir, and The answer

is

I

Bateson

Human That's right! in

1963 and

knew

Perls lived

other and worked together Movement."

each

Potential

at Esalen

as part of the

moved onto the property of Esalen at Big Sur California there as the first "scholar in residence." Virginiamoved

Director of Leadership and Development. Gregory Bateson was there conductingthe second workshop at Esalen in 1962. Then he moved there in 1978 as the last "scholar in there

the next year (1964) as the

And

first

he died in 1980. All ofthem were second-generationleaders

residence."

there

in the

Human Potential

Movement.

When

I

discovered this incredible

background of the exemplars, I really going on at the beginning of NLP. began For one thing, this history of Esalen, the "headquarters"of the Human Potential Movement (HPM), informs us as to where the basic premises of NLP camefrom. For another, it identifies the basic orientation of NLP and the kind of psychology that informs what it was first

understand what was

to

doing-modeling

excellence in human behavior and seeking to unleash human Prior to

potentials.

I did not know, and never had heard, that Perls, Satir, and Bateson lived and worked together at Esalen as second generation leaders of the HPM. I didn't even know that they knew each let alone this

other,

together as key participants of the same psychology movement. Discovering that in 2005 led me to write the article, "The SecretHistory of

worked

NLP"which

was published in severalNLP publications. Since then that article has spread news of these historical facts of NLP which are now incorporated in several NLP books. And unsurprisingly, when I began

sharing that secret NLP history at various NLP Conferences around the world it almost always produced a shock -first a shock of discovery. Then it caused a shock of awareness, "Oh, that explains a lot!"

shock of

inquiry,

"Why didn't

Then,

anyone

reveal this earlier?"

-110-

a

Chapter 8

NLP Secrets

What

The Un-Acknowledged

Giants

the significancethat Fritz Perls, Satir, and Gregory Virginia Bateson were part of the Human Potential Movement? For one thing, it is

means that they were part of the new psychological focus initiated by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers in the 1930s and 1940s. It was Maslow who created "The Third Foree" in psychology after Bchaviorism and Psychoanalysis.It was Maslow who emphasized psychologicalhealth (self and positive psychology rather than fixing psychological actualization) illnesses.

human

lt

was Maslow

Benedict and

also

who

modeled the best and

first

that

launched his

studies

on

1941

1954

healthiest

Max Wertheimer

when he studiedhis mentors

nature

in

and Ruth

persons.

self-actualizing

Time Line

1934

1936

1937

Maslow

Experiences Models Wisconsin Ph.D. in Wertheimer Behaviorism Canada Benedict

&

Minnesota

Carl

1960 1962 1963 64 Human Esalen Perls Satir

Motivation

Hierarchy

ofNeeds &Personality Potential Murphy Movement Price Bateson

Rogers

A

History Unknown to Themn Bandler,Grinder, and the Andreases make some Frog into Princes (1978). The following

interesting

comments

in

the

that

quotationsillustrate

authorsunderstood they were indeed moving away from traditional therapy They knew that they were moving to Humanistic or Self-Actualization didn't have a name for it. Or if they did, Psychology. Yet it seems that they to use the name. Nor did they seem to know that all of they did not want this had been developed by Maslow many decades earlier. Were they really that unaware of Maslow and Rogers? "We are very slowly tapering off teaching and doing therapy because there's a presupposition common in the field ofclinical psychologywhich

we personally find

that change is a remedial disagree with: that is wrong and you fix it.

something is an entirely

There

generative

different

way

or enrichment approach.

phenomenon. You

to look at change, Instead

of looking

which we

think of ways that your possible simplyto fixing to do, or interesting to be be fun "What would enriched:

and

What Imake

it, it's

new capacities or abilities things really

could

groovy?'"(p. 190) -111-

I

call

for what's

invent for myself?

the

wrong be

could

life

able to

do?

How

can

Chapter

The Un-Acknowledged Giants 88

NLP Secrets

The idea of generative change is really hard to sell to We are currently investigating what we call generative

psychologists...

We

personality. out the sequenceof are at finding who things, geniuses those sequences unconsciOus programming that they use, and installing unconscious in other program allows people to find out if having that are finding people

them to be able

Modeling 45 Years

to

do the

task." (p. 191)*

Earlier

Long, long before the idea of modeling excellence dawned in the midst of either Bandler or Grinder, Abraham Maslow was actually engaged in modeling human "self-actualizing

excellence. people."

He

Among

studied the "generative personality" that the stimuli that triggered

of

new

response was

of Abnormal writing an exhaustive volume on Principles In that massive Maslow realized that he Psychology (1941/1951). work, was

recording the sick side of human nature. That's when he began asking there a healthy and bright side of human nature?"

"s

himself,

As Maslow

turned his attention to look for the highest

and best in human

he began modeling people who showed some of the characteristics He reasoned, if there is a bell human excellenceor "self-actualization." of sickness and healthiness, then there should be outliers on each end curve of continuum. That idea led him to begin with one of the co-founders the of Gestalt Psychology, Max Wertheimer. This was the man who Fritz Perls later followed as he developed Gestalt Therapy. Maslow also modeled Ruth nature,

of

Benedict,the founder of Cultural Anthropology and the mentor of Margaret Mead (Gregory Bateson's first wife). And many yearslater he would write

a book

that speaks to this subject (TheFarther Reaches of Human Nature

(1971). In the

1930s and 1940s Maslow and Rogers set out the foundations of Humanistic Psychology. This was the psychology that launched the Human Potential Movement in the 1960s of which Perls, Satir, and Bateson who worked together at Esalen as the second generation leaders of that movement. All of these people were the giants upon whose shoulders Bandler and Grinder stood and which enabled them to create NLP as the late

synthesis. Patterns:

"Wehave been influenced

Gestalt psychology:

all

data

by the methodology and concepts of have to be considered and evaluated in terms -112-

NLP

Chapter 8

Secrets

of interrelated

The Un-Acknowledged

patterns..." (Abnormal Psychology,

1941.p. xii)

Map is not territory: "The symbol (e.g.,the word boy') is not the The symbol differences Positive

is not all-inclusive; e.g.,

among

Intention:

the boys." *...

(1941,p.

like the

does

it

Giants

not take into

objeet.

account all

198).

neurotic, psychotic

are

manifestations

motivated

by catastrophic fears and are the individual's attempts to solve his conflicts and cope with the world as best he can." (1941,p. 501) Health in sickness: "All individuals with neurosis show strength, health, and normal functioning in many respects." (Ibid., p. 8) Meaning in context: "t is impossible abnormality'without reference to the

in

many

respects, to understand

cultural background."

(p. 15)

The Discovery of this Secret NILP History This discovery also happened by accident. In 2003 I was searching for was a model for self-actualization to add to the Meta-Coaching System. Atthe time thought I'd read a book by Maslow or Rogers,get the model, and that I would be that. It didn't turn out to be that easy. After reading all of

Maslow's books and

all

of Rogers, and not

described the self-actualizing process, in the Third Force of Psychology

I

finding

others.

Still

I

could not

find

definite

model

that

turned to the rest of the key players

Assagioli, May,

many

a

Frankl,

Bugental,and

it.

upon was the storyof Esalen. Esalen was the place Movement found a home to in 1962 as the vision of two young men who caught the idea of generative psychology. So Price there in Esalen,not far from Santa Cruz, Michael Murphy and Richard of the Human established the home base from where the "growth centers" What

I

did stumble

where the

Potential Potential

Human

Potential

Movement emanated. It served as"theMecca'" of the Human Movement. That led me to several books on the storyof Esalen

and what happened

there

over

the

years.

The first resident scholar at Esalen was none other than Fritz Perls. No wonder Gestalt Therapy was a leading influence in The Third Force and why Perls played such a central role. And to live at Esalen was none other get this, the last resident scholar actually than Gregory Bateson. Then the first person in charge of Research and was Virginia Satir. And as you now Training of leaders for that movement know that's a virtual who's who of NLP's exemplars. That'swhen

the surprise happened.

-113-

NLP

Chapter

Secrets

Three of

8

The Un-Acknowledged

contributors

Giants

and

key foundational Potential leaders in the Human as exemplar's of NLP were at Esalen of Perls and Satir were skills Movement. Before the communication of the "bright modeled, they were contributing to the generativepsychology Perls founded a of human nature as defined by Maslow and Rogers. Isn't that incredible?

the

Side

same

Max

"therapy" from Wertheimer's Gestalt Psychology the in Wertheimer who Maslow modeled as an exemplar of self-actualization of 1930s. Now here was Perls and Satir operating from the premises

Maslow and Rogers. What were

these

premises? they are not and self-actualization, People are driven them all of the have within People innately broken and defective. resources to actualize their best and become authenticas for health

potential

persons.We engage in "people-making" within ourfamily systems. How we use language fundamentallyaffects and influences how we frame and can reframe things Meaning is a function of our framing, that sometimes shifting a small variable in a system can have system-wide generative change. We cannot not communicate, etc. Sensory awareness is foundationalto enriching one's life experiences.

Do

those premises sound a lot like the NLP Presuppositions? Yes, of course. Infact, nearly all of the NLP Presuppositionswere also the basic

ideas that governed and mobilized the Human Potential Movement. Ifwe ask, "Where did the early NLP experimenters and developers get their premises?" We can confidently answer,"From Perls and Satir." And if we

and Satir get their premises?" we can confidently answer, "They discoveredthem in the work of Maslow and Rogers. ask, "Where

did Perls

Acknowledging the HPM Psychology From a theoretical standpointthe Human Potential Movement began from a search,study, and modeling of the bright side of human nature. This paradigm shift was Maslow's shift from "psychology' as it was prior to 1937 to The Third Force in Psychology that he initiated. In 1941 he published his Hierarchy of Needs that identified the positive motivational and value nature of human beings and the rich potentials to be actualizedfor becoming authentic, fully functioning, and at one's best.

-114-

NLP

Chapter 8

Secrets

One ofthecentral

of The Third Force

clienl-centered

non-directive actualizing

tenets

was

therapy.

organic, natural, if

The Un-Acknowledged

and

that

Carl Rogers

For him,

innate.

the

Giants

instituted

was

process of self people would

He believed

we

out ofthe way and did not interfere with simply got added that three only theirgrowth.Rogers things areneeded to facilitate the "growth person" forbecoming a "fully functioningperson"-empathy, naturally

develop

of

a

unconditionalpositive regard, and authenticity.

mean? First of all it means that NLP is a child ofthe Human Potential Movement. The humanistic psychology ofthatmovement informed the contents of NLPeven if most of the early developers and NLP arose in the early 1970s during the heyday of trainers did not know the Human Potential Movement at Esalen. When Esalen went bankrupt ended its original vision of being the (1975) it soon thereafter "headquarters" of the HPM. In 1983 the president of the Humanity Psychology Associationannounced that the HPM was dead. The movement did continued in other forms as it dispersed into dozens of new fields, NLP being one ofthem-perhaps even the key one given that its central leaders What does

all

this

it.

ended up being the exemplars and

A

History They Should

intellectual leaders

of NLP.

Have Known

Today I'm tempted to say that they should have known this history! After a College dedicated to Carl Rogers and his all, Kresge itself was essentially innovative ideas. And it would have only taken a little bit of study of the to have revealed that they were part of original exemplars (Perls and Satir) the Human Potential Movement, worked together at Esalen,had the same their ideas from Maslow and Rogers, publisher, developed ete There'sadditional evidence oftheconnection between NLP and the Human Consider for example where NLP originated Potential Movement. -Kresge College, a college that began in 1971 as an alternative and experimental college on the campus oftheUniversityof California Santa Cruz. AS already noted, this college would have been named the Carl Rogers College if it had not been for the rich donor. The college was designed with the conceptofparticipatory democracy as a means ofencouraging a strong senseofcommunity. The vision was for the college to be a place where students enjoyed a senseofcreativity,

-115-

NLP

Secrets

Chapter

The Un-Acknowledged

8

Giants

community, and individuality." (UCSC's website) "Robert Edger, the provost ofKresge...decided to developand

run an

innovative experiment in academicorganization, using Kresge College as for a test case. The experiment was a living/learning model Kresge- a within the model of how to develop community boundary conditions of a college at a university.." (Grinder, Origins, p. 175)

Groups.. a

The college had popular themeon Kresge College campus..

instituted the process sensitivity training."

Later in

of

T-Groups, frequently (Carmen Bostic-St. Clair,

l978 Steve Andreas came

into

form

described

as a

Origins. p.

241)

NLP and brought with him

of

a large

portion of the Gestalt community. If anyone should have known this history, it would have been Steve Andreas. After all, he taught Gestalt at Esalen, his mother was a mistress to Fritz Perls, he studied with Carl Rogers, and he was mentored by Abraham Maslow! Yet he, and many others, were probably so close to this history that they couldn'tsee it. They were inside So my guess is that's why they could not recognize

theframe.

Perhaps they took that so much for granted that important enough to mention. it.

When John "The

it

did not even

seem

Grinder wrote Whispering in the Wind (2002),he wrote about Antecedents of NLP" (chapter3). Yet he completely left

Intellectual

Was that

out any referenceto Maslow, Rogers,and Esalen! don't know. except

He

to criticize

also totally

intentional?

I

Alfred Korzybski ignored any him about "the map is not the territory" quotation." This reference

to

isn't

also refused to all, acknowledgethat he After John was "standing on the shouldersof any giants!" "There is a metaphor ... in which an investigator establishes his or her contribution while simultaneously paying tribute to the work which forms really surprising.

uthe foundationwhich makes possible that the

hsisn

typically expressed

by noting

their specific contribution.

new

contributor

This

is

canseefarther than

the

the foundation for their new work by original giants who established their shoulders. But for me, standing on personally, this is quite and not at all congruent with misleading

my

Interview

with John Grinder, Inspirative, p.

experience.

(1996

1

The person who came closest to acknowledging this was Steven Lankton in his 1980 book, Practical Magic. He wrote about the movement and

-116-

Chapter 8

NLP Secrets identified

many of

the individuals

in

The Un-Acknowledged

Yet he

including Perls.

it,

Giants

did

not

connect the movenments -the HPM and NLP. Most of the metaphors of personality that have come out of the Human Potential Movement underscore the importance of having sensory experience. An ongoing and increasing ability to use one's sense ofsight, hearing, touching, external world

is

mind and come

what

to

and

feeling, smelling,

tasting to contact the present

(1969)meant when he said, 'Loseyour senses." your (p. 186) Fritz Perls

By 1986 Kenneth Blanchard

hinted

at the

NLP and the in Unlimited Powerby

connection between

Movement. Writing the Forcword Robbins he wrote: Anthony I think this book has the capacity to be the definitive potential movement." (p. 12). Human

Potential

text

in

the

human

How about that! NLP-thedefinitive text in thehumanpotential movement! An article in 1997 came close to connecting the Human Potential Movement Abundance

NLP. In "The Generative Matrix: A Celebration of the

to

NLP

(Rapport 37, Autumn 1997) Roz Caroll California with Carl Rogers, Fritz Perls, and many others "teachingat Esalen." "Meanwhile, at the University at Santa Cruz ... studentswere enjoying the atmosphere of openness and describes

of

Creativity

the

sixties

and seventies in

experimentation." Yet connect the two.

of how

in spite

close

she came, she

also did

not

Maslow and Carl Rogers'

Abraham

Contributions

to

NLP

and Gregory of Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir, Bateson to the development ofNLP, I have noted that they were all secondin the Human Potential Movement (HPM). That is generation leaders to Maslow and Rogers and highly significant because oftheirrelationship to the HPM. Inoted this in the "The Secret History ofNLP"article (2005). That was when I found out that the very persons modeled by Bandler and In writing

about the contributions

Grinder worked togetherand I still

as

find that

leaders

implications

in

an incredible the

from

Human

lived together

fact!

They

Potential

this is that

it

at Esalen in the

early

1960s.

and worked together atEsalen Movement. One of the strongest

lived

identifies the

-117-

psychology of NLP.

It

is

the

NLP

Secrets

The Un-Acknowledged

8

Chapter

Giants

the first developed after Behaviorism and Psychoanalysis, two forees" in psychology. NLP is part and parcel of The Third Force of Psychology. This terminology came from Maslow himself and was crystalized in the book, The Third Force: The Psychology of Abraham Maslow (1970) by Frank G. Goble.

psychology

that

What is the psychology of NLP? Yes, is CognitivePsychology in that came from the leaders of that CognitivePsychology movement George Miller and Noam Chomsky. It is cognitive to the extent that we operatein the world using our mental models or maps. Yet more essential than that, it

the psychology of Psychology.

NLP

is

it

Humanistic Psychology or

Self-Actualization

Humanistic Psychology starts from the premise that human beings have an drive for excellence. Even when we do bad or evil things, it's not internal because our innate nature is evil. There is within us a intentionpositive

we are doing the best we can given our mental understandingsand skills. Human "evil"arises from ignorance,misinformation,desperation about not our basic needs, lack of development, etc. We have all the resources to handle the challenges of life. To fulfill that, we need to truly and adequatelymeet our needs and understandourselves and then develop fulfilling

effective

strategies."

InNLP all of theseessential

ofNLP." These key

ideas are

ideas, collected

originally

premises of NLP. Where source of

operational

the original

in "The Presuppositions Robert by Dilts, summarize the

incorporated

did

they come from? What was Ah, this is an amazing thing!

these presuppositions ? that those presuppositions

Once upon atime I assumed or assumptions

that

the

were the premises from Perls, Satir,

original developers collected Erickson, Bateson, and Korzybski. Then when I took the time to go back and read through all of the original works of Maslow and there Rogers, they found almost all of those were in those

I

came out of the

HPM

There's something

presuppositions

as the assumptive

else in

NLP that

writings.

They

premises of that Psychology.

goes back to what Maslow and Rogers Abraham Maslow began modeling his two incrediblementors forty-five years before Bandler, Pucelik, and Grinder contributed.

Modeling

-118-

Chapter 8

NLP Secrets

The Un-Acknowledged Giants

Maslow began studying Max Wertheimer who co-founded Gestalt Psychology and Ruth Benedict, the founder of Cultural Anthropology. He took notes about them writing down their behaviors and characteristics and from his good humans studies" he began a 30-year with his studentsof study graduate Self-Actualizing People. The idea of modeling outstanding individuals did not start with NLP. It started with studied

Perls.

Maslow and the HPM. Given these historical sratch:

facts,

what can we conclude?

to the origin forcescontributed that been heard

Many

NLP did notstartfrom NLP did not invent of NLP.

new premises had never ofbefore. Instead, what happened at the beginning,andwhat created what'we today know asNeuro-Linguistic Program, arose from the ideas and practices of the Human Potential Movement. Perhaps a sad loss to NLP was the fact that while the original developers obviously could not have modeled Maslow, who died in 1970 as did Perls. But Carl Rogers lived until 1980 (same as did Erickson and Batéson) and

NLP began

college. Yet in the years of thebeginning of NLP (1971never 1976),Rogers appeared on campus. He was at the Universityin Chicago at the time. Imagine how different NLP would be today if they had modeled Carl Rogers!

at his

Reflectionsand Secrets To not know one's knowing your

history

history

is to

not

enablesyou to

truly

know

know

oneself.

Or

conversely, to

yourself. Similarly

know our

understand ourselves. AsNLP practitioners, this highlights the importance and the value of studying and understanding the Human Potential Movement and the psychology of self-actualization. history to truly

To understand what Maslow and Rogers created along with all of the other collaborators who contributed to The Third Force in psychology, is to understand the heart and essence of NLP. As a child of the Human Movement, NLP modeled several of the key second-generation leaders of that movement. That's why and how the very concepts of that movement became "thepresuppositionsofNLP"premises that originated with Abraham Maslow, not Bandler and Grinder. Potential

-119

NLP

Secrets

The Un-Acknowledged

8

Chapter

Giants

of NLP and have access to many more of the men and women who contributed and who made NLP what it is on the shouldersof today. Those who put NLP together did indeed stand many giants even if John Grinder cannot bring himself to acknowledge this.

Today

we know

And knowing

A

this secret history

this enriches

final seeret.

our

for the original sources.

appreciation

When Maslow wrote

his

book Principlesof Abnormal Mead (1941) he thanked Margaret and Gregory Bateson,

Psychology "anthropologistswith

first

whom we have discussed

the cultural aspectsof our Bateson (p. 155)and also Milton joint problems" (p.xi). Then he quoted H. Erickson (p.45,47). Amazing, wouldn't you say?

Background Notes 1. In writing that I am attempting to be as Grinder was oblivious to the historical situation, knew the facts gracious as possible rather than make any accusation that he intentionally not know them at this and chose to ignore them. Whatever is the truth about this, we do

time, but

2. In

trust

we will

the book,

eventually discover them. Psychology (2008) I tell the story of Esalen- its between Maslow and Perls, how that movement relationships

Self-Actualization

beginnings and ending, the

and its relationship to NLP. Also, Resource Magazine, "NLP and the Human Feb. Movement," 2007, pp. 51-54. 3. This statement"The idea ofgenerative change is really hard to sell to psychologists.. by Bandler and Grinder can't be taken seriously by anyone who knows even a bit of President of the APA (American psychological history. In 1966 Maslow was elected and thereafter he created Division 32 on Humanistic Association) Psychological failed,

Potential

In 1968 he published Toward a Psychology Psychology. of Being which immediately became a best seller. All this is generative change! 4. At first I thought that Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs model could possibly explain selfactualization. Motivation and Personality (1954/ 1970) certainly details that model in self-actualization is a function needs. Maslow great detail and it certainly establishes

ofour of two sets of forces. One set moves us to safety Model comprised and away from fear, the other set moves us forward toward wholeness, uniqueness, and the this fulfilling of our potentials. From Maslow said we need to mininmize the dangers of also created a

Growth

growth and enhance the safety and maximizing

while simultaneously of minimizing the attractions dangers. (Towarda Psychology 54, 46-47, of Being, 1968, pp.

attractions

its

205).

5.Among the bookon Esalen: Kripal,Jeffrey

of No Religion.

Anderson,

Walter

Truett.

J.

and the Religion Upstart Spring: Esalen and the Hot Springs: The True Adventures ofthe the Human Potential Movement. (2007). Esalen: America

(1983).

AmericanAwakening. Miller, Stuart. (1971). First New York Jewish Literary lIntellectual in 6. You can find all of these in my books on ths -120-

The

subject:

SelfActualization

Psychology

Chapter 8

NLP Secrets

The Un-Acknowledged

Giants

(2008) and Unleashed (2007). 7. Whispering (2002). John Grinder questioned Korzybski's famous quotation that the map and argued that "his territory isn't even the territory" (pp. 25-27). Later is not the territory

spelled

intensional

linguistic

as intentional.

Sanity by Korzybski. 8 Quote from John Grinder World,

Vol.

4,

No.

1

-you

about extensional and

distinctions I

when using Korzybski's

can

infer

find

from

this

this

on the

that

intensional,

he mis-

he did not ever read Science

Inspirative

website.

