Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) rose to fame in the 1970s when its creators, Richard Bandler and John Grinder, took their message to the masses and empowered people with tools for improved confidence and personal skills, professional success, and inner peace. Their decades-old techniques remain popular among self-help seekers today, but attending an NLP workshop can sometimes cost thousands of dollars. If you don't have the money to spend on a live NLP seminar, you can still teach yourself the fundamentals at home.
Instructions
1. Learn from NLP CD and DVD programs. If you can't afford to attend an advanced NLP seminar, you can often purchase complete videotaped seminars on comprehensive CD and DVD sets, some of which comprise as many as 20 discs. For instance, the Wesland Institute offers the 12-CD course "Neuro-Linguistic Programming," NLP Today offers a variety of NLP certification courses on CD and DVD, and NLP Comprehensive offers the DVD set "NLP Home Study Guide."
2. Read books about NLP. Although reading books won't give you all of the tools you need to learn NLP, they can go a long way toward teaching you NLP principles and providing you with practical applications for your personal growth. You might want to start with "Frogs Into Princes: Neuro Linguistic Programming," by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, one of the original books on the subject. This book was written by the founders of NLP and emphasizes all of the basic principles in an easy-to-follow format.
3. Listen to podcasts. A variety of NLP podcasts, such as "Tranceforming NLP," "NLP Tools" and "NLP Benefits" offer free audio content that you can enjoy on your computer or MP3 player. You can also download and burn podcasts onto a CD just as you would music. To find NLP podcasts, you can download iTunes from Apple.com and access podcasts through the iTunes Store, or you can download from sites like Podcast.com and Podcast Alley.
4. Get involved in NLP online communities. When learning a new skill, you can benefit greatly from interacting with others. A number of online communities, such as NLP Weekly, NLP Connections and NLP Development Forum, let you interact with other practitioners through their message boards while you learn from their online articles and hone your skills in a friendly environment. Feel free to ask questions, share your experiences and seek support from more experienced practitioners.
5. Practice the techniques. Possibly the most important step of all is applying the essential techniques as you learn them. Whenever you see an exercise described in any of your learning materials, immediately take time to try it yourself, whether it involves a self-hypnosis technique, deep introspection or reciting words aloud. By putting the techniques into practice, you learn how NLP can be of most benefit to you.
Tags: Bandler John, Bandler John Grinder, John Grinder, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, online communities, Richard Bandler, Richard Bandler John