Perception is projection

A little boy was overheard talking to himself as he strutted through the backyard, wearing his baseball cap and toting a ball and bat: “I’m the greatest hitter in the world,” he announced.

Then, he tossed the ball into the air, swung at it, and missed. “Strike One!” he yelled.

Undaunted, he picked up the ball and said again, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world!” He tossed the ball into the air. When it came down he swung again and missed. “Strike Two!” he cried.

The boy then paused a moment to examine his bat and ball carefully. He spit on his hands and rubbed them together. He straightened his cap and said once more, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world!” Again he tossed the ball up in the air and swung at it.

He missed. “Strike Three!”

“Wow!” he exclaimed. “I’m the greatest pitcher in the world!”

That little story has been around for quite a while and you’ve probably seen it before, but have you really thought about the significance of it? From the little boys perspective, his focus was on baseball and he knew he was the best … after all he kept reaffirming it. So, if he goes through his life with the belief, the perception, that he’s the best, he will keep having opportunities to demonstrate it.

Were those opportunities always there? From a Neuro-linguistic Programming point of view, yes. Your world is the way that it appears to you because that’s the way you believe it should be. You project out onto the world what you perceive the world to be. If you believe that people will cheat you, you’ll get cheated. If you believe that you are great, you’ll have opportunities for greatness.

There are those who think that the world is the way it is and we can either accept it or not. Some people think that only a few are blessed with “lucky breaks” and yet, if you examine the lives of those people and the beliefs they hold you’ll find their lives reflect their beliefs.

So, how do you change the pattern? How do you change your beliefs? Start by focusing on what you want. Really pay attention to what you’re after. Notice the positive aspects of it and be grateful for each occurrence.

You can also work with someone who is a skilled master practitioner of Time Line Therapy® to help you uncover and release any limiting decisions or beliefs that prevent you from getting what you want. Once you’ve released what’s holding you back, you can create the life you truly desire.

Did You Ask?

Once upon a time, there was a young man who was having some issues and needed some help. Believing in the power of the mind, he decided to see a Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming.  The practitioner and the young man worked together for a while and then the practitioner sent him home saying, “You can expect to notice a difference in a couple of days.  If not, give me a call.”

The young man went home and, not noticing any difference, called the practitioner back.  After listening for a few moments, the practitioner asked the young man to ask his unconscious mind if it had started working on the problem.

The young man was silent for a while, then said “I’m not getting anything.”

“Think about it and call me back tomorrow,” the practitioner told him.

The next day, when the young man called, he told the practitioner.  “Nothing has changed.  I’m still got the problem and my unconscious hasn’t said a word!”

“Really?” the practitioner replied, “nothing at all?”

“Well, I did have a weird dream, but I can’t see how it’s related,” the young man said.

“Tell me about it,” the practitioner requested.

“Well, I’m sitting on my porch relaxing when this little boy comes up to me.  He’s about six years old and he seems familiar.  Anyway, he’s really excited and he says ‘I can solve your problem!  I can solve your problem!’  Then he just walked away.  That’s it.”

“What did you say?” the practitioner asked.

“Nothing!  I didn’t know what to say,” the young man told him.

“When you see the boy again tonight, I suggest that you ask him if he’s solved the problem.  Then call me in the morning.”

The next day, the young man again called the practitioner.  “I had the same dream again last night,” he said.

“And?” the practitioner asked, “did you ask him if he’d solved the problem?”

“Yes!” said the young man, “it was just like the first night.  I was sitting on the porch relaxing when the little boy came up and said ‘I can solve your problem! I can solve your problem!’ and turned to walk away.  Before he got too far, I asked him if he’d solved the problem or even started working on it.   ‘No,’ he replied.  ‘No one’s asked me.’”

Like the young man in the story, all too often, we want our unconscious mind to do something for us and yet we never ask or we never ask directly.  For example, if you say to your unconscious mind “Can you tell me where you were born?” it will likely answer “Yes.”  If someone asked you that question, you might deduce that they really want to know the location, not whether you are capable of telling them the location.