It is

also

in

and

NLP

March 1997 (pp. 39-48).

and 9. See Maslow's works, Motivation and Personality, Toward a Psychology of Being, Further Reaches of Human Nature. Roger's key works: Client-centered therapy (1951); On Beconming a Per'son (1972)

atesi

-121

Chapter 9

ESTABLISHED DIS-UNIFIED 1975-1986

"The reason why

the world lacks

because

man

is

Ralph

unity,

and lies

broken

and in

heaps,

is,

disunitedwith himself"

Waldo Emerson

Tedate NLP°s official beginning in 1975 because that is when NLP went public. The strange thing is that NLP began before it was named. The publication of the books came first, then its name a full year later. Obviously what we call "NLP*" was not planned or until the years 1975 to 1980 that NLP coordinated. wasn't between became established as a movement, an organization, a field and discipline.

t

These were

the years

when

generationof NLP leaders began the models of NLP. As strange as it may seem,it was not only the founders who did that, it was the community who had of people grown u around them. It was Leslie Cameron-Bandler, David Gordon, Robert Dilts, David Gordon, Terry McClendon and many others who began organizing the trainings and designing ways to officially recognize them as NLP Trainings. They were the ones who set up what later became as the first

training

NLP Practitioner

Trainingand Certification." They

ofNLP as the certifying

and credentialing

As

also set up

organization

known The Society

for NLP trainings.

probably the fastest growing new development in the field of in the1970s and 1980s,NLP was getting known all psychotherapy over the world. Individuals were traveling to Santa Cruz, and a few otherplaces in -122

NLP

Chapter

Secrets

9

Establishment

Dis-Unified

they were taking NLP back home. and took NLP back to EuropeSubsequently, key individualsvisited London, Paris, and many other places and later to the rest of the world. Back home they set up a NLP Training Centers. In those days,as the hottest

Then

the

US,

for trainings.

new

thing

on the scene, NLP was exploding everywhere.

Leslie

Cameron Bandler developed

from

curriculum of NLP for the

first

The

courses in 1979, and later for Master Practitioner. in 1980. Rodger Bailey developed the LAB

Practitioner Trainers

the

course was

Leslie's

work.

He says that within the original

first

first

Profile

curriculum a dilemma

arose.

The

modeling technologies and the psycho-therapeutic models were mashed together into a single, undifferentiated curriculum. People did not learn that Strategy Elicitation is a modeling technology and that V-K Disassociation

model."(p. 21,Anchor Point,

is a psycho-therapeutic

Oct.

1991).

In spite of that lack of distinctions, one sign of that excitement occurred at the end of the 1970s. A young journalist showed up in Santa Cruz to interview Richard and John for an article in Psychology Today. That was none other than Daniel Goleman. Then in and psychologist the July issue of Psychology Today (1979),he wrote an article

journalist

People who Read People."

By

interviewing

NLP

"The some Richard and John others who were unnamed in titled,

at

undisclosed early Training, along with the article, he essentially put his stamp of approvalon what theywere doing and the discoveries that they were making. This was yet anotherindicator NLP was exploding as a new "psychology" or at. the of

how,

linguistics

time, or psychotherapy,orwhatever

it

waswas capturing

everyone's

attention.

To

establish

any

field there

has

to

be

a corps

of materials

that define the

first books that did this were the twoAccordingly, in NLP the then the two volumes on the Meta-Model (The Structure of Magic), the Hypnotic volumes on Erickson's hypnotic model (Patterns of with the book and single Virginia Satir. Techniquesof Milton H. Erickson), works that essentially defined the These were the first five foundational

field.

meaning ofNeuro-LinguisticProgramming -123-

at that time.

They

identified the

NLP

Secrets

9

Chapter

key concepts introduced as

that

govern

NLP

a meta-discipline

Establishment

Dis-Unified

1975-1976. As a result, NLP was about "therapy and change" (the original in

an extensive communication model about how language can be used to facilitate developnental and generativechange. Sub-title).

It

is

Robert Dilts was

the

most prolific of all of theearly

trainers

and developers.

He wrote papers for his classes at Kresge College which were later put into volumes that further defined and explained NLP. The book that specifically and explicitly defined NLP was the one that Robert put together, co-

authored along with Bandler, Grinder, and Judith DeLozier -NLP: The Study ofthe Structureof Subjective Experience (1980). This book began as a paper in 1976, "NLP: A New Psychotherapy."(McClendon,p. 103),then with the encouragement of Richard and John, it was completed and published in 1980 by Meta Publications.

Yet by

the end ofthe 1970s and beginningofthe 1980s, the two remaining founders were having increasing problems working together. Why couldn't

they get along? Terry McClendon said that they began to "realize that the stagewas not big enough for both of them" and so they decided to go their separateways in 1978 (The Wild Days of NLP: 1972- 1981, p. 117). Yet

even that, For

in the

long run,

didn't help.

a short period of time, the different

other.

The

first

group that pulled

groups accepted and tolerated each so due to the threats that Bandler

away did

made toFrank. Thereafter Frank, Byron Lewis, and others went to San Diego. The rest stayed in Santa Cruz. John and Judith formed Grinder, DeLozier and Associates under the company name, Unlimited, Ltd. Richard formed a separate company, Not Limited. Later Leslie with Michael Labeau producing

a series

and David Gordon of significant

NLP

joined and worked together for awhile books.

In an Interviewwith David Gordon, Patrick Merlevede writes about 1978-1979: First Institute in San Francisco, called DOTAR

in

NLP World

(Division of Training and Research).. situated in a converted church which they used asa seminarroom. Leslie Cameron was the director of the Robert Institute, Dilts the director of research, and David the director of training. They

-124-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 9

Establishment

Dis-Unified

worked together, basically every day, creating the field, including the first practitioner and master practitioner programs, but also working with private clients. Richard and John mainly acted as patriarchs. .. The

DOTAR went on

New

period until

was

probably 1982." (p. 63)."

most productive

in

the

NLP field.

It

NLP Developments

Between 1980 to 1986, their

the

separateways,

of all of the founders separating and going flourished in influenceas it spread. New

in spite

NLP

ideas

being generated-Leslie Cameron Bandler along with Richard at a had begun identifying meta-programs perceptual filters meta-level the In one's seeing, perceiving,andthinking. early 1980s this which govern led to developing of the Meta-Programs Model. were

still

Practitioner training put together the contentfor the NLP Master The things that went into Master Practitioner were and certification. but chosen, not because they were particularly more advanced or difficult, Metalater. This primarily included simply because they were developed Programs and Time-Lines. Leslie also

in the years 1984 or Time-Lines, and "time-linetherapy," came somewhere class in Boulder 1985 when Richard Bandler was teaching a seminar did Woodsmall. He, in Wyatt Colorado. The Andreases learned it there as to Tad James. After that they co-authored the book, turn, later taught it Time Line Therapy (1988). The next year (1989) this became a matter of to them to confliet between Bandler and James leading separate.osaid

San

up during my Master Practitioner training was one of thetrainers and had been participating Diego, 1989. Tad James time something was different. Apparently in the Bandler trainings. But this of the Time-Lines without informing Bandler, Tad claimed ownership for "time-line filed a trademark model that Bandler created. Tad secretly never "registered"). Wyatt tells about going back stage therapy"(yetit was the trademark. When to find Richard and Tad arguing loudly about in and his fist in Tad's face, Wyatt stepped suddenly Richard posed was their But done; the damage came to blows. separated them before they some aspectsof New Age ended. After that Tad introduced relationship

The conflict

actually

in

flared

-125

NLP

Secrets

Chapter

9

Establishment

Huna, into his NLP company from the mainstream of NLP after that. religions, including

Dis-Unified

and generaly stayed

apart

Yet in spite ofthese first splits and the creation ofthese first "camps,"NLP were lcarning NLP Was on the up and up. Thousands and tens-of-thousands as they went through the training and Trainer. And as Practitioner,

programs of individuals

Practitioner,

were

certified

Master as NLP

Trainers, they began setting up NLP Training Centers all around the world. All of this was due of the value of the content of NLP as a primarily

communication

model, not the charisma of the person presenting

the

information.

Then the Kingdom Divided When Richard and John split and went separate ways, NLP itself split into four primary camps. The group in San Diego with Frank Pucelik, however, That's when Frank left for Oklahoma where he only lasted until 1983. established a highly successful drug and alcohol clinic. He stayed there until 1988 when he moved to Russia, and later to Ukraine. John Grinder and

and

Judith

Associates, private

DeLozier took his company, Grinder, Delozier, later co-created whathe called "the New Code"

and

as a remake of the "classic

code'"of

code, they introduced perceptual

NLP (1986).

positions

(first,

In this so-called

second, third,

"new"

etc.)

and

argued that Six-StepReframing was the heart of NLP,the prototype model. This was short-lived with Judith; they separated ways in 1987. John dates with Carmen Bostic St. Clair his collaboration beginning in 1989.

New Code model from 1986 when he and Judith Delozier conducted a live seminar called Prerequisites to Personal Genius. From that came the book, Turtles all the way Down (1987). Afterthat he stopped with in Judith 1988.3 working John dates the

Robert

Dilts

collaborator,

and

with

Robert worked

McClendon were

NLP

those associated

the

first

him

stayed in Santa Cruz.

with many

He and Terry

successfully others. to take on the road. They even

NLP

As a

presented

at Esalen. Then Robert and Todd Epstein wrote several books together7oolsfor Dreamers (1991) and Dynamic Learning (1995). Even -126-

NLP Secrets

Chapter9

NLP

Dis-Unified

1995, Todd and Robert,along with Teresa Epstein, U. With Robert McDonald, Dilts co-wrote ToolsoftheSpirit

death priorto Todd's created

Establishment

in

(1997). of the groups was Richard's group since it consisted of The Societyof NLP, the Andreas who established the first NLP Training

The

largest

of

all

Center (Boulder, Colorado) and

then

others

who followed

their lead

Annie Lindon, Ed and Marianne Reese, Will McDonald, Linda Sommers and Joseph Yeager, etc. Each of these had an NLP Institute and these were under Richard's "The Society of NLP" view of Six-Step Reframing. He which he and John inventedto "trick therapists into if" "get them to do hypnosis without knowing about

Richard took a completely treated

it

as a pattern

using hypnosis."

To

different

(Hypnos, Oct. 1989). In the mid-1980s he talked about it as redundant and irrelevant for the future of NLP. Richard seemed to be much more the creative genius in those years. He came up with the idea of time-lines, he further

with Will McDonald. developed the dimension of sub-modalities

Time Line 1979

1975 Meta-Model Milton Model

NLP

is

Born

Early

NLP

Develop. Practitioner

Developed

DOTAR

1981 Lawsuit of Society

86

1985

1983

Robbins

Sub-Modalities

'87 1988

Murder.

New

NLP Bankrupt Meta-Programs

S

Code Time Lines

NLP

Leslie

disappears

Associations

Books by

Dilts,

Andreas, etc.

1981 Lawsuit Fighting for the NLP FlagThe and Richard in the 1975-1980 In spite of the competing companies of John a partnership between their companies. in 1979 they created period, Not Lid. and Grinder's company, Unlimited Ltd Bandler's company, known as The Society of Neuro-Linguistic formed a partnership But it did not last long. By 1981 they were atodds, again. Programming.

"

-127-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 9

Establishment

Dis-Unified

Bandler accused Grinder of violating the agreement by givingseminars and certifications

by

company, Not

it

was

the partnership

settled

one month

"NOT LTD. had and

do

sole

credentialing

that.

asserting

that his

Hefiled the suit

in

(Oct. 1981). In filing a injunction, Bandler had claimed:

for a motion for preliminary

declaration

agreement,

the exclusive right to

had

Ltd.,

Sept. 1981 and

of

virtue

later

and exclusive authority for the in (sic) of practitioners

licensing,

testing,

Neuro-Linguistic

Programming."

Two years

of the demands, and all of the money flowing through his company, Not Lid. Bandler filed for In a later discovered that Bandler was court (1986-7),it was bankruptcy. later, in spite

of all the

business,

all

receiving something somewhere around one to five million dollars a year. Where did all that money go? No one knows. So why he filed for bankruptcy

a mystery,anotherNLP

is

In the bankruptcy schedules, Not Ltd. lists.

The

Nevertheless,he

secret.

did.

listed no

trustee for the court then received

propertyand only customer an offer from Grinder for the

rights to NLP for $5,000. However those rights were then a purchased by group known as the "Bandler Group." Later Bandler would claim that he put the group together. Yet that was disputed by a later court This "Bandler Group" was made up of six individuals with Christina Hall as the key person and later as the last President of the Society.

purchase of all

With

all of the assets of the and especially the trademark and corporation, the seal for"the Societyof NLP" for auction-the six NLP trainers got up

togetherand purchased it. Fourteen years later all of that would become highly contentious during the 1995-2000 lawsuit (that story is told in chapter 11). That's when the argument over "who owns NL would

.

resurface again.

more

McClendon

tension

of NLP,

of this controversyback to 1978. between Richard and John and they was not big enough for both of them." (The Wild all

began to develop

realized that the stage

Days

dates

1989,p.

117)

Then, without mentioning the

lawsuits or fights in the courts, writes that "Bandler bought John out simply ofthe

p. 117).

No details, however, were given -128-

McClendon

Society"ofNLP.(1989,

aboutthat buy-out.

I

assume that

NLP

Chapter 9

Secrets

this refers to

Establishment

Dis-Unified

"the Bandler Group" mentioned above.

What stands out as very strange in the 1981 lawsuit that Richard filed John was a most peculiar requirement. He required that John be against limited to

only

only train

NLP

in the cities that

in the

United States during the next ten years and he approved. As part of a settlementagreement,

license. In it, John could Bandler granted Grinder the limited 10-year conduct NLP seminars, offer certification in NLP, and use the NLP name.

The condition

was

that royalties

from the earnings of the seminarS were

to

Bandler. Even more strange, John signed the lawsuit. Here is secret why in the world would John sign that! No one seems to another be paid

to

know. With

of the Society of NLP (and the community to a great the collaboration between the original developersfinally came to an

this dissolution

extent)

end. Oakly Gordon (Anchor Point, 1995) noted: "While there was some degree of tracking each other's innovations, the overall effect ofthe breakupof the original group was a diversification in the trajectories of NLP with a resulting blurring of its definition." (p. 16)

From Consciousness to Unconsciousness Another strangething happened to the two remaining founders. It is one of the strangest things of all that happened in the 1980s. This was the shift that

each made from emphasizing consciousness(mindfullychoosing your

"running your own brain") to unconsciousness (trusting unconscious to be smarter and wiser than your conscious mind). beliefs,

What makes

from the beginning

your

NLP

put a fundamental emphasis on "running your own brain." At first the focus was on learning how to manage conscious awareness via your representations this really

strange

is that

and sub-modalitiesin order to take charge of your own life and states. Yet in the mid-1980s, both Richard Bandler and John Grinder began changing that focus and moving beyond it. The journey which both of them took increasingly

led them away from "the conscious mind"as they cach,intheir

Own way, emphasized "the unconscious mind."

-129-

NLP

Chapter

Secrets

9

Establishment Dis-Unified

the 1990s where they decided both came to the point in Consequently, they (Richard Bandler's language) that the conscious mind was a "dickhead" view "the and "could not be trusted" to set goals (Grinder'sfocus). They Yet this nominalization,"the unconscious mind" as the source of wisdom. or defined(!). Apparently thev unconscious mind" was never explained it meant (a by very un-NLP assumed that everybody knew what they to run their own for wanting dilemma people response). Yet this created a not trust their conscious mind could told that they brains. They were now that they are and needed to trust their unconscious minds-a "mind" a dilemma. Not being unaware of! This contradiction and paradox created what was it that able to know (be conscious of) their unconscious mind, For Richard it was him. He promised to put they were to trust exactly? them in a trance and they would just "unconsciously knoW what they to the hocusneeded to know when they needed it. Consequently this added and the bad press firom some unscrupulous pocus P.R. that NLP was getting

persons

Over

who were misusing

time, Grinder

came

it.

to

disavow many of the

NLP

Presuppositions of requisite the law longer accepted

themselves. For example, he no variety.

law responsibility for importing this ofrequisite variety -here NLP to be for (Whispering, p. 309) practice." argued inappropriate

"Iaccept

Rather than base NLP on the historical premises that arose from the HPM and make them conscious, Grinder preferred to postulate them upon something much more vague and indescript, "theunconscious mind." This, for him

is

the chiefflaw with what he calls "the Classic

"There are

important

decisions

and

it

is unfortunate

Code:" in the

extreme that

the classic code assigns the responsibility for these decisions to the client's conscious mind- precisely the part ofthe client least competent to make such decisions. (Whispering, p. 214) This makes the work shallow and unecological as the conscious mind is notoriously

weak

consciously

undesired

the person's

what the function of a of piece behavior might be in the larger systemof code The experience. critique we offer is that such classic in

its

ability to appreciate

or patterns areflawed. They fail to provide for any systematic framing access to the enormous potential of theunconscious. (Ibid.,p. 215,italics

added) -130-

NLP Secrets

Chapter

"The unconscious is

9

Establishment

Dis-Unified

in

superior

its competency for accessing the long of some particular change with respect to consequences. Consciousness with its limitation of 7 -+ 2 chunks of information is ill-equipped to make such evaluations." (Ibid.,p. 218)

term and global

The

NLP Entertainer

In the

effects

Par Excellent

mid-1980s young Anthony Robbins studied NLP from both Richard originally been an encyclopedia salesman, he became a

and John. Having

Practitioner course, he hired a ghostpractitioner After he took the basic writer to write his best selling book, Unlimited Power (1986),and was then

&

get it published by Simon Schuster. This launched him onto the American scene, and then internationally as the most visible NLP Trainer able to

From his audacious marketing approaches to his stage was bigger than life and his audiences went from hundreds presence, Tony to thousands. Tony gained prominence on local TV by conducting live sessions for curing phobias for people afraid of snakes. Then to test his work, he brought live snakes to the studio with him. in the

world.

A quick learmer, sharp,passionate, andhighly ambitious,Robbins ended his

He

arranged to privately learn the Master Practitioner content from John Grinder and Wyatt Woodsmall. John Grinder gavehim an assignment,"Find something in anotherculture that's normal,model it." formal

That's

studies.

when he came up with

Firewalking.

of five thousand or more, Then, as a marketing genius,bringing in crowds and for many, the NLP Guru. he became the NLP Entertainer par excellence about his seminarswith Years later he would put out a promotional video that while doing the very things that the title, "I'm not Your Guru." He did a guru would do-things that would encourage people to think of him as a guru. For this reason the title seems especially disingenuous.

Now you would think that having a person with the skills, the passion, and want to get that person on your the wit of Anthony Robbins-you would wasn'tBandler or Grinder's team and to do so as soon as possible. But that did not do that, he actually sued Anthony approach at all. Richard not only six million dollar lawsuit and on Robbins for being so successful! It was a because he was not the surface the lawsuit was filed against Robbins

-131-

NLP

Establishment Dis-Unified

Chapter 9

Secrets

or Master Practitioners through The people as NLP Practitioners as an out of court settlement-Tonv Society of NLP." Settled in 1990 and pay his S200 royalty for promised to "certify people through the Society each one certified in NLP."

certifying

What happened afterwardswas no surprise-Robbins promptly stopped "NLP" as such and invented a new name, NAC- Neuro training Associative Conditioning (1991-1992). In doing this, Richard Bandler chased away the greatest salesman he essentially chased Robbins away could have ever hired. And as a result, Anthony Robbins continues even to

he

say publically the three letters NLP. During the 1990s and 2000s he would never utter those letters when he is on Larry

this

day

to refuse

to

King Show, Oprah,

or other international

could have had one of the world'sgreatest

My interpretation talented

is that his

television

programs. Richard salesman on his team. But no.

ego couldn't handle someone who was more

than himself.

to be with Richard at his home in San Francisco in the summer when the lawsuit ended and when a courier brought some court papers and a check for S500,000 from Robbins. That interrupted the work we were doing. Richard tore open the package, examined the check, and looked over some of the papers. When I asked about it, he told me that Robbins had settled out of court and signedthe contract forcertifying under the Society of NLP. "What his mind? What ifhe changes the if he changes I asked. In a tone name?" naively of triumph Richard told me that "he wouldn't dare. I grabbed him by the balls and squeezed; he would not

Ijust so happened

dare."

He renamed what he was doing as Neuro AssociativeConditioning(NAC)which he later popularizedin his next best The next year Tony selling

Dilts

dared.

book, Awaken the Giant

Within

(1991).

and Neuro-Logical Levels

In the late 1980s, Robert discovered and created the Neuro-Logical LevelS which became probably his most known and used model of all the models that he created. While on a NLP course in Oslo Norway (1986),one day participant very familiar with Bateson'swork on logical levels and level -132-

NLP Secrets

Chapter

of learning," said

to

Robert

Dis-Unified

should apply the

notion

of logical

levels in a

more

everyday sense."

later said that

command and from After that

Establishment

Robert:

Someone really practical

9

that

the

words worked as

if

he had given himself

a

stimulushe developed the

Neuro-Logical Levels. Neuro-Logical Levels based on Bateson's Then over the ensuing years that model has

Robert puttogetherthe

of Learning. been used for many NLP productively Robert used patterns and processes. it extensivelyin his NLP Health Certification. He also used the levels of change and learning in his work in coaching (From Coach to Awakener). Neuro-Logical Levels represented one of the first explorations into logical Levels

levels in the field

ofNLP.

The Lack of Formal Leadership It may seem strange that with all of the talented trainers and leaders in the field, yet during the 1980s there was noformal leadership in the field of the of The Leslie Cameron Bandler facilitated creation Societyof NLP in 1979. Yet while the remaining two founders were for the fighting about who owned NLP, they provided no leadership movement. Instead focused on bourgeoning they themselves, their

NLP. True enough

trainings,

and what they were doing

to

make money.

meantime others decided to create NLP Associations in order to work In the 1980s there were three or four major Associationsin the together. US, and Associations began to arise in many other countries. There were also four or more publications that began to provide a system of communication within the larger NLP body (Anchor Point, Rapport, the New I.Q.. NLP Connection, etc.). From the Associations arose In the

Conferences. And yet neither ofthe remaining foundersever wrote for the or appeared at the Conferences to give of themselves in that publications way. I guess that to do that was somehow outside of their map of the world. allow themselves sometimes to be As the years went on each would to what they were doing atthe time.Yet even without interviewed promote formal leaders, NLP was growing very fast as a movement. So who was No one formally and many people informallymostly the key leading? number trainers who were training and who were producing ever-increasing of articles and books. -133

NLP

Secrets

With

Chapter

of

all

this

9

Establishment

many new Associationswere

fragnmentation,

1980s,

there

field of

NLP.

of the

throughout the 1980s. Yet by the end nternationalAssociation as a body to govern the Oakley Gordon (1995) writing in Anchor Point: There is no organization with the authority quality of the diverse

even to

define

NLP

Dis-Unified

created

was no Again,

pass judgment on the or training programs currently being offered, For the field of is not, NLP." (p. 17)... to

what is, andwhat

has no single voice, no universally agreed upon definition, no its name. An outsider entering quality control over what is offered under

NLP

these waters

encounter

may

anything

from the sublimeto the

ridiculous."

(p. 18)

With

the

Conferences and

growth of Associations,

Publications,

there

was

a ground-swell movement to try to bring some accountability to the field. Most of the Associations wrote codes of ethics, set up conditions for membership, and created standards for certification. Yet without an If international over-arching body, there was ultimately no accountability. someone was unethical or mis-behaved anda group attempted to addressa problem, typically the person would just leave and go to another group o start his own association. It was the "wild west" days of NLP. was that different Associations, behaved and operated as if they were Conferences, and Publications than collaborators. So while they arose to bring about competitors,rather someunity to getNLP people to work together, they also served the purpose Another

of

unfortunate

solidifying

Interesting

result

the divisions

also is

of

this

within the larger community.

anotherstrange

fact afterthe original "modeling"of the

three great communicators which launched NLP, neither Bandler nor Grinder modeled any other famous communicators. Ifthey did, they never

wrote about

or mentioned

it

Woodsmall, myself,and many

it.

Yet

others

did.

But none of the

original

The 1980s saw

Many Other Contributors and wrote

Robert

Dilts,

Wyatt

others continued the tradition.of modeling

founders did.

