Have you ever had a backache, sniffle, pain in the neck, upset stomach or niggling doubt of something that you just brushed off as normal yet mildly annoying? We all do that from time to time.
But, what if the sensations that you have in your body – including aches and pains were a way for your body to communicate something to you? Think of it as a light knock on the door. If your mind were trying to communicate something to you, would you be able to dismiss it so quickly?
This is actually one of the ways that the body/mind connection works. If your body had a voice we have no doubt that it would talking to you all the time, since it doesn’t have an auditory voice, it has created a physical one. In NLP we look at everything having a positive intention. Even pains, urges, emotions, diseases and more.
When you learn NLP you’ll learn how to speak your own language, that is, the language of your body. You will become more mindful of what your normal truly is; and anything outside of your normal is something you can begin to communicate with. In fact, NLP has a specific technique called Communicating with Symptoms that will help you to do just this.
A recent example is a gentleman who completed our NLP Level 1 training. He had been experiencing lower back pain for the past 3 or so years. He had concluded that the backpain was caused by bad posture. He had even gone to the length of purchasing a lower back support which kept his spine straight. However, it wasn’t taking away the pain. In the class he communicated with the backpain and he began to understand that his pain was communicating the desire of his unconscious mind to be stronger with his in-laws, people who he often lost his strength with and bowed down to what they wanted.
The unconscious mind is very symbolic – he told us that what he observed as a movie in his mind about standing tall – but it wasn’t about posture. The feelings that came with standing tall included strength, using his voice, standing up for himself and taking back control. When asked who he needs this type of strength with, he thought for a moment and realised it was his in-laws. We then used a variety of other tools to help him be able to stand in his strength. Interestingly, once he came to this understanding, the pain began to subside, and last we checked with him – the pain was gone completely and he is still maintaining his strength and personal control with his in-laws.
When you are more aware of what is going on in your mind and body you can then become more understanding of what is going on for you. This might be a physical pain, an emotion, a behaviour or even a craving or urge. If you are procrastinating about something, there is a good chance your unconscious mind need or wants something before you begin. If you are craving chocolate, it might not be the chocolate but something else your unconscious mind needs and desire.
A great assumption about NLP is you are in charge of your mind and therefore your results. When you are more aware about what is going on for you – you are one step closer to being fully in charge of your mind.
