Neuro-Linguistic Programming – Some errors and problems mentioned by scientists, system trainers and yogis

My dear ones
, I know that some of you admire and support NLP methods along with other methods, some of which are authentic.
I talked to various people and found that NLP is a perspective that can fascinate them and some want to know more about NLP. It’s natural.

Can we gain anything from NLP? Definitely YES. There are also good things, which a man can extract and apply in everyday life, he can better understand himself regarding certain mechanisms and automatic reactions that he has and wants to change… with others, maybe better times much better.

I have to tell you that, at one point, I also searched in NLP … an essence for the path of spiritual transformation that I wanted.
I abandoned NLP because I realized that it is not what I am looking for: for me it is not a good method of transformation and inner evolution and that the time spent for NLP is often without significant or lasting results, or poorly used (that is, I gain something, but it is not worth the effort). And I’ll tell you why.

NLP methods are addressed to the mind and only to the mind (be it subconscious). It is true that, in many cases, it is the mind that blocks our connection to something deeper, which is above the mind and which is studied with intensity by yoga: the supramental, the causal and, especially, the Self.
So, yes, it’s true, by unlocking some… mental blockages it is somewhat possible to access aspects that are natural and necessary for us.
NLP deals a little with this and a lot with understanding and applying how people can manipulate each other – what I’m not interested in, is, in reality, deeply harmful, it’s an egotistical, nonspiritual and luciferian aspect.
NLP can be appealing, shiny and fascinating but, for me, it still remains (essentially).
It is not, in fact, a method of self-knowledge (because I am not interested in knowing my mind but in “knowing” myself, the infinite potential, the Self), but when it acts as a method of self-knowledge, it does not study and acts only on the mind – the only aspect that can be the object of neurolingual programming.

In abheda yoga, the problems in the mind are solved by accessing issues above the mind.

Because yoga knows that “what is superior can control what is inferior, but what is inferior cannot control what is superior.”
Transcending the mind and using it (including the higher intellect) as our own tool is something that yoga is par excellence all about.
The mind, then, will easily “reform” if we have, at least, the awakened soul, not to mention the revelation of the Self.

For example, people who have at least their soul awakened cannot be hypnotized or mentally programmed.

This is, in my opinion, a very clear proof that we should deal with aspects higher than the mind.
We present below a coherent study about these aspects of NLP and we specify that although it is not done by us, we agree what the conclusions of the study. Perhaps, if it had been written by us, the perspective given by this study would have been milder, but we understand those who did the study because the dancers are outraged especially at the manipulative side of NLP, in which man speculates on knowledge in order to take advantage of his fellows..

Still, NLP is somehow a danger because:
– study methods of manipulation and influence the human behavior of the many and unprepared to cope with this (I mention – while yoga studies methods by which human behavior can no longer be influenced or programmed);

-when, however, NLP is used to overcome the limited capacities of the being, the methods do not allow us to no longer have programs, but to have “other programs”, leaving, otherwise, the way free to reprogram ourselves by other “programmers”, who have chanced or who will be stronger or more skilled than us;

-not all statements in NLP theory are char so in everyday reality; in other words, it is inaccurate and applied mechanically, it changes a spontaneous man who knew nothing about NLP into an artifice fanatic preoccupied all the time with the connection with the mechanisms of his mind and those of others, as he thinks are taking place;

– NLP is used intensively and extensively by organizations and companies that want to manipulate people (for political, economic, group interests), and the solution to resist this is not, in any case, NLP but YOGA (but also other authentic spiritual paths that can offer similar results – probably, slower);

– it can represent, for an authentic spiritual Seeker, a “dead end” from which he will never come out for a long time.
Next, evaluate and decide for yourself.

We wish you a truly free, happy and spiritual life!

Leo Radutz

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HERE IS THE STUDY I TALKED ABOUT ABOVE

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP or NLP after the Abbreviation in English) appeared in the 70s. His parents, linguist John Grinder and psychology student Richard Bandler, had set out to observe how successful psychotherapists were able to change their patients’ behavior. In the preface to their first book, Virginia Satir, who was among those studied, wrote: “This book is the result of the efforts of two young people interested in finding out how changes in human behavior occur and documenting the process. It seems that they have managed to describe some predictable elements that cause the change in the interaction between two people. Knowing them makes it possible to use them voluntarily to induce change”(1)

It seemed like a laudable intention, although from the beginning no one noticed that the two were not interested in the healing process itself, but strictly in finding a method to modify human behavior. Could she suspect at the time Virginia Satir had participated in the construction of one of the most treacherous instruments of manipulation?

Today NLP is far from being a therapeutic technique – in fact, it is not even certified as such by psychological or psychotherapeutic organizations, which reject it in their vast majority. However, it is fully used by all those who have as their primary interest the modification of human behavior in their own interest.

By using NLP in marketing and sales, consumers are driven to buy any kind of products, even the most harmful ones or ones they don’t need. In business, NLP is a reliable tool to determine the desired outcome in the event of a negotiation. In politics, it has become the number one psychological weapon to build discourses and win elections. In the army, it is used to train soldiers so that they can shoot down their targets more easily, being spared too much remorse. In court, lawyers and prosecutors use it to influence the decisions of the courts or to determine certain testimonies. NLP is therefore a dangerous psychological weapon, a treacherous tool of manipulation, a perverse use of the power of the word, a commercial system based on the Machiavellian idea that the end justifies the means.

NLP – a field that is closer to illusionism and witchcraft than to psychotherapy

“The spell is hidden in the language we speak. The nets you can stretch or tighten are under your command, provided you pay attention to what you already have (language) and the structure of the incantations we present.” (1)
This is how the first book written by Bandler and Grinder begins, a kind of NLP Bible, entitled “The Structure of Magic”. The title and content make it seem more like a book of illusionism or witchcraft, rather than one that presents a new science derived, according to the authors, from the latest discoveries of experimental psychology, computer science, cybernetics, neuroscience and linguistics. The chapters also bear titles in the same tone: “Incantations for growth and potential” or “On how to become the sorcerer’s apprentice”, creating the illusion that the key to paranormal powers through which he will have absolute control over the minds of others is revealed.

NLP continued to develop in the same spirit in which it began. Those who have the curiosity to do a google search on this subject today discover a lot of NLP propaganda and advertising pages. The vast majority of them promise miraculous healings, immediate results without much effort, solving all problems – whether it’s losing weight, the fear of speaking in front of an audience, flight sickness, finding a “partner” (bizarre vision of the couple relationship!) or even – for women – getting pregnant (!).

Money, power, influence, health, achieving any goal, fulfilling all desires, everything a mortal can dream of! A painting that has not been seen since the Middle Ages when charlatans boasted their magic potions in fairs, in front of loud crowds.

As for the therapeutic value of NLP , we will give the floor to Christian Balicco, doctor of psychology, human resources consultant and member of the American Psychologists Association: “We notice – and this is a dramatic finding – the fact that some people do not hesitate to transform themselves into psychotherapists after a few (weak) weeks of training, without most of them having clinical training. In the face of such an ambition – that of wanting to help, to take care of another – we cannot help but raise the issue of the health and mental balance of these “practitioners”, and not think about the dangers to which those who are naïve enough to consult them expose themselves. The Yellow Pages are full of such “psychotherapists” who present themselves as NLP specialists. The very fact of wanting to become a “psychotherapist” can also be the logical consequence of this process of manipulation because it makes the first comer believe that NLP is the “miracle method”, the only one capable of explaining all human behaviors. The repetition of this kind of message in different and varied forms is a method of reinforcement, found in all conditioning techniques. This way of proceeding is all the more efficient as the amounts collected and claimed by these famous “master practitioners” are very high. These amounts represent for some a guarantee of the content of the training and the efficiency of the method (if it is expensive it means that it is serious and gives results), but also of the status of the specialists who teach this pseudo-knowledge (if it is expensive it means that I am dealing with real specialists). “

Without forgetting to be proud of the results obtained every time, NLP omits to talk about their stability. Because as far as healing is concerned, it only brings temporary relief from some symptoms. This is because it is not at all concerned with understanding and removing the causes that produced them, as Philip Hodson, a member of the British Association of Counseling and Psychotherapy , states: “although NLP can treat some symptoms, the causes remain untouched”. (20) Moreover, he makes this vision a great merit: “NLP has managed to break certain patterns of classical, traditional psychology that is excessively focused on the problem and the cause. Even today, most psychologists believe that behavior change is a long process that requires special effort from the patient,” writes Ionuț Ciurea in an NLP propaganda material. (11)
“NLP fascinates all those who are attracted by a naïve and superficial psychology that only explains ‘how’ (to proceed),” continues psychologist Christian Balicco, without ever worrying about ‘why’. It fascinates all those who consider the use of a technique legitimate without knowing its conceptual basis. It fascinates especially those who believe that everything can be affirmed, without checking the methods that allowed those statements to be reached. Most often used by practitioners without real training, NLP allows the rapid application of a set of “recipes”, supposed to help a certain kind of people to regain their psychological balance (in the field of psychotherapy) or to improve their communication with others. In fact, it is nothing more than a gigantic manipulation. Not at all by chance Y. Winkin, professor of communication anthropology who worked alongside those in the Palo Alto School, classifies NLP as “intellectual fraud”, “exploitation of trust” and “manipulation of ideas and people”. (2)

“Bandler said he created NLP so he could do whatever he wanted” – Christopher Tomasulo, NLP trainer (3)
“NLP works do not cease to affirm that this practice is based on the discoveries of experimental psychology, linguistics, neuro-psychology, computer science, systems theory, etc. But when we look at things more closely, we find only generalized loans. One of the great discoveries of NLP is the fact that at the basis of all experience and knowledge are beliefs. It is known that this epistemology is already adopted by scientists from the works of Popper, Kuhn, Lakatos or Feyerabend. NLP doesn’t invent anything in this regard. NLP deceives even by name, using the term programming because it is not based on any of the contemporary theories in computer science. Just as the word neurolinguistics would have us believe that it is an application of this science, while it is very far from it. They actually use bombastic terms to hide the charlatanry. In summary, NLP is characterized by a total absence of a scientific and methodological basis, it resorts to false appellations to fool its customers who will pay dearly for something that is worth nothing. His methods do not bring anything in addition to other theories. In conclusion, a lot of noise for nothing.” (4)

The fact that he appropriated the ideas of others, then presented them as his own discoveries, giving them a perverse meaning, does not prevent the parents of NLP from fighting each other over copyright. “The last method of communication left for Grinder and Bandler to invent is through lawyers. Because Bandler sued Grinder. The communication ‘specialist’ or rather the copyright expert, now claims full authorship and all rights (to use the name, methods, concepts and even certain verbal expressions) to the NLP,” write R. Bruyer and S. Kalisz in a study on NLP. (4)
“Bandler and Grinder trained over fifty-five thousand people and wrote more than a dozen books on the techniques they ‘discovered’, but they never published any scientific studies on them. This is also because the scientific world looked with suspicion at the research of the two. Moreover, their opponents say that the positive results are greatly exaggerated. […] Grinder and Bandler failed to rigorously substantiate their discovery scientifically, being far too concerned with the advantages of commercializing her applications. At the same time, discussions regarding the social consequences of the methods and the authors’ responsibility in this regard are amplified,” writes Bogdan Ficeac under the title “The fascinating power of neurolinguistic manipulations”. (5)

Indeed, the scientific world was not fooled by the “magic” with which the two wrapped their discovery. It regards NLP for what it is: an amalgam of ideas, behaviors or theories extracted from the context and appropriated from other fields. The immediate consequences are the impossibility of finding a coherent definition, the lack of a unitary structure and stable and repeatable results.

As far as the definition of the field is concerned, the points of view of the NLP representatives are so diversified that they create even more confusion instead of clarifying things. One says that NLP is “the study of subjective experience”, another that it is “a new approach to communication and change”, another “a new approach to personalityi”, another “an attitude”, another “a technology that builds and uses models of behavior”, another also a technology, but of “achieving performance in any field of activity”.

“Whatever the definitions proposed, the strategy is always the same: behind a pseudo-conceptual hermeticism, an attempt is made through a more or less obscure discourse, to conceal countless counter-truths, sometimes naïve, sometimes gross. Definitions such as “NLP is a process or modeling a process”, “epistemology of experience” or “brain user manual” perfectly illustrate these attempts,” says psychologist Christian Balicco. (2)
This way of constructing NLP is a very perverse one. On the one hand, it makes NLPs feel entitled to invoke the validity, credibility, and authority of fields with which they have no connection in fact. On the other hand, it allows NLP to become a kind of bottomless bag in which anything can enter or from which, on the contrary, anything can come out. In the NLP view, the content or principles do not matter, since the words with which they are called are just labels, which can be changed immediately to create a better image.