Leaders about Thinking with NLP

(1985)and he and Joseph Yeager Thinking Sommer created the Eastern Linda Institute of NLP. Steven Leeds and

-134

Chapter 9

NLP Secrets

an

Rachel Hott established

Establishment

NLP Center in New

York

City.

Rapport (1984). Ron Klein established Washington DC. Ed and Maryann Reese established wrote

Instant

an

Dis-Unified

Genie Laborde

NLP

Center in an Southern NLP

In 1987 thcy put out the first edition of Journal of NLP And the list could go on and on about International. many people who in their own areas not only taught NLP, used it in their psychotherapywork, consulting work, but continued to expand its range of influence.6 Institute in Florida.

Reflectionsand Secrets If NLP was ever unified,

it wasn't for long. Very quickly after its debut, between the conflicts founders led to divisions and a lot of bad blood. Why?" you ask. They were fallible human beings who had differing views and perceptions,who wanted different things, and who had different agendas. So human nature got in the way! At that time, NLP did not seem to have any explicit models for how to resolve conflicts, or if there were models, they did not use them among themselves.

There was predicted

also

that

it

the fact that

it was all unplanned. No one could have would take offas it did. And once took off -there was

collaboration

it

in the

leadership

or

unifying

vision

about the

NLP

movement. There was a fatal blow. There was more

than just egos, differing values,

a nd styles. was hidden andastonishingfact: The two remaining never founders truly appliedNLP 1o themselves. They had always been the "inventors"and "controllers" and never learners-never co-experiencers. They directed others and provided feedback for others, but they never direction or feedback in was their received themselves. This, my opinion, fatal flaw and one that disastrously affected the development ofthe field of There

NLP."r

suywe

m

jfni oinor NLP

ats

a secret. For years after studying and being certified in NLP, I assumed that Bandler and Grinder were the leaders. I assumed that somehow they were exercising leadership over the movement. Only as I slowly became aware ofthe politics within the field did it dawn on me that there was no leadership. Slowly I became aware of the truth of Dilts words that NLP was fathered by two wild men The

lack

of any formal leadership

in

-135-

is itself

NLP

Chapter

Secrets

who modeled

individualists

three

9

who never

baby. They may have planted the seeds that but they did not nurture it.

.

End of the Chapter

Establishment

Dis-Unified

stayed around to father the

initiated

NLP

as we know

it,

Notes:

Daniel Goleman interviewed Bandler and Interesting enough, however, even though in all of his books Grinder and knew NLP and even wrote a very positive description of it, on emotional in his books that followed, he never once quoted NLP, especially intelligence and leadership. Why? I don't know, but perhaps it was his way of taking back his "seal of approval" of NLP with his original article. 2. As far as I know, Meta Publication was started by Fred Tapella who had been an editor at Science Behavior Books. He left and started to publish NLP books. Later it was co-

&

owned by Richard

Bandler.

3. Merlevede, Patrick E. (2000). Volume 7, No. 1. The Story ofDavid [Gordonl. pp. 6164. 4. Meta-Programs were first pubished by Wyatt Woodsmalland Tad James in Tüme-Line Minds (1989), next was Shelle Rose Charvet's Words that Change Therapy there was Figuring

Out People

(1997)a

virtual

(1995), then encyclopedia of meta-programs by myself

Bob Bodenhamer. 5. Several people have claimed that they invented the Time-Lines Model. Even Johrn Grinder claimed that he developed it with Robert Dilts in a seminar in the early 1980s and

(Whispering, 2002, p. 239). 6. I asked Frank if he had any idea

in 1977 when he left if he had any idea of what NLP would become and he said that he had no idea. (Email correspondence, July 2018). 7. From Whispering in the Wind, ch. 2, Terminology. 8. Whispering, Part II1, Chapter 3.

9. MotherJones, Murder Trial. S6,000. 10.1've asked several people about why John Grinder signed the 1981 lawsuitand no one seemsto know. Some postulatedthat John thought Richard would be dead in ten years due to his heavy use of drugs. Others said that John just didn't care about such things and wanted to get rid of the legal mess. In both ofhis writings on the history, Whisperings and Origins, John never explained this. In Rapport 40(Summer 1998) Sian Pope reported that Grinder claimed. that the contract"never had any legal force." (p.33). 11. Both Bandler and Grinder talk about what is outside of conscious awareness by the "the unconscious mind." This falsely suggests that there is one overly vague phrase, "unconscious minds" within unified unconscious mind. Actually there are many so-called nervous is anunconsciousmind." autonomic So also the sympathetic system us the nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, the immune system, memory,etc. in the Wind wherein he 12. In 2002 John Grinder self-published Whispering strongly the classic for logical levels. criticized myself suspicion is that code, Robert Dilts and it was his attempt to reclaim NLP after the 1995 lawsuit with Bandler. In that book he

My

"the conscious argues against mind framing it as inadequate to know orto make decisions 13. From the audio-tapes made by Robert Dilts and Tim Hallbom, "TheEarly Daysof

-136-

NLP Secrets Chapter

NLP" (undated). 14. See my critical 15.

Robert

tells

review of "|'m

9

Establishment

Not Your Guru" on

this story in Origins,

16. Working with the

NLP

Dis-Unified

2015,p. 165. Leadership Summit,I have

www.neurosemantics.com.

begun to create a list of all ofthe people, who over the years, contributed to the development of NLP. 17. Having worked with Bandler for four years, having some contentious debates with Grinder, and having a lot of quality time with Frank-I can say that in my experience, Frank is the only one of them who shows any openness to applying to self. On several occasions, he has allowed me to challenge him about something and "apply NLP" to and with him. On each occasion it was an incredible honor to see a seasoned expert in the field operate from a state of continuous learning and openness.

ieoed s t

1esuneisegrtianillat

ute thipk Aesecbsghekidhdedloa diensigo

-137

Chapter 10

MURDER SHE WROTE (1986-1987) "Thefirst

thing we do,

let's kill all

the lawyers.

Part William Shakespeare, King Henry VI,

2

"Two things are infinite, the universe andhuman stupidity, andI am notyet completely sure about the universe." Albert Einstein

A

s

if

of

all

the divisions

enough of a and 2000 years between 1986 earthquakesto the field. What

and fragmentationswere

L

the challenge to the new field, Lprovided two more highly significant

was

common

to

both events

not

was Richard Bandler. While the field, they were even more dangerous

in those years

both events brought disrespect

to

Either one of these events could have destroyed the to the foundations and field. Yet they did not. They certainly shook things with the second, severelyundermined NLP in the United States, an effect

than mere

disrespect.

which continues to resilient

from

In all of this

this day.

And

yet

NLP

proved

to

be exceedingly

it all.

is

a fundamental NLP

secret.

It also

contains a paradox:

The key person in creating NLP was alsothe person most responsibleforits bad In writing that, however, I'm not writing about press and problems. something uncommon among geniuses. Sometimes the intellectual or creative geniuses are not the best examples of human beings and certainly not persons you would want to emulate. Think Steve Jobs. While he was the creator of Apple and the i-phone, he was also known as incredibly

-138-

Murder She Wrote

Chapter 10

NLP Secrets with. difficult to get along

He was known

for his lack of people skills, and And yet for all of that, we highly

for his yelling rages against colleagues. value his creative genius and

what he

created.

That was my attitude toward Richard when I did my original trainings with him in San Diego. It was obvious to me from the beginning that he had

and creativity. He was probably the most creative, the most outrageous,person I had ever met. At the and simultaneously same time, he could be the most obnoxious, foul-mouthed, and offensive I had ever come across and quite warm and charming at times when some

skills

incredible

person

felt that, in addition to working with a elient. In my first training, showering and brushingmy teetheach evening.Ineeded something to clean out all of the cursing from my hed that I heard during the day. I had never I

heard

so much cussing or the F-word as a modifierforso many

Bandler Goes

objects.

to Jail

Late in 1986 something happened that would foreverhound Bandler. On a the night ofNovember 3, 1986 in the home of Corine Anne Christenson at that time, Richard rang out. Three people were in the house Bandler, Corine Christenson, and James Marino. When the bullet hit, Corine was shot and sank to the floor-dead. It was a single bullet shot at Death was immediate. A close range that went through her left nostril. dead on the floor and the gun was young woman of thirty-four suddenly lay "Who did it?" in the room. But who? in the hand of one of the two men bullet

time of the shooting, there James or Richard. Now if you looked solely is one certainty-itwas either all bets would be on him as at the rap sheet of 54 year old James Marino, resume of thirty-six year old the murderer. And if you looked at the he would have done it. Richard Bandler,you wouldn't for a minute think about people, and not the But rap sheets and resumes are just mental maps all. persons nor the events. Maps never tell Given that there were only two

in the

room

at the

Christenson was constantly year old Corine But that also, as a mental map about described as a "prostitute forhire. It was soon revealed that she was also her, does not tell the whole truth. As the court documents Bandler's personal assistant and book-keeper. Later at the

trial,

thirty-four

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NLP

Would and

Murder She Wrote

Chapter 10

Secrets

circle for Bandler she protectively concealed a VIP inner ounce to "one per week." personal ingestion of cocaine

later reveal,

rationed

his

While James Marino was strangeenough,

his

Richard, he was also, what Richard said. And

than years older

eighteen

At

"only friend."

least that's

James was also a known drug lord and pimp in the area. They became friends in 1980, and by 1986 Richard was actually living in a house built by Marino (MotherJones, 1989, p. 28). From the evidence taken from the murder scene and

statementsof both men,

after the District

Attorney Bandler with the looked over the case, he decided to charge Richard murder. And with that began the Bandler Murder Trial.

That

Was

Now

a

several

the

week

the

Week That Was to the

prior

events that

Corine up and

set

up

escorted

murder on

the situation.

her to

day in November were 25James On October Marino picked that fateful

a Halloween

Then, once there, for a muscular man attacked

party.

apparentlyno reason that anyone has identified, He gave him a solid beating. The man knocked out

him.

his front teeth,

opened a wound beneath his right eye, and fractured his skull. It was indeed a solid beating. Whatever that was about, he was severelyhurt. Corine immediately called a taxi and rushed him to a nearby emergency room. Later she took him

to

her home and fed him

drinks, vitamins,

protein

and

chicken soup.

News reports

about the whole sordid set of eventsrecorded that

and care for him, "Marino's mind

her attention became obsessed with

the

notion

that

in spite

swirled with plots"

of

and "he

Christensen had arranged the so, that would have given him a

beating."(MotherJones, 1989, p. 28). If motive for the murder. But not so fast. There'smore

to this

mystery.

was a few days later Jams Marino was at a restaurant and became dizzy. He called Richard and asked him to come and get him. That's when It

Richard found out about

the beating. calls to find out furiouslymaking phone

Afterwards

he

The

only friend."(MotherJones, 1989,p. 63). reporters wrote that Bandler also grilled Corine about Morine's words he shouted:

-140-

[Richard] began

who beat up my best friend

...

my

forMother Jones beating.

In

their

NLP Secrets

Chapter 10

Why shout

my friend

is

hurt?"

When

Murder She Wrote

she evaded his questions, 'he began to

and

curse, pressing for information. before her death, he gave an ultimatum: "Ill

and

then

I'll

No more

than eight hours

give you two more questions,

blow your brains out." (MotherJones,

1989, p. 63)

now seems that Richard also had a motive for murder. And just eight hours later, she was dead in her own home with a bullet through her brain. So who did it? Was it the drug lord and pimp? Was it the unconventional, and sometimes controversial and foul-mouth,seminar leader? Was it the It

self-developmentseminar leader who using his knife against people,and tell

Most found

seedier

times would brag about fighting, of violence?

stories

of this to be absolutely shocking. It was also seemingly For thosewho knew Richard best (e.g.,the trainers who were

all

unbelievable.

around him

at

cocaine and drug use was well known as also the with prostitutes. They also knew him as someone

regularly), his

side of his

with a foul mouth

life

who could tell

wild

stories

of bragging about hurting or

people as part of his persona on stage. Some of that roughness he picked up from Perls. Some of it came from other sources- inventing stories of growing up as in a rough neighborhood, a part of a gang, etc. killing

Then

there

the storyof Doctor Glen Johnson. In a particular seminar,

was

work on the stage with Richard Bandler. While working with him on a change that he wanted to make, and yet had doubts his belt and put it to Glen's throat. about, Richard pulled out a knife from Glen volunteered

your life or the change." Over the years, seminar participants and it was used story was passed around among Bandler at the trial. Some years later talked with Dr. Johnson

"You're going that

to

to

change-it

is

I

against

about that event. He said that he was never scared or frightened. "I knew it was Richard talked on stageand actually enjoyed it." part of the just

I

way

of the prosecutor using that against Bandler, here was the cofounder of NLP in jail and accused of murder! Would NLP survive this horrendous public disgrace? What does this say, if anything,about NLP? And the questionthat was on everyone's mind, "Didhe actually kill Corine Christianson?" And ifso, In spite

why?t

-141

go

NLP

Murder

Chapter 10

Secrets

SheWrote

For many years Richard would not talk about it. Two decades later (20061 Richard explained his version of the story and why the police were after him. It was in an interview that Jon Ronson conducted with Richard Bandler at one of the Paul McKenna NLP programs that he attended in

London. "With me, the

DA

gets

to

dealer, you're not going

make a big to

reputation,

make any mileage."

but

if

it's

some thug

druo rug

(p. 19)

Mother Jones went into a lot of detail about the murder, the persons involved,and the trail. One reason the police believed James Mario's story was because he told the police about the gun. He then led them to the exact location where the gun had been The long

article

on the Murder

Trial in

discarded. the two men drove to the end of where Mario he Capitola wharf, says complied with Bandler's order to throw the .357 Magnum revolver into the ocean from the pier. The two

"Departing

men the

To

Ms. Christenson's home,

then parted each other's

weapon, exactly

his credit also, he

That

is

needed

something to rest

was

that

company. Sheriff's where Marino described it to the

first

to

go

to

cleared

be."

a lawyer to

He

Richard did not do.

and to get his head

divers later recovered

later

report the

murder.

explained that he

first.

"A day and a halflater,James Marinowent to his lawyer, reported sent her

the

above,telling her

he 'hopes

it's

a

Kate Wells, and dream.'Marino's lawyer

husband to Ms. Christenson's house, whereupon he returned from the scene to inform Mr. Marino that his report was not a dream.The police were called in at that time. Bandler later testified that he spent his day and a half in bed, snorting a lot of cocaine with one of his two girlfriends. When asked why he didn't report the crime, he replied that he 'intended to do so,' after he would 'clear his head."

Of course,that

did not fare well for him.

As things progressed,both men accuse each other of began passionately having murdered Corine. Yet both apparentlyhad motives for killing her. Then there was another fact. Priorto the police arriving at the scene,her house was ransacked. Someone had gone in, left the body as it was, and tore the place were to

apart.

They

apparently looking for something and they possiblyrobbed it of whatever they found. That certainly didn't seem to bode well for Richard.

-142

NLP Secrets

Chapter 10

Murder She Wrote

"Marino says Bandlershot her. Bandler says Marino shot her. Each man says he witnessed the murder, and both affirm that there are no other Officials determine suspects. post facto, that in the 36 hour interval betweenthemurder and the police report ofthe fact,the victim's domicile had been elaborately ransacked; in what was clearly a thorough search of her home and all of its contents. a Including ripped open teddy bear and the care-free dishevelmentof her personal effects." "Testimony and reports from and among Bandler 'associates,' revealed wide knowledge that Ms.Christensen routinely sequestered large amounts of book-keeping data, cash, and cocaine in the office safe

All

of this

What Richard

material

had

in

her house.

disappeared."

have going for him was the testimony of hundreds of and a whole community which rallied on his behalf. Steve Andreas ereated a defense fund for Richard to pay for the legal fees did

highly credible people and

many thousands of dollars for him; he also made a loan of $60,000 to Richard to help him out." Yet the trial also uncovered other information about Corine Christensen that did not help him. "Ms. Christensen was deseribed at trial as having been a high class raised

having many sordid relationships with lots of important people. Abundant testimony reveals that numerous persons fully aware prostitute, that

Ms.

not only kept Bandler's Neuro-Linguistic financial industry's accounts, receipts,etc. Shewas known

Christensen

Programming to keep notes and

on and abouther clientele."

audio-tapes

But it was not all negative and loaded againstRichard. There were equally damning evidence againstJames Marino. "It was revealed that Ms. Christensen and James Marino each, routinely other's residence; including bedrooms by wireless microphone installations. Thereby obtaining classified recordings of each other Much of the friction in Ms. Christensen's relationship with Bandlerand

bugged the

Marino had

to do therefore, not

informational

so much

sexor drugs, but rather with number of persons and criminal

with

a intelligence about large

activities."

In the end, however, the rather

District

Attorney brought charges against Richard

than James Marino. November 6, 1986 the SantaCruz Sentinel is

as the only'suspect. singularly accused

-143-

reported that Richard

Marino was

Bandler

not charged

with

NLP Secrets

Murder She Wrote

Chapter 10

and granted immunity against drug charges in exchange for his District Attorney assigned testimony,opposing the only suspect. County prosecutor, Gary Fry was new to Santa Cruz. "Dec. 21, 1986 San Jose Mercury News, 'Bail is reduced for Slaying with Suspect: saying that he had been presented the most impressive letters of reference he had seen in his career, Municipal Court Judge Richard Kessel reduced the amount ofbail for murder suspect from 500K to $100K. It included doctors, a member of Army Intelligence, Vietnam veterans, Sheriff's deputies and others." "The Sentinel covered the case for 15 months, from Nov. 1986 to Jan. 1988 when Bandler was found 'notguilty.' Fourjudgespresided over the anything

case Given the

1

trial meant that over that period of time, four over the case. Each one had to review things, go judges presided all of the evidence all over again, and strive to maintain consistency. over But in the end, no one was found guilty for the murder, a case that is still

length

of the

different

open

day in Santa Cruz. "Judge Tom Kelly said on April 22, 1987,"The only thing know beyond a reasonable doubt is that the murderer was here in the courtroom." Referring to defendant Bandler or witness Marino." "The jury heard an audio-tape of Richard Bandler arguing bitterly with Ms. Christensen, threatening to blow her brains out. The audio tape evidence was bonafide to have been recorded four hours before the defendant and the star witness departed the house..."

to this

I

"The trial was two months,the jury

deliberated for less than six hours.

strongly felt that Bandler pulled the trigger, but rules and there was reasonable doubt."

They

On

we had to follow

the

January 13, 1988 Bandler testified. (MotherJones, p. 64). Bandler took the witness stand during the trial and said that although he had threatened to blow Christensen's brains out just a few hours before the killing, it was Marino who pulled the trigger."

This was a startling and sordid event in the history of NLP. This publicity could have nailed the coffin shut and buried NLP. But it did not. Bandler survived the trial, he didn't go to prison. He immediately returned to his training schedule a bit subdued-at least for a little while. It was in that time frame that I first met Richard. I immediately thought that he was -144

Chapter 10

NLP Secrets

Murder She Wrote

extremely unconventionaland wild in the way he dressed and acted. Eric Robbie from the UK, who was his lead trainer at that time, however, assured me that "the Richard you are now seeing is a much calmer man." That apparently

lasted but

for a short while.

and Secrets Key persons in a movement Reflections

or a field often

are rascals or politically or obnoxious, but very few get accused ofmurder. Fritz was crude title as his that's a world away from being self-acclaimed indicated,yet arrested as the key suspectin a murder case. Steve Jobs was known for his incorrect

tantrums, for yelling at people, but the most he ever threw at

someone was

Words.

To

day peoplestill ask, "Did Richard really shotthat woman?""Did he get away with murder?" Given that the case was never solved (it is still an this

open case in Santa Cruz)

many of those

closest to

him suspectthe worst.

Nevertheless,as astonishingas it may seem, he moved on. The field of NLP moved on. The death of Corine Christenson and the murder trial passed into history and did not significantly hinder the progressof the NLP model.

Why not?

What explainsthat?

The explanation for why NLP was not hindered is due primarilyby one model was never build around a person-not even really great fact: The Bandler. It was not based on, or built around, any of the founders. The model was not the man. Also, the man was not the model, he never was. NLP was never about who- it was always about the processes of to communication and change. In fact, NLP actually had nothing do with Bandler as a person. It was about the linguistics and neurology of communication-about the transformativepower of language in human experience. of an effective Granted, Bandler as a person is a poor representative communicator. He is a person who does not apply NLP to himself or He is certainly not manage his life well as a good exemplar of congruency. a person exemplifying self-development let alone anything that even comes Instead, it is the model that offers these things close to self-actualization. -145-

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Murder She Wrote

Chapter 10

Secrets

model that has continucd to spreadaround the world. To argue againstNLP because ofthecharacter of Richard Bandler is an ad hominem argument, one focusing on the person rather than on the validity of the

and

it

is the

model-a

cognitive fallacy."

Background Notes 1.

The Bandler Method was written

Magazine in

by Frank Clancy and Heidi Yorkshire

in

MotherJones

1989.

http://web.archive.org/web/20041114233529/ http://www.american-buddha.com/bandler.method.htm 2. This appeared in Guardian Unlimited,

Weekend, by Jon (May 21, 2006).

www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story7/0.1777489,00.html 3. Email correspondence with Steve Andreas, Jan. 2000. 4. See Executive Thinking (2018) by L. Michael Hall.

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Ronson,

Chapter 11

NLP GOES INTERNATIONAL 1987-1996 "Thegreatness ofa

community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." Coretta Scott King

or "A true community is notjust about being geographically close to sonmeone and connected It's responsible aboutfeeling part of the same social web network. and everyone plays a is our ultinate community, what happens. Humanity for crucial role."

Yehuda Berg

cpopeli.

A

disasters in the late the time of Bandler's self-created personal the was a field NLP as thriving. All 1980s, and in spite of them, Richard Bandler was being tried for during the time that forthe field of NLP murder in the 1980s and later during his attempted coup field of NLP itself was growing and in the 1990s (the next chapter)the the world. It was growing in spite of his failed coup expanding all around fter

1Iwhile

d'état.

were going on as NLP expanded around the world and that It was during this time period as new things were being developed. 10, 1988). And if the 1970s were the Satir died

A greatmany

things

(September we could consider the 1980s and 1990s as the the of movement, infancy Virginia

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NLP

NLP

Chapter 1

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International

adolescentyears.

Once when

I

stated

Heron, NLP Trainer true, but there are

that "there in

Sydney

is

no

as such," Heidi offeredacorrection, "That may be

NLP Community

Australia

many,many NLP communities."

Until that

moment

I

had

not thought of itlike that. But she is right there were, and are, many NLP in the form of national communities all around the world-mostly Associationsand then there area few Associationsthat have formed around a specific

model

(LAB Profile,

Clean Language, Neuro-Semantics,

etc.).

The Mysterious After

Leslie

Disappearance Cameron-Bandler left Richard and the

original

Santa Cruz

group and married Michael Labeau, they collaborated with David Gordon in the mid-1980s. They created a company, The NLP Center for Advanced Sfudies(San Francisco). Journalist and correspondentriter, Brian van der Horst,was

also a part LaterMichael, of itin thoseearlyyears (1981-1983). and David three excellent NLP all of them were Leslie, books, produced published in the same year, 1985: The Emprint Method: A Guide to Reproducing Compete Solutions:Enhancing Love, Sex, and Relationships. Know How: Guided Programs forInventingYourOwn Best Future

At

time, Leslie had created "The Imperative Self" model as a model. From Leslie's work on the Virtual Question also came personality the well-known NLP Core Question. Applied to training or coaching, this question asks,"Ifyour performance is the answer to a question, what is the that

that

question?" Charles Faulknersays itwas lifted work and, most often, is not attributed it to her.

from her ImperativeSelf

But then something unpleasanthappened-Something that is not uncommon in trainings. While presenting "The ImperativeSelf"as a workshop, Leslie and Michael received a really hard time from a group and

of psychologists psychotherapistsin Boston. They not only asked hard questions,but they verbally attacked"the presenters and questionedtheir motives. Returning and still in a frustrated to San Rafael California state, they asked are we themselves, "Why tolerating that kind of abuse?" Then realizing that they didn't need to do that again,they decided to hang up the training -148-

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Chapter 1

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International

They just quit.

So just as suddenly as their books appeared, Leslie and Michael were gone. if It was as they just disappeared,never to be heard from again. What happened?

Now

It

is

those who

asecret...to

this day.

assume know-David Gordon and Charles Faulkner really do not know or do not seem to want to say. Did the Bandler murder of 1986-7 have anything to do with it? Were there other threats from trial it due the fact that Leslie was intermittently ill (Graves' Bandler? Orwas to Disease,ete.)? Or was it due to the fact that. Michael had made some ten million dollars in real estate? Or that he had turned the ten into thirty after buying a bank?2 million Was it since they were financially I

independent,they realized that they did not need to put up with and/or the hassles common to doing training events?

disrespect

as surprising, thirty years later (2005),Michael and Leslie reappeared for a moment. Suddenly it was announced that they had established several thousand dollar awards forpeople in the field who were making a difference The promotion was set up through using NLP to makesocial contributions. the Canadian Association ofNLP and it was announced that Leslie would Just

But alas, bestow the atthe lastmoment, she prizes. have broken her leg and could not come. Charles Faulkner took at the event. And among those who were recognized for their

be at the Conference is

said to

to

her place

contributions

were Richard Gray, Catherine Wilson, and Lenon Murray.3

NLP Franchise

Attempts

AfterWyatt Woodsmall and Tad James wrote the book, Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality (1988), Tad claimed to have not only trademarked "time-linetherapy,"but claimed exclusiveuse over the term. Another attempt at capturing the flag. This not only created a division between him and Richard Bandler in 1989, but after that Tad set out to

"Time-Line Therapy."In 1990 Bandler attempted a law suit he had his lawyer sent several threatening letters, but against Tad James as in the end his threats came to nothing. franchise

Via Tad's trainings, he began

to distribute "licenses

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for people to establish

NLP

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Secrets

11

NLP

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International

did. These Institutions good number of people lasted for a few years, and then slowly dissipated. They eventually disbanded primarily because they were not commercially viable given the amount of royalties that Tad required.

Time-Line

Institutes.

And

a

or programs for self-development have seldom worked. Even Anthony Robbins tried that when he created franchises for his seminars in the middle of the 1990s. But they also came Franchises

regarding

trainings

and went as they constituted an untenable business model. Those who investedoften came away saying that the idea of them learning to present, and getting large crowds as Tony got, never panned out. People wanted to see Tony, not them. And for all their investmentand work, they felt as if they were "just working for Tony."

The Teasing Conversation The year was 1986 and the eventwas an evening concert performed by two brothers at a local church. I don't recall why I went, I only remember the conversation that changed my life. It occurred during the intermission in concert. That's when I happened to meet one of the brothers at the the refreshment area. Being in his mid-30s, I asked him what he did when he and conductingmusical concerts. He said that he "used to wasn't traveling

be a therapist."

Used I

with a tone of incredulity. That was a bit of a shocker. had never heard a thirty-some age guy talk about his in the past profession to

be?"

tense before.

Used

I

said

It

to

surprised

me.

be, what do you mean? You're no longer a therapist?

The musician then made one ofthemost shocking statementsthat I had ever heard, "Well, after could cure phobias in ten-minutes,I lost interest." Inside my head, my internal voice went, ""Yeah,really! You can cure phobias in ten-minutes! Do you also have under-water land for sale in Florida?" Ifiguredit was all B.S., or a joke,or something. Then outwardly, and trying to avoid a tone of total disbelief, I said, "Okay, I'm game. As a cognitive-behavioral therapist, I can cure phobias in six months and ifthe person is really ready, I can do it in three months. But ten-minutes? You've gotto be kidding, right? I

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*You haven't read Frogs into Princes,have you?" And of course, had not. didn't even know what that was. I asked him what that was and who wrote it. That's when he told me about the discoveries that Bandler and Grinder were making and the field o NLP. Okay, so give me a hint. How in the world would you go about curing

No,I'm not,"

he

Goes

said.

I

I

ten-minutes? How would that work? I know what do that a of get fears, induce relaxation, and over the weeks works -I hierarchy a to the list of fears to desensitize him or her to the slowlyexpose person fearful stimuli. But how would you go aboutdoing all of that in a matter a phobia

in

I

of minutes?"

At that

were waiting to speak with him and so he just repeated his first statement,"Youhaven't read Frogs into Princes,have you?" With that he snmiled and left to talk to others. point others

That was the tease called

me

go on an exploration for this thing Neuro-Linguistic-Programming. It was his outrageousclaim and his

refusal to

tell

that

seduced

me the process that

to

drove

me to my first NLP

books. Within

a couple days I got a hold of the book and read it in a couple ofsettings.It was both fascinating and confusing. The book was a transcript of several live trainings-and was written to be the closest thing to being in the training.

seeing a client who I had recently taken on to deal with a phobia. I had begun, as always, by getting a list of his hierarchyof fears. With that I began the process of slowly exposing him to his fears in a state of relaxation until he could calmly face his phobia. He said he had

Two weeks later, was I

not expected

to take

it

process.

Well..

.

months and asked

if there

wasn't some

faster

ST

perhaps.

I

have just come

across

a process that

is

supposeto

work with phobias, but I've never used it, and I don't think that it actually works. I don't understand how it could work." that I had no training in it, and that I was Explaining that had never used it, new to it, he asked ifI would try it with him. Excited and reluctant at the same time, grabbed the book, found the pages of the so-called "Phobia Cure" pattern, and began reading the instructions to him. His phobia was about the fit the patternjust thinking a textbook case and so I

I

precisely

-151-

rggering event caused him do any

experiencea

full-body

anchoring,not with a touch, not with a

that time, text.

to

NLP

know

didn't

I

that there

was a thing

After the rewinding of his movie

Goes

International

1

Chapter

Secrets

1

NLP

state of fear.

I

didn't

change of voice, nothing. At as an anchor. ljust read the times

several

I

read the last line

of

the pattern for the testing.

Okay, now

try

in

vain

to

and try really hard get back the phobia

to

bring

back."

it all

He couldn't.

I

read the line again.

He

still

could not get the phobia back.

even questionedif he was Joking about it. urged him to try even harder. He wasn't. At that point I don't know who was most surprised by the I

I

I was process him or me. I only knew that Iwas absolutely surprised. stunned! I couldn't believe it. And with that, definitely now had to learn NLP. had to learn the "magic"(the magical affcct) that such words could produce and how they had somehow changed the very structures within his I

I

mind

that

it

effectively

altered this

unconscious response

in

a matter of

minutes.

With

that,

my journey into NLP began.

I

had

to

have more.

I

immediately

set out to read everything in print about NLP (which was not all that much at that time, some 12 to 18 books) and after that tracked down Richard

Bandler

in

San Diego where

I

went and began

mytraining

Re-Establishing the Society of NLP After my introduction to NLP through the teasing conversationwhich led me to Frogs Into Princes, spent the next year reading everything I could the field. While there were not that many books on NLP, I did read every single one of themandmany times. After I took some NLP coursesled in

by two nuns, began I

to integrate the

communication workshops. communication,

knowing

I

also

NLP Communication model

incorporatedit into

abook on

into

Speak Up, Speak Clear, Speak Kind (1987).

there was yet more, Itook

my first NLPtrainings

my

assertive

Then,

through "Bandler

and Associates" in San Diego, California. ThereafterI found myselfin an unique positionRichard Bandler askedme He also asked that I to help him re-establish the Society

ofNLP.

some of his workshops

into

manuscripts which were

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transcribe

to

be published as

NLP Secrets

Chapter

How

books.

that

NLP

11

Goes

International

happened was another series of accidents.

During the Master Practitioner training in 1989 was taking notes on my laptop every day, cleaning up the notes in the evenings, adding pieces missed as had conversationswith others who were there. Then I would I

I

copy of the notes. After a few days I had 20 pages of notes, then 30, 40. As others noticed that had notes, they asked, "Where did you get then was making them, think that nearly the notes?" Upon discovering that print a

I

I

all

80

started

participants

I

asking for

a copy. And while

provide it foranyone who asked forthem, two for the paper and printing.

I

eventually

to

fearfully

do

to

see him

you!" But

beliefs

which

I

didn't

you're in trouble, there's

buy

said that

When a couple friends heard

in his suite.

commented, "Now

was happy

asked for a

By the 20th day someone tapped me on the shoulderand wanted

I

no

telling

collar

to

or

Richard

that,

they

whathe'll

paranoia or the near-superstitious have about Richard's subconscious

into that

many people seem

to

powers.'

At the top floor of the Holiday Inn,in the executivesuite, Richard said that he was impressed with the thoroughness of my notes. He then asked me to finish the notes, give him a copy, and not publish them for five years. At time I had no intention of publishing them. That thought had never even crossed my mind. He also asked me to return the next year to write the I did that in 1990. notes forTrainers'Training and to be a part of his staff. The first set of noteseventuallybecame the book, The Spirit of NLP (1995), the second set of notes became the book, Becoming More Ferocious as a Trainer(1990). that

Upon working with "Bandler and Associates" in 1990 and

writing

the

asked me to do several otherthings. One Training notes, Richard work on The Directory of NLP. His plan thing he wanted me to do was to Was to re-establish the Society of NLP which he thought he could do by a Directory, he thought, would pull people together. Trainers'

creating

To

that

oficial

Directory.

A

of the top NLP Leaders of the seven

end he asked

me

NLP Institutes

which were under The Society. Iwas to ask them to Most sent to the Directory.Most of them did.

contribute

an

article

to call all

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NLP

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International

then typed into the computer (that copies in the mail which before we had the internet and emails).

typewritten

was

1

1

NLP

I

end, however, The Directory never saw the light of day. Although typed thousands upon thousandsof names and addressesinto the computer in San Diego, and edited the articles by a dozen key trainersthe Directory was never published. Nor do know why. My guess is that Richard, not being much of a doer, was dependent on others for getting things done. In the

I

I

Richard

also

asked

me to

videos of workshops and to

transcribe

write

two

books, Timefora Change and Applied Neuwo-Dynamics. Ifirst transcribed both and then began editing the first book for publication. As Icompleted cach chapter, I sent it to Beverly Duda, who was the manager of Bandler & Associates in San Diego. One day I got a frantic call from Beverly. I

upset!"she announced. "About what?" I inquired. chapter. He hates it. He wantsyou to immediatelystop and to send the tapes and the computerback here. He wants you off the case.

"Richard

is

"The seventh

Okay, I

can do

that.

about the

I

do have a question

first.

What

of chapter 7? You know

specifically

he

like

it."

"No,no.." she said, "he'sin one ofhis paranoidmoods and afraid you

are going

editing

to steal his material."

an abrupt and

surprising

And

end. Only

with that, later,

I

could always

did

not

correct

my work with him came

to

1996, did he contactDr. Martin

Roberts, the publisherofCrown House Publication, and asked that Iwrite a 25-year review of the Meta-Model that he and I would co-author. Later Richard began developing a new model, one replace NLP and

give him a new basefor

he thought would operating, Design Human that

he linked up Engineering (OHE). Afterchasing away just about everybody, as his with John LaValle newright hand man." In the 1990s Rex Steen Sikes became the first NLP Trainer fully certified to train DHE. Other Contributors during the 1990s Publications ConferencesPublications Meanwhile Associationsproliferated in the United States and elsewhere. At one time there were four or five NLP Associationsin the US alone. And with theAssociations came Conferences which were pretty regular in the -154-

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US in

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11

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International

there were 4 or 5 Anchor publicationsThe New 1.Q. Magazine, The NLP Connection, AccessPoint, Rapport, ABNLP, Inner Quest, etc.. Tim and Kris Hallbom worked with Robert Dilts and participated in establishing the NLPHealth Certification along with Suzi Smith. They also a for developed program handling finances, Money-Mind. Robert Dilts with Robert McDonald and also collaborated together they created both a and a on book The Tools training of theSpirit, introducing spirituality into NLP.

those years. Furthermore

Others who were developing new approaches includePaul Scheele and his work He developed a training for Photo-Rcading and on Photo-Reading. a book on the wrote lecarning process. In my opinion, however, there was a

problem. While

informationabout preparing

offerS excellent it

to red

and

a person learns how to do Photowanted conscious awareness and Reading (which did), you understanding of the information in the book-you still have to read the book the old fashion way-consciously reading a page line by line. getting

into the right

state,

even

after

if

I

At NLP Comprehensive in Denver, there were a list of excellent trainersTom Best, Gary Faris, Charles Faulkner, Lara Ewing, etc. And in 1992 Steve and Connaire brought in Steven Covey of Seven Habits of Highly at fame to be the keynote speaker the 1992 Denver NLP Effective People Conference. Other

NLP

trainers

who developed

Zink and Joe Munshaw.

several

They published

new

patterns

in the Journals

included

Nelson

and Nelson wrote

The Structureof Delight (1991). In Chicago Charles Faulkner contributed in Cognitive Linguistics as well many profound insights based on his work as applying NLP

to

stock market

trading.

With Steve Andreas, he wrote

it

NLP: The New Technology of Achievement (1994).ororiogxo lqooq 101 guortasv on his work in Meanwhile John McWhirter was writing extensive articles had worked with Richard Bandler for many Re-Modeling of NLP. John he had created many new As brilliant thinker and modeler, years. years. Richard Bolstad was applying distinctions. Similarly,in New Zealand, an NLP in a wide-range of areas and distinguishing himself as excellent

a

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NLP

Secrets

Chapter

researcher,

writer,

and

NLP

11

Goes

International

trainer.

were among the first NLP Trainers to catch a Vision of the coaching movement that began with Thomas Leonard in 1992. lan McDermott produced The NLP Coach (2001) and Your Inner

Two NLP Trainers

from the

Coach (2003). Joseph

UK

O'Conner and his

partner,

Andrea Lages, produced

NLP (2004). Both were (and are) prolific authorsand both some of the first NLP coaching books. At the same time Dilts

Coaching with wrote

produced From Coach

to

Awakener (2003).

Reflections and Secrets NLP not end with the 1986 murder

was

trail

in the

or the 1996 lawsuit.

world.

To

the the

It thrived

everywhere contrary thriving everywhere except in the United States. Perhaps the lawsuit even helped with the expansion of NLP around the world-especially with Bandler moving to Ireland after his loss of the US 1lawsuit and Robert Dilts later made Paris his second home. it

of NLP as a psychotherapist looking for additional tools as a psychologist in helping people. It was also a time in my life when was running Communication Workshops. Upon findingthe I

made

my entrance

into the field

I

NLP

the

and

principles communication model, I quickly integrated processes into my work. Little did I know that I would soon catch the fever ofmodeling and that would totally transformthe direction and quality of my life.

but one of hundreds of thousands of stories around the world. In a thousand different forms, as I stumbled

I tell

my story here,

from

all

yet

it

is

it NLP did people in a hundred upon and experienced as life-changing, so othercountries. What convinced the greatmajoritywere the actual changes

people experienced as they used the NLP models. Even though there little research at that time,andeven though there were somewho were it with unfounded over-selling promisesNLP grew leaps and bounds and mostly by word of mouth sharing that

was

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Chapter

NLP Secrets

NLP

11

Background Notes While Virginia

1.

lived

until

1988, Milton H. Erickson

lived

until

Goes

International

Mareh 25, 1980 and

July 4, 1980.

until Gregory Bateson writes 2. Brian van der Horst

could be characterized as, 2018.

Many

video of

that

they

came up

"Wedon't need this

of theoriginal

trainers

with an obnoxious

formulation of what

anymore." Email correspondence, July For a Leslie as an excellent therapist. acknowledged shit

see:

her, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV7e7INwEIU for the event is still on the Internet: 3.The announcement

(https://web.archive.org/web/20041204032143/http://www.nlp-awards.org:80/index.html 4. The story of the attempted law suit against Tad James in 1990 was told in The NLP Connector, Volume X7, No.

ten

had

minutes. Later

I

5.

Dave McSpadden,Ph.D.

3.

was the

who would not tell me how to cure a phobia in A Marital Counseling Manualfor Ministers. He

person

bought his manual,

NLP into that manual. me the convincer was that the pattern worked

integrated

did not believe it in spite of me--I would work, did not understand it, had no training in how to manage it, didn't understand or recognize the role of anchoring or framing in the pattern-and yet it worked. in 1989, a 7. While typing notes on my laptop during my Master Practitioner training

6.For

me tapped me on the shoulder. "Stop typing." Icommentedthat sitting behind was taking notes. Another tap and message, "Bandler is sending an unconscious embedded command to you." He apparently was irritated with the clicking sounds was making on my laptop and had incorporated an embedded command for me to stop. But I was doing. So much for the "magical" and didn't hear it. I was focused on what "unconscious messaging" that some believed were supposedly irresistible, participant

I

I

I

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Chapter 12

THE FIGHT OVER OWNERSHIP 1995-2000

"Murderis

potato chips:you can't stop with just one." Stephen King, Under the Dome

like

f the first great earthquake which shook over the horrendous publicity

that the murder

generated (1986),the battle over who owned

trial

second greatearthquake initiated a costly legal it was a battle in which no one really "won."

NLP. Yet decade

later

(1996). And the quaking from

NLP was

the foundationsof

this

It

occurred one

disturbancelasted

until the

beginning of2000 when

the lawsuit was finally settled. It was a blow that nearly destroyed the field of NLP in the United States. While kept growing and thriving elsewhere in the world, it did not in the United States.

NLP

was devastating. And the effect continues to What happened is a very sad chapterin the history of NLP There the

effect

this

day.

July of 1996 when Richard Bandler filed a $90,000,000 1awsuit as a civil action againstJohn Grinder,Carmen Bostic St. Clair, Christina Hall,Steve and Connirae Andreas, and Lara Ewing and 200 John andJane Does." A"John Doe" is legal code for "othersto be named" to thelawsuit. In the lawsuitBandler claimed exclusiveownership of The Societyof NLP and therefore of NLP itself. In suing the field, he wanted to completely It

began

in

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train NLP as well as manage the royalties. another attempt to capturethe NLP flag-to own it all. Copies of this lawsuit are still available on various websites.

who could, and could not,

control

was

It

The Ownership Lawsuit

Chapter 12

NLP Secrets

yet

of the text

Time Line 1991 1990 NLP Growth DHE

1994-96

world

Developments Meta-States Model Clean Language

Associations

Social

around

in

the

1998

2000

1995-

New

Lawsuit

NLP

against

Public

field

of NLP

Panorama

in

ANLP in the

domain lawsuit

UK

many

countries

This

first

1997. Having just completed another NLP Course with 20 people, sent a check for S4,000 (S200 per

affected

Practitioner participant

me in early

I

as per

the trainer's contract)

and

the Certificates

to the "First

of NLP" in San FranciscoforRichard Bandler to sign. As a NLLP I been followingfor seven years. trainer, this was the. arrangement that had But this time Brahm von Huene returned the check and certificates and sent Institute

to along with them a new contract for me

sign.

came across the section in the contract that said that whatever I be considered "the intellectual property of develop based on NLP would and initialed it.There was another Bander," I crossed out that section be personally responsible for all section that I crossed out. It said I would Bandler decided to sueme. Of bills that would be incurred if Richard When

I

legal

and then would not sign that! Iinitialed both placesofthe contract thereafter all that sent sent back the money, and the certificates. Shortly under The a was returned with a statement that I was no longer NLP trainer course,

I

I

Society

of NLP of the

NLP

publications. By June of 1997 the lawsuit was dominating what it meant. to understand Many articles were written seeking that time Dilts all

ASSOciationsalso put out

special

editions

about it. At

Robert

The Visionary Leadership Conference in Santa was planning to sponsor NLP trainers from around Cruz His goal was to bring together California. -159

NLP

Chapter 12

Secrets

The Ownership

Lawsuit

a

the world to create more of unified community. Of course, as word about the lawsuit spread,it was the central thing that everybody was talking about. Yet while some 200 NLP Trainers from all around the world for gathered

conference,Robert didn't want the Conference to focus on the lawsuit since it was a negative thing. Consequently,very little to nothing was said in the Conference itself about the lawsuit. this

Then on

the second or third

day of the Conference, Judith DeLozier John Grinder had showed up. Yet for some reason he would not come into the venue where we were all gathered. So Judith announced that John would meet with anyone who wanted to talk to him about the lawsuit in front of the venue "out on the grass." Subsequently, many of us (50 or 60) met with John and listened to what he told us about the lawsuit. He was there to do two things, one was raise money for his announced

that

legal defense.

The second was

to

ask for help in gatheringinformationfor

his defense.

In response to

that, the

very next day, Richard Bandler sent

lawyer () speak to anyone interested. The lawyer came and also met with those who wanted to know more about the lawsuit "outon the grass." And again, us talk to him. Woodsmall and I stood next to many of went out to each other, andwhen there was amoment forsome questions, because I had brought with me the contract which had been returned, I held it forth. I asked Richard's lawyer about it. He didn't like that and dismissed my his

to

yat

question as irrelevant to his announced theme. In the end, it was a attempt for any sane reasoning.

futile

0

Now the contract that I signed and sentback with the two

sections crossed

out, began with these words which tells what all the ruckus was about: The Licensor owns throughout the World all rights, title, and interest in and to the intellectual property known as Neuro-Linguistic

Programming..." There was no questionthat Bandler

s

1996 lawsuit was an attempt to take and over claim exclusiveownership in order to control the field of NLP And from the perspective of 1996,and the years that immediately followed, that seemed very likely to happen. Every indication at that time pointedto the fact that he had the trademark. No one came forward and disputedthat. -160-

NLP Secreis

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The Ownership Lawsuit

suggested to my business partner at that time, Dr. Bob response Bodenhamer, that we trademark and register the name "Neuro-Semantics had been using in my work a name for a few years. Our thinking was that if Bandler won the lawsuit, and we were forbidden to use NLP or to train NLP, we would be able to train under the banner of "NeuroSemantics." That also explained why we set forth the vision of NeuroI

I

In

Semantics as be more

taking

NLP

a higher level

and ethically,

professionally

"apply NLP to ourselves," of NLP by giving credit to sources.

collaborative,

credibility

to

to

and

to

to

promote the

During this time John Grinder put out a Statement about the lawsuit, Robert Dilts wrote a paper on Trademarks, and NLP Connection, as well as many other journals, kept the field informed about what was going on. Steve Andreas asked

me

ifI

would be available and willing

to

make

a deposition

about NLP and be disposed by Bandler's lawyer. I was to provide "some substantial documentation of the many sources that Bandler drew upon in

NLP-

what he got from Bateson, from Perls, Satir, development of etc." For several Chomsky, years had been writing about the intellectual I told Steve that I history of NLP. I readily agreed to provide what I had. the

I

was severelydisappointed in Richard,and that Steve haddone more to put Bandler on the map than anyone. So

".

yes, of

I

course, would testify on your behalfagainstRichard."

From 1996 to Feb. 2000,hundreds of people in the United States, scaredof the lawsuit as one of the "John Richard, and fearful of being added to

Somestopped referingto what Does,"began divesting themselves ofNLP. centers either closed shop or they did as "NLP." Others running training but a dozen centers left (if that) changed their name. By the end, there were there's very few Centers left, no journals, no magazines, and even today,

in the United States. Over a period and no associations of years, of NLP of the Associationsdisbanded and the journalsstopped publication.

