Cognitive Patterns of Jesus of Nazareth Tools of

The Spirit.

nontents

Introduction

A. Principles of NLP
B. Basic Principles and Structures of Modeling
C. Levels of Modeling
D. Source Material for the Study

Part I: Exploring the Mind of Jesus

I. Some Basic Elements of Human Experience

A. The Nervous System
1. Representational Systems
2. Synesthesia - Overlap Between the Senses
B. Language
C. Cognitive Strategies

II. A Neuro-Linguistic Analysis of Jesus' Language

A. General Analysis of Jesus' Predicates
B. Micro Analysis of Jesus' Predicates in Context
1. The Word
2. The Heart
3. The Light
4. The Spirit and The Life

III. Analysis of Jesus' Accessing Cues

IV. Jesus' Macro Strategy

V. Summary of Jesus' Cognitive Patterns

Part II: Implementing Jesus' Cognitive Patterns 38

I. Operationalizing the Integration of Long Term and Short Term Goals 40

Exercise: Integrating Time Frames 41
An NLP Interpretation of The Sign of the Cross 42

II.Operationalizing the Great Commandments 44

A. Aligning Neuro-Logical Levels: Implementing the
First Commandment 47
Transcript: Demonstration of the Logical Level Alignment Process 48
Summary of the Logical Level Alignment Process 55
B. Logical Level Co-Alignment Process 57
Summary of Logical Level Co-Alignment Process 59

III. Taking Multiple perceptual Positions - Loving Your Neighbor

As Yourself 61
The Meta Mirror 68
Transcript: Demonstration of The Meta-Mirror 68
Summary of the Meta Mirror Process 75
'Mind of The Heart' Exercise 76

IV. Summary of Implementation Strategies 77

The Resonance Pattern 79
Transcript: Demonstration of the Resonance Pattern 80
Summary of the Resonance Pattern 85
Neural Network Analogy 87

V. Conclusion 89

Bibliography 93

Appendix A: Overview of Neuro-Linguistic Programming 95

 Cognitive Patterns of Jesus of Nazareth: Tools of
the Spirit.
by
Robert B. Diits

INTRODUCTION

The words and ideas of Jesus of Nazareth have had a major influence on the thinking of
Western civilization for almost two thousand years now. "Christianity" of some form is the primary
religion of almost every Western nation. The story of the life and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth has
been translated into every major language and has been spread around the world by the various
missionaries and churches that were spawned by his teachings. For centuries he has been hailed
as the ultimate role model for Western Man. Millions of words have been written about his actions,
sayings and ideology (and it is estimated that more has been written about Jesus in the last twenty
years than the previous two thousand years).
Through the years Jesus has been viewed as many different things by many different
people: a teacher, a miracle worker, a charismatic healer, a magician, a charlatan, a political and
religious leader, a blasphemer, a paranoid schizophrenic, the son of God, a myth. Whatever one's
opinion, however, there certainly seems to be much that can be learned from the remarkable
accounts of the life, words and actions of Jesus of Nazareth. The purpose of this monograph is to
take yet another look at the reported deeds and teachings of Jesus. Using the modern
psychological modeling tools of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) I wish to examine the
structure behind the extraordinary deeds and capabilities reported in the accounts of his life.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a psychological model which, among other things,
provides a set of tools that allow us to map out the cognitive processes underlying the works of
creative and exceptional people (see Appendix A). Rather than concern itself with the content of
the work of the particular individual to be modeled, NLP looks for the deeper structures that
produced those results. In particular, NLP searches for the way in which someone uses such
basic neurological processes as the senses (i.e., seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting),
how these processes are shaped and reflected by language, and how the two combine to
produce a particular program or strategy. According the NLP model it is the way in which we
organize our sensory and linguistic functions into a programmed sequence of mental activity that
determines to a large degree how we will perceive and respond to the world around us.

Jesus - Page 5
 A. Principles of NLP

In essence, all of NLP is founded on two fundamental premises:

1. The Map is Not the Territory. As human beings, we can never know reality. We can only
know our perceptions of reality. We experience and respond to the world around us primarily
through our sensory representational systems. It is our 'neuro-linguistic' maps of reality that
determine how we behave and that give those behaviors meaning, not reality itself. It is generally
not reality that limits us or empowers us, but rather our map of reality.
2. Life and 'Mind' are Systemic Processes. The processes that take place within a human
being and between human beings and their environment are systemic. Our bodies, our societies,
and our universe form an ecology of complex systems and subsystems all of which interact with
and mutually influence each other. It is not possible to completely isolate any part of the system
from the rest of the system. Such systems are based on certain 'self-organizing' principles and
naturally seek optimal states of balance or homeostasis.
All of the models and techniques of NLP are based on the combination of these two
principles. In the belief system of NLP it is not possible for human beings to know objective reality -
that is the realm of what men call 'God'. Wisdom, ethics and ecology do not derive from having the
one 'right' or 'correct' map of the world, because human beings would not be capable of making
one. Rather, the goal is to create the richest map possible that respects the systemic nature and
ecology of ourselves and the world in which we live.
The modeling tools of NLP allow us to identify specific, reproducible patterns in the language
and behavior of effective role models. While most NLP analysis is done by actually watching and
listening to the role model in action, much valuable information can be gleaned from written records
as well.

B. Some Basic Principles and Structures of Modeling

The purpose of modeling is not to make the one 'real' map or model of something, but
rather to enrich our perceptions in a way that allows us to be both more effective and more
ecological in how we interact with reality. A model is not intended to be reality, but instead to
represent certain aspects of that reality in a practical and concrete way.
The status of Christianity as an influence in the world is in many ways a result of

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its success in representing and programming a fundamental strategy for thinking and a set of
assumptions and beliefs. This is a process that has a structure, and recognizing and defining that
structure can help us to enrich our understanding of the effects of that process on ourselves and
our world. The kind of strategy Jesus seems to embody is a strategy for forming and organizing
fundamental beliefs about the world into a way of being and living that has deep implications both
personally and socially.
The purpose of this monograph is to identify patterns in how Jesus organized his experience
of the world around him and then acted in that world so that we may gain some new insight into his
remarkable life and abilities and the impact that they have had on modern society. By analyzing
the words and reported deeds of Jesus as they have been passed down to us through the
gospels, perhaps we can find what structures of mind lie hidden beneath their content. Even
though so much has been written about Jesus, analyzing many different aspects of his life and
ministry, no one has had the tools of NLP before to analyze the gospels for what they might tell us
about the specific neuro-linguistic processes underlying the mind and works of Jesus.

C. Levels of Modeling

In modeling an individual, such as Jesus, there are a number of different aspects, or levels,
of the various systems and sub-systems in which he operated that we may explore. We can look
at the historical and geographical environments which he lived - i.e., when and where Jesus
performed his teachings and works. We can examine his specific behaviors and actions - i.e.,
what he did in that environment. We may also look at the intellectual and cognitive strategies and
capabilities by which he selected and guided his actions in his environment - i.e., howhe
generated these behaviors in that context. We could further explore the beliefs and values that
motivated and shaped the thinking strategies and capabilities that Jesus developed to accomplish
his behavioral goals in his environment - i.e., why he did things the way he did them in those times
and places. We could look deeper to investigate Jesus' perception of the self or identity he was
manifesting through that set of beliefs, capabilities and actions in that environment - i.e., the who
behind the why, how, what, where and when.
We might also want to examine the way in which that identity manifested itself in relationship
to his family, his disciples, his contemporaries, Western Society and Culture, the planet, God - i.e.,
who he was in relation to who else. In other words, how did the behaviors, abilities, beliefs, values
and identity of Jesus influence and interact with larger systems of which he was a part in a
personal, social and ultimately spiritual way?

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 One way to visualize the relationships between these elements is as a network of
generative systems that focus or converge on the identity of the individual as the core of the
modeling process.

Clearly the task of modeling Jesus on all of these levels would be an overwhelming
undertaking (one that has been going now for almost two millennia). While, to a certain degree,
each level is so interconnected to the others that it is not possible to examine one independently
of the others, the goal of my study has been to focus into some key areas in which NLP will be
able to provide the most amount of insight.
This monograph, Cognitive Patterns of Jesus of Nazareth, will explore the structure of the
cognitive strategies employed by Jesus in his various works and teachings and how we might
apply Jesus' strategic thinking abilities to our own lives. It is intended as the beginning of a larger
work composed of two other sections. The second section, The Epistemology of Jesus, will
explore the beliefs, values and assumptions that lie behind the words and actions of Jesus as
viewed from the perspective of NLP and systems theory. The final section, The Therapeutic
Techniques of Jesus, will explore the structure behind the numerous and often astonishing acts of
healing reportedly performed by Jesus.

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 D. Source Material for the Study

The objection, of course, may be raised that, because of their fragmentary nature, and the
fact that they have undergone numerous translations, the gospels will not provide an accurate
enough representation of Jesus to be valid in such a study of his psychological processes.
Obviously, with perhaps the exception of some kind of divine inspiration, one cannot know the
actual historical Jesus. What have influenced history, however, are the gospels. And even though
I will be working from translations of accounts that were made decades after Jesus' death, it is
through these accounts that people throughout history have come to know Jesus of Nazareth. For
this reason I have chosen to analyze the King James version of gospels since it has probably had
the most influence in the English speaking world for the past three centuries.
According to scholars, the historical Jesus would have spoken in Aramaic, a dialect of
ancient Hebrew. The written sources for the New Testament (and some of the Old Testament),
however, were originally recorded in a common dialect of Greek used by scholars of the time
called 'Koine' - a legacy of the empire of Alexander the Great. The King James version (or
Authorized Version) of the Bible was published in 1611 after a massive undertaking under the
auspices of James I of England. 54 scholars were commissioned to work individually and in
groups, utilizing previous English translations and texts in the original languages. While I will be
primarily working from this text, for the reasons cited, there are sometimes interesting insights or
clarifications that come from considering the history and meaning of the original Greek terms from
which the translations were made.
There are also several relevant texts that have only been recently discovered and

are not a part of the traditional documents of the New Testament which can provide additional
insights and richness into the understanding of Jesus' teachings and thought process. Of
particular interest is the Gospel of Thomas. The gospel of Thomas is one of a number of
fragmentary, non-canonical records of Jesus' life and teachings that were written in approximately
the same time period as the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (i.e., the middle-to-second
half of the first century). The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of sayings rather than a story of
Jesus' life like the four gospels of the New Testament. While the gospel of Thomas is not generally
accepted as a theological document by the existing Christian churches, the sayings do provide an
interesting and ancient additional view into the life, teaching and thought processes of Jesus of
Nazareth. Ron Cameron, editor of The Other Gospels, points out:

Jesus - Page 9
 "Most of the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas have parallels in the 'synoptic' gospels
of Matthew, Mark, and Luke in the New Testament. Analysis of each of these sayings
reveals that the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas are either preserved in forms more
primitive than those in the parallel sayings in the New Testament or are developments of
more primitive forms of such sayings. The particular editorial changes which the synoptic
gospels make, including the addition of a narrative structure and the inclusion of traditional
sayings and stories within a biographical framework, are totally absent from the Gospel of
Thomas. All of this suggests that the Gospel of Thomas is based on a tradition of sayings
which is closely related to that of the canonical gospels but which has experienced a
separate process of transmission. The composition of the Gospel of Thomas, therefore, is
parallel to that of the canonical gospels. Its sources are collections of sayings and parables
contemporary with the sources of the canonical gospels. In this respect, the Gospel of
Thomas can be profitably compared with the Synoptic Sayings Source, common to
Matthew, Mark and Luke, generally referred to as Q (from the first letter of the German word
Quelle, meaning 'source').
It is probable that many of the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas which are not
preserved elsewhere else also derive from early traditions of sayings of Jesus. This
document is, therefore, an important source of as well as witness to Jesus' sayings."

In a way, the somewhat fragmentary and synoptic nature of the gospels and the pathway of
translations they went through to reach their English manifestation can actually serve as a useful
filter so that only the most robust parts of Jesus strategy emerge; and those are the aspects that
are of most interest here. From the NLP point of view, the appeal and longevity of the words of the
Bible lie in the way that they access and organize fundamental neurological processes into a
strategy for interacting with the world. Such a strategy is a generative process that may be applied
independently of the content with which it was initially expressed.
I should point out here that this analysis is not intended to address or pass judgment on
matters of faith, but rather to examine the works of Jesus in the light of modern psychological
discoveries to add yet another dimension to what can be learned from them. My goal is to identify
specific verbal and behavioral patterns in the words and actions of Jesus that can illuminate us
more as to how and why Jesus thought what he thought, said what he said and did what he did.
Whether or not Jesus was the son of God is not at issue here, and whether or not you believe he
was does

Jesus - Page 10
not change the value of the information.
If you are a believer and feel that Jesus' teaching and healing powers came from a
supernatural source, you must still accept that his actions and teachings were intended to operate
on many different levels. According to Christian doctrine, Jesus was 'God made Man.' As a man
among other men, Jesus would have had to manifest his spiritual mission through a man's
nervous system. This process of manifestation would have a structure - perhaps a very important
structure. An analysis of this structure would be neither irrelevant nor disrespectful. Jesus'
reported mission was to enlighten through his words and deeds. The more one understands
about the many levels of knowledge and information provided by Jesus, the more rich one's
experience of his message will be.
If you are a non-believer you must still accept that Jesus, as portrayed in the New
Testament, is a representation of an exceptionally successful healer and influential leader that
has shaped our modern world. Whatever can be gleaned from the specific methods described
about how Jesus produced his remarkable results can still of benefit in our modern world.
Jesus may have a great deal to contribute to the practice of modern psychology,
psychotherapy, health and leadership as well as religion.

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PART I. EXPLORING THE MIND OF JESUS

Gregory Bateson - an anthropologist, systems theorist and one of the most important
influences in the early development of NLP - thought of 'mind' as being immanent in any system
with a complex enough set of connections and interactions. Groups, societies, lower organisms,
almost any system can show certain properties of mental process if they have enough complexity
of interaction. 'Mind' itself is not a thing, but rather a process resulting from and governing the
relationships and interactions in a system.
The human mind is primarily a product of our miraculous nervous system - which is truly one
of the wonders of the universe. Our mind is manifested and expressed through a number of
complexly interacting systems in the hemispheres of our cerebral cortex and other brain
structures, and in nerve structures that extend throughout our bodies. NLP views the activity within
these structures, in the form of language and inner 'programs,' as the primary source of human
intelligence and experience (see Appendix A).

I. Some Basic Elements of Human Experience A. The

Nervous System

The nervous system has to do with the "neuro" part of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. It is
through our nervous system that we coordinate our behavior and organize our experience of the
world. The human nervous system may be divided into three primary subsystems: 1) the Central
Nervous System 2) the Peripheral Nervous System and 3) the Autonomic Nervous System.
The Central Nervous System is made up of the brain and spinal cord. It controls our muscles
and movement and is associated with conscious thought and action.
The Peripheral Nervous System is made up of the branches of the spinal cord and the sense
organs. It relays information about the environment from the organs, muscles and glands to the
central nervous system and back again.
The Autonomic Nervous System deals with a network of nerves outside of the spinal cord that
deals with many unconscious activities such as temperature regulation, circulation, salivation, the
initiation of the "fight-flight" reaction and other emotional and attentional states.
The Central Nervous System executes mental programs, plans and strategies via the
Peripheral Nervous System. The Autonomic Nervous System determines the state

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of the biological "hardware" within which those programs are carried out.

While most people are consciously aware of their sensations, thoughts and actions, the
functions of the Autonomic Nervous System generally take place outside of conscious awareness.
Whether it be teaching, learning, thinking, healing, praying, eating, understanding, loving or
hating; all human action and experiences are mediated and manifested through the interplay of
these three parts of our nervous system.

1. Representational Systems

'The senses are the ministers of the Soul." - Leonardo da Vinci"

Representational systems relate to the nervous system structures which operate the five
senses - Visual (sight), Auditory (sound), Kinesthetic (feeling), Olfactory (smell) and Gustatory
(taste). Each representational system is designed to perceive and represent certain basic qualities
of the part of the world it senses through the interaction between the peripheral and central
nervous systems. These perceptions and representations include characteristics such as color,
brightness, tone, loudness, temperature, pressure, etc. These qualities are called "sub-modalities"
in NLP since they are sub-components of each of the representational systems.
We build our individual models of the world and guide our lives based on how we combine
our memories and constructs of the future in order to respond to what we are

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able to perceive in the ongoing external world around us. The emphasis placed on these various
modes of using the senses, the way in which they are balanced and combined together, etc., will
greatly influence the way in which we perceive and respond to our environment.
People differ in their abilities to use their representational systems. This often effects their
ability to think and act and even shapes the development of their personality. The different
senses highlight different aspects of our perceptions of events and situations. A person who
primarily responds through feeling and intuition may react to a crisis situation quite differently
than a person who is looking at it and applying logic.
As a manifestation in the world of the "flesh" Jesus needed to interact with that world and
the people in it through these senses. They were the medium for contact with those around him,
and it was through these sensory channels that he gave his message and performed his earthly
works. In many cases he was actually quite explicit about his emphasis of certain sensory
channels that he himself used and that people should use in perceiving and organizing their
experience of the world.

2. Synesthesia - Overlap Between the Senses

Not all of our mental experiences are clearly distinguishable into one particular sensory
category. This is because our sensory experiences become mixed together in our nervous
systems. It is this connecting together of information from the different senses that makes
learning possible. Sometimes experiences become connected and overlapped so completely
that it is not possible to easily distinguish one from the other in a causal relationship - they are
both there simultaneously but each needs the other in order to be there. Feeling moved by a
piece of music or art would be an example of this. The feeling could not exist without the art and
the art could not exist without the feeling. Certainly, many of the most powerful experiences in our
lives (such as 'religious' or 'spiritual' experiences) involve an integrating together of the various
senses.
In NLP, such a connection is called a synesthesia. The term literally means "a synthesizing
of the senses." Synesthesias are usually more rich and powerful than perceiving something
through a single sense alone. Synesthesia patterns can also be a very important factor in
determining the ease or effectiveness in which certain mental functions are performed. As with
the development of the senses themselves, the strength of the various synesthesia relationships
vary for different people.

