Life, Interrupted

In March of 2012 a dear friend took me to the first class of an extended seminar taught by Tom and Bobbi Best, talented people trained in psychology, NLP, and shamanism. Although Tom transitioned to the other side of time after only two weekends of that class, his lessons and influence still transform my life. Some teachers are like that. Many people continue teaching new lessons in this spirit, especially his wife and partner Bobbi Best and Master Instructor Linaka Hana. It was Keith Fail of NLP Resources Austin who took over after Tom left us, and taught the same core lessons Tom had begun, finishing our seminar. Keith is one of Tom's students who felt called to teach what he had learned, and so they are both my mentors.

I have learned a great deal from Keith Fail, lessons I have taken with me, moving into a vast world beyond the borders of anything I knew in my previous life. I recommend this short interview as a peek into the worldviews of other cultures, gifts we can bring back with us. Despite the humor of Hollywood's interpretation of taking the peace of other cultures back into the real world, it's possible.

Just remember that change begins within yourself, deep in the heart. You will indeed call into being the changes you hope to see through your own behavior.

Don't change others. Change yourself.

Inspire others to change.

Spent the weekend in San Antonio learning advanced techniques for NLP. Bobbi Best and Linaka Hana are using recordings of great NLP teachers presenting their strongest areas. I learned a lot, and can see that I'll be working on this material for years. Best Resources does let people come for just one weekend, for $300. I'd recommend going to one of their regular practitioner classes, not the master level ones, if it's your first time -- you'll get more out of it, because like most anything in life, there's a special vocabulary tossed around. They do run specials on visiting a class for the first time, so it's worth asking them.

Or stop off at an NLP Meetup -- there are groups in Austin and in San Antonio, and I can recommend the people in both groups! Meetups average $5-10 dollars for 1-2 hours of presentation or practice. A very affordable way to try out the techniques for you! And yes, they are very valuable skills even if you are not a counselor or in sales.

If you are a member of Austin Meetup, you can probably see this link, but I suspect you'll have to join the group to register. Tomorrow night's topic (March 26, 2013) is "How to Enjoy Work: Allowing Work/Life Balance to Improve Your Quality of Life." This meetup is $10.

http://www.meetup.com/austinnlp/events/108625052/?gj=wc1d_e&a=wc1d_gnl&rv=wc1d_e&_af_eid=108625052&_af=event

The main site is http://www.meetup.com/.

I was double-booked, since I'm helping out the Basic practitioner class in Austin, taught by Keith Fail and Katie Raver. So I'll be at their next meeting. You can still join the class, and also talk to them about a one-weekend price. http://www.nlpresourcesaustin.com/practitioner

http://www.meetup.com/nlpsanantonio/events/88649162/

When: Saturday, December 29, 2012 9:30 AM

Where: Intro to NLP classes in San Antonio, TX

We will focus on MOTIVATION as we explore our topic,
"Motivation that WORKS, 3 Ways to Stay on Track".

Come review a fun sampling of three powerful motivation strategies modeled
from highly effective people! Since modeling excellence is at the heart of many
NLP explorations, we will play with how to apply these strategies to staying on
track with your goals and maintaining your healthy lifestyle.

Join us in exploring the difference between what you want to do and what
you actually do.

At the end of this class, you will have mastered some simple tools for feeling
motivated to easily and gracefully Stick with IT, whether creating your dreams,
organizing an important project or enjoying your new, healthy lifestyle choices.

$50 Tuition .... only $30 for NLP SA meetup member. Join Today!

Linaka Joy, the instructor for the class, is a dynamite teacher and all round person. You can join Meetup tonight and be eligible for the discount! If you've wanted to check out NLP, this is a great opportunity.

I'm living proof that this stuff works! I'm working and moving, so I won't attend this session, but I can recommend Linaka. If three people sign up, the class will meet, so go for it.

So -- is it a disease, or is the person unhealthy, and tipping toward a disease? This columnist opens up the subject. I'm currently coming to the opinion that we can walk around asymptomatic to serious things that we've been exposed to...and then something knocks us to our knees, allowing that organism/state change/change of body balance to seize us by the throat. Suddenly we're drowning in deep water.

Some people never find their feet again -- never recover enough to lift their head, look around for purchase, and lay in a plan to get back to the solid ground of the riverbank.

I've had a lot of experience with this (unfortunately) and I can say that the old chestnut of "listening to your body" is a crucial concept we need to teach children from the cradle. For example, are they really hungry? If so, what kind of food do they want? One friend of mine has taught her children that a fast carb is all well and good, but it doesn't satisfy long, and if you depend on it, you'll end up with a headache, cranky, etc. Her kids are learning to say "I didn't eat enough at breakfast. May I have some cheese, please?" They understand that cookies are good, but they need some protein with cookies, or that's where the headache comes from.

There are lots of ways to start talking with your unconscious. I've explored several of them. The one I'm currently using (and I'm delighted with its ability to connect the conscious and unconscious mind) is NLP. Turns out NLP is very useful for small things, and Big Things.

I'm experimenting this week with something that I'd almost lost -- body awareness that is not pain-triggered.

Here comes the New Age-y crap -- brace yourself and read on. I promise that this is worth a moment of your time.

Ask your body what's going on. Ask it what it wants. Ask it what it wants for You, the major portion of the beautiful, faceted gem that makes up your complete being. Use positive words and imagery, always -- your body needs encouragement, too. Remember that your body may not communicate with words, because images were your first language.

What is the positive intention of that pain in your hand? Is it actually warning you that something you're doing is wrong, and will lead to long term injury?

Your unconscious knows about 90% more about you than your conscious mind.

Scary thought, eh?

Maybe it's time to ask its opinion about things?

This fall, several Austin NLP practitioners are going to offer mini-sessions on NLP -- concepts and exercises that you can try out NOW. If it's gonna work for you, you'll know fairly quickly, because your unconscious always chooses the most effective strategy that it knows to handle a problem or situation. This will be a great way to test out the technique for yourself. The 90 minute sessions will be very inexpensive and fun as well. Looks like they will be offered several times a month, in the evenings, this fall.

When I know more about them, or the dates, I will post them here. I should say that it looks like my unconscious has been teaching itself a lot of NLP techniques over the years -- my novels are full of NLP problem-solving on the part of several characters. Without my ever reading a word about NLP. My point being that the basics of this are easy to learn, because you know a lot of the stuff already -- you've just never put it together in the most useful fashion.

An easy way to restructure your learning exists. Greater Austin folk, an inexpensive way to learn some of the techniques approaches! And, everyone else? If you are interested in NLP, but have heard that some people do not use the techniques wisely, shall we say -- I have good people I can ask.