What happened World

(July

in

the end of the lawsuit? Christina

Hall

all

explained in NLP

2001):

"The Court's rulings have made clear that Bandler's claim to exclusive and sole ownership of the Society and the intellectual property rights associated with NLP have been false and unlawful"(p. 17, italics added) it

-161-

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The Ownership Lawsuit

Chapter 12

Secrets

was one of my trainers when first learned NLP in the late referred to her in my first 1980s. recorded some of her presentations and two bookS on NLP: The Spirit of NLP (1989; 1996) and Becoming More a special internship with Ferocious as a Presenter (1990). She was in was also the president Richard Bandler when I first met her in 1989 and she Hall

I

Christina

I

of The Societyof NLP.

Yet a long time before met Christina, she was a distinguished NLP Trainer and during the late 1980s into the 1990s, she was Richard Bandler's In fact, "she is the only person to complete a 5-yearApprentice apprentice. with NLP Co-Developer Richard Bandler." In 1988 and 1989 she was I

honored by Bandler as a Certified Master Trainer. That close relationship ended in 1993 when Richard started accusing her of infringing on his ownership of the Society, use of the logo,

etc."

February 2000,the Court found against Bandler, stating that "Bandler has misrepresented to the public, through his licensing agreementand promotional materials, that he is the exclusive owner of all intellectual property rights associated with NLP, and maintains the exclusive authority to determine membership in and certification in the Society of NLP."5 In the end,it was the "Bandler Group" who

actually owned the trademark, This was not the trademark for "Neuro-Linguistic was the trademark for The Societyof NLP. So Christina

The Society of NLP."

Programming" It she was the representative Hall won. leader of the She won because "Bandler President of the Society of NLP. When Group" and the last the thejudgment against trial ended, she was won Bandler and awarded some $600,000. As it turned out, Richard Bandler did not have thetrademark for with one did. of that fact, NLP (NeuroNLP" And the recognition was declared in Linguistic Programming public domain in the United

no

[A similarthing

in the UK,as Bandler was happened convicted the trademark receiving of NLP by fraud and fined 175,000 pounds.]

States.

of

The Bandler Group was the group who in 1983 purchased thetrademark of The Society of NLP" after Liquidation of NOT Lid. went bankrupt (Bandler'soriginal company). This group was named "theBandler group and was comprised of Christina Hall, Max Steinback, M.D., Karen -162-

Chapter 12

NLP Secreis

The Ownership Lawsuit

MacDonald, Ed and Maryann Reese, Joseph and Linda Sommers-Yeager, and Richard Morales.

and endedon Thursday, Feb. 10, 2000. Christina nine days the about testimony againstBandler and those who testified in th Hall tells in Feb. 2000. This includedDr. Max Yonts of Judge court Steinback,John MacDonald (widow of Will MacDonald), and Christina Grinder, Karen The

tral lasted

The good news was that because Richard Bandler did not own the trademark of NLP, he was not able to take control of NLP. The bad news was that the state and condition of NLP in the United States had been Hall.

decimated by the

lawsuit.

and Secrets can be healthy and/or unhealthy.

Reflections

When a number

of people get to live or work, there are always politics. They have to decide on together decide determines how they do politics. Howa group things and how they decides on direction, values, visions, resources, allocation of resources, Politics

people with various roles and responsibilities and many more make up what we call politics.

entrusting processes

When people

try to control

or dominate

a

all

group's politics--its

of these

policies,

dark and politics tend to turn

monies, definitions, vision and values, etc., This happened within the field of NLP at the end of the dysfunctional. to take over the field. twentieth century when Richard Bandler attempted With his 1996 lawsuit, he essentially wanted to "own" NLP, control the could control all of the entire certification process so that he, in turn, It

royalties.

By

playing

materials created a

iuiino

failed.

"hard ball" with those in to train,

phobia

Neuro-Linguistic

coach,

consult,

the field who

simply wanted

do

parent,

of calling a business, Programming.

It led

therapy,

etc.,

to

use the

the lawsuit

doing, by the name scores and scores of people,perhaps or what one

is

shut down their training operations, their businesses, hundreds, to close were doing to something else and avoid beingg Change the name of what they an end of a great part of any association of NLP. The lawsuit brought of the twentieth the United States at the end many NLP Centers all around of the twenty-first lasted the first two decades century-an effect that has -163-

NLP

The Ownership

Chapter 12

Secrets

Lawsuit

century.

of NLP in a similar way to end, Bandler chased away the mainstream how he chased Anthony Robbins away. By fighting over "who owns NLP" much of the focus in the field in those years turned inward. Then in a self. a and so defensive move, people treated the name NLP as disadvantage began to refuse to use it. In the

leader leads by winning the Leadership differs from dictatorship. A true minds and hearts of people. Dictators, by contrast, typically impose control and rules on people if they have a big enough stick and can generateenough fear. Use overwhelming force and you can get compliance from most in that way cannot be people. Yet getting compliance of behavior considered "leadership"by any stretch of the imagination. It is the at best. And that's eighteenth century "command and control" approach

what the 90-million dollar using fear and intimidation.

of communication, connection,rapport, of NLP. And yet NLP survived!

the very principles

that violated respect,

was-an attempted coup by someone It was yet one more action of Richard Bandler

lawsuit

leadership,

etc.

References: 1. See http://www.steverrobbins.com/nlpschedule/random/lawsuit-text.html

2.Joseph 0'Connor wrote about The NLP Community Leadership Project in NLP World, Dec. 1997, No. 4, Volume 3. "The issue of Richard Bandler's lawsuit against various including John Grinder, Lara Ewing, NLP Comprehensive, and people and institutions Christina Hall was not discussed. When the matter was raised, Robert asked us not to give it

energy, but

to

concentrate

instead

on

something worthwhile, and forming a

creating

community." (p. 68). 3. Andreas, Steve (1999). Personal communications 4. From the papers of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Cruz, May 19, 1999. See also NLP Connections: June 10, 2010. Volume XI, No. 2 and 3. Phoenix, Arizona.

NLP World (Vol. 8, No. 2, July 2001). Bandler Lawsuit. pp. 15-24. Summary of the Dr. Martin Roberts owned the trademark of 6. In the UK, actually 5. Hall, Chris. (2001).

NLP,

but

when Paul

NLP

illegally trademark, Tony Clarkson filed a suit on behalf of and Association won. In the end, Bandler was convicted of receiving the ANLP eventually 10 Patent fraud. 1998, Office it revoked Richard Bandler's registered Sept.

McKenna

transferred

UK

by

Trademark

a

In The Matter of

making

it

free for those in the

UK

Winter 1998). (reported.inRapport 42, See Political 6. Coaching (2015) by L. Michael

-164-

to

use

Hal.

it

without fear

oflegal

constraint

Chapter 13

THE PERIOD OF EXPANSION (1990-2000) "Communicationleads that

"Empathy is

1o

is,

to

understanding, intimacy Rollo May

community,

andmutual

the starting point for creating a community It's the impetus for creating change.

Max

valuing.

and taking action.

Carver

N

did NLP leave Santa Cruz and go world-wide, it continued to evolve. In the years between the murder of a person and the

rot only

attempted murder of a movement, during the 1990s, key persons within NILP continued to develop new models and patterns making the models more effective. What were the key new NLP models and patterms that arose in that decade? Regarding patterns, there were a lot of new These showed up in the variouspublicationsscores and scores of them. These were processes as specific applications of NLP.neorht patterns.

as

(strategies, guided and/or various tools (which experiences, or steps)forparticular experiences new or a pattern), several models also provides a method for using amodel in the 1990s. Central to the new models appeared within the field of NLP In

addition

to

patterns

particular

processes

were these-

DHE (Design Human Engineering),Richard Bandler The Meta-States Model, L. Michael Hall and Penny Clean Language and Symbolic Modeling, James Lawley Thompkins. -165

NLP

The Period of Expansion

Chapter 13

Secrets

The Social Panorama, Lucas Derks. The Experiential Array, David Gordon and Graham Dawes. LAB Profile developed for business by ShelleyRose Charvet from the original work of Rodger Bailey in the 1980s. Creativity

Models by Robert

business, leadership,

and

later

Dilts

as he focused

increasingly

on

on coaching.

Tools for Dreamers (1991) with Todd Epstein. Dynamic Learning (1995) with Todd Epstein. Strategies

of Genius (1994/ 1995) Three Volumes

Tools ofthe Spirit (1997) with Robert McDonald Patterns and Models Ifa pattern is a

specific set of steps as a process for achieving a particular outcome, then it offers a "technique." It offers a way to do something, a map that you can use to navigate a particular aspect of reality. Yet sadly, for some trainers and practitioners, this was for them the significance of NLP. They thought of it as mere technologyas only consisting of processes or techniquesfor "runningyour own brain." What's problematic about that approach is that the person is often forgotten or relegated to a role. secondary

To adjustfor this we only have

to remember the overall purpose of a model or a pattern-to enrich a lives. It is to enable person's a person to do something or to achievea desired outcome. It is to find and adjust a process to a person's style and structure, not the reverse. The person comes first, then the process. A person should never be sacrificed to the orthodoxy of a process. We should never make NLP a Procrustean bed to which we then fit people.

an important distinction between a pattern and a model. are smaller Patterns aspects of models. How do they differ? A model differs from apattern in that it providesa level There's

also

larger

structure that operates

by a theory or hypothesis of some sort and has variables, guidelines A model offers an (heuristics), and caveats. explanationregarding how something works. The Meta-Model offers a set of linguistic distinctions based on the premises of Transformational Grammar andthe logical level of abstractions. It leads to specific questions that you can use to expand -166-

Chapter 13

NLP Secrets your

own

or another's mental mapping

The

to

make

Period

of Expansion

more accurate and

it

precise.

Models

inevitably

lead to patterns.

considered

They provide specific

things to

do and

tools,

technologies, patterns, or processes -practical of the models. During the 1990s and 2000s there was also applications some of these developments that began with a lot of excitement that ire

last-they were unable to reach or sustain the results they promised. This was true especially of DHE and Photo-Reading. did not

ultimately

DHE (Design Human Engineering): Richard Bandler. Richard developed DHE in the early 1990s hoping would it

thing

in

NLP. That

an modeling an

excellent

actually

human

didn't happen.

and a

fascinating

be the next big

Yet the governing DHE idea was one. The idea was to move beyond

So instead of findingan exemplar of an expertise -a

expert.

who could already do simply design the expertise.

being

excellence

that

something at the level of Wouldn't this be a more direct

experiencethat it? The metaphor Bandler used to sell this idea you desire and then install was that of a cyborg. Ifyou had a cyborg,and if you could program into it was the heart of whatever you wanted, what would you design? This focus route?

DHE

Why not simply design or engineer the

as it was

first

skill,

state, or

conceived.

Yet what was Design

Human Engineering (DHE)in

practice?

Short and

context was essentially the interplay of subsimple,DHE in a training nvent whatever you want to design modalities within a hypnosisformat. it so by trancing yourselfinto the for human excellence, and then make or have a trainer do it. Of course, the desired state that you designed without taking the constraints of problem is that merely designing things a does not produce much except good fantasy. reality into account typically and non-productive. It can be lots of fun, even if impractical so that you can binoculars For example, design the ability to see through feet as if only 20 away. Design look down the road a mile and see things and buildings. These clothes(!) Lhe ability for x-ray vision and see through It also promised to raise your IQ the things DHE promised. some of were butnot that were not only greatly exaggerated, Dy 20 to 30 points-results -167-

NLP

The

Chapter 13

Secrets

Period

of Expansion

even conceptuallypossible. After decade of after ten years

DHE,

I

wrote

a

review of

DHE

- DHE had produced nothing.

challenging the fact that

Ititled

it,

7en Years and Still

do nothing more Beef! argued that people with DHE training could than those with NLP training could do. The question posed to several close friends and in the article was: If there is a difference, what is it? Now true enough, DHE was a great experiment-fun, playful, silly, etc. but not

No

I

I

productive in terms ofactuallycreating

results.

You can

read the article on

www.neurosemantics.com.

DHE in

Whispering (2002) is that "both of the two co-creators of NLP" began moving away from modeling to identifying a set of design variables underlying the classic code patterning." In other Grinder's comment about

words, both began engaging in design work. He said Richard did it with DHE and he with the New Code. (Chapter3,The New Code, Part III). Here

"There is no

model

identifiable external

to imitate."*

Clean

Language- Modeling Symbolic Landscape and Space In the 1990s James Lawley and Penny Tompkins modeled David Grove and came up with a model that they called Clean Language for Symbolic Later they produced a book, Metaphors in Mind: Modeling. Transformation through Symbolic Modelling (2000). Researching the field, they used several sources: Lakoff and Johnson's Metaphors we Live

By, Pinker's work, modality of offered

My

How

location

a new

the

Mind Works. This

led to using the

sub

(space)to construct

creative

approach

in

a minor one,

metaphoric landscapes-which the field of NLP to modeling. .t

about the name itself. Calling this "clean language" metaphorically powerful symbolic modeling that it is uncontaminated by the user's own implies thoughts,emotions, states, assumptions. spite of the great effort in the model to do that, it is only

critique, tool

is

for

n

simply not the case. In fact, it can't be. course, the intention is great not wanting to impose upon a client any value, construct, or That'snot (2000, p. 52). presupposition" strictly possible. To their credit,

Of

they begin with a focus on using the client's words, thengo into questioning about the shape of the metaphor: its location, direction, size, etc. -168-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 13

Questions

"And is there

The

Period

of Expansion

Structuring Framne

about that?

else

anything

And what else

is

there...?"

Expanding Frame

And

what kind of a

thing

"And that kind of a thing

is

that thing?"

is like

what?"

And And

where is this thing?" whereaboutsis this thing?" "And then what happens?" "And what happens next?"

Quality frame, Categorizing

Metaphor frame Location frame Location frame Spatial location frame in Spatial location

firame

future time

frame;

Consequence frame

And

what happensjust

"And were could

this

before this?"

Prior spatial location

come from?"

frame

Sourceframe

twenty years since its introduction, the Clean Language Model has used in coaching and modeling and applied in a great many areas. been More than a decade later Susie Linder-Pelz applied Clean Language to In the

NLP Coaching:

An Evidenced-Based Approach for Coaches, Leaders, and Individuals (2010). There she reviewed two NLP Models-Clean Language and Meta-States coaching

in

her book,

Social Panorama- Modeling the Semantie Space of Relationships Another tremendous contribution to the field of NLP came from taking a tool from the field of Sociology-the Sociogram. Lucas Derks updated the systems and sub-modalities. Derks did Sociogram with representational this by applying the idea of sub-modalitiesto relationships. By doing this he

created

he Social Panorama

and wrote a book by that title.aee

The Social Panorama works in a way similar to how we code and represent Most people put "the past" behind them in space or to their left time. while they put "the future

in front

or

to the right.

In doing so, we use

we think and feel the conceptual realities space as a code in how as a way of "the past" and "the future." In this way we create "time-lines to deal with memories and imaginations. Similarly, we also use various external

cinematic features (sub-modalities)and locate certain persons (categories, of people, etc.) by putting thenm in space around us. relationships, groups We put some in front of us, some to our right or to our left, some above, etc. In this way we externalize our map of people and social relationships.

-169-

NLP

Secrets

Chapter

The

13

Period

of Expansion

Panorama, you can take the cinematic features (subof distance modalities) (close and far). height (up and down), two dimensions and three dimensions, color or blackrepresentations using In

the Social

and-white, etc. and can create your world of people (and categories of people) all around you. You can then symbolically use the code of physical space" and all of its features and variables to stand for and represent the meanings that you give to the people in your mental-emotional

world.

The SocialPanorama addressesthe

subject of how

we use representations

to code a greatmany ofthequalities of relationships -closeness,intimacy, connection and disconnection, respect and disrespect, loneliness, support, love, forgiveness, etc.

Meta-States - Modeling of Self-Reflexivity The Meta-States Model was discovered while I was modeling the subjective experience of resilience (1992-3). I was studying highly resilient people (Viktor Frankl, trauma survivors, holocaust survivors, etc.) as well as continuing my study of the sources of NLP, especially Bateson and Korzbyski on the subjectof "logical meta-layers of states-about-states

levels."

This

and so

led to

discovering the modeling the kind of

consciousnessmost unique to human beings-self-reflexiveconsciousness.

A meta-stateis not merely one state about another state-joyful learning, It starts there, but it does not end there. The state that you bring at a higher level to the lower or previous state sets up numerous psychologicaldynamics-The higher state functions as a classification of the first state. Anger can become a member of the class of respect-respectful anger; fear can become a member of calmness-calm fear. The higher state therefore operates as aframe for the first, a frame

fear of anger,playfully serious, etc.

e

of reference giving it meaning within that context.

The higher state

qualifies

state modifies the

or textures

lowerjoyful

the previous state

asthe higher

learning

The higher state operatesholographicallyrather than hierarchically so that within it areothermeta-level phenomena: beliefs, decisions, permissions,identities,

etc.

-170-

NLP

Secrets

Chapter 13

The higher operates as a

The

self-organizing attractor

of Expansion

Period

the

in

human

system governing the lower.

As

this

gave birth to the Meta-States Model in 1994, was immediately recognized by the International Associationof NLP Trainers in 1995 as"the most significant contributionto NLP." Soon thereafter began putting the Meta-States Model into various books: Secrets Metaof it

I

Personal Mastery,

States,

Dragon Slaying, Winming

literally the

hundreds of

patterns

book, Sourcebook

From

the Inner

Gane. Then over the years

arose--thereare 143 Meta-State patterns

in

ofMagic, Volume lI.

the discovery of Meta-States arose Neuro-Semanticsas

model, and relationship

a to

a field, a conmmunity. Unique to the Meta-States Model is its everything which operates at a meta-level as a meta-level

phenomenon. Because it details the structure of meta-cognitionin all of its forms, it can be used to look at any meta-level phenomenon from a point of view. That is, when a person steps back from an experience,he can simultaneously transcend it as he includesit in a class or category established by the meta-state. This embedding of one structural

experience in another creates a frame of reference mental context, a classification, and so on.

for the

firsta

belief,

a

of these mechanisms within the Meta-States Model, Bob Bodenhamer and I set out to re-model all of the models of NLP. With Because

(and recursion)built into the model we showed the redundancy within the NLP meta-models. All of the NLP meta-models were different perspectivesof the same thing-subjective experience. This reveals one reflexivity

way in which Meta-States,as a model, has been so rich and robust over the Graham Dawes worried that because the meta-move is an act of Meta-States as a model could become known "asthe model incorporation, More what that ate NLP" (Rapport 36, Summer, 1987. p.55). positively, he noted was that the Meta-States Model offered some new distinctions in NLP and that a "new distinction opens up a new world." years.

Richard and I last work with Richard Bandler began

My

Martin Roberts about

inviting

me write -171-

in

1996 when he approached Dr.

a 25-year

history

of the Meta

NLP

The

Chapter 13

Secrets

Period

of Expansion

agreed and together we signed a contract with Crown House Publications. Richard read many ofthe articles wrote on the Meta-Model the additionsthat discoveredand formulatedfrom Korzybski. He wanted

Model.

I

I

I

me

to

put

developments that others also had made spent six months reviewing how the Meta-

that together with the

regarding the Meta-Model. Model took shape over the years and the various people who played a role in that development. When the text was ready, I submitted it to Dr. Roberts I

at Crown House

Publications.

meantime, however, had inadvertently and indirectly offended Richard. One day as Richard was finishing a five-dayPractitioner course In the

I

London, a medical doctorstood up, waveda copy of User's Manual of the Brain, Volume I in the air. He called out, "Wehave only covered five percent of the material in this book. When do we get the other 95 percent?" That was the day that Richard decided that "no Michael Hall book would be sold at any of my trainings." That apparently also pissed him off about in

the

contract

on the update on the Meta-Model.

Later Dr. Roberts informed me that Richard had refused to work on the book or make good on the contract that we signed. He also told me that Richard threatened, "You'll never that,

I

I

to

publisher

and Behavior Books. Dr. Spitzer, I have a special problem

He

the book.

won't give you quote from The Structure of Magic." When Martin told me ofScience immediately got on the phone with Dr. Spitzer,

permission

publish

is that it will cost

request I'd like to

you

to

do

make of you. The

only

it.",

he was curious and encouraged me to continuewith my request: Richard Bandler asked me to write an update to the Meta-Model as

said

two volumes of The Structure of Magic that you it and more than published. quoted 2,000words from those volumes. Originally we were going to co0-author it, but now Richard is He is upset and refuses to continue. that we will never published

in the

I've written

threatening

book because he will not give us permission to quote from the works." original Dr. Spitzerthen asked if Richard was claiming ownership of the copyright? Ialsoexplained that I said, "Yes he was. by publishing the book with Dr. Martin Roberts, it would to some extent make the original books redundant publish the

-172-

NLP Secrets and

Chapter 13

might cost

that

to

him.

nublished?"*Yes, that's the

bookS extensively in

And

The

Period

of Expansion

*"So

right."

Richard does not want the book to be **You'll have our permission to quote from

thirty-minutes."

sure

enough, thirty-minutes later a document from Science and Behavior Books came across my fax machine. I then faxed it to Crown House Publications and with that the book was published,first under the title, The Secrets of Magic (1997) and later with the title Communication Magic (2001). Robert Dilts- Learning and Creativity During the 1990s Robert Dilts worked on a series of books, Strategies of Genius in which he modeled of Walt Disney, Freud, Albert

Sigmund was anyone who was highly productiveand prolific the late 1980s and 1990s, it was Robert Dilts. Teaming up with Epstein and then with Tim and Kris Hallbom, Suzie Smith, they

Einstein, etc. during Teresa

If

there

produced the NLP Health Certification process and wrote a book on and Health,Beliefs: Pathways to Health Well-Being (1990).

NLP

&

Robert

Dilts

and

Judith DeLozier also spent several

years writing

NLP Encyclopedia. This is a massive work of some pages sumnmarizing NLP from the Dilts' and the NLP U. perspective. organizing

the

and 2,000 After

template of the development of NLP, speakingabout it in terms of first, second,and third generationsof NLP. In his book, NLP II: The Next Generation (2010), Robert defined first that

Robert created an

organizational

generationNLP as the original NLP up until the early 1980s.For him the second generationNLP integrated the developments in the 1980s including Meta-States, DHE, New Code, and his work in the Neuro-Logical Levels

2010,p.xxvii). Then, forhim,the third generationNLP began developing in the 1990s and focused on issues of identity, vision, mission. olgso Making

NLP Increasingly

With each decade of

A

Legitimate

NLP, an

9nE bb

increasing

number of high

apw br quality

NLP

researchers continued to keep NLP growing and and Tameria Andreas produced a process developing. Connirea Andreas and a book titled, Core Transformations (1990). Steven Andreas was Mind (1989),Virginia equally busy turning on a series of books Heartof the rainers,

writers,

-173

NLP Secrets

Chapter

The

13

Satir (1991), Transforming Your Self(2002).

Period

Some years

of

later

Expansion

Andreas

wrote Six Blind Elephants (2006) dealing with "scope and category"which

was

his

way of attemptingto

deal with logical levels.

David Gordon created the Experiential Array as a model for modeling and then later, with Graham Dawes wrote both a book and an audio-casset program for modeling. In the late 1990s and early 2000s,Anchor Point and NLP World were the two primary sources for key people to present new developments in terms of patterns and models. Don Blackerby produced Rediscover the Joy of Learning (1996).

