EXPERIENCES AND THE META-FUNCTION

There are experiences and then there are meta-experiences. That was the point of the last post about meta-experiences in the Meta place (Neurons #12).

Now if you want to know where NLP got the idea of meta, many decades before Facebook got the idea and changed their name to Meta, way back in the early 1970s, Gregory Bateson popularized the use of the term meta. Meta came from Bateson’s work as he was sorting out how to understand anthropology and systems. He developed the idea as he studied various cultures, diving into the cultures, and then stepping back to reflect on them. In that way he developed various concepts in an effort to understand those cultures. Eventually, he and his colleagues at the Mental Research Institute (MRI) discovered that it was because the schizophrenic cannot “go meta” to his situation that he is locked into a double-bind situation.

Then in his writings (which he eventually put together as a book, Steps to an Ecology of Mind, 1972) he described the power of meta-connections and meta-functions. He wrote primarily about meta-communication as a way to understand the meta-communication habits of schizophrenics. From there he developed a model of learning and meta-learning. He spoke about meta-therapy as well.

In introducing the terms meta as well as frame, Bateson introduce the idea of levels within the mind, a hierarchy of levels. In the following quote, meta which conveys the idea of “about,” enables us to consider the layers of our thoughts as hierarchical in its structure.

“... the steps of an hierarchical series may be constructed by the successful use of the word ‘about’ or ‘meta.’ Our hierarchical series will then consist of message, meta-message, meta-meta-message, and so on.” (Ibid., pp. 247-248)

It is by stepping back from an experience, we can learn how to learn. That is, we learn to punctuate the stream of events in a way that allows us to understand what’s going on. A frame describes the context of a communication. And as such, the context of a message determines its meaning. So the context or frame informs us about “what sort a message a message is.” As meta level information it functions as the interpretative key.

“... a frame is meta-communicative. Any message, which either explicitly or implicitly defines a frame, ipso facto gives the receiver information or aids in his attempt to understand the message within the frame. ... Every meta-communicative or meta-linguistic message defines, either explicitly or implicitly, the set of messages about which it communicates, i.e., every meta- communicative message is or defines a psychological frame.” (Ibid., p. 188)

In moving up levels, be it levels of learning, levels of mind, levels of messages, etc., there is a

discontinuousness between levels. That is, a classification cannot be a member of itself. A member of a class and a class are different phenomena occurring at different levels.

“The content (or meta-message) classifies the message, but can never meet it on equal terms.” (Ibid., p. 247)

This describes the meta-function. When you go meta to an experience or an idea, you are now in reference to that experience or idea. This allows you a larger and more expansive view. You are now thinking and feeling about the experience or idea and not merely thinking of it. You are no longer inside, you have moved outside and above it. Now your thoughts layer it and is about it. And because of this shift, your meta positive offers you a place to set an interpretative frame about the first experience.

Because the meta function enables you to classify the experience, it gives you your ultimate power as a meaning-maker. You can now punctuate the experience in such a way that you can use it for learning and you can prevent it from creating hurt or trauma. This gives you a lot of control in how you see the world and how you can take charge in sorting out your experiences.

“A way of punctuating is not true or false. ... It is like a picture seen in an inkblot; it has neither correctness or incorrectness. It is only a way of seeing the inkblot.” (Ibid., p. 300)

Do you realize how powerful this is? As a meaning-maker, the one who can establish the meaning frame as a frame of reference—experience is at your command. You do not need to be a victim of any experience. You can only be a victim of an experience if you so classify it as such. Pretty powerful stuff!