What is Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP): Why and How it Works

 

Throughout time, people have attributed a certain power to words or language. The ancient Indians believed Sanskrit represented the universe directly in the structure of its sound (Hamilton 23). According to the Bible, the expression of thought was the beginning of all things and that expression, or thought, was God (John 1.1). Language continues to hold a position of power in our modern world, although it is often taken for granted. In our subjective world of thought, the same world we project outward, it is all-powerful.

Language is what makes us human and defines our experience as humans; however, knowing and understanding this does nothing more than give us a representation of a reality, but learning to use this knowledge gives us the power to change that reality. This is the claim of a relatively new form of psychotherapy called Neurolinguistic Programming, or NLP (Bandler, The Structure 2).

The Tao of Science

Some scientists, in their quest to unravel the mysteries of our world and the universe, have reached a point at which their observations and experiments are revealing data that they are incapable of fitting into a logical theory. Since science is based on producing logical conclusions, this is a serious problem. As a result, some scientists are seeking the advice of eastern mystics in an attempt to use what some are calling Buddhist logic.

Buddhist logic allows for something to be true, false, true and false or neither true or false. It sounds confusing but eastern mystics are very comfortable with it and quantum physicists have begun implementing it also (Coan 54). This is where science meets mysticism.

Scientists have always felt secure in the fact that the observer does not affect what is observed. In other words, it doesn’t matter who measures the weight of an object or what their feelings are, the results will be the same, but science has reached a level where this is not true anymore. One example is an experiment with light in which scientists conclude that it displays wave properties, or is made of waves, yet when a different experiment is performed to determine the path of the waves the results indicate that light is composed of particles instead. What property light displays will depend on which experiment is chosen; therefore, the reality of light is decided by the observer (Marvit).

Conversation with Mysterious Visitor while Camping

From conversation with visitor while camping at Tiger Cove Campground

click here to see the story of our travel to Pendleton SC, and our camping at Tiger Grove)

Our mysterious visitor never gave his name, and he never asked for ours. It is a curious fact that I never noticed until after he was gone. Our conversation started after we ate. I am writing the conversation strictly from memory, so I beg the old man's forgiveness in advance for any minor inaccuracies. I am confident, however, that I have recorded the essence of the conversation, and my Bella can attest to this as well. Also, I did not attempt to quote his exact dialect, as it was a bit alien to me.

Are You Saved?

Are You Saved?

            How does one respond to such a question? It is a presumptuous one that assumes you share the same belief system as the person who asks the question, and also, implying in some way that you should. Also, no answer seems to be sufficient to such a question. Even if you answer “yes,” you may then be asked “Are you sure?” – which is just a further display of the questioner’s arrogance in believing that not only does he or she have the market cornered on religion but that he or she is the supreme owner of the “truth” and only he or she can discern where you stand in the grand order of God’s plan.

            Debates with such people are practically impossible, impossible because they only allow a limited amount of information to be used for premises in the argument. By limited information I mean information that falls within or agrees with their belief system, anything else is dismissed as irrelevant or concluded to be “questioning God’s word.” This of course is deemed heretical. But let me clarify what I mean by debate. I don’t mean to persuade anyone to believe as I do. I have no need to do so, namely because there is little that I believe to be absolute truth. I don’t claim to be so supreme that I can profess ownership of the absolute truth, and the lack of the absolute truth is the only truth that I am fairly certain about.

Find Your Self -- Kill the Imposter

Find Your Self – Kill the Imposter

Ego Death and the Way of Two Immortal Masters

            The concept of “ego death” has gained the attention of a relatively recent East-meets-West brand of spirituality in Western culture. Authors’ views on the subject are varied but they typically attribute the concept to Eastern religions, Buddhism and Hinduism primarily (Rindfleish). In the current religious atmosphere, this may be true; however, in a different context, Christianity reflects an equal amount of elements that signify ego death. The elements can be found in the teachings of Jesus and in other supporting scriptures that expound upon his teachings and discuss the early church. In this same context, Hinduism at the time of Buddha did not support the concept of ego death, and its current presence is a more recent addition.