2010

In

25

I

NLP

ShelleyRose Charvet and togetherwe brought Researchers,and writers together as we created a book,

collaborated Trainers,

with

Innovations in

NLP for Challenging Times (2011). For the first time ever, than two dozen trainers from many different NLP communities more collaborated in creating a single volume. Reflections and Secrets Amazingly the 1990s not only saw the rise of scoresof new applications and patterns, it also saw several brand new models that extended the basic

NLP model.

Interesting

enough, except for DHE, the new models

did not

come two remaining foundersit came from other people. The two remaining founders seemed to spend most of their time and from the

energy claim ownership of NLP and claiming to be the only ones doing "pureNLP." Bandler did so by suing the field and Grinder ashe dismissed trying to

the "classic

model" for his "new code" model.8

Yet communities ofNLPcontinuedto spreadaround the world exploding in Russia and the former Soviet countries, eastward to and

China expanding throughout the Pacific realm. Later it began to spread throughout the Arab countries in the middle-eastand in Africa. NLP had become international and was being expanded by a new generationof trainers, researchers, and leaders.

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NLP Secrets

The

Chapter13

of Expansion

Period

Background Notes first book of a collection Sourcebook of Magic, Volume I of NLP Patterns, Barbara Belnap in 1997 that became the "go to" book for the basic NLP Patterns 2. 1Q is measured relative to the by school grades- your intelligence grade in school. What "grade" would you be in at 30 years old, 45, 60? 1.I

wrote the

with

3.

http://www.neurosemantics.com/a-critique-of-the-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-dhe/ for

the link to the article 4.

This

was another way

the original

DHE.

critiquing in

which

design and purpose

the two remaining

founders

ofNLP moved away from

ofNLP.

See Social Panorama (2005) by Lucas Derks. In recent years, Lucas has continued his work developing in much more detail the social andscape of the mind as informed and detected by somatic gestures and movements. 5.

6.

Remodeling

of

NLP with

Out People, Adventures Going Meta, etc. 7.I wrote several

in

book reviews

2018 Steve and Iexchanged 8.

the Meta-States Model began in 1997 as we wrote Figuring Time-Lines, Mind-Lines, Sub-Modalities Going Meta, NLP of Six Blind Elephants and then much emails about our differing views oflogical

see http://www.neurosemantics.com/the-newest-code-of-nlp/-a Grinder.

later,

in

2017 and

levels.

critique

ofthe New

Code by

togbrik

-175-

Chapter 14

EXPANDING BY MODELING "Excellence

is

a better teacher than mediocrity

The lessons ofthe ordinary are everywhere.

and original insights

Truly profound are

to

be foundonly

in

Warren

"Ifyou don't

know how

to

studying the exemplary. Bennis

model, then you don John Grinder

't

really

do NLP."

rom the beginning NLP developed and grew

through the process of as Richard Bandler mimicked the voice, words, modeling. It began and gesturesofFritz Perls and continuedas the other early developers

some of his language were used with the two processes identified

patterns living

and

patterning.

exemplars-Virginia

The same Satir

and

Milton Erickson.

Yet there was a problem with that original modeling. Wyatt Woodsmall was the first person,as far as I know, to note and insightfully point out that they modeled the results of what the experts produced. They did not model the experts themselves. From this, Woodsmall (1990) distinguished two kinds of modeling. In Modeling Iyou model the products or results that a person creates. In Modeling II you model the persons themselves (their beliefs,

understandings,values,

internal processes, etc.).

you seck to understand how the processes that they used or and how to use them with expertise. In the second, work developed you In the seek

to

first,

understand the

person- how

the person thinks, perceives, values,

-176-

NLP Secrets etc.

so

Chapter

that in

operates

you can replicate, the world.

NLP

14

at least to

some

extent,

how

and Modeling

the person

who were

originally targeted in NLP (Perls, Satir, Regarding the persons Erickson), they were not modeled. We actually know very little about how theydid what they did.

Modeling I refers of modeling

to

detects

pattern detection and transference. This kind a pattern of behavior that culminates in certain

skills, abilities,

and

behavior

skills-the what

in the

then

It

expertise.

explicates

the patterns

of

an expert actually does to achieve a result. In this kind of modeling we learn about the sets of distinctions, procedures, and processes which enable a person to reach a desired outcome. that

Modeling II refers to modeling Modeling I. It focuseson the how of an expert how the expert actually does what he or she does, the what. This kind focuseson than of modeling the personal to the subjectiveprocesses necessary generate patterns that form the

rather

what ofModeling I. Here you pay attention to the person's beliefs and values,the expert's frames informing the expertise, and to the meta-programs, the contextualdistinctions, the waysofthinking and emoting, the meta-states, etc. Significantly

II.

It

began by "modeling"

and Satirdid in terms of their skillsand abilities, but not them persons. To do that we would need a model that could enable us to

what as

NLP did not start with Modeling

Perls

encode higher

level

structures

about

their beliefs, criteria,

background asking higher level meta-

That would

require knowledge, premises, etc. the to person's inner processing. questions deeply explore anyone came to modeling the attitude and orientation of the

The

closest

original three

and Maribeth Meyers-Anderson exemplars was the work of David Gordon in their book, Phoenix (1981). in NLP, modeling itself did not contraryto the myth perpetuated a fundamental begin with Bandler, Pucelik, and Grinder. Modeling played Potential Human Movement 45 and essential role in the beginning of the modeled years earlier, In the late 1930s Maslow personal characteristics Further,

the

of self-actualizing

with people, beginning

-177-

his

mentors, Max Wertheimer

NLP

Secrets

Chapter

NLP

14

and

Modeling

and Ruth Benediet. Then when he became a college professor, one of the regular assignments that he gave to his Master Degree Psychology students

was

some way were actualizing human experienceand write a description.

to find others

of the

who

in

at least

some

aspect

This is not to say that thhe NLP founders didn't addressthe subjectivestates of the exemplars. Minimally they did as noted by Heap. In Skeptical Michael Heap wrote about "The Validity of Some Early Intelligence, Claims of Neuro-Linguistic Programming" (Vol. 11, 2008). In part, he wrote:

oa3o

03no

It becomes

clear

when you

read the early literature that the claims of

Bandler and Grinder make do not simply refer to the particular techniques, ploys and styles of the select number of individuals they studied. They are statements about the way human beings in general behave and think and communicate with one another. In other words, they are the kind of observations and assertions that one would expect to appear in textbooks of human (p. 1) psychology...

"

Yet they did not produced a model oftheexemplary persons.Except forthe we do not have from them a model of how general NLP presuppositions, ey thought,valued,focused,etc. No wonder then that Woodsmall noted that they modeled what the exemplars did--theirperformances. They did not model their states, beliefs, and other meta-level frames from which the experts were able to develop their competencies.

Where Has All The Good

Modeling Gone?

In chapter 13 Inoted

that afterthe initial modeling in the pre-NLP history the founders did continue to model additional experts as (1972-1975), not they did with the original three." In fact, by the mid-1980s they specifically turned away from modeling and focused on design. Consequently, apart

from the original three exemplars (Perls, Satir, and Erickson),no one else was modeled for excellence. There was just a bit of "modeling" of Frank Farrelly in 1978. Yet that mostly involved noticing a few of Frank's patterns

for provoking

clients.

to have modeled a famous sales person for But that Persuasion Engineering famous person was never named and no information was ever provided about him or her In an interview with

Richard Bandler claimed

-178-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 14

NLP

and Modeling

Redaktorin Theres Miller in Hypnos he claimed that he modeled "a hundred people" *one of the greatest boat-makers in the world to great pilots wizards at the stock-market..."(Oct. 1989). But, as with so much that he claimed,there's no evidence or record of any of this. In a three-part series

on

-Modelling- Magic, Myth, or Mirage, some of the central premises that many in

Modeling

Dr. Martin Roberts questioned the field of claimed to be

NLP

working from.' He especially challengedthe and analysis or that one could replicate a process of excellence without specific training of the required skills. Modeling is more complex and "primarilyinvolvesthe skill of the modeler in understanding what he/she is in fact observing."He also raised an important question,"How important is intellect in modeling? idea that

modeling

is

just strategy detection

He raised that question,in part, due to a number of exaggeratedclaims that some NLP trainers had made about the efficacy of NLP when modeling businesses.

One of the inability accurate

chief reasons for failures in modelling

behaviour, language, andjust abouteverything

and

Yet

projects

was

the

ofNLP, or any other technique, to be able easily to producean model of a person's intellect... It is intellect that drives

intellect seems to

have been ignored by

we have learned

the originators

in

life..

ofNLP..."

have been a good number of people in NLP who have been modeling and via modeling have been extending the realm of the field of there

NLP:

Dilts,

Robert

Lawley and Thompkins, Gordon and Dawes, myself,etc. took the basic

TOTE model

along with the models he developed (SCORE, Neuro-Logical Levels, etc.) and in his series on Strategies of Genius modeled Aristotle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Dilts

"Sherlock Holmes," Walt Disney, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the first book. He devoted the entire second book to Albert Einstein. And in the third book, he focused on Sigmund Freud, Leonardo da Vinci, and Nikola Tesla.

Many years

later,

he modeled Steve Jobs (Next Generation

Entrepreneurs (2015). David Grow and developed James Lawley and Penny Thompkins modeled

-179

NLP

Chapter

Secrets

NLP

14

and Modeling

the Clean Language Model as they focused on the symbolic modeling of metaphors. James Lawley later reported on various modeling projects that

he knew about

in

Rapport 40 (1998): Woodsmall Robbins US Air Force Small Arms Shooting James Police Pritchard Safe Driving Metropolitan British Telecom Unknown Project Management Dealership

&

BMW

Skills

Unknown

Creativity

Chase Manhattan Bank The Tioxide Group Walt Disney Inc.

SystemicThinking

IBM Europe

Futures Trading Strategic Thinking

Leadership

Skills

Charles Faulkner Cricket

Kemp

Robert Dilts Robert Dilts Robert Dilts,

Fiat Corporation

Gino

Bonissone,

Ivanna Gasperini

David Gordon and Graham Dawes developed the ExperientialArray as a model for modeling. They also provided many examples of everyday modeling as they focused on small but significant everyday activities for modeling. Their focus on common experiences, instead of looking only for experiences of outstanding and balance.

rare

excellence,

provide a welcomed

Steve and Connaire Andreas engaged in a certain amount of modeling: they modeled grief patterns (pre-grieving, resolving grief), a forgivenesspattern (from Virginia Satir),

self-concept,

core transformation,

natural

slender

eating, etc.

Wyatt Woodsmall was a civilian employee forthe Department of the Army when he began his first modeling project on Pistol Shooting which he did with Tony Robbins andateam of 10persons. Later he worked with the Us Olympic diving team and modeled Greg Louganis,a double Olympic Gold Medal winner. After that, he modcled Michel Thomas for his method of rapid language learning.

My first project

modeling I

project

was on

resilience

(1991-1994) and out of

that

developed the Meta-States Model (1994) which describes the

Metasubjectiveexperience of self-retlexive consciousness. Then using in to models addition for States, the NLP modeling, Ibegan modeling many wealth creation, other selling, experiences leadership, coaching,etc. And -180-

NLP

Secrets

with each project,l

and Modeling

a training and atraining manual as well as most

created

led to a

eventually

In 2002

NLP

Chapter 14

book on

that

subject.

created the Matrix

Model as a systems model for modeling. At same time, Bob Bodenhamer and decided to immediately use it and apply it to the structure of stuttering (stammering) to see what we could find. We eventually identified the structure of stuttering and used that to I

the

I

provide help for various stuttering communities. Bob wrote up the studies and published it in the book, Mastering Stuttering and Blocking with NLP and Neuro-Semantics (2004).

My own work

undoubtedly many other modeling include those in future editions.

projects in the

My

NLP world,and

apologies for any

that

I

of modeling has now extended over the years to 25 projects and most ofthem involving variouscollaborators. Dr. Pascal Gambardella with degrees in systems and physics assisted me in a book on Coaching Systemically,lan McDermott and I worked on CollaborativeLeadership, Graham Richardson and I worked on Executive Coaching, etc. There are hope have I

overlooked.12

The Complexity of Modeling In distinguishing the two kinds of model, Wyatt Woodsmall (1990) also noted the complexity of modeling:

and sophisticated process. would be a lot more The reason that there are so few models that in the world. expertise enhance performance is not from lack of interest, but from lack ofability "Modeling It

is

is possible,

an incredibly complex,difficult, but not easy.

Ifit

were easy,

then there

and competency." (1990,p. 6). It

involves far more than merely

identifying

and tracking a strategy, even

gaininginformationofthe multiple strategies from many people. invisible structure which makes the subjective experiencefunctionto create It requires

the desired

skills

and

results.

has a greatmany variables,

it is

Modeling II is complex because it not only aremany pieces that go into systemic.There

and where there is a system, there is reflexivity, simultaneality, more that has to be taken into consideration and emergence, and much it,

addressed.

-181-

NLP

NLP Secrets Modeling difference.

Chapter

is

looking It

Someone who

seeks is

144

the

for differences to

answer, "What makes

competent

Reflections and Secrets An ongoing debate in the

at a

field

that

difference

and Modeling

makes

the

the difference between

and the person who excels?

skill

of NLP

is

whether

NLP

is

most

essentially

Rather a communication model, an epistemology,or a model ofmodeling. as see it involvingall than treat that question as a forced choice question, three. NLP is a communication model that enables us to model the I

the epistemologyof Korzybski. Sructure of subjective experiencesbased on to ourselves (1.e., think, how we communicate As a model that describes

and how we reason, draw conclusions, construct meaning, decide, etc.) communicate with our body (i.e., all of the verbal and non-verbal the model simultaneously provide a expressions) -the distinctions of This is true of our intraof how we create our experiences. description

psychic experiences and our inter-personal

experiences in

the

world.

such, the communication variables that make up thinking-andembodying our thoughtscreate the phenomena ofour experiences,hence a phenomenological description of our experienced realities. And that gives us a way to understand the dynamic structure ofourexperiences as wellas change them in ways that enhance the quality of our lives.

As

Given

how little we know about the frames of mind that led

Perls, Satir, and

they developed, it is no secret that NLP modeling did not begin with the highest kind of modeling (Modeling I). Nor is it a secret that the idea and processof modeling has evolved over the years so that today we have a much clearer idea about modeling. Erickson

to the level

of expertise

that

-182-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 14

NLP

and Modeling

Background Notes: Woodsmall (1990) Phoenix, Gordon and

1.Wyatt 2. In

paper

on

Modeling.

Meyers-Anderson described some of the beliefs that guided Milton Erickson's therapeutic interactions. They write that what they learned was "not so much a set of techniques, but rather a new and useful way of looking at and grasping human behavior and its consequences, and of organizing therapeutic encounters." (p. 17). an 3. Modeling the structure of experience has occurred and continues to occur in a great many fields. In business it is called finding "best practices"and/or "benchmarking." There are

in

specialities

modeling-mathematical modeling,

modeling, etc. 4. Now both Bandler and Grinder do claim no record ofsuch-no

to

systems modeling,

computer

have continued modeling. Yet they have left either of them of any modeling ofany

book or article or pattern by

other expert. is an audio-tape of Frank Farrell speaking in 1978 with Richard and John listening and offering some commentson the provocative therapy that Frank was doing. Yet what they did in that instance was not modeling by any stretch ofthe imagination. Further,apart from this, I know of no NLP literature about modeling Frank Farrell. 6. See Persuasion Also see the paper I wrote that reviewed and (1996. Engineering

5.There

summarized

it,

Simplifring Persuasion

See the series Myth, or Mirage. 7.

8. 9.

Engineering (1996).

Rapport Magazine on the subject of modeling: Modelling-Magic, Rapport Magazine, 1998, 1999.

in

Martin Roberts, private correspondence, Sept. 2018. "Using Modeling and NLP to Improve Human Potential,"

Rapport

Autumn 2009, pp.

10-11. 10. Over the years I have engaged Neuro-Semantic website.

in

25 modeling

projects,

that

list

is

in

a paper

on the

http://www.neurosemantics.com/and-then-i-began-modeling/ 11. The first printing ofthe book was titled Mastering Stuttering and Blocking with NLP and Neuro-Semantics (2004), the second printing changed the title to- I Have A Voice: How to StopStuttering (2011).Dr. Bodenhameralso has spoken to numerous Stuttering

Associations

in

12.If you have conducted future editions

the a

US, the UK, and

NLP

of this book: P.O.

Australia about this modeling modeling project,sendthat information to

Box

8, Clifton,

project.

me

099Z 19 tnstpesc

biov

for

CO. 81520USA.

wo

aleiusog

-183-

Chapter15

WALKING ON THE WEIRD-SIDE "We're all a little whose weirdness mutually

weird. And is

satisfying

life

is

a

weird. And

little

when we

find

compatible with ours, we join up with them and weirdness-and call it love-true love."

someone fall

into

Robert Fulghum

"Someare born

weird, some achieve it, others have weirdness Dick Francis

NLP

here's a weird-side of

and

it

thrust

upon them."

has been around from the

beginning. This is the side of NLP that gets into all sorts of things that are not only weird, but strange, bizarre, outrageous, science-

et. Yet this bizarre aspect of human was fully present in the Human Potential arose. And it will not end with NLP.

mythological, mystical, curiosity did not start with NLP, fiction,

Movement from which In Self-Actualization the Human

Potential

NLP

it

Psychology, I describe in chapter21 the "Collapse of Movement." One of the reasons forthe was

the process of exploring lots

collapse

and

a

of things, a constant chasing of the would consistently, regularly, process lots

new-without ever finding and dependably facilitate a person

that

to

unleash and

potentials.

-184

to actualize

his

or her

Chapter 15

NLP Secrets "All

of

the dynamic

ideas

encouraged continuously breaking

through talents

actualizing psychologies

about

learning,

Walking on the

bright side

the

Weird-Side

of human

nature

growing,developing, transcending, to new possibilities, and

limitations,

stretching

and unique

perspectives.

with their tendencytoward

In contrast

a more

fatalistic,

to

the older

deterministic,

and darker" psychology,these new models stimulated inspiring visions and processes that give more credence and practicality to the bright side. "No wonder the first two or three decades the Human Potential

Movement was

chaotically wild.

People experimented

with

hypnosis,

body therapies, screaming(Primal Scream),psycho-drama,family constellations, altered states, hot tubs, channeling, dream interpretations, meditations, eastern religions, LSD, and the list goes on and on. "Driving this chaotic exploration was the paradigm shift from a deterministic psychology to one focused on unlimited potentials, , untapped possibilities, the farther reaches of human nature, and drugs,

transcending

paradigms. Yet this opennessalso

led to explorations into

the

disciplines, religious paranormal, the occult, various spiritual can be anticipated, and other And as many fringe things. experiences, there was much hype, a tremendous amount of over-selling, and the excesses that have so often led to cults and cult-like communities."

"Maslow unwittingly undermined the hard for so many empiricism he had worked so Even

scientific

validity

years to create."

and That

happened with his launching of TranspersonalPsychology. "This had the effect of opening the door for dozens of things that were non-scientific. This also had the effect ofundermining non-empirical and it also dispersed the focus. With the credibility of what he had begun as in all kinds of new age practices from came Psychology Transpersonal eastern religious beliefs, etc. perception, extra-sensory channeling, vision. Because of this, many people of the original diverting the energy it of mysticism. movement. In fact the self-actualization mis-directed "This also severely further into scores ofsub to the movement fractionalizing it contributed in the been a fractions. If there had self-organizing attractor

dismissed

the

HPM and accused

groups and it was now gone. And without a movement, such as self-actualization, and organizing the movement, the singular thing (orperson) attracting and 12 momentum direction. movement lost even more

-185-

NLP

Secrets

Chapter

The Weird Adventures of NLP The weirdness probably really took off with into

of the

all

of

aspects

trance

is

where

amnesia,

Given the Inherent

What

in

it

probably began, but

curiosity,

NLP

are the

playfulness,

as well

as

Weird-Side

its

(e.g., post-hypnotic suggestions, full description of this is in The Wild Days

that

the

incursion into hypnosisand that the original founders began playing

around with

A

Walking on

15

it

certainly

and

the driving

hallucinations, etc.). Thave a suspicion

of NLP. did not end

there.

thinking-outside-the-box questions,

"What

clse

thinking is

possible?""

human nature?" (the title of one Maslow's books), it was inevitable that "the field of NLP" would get into all sorts of new age, mystical, and sci-fi areas. They would play around reaches of

farther

with channeling,trying

to

o

model shamans, distance-viewing, photo-reading,

Huna (Tad James), cyborg constructions (e.g. DHE), modeling Edgar Cayce (Rapport 50), ESP, reincarnation, quantum mechanics, astrology, psychic surgery, therapeutic Yet

none of that is NLP.

touch, etc.

In April,

2017 while

in

London

for the

NLP

Conference we called for a short meeting of the NLP Leadership Summit. At the heart of the conversationabout membership requirements,we talked about what asa group,we acceptas"Neuro-LinguisticProgramming." One person suggested several new age techniquesaround "energy." To that, founder Frank Pucelik spoke up: "I remember what we did at the beginning and a lot of it was surely not NLP. We studied these things (new age techniques and things from o

Esalen)

to try to find interesting patterns, to increase

orto find out ifthere was any truth claims in these and sometimes just for fun to see if we could do them. skills,

our observation strange systems,

but not limited to, Psychodrama,Rethings including, Art Co-counseling, therapy, stage hypnosis, Castaneda(Don

We studied many evaluation

Juan, etc.), BioFeedback,SensoryDeprivation (Isolation tanks), Massage Therapy,Reading Auras, Gestalt, TA (Transactional Analysis), Rogerian Therapy, Earth Coincidence Control Office (John Lilly), Dolphin Communication Patterns (Bateson), Encounter Group Processes, Sensitivity T-Groups, Past Lives, Occult Belief Systems, Pavlov, and many more. But we never considered any of these systems to be NLP. Webased NLP on all the processes that are known to be NLP/Meta today. Namely, the

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Chapter 15

NLP Secrets Meta-Model,

Walking on the Weird-Side

systems, systematic use of anchoring,pacing and leading, Model, Satir's ConjointFamily Systems,brain hemisphere calibrations,

representation

major

beliefs,

negations, the Milton

functions,

the rest.

and

as NLP in the 1980 book, Neuro-Linguistic The Study of the Structure of Programming: SubjectiveExperience were the modeling tools that were invented in the years from 1972 to 1980: The Meta-Model and the Milton Model (for induction) Representational Systems (includingsub-modalities) Strategy Model (based on TOTE) What

was

defined

when decisionsabout what is, and is not, NLP were being decided,the pieces chosen have always been the structural models that can be shown to Later

grow out of thesefoundationalmodels. That is, they are similar models that continue the discovery of how we think and encode our experiences. As such they do not have specific content. Models that fit this description include-Meta-Programs, Neuro-Logical Levels, Meta-States, Social Panorama, Clean Language, etc. These are process models which give us additional ways to find and to describe the structure of subjective experiences."

What makes something NLP? When Robert Dilts visited this question in 2010 in NLP II: The Next Generation. He noted that "NLP is both a way of being (an 'ontology') and a way of knowing (an "epistemology'). ... At the heart of NLP as an epistemology is modelingan ongoing process for expanding and enriching our maps of the world through awareness, to curiosity, and the ability synthesize multiple perspectives and He then concluded that whatmakes something descriptions." (pp. xix-xx).

NLP is

that

it:

structure, as opposed to content. and distinctions in the anatomy and functions

Emphasizes process and

Grounds processes of the human nervous system. Ensures that distinctions and processes are able to be easily natural and spontaneous through identified and influenced communication. and non-verbal patterns of verbal

-187-

NLP

Walking on

Chapter 15

Secrets

the results of the study

Organizes

that

into

can be

techniques, tools and practices make a difference in people's experience

the

Weird-Side

practical exercises. used to influence or

or behavior." (p.

