4 comments about The Spirit of NLP.

1. This book is an excellent primer for those with some NLP knowledge and training. It is for those pursuing master level training, and is presented at the master practitioner level. This work apparently began as L. Michael Hall's notes from his Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) trainings with Richard Bandler (co-creator of the NLPL field), and was developed into this thorough book. Excellent information for those wishing to master NLP in their lives.



2. Having said that, I still think that this is somewhat of an important book, it was the first NLP book I saw which openly commented on how Richard Bandler uses tone and Rythm to build propulsion into his presentation. Knowing this helped imeasurably once I started listeniing to him on tape. Having said all this, obviously this is not a beginners book on NLP, so if you're not prepared to wade through terminology than you will be very frustrated by this book.



3. This book is aptly named! It does, indeed, cover the Spirit of NLP. A book recommended for people who have completed their Practitioner's course, or equivalent. Michael Hall's style is emerging as one of the best, particularly as a "late" entrant into the scene. He has a total perspective and broad vision, which is conveyed. It is also evident that he is a thinker, and is concerned with putting his ideas across in such a way that he could predict the response! A lot of information here, which also gives us the insight and invitation to understanding. Easy to read, well thought out and laid out. An author to search for - and follow.



4. The first edition of this book showed poor writing skills, bad layout, and even worse proof-reading.

   This is the second edition. The layout is greatly improved' and the proof-reading is a whole lot better. Unfortunately, however, the writing is as bad as ever, and is slightly less "spirited" than a dead fish.

   The basic problem seems to be that this author confuses "quantity" with "quality". His output is indeed prodigious, but the books all tend to read like catalogues - all the facts, presented in a totally deadpan manner.

   In practice there are now far too many NLP books available, of far higher quality, to leave much room for such poor writing.

   For a good, all-round introduction to NLP, O'Connor and Seymour's "Introducing NLP" leaves this standing on the starting line.

   Incidentally, the book categorically DOES NOT contain "significant contributions from other master trainers", not unless you imagine that quoting someone means that they've made a "significant contribution" to your book.

   In reality, for better oe worse, the writing is pure wall-to-wall Michael Hall.
   If you've enjoyed any of Michael's other books then you may enjoy this one as well. If you didn't, it's VERY unlikely that you'll like this one either.

2 comments about Sporting Excellence: Optimising Sports Performance Using NLP.

1. This book is useful not only for sporting excellence. The author guides you along very skillfully through clear concepts and sequenced activities to build your mental and bodily capabilities, inner resources, strategies, beliefs and confidence for success and team work. "NLP is not about a selfish search for success at the expense of personal happiness or causing damage to others. It is about achieving higher levels of performance and satisfaction whilst still being entirely true to oneself and, where appropriate, others as well." (p.7) Most of the activities or exercises are useful for learning and doing anything with greater improvement and mastery. The author is sensitive and nuanced in making a fairly comprehensive application of NLP. For those who haven't been able to attend extended NLP workshops, this book is an excellent initiation.



2. Sorry to say this, but it is a really bad book! It tries to show numerous NLP techniques in a very short space, thus giving only brief information of limited value. You really don't expect from someone to explain how to use all these techniques in only 180 pages, do you? It would be better for the author to try limit the presentation to a couple of techniques and make these easy to apply, rather than throwing to you brief descriptions of techniques and numerous, many times pointless, "activities" (excercises).
   
   So, this book is really a collection of very briefly described NLP techniques and how they are supposed to be used by sports people, which fails both on the NLP and on the sports psychology side.
   
   Also, the author clearly seems to have little idea of true sports mentality and how an athlete can use mental techniques for improvement. The book is clearly written from the NLP perspective and not from the point of view of someone who whants to find solutions for specific problems, i.e. "these are the techiques, you find out when and exactly how to use them".
   
   If you are an athlete or a sport person trying to improve and heard about NLP, go get a good introductory NLP text (there are many) and you'll easily figure out what this book is trying to tell you. Anyway, in order for you to really use NLP techniques for your benefit (that is, whithout hurting yourself in the way), you should go to a proper training course and see some real people doing this stuff...
   
   If you are an NLPer trying to see how NLP can be applied to sports, please read a good sports psychology text book...

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2 comments about Understanding Thinking: Maps Models Meanings Goals Motivation and Neural Networks.

