Lesson 7 Neurological levels: A lot of NLP work concerns personal change.

And change usually involves not just outward behaviour, but so e other level !below the surface!. "t involves our beliefs and values and !parts! of us that we don!t always recogni#e. $ur behaviour results fro all these inner representations % at any different levels. &nless change takes place within a person!s ind, change 'or at least lasting change( will probably not occur. A ! eaningful life! tends to have congruence between these different levels of thinking. )e also ter this !align ent!. *his eans that each part of the total person goes in the sa e direction. "nner isalign ent can cause inner conflict between different levels of the ind. Lasting personal change re+uires an understanding of these different levels of the ind. Neurological levels odel:

,pirituality-Purpose "dentity .eliefs and values /apabilities .ehaviour 0nviron ent 0ach level organi#es the infor ation for the level below it. *he rules for changing so ething at one level differ fro those for changing a lower level. /hanging so ething at a lower level can, but does not necessarily, affect the upper levels. /hanging so ething at the upper levels, however, will always ake a difference at the lower levels % rather like a cascading waterfall in which the upper levels always flow down to the lower levels. "n the neurological levels odel, if you change what you believe, you will tend to change what you do. /onversely, a change in behaviour will probably not last unless so e belief or value 'a higher level( supports the new behaviour. Not surprisingly, research has shown that confusing these neurological levels tends to create proble s. .y understanding and identifying the levels and the way they affect us, however, we can bring about change. *o understand how these levels apply in your own life, start at the lowest level % environ ent, and work your way up to the higher levels. 0nviron ent % *hink for a o ent of the world you live in % where you operate, the things and people around you 'at ho e, socially, when doing sports and hobbies or at work(. .ehaviour % *hink of a specific behaviour that you e1cel at % for e1a ple, listening, aking lists or drawing up schedules. /apability % )hat overall capability does this behaviour for 2or e1a ple, relating to people, organi#ing or planning. a part of

.elief % )hat does it say about you3 )hat ust hold true for you to have this capability3 )hat do you believe about yourself. 2or e1a ple, do you believe in the i portance of people, the i portance of health, or the i portance of personal develop ent3

"dentity % )hat state ent ight indicate your identity 'who you !are!( % for e1a ple, !"! a people person!, or !"! a natural organi#er!. ,pirituality % )hat sy bol or etaphor represents your spiritual connection or so e higher ideal you espouse3 Perhaps a dove, a deep ocean or a secluded garden3 Applying the Neurological Levels 4odel 2ollowing these e1a ples, apply the odel to a behaviour you e1cel at. *o further test the odel, do the e1ercise again, choosing a different behaviour. Note how each level feeds down into the ne1t in a logical hierarchy. 2or e1a ple, your belief about the i portance of people feeds down into your capability in relating to people. *his capability in turn feeds down into your listening skills. /onversely, your listening skills support your !people! capability and your beliefs about people. " agine what would happen in the case of a change at a high level 'say belief or identity( and also one at a lower level. )hich would have the greater effect on your life3 )hich change would last longest3 )hich change would you find hardest to i ple ent3 5ou can use this odel when addressing proble s or i portant issues needing decisions. ,tart by identifying the level of the !presented! proble % the one that first occurs to you. *hen think about its root or cause, also in ter s of the levels. ,ee if you can trace the issue to each level and think about what it eans in ter s of personal change. *o use a co on e1a ple:

0nviron ent: 4y desk is untidy. .ehaviour: " don!t put things away. /apability: " don!t understand the filing syste . .elief: )e need creativity rather than too uch order. "dentity: "! a disorgani#ed person. *he !proble ! ight present itself at any of these levels. 2or e1a ple, you ight identify an environ ental issue, a skill weakness or a li iting self%belief. "n this case the lower%level, related proble s appear as the effects or results of your proble . "n any event, the solution usually lies at a higher level. 5ou can change ost inor behavioural issues one or two levels up. "n this case, we have o itted the spiritual category. A ajor personal issue, on the other hand, would probably have its root at a higher or !super self! 'spiritual( level. 5ou can apply the odel to all for s of self%develop ent, as well as to solving proble s. "t also helps in understanding and co unicating with others. *hink about these proble s in ter s of different levels. 2or instance, how ight your behaviour affect your environ ent3 And how ight your identity or self%i age affect your capabilities3 *his will help you get to the root of the proble , and suggest at what level you need to ake changes. .egin to notice the use of levels6