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 . Language

Language relates to the "linguistic" aspect of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. While the

spoken word is part of the auditory representational system, its function is to organize and connect
information from the other senses as opposed to simply register qualities of an experience, as the
more purely tonal elements of the auditory system do. Since language is actually represented
differently in the brain than pure sounds, NLP considers language to function as another
representational system - a kind of 'meta' representational system.
For example, the word "cat" does not physically sound like a cat, feel furry nor do the sounds
or letters attempt to indicate four legs, whiskers, a tail etc. The word is rather a point of
convergence which unites multiple sensory representations in the form of mental pictures,
sounds, feelings, etc. The meaning and significance of a word to a particular individual is a
function of the amount of neurology it mobilizes.
Language, of course, is one of the most fundamental features of human thought and
communication - and Jesus was a master at using it. Linguistic patterns can also provide us with
clues to other thought processes that go on behind a person's use of language.

Linguistic Clues to Thinking Patterns.

Perhaps one of the biggest difficulties in modeling the mental strategies of exceptional
people comes from the fact that the more one develops the ability to actually do something, the
less one is aware of how specifically one is doing it. Most effective behavior is characterized by
'unconscious competence.' While this reduces the amount of conscious effort one has to put into
achieving a goal, it makes it difficult to describe to others how to develop the same degree of
competence. Most people focus on what they are doing and tend to ignore the subtle but essential
mental processes by which they are doing it.
The goal of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and of this study, is to explicitly identify the
mental strategies that lie behind exceptional achievements so that these deeper processes may
be made more fully understandable and transferable. Accomplishing this goal, however, involves
a significant amount of detective work. We must follow the subtle traces that have been left behind
by our model, as one might follow footprints in the sand hoping to eventually discover the
individual who has left them. Like Sherlock Holmes, we collect together the clues (especially those
which may have escaped the notice of our fellow detectives) hoping to piece them together

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into their underlying pattern from which we may derive some insight into the great mystery of
Jesus' mind.
Fortunately, because language is so linked with all of the functions of the brain, the words
people use offer many important clues to how they are thinking. A primary method of
Neuro-Linguistic analysis is to search for particular linguistic patterns, such as 'predicates', which
indicate a particular representational system or sub-modality, and how that system or quality is
being used in the person's overall thought process.
Predicates are words, such as verbs, adverbs and adjectives, which indicate actions,
relationships or qualities as opposed to persons, places or things. This type of language is typically
selected at an unconscious level and thus reflects the underlying unconscious structure which
produced them. For example, when someone says, "I see what you are saying," "That doesn't feel
right," or "You sound upset," NLP would take these as literal references to the part of the nervous
system the person is using to represent the experience (see Appendix A for a more complete
listing). These kind of sensory based words play an important role in the modeling process.

C. Cognitive Strategies

Cognitive strategies relate to the "programming" part of Neuro-Linguistic Programming.

People do not act effectively in the world through random, haphazard associations or reflexes.
Jesus, for example, was certainly not random in the way that he used his senses, his language,
nor in the way he organized his experiences to operate in the world around him. Effective people
develop consistent step-by-step procedures for solving problems, making decisions, creating
plans, etc. These specific sequences of mental steps are called a 'strategy' in NLP. Like a
computer program, a strategy defines a process that is independent of the data or content being
processed. For instance, the sequence of sensory functions used in a memory strategy may be
applied to remember things of many different contents (phone numbers, names, spellings, faces,
etc.). Likewise, the sequence of mental steps used in a decision making strategy may be applied
to decisions of many different types.
The way each mental step is linked to the step that comes before it and the one that comes
after it is an important feature of thought and learning. Using the exact same elements in a
different sequence can completely change the resulting meaning. For example, the two phrases
"He who is not with us is against us," and "He who is not against us is with us," use the same words
but the sequence makes their meanings quite different. The same holds true for the sensory
sequences involved in thought.

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 In the course of our lives, our representational systems, synesthesia patterns and language
processes become organized together into the consistent sequences or strategies that make up
our capabilities and personality. Even though we all start with basically the same potential in our
brains, these potentials are shaped into different combinations and sequences. Strategy
sequences are generally organized in a way that reflects the feedback loop through which
information typically flows through a system. Information is 1) input to the system through 2) some
interface mechanism that 3) passes information to the core of the system. Information is
organized and processed and then 4) transformed into 5) the system's output. This output effects
the environment around the system in a way that produces feedback which reenters the system
as new input.

According to NLP, the great minds and leaders of history have achieved their greatness
because they have managed to form particularly elegant and compelling strategies for operating
effectively in the world. Let us now begin to explore what Jesus' language might unveil to us about
his own inner strategy for making sense out of the world around him.
II. Neuro-Linguistic Analysis of Jesus Language Patterns.

As an archeologist might decipher with excitement a set of precious hieroglyphics in the

mysterious tomb of an ancient pharaoh, let's apply the linguistic filters of NLP to the language of
Jesus of Nazareth to see what kind of structure they can help us uncover about a thought process
that has shaped history.

A. General Analysis of Jesus' Predicates

As a starting point, let us begin by examining Jesus' use of the most basic sensory
predicates such as "see," "hear" and "feel". Searching through the gospel texts we find that Jesus
uses the word "see" in 8 2 verses of the four gospels and "saw" in 10 verses. The predicate "hear"
he uses in 6 0 of the verses and "heard" in 1 7 of the verses. It is interesting to note that the words
"feel" and "felt"do not even occur once! At first glance, this would seem to indicate that the primary
emphasis of Jesus' message was on the visual and auditory aspects of experience, with
somewhat of a focus on the visual. In fact, Jesus has often been interpreted as de-emphasizing
feelings and the 'ways of the flesh', the implication being that they interfered with the ability to
receive and keep his message.
Analyzing further, we can examine the gospels for sensory predicates indicating output
relating to a particular sensory system as opposed to the input or receipt of information through it.
In this case, we find that Jesus uses the word "shew"(show) in 21 verses and the word "tell" in 4 4
verses. Here the scales tilt definitely in the direction of the auditory predicate. As with the first set
of predicates analyzed above, the kinesthetic counterparts to these words, "touch" or "move", do
not appear in Jesus' language. We are, however, told that Jesus "touched" people in at least 1 2
instances, and that he "laid" his "hands" on people in at least another 1 4, indicating his use of the
kinesthetic system in his work. We are also told on several occasions, 4 to be more exact, that
Jesus was "moved" to compassion, which would indicate a response or output on an internally
kinesthetic level.
In reference to the particular sense organs themselves - the means by which we interface
with our external reality - we find Jesus referring to the eyes 16 times, the ears 1 3 times, the
mouth 1 2 times and the body 17 times. There is, however, another organ of the body that Jesus
also refers to quite often: the heart. In fact, he mentions it in 32 verses of the four gospels. This is
important as an indicator of internal kinesthetic sensations - certainly the heart is an organ often
associated with emotional states. So here, for the first time, we find a greater emphasis on the
kinesthetic system.

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 A final general analysis may be made of the more metaphorical terms referring to a specific sense,
such as "light" (visual), "word"(auditory), "flesh" (kinesthetic). This analysis shows Jesus referring to the
"word" in 4 0 verses [he refers to "words" in the more non-metaphorical sense in another 21 verses], to
"light" in 3 0 verses, the "flesh" in 1 9 verses. Once again, we find a significant leaning in favor of the
auditory digital (verbal) function.
"Life" and "Spirit" are two other significant terms that Jesus refers to quite often in his teachings
and sayings. Both words could be considered as a reference to some vital internal feeling state. While
Jesus uses the word "life" 5 9 times in the four gospels, however, it is not always in the sense of an
active, felt state. For instance, "life" may be used to stand for "existence" in the broader sense as
opposed to vital energy, so it is not necessarily a good consistent indicator of Jesus strategy. The term
"spirit," which is used by Jesus 2 2 times in the gospels, is perhaps a better indicator of this vital
kinesthetic state. The term "spirit", of course, does not refer to any specific sense but rather to an internal
state that is probably a synthesis or synesthesia of all the senses together. This state, however, is very
much associated with feelings. For example, when Jesus was upset, we are told, "he sighed deeply in
his spirit" (Mark 8:12), and when he was inspired, he is described as being full of "the power of the Spirit"
(Luke 4:14). Such descriptions indicate a strong relationship with internal feelings.
Let us reflect for a moment on the implications of this data. Below is a summary of the basic
representational system predicates used by Jesus in the four gospels.

While a look at the totals of the sensory specific predicates examined shows a fairly definite
preference for the auditory (particularly verbal) representational system, we must keep in mind that our
primary concern in regard to the strategy that Jesus

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used is the sequence and function of each of the representational systems. For example, one
plausible way of interpreting the information above is that the auditory predicates seem to dominate
the input and output functions - "Hear"and "Tell" the "Word(s)H. The visual predicates seem to
dominate the perceptual/organizational functions - "See" the "Light". Kinesthetic references -- Body",
"Heart", Life" and "Spirit" -- seem to dominate the interface functions relating to reactions to input
from both the external world and inner perceptions.
We could postulate that Jesus 1) "hears"\he "Word" of God which 2) triggers an internal feeling
state of "life"and "spirit". These responses 3) generate visual imagery in which he sees the meaning
of the "Word" (the "Light"). This 4) stimulates feelings in his "heart"which then causes him to respond
with his "body" and 5) tell the "Word". In the language of NLP, we would say that, for Jesus,
information is input through the auditory representational system and organized visually under the
influence of an internal feeling state. These images provoke kinesthetic reactions in the heart and
body which ultimately express themselves as words that are output into the world around him,
completing the feedback loop.

Let's take a closer look at how Jesus used some of these words in context to see if we can
verify or refine this first approximation of his cognitive process.
 . Micro Analysis of Jesus' Predicates in Context 1. "The

Word".

In Jesus' teachings and sayings, auditory predicates do seem to be primarily associated

with input and output. When Jesus used the word "hear" it was typically related to the transfer of
information relating to his message. For example, the phrase "He that hath ears to hear, let him
hear," was probably one of Jesus' most common statements. Other examples, like the following,
tend to further confirm that hearing was Jesus' most highly valued representational system for
receiving information.

"And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which
hear the word of God, and do it." Luke 8:21

Because Jesus perceived words as being the primary medium for transferring information,
he also considered auditory representations as the most significant output system. This is
supported by statements such as:

"For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be
condemned." Matthew 12:37

"And he called multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which
goeth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this
defileth a man." Matthew 15:10-11

These examples would appear to confirm our earlier hypothesis that the auditory component
in Jesus' strategy comes both at the beginning and the end of the process. In the last example, for
instance, Jesus' statement "Hear, and understand:" indicates that hearing is to be used for
receiving his message. The phrase, "that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man,"
indicates that verbal representations are the most important sensory output relating to an
individual's character.
The importance of language to Jesus as the primary medium with which to enact his mission
is emphasized by accounts of his skill as a public speaker and teacher, and especially by reports
of his unique ability to heal through his words.
Yet, while Jesus obviously valued words highly as an evidence of the inner organization of a
person, he also perceived that, at times, words were merely symbols and clues of other
processes. While Jesus believed that what the words stood for was

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important, the words had to be congruent with other inner representations, as he indicated in
statements such as:

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think
that they shall be heard for their much speaking." Matthew 6:7
"He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not
of God." John 8:47

Jesus' comments seem to indicate that there are different levels of 'hearing' and 'speaking'.
In fact, in the original Greek texts, from which the English translations were made, there are two
types of "words": 1) rhema (prjuxx) meaning a saying or words as

things and 2) logos (koyos) meaning words associated with the manifestation of reason. In ancient
Greek philosophy 'logos'was thought to constitute the controlling and unifying principle in the
universe. For example, Heraclitus (540-480 ) defined 'logos'as the universal principle through
which all things are interrelated and all natural events occur - indicating a remarkably systemic
view of the universe. He believed that, while there was an element in man through which this
principle could be perceived, most people failed to comprehend the 'logos'and thus lived like
dreamers with a false view of the world. According to the stoics, 'logos'was a cosmic governing or
generating principle that is immanent and active in all reality and that pervades all reality.
According to Philo, a Greek speaking Jewish philosopher and contemporary of Jesus, 'logos'was
the intermediate between ultimate reality and the sensible world.
Clearly, the implications of logos strike to the core of the 'neuro-linguistic' process. In fact, in
their first book, The Structure of Magic, Richard Bandler and John Grinder - the co-creators of
NLP - make a distinction in the use of language similar to the rhema/logos distinction:

"All the accomplishments of the human race, both positive and negative, have involved the
use of language. We as human beings use our language in two ways. We use it first of all to
represent our experience -we call this activity reasoning, thinking, fantasying, rehearsing.
When we use language as a representational system, we are creating a model of our
experience. This model of the world which we create by our representational use of
language is based upon our perceptions of the world. Our perceptions are also partially
determined by our model or representation...Secondly, we use our language to
communicate our

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 model or representation of the world to each other. When we use language to
communicate, we call it talking, discussing, writing, lecturing, singing." (pp. 21-22)

Perhaps the power of the word to either heal or defile comes from the fact that it not only
represents our perceptions of the world, but also shapes them. As Bandler and Grinder maintain:

"The nervous system which is responsible for producing the representational system of
language is the same nervous system by which humans produce every other model of the
world - visual, kinesthetic, etc...The same principles of structure are operating in each of
these systems."

For Jesus, then, language is a multi-level process. At one level, words operate as behavioral
cues and symbols (rhema) used to transmit information between people. At another level, words
constitute the intermediate between a larger reality and the sensible world, representing
fundamental principles in the universe {logos). There are words of the "Flesh" {rhema) and words
of the "Spirit" {logos). A similar distinction shows up in the Greek words for "speak". Laleo ()
means to talk or verbalize -that is, speaking as a behavior; for example "I speak to them in
parables" or" "thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak". The word eipon (eutov) means to tell or
declare - speaking as an expression of a person's deeper perceptions and beliefs; as in, "God
spake unto him saying..." or "this spake he of the spirit". It seems clear that Jesus was cognizant of
the distinction, and actually spent quite a bit effort trying to get others to perceive and recognize
the difference themselves.
Thus, one can input or output something through words on a behavioral level or on some
higher level. It would seem that the difference between which level was accessed would be a
function of which neural circuitry is mobilized or committed in order to perceive or express the
words. Rhema and laleo seem to relate to activity

focused in the peripheral nervous system (Ade) while eipon and logos would appear to be

associated with deeper activity within the central nervous system (A^').

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 2. "The Heart".

Jesus considered the 'heart' as the 'element' in a person through which the the generative
principles of language as 'logos' was perceived. He indicated that people "see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart" (Matthew 13:15).
In Jesus' model, the primary source of verbal output was the heart, and he perceived words
as echoing the deeper emotional life of the speaker. For instance, he claimed:

"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good;
and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for out
of the abundance of his heart his mouth speakest." Luke 6:45

"Whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out in the
draught. But those things which proceed of the mouth come forth from the heart, and
they defile the man." Matthew 15:16-17

If words were not connected to the 'heart' then they are simply "vain repetitions", 'lip service'
or even hypocrisy.

"He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as
it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." Mark
7:6

Clearly, for Jesus, the heart is the seat of a person's internal values and individual motives.
The heart determines the degree and quality of emotional participation that motivates one's words
and actions. We can speculate that it the degree to which one's heart was involved in one's
language that makes the difference between whether is was at the level of rhema or logos.
Physiologically, the heart - kardia () in Greek - is the center of the body's circulatory
system and plays an important role in the 'autonomic' regulatory functions which are necessary for
the body's survival. While the regularity of the heart beat is maintained by a conducting system
within the heart itself, nerves to the heart from the central nervous system can quicken or slow the
beat. Thus, the heart is responsive to impulses from both body and 'mind' - i.e., the heart adjusts
its beating rate to both physical and psychological changes. Heart rate, for example, increases
with
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emotional responses such as anxiety and fear or excitement and passion. Heart rate slows in
response to relaxation and confidence.
From both a scientific and metaphoric perspective, the cardiovascular system has long been
considered the seat of emotional expression and the heart has been the organ most associated with
emotions and beliefs.
Jesus himself explicitly relates the heart to beliefs when he states:

"For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe
that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."
Mark 11:23

Of course, not all ideas and thoughts effect heart rate. Only some cognitive processes
mobilize deep enough neurology to involve the heart. Therefore the heart makes a powerful filter for
evaluating the commitment of the nervous system to different

psychological processes. The kinesthetic sensations associated with the heart (K')
come from a different level of processing in the nervous system (the autonomic system)
than the kinesthetic sensations associated with touch - haptomai () in Greek -

which are produced by the peripheral nervous system (Ke).

As part of our survival system, the heart and the neurological mechanisms which operate it
have been around much longer than language, which probably appeared around a hundred
thousand years ago (at the very earliest a million years ago). Thus the system supporting the heart
is associated with more fundamental biological processes. When words engage our heart they are
drawing a much greater and deeper commitment of our total neurology (and thus total 'mind').

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 3. The Light

Jesus saw the heart as a key element in an even larger system. He seems to have
perceived the heart as a filter or transducer for influences coming from other parts of the system,
in particular from the visual sense:

"The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine e y e is single, thy whole
body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness."
Luke 11:33

Jesus viewed the visual representational system as a primary guide for behavior - i.e., the
"eye" leads the body. Vision is a pivotal element in Jesus' strategy, and one on which he placed a
lot of emphasis. In fact, of all the senses, Jesus seemed to identify himself most with the visual.
One of the most common ways Jesus had of describing himself was as the "light of the world."