The same is true of solving problems.  If you ask your unconscious mind if it can solve a problem, it is likely to say “Yes” and not take action.  Not because it’s not capable, but because you didn’t ask it to take action.  One of the techniques we use in Neuro-Linguistic Programming when we talk directly to the unconscious mind is to ask a series of four questions:

• Do you know how to solve the problem?  This question is designed to determine whether or not the unconscious mind has the information required to solve the problem.
• Can you solve the problem? Here we are trying to determine whether or not the unconscious is capable of solving the problem.  This indicates whether or not the unconscious has all the tools necessary to solve the problem.
• Will you solve the problem?  In this question, we are asking if there is something that would prevent the unconscious from solving the problem.  If the answer here is “no”, it indicates that there’s some benefit, from an unconscious point of view, for having the problem.
• Will you start solving the problem now? Without asking the unconscious to start solving the problem, it’s likely that it won’t.  At this point, your unconscious will have told you that it knows how to solve the problem, that it’s capable of solving the problem and that, if asked, it will solve the problem.  So, this question is designed to get agreement from your unconscious mind that it will start solving the problem now.

To make sure that the unconscious mind has gotten the message, a practitioner will generally tell your unconscious mind to start solving the problem, ensuring that the message has been received.

For most people, this series of questions results in near immediate relief.  For example, if you’ve got pain and you know why you’ve got pain, there’s generally no need to hold on to the pain.  Why not ask your unconscious mind to get rid of the pain?

If you’d like to learn more about how you can talk directly to you unconscious mind to resolve an issue you or someone you know might be facing, please contact The New You Academy at (888) 505-1399 to talk to a Master Practitioner today.

I Wanna Win!

Have you ever heard the phrase “Winning isn’t everything … it’s the only thing!”  It’s a loose quote from UCLA Bruins football coach Henry Russell (“Red”) Sanders.  Is it true for you?

When it comes to success, being number one might be the only thing for you or it might not.  The real question is how important is it for you?

Avis, the rental car agency, made a whole campaign out of being #2 … you remember, “We’re #2.  We try harder!” Is being #2 OK with you?  If you’re an athlete, being the best is probably very important to you.  It means more endorsements and recognition.

If you’re capable of being the best and you’re not operating at your best, the question is why not?  What’s holding you back?

The answer is very personal and it might surprise you.  You are likely holding back because of something you’re holding on to from your past and it’s something you caused.

Right about now, you’re probably thinking “Whoa!  Wait a minute!  Something I caused?”  As hard as that may be to accept, it’s true.  You see if you accept responsibility for the creation of the block that’s holding you back, then you can “un-create” it, or more appropriately, recreate the situation in a manner that supports you.

While it might be useful to go back and examine every traumatic or impactful experience in your life, it’s not necessary.  The content is not important.  It’s the emotional “charge” that you’re holding on to and the decisions you made based on that experience that are important.

Using a blend of Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Time Line Therapy®, you can easily remove any blocks that you’re holding on to, reframe those issues into positive, uplifting experiences and create the future you desire.  And, you can do it without reliving every experience, or even knowing, consciously what experiences you need to work on.

If you’re not a master practitioner, or you don’t have the time to talk to one, ask yourself “What one thing can I do right now that will help me increase my success?”  Whatever answer comes up, trust it and work with it.

On the other hand, if you’re ready to spend a few hours talking to master practitioner to achieve the success you desire, call The New You Academy at (888) 505-1399 today to schedule a free consultation.

How do you know?

Do you bite your nails?  Smoke? Swear?  Maybe you have some other bad habit you’d like to get rid of.

How do you you know when it’s time to do whatever it is that you do?  For example, how do you know when it’s time to bite your nails?

You might say, “I don’t know, I always bite them!”  While you know that’s not true, it’s a lot easier than stopping to figure it out.  And, yet, in figuring it out, you’ve almost solved the problem.

You see, defining the problem is half the battle.  Once you’ve described the problem in detail, once you know exactly what’s going on, you can easily take the next steps to solve it.

Take nail biting for example.  Once you realize that it’s the feel of your nails, the way they rub against your skin, that causes you to want to bite them, then you can stop the behavior.  Many people are able to stop a behavior using will power.  Others are not.  For those folks, Neuro-Linguistic Programming provides the “Swish” pattern to change the behavior.

The “Swish” pattern replaces one behavior with another.  You do this by working directly with the unconscious mind to change the behavior and the response to the trigger, or the thing that sets off the habit.  The trigger is the answer to the question, “how do you know”.

So, if the trigger for you is the feel of your nails on the skin of your fingers, which causes you to raise your fingers to your mouth, you might want to substitute it for raising your fingers to run them through your hair.  Using NLP, you would literally switch the two actions at a unconscious level making the action of running your fingers through hair a natural action.

To learn more about how NLP can help you get over a habit, contact The New You Academy at (888) 505-1399 for more information.

Time for Wearing of the Green …

Did you know that originally, the color associated with Saint Patrick was blue?  Green was used by the Society of United Irishmen; a political organization that was fighting for parliamentary reforms as well as the Republic for the Irish people. In the 1798 rebellion, to make a political statement, Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on March 17th in hopes of catching public attention.

