Scion of NLP

Archive for April, 2009

When Robert Dilts first introduced me to the idea of the 4th perceptual position, I wasn’t completely certain I truly understood. NLP colleagues and I discussed it time and time again, slowly wrapping our minds around what it means and what its value is.

In retrospect I remember a short story and video which Robert presented about “Knowing your instrument.” The basic premise was simple — when you first pick up a guitar you need to learn what it is. Then you learn the positions to play it. Then you learn the cords and scales. Then you learn how those notes go together to create music. With time and practice you begin to let go of the structure of scripted music and you learn the relationships of notes and music and how that applies to the guitar. Eventually you can just pick up the instrument and play randomly and to the average person you are creating music on the spot.

The point Robert made was that you need to know your instrument before you can just naturally do it without hesitation or thought — in order to “jam” with others and interact with them in an unstructured and free-flowing way. Something I might define as the highest form of interpersonal communication.

What I didn’t connect at the time was how this has meaning with regards to the 4th perceptual position — the group mind.

Now the question has turned back on itself: what if I set the interaction without defining the group? Well … with the help of YouTube and the World Wide Web, someone has done just that! It’s called YouTube’s Symphony Orchestra … the piece is titled, “The Internet Symphony” … check it out:

Okay – I found this short documentary on synesthesia done by a student by the name of Mark from the University of Colorado at Boulder. I thought it was so excellent that I had to get a copy from him so I could show my NLP students during the Practitioner Certification Training Courses I teach.

If you’re a student of NLP then you need to check this out:

(Special thanks to McrawfishMAC at YouTube for letting me get a copy! You totally ROCK dude!)

All I’m going to say is that I’m a total techno-geek and … I WANT ONE!

The above link is a video demo from Pattie Maes’ lab at MIT, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry and it was the buzz of TED in February. It’s a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine “Minority Report” and then some for less than $350!

Okay y’all — this is another one of those raves I think is really important for people to check out!

I had never heard of the problem until I met her — Annie Hopper! She is a Brain Retraining Specialist who has been in the Health and Wellness Industry for 20 years, and you need to read her story! There are so many things in this world we hope never happen to the ones we love … cancer, alzheimer’s, MS … the list goes on. Well, this one is a major one and it’s something people need to know we are doing to ourselves! It’s called Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and it’s where we’re all headed in the next decade … so perhaps you should check out Annie’s website(s) and know what it’s all about. (Plus, you might want to let others know because the people who have it, right now they have no where in this world to turn … except for those very rare people like my friend and colleague Ms. Hopper!)

You can find her websites here: