Richard Bandler and John Grinder, "The Structure of Magic"

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:35

In the middle of the last century, a book was published that made a fair amount of noise, which has not ceased until now. The dark matter of psychology was illuminated by a ray of light. A few rules - and you can manipulate anyone. No one will guess that it was used. Therefore, he will not shout: “You used me!”. Title of the book: The Structure of Magic.

Maybe quackery?

No way. Respectability oozes from every line of the biography.

PhD in Linguistics. Writer. University of California at Santa Cruz. Undercover CIA agent in Yugoslavia and Germany. This is John Grinder, one of the authors of the famous book.

Richard Bandler, BA in Philosophy and Psychology from the same university. Also a writer. They even said that he was a programmer and a mathematician. I was both when, in search of myself, I enrolled in the relevant courses. After a couple of months, I realized that this was not his. He entered the path of psychology, where he succeeded.

There is also Frank Pucelik. There are no high-profile titles and titles behind him. Business consultant, coach (understand who can), specialist in the field of "Human Excellence". Odessa since 2002. Again, writer. Co-authors are not always mentioned.

What is it about

That a person can be viewed from different points of view. For example, the crown of creation, the king of nature and the surrounding galaxies. Or a product of evolution, an ape, a mammal, etc.

"The Structure of Magic" by Richard Bandler believes that a person is a mechanism. Very complicated. Thinking, due to the neurons of the brain. Capable of verbal communication, the subject of linguistics. Operating within the framework of the program laid down by education and experience. If you add all three components: neurons, linguistics and programmed action, you get “neuro-linguistic programming”.

At the time of the book's appearance, modeling neurons seemed pure fantasy. The impact on linguistic possibilities required tens, if not hundreds of years. Immediate problems cannot be solved. All that was left was programming. What used to be called witchcraft, magic, hypnosis turned out to be a simple algorithm.

NLP is born

The Structure of Magic was first published in 1975. It has become the bible of NLP, since all the basic principles and approaches were formulated in it. Now, decades after its publication, it is still the most popular guide for all sorts of people.

It's funny that this "bible" does not mention the name of the new deity anywhere. Even the word "neuron" is used only a few times, and then in combination with the word "physiology". brand yetnot born. When it appears, both creators will fight for a long time in the courts for the right to be the only author of the bestseller.

Psychotherapists and school psychologists, managers and salespeople, charlatans and scammers: it suits everyone. If you exclude the last two categories, you still have a large audience. Millions of copies find their enthusiastic readers. The weak voices of critics are barely audible in the laudatory reviews of adherents.

How to explain such a massive success of either general intoxication, or the same insight? The scientific nature of the book was not declared even by the authors themselves, the subject is that same dark matter, psychology, language cannot be called easy. Then what?

Bandler R. and Grinder D. in "The Structure of Magic" promise that almost any goal is achievable. He alth or self-improvement, superpowers or superprofits, managing yourself or people: everything is available.

Carrot for a donkey?

Not really. Initially, the book was intended to solve problems of the psyche, phobias, family relationships. On the examples of prominent doctors in this field: Virginia Satir and Fritz Perls, the first patterns were created. The idea was to break down the talent into its components. Anyone who mastered them could repeat their accomplishments.

Probably it was Bandler's idea. He had the talent of an imitator, which he used to penetrate someone's inner world. He copied habits, voice, manner of speaking, even appearance to such perfection that they began to mistake him for the original.

Once he wasbrought to trial on suspicion of murder. Giving evidence, he managed to so skillfully transform into the second suspect in this case that the jury could not decide who to find guilty. Both were released from charges.

But this is an exception. The idea was that by adopting habits and the smallest traits of character, you can wake up in yourself the abilities that are expressed in the external manifestations of talent. But the language of imitation of this level is not available to everyone. Should have found another one.

Say something and I'll tell you who you are

Grinder's talent has already come in handy here. After all, he was a linguist and understood well that a word can hurt, heal, and penetrate into the depths of consciousness. The only drawback of the word is that it is spoken with intent. Therefore, it may be false. But verbal speech is not the only way to communicate.

We communicate with more than just words. Lips, eyes, gestures sometimes say more than a person wants to express in reality. And if you comprehend the alphabet of this language, you can learn to understand its speech. Patterns have become letters: stable external signs that can be interpreted unambiguously.

Eyes work best for this. The mirror of the soul, which is the purpose of penetration into the psyche. But other signs should not be ignored. If you put together a puzzle of all the patterns, you get a complete picture that will tell a lot of things that the speaker himself does not know. "The Structure of Magic" by Bandler and Grinder proves it.

People are different

He who has learned to read the secret signs alreadyready to control the mind of his counterpart. It remains to determine which type of perception the subject belongs to in order to identify the best type of interaction. NLP claims that each person perceives the world differently.

The world outside is one for all. People are like mirrors, they reflect it as best they can. Adherents of secret knowledge are of little interest in reality. Only an individual understanding of reality matters to them. According to the features of the formation of this imprint, they distinguish three types of personality:

• audials;
• visuals;
• kinesthetics.

Some people add digital here too, but this is more of a tribute to the fashion for everything digital. Already from the names it is clear that for some, the basis for the construction of a behavioral model is information in sound, visual or tactile form.

Accordingly, the impact will be most effective if it is based on the prevailing type of perception. It seems that everything is ready, you can begin to achieve your goal. Only the foundation is missing.

NLP Principles

The authors chose the title of their book for a reason. They thought they had figured out the genius algorithm. Grinder's "structure of magic" rests on 12 principles. The main ones are:

• behavior is subjective and based on the evaluation of events;
• experience and attitude can be reprogrammed;
• you can't force a person to do a specific thing;
• lack of choice reduces effectiveness;
• we signal the world to accept us.
• The most affected are those who want change but don't know what;
• the solution to all problems lies in the carrier of these problems;

Some of his points seem obvious. Others are easily criticized.

The latter can be paraphrased with the well-known slogan: “Saving the drowning is the work of the drowning themselves” or “If you want to be happy, be happy.”

NLP walks the planet

The original goal: the treatment of people, has not been forgotten. Just moved to the second, if not the last plan. When the creators themselves realized what they had created, a boom began. There were too many who wanted to rule the world to miss the opportunity to monetize such success.

From this moment on, the team of like-minded people begins to disintegrate into components. Almost every participant went his own way, created a unique brand, achieved financial success, but fame bypassed them. Maybe they didn't go after her too much.

NLP has been registered in our country since the late 90s. Grinder himself has been here twice, first in the USSR, then in Russia. They say that despite the decline in popularity in the West, our boom is still ahead. "The Structure of Magic" by John Grinder and Richard Bandler will remain on the shelves of Russian readers for a long time to come.