Getting Beneath the Surface
Coaching involves going beyond superficial discussions to uncover what's really happening for your client. In NLP, change happens when you explore values, beliefs, purpose and identity – and the various tools in this book help you delve into all these.
In his seminars and writing, NLP leader Robert Dilts often quotes the Danish physicist Niels Bohr who identified two types of truth: superficial truth and deep truth. According to Bohr, ‘In a superficial truth, the opposite is false. In a deep truth the opposite is also true.’
Is your head spinning yet? Think of the distinction this way: a superficial truth is that ‘John is everybody's friend.’ A deeper truth is that ‘John is also capable of making enemies.’
People are complex and capable of a complex range of behaviours. NLP aims to get to the deep truth for your clients by acknowledging the shadow side of life as well as the lighter side. The shadow side can involve acting badly at the same time as the lighter side can work miracles. After people are awake to such a deep truth, they can choose where to devote their energies – to the bad or the good, the light or the dark.
In this section, I look at key ways to access your clients' natural creativity by exploring language patterns and establishing behavioural change.
Uncovering language's meaning: Two key models
In NLP programmes, participants work with ...
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