Hang onto your hat................  Dolores

  "The Half-Second Rule"
by Colin G Smith

The mind learns fast. A very powerful way to view life is to experience everything as a learning experience. I think it
was Dr. Richard Bandler (co-creator of NLP) who first made me realize that Phobias are in fact a learned response. The mind of the Phobic has learned to associate a stimulus (eg a Wasp) to a response (eg Panic!)

The more you ponder this idea the more profound you will realize the implications.

And here's the deal. Does a person develop a phobia of wasps over time? You know, do they see a wasp one day and then the next week they see another and decide they don't like them and get more and more afraid of them?

No. Phobias are 'learned' very, very fast. Out of consciousness, in less than half a second!

They have an intense emotional response which becomes associated/anchored to the stimulus in such a way that that state is AUTOMATICALLY triggered whenever they see/hear/feel/smell/taste the stimulus again!

This is incredible! The persons mind will from then on automatically go into a very altered state, within half a
second of experiencing the stimulus.

Now I think you'd agree, phobias aren't exactly useful, right?

But, what if you could use that same Stimulus/Response mechanism to create automatic states of Joy, Ecstasy, Fun and Bliss.

Would that be useful to you in any area of you life? ;)

Now for sure they are many other ways of creating effective change. Some methods use different concepts and are slower to implement. With this article I wanted to introduce you to the half-second rule concepts because they are less well known than other "change-technologies" and they lend themselves well to generating more fun because they are playful by design.

The following technique is a really fascinating NLP tool because it makes great use of your unconscious resources.
I only discovered it recently and was surprised to learn that many 'NLP veterans' didn't know about it either!

Merging Metaphors
(Adapted from a technique called 'Spinning Icons' developed
by Joe Munshaw and Nelson Zink

1. Select a problem state.

2. As you think about your problem state what visual image comes to mind? Notice where it is located in space.

3. Break your current state: eg) Remember you phone number backwards or look up and notice the patterns on the ceiling. Now think about the desired resource state (or outcome, or goal) you would like instead. Notice how you represent this as a visual image. Pay attention to where it is located in space.

4. Now allow your mind to turn the first picture (problem state) into a metaphorical symbol or icon. Keep it in the
same location in space. (This visual metaphor could be quite complex or it may be as simple as a colour. Just trust your unconscious.)

TOP TIP: It can be useful to ask yourself, "What is this problem state like?" This often allows a metaphorical
representation to arise.

5. Do the same thing with the desired resource state you selected in step 3, making sure to place the new metaphor symbol in the same location in space as the original image.

6. Now see the two metaphor symbols at the same time noticing their locations in space. Next slowly rotate them
around each other. Keep rotating them around each other and do so faster and faster. Do this spinning for about 10 seconds allowing the rotation to be so fast that you can no longer track the images and you may even feel a little confused.

7. Now allow the images to merge together, that's right. And push this merged image out in front of you where you can view it easily. Describe the new image briefly, quickly moving to step 8.

8. Immediately begin telling WHATEVER story comes to mind. Just allow yourself to start telling a story. It doesn't
matter what it is. It could be a real memory, a story or just simply made up ramblings. The point being is that this
process taps into your vast unconscious resources.

9. Now ask yourself, "How is this story relevant to my problem/challenge?" or "How can this story help resolve my
problem?" (This step can help to give you conscious insight into how the previous steps have made some useful changes.)


Isn't that a great technique! You know it's got that magical spirit of curious wonder to it hasn't it?

So I wonder how else could you use a tool like that to add more magical sparkles to your life?

©2006 Colin G Smith

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Colin G Smith is a licensed Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and author of 'The Half Second Rule: Your Master Key to Safe, Rapid & Effective Change', his NEW Special Report that empowers the reader to quickly easily and safely make profound personal changes using the principles and techniques of the half-second rule. http://www.NLPToolBox.com/special_reports/hs r.htm

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Who am I? Who's in Charge?

As this month's newsletter again focuses on the human aspect of horsemanship it might be a good time to ask who you are when you visit your horse. A long time ago I attended a class on defensive driving a result I must admit of driving too fast once too often. At the class the instructor asked us to ask ourselves who in in control when we are driving; the child, the punishing parent or the adult. One can easily see how each of these roles might affect our relationship with driving.

Who are you when you visit your horse? A lot of people it seems loved horses as a child and when they visit the horse they want to revisit that carefree time in their lives. But, then something happens. The horse scares them. Since they are no longer the carefree child they once were, they will often shift gears. To whom they shift may well be a result of what they have learned and how they react to fear and stress.

Let's take this from the horse's point of view for a moment. Approached by a child in adult's clothing what is he to do? His first inclination is to humor the child as a good child's pony would do. But, as an adult, the person has often lost her ability to "be" childlike and now expects the horse to "mind" while at the same time presenting herself to the horse as a child.

Grass at this time of year is particularly appealing to many horses. And, many folks speak of not being able to get their horse to leave the grass. The horse is no longer willing to humor the "child" in the face of this delectable treat. There are always in any group leaders and followers. And, the lead position can shift in a moment. This occurs in groups of people as well as in groups of animals.

In flocks of geese that fly in that famous V formation, the leader leads and has a most difficult role. The rest of the flock honks and cheers on the leader and at the same time encouraging the wind draft  mechanism that allows all of the birds to fly better and longer. When the leader tires, a new goose takes the lead and is cheered on by everyone.

