Adopting Carl Jung and Milton Erikson’s views on the unconscious mind and NLP techniques

What ideas do you have about the unconscious mind? How much credibility does it give you as a separate, functioning entity? Have you found yourself driven to do something without understanding what motivates you? Are you stuck repeating behavior patterns that seem to work on their own?

The Jungian approach to psychology and the unconscious mind is inclusive, recognizing the impact of art, culture, philosophy and sociology on the psyche, as well as giving relevance to the symbolism of dreams, myths, religion and spirituality. Jung believed that for people to achieve a sense of autonomy and inner balance, they must understand and integrate conscious and unconscious processes.

This was my attraction and my mission when I started studying NLP in 1980 and it became the basis for founding the services “Of 2 Minds Coaching and Counseling”, which teaches people how to use intuition and logic in daily life and decision making. NLP is the acronym for Neuro-Linguistic Programming which is simply defined as a behavioral approach to verbal and non-verbal communication and change.

In NLP training I was introduced to Milton Erikson, who is referred to by many as the father of hypnosis. He was the founding president of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. Are you familiar with his work? Aside from Erikson’s remarkable contribution to the field of hypnosis in particular, conversational hypnosis, his concept of trance theory has had the greatest impact on me. This theory proposes that the unconscious mind is always awake and listening even when we are sleeping. Erikson specialized in medical hypnosis and also promoted the belief that the unconscious mind is a creative problem solver with the ability to generate many solutions. Beneath the surface is an active mind that watches, listens, and responds; a ready and helpful mind, a personal mentor and benefactor. My reaction upon hearing this was, “Good news, now how do I get in touch with this force in my nature”?

Erikson’s work advanced the fields of short-term therapy and solution-focused behavior-oriented therapy. The co-creators of NLP studied and worked with Milton Erikson and devised a systematic approach to verbal and non-verbal communication and change. In relaxed and casual manners of speech, Erikson spoke to his clients using specific words to induce an altered trance state. He masterfully weaves indirect suggestions and metaphors into personalized parables. Erikson worked exclusively with unconscious processes and all his interventions were obscure.

NLP techniques were designed to make Erikson’s work more specific and available to the conscious mind. Among the many verbal and non-verbal exercises offered, learning what to say and how to phrase things to influence and change unconscious self-harming and self-defeating thoughts and feelings, as well as planting self-improvement and empowering messages was like finding a pot of gold. at the end of a rainbow!

We are especially impressionable as children. So is our subconscious mind. Acting like a big sponge, it absorbs everything. Without knowing how to filter and squeeze out misunderstood thoughts and painful, confusing experiences, the mind below the surface becomes a warehouse full of good and not-so-good things. When we reach adulthood, certain actions we are taking seem to be out of our control. And they are, but not completely and not forever. What feeds them? Are you familiar with the terms “unconscious and unresolved issues from the past”? Now you can learn effective ways to deal with them.

In NLP there is a saying: “We cannot change our personal history, but we can change the way we perceive our past”. Perception breeds belief, and belief drives us to act, whether we realize it or not.

Consciousness is a priceless gem to possess. Alternate Stephanie Rachel