"I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in
darkness, but have the light of life." John 8:12

The kind of "light" and vision Jesus is referring to is clearly not directly related to external
reality. The Greek word used in the Gospels was phos (<t>cos), which means radiance or
'something that makes vision possible.' One implication of this is that it is a process that is
generated from within as opposed to taken in from the outside. Another implication is that, since
light is the process through which images are rendered, it is on a different level than the content
of the image. Consider the following quotes from the Gospel of Thomas:

"Jesus said, 'If they say to you, 'Where did you come from?', say to them, 'We came
from the light, the place where the light came into being on its own accord and
established itself and became manifest through their image." Thomas (50)

"Jesus said, 'The images are manifest to man, but the light in them remains
concealed in the image of the light of the Father. He will become manifest, but his image
will remain concealed by the light.'" Thomas (83)

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 It would seem that, as with language, Jesus distinguished between different levels of vision.
Concrete, observable images - eikon (EIKCOV) in Greek - were like
rhema. "Light" (phos) was like logos.
It seems significant that when Jesus spoke of "hearing" he was generally referring to the
expression or transfer of specific verbal information in the form of words. When Jesus used the
word "see" it was most often oriented towards the internal perception of larger and more abstract
patterns of information.
The word for 'hear1 used in the early Greek texts is akauo (), which translates as" to
give ear" or "hearken." This clearly relates to the act of listening or inputting information. The
English word "see", however, was used as a translation for
three different Greek words: eidon (eiSov) - to know, be acquainted, as in "he sawthe

multitudes" or "bring me a penny that I may see it"; blepo (^) - to look, perceive or
understand, as in, "having eyes, see ye not?" or "I was blind now I see"; and horao (opaco) - to
discern, take head, as in "seea vision", "seesalvation", "seethe glory of
God". None of these words mean simply "input by the eye". They all seem to involve more
representation and comprehension than input. Obviously, the range of experience referred to by
"seeing" was much more broad and abstract than that indicated by "hearing".
Eidon appears to refer to the process of seeing as sensory perception directed

toward the concrete environment through the peripheral nervous system (V). Blepo refers more
to seeing as the capability to receive and then internally register visual representations within the
central nervous system (V'). Horao refers to the process of vision relating to deeper and less
sensory based levels of experience that does not necessarily have its roots in the external world
but is rather generated from an internal

source (V). This kind of vision was often metaphorical and typically about events relating to the
future rather than the present or the past. For example, consider the way "seeing" is intended in
the following statements.

"And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." Luke 3:6

"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God." John 3:3

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." John
8:51

Jesus - Page 27
 Clearly, these statements all refer to more abstract classes of events in the future. They are
also more oriented toward seeing causes and connections between things in some larger system
of organization - i.e., "see the salvation," "see the kingdom," "see death." To understand what is
meant by each of these requires one to imagine a much bigger picture than what can be seen in
one's immediate surroundings. For Jesus, it was this type of larger more abstract, metaphorical
vision that stimulated the heart.
One important implication of the multi-dimensional nature of the 'Word' and the 'Light' is that
the two levels co-exist simultaneously, but different neurological circuits must be mobilized in
order to perceive the different levels. In fact, it would seem that a great deal of Jesus' teaching was
about how to strategically organize one's behavior and nervous system in order to be able to share
his multi-level perception. This same distinction is reflected in the Gospel of Thomas:

His disciples said to Him, "When will the Kingdom come?" Jesus said, "It
will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying 'Here it is' or
'There it is.' Rather, the Kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth,
and men do not see it."Thomas (113)

Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will
become plain to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest." Thomas
(5)

Logos (the word) may have been the medium for Jesus' message, and kardia (the heart)
may be the means through which words are connected to the deepest parts of a person, but horao
(vision) seems to be the channel through which the intended message is processed and
represented.

Jesus - Page 28
 4. The Spirit and The Life

These internal visions of the "kingdom" and "salvation" were inspired in Jesus by an
interaction of the "Word" with the "Spirit" and "Life". "Spirit" and "life" represent the part of Jesus'
strategy that is the least tied to a specific sense. Rather, "spirit" and "life" represent a powerfully
generative state that operates on a different level from normal experience.

"Itis the spirit that quickeneth [i.e., gives life or energy - R.D.]; the flesh
profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are
life." John 6:62-63

In this statement, Jesus is indicating that, to him, spirit involves the release of energy. While
the kind of energy released by "Spirit" would seem to involve strong kinesthetic elements, they are
on a different level than the kinesthetics of the "flesh". 'The flesh '[sarx (aapt) in Greek] would seem
to be more indicative of the physical body and activity within the peripheral nervous system (Ke)
while the generation of energy and life would be more related to the autonomic nervous system
(K'). The

'flesh', then, is the channel for the manifestation of the energy released by 'spirit'.
The implication is that 'spirit' and 'life' can somehow become embodied through language (a
central nervous system process). Thus, 'Spirit' seems to be indicative of a synesthesia between the
central and autonomic nervous systems that releases special capabilities. These two processes
seem to have become joined and consolidated in Jesus after his baptism by John. By all accounts,
the two most significant events that seem to have taken place at that time are that 1) John the
Baptist declared Jesus to be the "Lamb of God" and 2) after his baptism Jesus had a visionary
experience:

"And straightaway coming out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit
like a dove descended upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, thou art
my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Mark 1:10-11

From that time onward Jesus is reported to have been filled with the "Holy Spirit", a state of
consciousness from which his revelations would come. It would seem that John's verbal
proclamation or "Word" released or awakened a powerful state of 'synesthesia' between the visual,
kinesthetic and auditory senses. In an attempt to

Jesus - Page 25
describe this state to his disciples Jesus explained:

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he
shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will
shew you things to come." John 16:13

'Spirit', then, is indicative of a special process that releases visionary capabilities which
extend beyond the typical perceptual space of the individual. Jesus indicates that the
representations it stimulates do not come merely from the content of one's own external life
experiences. The type of experiences associated with "spirit" extend beyond one's identity,
personal history and immediate sensory environment.

"But when they deliver you up, take no thought of how or what ye shall speak: for it
shall be given to you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but
the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." Matthew 10:19-20

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name,
he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have
said unto you." John 14:26

'Spirit' provides the individual with information that comes from a larger system or 'mind' (the
"Father") that is beyond one's personal conscious identity or sensory experience. Jesus seems to
be implying that we are all part of a kind of larger 'holographic' process - such that any part of the
system can have access to information from any other part of the system.
A hologram is a kind of optical process which produces a three dimensional image that
appears to float in space. In a holographic recording, all of the information for each part of the
image is contained in every part of the recording. Each piece of the hologram, no matter how
small, contains all of the information for the whole image. Jesus is implying that it is possible for us
to have access to a kind of holographic knowledge about our universe.
This analogy of a hologram can potentially provide some further insight into the nature of the
kind of neurological processes Jesus might have been referring to with the terms 'Spirit' and
'Light'. A true hologram is produced through the application of a coherent light source in the form of
a laser. A laser has only one specific frequency of light waves as opposed to the mixture of waves
that make up the 'white light' through

Jesus - Page 26
which we normally see reality. The holographic image is recorded on a piece of glass as a complex
interference pattern that looks like a chaotic set of smears and smudges in normal light. The image
may only be sensed by the human eye in the presence of the laser light used to record it initially.
Perhaps Jesus' reference to "Spirit" indicates a special state synthesizing the central and
autonomic systems that would be like the laser light source in the holographic process. In this state
people are able to produce the 'Light' which allows them to experience the world on a different level
- to decode the seemingly chaotic swirls and smudges of the sensible world and see a deeper
multi-dimensional representation. In this state, one would be able to perceive the entire 'hologram' of
which he or she was a part and gain local access to the information embodied within the larger
image.

The English word 'spirit' was translated from the Greek word pneuma (KVEV\IO:) which means
wind or air. In ancient Greek philosophy 'pneuma'was an ethereal fiery stuff, believed to be a cosmic,
life-giving principle in organisms. Jesus clearly connects it with the Word or 'logos'when he says, "the
words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." The implication of this statement in
Greek would be that the logos, the principle by which all things are connected in the universe, is a
stimulus for or an embodiment of pneuma, the vital principle in living creatures. In other words, that
we are not simply isolated physical creatures ('flesh") we are a part of a larger system, a larger 'mind',
a larger life - a hologram.
The English word 'life' in the Gospels was used a translation for two different

Greek terms: 1) "zoe"(con.) meaning motion or activity, and 2) "psyche"() meaning animal life
and "breath". Jesus used the term 'zoe'to refer to the more general or abstract implications of life -
i.e., "eternal life". He used, 'psyche'to refer to the more personal experience of life - i.e., "he who shall
try to save his life shall lose it." In the statement "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit,
and they are life.", the word "life" was translated from "zoe", indicating that certain words are a kind
of trigger for a deep level of motion or activity.
Perhaps, then, 'Spirit' represents a state of consciousness that allows one access to
information that is typically not available to the conscious mind but is always around us at an
unconscious level - information that is generated by a kind of 'group mind' immanent in the system.
'Life' represents the neurological process through which that information is set into motion and
becomes embodied in physical reality.
On a physical level, air, wind and breath are mechanisms through which words are formed and
transmitted. In fact, the term "spirit" comes from the Latin "spiritus", which literally means 'breath'. In
the same way that light makes seeing and vision

Jesus - Page 31
possible; air, breath and wind make speaking and hearing words possible. And, on another level,
breathing keeps our physical body alive. Like heart rate, breathing is mediated by both the
autonomic and central nervous systems and could serve as a point of overlap and integration
between the two systems. Breath literally creates the energy and movement that gives life to both
word and body.

One interpretation of Jesus' use of the terms 'spirit' and 'life', then, could be that "spirit"
indicates the neural mechanism that expresses and represents the "word," and "life" represents
the mechanism that manifests it.
I mentioned earlier that, neurologically, language serves as a point of convergence or
confluence for other neural circuits. These circuits may extend beyond the sensory
representations stored in the cerebral cortex to deeper nervous structures related to the
autonomic nervous system. Minimally, language could mobilize higher level structures which
could in turn activate the deeper autonomic structures. If this is indeed the case, it becomes
possible to imagine how words might play a deeper role than simply as a medium to send signals
between people. For example, if an individual is in the appropriate state, words might indeed be
able to heal by facilitating the convergence of the right combination of neural structures to activate
the self healing and regulating capabilities of the autonomic nervous system.
It should also be noted that the signals that pass through the nervous system do not do so in
a linear, mechanical fashion like one billiard bill hitting another or like electricity passing through
wires. In mechanical systems such as these, the initial impulse of energy that activates the chain of
responses in the system gradually becomes weaker as it is diffused by mechanical chains of
events. In contrast, every nerve cell in the nervous system generates its own energy. The cell
'fires' in response to the signals it receives. The energy produced by the cell is often greater than
the signal it has received. Neural networks can actually escalate or amplify the intensity of the
initial signal. In this way, words may indeed be able to 'give life' or to 'heal' by releasing energy in
vast circuits of of neurons.

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III. Analysis of Jesus' Accessing Cues.

Our modeling of Jesus has thus far explored the clues his language has left us about his
model of the world. NLP, however, has identified another set of clues that can help us gain
additional insight into Jesus' accomplishments and personality.
In order to function effectively, mental programs need the help of certain subtle bodily and
physiological processes called 'accessing cues' in NLP (see Appendix A). One of the most
influential and important of these accessing cues is eye position. It has often been said that the
'the eyes are the windows to the soul.' In NLP the eyes are considered windows into the invisible
functioning of the nervous system as well. In the model of NLP, the position of a person's eyes at
times of internal thought give an indication of which representational system the person is using.
These eye positions also help to direct and strengthen these sensory processes. For example,
upward eye movements indicate internal visualization; eye movement to the left or right horizon
indicate listening for or remembering sounds; eye movements down and to the left indicate
internal self talk; and eye movements down and to the right indicate access to feeling states.

In the previous section, I mentioned that Jesus identified himself most strongly with the
visual representational system. This tends to be confirmed by the fact that at many key times in
his life Jesus is reported to be looking up - the visual accessing position in NLP.
For instance, when he was healing a deaf person, we are given the following account:

"And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him,

Ephphatha, that is, Be opened." Mark 7:34

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 The fact that Jesus is described as having sighed is also significant. In addition to its
implications with reference to 'spirit', pneuma and psyche, a deep breath is an accessing cue
associated with the activation of feelings in the model of NLP. The indication of the above
description is that Jesus was deriving an internal feeling at the same time he was accessing the
internal visualization. This would indicate a strong visual-kinesthetic overlap or 'synesthesia' in
which the feelings (and the stimulation of the autonomic nervous system) were being linked to and
strengthened by the imaging (representations generated within the central nervous system). It is
only after he looks up (V) and sighs (K1) that Jesus is able to give his word (Ad) 'power'.
In fact, the important phenomenon of 'blessing' - in which a verbal utterance is given spiritual
significance - seems to be associated with this same kind of V->K->A synesthesia. When standing
before the crowd of five thousand, for instance, we are told that Jesus, "looked up to heaven, and
blessed and brake the loaves" (Mark 6:41). Again the upward eye movement precedes the verbal
output.
At another critical moment, the raising of Lazarus - the last and most significant of Jesus
works of healing - it is reported:

"Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus
lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me." John 11:41

A significant indication of this description is that this eye position is an important part of the
way in which Jesus accessed and communicated with "the Father." If this is so, this eye position is
obviously a very key element of his strategy and an important clue for our understanding of him.
Eye position indicates the representational system a person is most tuned in to at a particular
time, and we are given numerous descriptions that Jesus specifically moved his eyes in an upward
direction during important events in his life. In fact, at probably the most significant decision point in
his life, we again find Jesus accessing upwards. Just before he turns himself over to the authorities
for arrest and crucifixion, we are told:

"These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the
hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:" John 17:1

Jesus - Page 34
 That Jesus looked up at this significant moment is a very important indicator of his strategy,
and perhaps gives us a clue as to how he was able to hold onto his beliefs and goals so strongly.
This was the time that, for Jesus, the "spirit" {pneuma) and the "flesh" {sarx) were to seemingly
come most to a conflict of purposes. He was either to proceed with his vision of the larger life {zoe)
or change course in order to benefit his own personal existence {psyche). By moving his eyes to
the visual accessing position he presumably mobilized the commitment of neurology necessary to
strengthen the connection to the higher level vision and the broader time frame within which he
was to fulfill his mission.
It is interesting to note that this same eye position is reported to have also accompanied the
inspiration of Jesus' apostles as well. For instance, after his crucifixion, Jesus is reported to have
appeared to his apostles to give them instructions. When he is finished we are told that "they
looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up" (Acts 1:10).
We are also told that the martyr Stephan, prior to being stoned, maintained his faith by
utilizing the same eye position.

"But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the
glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God," Acts 7:55

In this description the upward eye position occurs at the same time as being "full of the
Holy Ghost." This would seem to confirm the close relationship between vision and the
experience of the "Spirit."

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IV. Jesus' Macro Strategy

With the information we have gathered about Jesus' micro strategy, we can begin to define
and some of his higher level processes and create ways to operationalize them.
It seems to me that one of Jesus' major outcomes for his teaching was to provide the vision
and the strategy necessary to help people develop the ability to perceive the larger system of
which they are a member and to concentrate on and respond to more distant goals relating to that
system as a whole - an ability that has many uses in non-religious as well as religious contexts.
Consider the neuro-linguistic structure implied the following statement. It illustrates and reviews
some of the most important elements of the strategy I believe Jesus used and sought to transfer to
his followers.

"And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and
great glory.
"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your head;
for your redemption is nigh.
"And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they
now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So
likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God in
nigh at hand.
"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven
and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away.
"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with
surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you
unawares."
Luke 21:27-34

In this statement, Jesus first makes verbal reference to the visual representational system,
directing it to an image of a dramatic future event. Certainly, this vision becomes the pivotal
element to which the rest of the communication refers. It is interesting that he then tells people to
"look up, and lift up your head." According to NLP this would be leading them to an internal visual
accessing position which would help to reinforce and reaccess the vision he is verbally describing.
Jesus follows this description with a parable. Jesus often used parables as a verbal device to
accomplish the development of a metaphorical internal picture that

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.illustrated the deeper level principle he was trying to convey. In this case the parable relates to the
ability to derive evidence relating to long term, internally represented, future outcomes from
observations made of the external environment in the present.
His statement that, "Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away,"
reiterates the importance of language, the dependence of the whole strategy on the "word" and the
broader implications of 'logos'. He is clearly placing the highest value on words, implying that the
processes and relationships defined through those words are more fundamental and pervasive
than the physical content (i.e., "heaven and earth") that they encompass. Jesus is saying that the
physical world will change but the core principles and values that support life will stay constant.
The challenge is to continually adapt these deep principles to changing contexts in a changing
system.
He then warns of the possibility of conflicts coming from the content of our present, ongoing
experience ("this life") that can occur in the "heart" and interfere with the awareness and
accomplishment of the longer term goals and deeper principles represented by the "word."
The overall strategy implied here reflects the patterns we uncovered during our micro
analysis of his language. Its function is to align a series of different logical levels of experience in
which 1) words (logos) embody a larger spiritual mind; 2) it is through vision (horao) that the
individual identity is able to comprehend the larger mind and relate it to our personal existence; 3)
the heart (kardia) is the mechanism through which vision is translated into the specific beliefs and
values that guide one's actions and behaviors.
On a macro level, the structure of his strategy seems to center around the process of moving
from vision to action through the processes of language and emotion.
The organizational vision that drives the strategy comes from "spirit" which gives one access
to generative experience beyond the confines of one's individual identity, personal history and
immediate surroundings.
This is an important and powerful strategy. As the great psychologist and philosopher
William James pointed out:

"In all ages the man whose determinations are swayed by reference to the most
distant ends has been held to posses the highest intelligence." (Principles of
Psychology, p. 15)

In order to be "swayed by reference to the most distant ends" one must have 1) a

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way of perceiving and building a representation of those ends, 2) an evidence procedure for
determining progress toward those ends and 3) the awareness, flexibility, motivation and energy
to keep after those ends until they are reached. In other words, one needs a way to fix a future
goal, detect progress toward the goal and a range of possible means to achieve that goal in a
changing world.
The strengths of Jesus' strategic thinking abilities seem to me to be in the areas of creativity
and leadership - manifesting the expression of deeper principles and values into different specific
contexts and situations. That is, of bringing the details of life into congruence with fundamental
higher level principles for living. This seems to be a strategy that Jesus perfected, but that does
not come naturally to most.

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V. Summary of Jesus' Cognitive Patterns

It would seem that our neuro-linguistic excavation has lead us to discover an intriguing set of
cognitive and neurological patterns through which Jesus may have perceived and interacted with
the external world. It appears to be a process in which multiple levels of human experience are
able to be perceived and organized into a harmonious structure from which coordinated actions in
the world can be taken.
Our micro analysis of Jesus' language patterns and accessing cues uncovered an
interweaving of cognitive and neurological elements in which;
1) certain forms of language (the Word as Logos) serve as a point of convergence for
neural activity within both the central and autonomic nervous system which can create
a special state (Spirit or pneuma) that makes it possible to perceive deep principles
within a larger system.
2) The language in combination with the spiritual state releases untapped energy
inherent in the system (Life or zoe).
3) Channeled via the appropriate accessing cues, this energy acts as a kind of Light
(phos) which reveals and represents the structure and implications of these principles
within the larger system (like the reference beam in a hologram) through a special kind
of vision (horao).
4) Other structures within the autonomic nervous system (Heart or kardia) respond to
these deep level visions enhancing and expanding the personal emotional significance
of the words and principles, mobilizing the neurology that allows one to be able to see
(blepo) and connect these deeper levels to a more concrete level of experience.
5) Breath (life as psyche) activates the flesh (sarx) in order to embody and declare
(eipon) our deeper experience into the concrete sensory world of images (eikon),
touch (haptomai) and spoken words (rhema).

Logos -> pneuma -> zoe -> phos -> horao -> kardia -> blepo -> psyche -> eipon > sarx > haptomai -> eikon -> rhema Word -> Spirit
-> Life -> Light -> Vision -> Heart -> sight -> breath-> declare -> flesh -> touch-> image-> words

In the model of NLP, each of these elements can be related (directly or metaphorically) to
specific cognitive and, more importantly, neurological processes that can give us a way to not only
better understand the mind of Jesus from our modern models of the world, but also to incorporate
useful elements of those processes into our own experience.
We can summarize the basic cognitive elements of Jesus' process as a sequence which
very much resembles our initial approximation of his strategy. Jesus
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"hears" the "Word" which accesses or mobilizes an internal state of "life"and "spirit". This state
serves as an interface for the Word which is transformed and organized (via the "Light") into visual
imagery in which Jesus "sees" the meaning. Theses visions are connected to his "heart" which
transforms what he sees into feelings and stimulates him to respond with his "body" and mouth to act
according to the internal visual map and tell the "Word".
In the language of NLP, we would infer that information is input into Jesus' neurology through
the auditory representational system internally via an interface consisting of a synesthesia process
accessed by a special internal feeling state. The auditory representations are organized visually and
transformed through an output interface, the heart, which produces the feelings that drive his
physical and ultimately his verbal behavior in the world.

Even at this simple level of cognitive structure, our model of Jesus' strategy has important
implications, which begin to become clearer if we compare it with other strategies. It is important to
keep in mind, for instance, that the sequence, combinations and functions of the representational
systems is a crucial element of the strategy. For instance, if the strategy began with external visual
input instead of 'the Word' we would probably have a resulting belief structure closer to science than
religion, for the whole process would be based on external visual observation. In fact, it seems that
Jesus' strategy is probably more suited and designed to deal with that which cannot be externally
seen or measured. This is probably why the "word" is sucr an important element of the strategy.
One interesting way to view the major divisions of human endeavor is by categorizing them as
a function of the fundamental differences in the basic strategies they employ and require.
Most of the sciences, as I indicated above, seem to be based upon visual external input. The
output system of science is also visual external in that the 'proof its belief system is provided by
experimental demonstrations that one can see. Religion and philosophy, on the other hand, primarily
input language, and their output system is also language. Their goal is to deal with the function and
purpose of what we see around us rather than its structure.
In contrast to both science and religion, most art tends to be an expression of feeling - that is,
they begin with an internal feeling which is translated into expression through one of the various
artistic mediums (V=painting, At=music, Ad=poetry,

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Ke=dance, etc.), the purpose of which is to create a similar feeling in the observer.

Athletics, of course, begins with external bodily actions (Ke) and produces external bodily
actions.

While I am admittedly presenting only a very simplified view of these various fields, the point
remains that what distinguishes science from art or religion, and religion from art, etc., is that they
are different ways of thinking and perceiving the world. An artist, a scientist and a philosopher can
experience the same external event but perceive it differently because of the way it is processed
through the strategies or 'neuro-linguistic programs' that define their profession.
At a deeper level, my belief is that a large part of Jesus' influence through history comes from
the fact that the description of his life, actions and words unconsciously embodies a particularly
powerful and fundamental strategy for perceiving and operating in the world - a strategy that could
produce the kinds of acts of healing, religious experiences, and the Judeo-Christian values and
culture that have sprung from the dissemination of the Gospels. In other words, the type of strategy
laid out in the Gospels is a description of a fundamental and unconscious neurological program
that allows a person to perceive and respond to the world on multiple levels. The strategy is an
operational process that can be applied on an ongoing basis by an individual to produce actions in
the concrete world that are congruent to deeper level values and beliefs.
In the next section I would like to demonstrate how Jesus' strategy can be applied to
personal and pragmatic situations in our own lives today.

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PART II: IMPLEMENTING JESUS' COGNITIVE PATTERNS

One objection that might be raised at this point is that the analysis we have made of Jesus'
mental process thus far is essentially irrelevant to the meaning that Jesus reported message was
actually trying to convey.
Obviously, Jesus' teachings were not intended to simply specify a cognitive strategy. They were
most often messages directed at the higher levels of beliefs, values, identity and spiritual issues.
However, we are only able to manifest our knowledge and representations of these higher level
processes through the specific skills and capabilities we have acquired. In a way, our internal cognitive
strategies are the linking pin between the spirit and the flesh. If we know what to do but don't know how
to do it we will just become frustrated. Understanding and wanting to do something is not enough. We
need specific maps and strategies to successfully manifest the deeper levels of our experience.
One of the advantages of knowing about Jesus' cognitive strategy, at the level of detail we are
able to achieve through NLP, is that we can begin to fill in missing links in relationship to how Jesus
was able to do things on a larger level. It allows us to uncover the basic building blocks out of which
meaningful behavior is manifested. The value of NLP is that it chunks a process down to a level so that
it may be applied pragmatically and replicated by the average person. When we have the smaller
pieces, we can then assemble them to more consistently achieve the larger pieces.
With regard to this claim, and in contrast to the objection raised above, other readers might feel
that concepts like "Light", "Logos", "Spirit", "Life", etc., are too abstract and distant from any actual
concrete life experiences to be of any practical value. The objection might be raised that the amount of
detail we are able to derive from the Gospels is not specific enough to tell us exactly "how to" think like
Jesus or to apply his cognitive patterns to anything pragmatic.
Certainly the Gospels provide only very broad hints about an undoubtedly very complex and
sophisticated process. There are many missing links to be filled in to apply the structure we have
uncovered to specific situations. At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that NLP begins from
the assumption that the map is not the territory. Even if Jesus were alive today and could be
interviewed in great detail, his actual neurological process would still be unconscious, invisible and so
immensely complex that it would not be possible to exhaustively describe. Furthermore, in terms of
transferability, it is not even necessarily desirable that such generative processes be described in too
much detail. In order for them to be adapted to the many different possible types of situations and
nervous systems possible for human beings, a certain amount of flexibility must be allowed.

Jesus - Page 42
 The ultimate purpose of modeling in NLP is to produce a map that is rich enough, structured
enough and flexible enough to be of practical value to those who choose to use it. Once you have
identified enough of the key elements of the micro and macro strategy of your model, you can start to
fill in the missing pieces by inference. In other words, if one knows that one has to go from point A to
point B, one may use other tools to fill in the the pathway to get there. Once we have identified the
general framework employed by an individual like Jesus, we can fill in missing links and define the
more mechanical aspects of the process. Through the technology of NLP we can piece together
strategic details derived from other sources with what has been uncovered in Jesus in order to fill in
the blanks and create something that has very practical applications.
A third objection may be whether the kinds of mental processes we are ascribing to Jesus are
even possible to acquire or transfer. It could be contended that the ability to achieve the types of
states, form the types of synesthesias and create the types of abstract visualizations, especially those
that embody his spiritual experience, are completely unique capabilities or talents that are not
possible for the average person to develop.
Obviously, there will never be another being exactly like Jesus. There were many influences at
work to produce him as a specific phenomenon and special individual. Our goal is not to make an
exact "clone" of Jesus who would produce the exact same specific actions and words, but rather to
extract key elements that can significantly enhance the lives and experience of ourselves and other
people. The belief system of NLP is that the fundamental neurological capabilities that form the basis
of Jesus's strategy are latent in every human being. And that while one's own unique life experiences
on the one hand, and physiological make up on the other, certainly influence the limit to which such
abilities may be developed, these kinds of skills can be released in people of average ability in a way
that greatly enhances their competence and personal experience.

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I. Operationalizing the Integration of Long Term and Short Term Goals

In Jesus' macro strategy, the word is the trigger, the light is the map and the spirit is the force
that allow him to accomplish his mission. Yet, as with any organization of elements, the chain is no
stronger than its weakest link. As I said earlier, perceiving and wanting something in not enough.
We need tools and methodologies to achieve them in the concrete world.
Certainly, in many aspects of life one encounters the conflict between goals that will benefit
us in the long run and the pains and pleasures of our immediate sensory experience. The "flesh"
(our body's responses) can be influenced by a variety of inputs. While the payoffs of a longer term
orientation are often quite large, the strategy required to attain them is not always easy. Just think
of how difficult is for people to eat healthily, exercise consistently, develop good study habits,
concentrate on their work, etc. Everyone has no doubt experienced the struggle between future
goals and immediate needs or desires. As Jesus pointed out:

"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak." Matthew 26:41

Operationally speaking, Jesus is implying that even though the spirit (long term future goals
related to the 'larger mind' of the whole system) provides the guidance, its' influence can be
overridden by other factors in the immediate environment relating to the level of the 'flesh' (short
term needs related to the individual 'psyche'). To effectively address this kind of conflict one needs
specific tools - what we might call tools of the spirit'. Jesus seems to suggest that one method for
keeping focused on long term goals consists of using the visual ("watch") and verbal ("pray")
representational systems to reinforce the internal state of the "spirit". An example of what Jesus'
means by "praying" is given by his 'Lord's Prayer" (Matthew 6:9-13):

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."

In the model of NLP, a prayer is a kind of neuro-linguistic program. It is a specifically

organized set of words whose purpose is to stimulate and mobilize neurology in a consistent
fashion. In the terms of NLP, the neural circuitry mobilized in order to represent the system of
elements defined by the verbal references to a 'Father

Jesus - Page 44
in heaven', a 'Hallowed name', a 'coming kingdom' and 'earth and heaven', creates a confluence of
representations that open up a kind of neurological space. These words trigger representations that
are very broad and deep in terms of space and time. The fact that Jesus follows these words with,
"Give us this day our daily bread," suddenly anchors these very high level representations to a much
more immediate frame of reference.
The Lord's Prayer is an embodiment of one of the most essential elements of Jesus' macro
strategy: his ability to entertain multiple time frames - integrating the awareness of very long term
processes with the immediate moment. I mentioned earlier that once key strategic elements of goal or
pathway are defined, NLP technology may be used to fill in missing links and create new tools for
accomplishing those goals. NLP has developed an extensive technology for managing and
coordinating many issues relating to the perception of time. As an example, try the exercise described
below that I developed with my colleague Todd Epstein as a means to create a personal reference
experience for the integration of long terms and short term time perception.

Exercise: Integrating Time Frames

1. Find a partner and stand or sit facing each other and within arms reach.
2. Look at the other person's face and experience yourself in the immediate moment (i.e. be
completely aware of what you are seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling right now - uptime).
3. When you are able to experience yourself fully present, reach out your right hand and touch the
shoulder of the person in front of you.
4. Remove your hand, close your eyes, take a deep breath and turn around.
5. Facing your partner again, extend your perception of time from the immediate moment to the
context of this activity, to the time frame of the program, to the phase of life that you are in, to your
whole life, to a time frame larger than your whole life, extending into your past and future.
6. When you are able to experience a sense of time approaching eternity or timelessness, reach out
your left hand and touch the other shoulder of the person in front of you.
7. Remove your hand, close your eyes, take a deep breath and turn around.
8. Face your partner again. Look into each others eyes and take a breath together at the same time,
then reach out with both arms and touch both of your partner's shoulders.

This process employs a process called 'anchoring' in NLP, in the form of a touch
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on the shoulder. The term "anchoring" refers to the establishment of stabilizing links between our
experiences. Anchoring is a process that on the surface is similar to the "conditioning" technique
used by Pavlov to create a link between the hearing of a bell and salivation in dogs. By
associating the sound of a bell with the act of giving food to his dogs, Pavlov found he could
eventually just ring the bell and the dogs would start salivating, even though no food was given. In
the behaviorist's stimulus-response conditioning formula, however, the stimulus is always an
environmental cue and the response is always a specific behavioral action. The association is
considered reflexive and not a matter of choice.
In NLP the process has been expanded to include other levels than environment and
behavior. A remembered picture may become an anchor for a particular internal feeling, for
instance. A touch on the leg may become an anchor for a visual fantasy or even a belief. A voice
tone may become an anchor for a state of excitement or confidence. A person may consciously
choose to establish and retrigger these associations for himself. Rather than being a mindless
knee-jerk reflex, an anchor becomes a tool for self and interpersonal empowerment.
In this exercise, anchors for long term and immediate time perception are established and
then activated simultaneously to create a neurological state in which both modes of perception
may be experienced in an integrated fashion.

An NLP Interpretation of the Sign of the Cross

Incidentally, NLP type processes such as anchoring and accessing cues have already been
organically incorporated as spiritual tools in many religious rituals. Consider the age old Christian
custom of making the "sign of the cross." The sign of the cross is customarily made by Christians
at the beginning and ending of prayer or just prior to important or trying events. It consists of
touching parts of the body with the hand in a motion that outlines a cross - the forehead, the chest,
the left shoulder and finally the right shoulder. The general interpretation of the movement is that
it symbolizes Jesus' crucifixion. Yet, just like Jesus' own strategy, it may embody several levels of
process simultaneously. From the point of view of NLP the movement and the touch of the hands
both guide the movement of the eyes and touch off anchors that serve as an unconscious
reminder and rehearsal of a particular mental sequence. The words that are said along with
making the sign of the cross tend to support this hypothesis. The words go, "In the name of the
Father (touch forehead) and the Son (touch chest) and the Holy (touch left shoulder) Spirit (touch
right shoulder). Amen."
According to the model of NLP, these gestures would promote the activation of

Jesus - Page 46
two fundamental synesthesias, stimulate the sensory systems to be mobilized in order to
represent each of these concepts, and establish the sequence in which they are connected.
Specifically, it would indicate that the "Father" provides the vision or the
Light (v'). The "Son" is the bodily manifestation of the Light through the heart and the

flesh (Ke). The "Holy Spirit" is the joining of internal words (Ad) and emotions (K{) that stand in
between the Light and its physical expression.

While this is not necessarily a direct expression of Jesus' strategy, it does fit in with the
general strategy elements that have been emerging from our study. The "Father in heaven"
seems to be associated with the internal vision of the larger system of which we are a part, and
the "Son of man" with the earthly, kinesthetic manifestation and expression of that vision. The fact
that the movement connecting the "Father" and the "Son" goes from up to down is consistent with
the visual-to-kinesthetic overlap identified earlier. That the "Holy Spirit" is indicated by a
movement from the verbal to kinesthetic positions is also consistent with auditory-to-kinesthetic
state described earlier. The "Holy Spirit" gives access to the word and inspires a special feeling
state.
On a cognitive level, 'the sign of the cross' indicates the reinforcement of an unconscious
but explicit strategy in which language (communication) and emotion provide the mediating
processes necessary to move from vision to action. On a neurological level, 'the sign of the cross'
implies the integration of the central and autonomic nervous systems (head and heart), and the
left and right hemispheres of the brain (language and feeling).

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II. Operationalizing the Great Commandments

Perhaps the clearest and most direct statement of Jesus' macro strategy is expressed through
the following account:

"And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that
he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
"And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear Israel; The Lord our
God is One Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
"And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
There is none other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:28-31

From the NLP point of view, the first commandment above states the principle of congruence -
that all parts of the system are aligned towards its highest purpose. If any part of a system is left out,
ignored or suppressed the system cannot function fully or ecologically. The second commandment
extends that principle beyond the experience of the individual to the other members of the system.
Each part of the system is perceived and treated as if it were as important and special as any other
part of the system.
Basically, when Jesus was challenged to answer what the greatest Commandment was, he
shifted to a higher logical level. He did not name one of the.'Thou shall not..." commandments. He did
not name a specific rule, he described the deeper process by which such rules are generated (he
shifted the conversation from rhemaXo logos).
It is interesting to note that, from a strategic perspective, there is an inherent difficulty in the
"Thou shalt not..." form of commandment. This kind of linguistic formulation would be classified as a
goal stated as a 'negation'; a rule about what nor to do as opposed to what to do. The problem with
such negations is that they plant the suggestion of what you are not supposed to do. It is difficult, if not
impossible, to make sense out of the statement, "Thou shalt not imagine a person in a bikini," without
having to engage in the activity that is being forbidden to some degree. I can remember being rather
confused by the dilemma this posed as a boy. In order to know what you were not supposed to do, you
had to think of what you were not supposed to; but the sin was the thinking it!
Jesus' declaration is a description of what to do." Love your God with ail your heart, your soul,
your mind, and your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself."

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 Once you are aligned and congruent within yourself - once you do in fact love yourself - then you
will be able to truly love people around you as you would yourself. But if you are not aligned within
yourself, if you are torn by conflicts and hate yourself, then you probably will treat your neighbor
exactly as you treat yourself, with hatred and incongruity.
Likewise if you only have internal congruence and alignment but are not able to understand and
respect another person's model of the world, you can abuse them and not even notice - you can
'trespass against them'. This seems to be the kind of thing that happened during the Crusades and the
inquisition. Everybody was serving their God with their heart and soul and mind and strength ... and
killing their neighbors.
Jesus' commandments are a statement of a very deep philosophy for life that goes beyond any
particular religious structure. It is rather a description of a strategy for approaching life - a strategy for
insuring that the entire space of human experience is brought into the consideration of any decision. I
can remember being struck by the wisdom of these words even as a child. Yet, the question that I
always had was "How, specifically, does one go about loving one's God with one's heart, soul, mind
and strength?" And "How, exactly, does one love one's neighbor as oneself?" It is here that NLP can
provide some very powerful insights and tools.
Throughout this monograph we have referred to the different levels that make up our human
experience. The multi-level model provides a very powerful framework for systematically
operationalizing the strategy implied by Jesus' commandments.
Our identity is like the trunk of a tree - it is the core of our being. The trunk of a tree unfolds
organically from a seed by growing a support network of unseen roots that reach deeply into the
ground to provide strength and nourishment. It has another network of "roots" that reach into the light
and air to provide nourishment of a different kind. The roots and branches of a tree both shape and are
shaped by the ecology in which they exist. Similarly our identities are supported by internal, invisible
"roots" in the form of neural networks which process our perception of our personal values, beliefs and
capabilities as well as physical being and environment. Externally, identity is expressed through our
participation in the larger systems in which we participate: our family, professional relationships,
community and the global system of which we are a member. Phenomena such as "healing," "joy,"
"compassion," "commitment" and "love" are "fruits" of the spirit as manifested through our identity and
are expressed and strengthened through development, enrichment and growth of these two systems
of "roots" - the unseen system of our neurology which grows in the soil of our bodies, and the leaves
and branches of the larger family, community and global networks of which we are a part.

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 I can remember holding each of my two children for the first time in the first moments after their
birth. Rather than being 'blank slates' that were to be mechanically shaped by reflexive reactions to
their environment. It was clear to me that they already possessed a complete identity - they were their
own special and unique embodiment of spirit. It seemed to me that their journey through life would be
search for how many ways they could release their specialness and that spirit out into the systems of
which they were participants through building different levels of links through their environment via
their beliefs, capabilities and actions. It could be through music, through language, dance, healing,
playing or any of an infinite number of possibilities. The key would be how strongly and richly they were
able to grow their systems of roots and branches.
Jesus' first commandment seems to be outlining the strategy to align yourself towards your
highest spiritual purpose (your God), through your beliefs and values (your heart), your sense of self or
identity (your soul), your capabilities (your mind) and your behavior (your strength). This has to do with
developing our inner network of 'roots'. Once this is done, we are free to 'love our neighbors' through
growing an ever increasing network of limbs, branches and leaves - starting with the people closest to
us we extend our sense of wholeness, compassion and love through vaster and vaster systems of
people, creatures and eventually all of the global or universal system that we are able to comprehend.

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A. Aligning Neuro-Logical Levels: Implementing the First Commandment

By synthesizing the concept of these different logical levels with the micro-analysis we made
earlier of Jesus' language and accessing cues, we are provided with a powerful road map for aligning
heart, soul, mind and strength. In the model of NLP, each of these different levels is embodied
through successively deeper and broader organizations of neural circuitry. As one moves from the
simple perception of the environment to the activation of behavior within that environment, more
commitment of neurology must be mobilized. Capabilities call into play longer term plans and maps
and require the involvement of even deeper levels of neurology. Beliefs and values are represented
and manifested through the mobilization of neurology that calls into play structures as deep as the
autonomic nervous system (such as the heart). Identity involves the total commitment of our nervous
system. Spiritual experiences involve the resonance between our own mind and nervous system with
the larger systems of which we are a part.
 Through NLP methods it is possible to systematically access and connect experiences and
neural processes associated with each of these different levels. Using the cognitive patterns we have
uncovered as a strategic guide, and the neuro-logical levels specified by NLP as an interactive guide,
I have developed a process through which a person can bring all levels of themselves into alignment.
The process uses spatial anchoring and accessing cues to activate and integrate these different levels
of experience. It has proved to be a very powerful experience and an tool for people to address issues
ranging from personal conflicts, to learning, to health.

Transcript: Demonstration of the Logical Level Alignment Process

RBD: I would like to demonstrate the logical level alignment process with W. The first step is to
physically lay out six spaces for each of the different levels; one for environment, behavior,
capabilities, beliefs and values, identity and spiritual. You can place them right next to each other.

W:OK. I've done that.

RBD: And what I'm going to ask you to do first, W, is to stand in the environment space and think about
the environment in which you would like to be more personally aligned.

W: Well, I'm a trainer, and I would like be more aligned in training situations.

RBD: I agree with you that it is very important to be congruent and aligned as a teacher. Can you
describe some of the environments that you are in as a trainer? The question being, "Where and
when you do training?" Describe some specific times and places that you do your trainings.

W: Usually a room, like this one, sometimes a little bit smaller. A number of people -between fifteen
and thirty five. Sometimes in the middle of the week, sometimes at the weekend. And, on a larger
level, the where \s in Berlin, in West Germany.

RBD: O.K. Very good. (To Audience) Notice how W. described these in a very matter of fact way -
which is very appropriate for environmental level descriptions. Your environment is simply what
you see and hear around you. People are often tempted to make judgments or interpretations
about their environments as opposed to describe

Jesus - Page 48
 just what they see and hear. If someone said, "I work in a hostile environment," that would be a
judgment about their environment. For this process, at this level, it is important to describe only
what you sense externally, as W. did. (To W.) Now, I'd like to have you step into the behavior
space and describe the kinds of things that you do when you are training in those places and at
those times. The question is, "What do you do in those wheres and whens?" What are the actions
and behaviors that you engage in, in those times and places?

W: Sometimes I sit; sometimes I'm standing; sometimes I'm walking around. Sometimes I'm
presenting, sometimes I'm demonstrating, sometimes I'm just watching what's going on if it's a
large group. In a little group I'm trying to support them by asking questions and saying things to
them. I'm often walking around. Going to the flip chart, writing things down. Listening, hearing,
trying to make sense out of what people are saying and doing, and responding.

RBD: Good. (To Audience) Again, notice how W. is simply describing a set of behaviors -not making
interpretations. If he had said, "I behave well or poorly," these would be judgments about
behaviors. For this exercise, at this level, 'behaviors' would be actions that a video camera would
be able to record if it was in the environment. Video cameras don't judge or interpret, they just
record.
(To W.) Now I'd like you to step into the capabilities space. And the question here is, "What is the
know-how or the mental strategies and skills you need in order to sit, stand, walk around, listen,
write on the flip chart and respond as you are training in those rooms in Berlin?" In other words,
"How are you able to do those 'whats' in those 'wheres' and 'whens'?

W: Well, I use my capability to structure things and to structure information. I use the capability to
make sense of what I see, hear and feel. I use my knowledge of instructional design to put that
structure into words, action and behavior. I use my capability also in a more broad range to
structure overtime, and I use my capability to go into the perceptual position of the group members
and see things from their perspective. And, not as often as I would like, I use my ability to go to
'third' position, seeing the relationship between myself and the others. I also use my capability to
make pictures of what I'm going to do.

RBD: O.K. (To audience) Notice how W.'s physiology changes as he steps into each new space. The
amount of gestures and movements increases. He literally involves more
Jesus - Page 49
 of himself, more of his neurology, at each level. In the environment space he hardly moved at all.
In the behavior space he began to gesture with his arms and move around a little. In the capability
space, you could see his eyes moving and searching around more as he accessed his skills and
abilities. Also as he describes the different levels, there is a change in his tone of voice. He
speaks a bit more deeply and slowly. The kinds of words he uses changes. They indicate more
broad reaching and personal processes.
(To W.) Now, I'd like to have you step into the belief space. The question here is, "Why do you use
those particular capabilities to act in those ways in those environments?" Why do you chose to use
your abilities to structure, to put things into words, to look at things from other perceptual positions
and picture what you are going to do? What sort of beliefs and values lead you to use that
know-how and take those actions in those times and places?

W: Well, I'm believing in respect, respect for other people. Respecting the way they are living their own
lives. I'm believing in having good relationships. I'm believing in support for other people and
myself, in order to enrich what we can do here. I'm believing in love. And I believe it's good to have
a lot of skills to do things.

RBD: So you value respect, relationships, support, skill and love. Can you say anything about why
you've chosen to manifest those values through training in particular?

W: Well, I was thinking about that the other day, and the answer I have at the moment is just that I love
to do it.

RBD: That's as good a belief as any. (To audience) The question we are exploring here is "What
beliefs do you have about yourself, about people, and about doing what you do?" What beliefs
guide you? Notice how W.s voice became even more deep. It is almost as if you hear even more of
him speaking. He is speaking from his heart. (To W.) I'd like to have you step into the identity
space and answer the question "Who am I that, in my heart, I would respect the lives of others,
want good relationships, support people, value lots of skills and believe in love?" "Who am I that I
would use my mind to structure, to put things into words, to take multiple perspectives and
visualize the future?" "Who am I that I have developed the strengths to demonstrate, to sit, stand,
walk around, listen, write on a flip chart and respond to people in those rooms during the week and
on the weekends on that part of this planet people call Germany?" "Who am I as a trainer?" What
kind of a trainer are you? What kind of a

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 person are you? What kind of 'soul' are you? W: (Pause)

It's difficult.

RBD: Yes it is difficult to search your soul and even more difficult to share your soul. What are you
willing to say about yourself? Even if it's not the right answer? Try using a metaphor or an analogy.

W: (Pause) Well, one metaphor would be that I am like a drop in the ocean and kind of going with the
flow. Another metaphor would be that I am like a lighthouse...It has something to do with light.

RBD: So, you are like water and you are a channel for light.
I'd like to have you take final a step beyond being a light house, beyond being a drop in the ocean,
into a space that transcends yourself - into a spiritual space. Raise your head and your eyes so
you are looking up and imagine you could see beyond your own life and your own identity for a
moment. What is your purpose? What are you serving in this identity as a light house? What does
it mean to be a drop of water in the flow of life? A light house for what? A drop in what kind of
ocean? What is your vision and mission as a trainer? The question here is "What is the vision that
I'm pursuing or representing as a light house, as the drop in the ocean, as a trainer that values
respect, support, skill and love; and who structures and verbalizes and takes different
perspectives and visualizes in his mind; and who sits and walks and listens and talks and
responds with his body to groups of fifteen to thirty five people in those rooms in Berlin?"

W: (Long pause) It has something to do with love, but I don't know how to put it into words.

RBD: Take your time. These words are important words; perhaps even sacred words. What is
important here is to not talk about it, but rather to talk "it". Let yourself be in the presence of this
"larger mind". The words don't even have to be 'your' words. Let them emerge or flow from your
neurology. Just describe what's going on as you experience it. Maybe it's just colors, maybe it's
just feelings.

W: (Pause) I'm experiencing that everything is perfect; that nothing needs to be changed. It's like light
going all over. There are lot's of paradoxes...like it is timeless...and yet
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 time is flowing, all at once.

RBD: (To Audience) This is obviously a very powerful level of experience for W. Just notice how much
his breathing has changed. These are experiences that we don't often open ourselves up to -
except perhaps when we are near death or someone we love is near death. And yet the space for
them is always there in our neurology. We get so caught up in the immediacy of 'conducting' our
lives that we forget life is also full of light; that life is perfect but at the same time full of paradoxes,
that it is timeless, but time is flowing, both at the same time. Each of us has probably had
experiences such as this, but find it hard to hold on to them or perceive their relevance in
'day-to-day living'. Yet, this is the level of experience that gives 'day-to-day' experience meaning
and purpose. I believe it is possible to bring this kind of awareness into our daily experience.
(To W.) W, what I'd like to ask you to do is to take a moment and just fully be in this state of light, of
paradox of timelessness and love. Honor it, hold it, anchor it. And then step into your identity
space and bring it with you. That's right, physically move back to your identity space and bring this
vision and those words with you. Keep your eyes raised, take a full breath and just notice how it
enriches your experience of who you are. If you wish, you can restate or add to your description,
your metaphors, of who you are as a trainer, as person, as a soul.

W: I can feel it but, it's hard for me to put into words. It's like adding a kind of excitement to it all, and the
awareness of being part of something bigger.

RBD: So you're not just a drop in the ocean, there's an awareness that you are an embodiment of that
ocean. You're not just a light house, there's an awareness that you are part of that light, that larger
system, that larger mind. And there's a feeling of excitement that emerges out of those words and
that vision when you bring them into you.

W: It's also a sense of being thankful...experiencing gratitude. And at that same time, it's getting much
more energy.

RBD: That vision and those words can mobilize your neurology in a powerful way. They can bring it
alive, fill it with spirit.
I'd now like to ask you to take that sense of energy and thankfulness; of being an important part of
that vast ocean and that light; of being timeless and yet in time, and

Jesus - Page 52
 physically move back into your belief space. Keeping your eyes up and your breathing full and
deep, bring the sense of vision and your mission into your heart. How are your beliefs and values
solidified or enriched? Would any new beliefs emerge from your heart?

W: Well, on one level, I am able to concretely feel the belief that we are all one. There is also the the
belief that growing is good, without needing any further purpose than to grow. It can have a
purpose, but there is a sense that growing is good even without having any purpose. That's one
thing. And there is also a realization that I am supposed to be here in this time. That I can relax
and enjoy it and appreciate it, wonder after wonder.

RBD: I'd like to now ask you to take that sense of light, of love, of the paradoxes of life, of timelessness
and timeliness, of being part of the light and part of the vast ocean; of believing in respect, support,
skill and love; of feeling that we are all one, that growing is good even if it serves no purpose that
we can perceive and that you belong here and can appreciate the wonders around you; and I'd
like you take all of that into your capabilities space. Raise your eyes and as you take a full breath
connect your vision, your mission, your spirit and your heart to your mind. Realize that your skills
and capabilities are a reflection and expression of those beliefs and values, of your identity and
soul, and of your vision and mission. Your mind is the way in which you manifest these deep
structures. As you fully sense all of these levels of yourself, how does it solidify or enrich your
perception of the capabilities you have for manifesting your values, beliefs, identify and vision?

W: I have more of a capability of being in first position - of respecting my own point of view. Also, it's
easy to see other points of view and take wider and wider perspectives. It's easier to understand
other maps of the world, other ways of being, of living...this sounds a bit funny to say, but even
easy to understand trees, plants and other forms of life. And it's easier to 'let it flow' without having
time constraints, or whatever the word is - fewer 'boundaries'. I would have more of the capability
of flowing and also giving direction to the flow.

RBD: Now I'd like to have you stand in the behavior space and re-experience those specific actions
that you take; teaching, going to the blackboard, talking, listening, looking, responding. Take this
total sense of your capabilities, beliefs, identity and spirit into those behaviors. Lift your eyes, take
a deep breath and connect your
Jesus - Page 53
 strengths as a trainer to your mind and to your heart and to your mission and to your vision. How
might you experience these activities differently? How would having this hologram of your total
being enrich these very specific, concrete actions that you take? Perhaps it changes the quality of
what you do.

W: Well, it changes a lot. The metaphor I have for all the changes is that it would be more like a dance.
For example, if I would go to the flip chart, it would be more like dancing and being aware of all
that's going on around me, of what I'm doing, and hearing and listening and being there. If I would
explain something, I would have the "why" of doing it. And there are many more pictures. I could
add all of the words. It's kind of like hearing music while I'm doing things.

RBD: Finally, I'd like to have you move back into the environment space, back to those specific wheres
and whens; the little groups, the little rooms, the big rooms, fifteen to thirty five people. Look up,
take a full deep breath and align your highest spiritual purpose with your identity, your heart and
your mind with your strengths in this environment. How would you re-perceive, re-experience and
restate your sense of your environment if you brought this light, the paradoxes, the sense of
timelessness but also the flow of time, your sense of being a lighthouse and a part of a vast ocean,
your belief that growth is good in and of itself, your realization that you belong, that you can
appreciate life wonder after wonder. Your valuing of respect, support, skill and love. Take your
ability to understand other maps and take a wider view, to have fewer boundaries and direct the
flow of your experience. Also bring the dance the pictures, the words, the music. Notice how your
experience of your environment changes and enriches.

W: The best way I can answer that is its pretty much the same environment but I would perceive it
really differently. As if it is filled with light, or more music. And one difference I experience is it
would be much less of doing a job. The word which comes to my mind is that it would be a special
place - a sacred place - even though it is the same room, place and city.

RBD: So, even though the places and the people and the times stay the same, you'd be able to
perceive the light that fills them and the vast ocean that flows through them. These rooms in Berlin
would become a sacred place. They are not only a place for respect, support, skill and love, they
are places of wider perspectives, of wonder after wonder where different maps are understood
and where growth is valued whether it

Jesus - Page 54
 has an obvious purpose or not. There are the rooms and the flip charts, but also the paradoxes.
They are places where change is taking place but where nothing needs to be changed. It takes
place in time but it also timeless. It is a sacred space where you belong and where constraints and
boundaries are transcended. It is a place of vision and belief and wonder where you can do your
job and to manifest your highest spiritual purpose. It is a place for sitting and walking around and
talking and demonstrating and listening and responding, but it is also a place for for music and
dancing and gratitude.

W: It is beautiful.

RBD: And perhaps that beauty does not even have to be limited to those rooms in Berlin where you do
your training. Perhaps the light and the ocean fill the whole world, and our whole planet is a sacred
place for vision, for respect, for growth, for dancing, for music, for the transcendence of
boundaries, for wider perspectives, for love. You only need to lift your eyes and take a deep breath
to see it.

W: I think it can be. Thank you.

I like to think that W.'s experience provides a glimpse of how Jesus must have experienced the
world in an ongoing way: a sacred space, filled with light. Flowing in time but also timeless.
Transcending boundaries through support, skill, wider perspectives and love.
The level alignment process is a way to mobilize very deep levels of neurology, and then,
through a process of successive approximations, release it into a specific situation. I myself use this
process all the time in order to prepare for seminars and other contexts in which I want to have full
access to all levels of myself. The following is a summary of the steps of the process.

Summary of the Logical Level Alignment Process

1. Physically lay out one space for each of the six logical levels.

2. Stand in the "Environment" space and answer the question: "When and where do I
want to be more aligned?"
3. Stand in the "Behavior space and answer the question: "What do I need to do when I

Jesus - Page 59
am in those times and places?" "What strengths do I have?" 4. Stand in the "Capabilities" space and
answer the questions: "How do I need to use my mind to carry out those behaviors?" "What capabilities
do I have or need in order to do those actions in those times and places?"
5. Stand in the "Beliefs/Values" space and answer the questions: "Why do I want to use those
particular capabilities to accomplish those activities?" "What values are important to me when I am
involved in those activities?" "What beliefs do I have or need to guide me in my heart when I am
doing them?"
6. Stand in the "Identity" space and answer the questions: "Who am I if I have those beliefs and values
and use those capabilities to accomplish those behaviors in that environment.?" "What kind of soul
are those beliefs, values, capabilities and behaviors an expression of?" "What is a metaphor for my
mission?"
7. Stand in the "Spiritual" space and answer the questions: "Who and what else is that person who has
that identity serving?" "What is the vision beyond me that I am participating in?"
8. Anchor the state that you entered into in the spiritual space. Take that physiology and inner
experience and step back into the identity space so you experience both at the same time. Notice
how it enhances or enriches your initial representation of the identity experience.
9. Take you experience of both your vision and your identity and bring them into your
belief space. Again notice how it enhances or enriches your initial representation of your beliefs
and values.
10. Bring Your vision, identity, beliefs and values into the capabilities space. Experience how they
strengthen, change or enrich the capabilities you experience within yourself.
11. Bring your vision, identity, beliefs, values and capabilities into the behavior space. Notice how even he
the most insignificant seeming behaviors are reflections and manifestations of all of the higher pro
levels within you. s is
12. Bring all levels of yourself into the environment space and experience how it is transformed and bes
enriched. don
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Jesus - Page 60
kind of witness to your words. The 'Guardian Angel' helps to keep you on track by asking the questions
and continually 'backtracking' or reviewing what you have said at each of the levels (it sometimes helps
to write down key words and phrases).
. Logical Level Co-Alignment Process

Jesus made the statement that, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). The implication of this is that the aligning two or
more hearts, souls, minds and sets of strengths together within the framework of a shared vision can
create something that is greater than the sum of the parts on a higher level. According to the Gospel
of Thomas:

Jesus said to them, "When you make the two one, and when you make the
inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below,
and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male
not be male nor the female female; and when you fashion eyes in place of an eye,
and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place
of a likeness; then will you enter [the Kingdom]." Thomas (22)

The logical level alignment process may be broadened to allow you to co-align yourself with
others.
As an example, I used this process together with my wife, Anita, as a preparation for childbirth.
Rather than simply be a breathing coach, this process allowed me to offer her support on many
different levels.
We started by sharing our perceptions of the environments in which the birth would take place:
our home and the birthing room at the hospital. We visited the hospital so we could identify specific
external cues and details.
Then we defined to one another how we wanted to be able to act in those environments. Anita
verbalized and demonstrated how she wanted various parts of her body to be relaxed and active
during the different parts of the labor process; how she wanted her breathing to be and how she
wanted to act toward others. I in turn described and demonstrated the tone of voice I wanted to use
when I talked to her, the qualities of movement I would have in touching her and the kind of flexibility
of behavior I wanted to have in order to respond appropriately to changes or uncertainties in the
hospital environment and the medical staff.
We then described to each other the skills and capabilities we would need to act the ways we
had defined in the birthing environment. Anita brought up the importance of the ability to remember
key things even under difficult experiences, her ability to concentrate and focus, to handle pain in
different ways and her ability to be aware of her body. I wanted my abilities to communicate, to
respond creatively, to be acutely
Jesus - Page 57
aware of her physiology and to recognize and manage multiple perspectives.
Next, we shared to each other beliefs and values that we would need in order to be able to
activate those capabilities and produce those behaviors in the environments we had defined. She
identified the beliefs that she could trust her body; that the experience of labor would unfold in the
most appropriate way; that even though she could not control what was happening, there was a
benevolent outside force at work; that she had many choices about how to respond; that she could
trust those that were supporting her; and that she was bringing a new life into the world that she
would love. I shared my belief that we had operated well as a team many times before; that if I was
able to approach the situation with a pure intention that any guidance I would need would come to
me; that I had many skills that would be there to support me as unconscious competences. We
also shared our values of respect, of making use of all the choices available to us and of love.
After this, we shared our perceptions of who we would be if we were able to manifest our
beliefs and values through our capabilities into the birth environment. Anita perceived herself as a
kind of nautilus shell, spiraling open onto the world. I perceived myself as a kind of light shining out
into the room to keep everything clear and in focus.
At the spiritual level, Anita envisioned a universe of shells within shells within shells; each
one becoming successively larger. She saw herself as one of the shells in this vast chain. I saw
myself as a kind magnate in a larger system of many magnates, each effecting each other through
the invisible lines of force emanating from them. In this vision the position of one of the magnates
could effect the alignment and order of all of the others. The function was to continually adjust to
keep the balance and harmony of the forces.
We explored the ways in which our visions fit together. The united vision was of the universe
of shells within shells all of which were like magnates and interconnected through their invisible
lines of force.
While Anita had been married for over thirteen years, we had never really talked to each
other about our visions for our identities and our perceptions of the larger spiritual systems in
which we participated. It can be quite moving to share such a level of experience with someone
you love, and think you know.
In bringing our shared vision into our sense of identity we felt that we were like a pair of
interlocking nautilus shells. The shells were made of a kind of light or energy that could be more or
less focused or dense, being either very concrete and hard like a shell, or very light and diffuse like
a light spreading through the room. In our metaphor for our mutual identity, we would both be more
concrete or diffuse at various
points depending on the situation. Through this coordinated dance a particular point of density would
form, around which the interaction was taking place. This new point of density represented the baby
who would first form out of our dance as a point of focus, gaining density until she became another
shell, and finally enter the dance as another interlocking shell.
Within the frame of our common vision and identity we reviewed the beliefs that we had shared
earlier. They seemed to be much more present and unified, almost as if they were a single belief that
could be expressed simply as 'Life', 'Love' and 'Trust'.
In reviewing our capabilities, we felt that that there was a special capability we had as a team
through the combination of skills that we possessed, that neither of us could do independently. This
was the ability to create a space for life to form and grow; to create a context in which another being
could thrive and bloom.
As we thought about the specific actions and behaviors we had defined earlier, it no longer
seemed like we were two separate people reacting to an external situation or reacting to each other.
Rather, our behavior seemed to be an integrated action from a single being, like the eyes, arms,
hands, legs and feet of a dancer. Anita's breathing practice no longer seemed like a kind of
mechanical programming, but rather a means to actually breathe spirit and life into the experience.
Finally, we brought the totality of our shared vision, identity, beliefs and values, capabilities
and behaviors into our map of the birthing environment. Similar to W's experience, it took on the
sense of a sacred place; a place where momentous things would occur; a focal point around which
many elements spun. Our experience was that it was a place of challenges but, at the same time, a
place of choices. Our feeling was that, come what may, it would be the appropriate thing, and that we
would be able to handle it as a team.
I can testify that our joint multi-level map allowed us to meet the challenges of labor and birth in
harmonious and coordinated fashion. Our beautiful daughter has been thriving and blossoming in a
co-created context of light, life, love and trust ever since.

Summary of Logical Level Co-Alignment Process

1. Physically lay out two spaces for each of the six logical levels.
2. Both stand in the "Environment" spaces and identify an environment (a place and time) that you
share. Describe your perception of that environment to each other.
3. Stand in the "Behavior" space and answer the question: "What do I want do when I am in that
time and place?" Describe to each other some specific behaviors and actions that you want to
manifest in your shared environment.
4. Stand in the "Capabilities" space and describe to each other the capabilities you have or need in
order to manifest those actions in that environment.
5. Stand in the "Beliefs/Values" space and answer the question: "Why do I want to use those particular
capabilities to accomplish those activities?" Disclose to each other the values and beliefs that motivate
and are reflected in the capabilities and behaviors you want to manifest in your shared environment.
6. Stand in the "Identity" space and answer the question: "Who am I that I have these motivations
and capabilities to manifest those behaviors in that environment?" Using a metaphor verbalize
your perception of yourself in relation to the beliefs, values, capabilities and behaviors you have
identified.
7. Stand in the "Spiritual" space and answer the question: "What is the vision I am pursuing or
representing?" Describe to each other your visions of the larger system in which you are
participating.
8. Explore in which ways the two visions fit together or complement each other. Together, take that
physiology and inner experience and step back into the identity space so you experience both at the
same time.Answerthe questions, "Who are we together?" "What is our joint identity?"
9. Take your shared experience of both your vision and your identity and bring them into your belief
spaces. Answer the question, "What are our shared beliefs and values?"
10. Bring Your vision, identity, beliefs and values into the capabilities space. Answer the question, "What
capabilities do we have as a team that are beyond our individual capabilities?"
11. Bring your vision, identity, beliefs, values and capabilities into the behavior space. Notice how even the
most insignificant seeming behaviors are reflections and manifestations of all of the higher levels within
you. Answer the question, "What will be our joint actions together?"
12. Bring all levels of yourself into the environment space and experience how it is
transformed and enriched.

I
III. Taking Multiple Perceptual Positions - Loving Your Neighbor As Yourself

The co-alignment process can certainly be a powerful tool to take steps toward 'loving your
neighbor as yourself. Understanding someone else's map of the world on all levels certainly deepens
the sense of connection and relationship one has with another.
Yet, Jesus seemed to have something even broader in mind when he spoke of 'loving your
neighbor as yourself. He maintained:

"For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love
those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank
have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope
to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much
again."
Luke 6:32-34

Jesus clearly seems to imply that loving one's neighbors extends to all of humanity; and in
particular those whom it would seem the most difficult to love.

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate
thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and
persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; for he
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on
the unjust."
Matthew 5:43-45

The ability to love one's enemies, "bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and
pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you" would certainly seem to require special
skills. For most people, Jesus' comments seems like a nice, lofty sentiment, but difficult, unpragmatic
and even dangerous to attempt in 'real life'. Yet, it seems that Jesus did not intend it as simply an
admirable put impractical ideal. In addition to continually encouraging it in his teachings, Jesus often
demonstrated it in his actions.
Perhaps the most significant indication of his commitment to this principle is the response
he had to those responsible for his own crucifixion and death:

"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34
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 Of all of the things he could have said, Jesus chose these words as his 'logos'. Obviously, to
Jesus, his message of forgiveness, mercy and love was more than simply a bunch of nice words easily
said to a group of adoring fans when everything was going his way. In the moment when it would have
been completely justifiable for Jesus to be thinking only of himself - in the moment when Jesus had the
most reason and right to hate, condemn and curse his 'neighbors' - he implores forgiveness for them.
Jesus' moving and stunning statement demonstrates a remarkable ability to congruently believe that
his own persecutors and killers were not inherently bad or malicious, but rather acting out of blindness
and ignorance.
It might be easy for some to say that it was only because Jesus was 'superhuman' that he could
think this way. But this is evidently not Jesus' perspective. His constant urging and encouragement for
this way of thinking and acting indicate that he believed that this ability was potentially latent in
everyone.
I mentioned at the beginning of this monograph that NLP is based on the two primary
presuppositions that 1) the map is not the territory, and 2) life and mind are systemic processes that
naturally seek optimal states of health and balance. One implication of these two presuppositions
taken together is that the actions and behavior of all organisms is essentially positively intended - that
is, it is an attempt by the organism to correct or optimize its own state or the state of the system of
which the organism perceives itself a member. In other words, the belief system of NLP is that
everyone makes the best choices that they perceive available to them given their model of the world in
that moment. In NLP, evil actions and behaviors arise because of a narrow, incomplete or
impoverished model of the world rather than out of evil intent. Jesus' dying statement on the cross
indicates that he shared this belief on a deep and personal level.
Usually people only purposefully hurt others when they feel threatened and perceive no other
alternatives, or when they do not perceive others as in fact 'human' or like themselves. For example,
when my wife and I first brought our new baby daughter home, our three year old son would
sometimes do things that would either scare her or hurt her -not because he was a "bad boy" but rather
because either 1) he didn't realize it would be painful or frightening from her point of view, or 2) it was
the only alternative he experienced at a particular moment to to express frustration, respond to a
perceived threat or get attention.
In the NLP model, for instance, when somebody acts selfishly, they are perceived as still having
a positive intent but are unable to identify with the system beyond themselves. People often harm
others or act in unproductive ways in an attempt protect themselves because they perceive no other
choices or cannot comprehend the other person's
perspective.
The key in NLP is to separate a person's intention from his or her behavior, and then validate the
intention while offering other behavioral alternatives that would satisfy the positive purpose of the
intention more ecologically. Thus, identity is always validated. Jesus echoed this approach in parables
like the prodigal son and statements such as:

"Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man." John 8:15

The implication of this statement is that most people simply judge the behaviors {the flesh) of
others without looking at the deeper levels behind a person's actions.
While NLP seeks to separate intentions from behaviors, it is important to state that the positive
intention does not justify the behavior nor its repercussions. It has been pointed out that the "road to
hell is paved with positive intentions." Obviously, my wife and I did not allow our son to continue to hurt
or scare our daughter because he was positively intended and didn't know any better. We had to
demonstrate other choices and help him to discover other alternatives. Similarly, Jesus' mission was
to bring about change, not to say, "Oh well, because people are blind and ignorant, its OK for them to
continue hurting and persecuting others." The significance of the principle of 'positive intent' comes
from understanding the deeper motives for behaviors, and thus the ways to direct and change them to
other choices which are more appropriate but still satisfy the positive intent.
In NLP, they key to ecological behavior comes from having a rich model of the world that takes
into account multiple perspectives, levels and time frames. Even the most positive of intentions, when
pursued from a single point of view, can be unecological and dangerous. The inquisition, the
crusades, the burning of witches and heretics, the 'holy wars', etc., are good examples of positive
intentions expressed through a limited perspective.
The ability to act and promote ecological change from the belief in positive intent obviously
requires great skill and wisdom. Like any other belief or value, it is only as valid as the skills and
capabilities that support and manifest it. Certainly the abilities to perceive different time frames and
recognize different logical levels are crucial to support this principle. Actions that seem totally evil or
incomprehensible at one level and in one time frame begin to make sense when considered in the
context of another logical level or a different time frame.
Perhaps the most important skill necessary to love one's neighbor as oneself is that of taking
different 'perceptual positions' (Grinder, DeLozier, 1989; Dilts, 1990). In NLP, the notion of perceptual
positions acknowledges that any interaction within a system necessarily involves multiple maps and
perspectives of the same event. For example, in
the most basic interaction between oneself and one's neighbor, there are minimally three perspectives
that may be taken: 1) First Position - one's own point of view; 2) Second Position - the point of view of
one's neighbor; and 3) Meta Position - the point of view of an observer looking at the interaction
between oneself and one's neighbor. There is also what is known as 'Third Position' which is a kind of
an 'enlightened' meta position - the point of view of a wise observer who has access to the points of
view of both the first and second position.
It seems obvious that 'loving your neighbor as yourself presupposes the ability to take the
perspective of your neighbor. Thus, in NLP language, the first step toward following the second
commandment would minimally involve taking "second position." That is, to put yourself into another's
model of the world andvalue it as much as your own.
Clearly, Jesus himself must have had a highly developed ability to take second position. His
sensitivity to the feelings and thoughts of others were referred to quite often. On numerous occasions
Jesus was said to have 'perceived' or 'known' the thoughts of others (Matt. 9:4, Matt. 12:25, Luke 5:22,
Luke 6:8, Luke 9:47, Luke 11:17). His parable of the good Samaritan and the reports of his own
compassion and equanimity certainly imply the ability to empathize with others.
This process of shifting perceptual positions seems to be at the heart of many of Jesus'
teachings and actions. For example, he maintained:

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do

ye even so to them." Matthew 7:12

Jesus is essentially saying to integrate one's own first position perspective with the second
position perspective of another in determining how to act toward them. Certainly, a deep
presupposition of this statement is the ability to consider the subjective experience of another person.
It also seems to imply a kind of meta position to oneself, in which one is looking at one's own actions
with respect to someone else.
Jesus makes the importance of taking a meta position with respect to oneself even more clear in
statements such as:

"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest
not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me
pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye...first cast
out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the
mote out thy brother's eye." Matthew 7:3-5
 Perhaps the most powerful and dramatic example of Jesus' use of Meta Position is represented
in the following account:

"Then the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they
had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the
very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest
thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped
down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He
that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped
down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their
own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last:
and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
When Jesus had lifted himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where
are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus
said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." John 8:3-11

This particular account demonstrates Jesus' masterful ability to sort logical levels and to track
and integrate multiple perspectives. His comment, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the
first stone at her," is a direct statement to the crowd to go to a meta position with respect to
themselves. Jesus' statement to the woman, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more," is a
clear example of how he separated identity from behavior. He validates her identity without condoning
nor justifying the continuation of the particular behavior.
Incidentally, the English word "sin" was translated from the Greek word hamartano
(auxxpTocvco) which simply means to 'err' or 'miss the mark' as opposed to 'transgress against God.'
This is clearly implies something at a behavioral level, not at an identity or spiritual level. Thus, Jesus'
statement to the woman to "go, and sin no more," could be interpreted as "go, and learn from your
mistakes." The same interpretation could be applied to his statement, "He that is without sin among
you, let him cast the first stone at her." He would be saying, "He that has never made a mistake, or
missed the mark, let him cast the first stone."
 Jesus is implying that, whether it is from first position, second position or meta position, we
should never devalue our own perspective or model of the world nor anyone elses. Jesus'
encouragement to take other perspectives was not in order to weaken or negate one's own
perspective but rather to make one wiser. And, in fact, we can only begin to truly understand other
perspectives when we have solidified our own - when we have aligned heart, soul, mind and strength.
Sometimes people want to take other perceptual positions because their own is weak or unclear. As I
pointed out earlier, if our own first position is weak or unclear, we will most likely just project our own
incongruency and lack of self worth onto others. In the words of the Gospel of Thomas:

Jesus said, "If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the Kingdom is in the sky,' then
the birds of the sky will proceed you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,'then the fish
will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When
you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it
is you who are the sons of the living Father. But if you will not know yourselves, you
dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty." Thomas (3)

Jesus himself certainly did not represent someone with a poor self concept or low self esteem.
He was sure of himself and his mission as an individual and encouraged his followers to acknowledge
and pursue their own missions, even in the face of resistance and persecution. In his words:

" No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither
under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light."
Luke 11:33

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

Jesus' continual references to his 'Father' bespeaks another important perceptual position - a
third position or 'enlightened meta position'. The "Father in heaven" made the "sun to rise on the evil
and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." The Father's perspective is clearly
very wide and impartial - all models of the world are treated equally. And even though it was not Jesus'
own first position perspective in his role as a human being, it was a perspective that he was clearly
able to take and encouraged others to take as well. Consider the following statement:

Jesus - Page 66
 "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again;
and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is
kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also
is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be
condemned: forgive and ye shall be forgiven." Luke 6:35-37

Jesus clearly intends to portray, and urge others to to assume, the broad and benevolent point
of view of the 'Father' who is "merciful" and "kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." This is a
perceptual position outside of one's own individual perspective. The ability to take such a point of view
also seems essential to 'loving your neighbor as yourself.'
Because "the map is not the territory," there will never be "one right map." Jesus is arguing that
wisdom and truth come from taking multiple persepectives. The main message of his statements to
"judge not" and "condemn not" seems to me to be that no one has the right to impose their model of
the world on anyone else. The basis for all injustice, oppression, abuse and prejudice, even if it is
positively intended, stems from either a) the confusion of one's own personal map for the territory; b)
the belief that one is in possession of 'the right map;' or c) the inability to perceive and value another's
model of the world. There is no one right perspective. 'Truth' is the intersection of many perspectives.
Therefore, the more rich one's map is, the more chance one has to approach some kind of "Truth".
In summary, in addition to perceiving multiple time frames and multiple logical levels, Jesus'
cognitive strategy involves the ability to integrate multiple perceptual positions. Rather than simply
spewing out hard and fast rules about 'good' and 'bad' behaviors, Jesus advises us to guide our
actions and make our decisions in this life by constantly assessing multiple perceptual positions. This
is clearly expressed in statements such as:

"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be
judged..." Matthew 7:1-2

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Matthew 6:12

To make sense out of these declarations, we must go to a meta position and consider a
relationship made up of three perceptual positions: our 'Father', ourselves, and our neighbor.
The Meta Mirror

To love your neighbor as yourself, then, requires the ability to perceive and integrate a number of
different perceptual positions.
NLP offers some simple but powerful and pragmatic ways to develop the abilities to take and
coordinate multiple perspectives. For example, I have developed a process that I call the Meta
Mirror\Y\a\ uses an NLP process called 'spatial sorting' to develop the ability to assume and co-value
multiple perceptual positions, specifically in situations where it seems difficult to 'love your neighbor'. I
believe that it reflects many of the principles that Jesus sought to convey, and provides a concrete way
to manifest them.
The following is a transcript of the Meta Mirror process taken from my book Changing Belief
Systems with NLP (1990). In this particular transcript the term "Meta Fourth" position is used to denote
what I have been calling the 'enlightened third" position.

