A Pragmatic Guide To Communication & Change.pdf - NLP Info Centre

of elegant tools for organizing and describing our observations. 'there are three mechanisms
common to all model-building activities: generalization, deletion, and distortion.
Bandler and Grinder call these the "universal human modeling processes.- These three
processes operate at every stage in the construction and use of our models of the world.
They underlie our abilities to
There is an interesting exhibit at the "Rxploratorium" in San Francisco. Two halfinch
copper tubes are wound side-by-side around a wooden dowel. Warm fluid is piped
through one tube, while cold fluid flows through the other. It is quite a shock to touch or
grasp the bundle: the simultaneous sensations of warm and cold produce an extremely hot
or burning sensation. It is fun to watch disbelieving people jump after reading the
description and then, thinking they will be able to discern the difference, take a firm grasp
of the bundle!
H~ ~Ii,F
It is my goal that the psychological and behavioral models presented in this book will
operate as Hall suggests. That is, they will reduce the complexities of human
communication into a more easily perceived and understandable framework ultimately
enabling you to direct yourself and others toward a healthy and positive future.
The Nerve Cell
The nerve cell represents the first step in the creation of our models of the world. The
basic units of the nerve cell are shown below.
Neurological Basis
Our romance with constructing models of our experience of the world may have a basis in
psychobiological processes. We cannot escape the limitations imposed by our biological
origins. As the noted Carl Jung observed:
Man. . . never perceives anything fully or comprehends anything completely. He
can see, hear, touch, taste; but how far he sees, how well he hears, what his
touch tells him, and what he tastes depend upon the number and quality of his
senses.... No matter what instruments he uses, at some point he reaches the edge
of certainty beyond which conscious knowledge cannot pass. (p. 21)
Man and His Symbols
In our constant attempts to understand, driven by some intrinsic need to explore and
explain, we create our models. But we are inexorably separated from the world outside
ourselves.' Neural transmission, the basis of what we call perception, is a bioelectric
phenomenon. Billions of neurons make up the human nervous system. Even though
sensory input varies from pressure to temperature to sound to electromagnetic waves,
they are all ultimately transformed into electrochemical impulses as they are transmitted
to the central nervous system. The study of this miraculous transmutation of energy leads
us to a fundamental aspect of experience: we do not perceive reality, but rather a
neurological model of reality. ']'his is what forms the basis for what I call our model of
the world.
1. Cell body containing nucleus.
2. Dendrites. These extend from the cell body and form the "receiving area" for
stimulation from outside the body and from other adjacent cells.
3. Axorr. This single fiber transmits the bioelectric impulse to the axon terminal.
4. Axon terminal. This is the part of the nerve cell that activates other neurons on