An example of this is what happened at the first NLP World Congress held in May 2006 in Berlin. Daniel Bichiș, the representative of Romania recounts: “I discussed for a whole night with the other members of the new reflection group (interesting name, reminiscent of the reflection room from the Masonic initiation). Many of the ideas that were at its origin, 30 years ago, are no longer supported by experimental data. Also, some of the axioms on which they are based can be reformulated.” (6)
These realities make NLP a questionable field, even for some NLP trainers who have begun to untangle themselves from the initial magic.

What are the problems of NLP – according to some trainers?

We have seen what the NLP “opponents” say, let’s see now what those in the field themselves say. In 1997 several NLP trainers published in the magazine “Anchor Point” a material with the title: “Dealing with the Hidden Face of NLP”. (7)
“This material, writes Michael Hall, one of the authors, was born from the concern that Nelson Penaylillo, NLP trainer shared with me in an email. Nelson has compiled a list of the problems that in his opinion exist in the field of NLP . This list was completed and explained by trainers Dr. Bob Bodenhamer and Peter Kean:

1. Lack of awareness – to this date none of our publications have also talked about NLP weaknesses . NLP has many problems, among them being the stubbornness with which it refuses to admit these problems.

2. The use of the term “programming” – “programming” in the name NLP , certainly makes many people wonder how much reframing we do (in short, reframing is an NLP term that refers to changing the perspective, the framework). Add to this the fact that we use the subconscious aspects, it’s no wonder that people say that NLP manipulates them. By using this term, people are left with the idea that the “programmer” is doing something to them with or without their knowledge. This technology operates in an impersonal, inhumane way, without caring for people.”What do you think is the solution proposed in this material? “Hall, in an article published in June 1995 in “Anchor Point” even proposed that on behalf of NLP , programming be replaced by psychology”. Typical NLP mentality – if something goes wrong, we change the name and that’s it! This is in the conditions in which psychology rejects NLP as a vulgarization.

3. Bad reputation that NLP is manipulation – Too many NLP practitioners have too often forced other people and their realities. Nelson: “Imagine being able to work much harder if people didn’t know that what you’re doing is NLP! Maybe I crossed the line by too much arrogance.”

4. Difficulties in making a job out of NLP – NLP human change technology can cause someone to bring about change in others, but in many countries it doesn’t also make you a therapist. And not all of them manage to immediately become able to make the necessary changes to achieve results in 1-2 sessions. Sometimes it takes years for a person to become truly effective. Moreover, those who work in the field of psychotherapy must also take into account a very pragmatic aspect – what will he live from when becoming so effective he will cure a phobia in just 2 sessions? Maybe Bandler takes $500 an hour, but who else can afford that? So we see how the main concern is not to heal a person in suffering, but to accumulate as much money as possible .

5. NLP failures – many people have really tried NLP and found that it doesn’t work. We already have studies and experiments that have tested certain aspects of the NLP model and concluded that they do not work. “I teach my students that sometimes NLP works, sometimes it doesn’t,” says Bodenhamer.

6. Lack of quality of trainings and certification – being an NLP practitioner has become so out of reach to anyone that it has become meaningless. Anyone can do this in six, ten, or twelve days. This shortening of the training time weakens the importance of the NLP Practitioner certificate.

7. Lack of a community spirit – Kean in 1996 raised this issue, even wondering if there really is an NLP community. Since the first trial that took place between Bandler and Grinder not only have we had a string of continuous arguments in our “community”, but these have taken place between those who make the “real” NLP . Nelson shows that the initial impulse given to a field sets its direction and style. In the case of NLP, the iconoclastic personalities of Bandler and Grinder, and even of Fritz Pearls, not to mention Milton Erickson whom they modeled (NLP technique consisting of imitating, copying behaviors, attitudes, ways of thinking or speaking, etc.) encouraged too much individualism, competition, the inability to be together with the other, etc.

8. Lack of regulation – Who regulates this area? Who ensures the control in order to maintain a high quality level? Nelson: “The NLP field operates in a way that seems uncontrollable. Anyone can do trainings, set up an institute and do all kinds of things on behalf of the NLP.” 
 
This is NLP seen by their own trainers and the picture is even bleak. But there are many other things that reveal the true face of NLP as a method of manipulating and amplifying the ego.

NLP – more than manipulation

Seemingly innocent, with good intentions and beautiful goals, NLP is actually a collection of techniques for manipulating others, controlling and modifying their behavior through mental programming and hypnosis. When you tell an NLP practitioner that they are manipulating, there are two options: either they will admit it, but they will seek to prove that it is “positive manipulation”; or he will vehemently oppose and talk about NLP as a method of persuasion, influence, self-control of the mind through which you can really defend yourself from manipulation. Both are just new attempts to manipulate.

We have shown above how NLP was built starting from the desire to find an effective method of changing human behavior. Bandler and Grinder soon came to discover the power of hypnosis in this regard. They were especially attracted by the work of Milton Erickson who managed, through a strong confusion created between the rational and emotional aspects of the being, to induce what is called “conversational hypnosis”.

Ştefan Buzărnescu in “Sociology of Public Opinion” defines manipulation as: “the action of determining a social actor (person, group, collective) to think and act in a way that is compatible with the interests of the initiator, and not with his interests, by using persuasion techniques that intentionally distort the truth, while leaving the impression of freedom of thought and decision. Manipulation aims to inoculate a convenient understanding, resorting to both misleading with falsified arguments and appealing to non-rational levels. The real intentions of the one who transmits the message remain imperceptible to the recipient of it”. (8)

By definition, manipulation is therefore something bad, negative, to be avoided. However, NLP has invented a story—which other NLP practitioners later learned from Bandler’s books—through which they strive to convince how beneficial (for whom?) manipulation is. We learn from them that there is also positive manipulation, carried out – you guessed it, because you have probably heard it often from NLP practitioners – “in the interest of the manipulated”.

“Most often NLP is called manipulation and it can rightly be categorized as such. NLP is manipulation because it acts and uses the most advanced tools that give immediate results,” writes Marian Rujoiu, NLP trainer in a presentation material on the internet (9). We can distinguish between positive manipulation and negative manipulation. We cannot say in any way that manipulation is good or bad in itself. Positive manipulation is manipulation in the interest of the manipulated person […]. But why do I have to defend myself from manipulation? Let’s stop pretending that we are just victims of manipulation. When we assume this passive role and realize that we have always been manipulated in a negative way, we are the only ones responsible.” (reasoning worthy of that of the SCM when it concluded that MISA yogis abused themselves in March 2004, n.n.) “You don’t necessarily have to ask yourself, ‘Does he want to manipulate me?’ Maybe he wants to manipulate you with good intentions (the road to hell is paved with good intentions, he says a wise saying). You have to rejoice when someone acts to achieve your interest, you have to rejoice when someone speaks to you so that you understand (it doesn’t matter what), you have to rejoice when someone wants you a better life. Should we refuse this good that comes on this path of manipulation just for the simple reason that we are dealing with a skilled man?” (9) The passage above is eloquent. In addition to the fact that manipulation is by definition something harmful, profoundly negative and has been so since the beginning of the world, another questionable aspect arises – who decides what is the interest of the person targeted by manipulation? Manipulator? Person? How can she do this if she is not asked? Or the manipulator asks her from the beginning: “Will you allow me to manipulate you a little in your interest?”. And her face suddenly lights up and she replies relieved: “Of course, how can you not, you crave!”

The New Machiavellianism
From whom did these NLPs learn such an inverted, perverse vision? From none other than Richard Bandler, who proves in black and white that values are just a matter of “reframing”!
“Don’t think that reframing is only appropriate when you have something negative and you make it positive,” he writes. “Sometimes a heavy dose of fear, uncertainty and suspicion can be very helpful. Sounds kinda DiavolEsc, right? Others have told me this too. Including a nice social worker while participating in one of the workshops I held in America. He then asked me: – I mean, you want to tell me that it’s okay to be cunning? 
Me: Yes. That’s exactly what I’m telling you. 
Him: I was so good at it when I was young, and I haven’t done it in years. Wouldn’t that mean I’m manipulating? Me: Yes. I think this is a good example that shows that reframing was really necessary,” concludes Bandler. Why? Because that man still had a shred of conscience in him and realized that manipulation is something harmful? Without being “retrained” by Bandler, would he have missed his chance to have become a good NLP-ist? And Bandler continues:
“Virginia Satir (one of the psychotherapists that Bandler and Grinder “modeled”) was making some role-playing games, which were nothing more than reframes through psychodrama. Everyone had to play the role of a part of someone. If you didn’t like a person, it was a great time to take revenge on them. I don’t know how it was that I always played the role of a negative side of someone. I always had to be Machiavelli. In one of these games I had to play the manipulative side of someone. I think because I was the best fit in the cast. And suddenly during the game, that person stopped and said, “But I like this part of me. I never really thought about it, but my ability to manipulate helped me achieve a lot of good things.”

“In any case, in humanistic psychology the frame has been created that ‘manipulation is bad’. If you look in the dictionary the first definition of manipulation is: to work or operate with the hands, to handle or use with skill, to control or manage with art. It has nothing to do with good and evil, it has to do with being able to do something effective. If your frame is “anyone who manipulates is bad” this prevents you from doing a lot of things. Once you are caught in such a frame it doesn’t even matter if it is good or bad. As a communicator you want to have the ability to change the frames that people place around anything. If someone thinks something is bad, you need to use the meta-model and ask them when, where, how and for whom. If someone says that stupidity is something bad, then you will say: some people use stupidity to get others to do a certain thing for them. That’s really smart!” (10)

As we see according to Richard Bandler and John Grinder – the founders of NLP do not exist good and evil, they are just simple frames, labels invented by humans. Truth, Good thus disappear as values and landmarks. Their place is taken by non-values. Indeed, originally, the word manipulate means “to arrange with your hands, to maneuver, to handle.” Knowing its meaning, Bandler should have noticed the negative connotations of this word all the more when applied in reference to the handling of people as if they were mere objects. A linguistic nuance that escaped the great language expert. Not by chance, since NLP looks at people as programmable computers, emptied of spiritual aspects and elevated emotional elements.
Through such absurd reasoning, he ends up demonstrating that as long as you get what you want, manipulation can be used. Machiavelli also maintained with the same perverse conviction that the end justifies the means. With such a mentality of its creators, it is not surprising that NLP especially attracts people interested in controlling others, either out of an obsessive fear of ending up being manipulated themselves, or out of an avid desire for power and material success. The second category is particularly attracted to the idea of “technology for achieving performance in any field of activity” or as another NLP definition says even more explicitly: “a system that allows us to learn the steps by which we can reach a goal, regardless of its nature”.

And here we are dealing with a big trap. “In any field of activity” means that if someone wants to achieve performance in killing people, for example, NLP can help them. And it really did. NLP trainer Ionuț Ciurea states it in a propaganda material: “Anthony Robbins, one of the world’s leading NLP experts and promoters, tells in his books how he managed to work for the US Army in a training program for American soldiers. What Robbins was asked to do was to significantly increase target shooting performance with the weapon, a goal that at first glance seems very far removed from NLP. However, this goal involves “doubling performance”, shaping excellence. By identifying the few people who were performing very well, Robbins “elicited” their shooting excellence strategies, that is, he extracted the specific way (strategy) through which they obtained great results. The platoon’s shooting performance increased spectacularly. Robbins was rewarded for his efforts. What he applied is the essence of NLP: modeling excellence.” (11) What do you think these soldiers were preparing for? Did they want to become good shooters in order to win the biggest stuffed monkey at the Sunday fair? Not at all. It was about real soldiers who were training to kill as many people as possible in an effective way.

NLP proponents often argue that this is a neutral tool and that it all depends on the intent with which it is used. So far we have shown that from the beginning it was built as a psychological weapon of control and manipulation of human behavior. Next we will review several concrete examples of how NLP is actually used . For NLP has opened Pandora’s Box, and the unleashed monsters are now within reach of those most interested in controlling human behavior: politicians, big businessmen, ad creators, sales and media people, etc.

NLP -a good tool to silence those who disagree with you!

The following episode is related by Thom Hartmman, psychologist, NLP trainer, former psychotherapist, director of an advertising agency and host of a talk show on a US national radio. Here is what he says about how NLP techniques are used “in the interest of the manipulated” by one of the fathers of this current, Richard Bandler:
“I was in England, about 10 years ago at a training with Richard Bandler, along with 150 other people. In the first row there was a man who, from the beginning of the formation, did nothing but finish the sentences in place of Bandler, when he took a short break to structure his speech. At the first two interventions of this kind, Bandler looked at him badly. At the third he got up and began to move slowly towards him. There was something strange about the way it was going and suddenly I realized. Bandler scanned the physiology of this man: breathing, blinking, body movements and then rhythmed his words according to them, creating a strong relationship with him. It practically enters his world (this is an essential technique in NLP called relationship setting, n.n.). As he did so, Bandler walked up to him, saying, “It’s not too polite to erupt like that. Such an outburst seems to me to be a reckless behavior (in English rash behavior, the word rash also has the meaning of rash, urticaria n.n.) Don’t you think?” And as he said these words, he scratched his arm lightly with his fingertips. All NLPs know that when they are in a strong relationship, people mimic each other’s body language. Bandler turned around and went back on stage saying, “These rashes really are rash behavior.” He didn’t even get to the end of the stage when in a few minutes the guy was rolling on the floor, scratching himself hysterically, as if a rash had broken out.” (12)

A similar episode features one of the NLP inspirers – hypnotherapist Milton Erickson: “In the 1950s, Milton Erickons was invited to the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. As he suffered from polio since childhood, he was in his well-known wheelchair. The president of the Association was at the entrance and welcomed his guests, shaking hands with them. When it was his turn, they shook hands, but at that moment Erickson quickly took his pulse, gently pressing his index finger on his wrist, observed the rhythm of his breathing and the blinking of his eyes and as they shook hands he paced his words to be in line with the physiology of the president. She thus induced the hypnotic trance and asked him: “Have you noticed that you feel very relaxed?” And he answered in the affirmative. This man had written an editorial in which he said that hypnosis was nonsense and criticized Erickson. “Do you know you’re in a mild hypnotic trance right now?” Erickson continued. “How interested!” replied the president. “And you’ll see now that it works.” “Yes, you’re right, it’s very relaxing.” “I wonder if you could share with everyone present here at the meeting how good you feel in the state of hypnosis,” Erickson then suggested. And the president went to the front and began: “I would like to share with all of you friends, you know, to apologize to Milton Erickson…” Then he wakes up abruptlyc and he has a moment like, “Oh my God, what have I done?” This is called interrupted handshake induction.” (12)

NLP and Election Success!

In the U.S. election campaign in the summer of 1988, George Herbert Walker Bush (Bush father) lagged far behind Governor Michael Dukakis in the race for the White House. However, in just a few months, Bush won the election. What happened during that time? Bush’s image men made full use of NLP . Most political analysts were of the opinion that Willie Horton played the leading role in this spectacular turn of events. Time magazine even called him “the most valuable player on George H. W. Bush’s team.” Far from being a member of the electoral team, Willie Horton was a criminal, who had been released from a massachusetts prison, ahead of schedule, as part of a rehabilitation program. Immediately after his release, he fled to another state where he raped a woman and tried to kill another person. Michael Dukakis was the governor of the state of Massachusetts and had signed his release. Bush accused Dukakis of acting too “soft” when it comes to fighting crime and prepared a series of videos showing Horton in the most sinister positions. However, things were not limited to the widespread popularization of a wrong decision made by Bush’s rival.

Here is what Thom Hartmman also says:
“I remember around 1988, during the presidential campaign, I noticed a series of advertisements depicting Willie Horton in black and white. For those who know NLP, this was an obvious anchor meant to associate Horton with black and white images. They were also accompanied by a certain music and a specific voice. After a while, when you saw those images or heard that music and intonation, you automatically thought it was Willie Horton. Some time later I noticed another set of commercials in which, this time, Michael Dukakis appeared in black and white. The images were accompanied by music and a voice similar to those in the first advertisements. I immediately thought: “these are anchoring Dukakis by Willie Horton!” (anchoring is an NLP technique by which two elements that until then had no connection are associated in the target’s mind, n.n.). It’s not a secret, there are things that are done in any agency. I myself have taught such techniques in courses for advertising agencies. So in the 1988 campaign, George Herbert Walker Bush “hortonized” Michael Dukakis and won the election. While I was in New York at a conference, I told everything I had noticed to Joe Riggio, a brilliant NLP trainer. And he said, “Yes. Know. A mutual acquaintance of ours did this for the Republicans.” And I know for sure that Frank Lunz is Number 1 in these political matters. What he uses is NLP!

People often make decisions based on feelings. They organize their logic to agree with feelings, rather than organizing their feelings to agree with logic. In a political fight, the first and most important thing you have to do is identify the primary emotions. When you want to communicate with a group of people with whom you obviously cannot establish a direct relationship, you have to build a message that touches all 3 sensory modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic). Now (in 2004) Bush (the son) came up with a campaign full of kinesthetic slogans, aimed at sentimental aspects: “strong”, “straight”, “move forward”, “don’t give up and run”. One listener asks, “Many people I know, and even myself, voted for Bush because we trust him, not for logical reasons. Does this trust have to do with what you call kinesthetic?” I talked yesterday about people who are visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and that in order to create a political campaign, the main message has to be anchored in kinesthetic language because it addresses feelings. And that’s exactly what Bush did in the last election campaign. If you address this part of the brain that deals with emotions, you can get people to vote completely against their own logic.”

Newt Gringrich, Atlanta’s state representative in Congress, came I think by ’92 with the “contract with America”, masterfully built in NLP terms. Just like his famous word list. This was a secret memo at first that circulated over to Republican leaders. I don’t know if he wrote it, it was very well done. I still suspect my old friend in the NLP’s or someone else like him. The memo was titled: “Language, a Key Mechanism of Control” by Newt Gringrich. Newt wrote: “We often search hard for words to help us define our opponents. Apply these words to our opponents, to their memories, to their proposals and to the parties they belong to.” And here is the list of words that Republicans had to use whenever they talked about Democrats or liberals: decay, failure, non-achievement, collapse, deeper, crisis, urgent, destructive, sick, pathetic, lie, liberal, they, their, non-ionized bureaucracy, not enough compassion, betrayal, traitor, consequences, limits, superficial, sensationalist, endanger, coercion, hypocrisy, radical, devour, loss, corruption, incompetent, permissive, destruction, imposition, self-service, greed, ideological, insecure, anti-flag, anti-family, anti-children, anti-jobs, pessimistic, excuses, intolerant, stagnation, I’m doing well, corrupt, selfish, insensitive, status quo, proxies, taxes, expenses, shame, disgrace, punishment, bizarre, cynicism, deception, theft, abuse of power, car, bosses, criminal rights, incendiary records, patronage.