Transcript: Demonstration of The Meta-Mirror

R: Think of somebody you have a hard time getting along with. Does anybody have such a problem?
Why don't you come up, .? (. comes up.)

Step 1: Naming the Other's Behavior

R: Imagine this person is right here in front of you.

Give a name to the behavior that really makes it difficult when you are around that person. What is
it that he does? What would you call it? How does he act? Is he insensitive? Is he rigid?
: Indifferent.

Step 2: Naming Your Own Behavior

R: Now, physically move to meta-position and observe your own response in relation to [the] other
person when he is indifferent. What would you call your own behavior?

B: Rigidity, maybe. Inflexibility would suit better.

R: So there is indifference in him and inflexibility in you. I would like you to consider this: could he still
be indifferent if you were not inflexible? Would it be possible for him to be indifferent if you were
something other than inflexible? The point is this: in any human system what you do determines
how other people act as much as what they do determines how you act.

Is this person indifferent to your behavior or to your identity? : To

my identity.

R: And what are you inflexible about?

B : About what's important for me in this relationship.

R: Your values?

B: Yes.

R: (To audience) I want you to notice that the people that you probably have the most difficult times
with are the ones that you allow to affect your identity... (To .): Maybe you are giving too much of
yourself to this person?

B: Yes.

R: And your rigidity about your values hasn't made him any less indifferent to you? B: No, because I

was sucked into his system. And now I'm stuck, I can't get out. Step 3: The Relation between the Two

Me's

Now I want you to physically move to a fourth position over here. When you look at how your inner
meta-position self is trying to change your outer first position self, and the way you are
communicating with that person, what is this relationship like? (Robert points successively at 1
and 3.)

B: Between me and me?

R: Yes. We want to explore the question, "How do I relate to myself in reference to the other person?"

B: The inner me thinks that nothing the outer me does is going to have any effect on that other person
anyway.

R: In a way, you are doing to yourself what he is doing to you. The inner you also seems indifferent to
the you stuck in that relationship. I call this process the meta mirror, because often the way the
person is treating you is a reflection of how you treat yourself. The problem is not only the other
person or even how I react to the other person, the problem is also here, in the system between the
two me's. That is an important part of how the total system works. How does the outer you react to
that inner indifference.
: She is very tense. She is afraid she will lose her identity.

R: No wonder the outer you is rigid. She's stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I think it might be interesting to switch these positions (the inner you and the outer you) around.
For example, what if you had switched the places of the first-position outer you with the inner
position you, so that you were indifferent to the other person and inflexible about your values with
yourself! Perhaps the more inflexible I am about my values with me, the more creative I can be in
my behavior with him.
 The nice thing about working systematically like this is that you don't have to change the elements
of the system to find a solution. You only need to change the relationship between the elements.
What if you do that? Just take these two and physically shift them around?

B: It seems easy that way. (Laughing)

R: What happens? Is the relationship the same?

: I think there is none now.

R: And if there is no more relationship, then you can start a new one even if it's with the same person?

B: Yes.

R: Now let's come look at these two: this part that is in meta-position now, that is being inflexible about
your vales with yourself. Do you want to have a relationship with this person now?

B: No, not at all.

R: What kind of relationship would you make sure that you had here if you ever talked to that person in
the future?

B: The trouble now is that I don't want to communicate anymore. R: What

would make you want to communicate? B: A more sincere person, a bit more

authentic.

R: OK. Now, put yourself into this other person's position for a moment; into second position. If you are
experiencing the world as this person, what would make you a more sincere and authentic person?

[B. physically moves into the position of the other person. For a moment she is very deep
J
m thought.]
: Self-confidence.

R: Now come all the way out of this system to the fourth position. I want you to notice something
important here.
If you bring confidence out of this other person, if you act in a way that makes him confident, then
he is going to be more authentic. Here is the big question: How would you act to make him more
confident that would still be in line with your own values?

B: Certainly not by being inflexible?

R: What way would it be?

B: By being open and listening, at least.

R: But also making sure that you keep your inflexibility about your values out here in the
meta-position, because I want you to notice that "open and listening" is not indifferent to who I
am and what is important to me. Open and listening is not going to be getting sucked in,
especially if I am inflexible out here in third position. So I can be more open and listening with
that person because I have support from myself.
 Step 4: Entering the New Relationship

R: From fourth position visualize the you in first position in this new relationship being open and
listening to the other person-but supported by the meta-position you who knows who you are
and is inflexible about your values and identity-step into the first position and look at that other
person. (B. steps to first position and laughs.)

R: (To the audience): Look at that physiology. It is an interesting combination of all of the other
ones.

(To .): What happens with that person? B: It is

more comfortable.

R: How do you feel?

B: Much better. It is completely different.

R: Thank you.

Very often the place that you have difficulty communicating with another person is a mirror
image of how you are relating to yourself. It is not really the other person who is either the problem or
the solution.

If I can step back to see how it is really a reflection of my relation with myself, then I can
restructure the system so that I am supporting myself. This will often transform the whole relationship.
The meta mirror technique creates a context in which we can keep shifting perceptual positions inside
and outside the problematic relationship until we find the most appropriate and ecological
arrangement of elements in the relational molecule
Summary of the Meta Mirror Process

1. Identify a person you have difficulty with. Visualize that person from first position
(associated) and name the trait that makes that person so difficult, e.g., "rigid,'' "insensitive,"
"incongruent, "denial," etc.
2. Step back to meta position (dissociated from the relationship) and visualize yourself in the
interaction. Name your own behavior in relation to the other person, e.g., "judgmental," "irritated,"
"helpful," "scared," etc.
3. Notice how the way you are acting actually reinforces or triggers the behavior of the other person
in the system. (If you were not there, how would the other person act? Could the other person
continue his or her responses?)
4. Think of what other ways you could respond to that person. Perhaps you have tried to change
your own reactions already. What makes you continue to act the way you do on this relationship?
5. Now take a step to the side (the "metaphor"position) and look at how you treat yourself in this
interaction, i.e., "pushy," "angry," "judgmental," "creative," etc. Notice at which logical levels
(behavior, capability, belief, identity) the different responses are operating.
In what way is your response to yourself a mirror for what the other person is doing?
6. From the "meta-fourth" position, switch the two positions associated with yourself. That is, put
your third-position reactions (the way you have been treating yourself) into the first position so you
have that level of response to the other person. Put your former first-position responses into the
third-position location.
Notice how the switch changes the system and transforms the expression of the responses.
7. Put yourself into the other person's shoes (second position). View yourself from the other person's
eyes. How does your behavior appear from that perspective? From this other person's
perspective, what do you need or want from yourself.
8. Reassociate into the revised first-position location (i..e., the one that has been replaced by the
former third-position level reactions). Notice how your reactions and point of view have changed.
9. Continue to switch perspectives and add choices of responses (at appropriate level) until you feel
the relationship is more balanced and functional.
 The process of taking multiple perceptual positions can be relatively simple but very powerful.
The three basic perceptual positions can also be broadened to incorporate some of the deeper level
process that we explored in the level alignment process. In a seminar that we developed called Tools
of the Spirit, my colleague Robert McDonald and I have people expand these basic perceptual
positions to a higher level by extending the time frame associated with position and bringing in higher
levels of vision and spirit. For instance, if one expands one's frame of perception within first position,
one begins to experience everything as and extension of oneself. If one expands one's frame of
perception within second position, one experiences becoming 'one with' the other individual (or
object). Expanding one's frame of perception within third position, leads one to the experience of both
oneself and the other person being part a much larger system. The following is a brief description of
an exercise, the we call 'The Mind of the Heart', that uses anchoring to apply these broadened
perceptual positions.

'Mind of The Heart' Process

1. Think of a person or an situation involving another person that causes problems or difficulties.
Acknowledge what it feels like from your own point of view (1st position) in that experience.
2. From an observer point of view (meta position) access a state of being aligned toward your
highest spiritual purpose with your heart, soul, mind and strength and physically touch the
center of your own chest.
3. Keeping your hand on your heart, put yourself into the perspective of the other person (2nd
position) deepen your sense of being in that person's perceptual position until you feel 'one
with' him or her.
4. With your hand still touching your heart, move to a position in between yourself and the other
person (3rd position). Broaden your perception until you can experience that both of you are a
part of much larger and vaster system or 'mind'.
5. Still touching your heart, return to your own perspective (1st position) in the situation. Widen
your frame of awareness until you are able to perceive everything around you as an extension
of yourself.

If you are able to do this with a partner (or Guardian Angel), have him or her also access an
aligned state and help to anchor you by touching your heart area just below your hand and placing his
or her other hand in the center of your back (thus supporting and backing you up). The Guardian
Angel is to continue to maintain his or her own state of alignment, and continue to touch your heart
and back as you take the expanded 2nd, 3rd and 1st position perspectives in the difficult situation.
IV. Summary of Implementation Strategies

This section has explored some ways in which we might use NLP tools and skills, in conjunction
with our understanding of Jesus' cognitive patterns, in an attempt to implement some aspects of
Jesus' profound abilities to integrate and align multiple time frames, multiple levels of experience and
multiple perceptual positions in our daily lives.
Jesus' micro and macro strategies clearly have important implications for problem solving,
leadership, healing and personal and social change. Ultimately however, it seems to me that Jesus'
strategy is one that produces wisdom.
I have always maintained that excellence comes from a passionate commitment to a single
perspective. In order to become good at something, one must stay associated in one's own first
position and focus. This is an important way to learn and progress, but it is not necessarily wise. In
fact, sometimes it produces unecological repercussions.
Genius comes from a passionate commitment to the integration of multiple perspectives. J.
Bronowski, the author of the the book The Ascent of Man, claimed that "a genius is a person who has
two great ideas" and spends the rest of his life trying to get them to fit together. When one has
become excellent in several different areas and then is able to synthesize them, one begins to
approach genius.
Wisdom comes from a passionate commitment to the constant process of taking multiple
perspectives. Since the world is in constant change, we cannot rely on yesterday's answers as being
true for tomorrow. Wisdom is not something you do or get, rather, it is something you participate in an
ongoing way. In the words of Gregory Bateson:

"[Wisdom comes from] sitting together and truthfully discussing our

differences - without the intent to change them."

The intent to change someone else's model of the world implies a judgment of that model. None
of us are omniscient enough to know the 'right' map or take in all of the systems within systems within
systems that might be effected by our actions. Wise and ecological change comes from discovering,
creating and offering alternatives - from constantly widening and enriching our maps by:

1) Taking all perspectives relevant to the system in which one is interacting.

2) Considering and aligning all of levels experience in relation to the system on is in.
3) Respecting all time frames necessary to ecologically incorporate change within that system.
 Of course, wisdom can only become manifested as actions by first synthesizing the many
perspectives one has taken and then finally bringing them into one's own first position perspective. The
ability to consistently and appropriately manifest deep level principles and values in concrete
experience requires the mapping of those principles and values through successive levels of
representation. Each level of representation and description involves different combinations of time
frames, perceptual positions and cognitive processes as shown in the table below.

According to NLP the combinations of these various dimensions of our subjective experience are
embodied in the form of neurological circuits which may be activated and mobilized through patterns of
language, cognitive strategies and accessing cues.
It is interesting to note that the process of multiple description seems to have been embedded in
Christian doctrine by early Christian leaders in the form of the Holy Trinity. In the concept of the Holy
Trinity there is one God in three different forms: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
In the interpretation we have been developing here, we can describe the notion of the 'three person's in
one God' as the processes of Logos, Light and Spirit expressed through the three fundamental
perceptual positions. God the Father represents Spirit as manifested through an expanded third position
perspective characterized by a very broad, timeless and benevolent perspective of humanity as part of a
much vaster system. God the Son represents Spirit as embodied through the expanded first position
perspective of an individual human being in which everything seems like an extension of him/herself.
This is expressed in the form of personal mission and vision. God the Holy Ghost represents the Spirit in
the form of a kind of expanded second position perspective who "speaks not of himself" but "teaches all
things", "brings all things to remembrance" and "shows you things to come" - that is, who becomes 'one
with' the larger mind or hologram.
The "One God" would not be any one of the individual perceptual positions nor the
'persons', but would rather be the deeper principles that are meta to, but expressed in, the three
different perspectives - the resonance of all three perspectives.
I would like to present a final process that integrates the tools and skills of NLP together with
the principles and strategies we have been modeling from Jesus in order to produce the kind of
'resonance' implied by the concept of the 'Holy Trinity'.

The Resonance Pattern

The term 'resonance' refers to a kind of non-linear influence that two vibrating objects or
systems have on one another. For example, if one has two guitars that are similarly tuned and plucks
a string on one of the guitars, the corresponding string on the other guitar will begin to vibrate. The
same kind of resonance can occur between corresponding notes on a piano and a tuning fork, etc. In
mechanical and electrical systems, resonance refers to the process by which vibrations of large
intensity and amplitude may be produced by a relatively small periodic stimulus whose frequency is
the same or nearly the same as the natural vibration period of the system. Resonance is also defined
as "the complex of internal body processes that occur in emotional states such as rapport or
empathy" (Webster).
It seems to me that what Jesus referred to as "Spirit" was something that operated similarly to
the process of resonance - a state that gave him access to knowledge and wisdom beyond the
confines of his own personal conscious experience.
Fulfilling our individual missions often seems like it requires us to 'move mountains.' This
involves a great deal of wisdom and commitment. According to Jesus, in order to move mountains,
we have to say the word, not doubt it 'in our hearts' and 'believe that it will come to pass'. The purpose
of the Resonance process is to help utilize the perspectives and perceptual positions of key
individuals in our lives as a way to develop our inner wisdom and support. I will refer to these key
individuals as 'mentors'. Mentors are individuals or phenomena who do not teach us or instruct us the
typical conscious way, but rather release or amplify knowledge and wisdom that is already inherent
within us, and the systems in which we are participating, through their relationship with us.
Transcript: Demonstration of the Resonance Pattern

R: B. would you like to help out with this demonstration? B: Yes.

Sure. (B. comes up.)

R: Can you think of a situation in which you experience or anticipate experiencing doubt about
your beliefs or mission?

B: Yes. I'm trying to bring about some big changes in my organization, and I think I'm going to
have some real difficulty with resistance from a number of key people. Because they don't
understand what I'm trying to do, they will be threatened and throw up road blocks. I'm not sure
I'll have the wherewithal to deal with all of it.

R: As Albert Einstein said, "Great Spirits have always been opposed by mediocre minds." What I
would like you to do is to create a space, a kind of physical 'problem space', step into it and put
yourself as fully as you can into that situation, that moment of doubt.

: OK. (B. steps forward. His breathing shallows and his body tenses noticeably.)

R: That's enough. That looks like a tough situation. Now step back and leave that experience over
there for the moment, anchored to the floor. Now, from out here in Meta Position, I would like
to have you identify three 'mentors'. Mentors can be people that you've met, people that you
know through their writings or creations, people that you've only read about but who have
influenced you, animals, even inanimate objects or physical places. They may be living or
deceased. What is important is that these mentors have brought out or released something
deep, important and powerful in you simply through whatever form of 'presence' they take for
you. For example, my wife used to go surfing a lot. When she was preparing for and going
through labor, she chose the ocean as mentor. She had a personal relationship with the
ocean. At one time in her life she had been afraid of the waves that could crush you like a
toothpick. She took it as a personal challenge to learn to serf, and befriended this vast
mysterious 'creature'. She still goes down to be near the ocean when she needs to make
important decisions or reaffirm herself.
So B. choose the mentors you'd like to have around you in that situation. Generally

Jesus - Page 80
 I like to have people pick one relating to their beliefs and values, one related to their identity
and one related to their perception of the spiritual...Have you selected them?