1. Evans begins with a "brief history of thought" which allows him to recall the Greeks with an assessment of the differing approaches to truth and thought from Plato and Aristotle (and to rail agreeably against postmodernism!). He follows this with a lengthy comparison of the general purpose computer and the human mind. His main point is that our minds are not so much like computers, but are more like neural networks. General purpose computers are linear and do everything the same way every time (as programmed), while human minds and neural networks learn as they go along and can change their responses based on what they've learned. It is interesting that "Most biological networks rewrite or adjust memories every time they are accessed, allowing old memories to adapt in order to reflect new contexts and experiences." Evans adds, "This can lead to distortions, and inaccuracies. Our memories can be adjusted and reinterpreted to fit in with our current beliefs, or with expectations of our current social group." (p. 76) Or, I might add, to fit in with a prosecuting attorney's view of the facts of a case!
   
   In chapter three Evans presents an elaborate construct of characters in answer to the question "Who is in Control of Your Brain?" He uses icons to represent these characters, "Threats and Emotions," who might be called the emergency guy; "The Autopilot," who regulates things like "thirst...heart rate, breathing, blood pressure...etc."; "The Multi-Headed Egos," a sort of Medusa-headed Freudian monster of "brain management rulers" with "sub-personalities"; "The Conscious Thinker," who might be the competent nerd within; and finally "The Conscious Conscience," who stands somewhat aloof from the games people play and just observes and sometimes judges.
   
   Chapter Four features Evans's "Graphical Thinking System." He argues that words and writing are often inferior to schematic model making in leading us to an understanding of complex ideas and relationships. In the fifth and final chapter, Evans attempts to guide us beyond the "pre-conscious mind" toward positive, self-managed personal change.
   
   Evans makes a nice distinction between our pre-conscious selves and our conscious selves with the clear understanding that the former is aware of so much more than the latter, and that one of the reasons is that we have an "autopilot" that works just fine without conscious help. Indeed in many areas our conscious minds would just confuse the issues and, in an evolutionary sense, be maladaptive. Throughout Evans demonstrates an admirable knowledge of neurology, religion, psychology and history. I particularly liked his observation that religious rituals as well as ordinary laughing, singing, grooming, etc., can bring euphoria to the brain. (p. 40) Also good is his observation that the Bible is a "classical documentary on human psychology." (p. 78) One of the points about religion that is often overlooked even by experts is the fact that religions, in addition to whatever else they might be, are psychologies.
   
   Another interesting observation made by "Fluffbuster" Evans is this from page 64: "Some linguists have suggested that our enormous spatial mapping ability may have provided the foundation for the evolution of human language and culture. It is certainly the case that many of the structures found in human language, and human society, have a spatial flavor: inclusion, exclusion, bounded by, intersections with, connections, paths, centre versus periphery, orientation, direction, hierarchy, up, down, on, in, under, over, before, behind, size, length, types of terrain, types of surface, and so on."
   
   There is no index, no bibliography or foot notes. There is a "Word List" defining some of the terms Evans uses, such as concept, context, critical thinking, induction, inference, intuition, paradigm, space and time, etc. About the latter he notes, "our impression of space and time is created by our neural networks and seems completely believable and reliable. Ancient mystics and modern science tell us that our pre-conscious perception of space and time may be rather inaccurate."
   One of the entries in the list is special. That's "Graphical Thinking," about which Evans writes, "It focuses our attention in a way that helps to bring all our valuable pre-conscious knowledge about the world up into conscious awareness..." As an unintimidated dyslexic, Evans champions the use of graphs and diagrams to aid learning. He asks rhetorically a question put to him by a "university academic advisor": "Why do the dyslexic students always want to understand things, why can't they just remember stuff like the rest of us?"
   I'm glad that Evans wants to understand. I believe that our drive to understand ourselves and the world we live in, is one of the really positive things about being human.
   
   It might have been better had John Evans titled this book "Thinking about Thinking" or perhaps "Toward an Understanding of Thinking" since it is a bit presumptuous to imagine that he or anyone else has come to an "understanding" of thinking. Nonetheless this is an excellent work on many aspects of not only human thought but also our culture, language and psychology.



2. Este documento carece de una lista de referencia. No utiliza el estilo apropiado para una investigación seria. Parecen más las divigaciones del autor. Por otro lado, al acceder a los supuestos mapas a través de una página de la Internet, el lugar no existe.

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