Can anyone imagine a horse in a herd, standing still when danger is signaled by another. The signaler does not have to chase or attack the rest of the herd. And at the same time the signaler is evaluated by the rest of the horses. Today, on new grass Cadbury and Harley were enjoying some new grass on the pasture I had opened up. Cadbury hates the deer flies, Harley is more tolerant of them. Harley in general is an easy going guy. Cadbury kicked out hard and ran back to his shelter. Harley barely lifted an eyebrow. But, Cadbury is dominant. He's not afraid to nip Harley to get him to move. So, who is in charge. Well, it depends.

Does your horse consider you a child to be humored. Or, are you a leader who expects a 51% say in the matter. How do you feel when you approach your horse. Are you hoping that he'll leave the grass or are you sure he will. When I approach my horses, I don't expect anyone to leave. Rather, I expect that they will notice me and check in to see if there is anything interesting going on. I always expect myself to be at the least "interesting". If you come into a pasture full of grass what do your horses do? What do you want them to do. Do you feel important enough for them to leave the grass? Take note of how you feel. And, if you want to test their response to you. Disconnect any thought of them and simply pick a line in their pasture and run from point to point. Do they even look your way? Or are they on top of you as soon as you get into the pasture.

What if you walked a line that intersects where they are standing without acknowledging them? Would you find that you bump headlong into a horse body that thought no more of you to move? Perhaps they see you as a child. If they scatter, perhaps you've moved slightly over the edge into worry. Could this be your punishing parent. The one who has "moved" them when they did not move. How can we be more of the adult. Important enough to yield to and interesting enough to be a good one to hang with. Test it and see for yourself. And then, adjust as necessary. As usual, its only important that you notice. Which role you choose when is entirely up to you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

More from a Collection of Abraham-Hicks
 

The concept of Conscious Creation is now a well-accepted buzzword in a variety of metaphysical circles; however, despite the proliferation of this material, it seems many are still unable to achieve the success they would like to use these principles. Why is this so, and is there a missing component that is largely being
overlooked? What is the most important factor in Conscious Creation?

Answer:

The main missing ingredient is focus and consistency of effort. In your modern lives, you are constantly surrounded by many, many choices. Choices about what to eat, where to eat, what to wear, how to wear it, different career and job opportunities, many, many different ways of expressing yourselves and filling your lives than in earlier periods of human history. Your abundance of choice leads many of you to be distracted by other possibilities, therefore lessening the amount of focused energy being placed on the things that you say that you want. This is one of the reasons. Another reason is that for the most part, you simply allow life to happen to you. You turn on your radios and TV's, you listen to the news, you react to it in one way or another and you go about your day. Very few of you start your day with any other purpose in mind than 'go to work', 'take children to school', 'pick up laundry', 'go running', 'pay my bills'. In addition to these general 'to do' lists that you have, you simply go about your day allowing life and the day to happen to you. However, each part of your life is a result of thought. If you think you have a hectic, unstable, disorganized life - take a look at your thoughts.

The most important aspect of learning to manifest is focus. What many do who first learn of their inherent ability to attract to themselves what they are wanting through thought, is to instantly think of the biggest, best, largest, most courageous dream or thing they could imagine, they instantly say " I want a large sum of money" or "I want
to become a movie star" or "I want that luxurious home in the mountains". For those of you who are unaccustomed to focusing your thoughts, these items will present great challenges. It is not that
they are difficult, for it takes exactly the same amount of focus and decision to manifest a thimble as it does a castle. The difference in the manifesting of the thimble and the castle, are the beliefs you have about having and owning such things. So many of you are burdened with feelings of lack of self worth, the conflicts that arise out of
manifesting your largest dreams, sabotage the manifestation of them in the initial stages. When you think of such grand things, such grand dreams, most of you immediately begin an inner dialogue in which you tell yourself of all the reasons why you may not have the thing you have dreamt of. You cite examples, you remember all the
other 'failures' from the past, the 'failures' of friends and perhaps even try to convince yourself that the higher path, or the spiritual path, is to go without and to learn how to be satisfied with what you have. Although we would agree that being satisfied with where you are is a beneficial quality to develop, but satisfaction is not the same as stagnation!

It is not that we are offering to you that you should not think big, that is the last idea we would want you to gain from our answer. However, what we are saying is, you need to practice deliberate creation, and we suggest that you start this with the creation of your day. As we have already said, for the most part, you simply allow your day to happen to you. In order to prepare yourself for creating your life's dream, start with creating a day, and do it
consciously. For example, as you awaken each morning you can say to yourself "today I wish to learn more about what I love and more about what excites me" or "today I wish to discover more of my talents". The list of possibilities is endless. Note this, the MOMENT that you make this statement; you have launched a new creation. As you say these words and INTEND to experience 'more of what you love', your soul then sets about brining you those opportunities. As you shift your focus on life away from being reactive beings, in other words, simply responding to what occurs in a day, and you become a creative being, setting forth your intention for the day, you ability and confidence increases.
                                                    __________________________________________

To apprehend the nature of the cosmos begins with the insight of Socrates "Know thyself"

Develop supreme mental toughness for success in your sport

What separates the true masters, the champions, from the 'also rans' ?

So often it's just a matter of mental toughness. Time and time again sports commentators marvel that a particular individual is the best - even when they are smaller, older, less experienced, or physically weaker than others in their field.

Somehow they're unbeatable.

They don't have a wishbone where their backbone should be.

Develop supreme mental toughness gets you feeling and behaving like a true champion. Supreme mental toughness is about focus of mind, discounting all distractions and never giving up.

When you have supreme mental toughness you become an irresistible force. Physical strength, lightning fast reactions and stamina are all greatly influenced by your attitude of mind, your spirit.

We want you to have true grit and determination and to focus like a champion. When you have subconscious determination and focus, you'll have your instincts working on your side.