THE NEURO-SEMANTIC DIFFERENCE

Part II

“Why ‘Neuro-Semantics?’ What does Neuro-Semantics offers that NLP does not? What would you say is the biggest difference?”

From the communication model of NLP, the biggest difference that Neuro-Semantics makes for NLP is the modeling of reflexivity. Prior to the Meta-States Model, and since then, NLP had only modeled one aspect of “mind” —the representation mind (or Movie Mind). NLP never modeled, discussed, or even described self-reflexive consciousness. Yet this is the factor that makes human consciousness so special and so different.

Now isn’t that strange? A disciplined that purported to model how the brain works so that people can “run their own brain” and manage their own state never even described the most unique feature of the human mind! When I was with Richard Bandler, the only times I ever heard him speak about this facet of consciousness was when he made jokes about people “going around in circles or spirals.” “And we have lost people that way!” Nice joke. Poor psychology.

In fact, in reading both Alfred Korzybski (Science and Sanity) and Gregory Bateson (Toward an Ecology of Mind; Mind and Nature) in the early 1990s I became aware of that it is our self- reflexive consciousness that uniquely distinguishes our form of mind. And yet, in all of NLP that facet of consciousness has not only not been modeled, it has been completely ignored, or as in Bandler’s case, dismissed.

Now you know what the Meta-States Model uniquely models—that’s right, self-reflexive consciousness! Of course, not every NLP trainer knows that. Recently, a friend sent me a critique that Chris Collingsworth wrote in which he asserted that he thinks that Meta-States is just some re-packaging of time-lines and logical levels. Amazing that he would actually write something like that publically and so openly display his ignorance of Meta-States! Whenever I write a critique of something that I want to disagree with, at least I read everything I can about the subject so that I whatever I write is informed.

The one-line criticisms of Collingsworth comes from having never read the book or attended a Meta-States Training. So no wonder he doesn’t know what a “meta-state” is nor what the Meta- States Model models. (Actually I don’t mean to pick on him, this disease is rampant among many NLP trainers, but Chris has done it publically as you can see on the following link: http://ia-nlp.org/pdfdocs/ianlp-e-Accelerated-Learning.pdf).

What is self-reflexivity consciousness and what is it about reflexivity that makes it so unique in

our form of consciousness? Glad you asked! Reflexivity refers to the fact that when you think, when you process information, when you construct meaning from words, events, experiences, feelings, etc. you never just think once. For humans, that’s impossible! You think and then you think about your thinking. You feel and then you have feelings about your feelings. You draw conclusions, and then conclusions about those conclusions, and then more conclusions about all of those conclusions and so on again and again, layer upon layer. Your meaning-making never stops at the first level, or the second, or the third, it continues on and on. And every time you revisit a thought, feeling, experience, memory, imagination, decision, intention, etc., you keep laying more thoughts-and-feelings upon it. This is reflexivity.

You, like me and all of us, are a class of life that reflects on our experiences and we keep doing so. Korzybski’s Science and Sanity devotes a lot of attention to this facet of the human mind and he concludes by saying that this is an infinite process. Bateson notes from his study of dolphins in Hawaii that these highly intelligent animals may “jump one or even two logical levels,” but then they stop. In fact, all animals, at some point, stop. After only one or two jumps, all animals stop reflecting upon their own experiences.

But not us! Not us humans. We continue, and can continue, without an end of our reflecting. This describes the very unique characteristic of our mind, the one that leaves our mind open at the top end. And this means several things incredibly important and which are fundational in Neuro-Semantics: Whatever you think, you are not stuck there—you can think again! However stuck you feel in your thoughts or feelings—you can always step back one more time and gain an even larger perspective! You are always just one step away from transformation. If you don’t use your reflexivity wisely, it can create life as a living hell! If you don’t know how to climb the meaning ladder, you will feel a victim of the meanings given to you. If you discover how to climb the meaning ladder, you become a powerful creator of meaning. It’s in using your self-reflexive consciousness that you build up an empowering Matrix of belief frames. Following the energy of a person’s thoughts-and-emotions is recognizing that how that person uses his or her reflexivity determines their interpretative style and quality of life.

And there’s more, much more. And some NLP trainers think that the Meta-States Model is a re- packaging of time-lines! Give me a break! What a statement of utter ignorance and one that just locks a person into that ignorance.

It is your reflexivity as a mental-emotional process that determines how you create your highest and most complex mental maps, which in turn determines your skills, competencies, expertise, quality of life, and self-actualization. And it is the Meta-States Model that models human self- reflexive consciousness. Now, who wants a copy of Meta-States (2007, $45 hardback)?