Book Review - Therapeutic Metaphors

Therapeutic Metaphors: Helping Others Through the Looking Glass

By David Gordon

Book Review

Therapeutic Metaphors,” by David Gordon, is an in-depth instruction on how to construct and utilize metaphors in the therapeutic setting. The book utilizes metaphors to teach metaphor creation, and is full of other examples of metaphors and how they can be used.

I found this to be an excellent resource for not only creating metaphors, but a good review of some of the fundamental aspects of NLP.

Gordon begins by discussing how metaphors cause the listener to “go inside” to find out what the metaphor means to them. The act of “going inside” causes the listener to utilize resources and experiences in potentially new and different ways, making new connections, seeing the world differently.

Gordon then goes on to discuss the steps necessary to build a useful metaphor, discussing the requirements for well-formedness, isomorphism between the story of the metaphor and the clients situation, the desired outcome, and how to connect the metaphor. Reframing and certain aspects of the “Meta-Model” are also included. He ends this section with a discussion of embedded commands and analogic marking.

In Part III, Gordon teaches the Satir Categories, these being physiological body postures that have been determined to evoke similar responses in many people. For example, the Blamer is one who points their finger, and when people are confronted with the Blamer, they shrink back. Utilizing the Blamer physiology, while telling a metaphor can cause an unconscious reaction in your client (desired or not). Alternatively, while observing clients the therapist can gain deeper understanding of their unconscious beliefs by noting which Satire category physiology they are utilizing along with predicates, tone of voice, etc.

Part IV is a review of Representation Systems and how to use them in developing metaphors.

Part V is about Sub-modalities and how to use them to intensify the metaphor. Sub-modalities are the finer aspects of the five senses – in the Visual realm a few of the sub-modalities are color vs. black and white, size, moving or still, location (in your field of view).

Part VI is a discussion of how best to present your metaphor – covertly or overtly, as a fair tale or an anecdote, a quote, or other methods. He also discusses the hypnotic aspects of telling anecdotes and stories.

Part VII concludes two metaphors that have been strung throughout the book.

The book also includes a Bibliography, for further reading, an Appendix on Sub-modalities, and a Reference List

This review (c) 2007 Dan DeLuca and World Tree, Inc

Niagara Falls

From Kilauea to NF in two weeks.

We took the Maid of the Mist boat right up to the Falls.

I'll post some pics soon.

Volcanos

To keep track of the worlds volcanoes, visit volcanolive.blogspot.com.

Huna completion

Wow! The Huna Intensive is a complete experience, encompassing all the subtleties.

Uncle George Na'Opa spoke to the class, a little, and we got to hear the secret meanings behind aloha.

The last initiation was in four secret symbols, representing four aspects of Uli.

And finally our graduation Luau, when we performed our Hula dance, and ate!

Huna day 6

We visited Hale Mau Mau, which is Pele's house. To look at it, its the crater of the volcano Kilauea.

We walked three miles from Volcano House, across the ancient lava field, to the edge of the pit.

It was an amazing experience to connect with all the elements. Walking on this giant crystal that goes all the way to the center of the earth!

The cleansing mist blowing across the lava field.

The wind.

The heat of Pele's fire in that place.

A great place to release old baggage!

Huna day 5

Hula class, Kumu's teacher, Uncle George Na'Ope showed up! And I was in the front row! It was a real honor to have a living legend show up for the class. Fortunately, he didn't stay for the whole class.

Learning all this in a few days is stressful. People are coming up against their stuff-quitting, complaining, perfectionism. For me, its my belief about my abilities-to dance, coordinated, in a group, hands and feet, and maybe even sing, in Hawaiian, no less.

Then we went to the place of refuge, where we became "pono" or "right" with ourselves. Very powerful.

Tomorrow we go to the volcano and meet pele.

Huna Day 3

Huna Day 3

We began our day with Hula class. The Hula is an ancient dance which celebrates many aspects of Hawai'ian culture. I'll tell you more when I know more. Just know this - there is no hoop!

More work with the 4 elements. Learned the characteristics of each element - sound, color, location in body, personality traits, correspondence in other esoteric systems, the breath used.

We then practiced flowing the energy to another person. Very interesting. and then we practiced a simple healing paradigm using the different elements. Can be used to release old emotions or unwanted feelings, as well as to heal physical ailments. Just in that short session alone many people had great results. This stuff is fast. Of course both practitioner and client must have full belief that this is effective.

We then learned more about Huna magic, and the "Assumptions" of Huna. More on this later.

Huna Day 2

Huna Day 2.

Today was a continuation of initiation into the Huna Tradition. Today we
had the 4 elements plus "The void" Installed into us, and we made our
connection with those 4 elements plus the void.