On the other hand, to refer to themselves, the Republicans had to use the following words: share, change, opportunity, legacy, challenge, control, truth, morality, courage, reform, prosperity, crusade, movement, children, family, debate, competition, actively, we, ours, candid, human, pure, provide, liberty, commitment, principled, unique, duty, precious, premise, caring, listening, learning, difficult, helping, leading, vision, success, empowerment, citizens, activist, mobilization, conflict, light, dream, freedom, peace, rights, pride, build, preserve, pro-flag, pro-children, pro-environment, reform, pro-jobs, eliminating easy living from prisons, power, choice, choose, honest, protect, confident, exciting, common sense, passionate. This is the official list of Newt Gringrich. These are all very, very powerful things. What I can tell you is that it’s been two decades of psychological warfare that has only been conducted by one side,” concludes NLP trainer Thom Hartmman (13)

<>This was not the first time that NLP was used in politics at the highest level to influence the masses. In an article published in the New York Times we read: “Doug Wead, a close friend of Bush who also writes a book about his discussions with the president, recounts: “Bush told me: as you can see, there are certain code words. There are appropriate ways to say some things and other inappropriate ways. I will tell them that I have accepted Christ in my life” (14). The Boston Globe reports on the same topic under the headline “Words matter. “It was an allusion to the occult science NLP through which the president wants to manipulate his Christian voters by means of words designed to subconsciously induce the idea that he is one of them” (15).

Thom Hartmann also explains how Dick Cheney uses NLP techniques: “It’s Willie Horton again. The Bush family is again subjecting America to psychological operations, but the level of sophistication and manipulation is higher than it was in 1988. Here’s how it works and how Dick Cheney uses this weapon with great mastery. Humans have three “brains.” And as Bush’s specialists in psychological manipulation know very well, the politicians who win the election are the ones who speak to all three brains. The most primitive is called the “reptilian brain” because it also occurs in reptiles and has only one concern – survival. He does not think in abstract terms and does not feel complex emotions. However, it is responsible for fight-or-flight reactions, hunger or fear, attack or flight. The second brain is the one that occurs in mammals, also called the “limbic brain”. He deals with more complex emotions such as envy, hope, love (hilarious, to reduce love to the brain! n.n.). The third brain, the neocortex or the newest cortex is more sophisticated, where abstract thoughts, words and symbols, logic are processed.

When Dick Cheney recently extracted from the context a comment by John Kerrey on sensitivity in the war on terror, he carried out a manipulation of the guardian of the three brains. Only ridicule based on fear has the same power. “America has been involved in too many wars, for all kinds of desires of ours, but absolutely none of them have been won by sensitivity,” Cheney said. He aimed first at the neocortex (too many wars), then at the limbic brain (desires), and then at the reptilian brain. His words triggered an instant laugh from the audience, behavior that is an involuntary response, a discharge generated by the fact that the neocortex was moved in one direction by the first words and then confused by the second part of the statement. This sudden deviation is known by comedy actors as the “punch line”, as in the joke: “I just flew back home from Chicago…. Oh, how tired my arms are.” It causes the neocortex to be momentarily confused and causes an involuntary response from the limbic brain, such as laughter. And then against this background, Cheney can speak directly to the reptilian brain that receives the answers without rational censorship: “those who threaten and kill us innocents around the world,” Cheney continues, raising a problem of the reptilian brain, of threat and survival, “must not be treated sensitively, they must be destroyed.” To have an even greater impact on the most primitive instincts of the audience, Cheney then uses several times the word “sensitive” always associated with the idea of survival. This is not only among the most sophisticated psychological weapons, it is even an immoral one. Kerry then sought in vain to fix everything, bringing arguments that spoke only to the neocortex. His words no longer had any power, as they did not reach either the limbic system or the reptilian brain, in which Cheney had implanted his message.” (16)

NLP and sales

We reproduce a dialogue between a salesperson initiated in NLP and a potential customer, as it is related in Bogdan Ficeac’s book – Manipulation Techniques:

“Sales agent (AV): Good morning, Mr. Petrescu. I’m George Alexandru, a sales agent at Delta Electronics. Lead (CP): Yes, I remember talking to you on the phone. (After shaking his hand, he sits back in the armchair, leans against the backrest and puts his left leg over the right). AV: (he also sits in the armchair in front of the desk; he imperceptibly imitates the tone of the voice and the way the other person sits). I understand that ZKM computer sales are going very well for you… CP: (smiles satisfied) Yes, the demand is still high. We are happy with them. AV: (tests the establishment of subtle contact, gradually changing its position; the other imitates it without realizing it, so the contact has been established) What made you buy our competitors’ products? CP: (his eyes remain to the lower right, revealing his “kinsthetic” way of perceiving) Well, I felt {kinesthetic or sensitive expression} that it was the best deal at the time and that’s why I signed the contract with them. (the salesperson subtly “anchors” the phrase regarding the signing of the contract, spoken by the other, with a raising of the eyebrows and with a certain gesture of the hand) I imagined how beautiful {visual expressions} ZKMs would look in our new advertising brochures and I thought that after this association we would hear about {auditory expression}. I was so caught up in this idea {sensitive expression}, that I was burning with impatience { sensitive expression} to go back and put my people to work (again, AV “anchors” the other’s phrase, looking at the decision made in the past, with a raise of the eyebrows and the same gesture of the hand). That’s what happened then, and I feel { sensitive expression} that I wasn’t wrong. AV: (opens his briefcase and starts presenting his offer): The keyboard of our new models is much more comfortable. A simple touch of the keys is enough to activate them, which is why our warranty period is three times longer than the competition. In the computer, the modules are easy and simple to replace. I’m sure you feel the difference between the features of our computers and the ones you sell. Likewise, I am sure that buyers will also feel {sensitive expression} immediately the advantages offered by our company… (while speaking, the agent imitates the tone and gestures with which the wholesaler described his strategy a few moments before; he also drops the ‘anchor’ to get the other to sign the contract, raising his eyebrows and gesturing with his hand)” (5).

Such a scene may even seem ridiculous, and obviously in this case too, the NLP partisans will say that everything is in the interest of the manipulated. So do the advertisements with which we are constantly bombarded. They make full use of sensory expressions and all kinds of anchors that connect the products presented to our most pleasant and intimate memories. Most end up buying not because they want the product, but because they are given the illusion of reliving that experience.

In a video circulating on the internet we can see how NLP techniques are used to determine a person’s decision about the gift they want for their birthday. The one who applies the NLP techniques of anchoring and interrupted handshake to induce conversational hypnosis is the illusionist Derren Brown.