Xxiii)

that make something summary Robert has identified four factors NLP. They are process oriented, neurological, communicational, and and editing in writing the same question entertained practices for use. Innovations in NLP (2011). As Ithought about NLP as a model and what In this

I

enables and how

to

determine

if

somcthing

is

NLP,

published the

I

that

following description.

NLP as a Model 1)

A Theory: A model

has a theory as a theoretical background,foundation,

an explanatory model for how the model or system contains the governing ideas and how to test and refine the ideas in order to create new applications. With a theory we are able to identify ideas hypothesis,

works.

etc. which offers

It

which can then be tested and falsified. an epistemology. NLP's theory is

It

can

answer why

entailed

Korzybski's map/territory distinction, Bateson's Chomsky's constructionism.

in the

questions

NLP

cybernetics,

and

present

Presuppositions,

and

Miller

and

2) Variables: A model has pieces and parts which make up

the components of model. A model answers the what questions: what elements are absolutely NLP's necessary and sufficient to make the model work? What processes? the

VAK

variables

include the

levels

Neuro-Logical Levels and the Meta-States Model, the linguistic Meta-Model and Milton Model and the Meta-Program thinking-

in

representational systems, sub-modalities,

the meta-

distinctions in the

pattern distinctions.

3)The Guiding and OperationalPrinciples: A model which

(presuppositions) how to use them in

define

and

has "laws" or principles

articulate the operational

mechanisms and

a methodological, systematic, and systemic way. This gives the to one ability keep refining a model. This answersthe how questions: how does the model work? What processes, mechanisms goverm it? NLP's guiding the principles arethe way NLP Presuppositions are adapted in creating and using in the use of the representation-enriched TOTE-model or patterns, strategiesrepresentational steps identify how somethingworks. 4) The Technologies or immediate application

Patterns:

for using

the

A model has specific tools which provide model or the system to achieve a particular -188-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 15

came,

TP

Walking on the Weird-Side

This answers the how to

patterns include

questions: how do you reframe meaning? somewhere between 200 and 500

Etc.

patterns."

terms of getting a universal agreement, the question of what is NLP is ctill an alive and open question today. It is a question that will continue as a conversationamong practitioners, trainers, and researchers. In

NLP and Wikipedia While the open source encyclopedia, Wikipedia, a great resource generally,when it comes to the

is

a tremendous boon and

NLP Wikipedia page, it is of misinformation. Over the years many NLP Trainers have visited that page and updated the incorrect informationon it. I did that repeatedly over the years only to have the corrections erased a day later. Eventually we discovered that the person given the editorial control over the a steaming cauldron

NLP page was Dave Snowden.

And for whatever reason, he has an negative bias againstNLP. Appeals to Wikipedia went unheeded. Several attempted to gain *editorial" status, but that didn't change the situation either. Eventually a led group by Tim Hallbom created a separate website to answer the misinformation on the Wikipedia page.5 intensely

Reflectionsand Secrets The questionsaboutwhat

is

NLP and what is not NLP have challengedthe

from the beginning and continues to do so to this day. From

field

hindsight,

we can say that NLP is fiundamentally a communication model. It was developed from modeling three therapeutic communication experts (Perls, and Satir, Erickson) and focused on both self-communication (thinking) communicating with others (languaging,negotiating, making persuading, etc.).

presentations,

uinv3n0

included the Satir Categoriesof it communication model, originally and assertive). It Communication (blamer, placator, distractor, computer, also operates from several communication premises:

As

a

You cannot not communicate. The response you get is the meaning The map is not the territory.etc. Create rapport by meeting people

-189-

of

at their

your communication." model of the world."

NLP

Walking on

Chapter 15

Secrets

In my view,

been the weird sideof NLP

it's

the negative and bad press of contributed to the ending of the

NLP, as it was in Yet everything.

the

HPM,

is

NLP.

HPM.

that

the

Weird-Side

a great deal of very same weird side

has

And that One of the

the passionto curiously

led to

great strengths

within

exploreanything and

when it becomes unrestrained and continually dissatisfied, can then become a weakness. It can even beocme a detriment which can undermine a field. The need to always be looking for "something new" works against a sustainable focus which is required for generatingdepth of understandingand longitudinal credibility. curiosity,

Background Notes: 1.

Psychology: (2009), p. 237,

Self-Actualization

2. 1bid., p. 247. 3. 4.

Personal email, April 2017. In

the

NLP

Leadership Summit, several members have been working on this very question. Jaap Hollander, Lucas Derks, Bruce Grimley, and Lisa de Rijk, wrote an article about their use of Expert Validation to Define the Boundaries of NLP, Poweredby NLP,

Volume

II

(2018).

Mike Bundrant there writes, "The NLP Wikipedia page appears to be written and guarded by an editor on a mission to discredit NLP. He has labeled NLP as "pseudoscience' while conveniently ignoring well over 200 scientific studies that suggest NLP has something valuable to offer and warrants further inquiry." Also see,www.nlpwiki.org/wiki. Bruce Grimley (2019) writes the following about Wikipedia: "NLP researchers and who have attempted to balance this narrative have practitioners continually over a period oftwo years had their edits blocked by administrators due to the nature of the Wikipedia system, which suggests it is not as democratic as some would believe.The NLP Wikipedia article is an example of a flaw in the construction and operation of Wikipedia itself. In simple terms, a dedicated but biased contributor can become the "expert" in control of a subject page slanting entries to their biaswhile being unable to be removed. Steve virtually Andreas, Tim Hallbom, the Research and Recognition Project, and about 10 technically capable NLP supporters, tried on multiple occasions over a two period, to alter the NLP page to show a more balanced view. They dedicated hundredsyear of hours and entries to it with no success. My own efforts to change the wording in October of2018 from "There is no scientific evidence supporting the claims made by NLP advocates" to "There is some scientific evidence" citing RCT studies, the Meta-Analysis of Zaharia et.al (2015) and the NLP research data base.

S

See wwwinlpcenter.org/nlp-wikipedia-pagel

"Being

thwarted such researchers have

consistently

opened their own NLP Wikepedia, own NLP research data base, and summitof NLP leaders where http://www.nlp.de/research

their http://nlpwiki.org/wiki,

their

own

international

responsible information can be sourced and credible NLP contributors can be found, http://nlpleadershipsummit.org 6. Quoted in Neurons, 2017 Neurons #30, July 10, 2017. NLP:

What is

-190-

it

-Really?

Chapter 16

FORGING INTO

THE "Being

fiully

CENTURY

21S

present

is

the best guarantee

Guy

fora brightfuture.

Finley

"In this bright future you can't forget your past."

Bob

Marley

TnFebruary 2000, in a court in San Cruz California, Richard Bandler sat and heard a verdictthat he probably didn't believe he would ever hear. "Youarenot the sole owner of NLP and the trademark ofNLP does not belong to you." And with that he lost the 90 million dollar lawsuit that he when he sued the field of NLP. With that also, "NLP" went into filed public domain. The court also decided that Richard Bandler owed the last president ofthe Society of NLP, Christina Hall, $200,000. Later when he appealed,the court decided to raise the judgment to S600,000.

Now

for those named

to

the lawsuit, while they

won

the case,

it

very expensive win. All of them spent from 150 to 200-thousand

was a

dollars

fighting the lawsuit. In 1999, prior to the ending ofthe lawsuit, Steve and Connaire Andreas conceded and gave up their rights to the books that they

and published,the original seminar books, by which they had helped put NLP on the map. Another consequence of the lawsuit-Richard

edited to

Bandler fled the United States for Ireland.

-191-

Why?

I

can only guess.

My

NLP

Secrets

Chapter

16

Forging

into the 21st

Century

not want to pay the court judgment. So maybe he went to Ireland to avoid the IRS. Why clse? also understandthat Ireland has a policy of no taxation for authors, he could live there without paying assumption

is that

he

did

I

taxes.

Anyway,

that's

where he went.

John Grinder Reasserts a Claim for the NLP Flag After the lawsuit ended, John Grinder seem to have made a decision that he would put his claim on NLP. He did that by writing a book in which he would argue against classic NLP and present his version of a new form of NLP. In Whispering in the Wind (2002) he argued that his 1986 "new code" 1S an updated correction of the classic code It was in this work also of

that John

was

first

introducedthat

there

NLP. man"(Frank Pucelik)who

was a "third

part of theoriginal patterning.

In reasserting

his

claim on

NLP, as a world-class mis-matcher, Grinder's

essential approach was to criticize the very foundations,logic, modeling, and presuppositionsof NLP. He rejected the modeling processes that The Structure of Magic distortions and distinguished generalizations, deletions.2

He

"he structure of subjective experience" "the expressionis absurd in this case confusinglyredundant

criticized

writing that

He

the very idea of

criticized

the idea of Ashby's

appliedin NLP and said

that

it

"carries

Law of Requisite Variety being

a presuppositionantithetical

to

good

NLP practice." In Whispering (2002) he also rejected the idea of logical levels in Robert Dilts' Neuro-Logical Levels and in the Meta-StatesModel thatI developed While headmitted that"one explicit use of a meta-state is third position as ars in triple description," he admitted that he was confused about all ofthe meta-states that Ihad presented. He rejected Bateson's use of logical

levels

and logical

types Russell was wrong."

as synonymous and

stated

absolutely

that "Bertrand

this Grinder seemed to be attemptingto reinventNLP to take over "real" NLP with his "New control In his footnotes or "pure" Code to chapter 1, Part IIl he writes:

In

all

of

-192

NLP Secrets

Chapter 16

Forging

into the

Clearly,the 4-tuple is one of the major user-unfriendly Grinder and Bandler blew it on certain choices." With

of

21t Century

examples...

S0

rejection of NLP (what he called "classical NLP"), I'm he was guessing thinking that by questioning it sufficiently and thereby most of it, that would create a rejecting place for him to offer his better all

that

that

version.

disagreeing

NLP

terms of

In

this

attempt along with

(and being

disagreeable), it was a

forhimself

his style for

and wanting

to carve

mis-matching, out a place in

good attempt. But it did not work. Only a very smallminority of people went with "the new code" idea. Michael Carroll in the UK has become John's primary advocate for him and the new code, althoughthey even had their disagreements. More some New recently Code Trainers discovered,to their that Grinder would not tolerate dismay, them being connected to other NLP groups or leaders. When they did, he forced them to choose, me or them. Long-Lost Co-Founder Frank Pucelik Returned In 2010 Frank Pucelik returned from his self-imposed years in the wilderness. For yearshe had worked in Russia and Ukraine primarily using NLP to set up Drug and Alcohol Recovery Clinics-which he continuesto

manage to this day. Frank worked with

When war

broke out between Ukraine and Russia, the soldier suffering from PTSD as well as with thousands of the Army's counselors and psychologists who were treating them. Then after some years, he began teaching NLP again and over the

he gathered together around him a group of young people who he to become trainers.

years trained

I

met Frank forthe first time in 2010 at the

NLP

Conference in London. walked into the bar area

Arriving the day before the Conference began, I and ran into him although I did not know who he was. That's when

we first One ofus asked the other, "Are you here for the NLP With that we discovered that we were both at that hotel for

greeted each other.

Conference?" the

same

Pucelik.

he he was Frank introducedmyself, said that I asked in Frank Pucelik?" astonishment.oH "Magic

Conference. After I

The

Demystified Frank Pucelik?"

-193-

NLP

Chapter

Secrets

Forging

16

into the

21" Century

said yes,

I

him. And with questions for him with questionafter that we sat down and for the next five hours drilled of NLP. Frank also question about things that happened at the beginning in the field of NLP asked a lot of questions about what had been going on hat began a in the years since he had been "Missing in Action. each year in London at the Conference. Triendship, one which we renewed

When he

said that

I

had

a million

I

we encountered a Conference the following year (2011), he had come to the young renegade NLP Trainer. Renegade because he Conference to preach about a new cult that he had found and which believed would replaced NLP. We just so happened to attend that session which promised "'new insights for the future of NLP." But the session He perched himself on a stool and sat actually did not go over very well. we in lotus position as if he were a guru of a special spiritual revelation and to share his were his devotees. That's when he told us that he was there we could now hear revelation of how he had moved "beyond NLP" and how the truth that would save us from our NLP confusions. At

NLP

the next

dozens and Well, the longer he talked, the more people began to walk out, he passed by and dozens of people. Afterwards, outside in the lobby feedback?" He said he greeted us. I asked, "Would you be open to some be was. restated my invitation, "Would you open to some feedback that I

would challenge what you

presented?"

spentthe next 40 minutes and doing. But he was oblivious to what questioning what he was saying e were trying to say. "Didyou see all ofthe people walking out? I asked. forthe truth I have to share." I followed that up, yes, they arenot ready Can you hear how arrogantthat sounds?" "It's the you hear yourself? are at a lower spiritual level and not ready for the transcendent truth.

He again said he was open

to that, so

Frank and

I

Oh

Do

They

truth that I his

am here to

We present."

defensive maneuvers,

Wereally

tried. but to no avail.

to

break

through Afterwards, we mused on the tried

experience.

How

could someone who "knows"the Meta-Model fall for spiritualcult How could he that locates "truth in one's feelings and intuitions? an Conferenceand come to present something that argued NLP ethically

a

-194-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 16 Forging into the

NLP and

against

Af

to convert

tryng

we not make even a sleight a dent we talked that through, we were

e

people away from NLP? in his defense

21st

Century

How

could

system?

quiet for a bit and that brought about Here were, two "older guys taking asidea "younger"guy, tinoOur arms around hinm, tryng to offer him some guidance. At no time did we getangry or rude. At no time did we insult him or tell him that he 1UaS Wrong. Our confrontation was actually very caring and gentle. Then oneof us said, "You know what we did in a one was the way way the olderwise Deople would do to pass on the wisdom of a tribe." "Yes, it was the way communities used to work." "The elders of the tribe would help the vOunger ones to lean the ways of the tribe and them help stepup to be the a

reflection.

leaders

they can be."

That's when

got an 1dea. suggested that we call the elders of the tribe of so NLP together that we activateor mobilize or do something that might let the elder trainers of NLP to start talking together. Frank liked the idea so we talked about how we would do that. And that's how the NLP I

I

LeadershipSummit began.

NLP Leadership Summit, 2012 The very next year, 2012, sent out notices and emails to I

all

of the

"older"

who regularly or irregularly attended the NLP the senior trainers, London Conference and invited them to a Summit"justto talk." used Frank's name as one of the co-founders and said that it is time that we ones.

I

that recognize

"weare the leadersand the future ofNLP is in our hands. So

get together, get acquainted, and put the lie to the accusation that the leaders of NLP don't talk together." And that's what we did. 34 gathered that first year, 38 the next, and so it went. let's

19111

A couple years later

we had become

of us had the sense

that

more acquainted with each other. All wanted the same thing-to create greater

we

for NLP,for a more

credibility and professional

AS We Sep.

leaderswho

articulated

We used

that vision

one of

of

for the future of NLP, that

the Leadership

understanding of NLP,what it

Ther

positive reputation, to be the kind of ethical attract the highest quality people to NLP.

is,

its

Summits

led us to the

next

to write a statement of our

etc. values, presuppositions, standards,

we put that on a website and put out a call to -195-

any and all

elders

of the

NLP

Secrets

tribe

Chapter

who wanted

to

be a

Forging into

16

of the conversation

part

to

the

come and

21s Century

associate

with us. In

all

of this,

we were careful Today

associating.

because

I

think

we were not trying

to

that

an Association,we were just was one of the reasons for its succesS-

not

to create

to create

a new

association,

was no energy who would be in

there

around such ego-concens as who would be president, We focused on the process-we were talking, getting charge, ete. acquainted, finding out what was going on around the world, connecting

and reconnecting,envisioning a future, The many

years

of lacking

a

etc.

and focus, think, had So when we decided to put together a

sense of

I

leadership

created a widespread hunger for it. 3-day Colloquium in 2016 in Alicante Spain for a Summit ofNLP Leaders, there was a lot of enthusiasm. And that Summit was a great success in

terms of people connecting and feeling in NLP, even if unofficial. The leadership

that there

was

finally

some

gatheringscontinued in London and then we replicated another3-day Colloquium Summit in 2018. To commemorate what we were doing in the Summits, we produced books foreach one comprised

yearly

many ofthe leaders wrote. Joe Cheal Powered books, by NLP, Volumes I and II."

ofarticles that

led that effort

and

NLP Turned

40 Years Old

edited the

When 2015 NLP officially

turned 40 years old (1975-2015), Robert Dilts and Teresa Epstein sponsored "The 40" Anniversary of NLP" in July of 2015 in Santa Cruz California. They made the Anniversary correspond to the time of their regular summer trainings at the NLP U. training center. Then they sentout an invitation to come to the Anniversary. Among the key international trainers who came in for the event were Frank Pucelik, Tim and Kris Hallbom, lan McDermot, Christina Hall, and myself. Surprisingto everyone, even Richard Bandler sent a shorttwo-minute video to recognize the anniversaryand to congratulate himself on creating this

field().gos

2ilat

Research In the

was very little official or formal research: years of NLP, there and The earliest founders developerswere not oriented to research with the first

-196-

NLP Secrets

Chapter 16

vcention for Robert didn't

fit

Dilts.

with the class

In the early

Forging

into

the 21s

Century

Further,NLP asa

statistical

phenomenological approach research models.

2000,several NLP trainers

in

Europe designed NLP for therapy Neuro-Linguistic PsychoTherapy (NLP). This highly credible format has been received by many of the commonwealth nations in the European Union. In the USA, NLP Research and Recognition Project, led by Frank J. Bourke, Richard Gray, and Richard Liotti. Susie Linder-Pelz in Australia wrote many peer-reviewed articles forthe British we collaborated together on a few of those Psychologist, articles. In the UK, Bruce Grimley, Lisa Wake and Paul have Tolsey played key roles in the NLP Research Conference and the LP Research Journal. There were many other researcherssuch as Phil Parker (UK), Richard Churches (New

and renamed

Zealand),

it,

Suzanne Henwood,

There's been several excellent

etc.*

books on

research,

first

NLP Research Conferences by Paul Tosey. There A Critical Programming: Appreciation for (2009) by Paul Tosey and Jane Mathison. discoveries in the Neuro-Sciences led

the volumes is

of the

Neuro-Linguistic

Managers and Developers During this time many new

many trainers, writers, and begin identifying connections. In the UK, lan McDermott linked up with Patricia Riddle, a Neuroscientist, to create a program Applied Neuroscience. researchers

Additionally, students them in

to

for decades Paco Juan Francisco Ramirez has been

ata local

university

various modeling

through the basic

NLP

leading

models and supervised

projects.

The Challenge of Self-Critique to a brighter NLP futurerequires the ability to honestly step An important Critique ourselves, to take a meta-perspectiveabout ourselves, and to police Ourselves. Wyatt Woodsmall spoke to this in 2007: Itis unfortunate

that in the

NLP community, people are soisolated firom

the rest of the intellectual world and from what everyone else is doing, that they the wheel and then argue continually feel the need to reinvent

over

who

created

it

in the first place" (2007,ResourceMagazine,p. 47,

Why NLP Works) -197-

NLP

Secrets

Over

Chapter

16

Forging

into the

2

1s"

Century

the years there

have been some critiques. For example, Pascal Gambardella, Lyle Chubb, Melanie Rawlins and Martin Brossman II, and other associates wrote, On Trial" about a "Neuro-LinguisticProgramming negative report on NLP by the National Rescarch Council (Anchor Point,

May

1991, pp.

1-10).

NLP

has spread world-wide, a particular challenge that has arise in the This has twenty-first century is the challenge of maintaining standards. especially been true with the commercializationof NLP. In many parts of the world, the passion for certificates far out passes the passion for skills

As

and competency. Unscrupulous trainers pander to this by giving multiple certificates for a training, sometimes averaging as many as one certificate per day of training. Meanwhile the focuson competency-based training has severely deteriorated so that many "graduate"with a NLP Practitioner or Master

Practitioner

certificates

Programming nor areable to

who

practice

neither it

understand Neuro-Linguistic

competently.

of practice involvestwo central variables-knowledge and skill competency. For learning the informationand gainingknowledge of NLP, a person can spend many less days today than what was required in the 1970s and 1980s. That's because a basic NLP knowledge has become Every

readily

field

available

in

many forms. You can

DVDs,internet discussions,

practice

find

hundreds of books, CDs,

groups,etc. dispersing

NLP knowledge

and can thereby gain the basie knowledge of NLP. What once took three weeks to more than a month in classroom training can now be condensed and learned in a single week. competence, however, is an entirely different matter. While it is easy formal the vocabulary,models, patterns, eto to accelerate knowledge of of information is not so easy. For information the accelerating integration Skill

become available in a person's actual skills, there has to be significant and consistent "deliberate practice" until what one knows intellectually is incorporatedin one's repertoire ofresponses. That means the embodiment through precise and rigoroustraining. And that typically requires a special kind ofexperiential learning It usually requires supervisionand personal to

attention.

-198-

Secrets

NLP

Chapter 16 Forging

ln

this

against

tanes.

NLP

sclling

Century

as

correspondence courses, videoand promising certificates without any experiential deliberate practice. Sometimes they offer a $99

DVD or

learning

are those

into the 21st

series

hecome an NLP

Practitioner,

but

special

is

it

unsuspecting public.

to

usuallya "baitand switch" ploy to an

Meanwhile- A

Revolution of Quiet Transformations It is common knowledge that what gets attention in the news are things that are noisy, unusual, sensational, etc. What gets almost no attention are the successful, but quiet everyday activities. It is not news when United 869 lands successfully

in

Hong Kong.

history of NLP has involved a quiet unnoticed revolution in humans experiencing healthy and productivechange. Using NLP, trainers,

Most of the

coaches,

therapists,

etc.

facilitated

people in becoming more effective communicators, resolving conflicts, enhancing self-communication, finding and applyinga strategyfor a next level development of expertise, becoming better parents, partners, managers, leaders, etc. Yet none of this hit the news. For the media' s perspective,it was not unusual or sensational. And because

it

Nor did

the

now

is

all

regular,

it

is

not even new.

media report on the hundreds of thousands of practice groups the world, the millions of coaching conversations, therapy

around the thousands

sessions,

Yet

this

traveled

etc. ofarticles, the scoresand scoresof conferences, has been the primary way people have experienced NLP. It has person to person, in small intimate workshops, and in private

conversations.

Reflections and Secrets issiRdat The beginning decades of the twenty-first century has seen NLP continue to spread and grow world-wide. 2012 saw the emergence of something brand new in NLP the NLPLeadership Summit. For the first time ever on a of senior trainers and large number continuing basis, a significantly

have gathered and associatedto provide the missing leadership and needed. Today that group of scholarship that NLP has so sorely

practitioners

has generated a fresh rejuvenationfor the possibilities future forNLP. Today there are many highlyqualified people

associating trainers

Ora

brighter

-199-

NLP

Chapter

Secrets

who

about

care

contribution,

the

quality

of research,

NLP

of

credibility

Forging into

16

terms of

in

its

21" Century

the

ethics,

social

etc.

Background Notes 1.

More than

NLP

a

decade

later,

he and Frank Pucelik would write yet another one, Origins of

(2015).

2. Personal correspondence and conversations with Michael Carroll. 3. See Whispering, (2002), Part III, Chapter 1, Key Issues in NLPmoucme 4. In Whispering Grinder called me out several times asking me to explain Meta-States and other things. SoI did. That began a series of email exchanges which you can find on the Neuro-Semantic website. 5. "Jamie Smart announced his intention to stop teaching NLP in order to teach a new as the Three Principles by the the of reality articulated paradigm, Inside-Out understanding Banks." Summer, 2011, 27). philosopher Sydney (Rapport, p. 6.

