AimHi Publishing - NLP Representational Syatems

Representational Systems

One of the common programmes that human beings respond to is the desire to mix with like-minded people and this is the fundamental principle of rapport. What this means in terms of communication is that people often make the mistake of assuming that commonality of thinking exists with the people they meet.
Because we are not all alike in our thinking and the way which we make sense of the world, assuming that others think as we do can only lead, more often that not, to misunderstanding and confusion.
NLP has taken the concept of Jung and, through observation of such people as Milton Erickson and therapists like Satir, developed the principle of representational systems. Representational systems are quite simply what Bandler and Grinder saw as the modes through which individuals perceive information.Our lives are directed by the map that we create of the world as we experience it. That map is created externally and internally. How we use our senses externally will inevitably impact our thinking and our experiences internally. It follows that by changing how we use our senses internally, we will, by default, change our experiences in the process.The human mind is a powerhouse of potential. It is capable of creating any reality that it wants to. You don't need to be scratched, slapped, held tightly or kissed to recall the experience. Some memories will make us wince, while others will make us smile, laugh and cry. We use our senses to full effect in representing our every experience and for this reason our senses are, quite naturally, called representational systems. They are the system through which we literally re-present our external experiences internally (within our mind).
What is of great interest and can be highly effective in improving perception AND performance, is the way that we use our senses and NLP shows us how we can use them to the most amazing effect in sports, education and learning, therapy, communication; in fact, every area of human experience.