The victim is a man who was asked a few days before to write on a note what he wants for his birthday. He is invited on the set where he has a brief, apparently innocent discussion with Derren Brown. In the end, he is asked what he wants and answers very decisively: a BMX bike. He gives this answer several times, arguing that since he was a child he wanted such a bicycle. Necessarily red. The much-desired gift is taken out of a box. It’s really a red BMX bike. He is asked to show the note he wrote down a few days before what he wants and is convinced that he will find “a BMX bike” written on it. On the sheet, however, it is written with his own hand: “a leather jacket”. What happened? While shaking hands with Derren Brown, he applied an NLP technique to induce hypnosis and then inoculated him with some suggestions in which he slipped in the keyword bicycle and the letters BMX. “Let me explain how I get gifts,” he begins (in English: how do I bike gifts). The use of the word bike – bicycle as a verb, instead of buy – to buy confuses the logic of the interlocutor and is striking, making it easier to fix the suggestion. “Rather than re-recycling the same two tired bottles of wine… I make the person fall in love with the gift,” Derren Brown continues. “Those for whom I buy the gift radiate with pleasure” (in English they BeaM eXcitement for it). “This feeling can be so strong, so extreme that it replaces the memory of what they actually wanted (obvious suggestion). A few days ago you would have said I want X… like a BM car or an X box. These are all suggestions that lead the person to choose what the hypnotist wants. In the same way, they play with the minds of consumers and the creators of advertisements or sellers. And they do it by manipulating through NLP techniques.

NLP and lawyers
Bogdan Ficeac also describes how NLP is used in the legal field: “In one of their books, this time addressed to lawyers or those who have contact with justice, Grinder and Bandler describe some techniques for manipulating judges in court. For example, covered “anchors” and non-verbal communication can be particularly effective in such cases.

Here’s an example of manipulation: A practitioner of neurolinguistic influencing systems accompanies his friend to court, where he is to be tried. At one point, during the trial, the judge is amused by a witness’s reply and bursts into laughter. Immediately the practitioner drops the “anchor”: he coughs in a certain way, straightens his voice or sneezes discreetly, so as not to be distracting, but still to be heard by the judge. Then he watches each moment of relaxation of the judge and repeats the sound, in order to strengthen the connection established by that “anchor”. He also participates in other trials, throwing the “anchor” every time the judge smiles, but in such a way that he does not stand out. Then, during the trial of his friend, he drops the “anchor” as often as possible, but without distraction. The subtle connection created in this way between the “anchor” and the judge’s behavior will make him relax when addressing the defendant and even have a favorable attitude towards him. Grinder and Bandler argue that, applied by experienced practitioners, the method has a chance of success in most cases . (5)

“NLP is like installing software in your brain to achieve a certain behavior. It can convince jurors to agree with the lawyer who knows these techniques or influence witnesses to give up their testimony even after they have taken the oath. It’s just like the poet Robert Frost once said: a jury consists of 12 people chosen to decide who has the best lawyer.” (19)

“NLP is designed in such a manipulative way that I think telling the truth in an eloquent way or speaking from the heart with a lot of passion — in the most important area where you should think about the evidence and the truth — will disappear forever,” says Joyce Tsongas, former president of the American Society of Judicial Consultants in the US. (19)

“The most well-known NLP technique is anchoring. This is exactly what Nations, a Houston lawyer, does when he sits in the same place in the room whenever he wants to mark or reinforce a certain aspect. For example, Nations anchors the unpleasant state related to the idea of damage with a single seat in the room, moving there whenever it is brought up, or even pointing to that place in such a way that it connects in the minds of the jurors certain aspects of the discussion to the state of mental anguish.” (19)
The use of such dirty NLP practices has led to lawyers being banned from moving around the courtroom in the U.S., or in some states, such as Texas, they are even required to remain seated at all times. Even so, NLP lawyers do not give up their manipulations: “you still have the graphics and other visual materials” says Nations. (19)

And what about love?

Another favorite application of NLP techniques is what’s called “speed seduction.” Seduction is one of the basic elements of manipulation. Etymologically the word comes from the Latin seduco = to pull aside someone from his way on a common path with that of the seducer. Simply put it is synonymous with hijacking the path.

The field of NLP abounds with books such as “NLP, the secret of quick seduction”, “How to get a woman into your bed”, “Fox hunting – the art of dating and seduction”, “The Satanic Wizard – NLP and the science of seduction”, etc. All these books are full of NLP elements – anchoring, mirroring, conversational hypnosis, verbal expressions meant to manipulate . What is completely missing from them is love as the basis of the couple relationship. Women are seen as sex objects, divided into categories according to how good they look, called “foxes” or “chicks“.
“Ross Jeffries is trained in the field of the art of the mind, more specifically in hypnosis and NLP . He chose to apply his knowledge of these techniques in the art of seduction, and the results are explosive. Woe to the Fox who meets a high-speed Seducer and doesn’t realize it. Ross can even get into bed with the Fox in an hour, and what’s worse is that he can make her think it was her idea. The foxes seduced by the High-Speed Seducers are unaware of what is happening to them. ” (17)

In one of the basic books of Ross Jeffries, NLP trainer – “How to get a woman into your bed”, we read from the first page: “the reader is warned that the use of some or all of the techniques in this book may have legal, civil or criminal consequences“. “Dishonest Seductions in a Dishonest World” is the title of the first chapter, as an attempt to justify the immorality of the book’s content: “Many of those who read the title of this book are angry with me,” writes Ross Jeffries. Invariably I receive all kinds of complaints: these seduction techniques are incorrect and unfair, I am told. It does not leave women the power to choose. Why don’t you take them out of the book?” I’m going to deal with these accusations a bit. Yes, indeed some of the seduction tactics in this book can easily be classified as incorrect. I also had some moral reservations when I put them in the book. But right or wrong are relative terms. If you’re in a boxing match and you’re both playing by the rules, it’s unfair for me to hit you in certain sensitive areas, but if I follow the rules, it can be fair“. (18)
We come back to the same perverse and immoral vision according to which if you achieve your goals, anything goes. The big problem in NLP is that it does not follow any moral rules and replaces values with non-values, considering Good, Truth, Fairness as simple labels applied by people to things.