Over the years the color green and its association with Saint Patrick’s day grew.  The phrase “the wearing of the green”, meaning to wear a shamrock on one’s clothing, derives from a song of the same name.

When it comes to your emotions, do you wear them out on your sleeve like a shamrock or do you keep them close?  If you’re like most people, some emotions you’re happy to share.  Emotions like anger, sadness, fear, hurt and guilt are another matter entirely.  In fact, most people tend to bury those emotions deeply.

Sometimes, in the face of some significant emotional event, talking about what’s happened to you is the furthest thing from your mind.  Unfortunately, when you keep your emotions bottled up, what you get is disease and disorder.

If you hold on to anger, you get heart issues and heightened cholesterol according to an article in the Journal of American Medicine in June of 1996.  Sadness has been reported to cause a weakened immune system and depression.  Fear causes excessive stress, post traumatic stress disorder and phobias.  In fact, many doctors now believe that a great many physical issues have an emotional component.

So maybe if you’re “wearing of the green”, keeping your emotions on your sleeve, or at least not holding on to them, you’ll find that you live a happier, healthier life. If you’re suffering from a physical issue, one of the best places you can start is to release any negative emotions you might be holding.  Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Time Line Therapy® are a great way to quickly do let go of all negative emotions on all events in your past.

For more information on how you can release the negative emotions that you’re holding, contact The New You Academy at (888) 505-1399 to talk to a Master Practitioner.  Schedule a free consultation today.

It’s the little things that make a difference …

What if you could transform the way someone feels about their work?  Or chores? Or Tests? Or anything else for that matter?  Would that be of value?

Through something that in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) we call sub-modalities, you can and very quickly. Sub-modalities are how we encode and give meaning to the modalities.  The modalities are Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Olfactory, Gustatory and Auditory Digital.  The sub-modalities are subsets of those. They are the finer distinctions.

For example, if you make a picture in your mind, that picture has a certain brightness, a certain color, a certain distance from you, a certain location.  And that brightness, distance, color and location are examples of sub-modalities.  Sub-modalities are extremely powerful in the short term to assist in making changes and assisting us to change what happens inside of our brain.

Sub-modalities are used in a variety of technologies that NLP Practitioners use such as changing something you like but wish you didn’t into something you dislike, changing a belief, and in the work we do in values.

Take a belief which for you is no longer true.  It’s something which most everyone has.  Do you have a belief that you had in the past about yourself which when you had it, it was true but now it’s no longer true?

For example, some people used to smoke and, if you were a smoker, when you were smoking and somebody said “are you are a smoker” you’d say “yes, I’m a smoker” and they said do you believe you’re a smoker, you’d say “yes, I believe I’m a smoker.”  Now the question is, if you used to smoke, where is the belief today of “I am a smoker?”  That belief which is no longer true is a really powerful set of sub-modalities for most people.

We can take any modality and get the set of sub-modalities around it and shift them.  For example, to shift a set of sub-modalities from like to dislike, you would ask a client “When you think of how much you like that, do you have a picture?”

When working with a picture, some of the sub-modalities we would work with include whether the picture is in black and white or color, where the picture is spatially located in relation to the client, how near or far it is from the client, whether it’s bright or dim, how big it is and whether it’s framed or panoramic.

What we do with this information is compare it to another picture.  For example, if we take a picture of something we believe and compare it to a picture of something we don’t believe we’ll get a set of distinctions.  And, if we change those distinctions on the picture, how we feel about what the picture represents will change as well.

To learn more about sub-modalities and how you can use them, contact The New You Academy at (888) 505-1399 to talk to a Master Practitioner today.

You are Amazing!

What kind of messages did you get growing up? Were they messages of hope and possibility or doubt and failure? Did your friends and family believe in you and support you or did they cut you down?

For most people, what they were told early in life was “no” or some version of “no”. It’s not that people were trying to be mean or unsupportive. Rather, they were being “honest” or “realistic”.

What those early messages tend to create are lack and limitation. It creates adults who never reach their true potential. It creates mediocrity.

And yet, there are those who see you as shining examples of humanity. These people are always looking out for you. They are always interested in your highest good. And, they’re not even related!

Who are these angels, these guardians of your light? They are the Master Practitioners of NLP, Time Line Therapy® and Hypnosis. We have to believe in you, we have to see the you that you can become in order to guide you to becoming it.