The 4 elements are earth, water, fire, air. The void is the place that
all things come from (and go to).

To receive those elements (actually, to remember that we have them
allready), and locate them in our bodies, we entered into a meditative
state, doing the Ha breathing, and Hakalau, and then we visualized
ourselves becoming so small we could fit through the eye of a needle,
and then becoming smaller than the point of the needle, and then we
found the channel through the center of our spine that is no larger than
a hair's width.

We floated down into that channel all the way to the base of our spine,
and then we located the energy center for the Earth element, and saw
it's shape and color, and meditated on that for a while.

We then floated up to the area of the 2nd chakra, where the water
element resides, and we saw it's shape and color and mediated on that
for a while.

And then we floated up to where the fire element is located, and saw
it's shape and color, and then we meditated on that for awhile.

And then we floated up to where the air element is located, and saw it's
shape and color, etc.

And then we floated up to where the 3rd eye is located, and found the
light inside that, and went into the light, and the light was expanded
to fill the universe, and at the boundary we found that the shell that
enclosed the universe was our skin, and we meditated on that for a while
and then we were finished with that part of it.

To connect with the elements, once we had them installed.

The technique is visualization, Ha breathing and meditation. In a
specific space, with specific intentions, with specific things going on
around you. We are helped by the full initiators, who put "symbols" into
us to assist us in receiving and connecting with the elements.

We went outside and found an object that we would focus on for our
meditations. I selected a smallish plant with long pointed leaves that
were green on the inside, with red toward thier edges. It was near the
pond where the royalty would bathe.

Inside, we would enter a meditative state with 4 Ha breathes, then
visualize our object, and magnify it until it was so large that we could
see a way into it, and continue to magnify it until we could see the
atomic structure, and then the structure of the atoms themselves, and
then into the space behind the space - through the 4 elements and right
into the void.

Looking back we would see the path we took into the object.

We then would come out, to the element we were connecting with, and
visualize the symbol for that element, and feel that element, and the
color of that element, and then we would open our eyes, remaining in the
state of heightened awareness known as Hakalau, and go outside to our
object, and meditate on that object, connecting with it's essential
version of that element. So that we could connect with the element
outside of us, as well as inside of us.

Huna day 1

Day 1 we were introduced to the science of Huna. Huna is about bringing the light from above to the darkness below. Its about ancient, esoteric secrets of emotional and physical health and healing, for both self and others.

This training we will be initiated into th basic elements, and be able to used this knowledge for ourselves only.

After our second training, we will know more, and be able to use this with others

Aloha
Dan

Successful Launch

6 New Graduates of LaunchPad last night! We all had a wonderful time. I added some new elements to the course - a few of Blair Singer's "Little Voice Management System" Techniques, such as how to handle success (anchor it), how to handle adversity (use your success anchor), and more.

All our graduates learned and practiced how to stand up and speak up for themselves with confidence. They all faced obstacles to their goals and had a Break Through in reaching those goals.
Come back often, because I am going to start writing out some the techniques we used, so that all my readers can learn about this.

NLP ToolBox

I've been thinking of new ways to introduce people to NLP. I'm designing a simple, one day course, and a follow up course (either two day or four day) that teaches some basic NLP principles. Probably start with Sensory Acuity, Rapport, Anchoring, and SubModalities. Have to see if I can fit that all in one looooooong day!

NLP Power Tools would be the 2 or 4 day course, over two weekends, so working people could attend. I would add more Anchoring, more SubModalities, Reframing, and who knows what else...

World Tree Training Completes First NLP Practitioner Class

We graduated our first students yesterday! What a trip! Our students learned all the practioner level NLP processes very well! They practiced and perfected them with ease and grace! All questions were answered!

The week started out on a down note - the third of our three students had injured himself over the weekend and couldn't attend - so we only had two students. We quickly accessed more resourceful states and got to work having our students learn NLP and begin to produce the results they wanted for themselves!

We have also scheduled our next Practitioner and Master Practitioner trainings, for the fall of 2007. We anticipate many more students coming to us in the coming months. We have structured the Master Practitioner as NLP and Time Empowerment(TM) techniques only - no Hypnosis. Instead, we are having an ongoing study group where we will introduce additional Hypnosis topics, and also have an "advanced" weekend where we will issue another 20 hours of Hypnosis study.

Our next Practitioner will include Hypnosis, with the Master Hypnosis Practitioner material included.

We have decided to offer an extended time period Practitioner training, in addition to the accelerated training. Both will start on the same weekend, so we can get the initial conversations and framing set up at one time.

The Master Practitioner will be 11 or 10 days, and will meet the standards of the Association for Integrative Psychology, along with some additional information we have learned along the way.