Instead of closing…

1. From the beginning, the parents of NLP were concerned with finding a method to modify human behavior. 2. NLP is manipulation, no matter how much its defenders try to convince us otherwise by invoking “positive manipulation”. “To manipulate someone in his own interest”, as they claim, implies being able to determine what this interest is. Or this only God can know.
3. The idea that you have to learn NLP precisely to be able to manipulate those who try to manipulate you is nonsense. You can defend yourself from manipulation only by developing certain spiritual qualities such as discernment and lucidity.
4. NLP abolishes and inverts values. Good, Truth, Love, God are in NLP’s vision relative frames created by humans. This conception is totally opposite to the spiritual one.
5. By removing value landmarks, NLP cultivates confusion in order to create a greater receptivity to hypnosis. Confusion is achieved by creating an inner conflict and is opposed to unity and harmony.
6. NLP is based on the idea that humans can be programmed or reprogrammed like computers.
7. The NLP mentality is a Machiavellian one, based on the principle of “the end justifies the means”.
8. NLP boasts that it makes it possible to achieve objectives ‘regardless of their nature’. The lack of discernment in this regard means that the NLP is used for the most abject purposes: training soldiers to kill people or manipulating the electorate.
9. In practical terms, NLP is limited to goals related to the accumulation of money, seduction and sexuality without love, power and influence over others. All of them are located at the level of the lower centers of force.
10. For this reason, NLP only leads to the exacerbation of ego and pride. At the 2006 NLP World Congress, it became very clear what NLP was all about: “creating a world where personal development and self-fulfillment is the basic rule.” These desires have nothing to do with spiritual evolution, they are even opposed to it.
11. NLP promises to get fast, immediate results without much effort. Its results, however, do not last over time and do not lead to the transformation and elevation of the being. As for its use in the field of psychotherapy or medicine, NLP can only lead to a temporary removal of some symptoms since it does not act on the causes.
12. NLP especially appeals to collectors of “recipes”, interested only in the HOW, not the WHY. The great mass of those who apply it act without knowing what they are actually doing.
13. NLP is only interested in the image, not the content. If an aspect is discredited, it is immediately renamed, only on the surface, with a new, more credible name.
14. If all the members of a community were NLP members, it would soon disband itself because the NLP does not create anything, but lives by stealing, hijacking, falsifying, perverting work and efforts in other areas. Even its practitioners state that there is currently no talk of an NLP community, and the endless string of “copyright” lawsuits between the two founders, Richard Bandler and John Grinder, bears witness to this.15
. NLP was built by stealing ideas, techniques, theories, and practices from other fields. By taking them out of the context in which they existed and with which they formed a unitary whole, they were impoverished, distorted and deprived of their very essence.
This can create a lot of confusion. There are some people who believe that there are compatibilities between Yoga and NLP, because Yoga also talks about states, about self-control of the mind, about five sensory modalities, about the fact that the world is as we see it, etc. In reality, it was not Yoga – a spiritual path that was over 4000 years old – that took these elements from NLP, but NLP stole them from Yoga. However, he did so by impoverishing those elements precisely of the moral and spiritual values, absolutely necessary when it comes to knowing and using the power of the mind for the purpose of human transformation.

We often come across statements by some NLP trainers who refer to Yoga: “In NLP there are a series of techniques and methods specially designed to develop the ability to control states – such as […] the use of posture and breathing.” (11) or “the NLP model has been influenced by previous theories and concepts: (among them n.n.) body therapies (Yoga)”.(21) Such references are also gross manipulations. First of all, Yoga is not a body therapy, but a millennial spiritual path. Secondly, the postures and breathing that NLP talks about are parodies and ridicules of Pranayama asanas and techniques.

It is true that the methods of self-control (and we emphasize SELFcontrol) of the mind for the purpose of transformation and evolution have always been the prerogative of spiritual paths. They are always accompanied by moral values and gradually revealed from the master to the disciple only to the extent that the latter (the disciple) proves that he has reached the necessary level of maturity and spiritual evolution in order to use them only in a beneficial sense and with discernment. Taken out of this context, such knowledge can become extremely dangerous and lead to reverse effects, as happened in the case of NLP: exacerbation of the ego, pride, will to power, decay, suffering. The spiritual treasure is thus protected from thieves. If at first NLP seemed just a box of matches in the hand of a small child, today we can say that it has fit in the hands of real piromans. The way in which it is intensely propagandized – as a miraculous method of obtaining influence, money and material success – attracts only those who want all kinds of “powers”. While those who really aspire to learn how to self-control their mind and transform themselves for the better, they have Yoga at their disposal and know that they do not need NLP .

Bibliography:

1. Richard Bandler & John Grinder: Structure of magic, vol 1, Science and Behavior Books, 1975
2. Christian Balicco – Neurolinguistic Programming or the Art of Manipulating Peers, by Christian Balicco – SPS n° 243, August 2000
3. Christopher Tomasulo (Dr. Sulo) – The secret technology behind the world’s greatest communicators. Dr Sulo’s Crash Course in Neuro-Linguistic-Programming (NLP)
4. R. Bruyer & S.Kalisz – Pour en finir avec la pata-psychologie, Editions Luc Pire
5. Bogdan Ficeac – The Fascinating Power of Neurolinguistic Manipulations in Manipulation Techniques, Nemira Publishing House, 2004
6. First World Congress of NLP 26-28 May, Potsdam, Germany
7. L. Michael Hall, Nelson Penaylillo, Bobby G. Bodenhamer and Peter F. Kean – Dealing with the downside of NLP , Anchor Point, May 1997
8. Ştefan Buzărnescu – Sociology of Public Opinion, Didactic and Pedagogical Publishing House, 1996
9. Marian Rujoiu – What is and what is not manipulation?
10. Richard Bandler & John Grinder – Reframing, NLP and the transformation of meaning, Real People Press, 1982
11. Ionuț Ciurea, NLP Practitioner – Vision through NLP: principles, presuppositions, paradigms
12. Thom Hartmann – transcript of the show of November 16, 2004, www.thomhartmann.com
13. Thom Hartmann, transcript of the November 17, 2004 show, www.thomhartmann.com
14. By David D. Kirkpatrick – In secretly taped conversations, glimpses of the future president, New York Times, February 20, 2005
15. Bruce Lincoln – Words matter. How Bush speaks in religious code, Boston Globe, September 12, 2004
16. Thom Hartmann – Chenney speaks to reptile brain, www.thomhartmann.com
17. Fox Hunting – The art of dating and seduction.
18. Jeffries Ross – How to get girls into bed without trying. Straightforward, Manassas, 1991
19. Terry Carter – More lawyers are using neurolinguistics to present their cases to jurors, with winning results, ABA Journal, September 2001
20. Anna Moore – NLP: Where Anything is Possible, Marie Claire, online edition.
21. Introduction to NLP, www.geniu.org

this study was taken from the yogaesoteric.net