So that’s nice…
Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I’m not really into ‘personal development,’ ‘spiritual empowerment,’ or any such self help book spouted crap. But I am interested in the power of the brain, and I am interested in being a better communicator, so when I found a teacher who I felt could deliver the more scientifically accurate bits without the fluff that denigrates so much of NLP I decided to go for it.
And it was… interesting.
Some bits I found overwhelmingly mediocre, but some bits so dangerously powerful that I wondered why doctors around the world weren’t raving about it. I saw a woman genuinely cured of a fear of public speaking so intense that she was shaking and practically weeping at the very thought of having to stand in front of a group of 18 people. But I also was expected to report profound emotional change when I stood in the centre of a circle of people spouting such platitudes as; ‘the meaning of communication is the response you get’ and ‘everyone does the best they can with the resources they have.’
I was also made to watch ‘The Secret’ which is never a good way to win my approval. (It’s called EDITING people!)
I find a lot of NLP, therapy and hypnosis is more about peer pressure and a desire not to make the trainer look foolish than it is about genuine change. This opinion lessened during the week, but I could not make it disappear entirely.
Because this review isn’t completely positive, I haven’t mentioned the name of the trainer or the company. This isn’t in any way to avoid endorsing either, because actually I think that any ‘not entirely convinced-ness’ was entirely due to my overly analytical mind and inherent scepticism of NLP rather than the course itself, which was excellent and well delivered… poor guy must dread people like me walking through the door!
Me being hypnotised (sort of):