See the website, ww.nlpleadershipsummit.org.

7.

You

for

can receivethe

the hard-copy

PDF

of the

files

for both volumes of Poweredby NLP. They are free and Contact Joe Cheal at book, they are at cost.

actual

or myself at [email protected]. [email protected] 8. At the NLP Research Conference, sponsored by

ANLP

of the

UK, more than

thirty

researchers presented papers.

For more about

9.

on

NLP

research and then click NLP research,see www.neurosemantics.com/ and Neuro-Semantic Research. That will take you to the key research websites.

Derren Brown, Tricks of the Mind (2007) describes how he was "put off" after which he attended "which only lasted four training attending a Bandler Practitioner days, certificate. I didn't have to I was given my Practitioner pass any tests or in any sense 'earn' 10.

my qualification. unbalanced potentially

...

So the

four hundred or so

or

were set

self-delusory,

set

themselves

up as

delegates,

free

therapists

after a deal

and

some ofwhom were

clearly

either

to highly evangelical four-day rally with broken people under the banner

ofNLP." (p. 185-186). r0s 11. This is an issue the NLP Leadership Summit has addressed numerous times. You can see information about those doing so on the website, click on "NLP Credibility"

-200-

Chapter 17

THE NEXT BIG SECREET "Determination in

spite of

gives you the resolve

theroadblocks

to

keep going

that lay before you."

Denis Waitley "I am not the but

I

richest,

smartest or most talented person in the world, I keep going and going and going."

succeed because

Sylvester Stallone

the NLP

the biggestsecret is not so much a secret as it The mystery ofthefuture. What secrets does it hold? is mystery. What will happen to the field of NLP in the future? How will NLP continue to evolve and develop? Whatwill it become in the next 40 years? The next 100 years? These questions regarding the ongoing developments in the field of NLP, and all of the NLP communities around the world, the Associationsof NLP, as well as all of the people who arenot connected to in the future decades of the any formal body. Where will the story go twenty-first century and beyond? into a credible Will it survive its adolescent years and mature fall

secrets,

a

with a respectful

discipline

Will

it

use

relationship

its

to

brand?

models and

patterns

and

of communication

forge a professionalcommunity?

While these questions beckon us into the unknown do point are unanswerable questions, they essentially füture

-201

and, at this to

what

point,

is

now

have been challenges from the beginning, there still exists a multitude of challenges. These have to do the question of win the NLP brand, managing the reputation, addressing much more. and quality, standards,ethics, people who misuse it, leadership,

unknown

and unknowable.

As

there

Who Misuse NLP

Those

A

challenge that has been with the field for decade concerns how to deal with people who use some aspect of NLP for their own personal gain in ways. This is not unique to NLP; it happens in all professions. In the more matured disciplines, organizations set up processes to identify thosewho are behaving unethically and/orwho harm clients so that they can unethical

sanctionthose persons, revoke their licenses, and even (when appropriate) report to authorities. This is all the more likely to happen when the models

and technology of a field

are

powerful. That's because the more powerful

the technology,the more powerful the potential abuse. Forthe

do not have such processes in With topic

the field

most part

we

of NLP.'

NLP Leadership Summit, this has been a regular ofdiscussion.In 2016 we established a Media Group whose task was

the founding of the

respond to false statementsin the media about NLP. This includesthose statementsthat individuals or groups make which misrepresentwhat NLP is as well as those individuals or groups whose practices undermine the to

of NLP. Regarding the valuesof the field and a code of ethics, the Leadership Summit already has a basic code although at present no credibility

process for enforcing

that code.2

Creating a Global InternationalOrganization of NLP Another question and concern is how to bring the field together so that eventuallyan international body can be created who can then set universal standardsregarding what constitutes recognizedtraining in the NLP models as practitioners, master practitioners, trainers, coaches, etc. This also is another one of the ongoing conversations which the NLP Leadership Summit has focused on and continues to talk about. It is one that we hope will eventuallybe resolved. At the 2018 Summit, we decided that we wanted to move in the direction of ultimately creating a global

body

body

that will

a

subsume all ofthe NationalAssociations.Then such a body

could speak for the whole, establish of standards practice, support research, and provide a balancing influenceworldwide.

-202-

NLP

Chapter 17

Secrets

And

New Developments in the NLP Models Vears ago Steve Andreas wrote about how a development. Like any

field

develops

the Story Goes On

in

terms of its

NLP

is growing by fits and starts, sometimes exploring other times stumbling out of the wilderness into a wide expanse of understanding. Some new developments are like 'cold fusion,' which burst into the limelight, promising much and delivering little, while other less flashy but more substantial developmentslinger in the shadows, waiting for Much of the development of recognition. any field is taking a small part of it and simply documenting it in greater

field,

blind alleys,

and

at

detail.

For years in

NLP this

run articles

introducing new models,

process mostly occurred informally via the journals and Associations. Asjournals such asAnchor Point and NLP World would patterns,

or applications-those

that

"caughton" were picked up by practitioners and trainers alike and would thereby spread. In this way, developments that occurred after the original NLP creation period (1975-1980) took hold and became known as partof NLP. A good example is Robert Dilts' model of Neuro-Logical Levels As it was (1986). picked up, used, expanded, etc., it became, as it is today, a

mainstay of NLP.

What came the real

be counted as "Neuro-Linguistic Programming" occurred in world of practices. If it worked and made a difference, if it was to

congruentwith the basic NLP communication

way

it

was, as it were, "voted"on by the

Another example occurred with a contest that

the

International

field

my creation

model, then in this informal and included as part of NLP.

of the Meta-States Model. Via

Association of NLP Trainers(TANLPT) ran

in

1994, they recognized the Meta-States Model as "the most significant contribution to NLP in 1995. That helped to validate the Meta-States Model, along with many Meta-State patterns, and establish it as part of

and others wrote articles aboutMeta-State patterns and their usefulness.

NLP. Simultaneously,

I

for all of the journals

Associations,trying With the ending of almostall NLP journals and many or patterns areemerging oKeep up with what's going on, what new models as become more challenging, To address that, Shelle Rose Charvet and -203-

NLP

Secrets

And

Chapter 17

put out a

2010

call in

to collect

we then created

collection

the

the

first

new models and

collaborative

book

the Story

patterns. in

On

Goes

From

that

NLP, Innovations

NLP

(2011) that brought together into one work a great many ofthe models and patterms that developed in NLP in the two decades of the 1990s and 2000s. in

in the Field For years assumed (falsely, as I discovered)that a "founder is a leader." Assuming that, along with probably tens-of-thousands of others, looked to Bandler and Grinder for It never came. They did not send leadership.

Leadership I

I

to inspire the NLP community. They did not come to out messages Conferences to point to future potential developments of the field that they or others were working on. They did not encourage people to create thinktanks to address problems which NLP could potentially handle. They did

not put the mantle of validation on up-and-coming trainers or developers. Instead, if they did anything,they did the opposite. They mostly competed againstanyone and everyone who had a new idea. They also engaged in actively

Yet

those who were

discrediting

this

leadership

deficiency

development of men and women

creating

did all

new things.

not stop the natural leadership around the planet. At a thousand

While they stepped up to exercise local leadership. there was the lack of international leadership, at the local level male and different

local sites,

female leaders were developing visions that led to the development ofNLP Associationsin scoresand scoresofcountries. They led Conferences. They

made keynote

presentations

books designed

T

at the conferences.

to inspire others.

They

led research

Now while the greatmajorityof this leadership gained

international

They wrote

was

articles

and

projects.

local,

some

individuals

prominence. This mostly occurred by those of us who

devoted ourselves to extensive traveling to spread NLPRobert Dilts, Shelle Rose Charvet (LAB profile), James Lawley and Penny Tompkins (Clean Language), Lucus Derks (Social Panorama), Stephen Gilligan (Trance Camp), Joseph 0'Connor, Richard Bolstad,Tim and Kris Hallbom,

and myself (Neuro-Semantics and Meta-Coaching), etc

-204-

3drine

NLP Secrets

Chapter 17

And

the Story

Quality while the question of quality certainly includes standardsand nrimarily concerns a person's character. And

rsan's pe

integrity,

that, in turn,

how he relates

to others, her

Goes

On

practices, it

goes

to

the

authenticity, his capacityfor

compassion, the willingness to admit mistakes and adjust, etc. As this describes yet another major challenge for NLP, it also raises several

Does NLP knowledge and competency lead to being better it enable us to have Does persons? richer lives and Does relationships? enable us to live heathierand with greater wellness. Does it empower us to be more responsible and contributingcitizens?

questions. questions.

it

Reflections

While the story is

guess.

and Secrets

NLP

story along with its continuing into the unknown Obviously the

NLP

secrets

have brought us thus far, the

future.

What

communication

it

will bring is

methods for

anyone's

precision,

for

own

for developing the emotional intelligence of "running one's brain," managing one's state, the modeling of expertise (and other subjective experiences)will continue to expand and develop. These facets of the NLP model are already deeply embedded within many fields beyond NLP -management, coaching, consulting, therapy, emotional intelligence, self-development,sales, negotiations,

etc.

unknown and nearly impossible create sufficient predict. Will the NLP Leadership Summit eventually an international body? That's another credibility and agreementto become Where

will

unknown.

it

go and how

develop

it

NLP become

Will

programs? Will

will

it

be put

to

use

is

increasingly in

new ways

integrated in the

into

University

future?

Background Notes:

but there covers the field generally, general statement set forth ethical standards have ofthe national Associations of NLP are exceptions. Many we set and some have members accountable. In Neuro-Semantics processes for holding the licensed and coaches (Meta-Coaches) for both the licensed up an accountabilityprocess hear complaints from customers of Examiners who can established a Board rainers. mistakes. to correct to issue sanctions and clients and have the ability

In saying, "for the most part," this

We

Seewww.nlpleadershipsummit.org. 7. 3. Steve Andreas, Rapport49, Autumn 2000,p. different from many in NLP had 25 contributors nnovations 2.

-205-

NLP

*camps.

Some years ago I asked Robert Dilts if Bandler and Grinder had ever acknowledged his to NLP with his He quietly said, "No." many, many models and patterns. contributions 5.

created the Meta-States Model, Junfermann Verlag Press in Germany sought to and publish Dragon Slaying and Taming (1995). Then a problem arose, Brahm translate Hune from First Institute in San Francisco sent word that Richard Bandler had created I

After

Von

He wrote, "it is edited transcripts ofseminars that Richard held." (Jan. 1997). Meta-States. Even though that was absolutely ridiculous, I provided the evidence that I created it and that Bandler had nothing to do with it.

-206

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-215-

L. Michael

Ph.D.

Hall,

Michael Hall is a visionary leader in the field of NLP and Neuro-Semantics out of having been a modeler ofhuman excellence for 25 years. Searching areas human expertise, he continues to model the structure of that experience and then and books. With his turn that information into training manuals, L.

models, patterns,

Michael is

several businesses,

His doctorate

is

in

also an entrepreneur

the Cognitive-Behavioral

and

an international trainer,

sciences

from Union

Institute

When For two decades he worked as a psychotherapist he found NLP in 1986, he studied and worked with Richard Bandler. Later when that studying and modelingresilience,he developed the Meta-States Model (1994) in

University.

Colorado.

He co-created the International Society of Neuro-Semantics. ofNeuro-Semantics(ISNS)with Dr. Bob Bodenhamer. Learning the structure of writing, he began writing and has written more than 55 books, many best sellers in the field ofNLP. launched the

field

Applying NLP to coaching, he created the Meta-Coach System, this was codeveloped with Michelle Duval (2003-2007), he co-founded the Meta-Coach Foundation(2003), created the Self-Actualization Quadrants(2004)and launched the new Human Potential Movement (2005)which is now one of the Professional Tracks ofNeuro-Semantics. In terms of creativity, Dr. Hall has created a dozen major models in the field of NLP and Neuro-Semantics,hundreds of patterns, and including the serial books,

more than 75 books. He

has created

a board game for

the Neuro-Semantic and Meta-Coach communities. NLP Leadership Summit.

learning

Contact Information: P.O. Box 8 Clifton, (1-970)

Colorado 81520 523-7877

USA

Website: www.neurosemantics.com

hibs dliscA

-216-

Meta-Programs,

He has also

co-created

the

Books by L. Michael Hall, Ph.D. NLP and Neuro-Semantics: the Higher Levels D Meta-States: Mastering of Mind (1995/ 2012). to Princes (1996/ 2000). Dragon Slaying: Dragons

2) 3

The

Spirit

of

Languaging:

4)

NLP:

The Proces, Meaning and Criteria for Mastering

The Linguistics of Psychotherapy

NLP

(1996).

(1996,spiral).

More Ferocious as a Presenter (1996, spiral book). For Renewing the Mind (with Bodenhamer, 1997 /2006). Advance Time-Line Processes (with Bodenhamer, 7) Time-Lining: 1997). Meta-Advance Modeling Using Meta-Levels (1997/ 2001). 8) NLP: Going 9) Figuring Out People: Reading PeopleUsing Meta-Programs(with 5) Becoming 6) Patterns

Bodenhamer, 1997,

2005).

of Magic, Volume I (with

10)

SourceBook

11)

Mind-Lines: Lines

12)

Communication

13) 14)

Barbara Belnap, 1997).

For Changing Minds (with Bodenhamer,1997/2005). Magic (2001). Originally, The Secrets of Magic (1998). Meta-State Magic: Meta-State Journal (1997-1999). When Sub-Modalities Go Meta (with Bodenhamer, 1999, 2005). Originally, The

Structure of Excellence. 15)

Instant Relaxation (with Lederer, 1999).

16) User's Manual ofthe Brain: Volume I (with Bodenhamer,1999). 17) The Structure ofPersonality: Modeling Personality Using NLP and Neuro-Semantics and Harmblett, 2001). (with Bodenhamer, Bolstad, 18)

The Secrets ofPersonalMastery

(2000).

Frame Games

Winning the Inner Game (2007), originally 20) Games Fit and Slim People Play (2001). 19)

21) Games for Mastering Fear (with Bodenhamer,2001). 22) Games Business Experts Play (2001).

(2000).

10

(ome0 (

Marix Model:Neuro-Semantics and the Construction of Meaning (2003/2016). Manual ofthe Brain: Master Practitioner Course, Volume lI (2002). 25) MovieMind:Directing Your Mental Cinemas (2002). 23) The

24) User's

26) The Bateson Report 27) 28)

(2002,spiral. Make it So! Closing the Knowing-DoingGap (2002). (OutofPrint) Patterns (2003). Source Book of Magic, Volume I1, Neuro-Semantic

sitiesl

29) Propulsion Systems (2003,spiral). 30) Games Great Lovers Play (2004).

31) Coaching Conversation, Meta-Coaching,

Volume II

& Robert

(with Michelle Duval

Dilts

2004, 2010). Volume I (with Duval, 2004/ 2015). Coaching Change, Meta-Coaching, Peak Performances (2007Vol. 35) Unleashed: How to Unleash Potentials for Psychology (2008, Volume IV). 34) Self-Actualization

2)

35) Achieving Peak Performance (2009, Volume V). 30) Unleashing Leadership: Self-Actualizing Leaders -217-

and Companies(2009,

III).

Vol

Vi).

37) The Crucible and the Fires of Change (2010, Volume VIl). 38) Inside-Out Wealth (2010). Volume VIII). 39) Benchmarking: The Art of Measuring the Unquantifiable (2011, Rose Shelle Charvet; 2011). 40) Innovations in NLP: Volunme I (Edited with (2011) 41) Neuro-Semantics: Actualizing Meaning and Performance with Mela-Coaching 42) Systemic Coaching: Coaching the Whole Person Gambardella, Ph.D., 2012, Volume 1X).

(with

Pascal

Group and Team Coaching (2013, Volume X). Excellence in the C-Suite (2014, Volume XI). 44) Executive Coaching: Facilitating (2015, Volume XII). 45) Political Coaching: Unleashing Self-ActualizingPoliticians. 46) Collaborative Leadership, with lan McDernmott. (2016) 47) The Field of NLP with John Seymourand Richard Gray (unfinished). 48) The Meta-Coaching System (2015, Volume XI1). 43)

49) Get Real: Unleashing Authenticity (2016, Volume XIV). 50)Inside-Out Persuasion (2017, Volume XV). (2017, Volume XVI). 52) Executive Thinking: Activating Your Highest Executive Thinking Potentials (2018).

51) Creative Solutions

Volume Books Books written in

PDF

to

weekly installments

Meta-Coaches

to

egroup (Morpheus), books on the Neuro-Semantic website.

Neuronsbegan

as the Meta-Reflections in

1) 2008. 2) 2009. 2015. 9) 2016. 10) 2017. book.

Morpheus

community(Neurons), Trainers egroup. These are

the Neuro-Semantic

the Neuro-Semantic

3)2010.

began as the Meta-Coach

2008 and

4) 2011.

to

the

now

each year consists of another 6) 2013. 7) 2014. 8)

5)2012.

Reflectionsin 2009. 2)2010.

3)2011.

4)

2012. 5) 2013. 6)2014. 7)2015. 8)2016. 9) 2017.

Framers is the Trainers' Reflections which began in 2010. 3)2012. 4) 2013. 5) 2014. 6) 2015. 7) 2016. 8)2017.

1) 2010.

Other books:

Me

I

1) Emotions: Sometimes Have Them/Sometimes They have (1985) Motivation: How to bea Positive Influence in a Negative World (1987) 2)

3)Speak Up, SpeakClear, SpeakKind (1987) 4) Millennial Madness (1992), now Apocalypse 5) Over My Dead Body (1996). Order Books from:

NSP:

Then,

Neuro-Semantic

5P.O.Box 8 Clifton,

0

Not Now

(1996).

Publications

CO. 81520-0008 USA

970) 523-7877

-218-

2)2011.

Neuro-Semantics as an Association .

1006

Hall

and Bodenhamer

registered

ional Society of Neuro-Semantics (ISNS)"Neuro-Semantics" asa new approach d

and to

founded

The

teaching, training, to a higher level in one of the leading

asing NLP. The objective was to take NLP, as a model and field, rms of professional ethics and quality. Today term Neuro-Semantics is and movements within NLP as it is disciplines pioneering many new developments and demonstrating a fresh creativity similar to what characterized NLP when it was new.

known

is

Dr. Hall

as a prolific writer, having authored

Crown House

of them best sellers through into

translated

50 books in

Publishes

numerous languages: German, Norwegian,Portuguese, etc.

Dutch,

Chinese, Arabic,

(Wales,

Italian,

the

field

UK)

and

of NLP, many many of them

Spanish, Russian, Japanese,

www.neurosemantics.com

The Meta-Coaching System As a complete and comprehensive coaching system, the Meta-Coaching System began in 2001 when L. Michael Hall, Ph.D. modeled four expert coaches. He then applied the Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)and Neuro-Semantic of Coaching. As a systemic model, the Meta-Coaching

models to the burgeoning

to answerthe question: How do you know what to how to do what you 're doing, and why?

Coach do

it,

field

System enables a professional do, when to do it, with whom to

can think strategically as a Coach,you will be able to recognize where you are and what to do. Having a theoretical model that answers the why are you soyou don't have that? doing question saves your coaching from being a grab-bag oftricks

When you with

to

a

client

coach-by-the-seat-of-your-pants.

1o met this

rigorous

criteria,

the

ints based

Meta-CoachingSystem is

on eight models-models

and Self-Actualization Developmental, Cognitive-Behavioral, Then as a basis. a credible scientific psychologies. The design is to give Meta-Coaching on a certain day, your intuitions what you "feel like" Coach you will not fall back on on a trick that you have picked up or some be own unresolved issues), may your Which

are

based

in

Which

weekend

training.

e-to

dayMeta-Coaching

standards are the highest

in

the

field

as it offers specific of Coaching a It also has skills. developed

benchmarksfor every one of the 50 coaching to generate rigorous nChmarking Intangibles Model for how Oehavioral

S. The Which Curriculum is

Meta-Coaching

On

benchmarks structure

has an accountability Meta-Coach. There are

System also

governs every licenced of Meta-Coaching,and several

more

in

the

1nclusive ofother systems as Meta-Coachesaround ofICF and many other Coach training programs.

of times

in

every continent.

-219-

for the

any value ethics

ana

now 14 books detailing works. The Meta-coacnl the world in 60 countries are

the board

COaching occur every year dozens

to

rainings

u

Meta-Coaching Series model in framing the of Coaching, the Meta-Coaching System is a leading to provide a The of effective in a way. design coaching highly systematic process is Professional Coach the ability to know what to do, when to do it, how to do it, with whom the field of coaching in the unique to do it, and why to do it. The design also is to establish the field

In

and develop, namely, psychology for psychologically healthy people who want to change committed to writing the To achieve that Dr. Hall has Self-Actualization Psychology. models and processes ina

Volume

series

Il1

IV:

V:

VI

R

ng

VII: VIII:

IX:

X: XI:

the curriculum of Meta-Coaching.

Meta-Coaching Series Title Model Axes of Change Model

Change

Coaching II:

ofbooks that comprise

Model

Coaching Conversations Unleashed: Self-Actualization

Facilitation

Self-ActualizationPsychology Achieving Peak Performance

Self-ActualizationVolcano

Unleashing Leadership: Self-Actualizing Leaders

Axes of Leadership

Self-ActualizationQuadrants

Meaning-Performance

& Companies

The Crucible Benchmarking

Axes

The Crucible Model Model Benchmarking The Matrix Model

Intangibles

Systemic Meta-Coaching

Group & Team

Group Trust

Meta-Coaching Executive Coaching

XII:

Political

XIII:

The Meta-Coaching

XIV:

Get Real: Unleashing Authenticity

XV:

Inside-Out Persuasion

XVI:

Creative Solutions

Spiral

Coaching System

The Neuro-Semantic Precision Funnel

Meta-Coachingalso based

on the

following Books:

Figuring Out People (2006) Secrets of Personal Mastery (1997) Winning the Inner Game (2007)

The Meta-Programs Model The Meta-States Model The Meta-States Model

The Matrix Model (2003)

Neuro-Semantic

Communication

Magic (1999)

f

-220-

Systems

Model

tiTheMeta-Modelof Language

NLP SECRETS Untold Stories

15

Discover in

NLP

exposcd the hidden secrets aboui NLP and the distorting Secrets to get free from

NLP. Secrets deceptive mythologies surrounding NLP will give you new eyes for seeing where L.Michael Hall, Ph.D. truly came from, its actual sources, the people As who have contributed to its success, and what it is truly about. and false Secrets pulls back the curtains, it exposes the shallow to hear the amazing Story for what it is. propaganda. You will be able where With an investigativereporting point of view, Secrets boldly goes no onehas gonebefore -as it revealscharacter flaws,unethical practices, and self-sabotaging activities which have given NLP its negative press. of NLP--a power for Secrets also reveals the communication power and for enhancing the quality precision, clarity, for modeling expertise, that NLP was of life. In Secrets you will discover the shocking truth "a third man," and there not founded solely by two men, there was it would not have were communities of experimenters without whom discover that NLP was not a discovery of New developed. You will in southern Californiait had roots in many Agers or 1970s hippies Bateson, Korzybski, Miller, Chomsky, etc. scholars and disciplines

somerevealing secrets? Then get ready Ready to be surprised and let in on disbelief, foran emotional rideSurprises, excitement, discouragement, the etc. They are all a part ofthe secrets within story and anger, fear, love, a Professional Communication Model. the truths that today forgesNLPas

ISBN

978-189000153-7

90000 NSP: Neuro-Semantic Publications www.neurosemantics.com

"781890"001537