Sometimes it takes long time before a client sees an improvement. And sometimes it works like a miracle.
Yesterday, a man asked me about NLP, “Can you show me what you do?” I said, “Of course.”
“OK, it is not a therapy, just a demo, understand? Now, do you have something you are afraid of?”
Yes, indeed there was something. I asked him to imagine it and describe the image. According to him, it was massive. And it showed on his face – he was indeed looking at something frightening.
First, we made this image very small, turned it black and white, and then pushed it away. “Wow, it doesn’t look so frightening now!”
Bingo! Already an improvement!
Next, I put him into a very light trance, just by using my voice (public speakers and preachers do this all the time) and asked him to think of something that makes him feel very comfortable. Of course, he had something.
Sometimes a little feeling of comfort is all you need, because there are ways to make it grow… and grow… and grow.
Soon he was grinning happily. Now this was a good moment for a little NLP magic called anchoring. Sometimes it is done by touch, but I prefer my voice. Thanks to Toastmasters I have enough vocal variety for this.
“OK, now think of this “something” that previously made you afraid and try as hard as you can to bring this old feeling back.” As I said this, I used his comfort anchor. “No, stop smiling, just keep trying to bring this old feeling of fear back.”
The expression of his face was worth thousands words.
“I AM TRYING”, he said grinning happily.
Well, it is always a good day for a little bit of NLP magic.
Not all problems go away as quickly. As I discovered from my own experience, such monsters as stuttering, which are actually made from many intertwined problems, may require a much longer course. Sometimes you will need more than NLP and hypnosis in order to address the issue. But such moments of pure magic are something that can make my day.
“Try as much as you can to bring this old feeling back”
“I AM TRYING” (with a happy grin)
Priceless!