Trance-Formations: Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the Structure of Hypnosis
Product ID: 75192981
What is a trance state? How do you access a previous trance state? What is pattern interruption? Stacked realities? Generative change? Reframing? And how in the world do you use all this stuff to do anything productive? Better yet, how do you keep from using all this stuff to be unproductive? Well, this will give a you a taste of what lies in store for you in this book. It's the best book to learn about real hypnosis, the structure of hypnosis. There are many books that can teach you to hypnotize people, but few that can teach you to break through the consensual trance that you are already in. This book can get you on the road to doing that. "Hypnosis is a word that usually gets strong responses from people" - positive or negative. Often, people associate trance states with mysticism or magic, which has not helped the reputation of hypnosis. We encourage skeptics to suspend their beliefs or assumptions about hypnosis long enough to read this book. NLP cofounders Bandler and Grinder studied the famous therapist Milton Erickson to determine the structure of hypnosis. This book turns the "magic" into specific understandable procedures, some of which are useful in everyday conversation. In addition to the hows of hypnosis (basic and advanced), the authors describe numerous important uses for this science. A great introduction to the subject - and an important reference book for hypnosis practitioners. Review: The Bible of of NLP Books. Interested in NLP? Get this book! - John Grinder and Richard Bandlers collaboration in Trance Formations truly aims at the heart of what NLP is all about. While many other books and individuals have tried to capitalize upon the methodologies within NLP, this book is probably where a lot of the other books derived from. Because of this, the book is highly concentrated with information about linguistics and most importantly, using it to your advantage. This highly distilled book is comprised essentially of the transcript of a seminar which doesn't allow for the best outlay that you may come to expect in a book. There is no table of contents or an index. However, the fact that what these guys are saying is so clear, so distilled, and so elucidating, it's extremely easy to forgive them for the lack of structure in the book. I personally carried this book around like a bible after I had first bought it reading as much as possible. Most of the seminar transcript is also where Grinder/Bandler are using the NLP to influence the audience, so you can actually see how masters of NLP use their technique. Some of the topics that are covered are: presuppositions, nominalizations, unspecified referential indexes, deletion, mind-reading, ordinal numerals, awareness predicates, and a whole slew of other techniques. It was only after the usage of this book that I truly began to integrate the use of NLP into my life and finally understood how language, pacing, breathing, and touching can truly allow someone to experience things in a different manner. This book took me a little extra time to digest, keeping in mind that the intended audience is well educated therapists. However, their speaking style is not difficult to comprehend and anyone wanting to learn NLP and you can do so very well with a solid study of this book. Review: Interesting, thought provoking book - First, I agree with the reviewers about this not being a beginner's book. You would probably get more out of reading a different hypontism book first. NLP is a somewhat controversial approach to hypnotherapy. The version presented in this book is not really a science so much as an art, which requires deep personal experience and understanding to make work. For this reason it will always be on the fringes of psychotherapy. This book is one of the classic books about NLP and therefore should be read critically by anyone interested in it or related topics (including how the brain processes language). I found the book to crystalize what I had learned from life experience and by watching others. Given that experience I think I got a lot out of the book, perhaps more than the authors intended. However I can understand how others might take wrong turns trying to see this as some sort of short-cut (when it is really a power tool). Having said this, I think if folks read the book critically, it will lead to greater insight. I wasn't sure about all aspects of the book. For example, while I understand the idea of symptom substitution as a possible good, I found the examples in the book to be questionable in the long run (while they might be good for transitional measures, they seem to help rob an individual of the need to address some circumstances directly). All in all, though, a very thought-provoking book and worth reading.
| Best Sellers Rank | #239,855 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #37 in Hypnotherapy (Books) #177 in Hypnosis Self-Help #5,485 in Psychology & Counseling |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 156 Reviews |
T**D
The Bible of of NLP Books. Interested in NLP? Get this book!
John Grinder and Richard Bandlers collaboration in Trance Formations truly aims at the heart of what NLP is all about. While many other books and individuals have tried to capitalize upon the methodologies within NLP, this book is probably where a lot of the other books derived from. Because of this, the book is highly concentrated with information about linguistics and most importantly, using it to your advantage. This highly distilled book is comprised essentially of the transcript of a seminar which doesn't allow for the best outlay that you may come to expect in a book. There is no table of contents or an index. However, the fact that what these guys are saying is so clear, so distilled, and so elucidating, it's extremely easy to forgive them for the lack of structure in the book. I personally carried this book around like a bible after I had first bought it reading as much as possible. Most of the seminar transcript is also where Grinder/Bandler are using the NLP to influence the audience, so you can actually see how masters of NLP use their technique. Some of the topics that are covered are: presuppositions, nominalizations, unspecified referential indexes, deletion, mind-reading, ordinal numerals, awareness predicates, and a whole slew of other techniques. It was only after the usage of this book that I truly began to integrate the use of NLP into my life and finally understood how language, pacing, breathing, and touching can truly allow someone to experience things in a different manner. This book took me a little extra time to digest, keeping in mind that the intended audience is well educated therapists. However, their speaking style is not difficult to comprehend and anyone wanting to learn NLP and you can do so very well with a solid study of this book.
C**S
Interesting, thought provoking book
First, I agree with the reviewers about this not being a beginner's book. You would probably get more out of reading a different hypontism book first. NLP is a somewhat controversial approach to hypnotherapy. The version presented in this book is not really a science so much as an art, which requires deep personal experience and understanding to make work. For this reason it will always be on the fringes of psychotherapy. This book is one of the classic books about NLP and therefore should be read critically by anyone interested in it or related topics (including how the brain processes language). I found the book to crystalize what I had learned from life experience and by watching others. Given that experience I think I got a lot out of the book, perhaps more than the authors intended. However I can understand how others might take wrong turns trying to see this as some sort of short-cut (when it is really a power tool). Having said this, I think if folks read the book critically, it will lead to greater insight. I wasn't sure about all aspects of the book. For example, while I understand the idea of symptom substitution as a possible good, I found the examples in the book to be questionable in the long run (while they might be good for transitional measures, they seem to help rob an individual of the need to address some circumstances directly). All in all, though, a very thought-provoking book and worth reading.
D**E
This book is better than more than half the NLP trainings on the market today. This book has it all.
If you master the skills in this book, anything you want for your life is within your grasp. A truly amazing book. So, what's in it? A three day seminar by Richard Bandler that teaches what some trainers charge $1600-$3000 to learn the same skills. Get it, if you use persuasion skills or hypnosis to help people, this is a great place to start. Magic is real. Real technique.
K**A
Spiritual seekers: get it done
If you know how to meditate, and you can quiet your mind, and you can do The Work by Byron Katie, and you have listened to all of Eckhart Tolle and Joseph Goldstein, and yet, still, your conscious, thinking mind is problematic, study this book. Then read the other books this duo has written. Plain and simple, this is how to work with the ego—the false self—the human mind, and it's helpful beyond belief. It will empower you without a doubt.
I**.
Not what I expected
Transcript of a seninar, not quite what I expected. Since I'm just starting with NLP, it's pretty confusing and a hard read for me.
D**R
The original Practitioner level training guidebook.
Fun and interesting reading and will remind you sooo much of your practitioner training and all that stuff that you forgot to remember. But since its out of print you are pretty much out of luck. This one is MINE and you cant have it.
J**E
Must Read For Becoming Your Best Self
Without any doubts – one of the best books(if not the best) on NLP and the structure of hypnosis. By far one of the best books on the topic. Must read for anyone interested in “rewiring your brain.” Surprise a book like this one is even published. Occults are made of the knowledge in Trans-Formation. Ideal, for hypnotist,therapist,people who want to help other people, or anyone interested in achieving greatness. Definitely a pickup. 10/10!
M**Y
Trance Formations Neuro Linguistic Programming
A great book. It is like a live seminar with Richard Bandler, but put into a book. It teaches you how to do simple and advanced inductions. Talks about how to set up ideomotor signals, and how to use them while in trance state. A good book for anyone interested in NLP.
A**I
One Star
A
R**Y
... old book I read years ago and it was good to read again
An old book I read years ago and it was good to read again. Makes me sorry I gave it away but I got it back.
D**E
Still one of the most insightful and rewarding Hypnosis tool kits!
Hi reader, if your anything like me.. I know you will have looked for the best hypnosis books you can find and you may have even bought a couple and perhaps felt a little disappointed.. Well let me say first of all that when you open this book (that's written Clearly and succinctly By Richard Bandler and John Grinder) you might discover as you flick through the pages a growing sense of joy, because it's not just about how clearly the powerful techniques are layed out for you it's more about noticing the amazing responses you will get back as you play with the language patterns and other techniques, in everyday life! I have owned this book for two years now and thinking back to when it first arrived.. I still find myself flicking to my favorite bits in this book and you always discover something new.. which is a joyful feeling! Buy this book if your wanting to be given the tools that fine tune and sharpen your hypnotic skills, and also Buy this book if your like me two years ago and looking for the best place to begin your journey into this Fascinating world of conversational Hypnosis!
J**E
Create more useful self-deceptions than the ones you already have
Though Connirae Andreas’s foreword to Trance-formations (1981) mentions: “the book...appears as a single workshop [and] no distinction is made between when Richard is speaking and when John is speaking“ it is hard at times not to pick out a particular brand of stand-up therapy by the author most associated with absurd tales of the unexpected. For example, a random meeting of an old lady at a liquor store becomes a very moving account of reframing (in normal conversation) that dramatically saves her life; or the amusing story of a woman with a tiger under her bed (metaphorically speaking) or the catatonic prize fighter who unconsciously responds at a micro-muscular level to the random shadow boxing moves of a working employee; or the miraculous healing of a stroke patient’s arm that then goes completely unrecognised by doctors who proceed to medicate for management (within their established belief system). These stories and others demonstrate to lesser or greater degree the potential of NLP without recourse to the mystical channels of the faith healer or shaman. Stay out of the content baby... A particularly useful insight for me that underlies the left-right brain distinction is that conscious reasoning has meaning and an unconscious response has purpose; figuring this out is the difference between conscious discernment and habitual function that at some time in another situation had worthwhile meaning. The understanding here is that you can vary your behaviour to provide a context the client can respond to appropriately rather than elicit resistance since “there is no resistance, only incompetent therapists.” Therefore the art and effectiveness of becoming’ or ‘beginning’ (in the progressive present tense) a trance practitioner is learning to see how someone is responding using sensory grounded acuity in order to process and not delve into the content: “If the response you get isn’t the one you wanted that does not make it a mistake, it just makes it the next step in getting the response you want.” Kaizen or incremental changes rather than remedial fixes easily spring to mind. An intriguing concept that works in tandem with trance is reframing (published by the authors as a subject worthy of further discussion the following year). Reframing assumes you firstly accept the presented behaviour and then try and find a way to put it in a constructive (often larger) frame. For example, “the negative experiences in our past often form the foundation for the very powerful resources that we have in the present, when seen, heard and felt in new way.” Reframing secondary gain for instance was something I found particularly useful in helping to reach upstream solutions rather than working on the presented symptoms. This is mostly done by separating the positive function from the behaviour (outcome). A typical structured approach to reframing as a methodology for personal change is to know (K) what outcome you want; then find (F) out what you are getting by having the sensory experience to know when you’ve got the response you aren’t getting; and have the behavioural flexibility to change (C) what you are doing to get the outcome. Over the years I have come across many variations of the same set of steps and it was interesting to uncover them again over 40 years ago. Finally it is stated there’s nothing you can do with a person in trance you can’t do with a person out of trance though only those skilled enough in hypnosis have the required sensitivity, speed and flexibility to perform trance in the waking state. This is done by “slowing down [amplifying] the person enough so that the practitioner can keep track of what’s happening and stabilise states long enough to be able to do something systematically.” Erickson understood the effect of time distortion and it was commented upon that he was surrounded by a number of clocks in his study that only he could easily observe. Trance-formations could be regarded as the mythical Patterns 3 mentioned in Patterns 2, and though the most recent Bandler rewrite called a Guide to Trance-formation (2008) carries the same title in a more accessible style, the plural version captures word for word the seminar experience of trance’s ‘formations’ which is still a rather riveting read it must be said.
J**S
Five Stars
as advertised
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