All that we are is a result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become. -Buddha Sakyamuni, Dhammapada.

My professor, Steven Goodman, once declared to the class, “No matter how many billions of years you have been in a coma, you can always wake up!” Many of us are enslaved in unconscious lives. Our moods and thoughts shift from moment to moment. Our energy levels and mental clarity are in constant flux. Ultimately, our lives, our well being, and our happiness are helplessly floating between waves of conscious and unconscious deliberation. We are miserable victims of a reality of fleeting thoughts.

Fortunately, as Steven said, we can wake up. We can heed the Buddha’s advice and create a reality in which we are happy, content, and conscious beings. We can do this simply by thinking and thereby changing what we hold in our minds to be real.

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is one of the many methods that can serve as a catalyst in transforming our minds. NLP is the study of our thoughts and actions. It makes us, as subjective interpreters of what we see, responsible for our thoughts and moods (states). With this responsibility comes consciousness and choice wherein we are given the ability to change how we think and behave.

According to the NLP communication model, our senses are introduced to millions of pieces of information each second. We are conscious of only a fraction of what our senses perceive. Once our senses apprehend something, that information is filtered by our brain and nervous system where it is deleted, distorted, or generalized. This creates what NLP calls Internal Representations, or pictures, thoughts, sounds, or feelings that are completely subjective to our internal filtering process of external stimuli. An example of a positive internal representation would be having internal pictures and thoughts of successfully accomplishing a goal.

Our internal representations and physiology influence our state and our state influences our behavior. To have a positive physiology we want to have positive internal representations and take care of our bodies with proper diet, exercise, sleep, etc. This positive state will produce positive behavior which, in turn, produces positive outcomes. So, if we have positive internal representations, our physiology will match this by smiling (granting we are healthy and taking care of our bodies), we are likely to be in a positive state, and our behavior will be more resourceful. These principles apply to negative states, internal representations, physiology, behavior, and outcomes as well.

This information can be powerfully used to our advantage. When we find ourselves experiencing a negative state such as procrastination we are creating negative internal representations that reflect procrastination (e.g. internal pictures and thoughts of not carrying through with a task). Our physiology matches this. Our breathing is shallow, are facial expressions are less vivid, and our voices aren’t as strong. In order to reverse this, we can create internal representations of confidence and motivation. We invoke memories and feelings of confidence and motivation, recall and re-experience what it was like when we were motivated and productive. We can change our physiology as well by breathing more deeply, smiling, and standing up straight. Consequently, in a matter of seconds, we find ourselves in a state where we are genuinely confident and motivated.

Whenever we find ourselves in a state that we do not deem optimal for ourselves, we can access positive internal representations and physiology to put ourselves in a favorable state. The mind can not abide in two disparate feelings or emotions. As we continually practice putting ourselves in positive states, the mind will be more accustomed to these states, making it easier to access and remain in them. We will have resourceful actions and interactions to the current situation. We will shift from unconscious agents to conscious creators of our realities wherein we experience joy, clarity, and contentment.

Recommended Reading

Dhammapada, by Buddha
Unlimited Power, by Anthony Robbins