Generalization, deletion, distortion  
Since the moment of birth our brain is busy coping with a fundamental task: finding meanings in the world. Somebody will object that not all brains have succeeded in it (the skeptics will say many have failed… but NLP does not believe them since it always keeps an optimistic attitude
To reach this outcome the brain neocortex incessantly builds up newer and more intricate synapses which are networks joining the neurons (which are the basic cellules forming the brain). Science has developed sophiosticated techniques like PET (Positron emission Topography) which, being based on the visualization of the metabolism of glucose, helps to observe the cerebral functions in a “living” brain. Because of techniques like this is no longer necessary to a (living!) man’s brain, taking advantage from the fact that the brain has no nervous terminations, to watch it in movement, as in 1930 doc. Penfiels used to do. It’s true!.  
However fascinating maybe the study of brain’s physiology, it is not within the boundaries of NLP which was designed by Bandler and Grinder only as a repertoire of techniques and behavioural patterns. NLP does not oblige us to believe in any dogma but invites us to experiment and test something before choosing whether to make it ours or trhow it into a metaphorical bin

Let’s go back to our starting point: “finding meanings in reality” means in NLP “building a map”. The available strategies are many and they act synergycally. The most important are:

  • generalizations
  • deletions
  • distortions
  
 

Generalizations

Have you ever suffered because a friend betrayed you? On that occasion did you jump to the conclusion that “true friends do not exist”? In fact generalizations consist in stating universal truths or in sorting out the human kind into categories: the good, the bad, the rich, the beautiful. These simplifications allow us to save psychic energies and, above all, spare us the boredom deriving from having to observe a person for a long time and in depth in order to understand “what kind of person they are”. Sometimes they work and help us to choose the right direction but very often they represent a limitation for our “map of the world” up to the point that it becomes as the map of our garden… just imagine, in fact, how restraining may be a generalization like, for example “all men are rascals” or “women are all liars”!

 
Generalizations are also the mechanisms which generate “beliefs” and they may be useful or dangerous just for this one reason. They also produce “phobias”. If once we were bitten by a dog since then we have elaborated the “belief” that “all dog are dangerous”. If the memory goes back to our it probably has made roots in the deep strata of our brain, that is our limbic system (thalamus, ipothalamus, amygdale, etc.) and from there it will be difficult to eradicate unless we use NLP’ phobia treatment. Classic psychotherapy, in these cases, is not very useful and possibly can renew the memory of the pain pushing iot towards ever deeper and more remote corners.
  
 

Deletions

Do you all agree on the fact that it’s very easy to remember our credits and even easier to forget about debts? The mind is very good at avoiding the useless pains caused by disagreeable thought and we have to be grateful to it for this ;-) But deletions happen also for other reasons: for instance an excessive focalization of attention on a target. We are reading the winning numbers of the lottery while around us people are panicking and running away because of a 7th degree earthquake. But we are happy and unaware because we have won one million euros! Actually we have entered a trance state without realizing it without knowing what a trance state is!

  

Deletion is a sort of economy of our nervous system: when it is necessary to concentrate our energies on a task, we delete every extra perception in order to focus on what we consider most crucial. Even in non critical moments of our lives we delete about 80% of the data reaching our brain. Don’t you believe that? Then, close your eyes and listen to the noises your neighbour does now he is entering his apartment, to the noises of the traffic down the road, and also… to your hear beat, to the air entering your nose, your mouth… open your eyes and observe the room around you in the tiniest details, even the ones you have forgotten since they are too familiar… close your eyes again and feel the tension in your legs, your belly, your arms… that’s enough!

As you can see you have to ignore a quantity of details in order not to be choked by this excess of information. Anyway sometime it may be useful to train at noticing those things which avoid our attention because we think they are meaningless while they are not. To observe the details may useful to build our map of the world.

  
 
 

Distortions

“My boss didn’t say good morning to me today: he must be angry!” while perhaps Mr Boss was depressed because his wife wants a divorce.

Sometimes we arbitrarily interpret reality and we end by distorting its meaning. We all agree on the fact that “finding meanings” very often means “seing things which do not exist”. NLP calls this behavior “allucinating” Do you want an example of allucinating? Just think of those endless conversations where misunderstandins have replace effective communication: they seem to have no logical conclusion because often the non verbal language of interlocutors is being distorted. A glance, a gesture may have thousands meanings and it is easy to catch the wrong one.

 
In order to avoid falling into the trap of wrong interpretations there are two solutions:
• to observe the sensorial cues with attention
• to ask for information by using an NLP technique called Metamodel. . But to learn about it you’ve to wait until your Witch publishes a new article of the neverending story of Neuro Linguistic Programmin…
go back home!! go back to NLP!!