The User's Manual for the Brain (Vol 1) [Hardcover]

Bob G. Bodenhamer (Author), L. Michael. Hall (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1899836322 | ISBN-13: 978-1899836321 | Publication Date: January 1, 2001 | Edition: Revised

Available for the very first time in bound-book format, this is the most comprehensive manual to date covering the NLP Practitioner course. A fully revised and updated edition, it contains the very latest developments in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, particularly with regard to the Meta-states model and the Meta-model of language. For all those embarking on Practitioner training or wishing to study to Practitioner level at home, this book is your essential companion. Written and designed by two of the most important theorists in NLP today, The User's Manual For The Brain covers every aspect of the Practitioner programme, including the very latest insights. The User's Manual For The Brain: fully explains the NLP model and techniques; systematically examines the NLP Language Model and the NLP Neurology Model; and provides an introduction to Advanced NLP. Thoroughly structured and expertly organised, The User's Manual For The Brain is written in an inviting manner, punctuated by key points, and packed with useful illustrations and diagrams that make NLP as accessible as possible. Providing a wealth of exercises and techniques, this guide simply presents the reader with an excellent opportunity to get the most out of NLP.

Editorial Reviews

Review

". . .this manual . . .provides a systematic, step-by-step understanding of what NLP is all about. . ." -- Annette Arbel, Master Practitioner, NLP of Gastonia

"[This book] is the most complete, concise, and clear book on the subject of NLP that I have ever come across . . ." -- Joel Christman, CPA

This book offers the perfect introduction to NLP and is useful because it is comprehensive in its coverage. -- London Coll. of Clinical Hypnosis, Spring/Summer, 2001

About the Author

Bob G. Bodenhamer DMin is a highly regarded trainer and innovative theorist in the field of NLP. As a teacher at Gaston College, North Carolina, he provides certified NLP training for Practitioners and Master Practitioners, and is also a therapy consultant. Bob now serves as the pastor of a mission church, and also runs his own private therapy practice. He has co-authored six books with L. Michael Hall PhD. L. Michael Hall PhD has authored many ground-breaking works on neuro-linguistics, communication, emotions and motivation. One of the foremost authors on the NLP scene, he is dedicated to taking its techniques into new and exciting realms of therapy and personal development. Michael currently works as a psychotherapist and trainer in Grand Junction, Colorado.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 422 pages
• Publisher: Crown House Publishing; Revised edition (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1899836322
• ISBN-13: 978-1899836321
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #335,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best NLP Practitioner Manual, August 31, 2001

By 

Alan Woodhouse (Pickering, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The User's Manual for the Brain (Vol 1) (Hardcover)

I have been involved in NLP for some time and teach NLP in Canada. This is the manual I use when I'm teaching my NLP Practitioner courses and the one I recommend when people ask for a book to help them understand NLP. It is well written, clear and succinct. All of the major exercises are here and the instructions are excellent. It is obvious that Bob Bodenhamer and Michael Hall have used this material extensively and their book reflects this. They have a deep understanding of their subject matter and how to present it. If you want to know about NLP, understand how it works and what a practitioner program entails, get this book.

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too deep - for practitioners trying to cure someone, August 27, 2004

By 

Tomezini "Tomezini" (Lisbon - Portugal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The User's Manual for the Brain (Vol 1) (Hardcover)

This is a book that starts very well, describing every aspect of NLP - Eye Cues, Words, phrases, commands, types of personality (Kinesthetic, Visual, Auditory and Digital... this lattest one being totally diferent than other books on the subject).

The think is... after 1/3 of the book is read, you start getting the long, abstract and theoretical stuff about NLP.

So I recommend this if you are a student, a practicioner and want to become "certified" - like in a psychology/hipnotist course.

Do NOT buy this book if you want practical advice, easy to follow tips for your personal life or business career.

Think of this book as a theoretical guide that your college teacher you'd recommend... You will know a lot of theory but not much about applying it to everyday life.

Anyway, a very solid, thourough, detailed and complete book on theoretical NLP.

(As you might have guessed, I was looking for a more practical guide).

47 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite, July 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The User's Manual for the Brain (Vol 1) (Hardcover)

Unfortunately, I cannot concur with the other reviewers. What I had hoped for was one book that accomplished two things: (1) organize the many concepts and techniques described by Bandler et al through their books, many of which were edited seminar transcripts and (2) update for me the current usage and experience from the field since the earlier days of NLP. This book succeeds in some respects and fails in others.

For example, the section of the chapter on the representational systems--those through which we sense our external context or world--is very good. It provides exercises that are useful in acquiring the language of that concept. It provides lists of visual predicates, words that help us particularize the sensations, such as verbs, adjectives and adverbs. It also provides common predicate phrases to illustrate how we use language dynamically, such as "appears to me" and "pretty as a picture."

In contrast, in the section of the chapter on the submodalities, the authors alter the original NLP paradigm by applying less sophistication. For those readers unfamiliar with the original, this may prove difficult to comprehend, but it proves extremely important. One of the signal changes in the original model was the notion that behavior resulted from our individual model or map of some memory, which in turn derived from some inexact perception of a modal, or sensory, experience. For example, we know that two people do not experience the same context the same way; e.g., some people believe that Ben Laden is a monster, others a savior. The same may be said about things as well as people; e.g., automobiles, public transportation, pit bulls, skyscrapers, SUVs, etc.

What Bandler et al posited was two notions, viz., (1) that we could CHANGE behavior WITHOUT knowing what the constituent elements of the embedded experience were, and (2) the experience was something akin to an equation, with formal aspects-and here it gets a bit complex for those unfamiliar or uncomfortable with higher mathematics. The old psychology paradigm (think of Freud) was hierarchical: unconscious, subconscious, conscious. Similarly, Maslow's paradigm was hierarchical, from basic needs through self-actualization. The NLP paradigm was different. It argued that our experience was more like a mathematical equation: Experience = X(Visual) + X(Auditory) + X(Kinesthetic) + X(Gustatory / Olfactory) + C, where X is a function. The reason this was different (and important) was that changing a single sub-modality-perhaps the one represented by the primary representational system-could have a significant influence on behavior due to the absolute power of the 'X' function (which we could never discover).

What these authors have substituted is the prior hierarchical-and in my estimation, inferior-paradigm. The problem with the hierarchical model is it assumes an additive influence of sensory experience on memory, and thus behavior. I do not concur that our experiences are that simplistic. The difficulty with the original NLP model-that is, the feature that I thought troubling-was that changing a single behavior has the hazard of influencing other (unknowable) behaviors in some ways. In other words, our personality is "meta" (to use the authors' meaning) to our specific behaviors-i.e., our personality derives from our behaviors. A more positive change from these authors would have been to figure out if the Calculus paradigm applied (Can we accelerate change?), or most important, if we could modulate one unknown constant such as C.

Finally, Bandler would argue that we could leave the inter-behavior incongruities to our unconscious, since we are creative and flexible. This makes more intuitive sense to me. What causes the OLD psychological models to be ineffective is their search for the ultimate answer as to why we behave as we do, e.g., What is the absolute source of one's antipathy to authority figures? Frankly, I do not give a damn. If I want to change a behavior, I want to change it. Period. I do not want to spend years searching through my childhood memories. (Sound familiar?) We operate on the basis of maps, not territory, Perceptions, not Truth (with apologies to Plato). If that new behavior does not work, I will change it again. My mind is creative enough, if I do not inhibit it. In sum, you can choose between Bandler's sophistication and religion's Ultimate Answer.