Whether it’s your doctor, lawyer, coach, colleague or best friend; you need people on your side who believe in you, support you, see what you can become and lift you up. If they don’t, perhaps it’s time to replace them.

When Bette Midler sang about wind beneath her wings, she was talking about the support system that we all need to have in place if we want to live the life of our dreams. It’s what ever successful person does … Hang around with people who lift them up, who support them.

They’ve also released all the limiting thoughts and beliefs about their abilities. They’ve replaced lack and limitation with abundance and possibility. Isn’t that what you want for yourself?

To learn more about banishing lack, limitation and negativity from your life, contact The New You Academy.

What’s the Problem?

Ever had one of those days?  You know, one of those days when it felt like everything was going wrong?

It might have seemed like the day was filled with seemingly unrelated, random mishaps.  You may even be able to point back to when things started going wrong.

The challenge is that the root cause, the core issue is almost never what it seems to be.  In fact, figuring it out, defining the problem, can be the biggest challenge.

Fortunately, there are some steps you can take that will help you gain clarity and uncover the root cause.  Start by writing everything down.  Generally, these are the symptoms.  Add how you felt, what you were thinking and what was going on around you.  What was the process that you took to solve the problem or to get out of the situation?  All information is important.

It seems like a lot of work and the truth is that it is a lot of work.  The good news is that once you define and resolve the root cause problem, you never have to deal with it again. The bad news is that it often requires assistance to solve the problem because you are too close to the problem, you’re in it … seeing your way out is not really possible,

Fortunately, there are plenty of people around who can help you.  A Neuro-Linguistic Programming practitioner will help you uncover the core issue by using language to help you uncover and reframe the outward symptoms to get you to have a different view point.  A Time Line Therapy® practitioner will help you release the core issue and any of the emotions around it across your entire lifetime.  A Hypnotherapist will work with your unconscious mind to open you up to alternative possibilities and the knowing that you always have the resources you need to succeed.

However you choose to resolve the issues you face, consider spending half an hour with a Master Practitioner at The New You Academy to find out how you can quickly get to the core issue and resolve it.

It’s not fair!

Ever been in a situation where it seemed like nothing was going your way?  Did it feel like you weren’t being treated fairly?  Maybe like everyone was out to get you?

Did you ever look back at that same situation and realize that there was more to it than you initially thought?

What causes us to have a limited view of situations that we’re in?  Why is it that we tend not to realize that our side is not the only side?  And, what can we do about it?

In Neuro-Linguistic Programming, there’s a technique that is used in negotiations that can be helpful in resolving conflict.  That technique can also be used to help understand all sides of an issue.

The process is a matter of “chunking up” or going from the specific to the general.  We do that by realizing that every behavior has an intention that is separate from the behavior.  The question one asks is “What is the intention?”

Once you understand the intention, the higher intention, you begin to understand all sides of an issue.  When you understand all sides of an issue, then you can decide whether or not things are fair.  You also get the ability to take action based on what’s best for all parties concerned.

Of course, when you’re in the middle of a situation, it’s often easier to have a third party intervene; to help you find the higher purpose.

When you feel like something’s not fair, consider what the higher purpose might be.  If you need help, feel free to contact The New You Academy to talk to an NLP Master Practitioner.  We are trained experts in finding the higher purpose for any situation.

Who’s Your Guru?

In certain circles, when you accept someone as your guru, you accept that everything they say and do is for your spiritual benefit. It’s helping you to learn some lesson, to grow spiritually.

In Time Line Therap® and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, we know that there is always some lesson to be learned from every situation. In fact, the more intense the emotion or situation, the more profound the lesson.

The question you want to ask yourself is “what is there for me to learn from this situation?” When you trust your unconscious, what comes up for you is generally the truth. It may not be positive at first, so you need to keep asking the question until nothing further comes up.

What happens is that you will get some realizations about yourself and the current situation. You will also release the emotion that you might otherwise store.

For example, if you are angry about a situation, you might take a deep breath and ask yourself what there is to learn. What comes up might surprise you. You are also likely to find that you don’t experience those types of situations again.

The same us true of sadness, fear, hurt, guilt and any other emotion you can name. In addition, you might find that you had choices that you didn’t know you had. You might have possibilities that you didn’t know existed.

So while you might have many guru’s, consider making yourself one of your guru’s. Listen to what you say, think, feel, and do. Consider what lessons there are for you, because everything is for your personal growth.

You can do the same for any and all of the events of your past … reevaluate them and get the lessons that were and still are there for you. And a result, you can begin to create the life you deserve, the life you know you can live.

To learn more about how you can reevaluate the events of your life, contact The New You Academy today.