B: Yes. One is a kind of professional mentor. A person that helped me out a lot when I was a
young man and at a pivotal point in my life. Another is my father. He has passed away now, but
we were really close when he was alive. And the third is my three year old son.

R: Good. Now, staying in Meta Position, I would like you to arrange these mentors around the you
who is in that difficult situation. Where would you place them with respect to you? In front of
you? Behind you? Above you? In your arms?

B: Well, I think I would place my son next to me, on my left side. I'd put my professional mentor
behind me...sort of over my right shoulder. And I would place my father out in front of me...and
maybe a little above me.

R: OK. Now, I'd like to have you pick one of the mentors and put yourself into his perspective. Go
to second position with him. And as much as possible, assume the kind of physiology that
most represents that mentor to you.

B: Alright. I'll start with my professional mentor. (B. moves into the physical space just behind
where he was standing when he was experiencing the difficult situation. His posture becomes
erect and confident, and he folds his arms.)

R: From the perceptual position of this mentor, what message would you send to the B. in that
difficult situation? Send it through what ever channel is most appropriate. It can be words, a
touch, a look...whatever is the most congruent to this mentor.

B: (In role of professional mentor.) I would say, "Just do it. Your as good as anyone else. Who else
is going to try? It doesn't matter what they think. Do it."

R: Good. Now step out of that mentor's position and move into the perceptual position of one of
your other mentors.

B: I'd like to go to my son next. (B. steps into a location next to where he was standing while
experiencing the difficult situation. His body moves and sways. His breathing
Jesus - Page 81
 relaxes and a smile comes to his face.)

R: What message would you send to that B. in that situation? B:

There are no words really...

R: That's OK just send in whatever way is most appropriate.

(B. reaches out his hand as if to touch the hand of the B. who is in the difficult situation. After a
moment, he nods and steps back from where he has been standing.)

R: Good. Now let's go to your third mentor.

(B. walks to a position in front of where he had been standing in the difficult
experience. He folds his hands and stands in silence for a period of time breathing regularly
but deeply. Then he walks back to his meta position.)

R: It looks like that was an important space for you.

B: Yes. I'm kind of still processing it.

R: Take your time. And in a moment I'd like you to review each of the messages that your mentors
sent to that you in the difficult situation and see if you can verbalize what would be the meta
message or assumption behind each message. That is, each of these messages come from
deeper presuppositions or messages. I'd like you to find the higher level message that would
go with each individual message. For instance, your professional mentors message was "Just
do it. Your as good as anyone else. Who else will if you won't? Do it." What would be the meta
message or deeper level message behind that?

B: The message behind that is something like, "You are like me. You know how to make things
happen." "What you are doing is important." And "I believe in you."

R: So, "You are like me, you know how to get things done, what you are doing is important, and I
believe in you." Believing in someone, even when they don't, can be a very powerful thing.
What about your other mentors? What was the message and meta message of your little son?

Jesus - Page 82
: (Grinning) Well, he was just sort of touching my hand, as if to say, "Relax and just be. Whatever
happens will be the right thing. Let's just explore."

R: That's nice. Pretty wise advice from a three year old. What is the meta message?

B: Well the meta message would be something like, "I love you and I trust you." And "The universe
is a friendly place."

R: Alright. What was the message and meta message of your father?

B: When I went to my father's position, it was as if there was just this kind of light going myself in
that situation. A light and a feeling. It was like a sense of being totally aware and engaged but
happy and proud at the same time.

R: And the meta message?

B: The meta message was, "It doesn't really matter how it turns out. That's not what is important.
What is important is that you commit to it and that you act with integrity. It doesn't matter who
they are or what they think, people will recognize integrity, and they will respect you. That's
how you really change things anyway."

R: There is clearly a lot of wisdom in your neurology. Take a moment now and find what kind of
common message 'resonates' between all three of these messages and meta messages.
What sort of message seems to be inherent in all three of your mentor's messages?

B: It's something like, "Be who you are, commit to what you believe in and the guidance and
support will be there."

R: So the guidance and support will be there if you just be who your and commit to what you
believe in. Now I'd like to have you revisit each of these mentor's positions one more time and
just communicate that common message from each of their perspectives. Notice in what ways
it changes or enriches, if any.

B: (Stands in professional mentor's location. Holds body erect and folds arms.) Here, it becomes
kind of, "Of course. What else are you going to do. It's not even a matter of
Jesus - Page 83

I
 believing or doubting. It's destined." R:

OK. Next mentor.

: (B stands in son's location. He smiles as he moves and relaxes his body.) From my son's
position, there's another piece that gets added that is something like, "It can be enjoyable. It
doesn't have to be difficult. Your attitude and your interpretations are something that you
choose."

R: Out of the mouth of babes...Sage advice again. Now send that common message from your
father's perspective.

B: (Moves to father's location. Stands calmly and silently.) From this point of view it seems like I am
part of something that is beyond me. That we are both part of something that has been going on
forever. That we are not just us as B.s father or ., but we are the embodiment of everyone who
has ever believed in making the world a better place. It just seems so deep and so strong and so
obvious.

R: OK B. come back to meta position. (B. moves to his meta position location.) In a way each of
these mentors represents a kind of neural circuitry in yourself. When you go into each perceptual
position you access the circuit that is resonant with that mentor. As you send information through
it, the circuit amplifies and enhances certain aspects of it, or enriches it by processing the
situation through parts of your nervous system that have not been mobilized or utilized with
respect to it before.
Now what I would like you to do is to stand in a location that is just behind where you initially
stood when you were experiencing this difficult situation. (B. Moves to a place a step behind
where he initially stood). And here I'd like you to imagine that all three of your mentors are
around you. Your professional mentor is behind you, telling you to do it and that he believes in
you; your son is next to you holding your hand; and your father is in front of you and above you
sending that kind of glow.

(B.s physiology is centered, flexible and aligned. He takes a deep breath and looks around to the
locations of his mentors.)

R: Imagine that these mentors are each communicating their messages to you. And that they are
sending you this deep common message, "Be who you are, commit to
Jesus - Page 84
 what you believe in and the guidance and support will be there." Imagine this common
message was a special kind of light that could enter your eyes, ears, and the pores of your
skin, and fill you with its guidance and wisdom. Then seeing, hearing, feeling and resonating
with your mentors and their common message, associate fully back into that difficult situation.

(Breathing deeply and comfortably, B. steps with confidence and ease into the location associated
with the difficult experience.)

R: Notice how your perception of the situation changes.

B: Its almost as if the people I was worried about become part of the plan instead of a resistance.
They need to be doing what they do in order for me to do what I have to do. They give me the
opportunity to demonstrate my commitment and my integrity. Rather than throwing me off my
path, their actions help to define it; whether they are in agreement with the way I see things or
not. And another thing is, I can enjoy them. I can smile at them, even when they think
something is very serious. But it is not a smile of disrespect. Its as if my heart and my vision
becomes so big and so strong I can see their resistance like a frightened child that I want to
comfort. The whole thing is so different. Thank you!

R: Thank you. May your light help show them some more choices and alternatives!

The resonance pattern is a way to open ourselves up the wisdom that is within each of us by
virtue of the fact that we have a nervous system. Our nervous systems can have access to
information that does not necessarily come from direct sensory stimuli and behavioral reactions to
the outside world. Spontaneous insights can occur through a kind of resonance. The state of
resonance can open us up to wisdom that is inherent within own our nervous systems and the
larger systems around us.

Summary of Resonance Pattern

1. Identify a situation in which you experience doubt about your beliefs or mission. Relive a key
example of the experience (1st position - associated).

2. Go to 'meta position' and identify three important mentors that helped to shape or influence
your life in a positive way by 'resonating' with, releasing or unveiling

Jesus - Page 85

I
 something deeply within you. Choose one relating to your beliefs and values, one related to
your identity and one related to your perception of the spiritual.

[Note: Mentors can include children, teachers, pets, people you've never met but have read
about, phenomena in nature (such as the ocean, mountains, etc.) and even yourself.]

3. From meta position arrange the mentors around the you in the situation in which you
experience the doubt.

4. Physically associate into (i.e., go to 2nd position with) each of the mentors, one at a time, and
send a message to the you who is in doubt. The message does not need to be verbal. It may
be sent through whatever channel is most appropriate for that mentor.

5. Go to 'meta position' and identify the 'meta message' or presupposition behind the messages
of each of the mentors

6. Find the 'common message' that resonates within the messages from all three mentors.

7. Once again, associate into each mentor (2nd position) and communicate the common
message in the way most appropriate for that mentor.

8. Stand in a position just behind the you who is experiencing the doubt. Experience your
mentors surrounding you communicating their individual messages and then the
common message in a single common voice.

Visualize and feel the message coming in through your ears and flowing through your body
as light.

9. Hearing, seeing and feeling your mentors' and their common message associate back into
the problem experience. Notice how your perception of the situation changes.
Neural Network Analogy

A fascinating analogy with which to think about Jesus' strategy is provided by the most
recent artificial intelligence techniques utilizing what are called "neural networks". Neural
networks are modeled after the functioning of the nervous system. Each element in the network
has its own source of energy and is connected to many other neurons in the system. The energy
within an individual neuron is released by patterns of collective signals coming to it from other
'neurons' in the system to which it is linked. Thus, each neuron is both an individual and a member
of the system as a whole.

Individual neurons respond differently to input from the system based upon the strength of
their connections to other neurons. Neurons strengthen or weaken their connections to other
neurons in response to signals flowing through the system according to a particular learning rule.
Each neuron starts off with equal potential to all of the others and develops its individual
'personality' or 'identity' as a function of the number of other neurons to which it is connected and
the learning rule to which it changes the strength of connections to others. Depending on the
number of connections a neuron has, and the strength of those connections it may respond to only
very narrow local information, or it may respond to information in very distant areas of the network.
 Information in a neural network is stored collectively by the whole network as patterns of
activity in the neurons. The system's knowledge cannot be separated from the circuitry as a whole.
The intelligence of the network is inherent in the system as function of the number and quality of
connections between the elements. Intelligent behavior emerges organically in the network
through learning as the network is exposed to experience. Different patterns of experience change
the strength of connections between 'neurons' in the network.
If we apply the neural network model as an analogy to make sense out Jesus' strategy we
find some interesting parallels. If we envision humanity as a kind of gigantic neural network, "God"
may be considered to represent the 'mind' or intelligence of the network as a whole. The "Word" as
logos is the learning rule through which the strength of responses between neurons are changed
and evolved. "Spirit" is like the patterns of energy that propagate and flow within the system. "Life"
is the potential energy within each individual neuron. The "Heart" represents the core of the neuron
itself. Combined with breath {psyche), it expresses or releases the energy of the individual neuron
in response to the information it is receiving and processing from the other neurons it is connected
to. Heart and breath are what makes the neuron 'fire'. Words as rhema are impulses that emanate
from the neuron, stimulating activities in others. "Light" is like the resonance patterns that form
between the neurons in the network which become the specific embodiments of the intelligence
within the whole network.
In this analogy we may view Jesus as a neuron that is connected to both the vast reaches of
the system as a whole, but also with a rich number of local connections.
V. Conclusion

One of my own personal symbols for what NLP is all is about is represented by Michelangelo's
painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The painting shows Adam lying on the Earth
reaching up toward heaven and the hand of God extending down from the sky. Their fingers are
outstretched toward one another, just ready to touch. To me, the miracle is in that spark in between the
two fingers - the spark that links the spiritual to the sensual. That spark is what NLP and modeling are
all about. This is what I have sought to explore in this monograph - that interaction between the sacred
and the profane; the map and the territory; dream and reality; vision and action.

Gregory Bateson tells a story about Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead, the
co-authors of great mathematical treatise Principia Mathmatica (which first established the notion of
logical levels, in relation to mathematical theory). The two worked together in England, where Russell
was a student of Whitehead, until Whitehead came to the United States to teach at Harvard University.
At one point, Whitehead invited Russell to come to Harvard to give a lecture on a new and intriguing
theory by an unknown but aspiring young scientist named Albert Einstein. The lecture was apparently
not terribly successful. It was a hot, stuffy evening and everybody struggled follow Russell's
explanation of Einstein's theory of relativity. Russell closed to scattered applause and a fair amount of
disquieting silence. Whitehead finally retook the podium, cleared his throat and said, "Well...I would
like to thank my colleague Bertrand Russell for leaving so totally unobscured the vast darkness of the
subject."
Bateson claims that, while some might see the comment as a kind of poke at his former student,
Whitehead's comment was actually quite a compliment. He points out that most text books,
presentations and theories do precisely the opposite - they obscure the vast darkness of the subject.
People act as if they actually know what is going on.
In matters that are sacred and profound, the 'vast darkness of the subject' needs to be
acknowledged, as we try to shine a ray of light into it. I have personally gazed into that vast darkness
in the eyes of my children in the moments after their birth, and in the eyes of my father in the moment
of his death. I hope that this attempt to understand more about
the the mind of Jesus of Nazareth has not obscured that vastness but instead has been able to cast
some small light onto it.
Calling upon three of my own personal mentors - Gregory Bateson, Abraham Lincoln, and Albert
Einstein - I would like to review some of the key points of this monograph.
First and foremost is the fundamental presupposition that "the map is not the territory." No map of
Jesus' life, his cognitive patterns, nor the meaning of his message will ever be the one right map - the
wisest and most ecological maps are those which integrate together the broadest and richest number of
perspectives, time frames and levels. My goal has been to attempt to enrich our modern maps of Jesus,
and thus of ourselves and our world, by applying some of the new filters, models and perspectives that
are part of our current state of human intellectual evolution.
Secondly, and equally as important, is the presupposition that all life and mental processes take
place within an ecology of systems within systems within systems. All of these systems mutually
interact with one another and co-influence one another. In the words of Gregory Bateson:

"The individual mind is immanent, but not only in the body. It is immanent in
pathways and messages outside the body; and there is a larger Mind of which the
individual mind is only a sub-system. This larger Mind is comparable to God and is
perhaps what people mean by 'God,' but it is still immanent in the total
interconnected social system and planetary ecology."

Within this framework, Jesus' abilities as a leader and a healer, and the fulfillment of his spiritual
mission, would have been manifested in the concrete world through his nervous system - a process that
has structure. By applying some of the modeling principles and distinctions of NLP we have made an
approximation of some of the cognitive and neurological structures implied by the reports of Jesus'
words and actions in the Gospels. Jesus' cognitive patterns seem to represent a state of the nervous
system in which principles relating to the "larger Mind" may be somehow accessed - perhaps via a kind
of mechanism similar to an optical hologram - and then embodied within in a specific context through
the activation and mobilization of successive levels of neural circuitry. This process allows one to
perceive and effectively manage multiple levels of experience, time frames and perceptual positions
within a system as one participates in the tasks and relationships that make up one's identity and
mission.
This kind of multi-dimensional process is essential in order to take wise and
ecological actions in a world where 'the map is not the territory", and thus impossible for any one
person to have the one right map. As Abraham Lincoln pointed out:

"In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God.
Both may be, but one must be wrong. God cannot be for and against the same
thing at the same time...it is quite possible that God's purpose is something
different from the purpose of either party..Since man is finite he can never be
absolutely sure that he rightly senses the will of the infinite God."

In the second part of this monograph we explored how NLP tools, skills and methods could be
applied to implement the patterns we had uncovered relating to Jesus' strategy in a pragmatic way in
our daily lives by exploring how we might operationalize his two great commandments. I presented
some ways in which NLP tools such as anchoring, accessing cues, language patterns, spatial sorting,
time frames, logical levels and perceptual positions could be employed to enrich our own personal
maps of ourselves and the people and systems around us to incorporate and align all levels of our
experience.
Rather than imposing rigid rules about which particular kinds of behavior are 'good' or 'bad';
'right' or 'wrong', 'ethical' or 'unethical', Jesus' two great commandments describe a process through
which appropriate actions may be generated and selected within a changing world. No particular
action can be evaluated outside of the context and system within which it is occurring. A behavior that
is appropriate in one situation or context can be inappropriate and even destructive in another. What
seems right on one level can seem wrong on another. What appears to be good in one time frame can
appear bad in another. What seems ethical from one perspective can seem unethical from another. In
the terms of NLP, the question is not whether a particular behavior in and of itself is good, bad, right,
wrong, ethical or unethical but rather whether the outcome of a particular behavior is "aligned"and
"ecological" with respect to all the systems it effects.
The two core presuppositions of NLP lead to the conclusion that all actions spring from the
positive intent of an organism to optimize its state and the state of the system in which it perceives
itself as a member - within the confines of its model of the world. The ecology of an organism's actions
is a result of its ability to perceive and represent the implications of its behavior on the systems within
systems of which it is a part, and on the kinds of choices and alternatives it perceives as being
available to it. Even the most altruistic individual can act selfishly or unecologically if he or she
perceives no other alternative or is unaware of the impact his or her actions are having on the
surrounding
system.
To truly align ourselves toward our highest spiritual purpose with our hearts, souls, minds and
strength we need more than faith; we also need specific skills and tools. With the appropriate kinds of
tools it becomes easier to manifest our own vision and mission and to truly 'love our neighbors as
ourselves'.
Perhaps it has been the evolution of some of these abilities that have brought down the Berlin Wall
and the Iron Curtain. Perhaps it is due to the lack of some of these skills and tools that we still persecute
and harm one another out of fear and anger and fight wars to settle disputes between nations. My hope is
that this study has cast some more light on how we might continue to enrich our maps and our abilities to
understand and manifest the 'larger mind' of which we are a part.
I can personally say that I often drawn upon the processes I have described here, especially
in situations that are difficult or challenging. For instance, I have been in the situation of having to
decide whether or not to remove someone that I dearly loved from the medical life support system
that was sustaining his physical existence. In moments such as these, one cannot look at one's
watch, one's checkbook or one's past accomplishments to make the decision. One must make
one's best attempt to face the
I
vast darkness and peer into it to see whatever light or wisdom may be present in that larger
hologram and, as a finite being, try to understand something of the infinite. According to Albert
Einstein:
1

"A human being is a part of the whole called by us 'universe'...a part limited in time and space. He
experiences his thoughts and feelings as separated from the rest -- a kind of optical delusion of his
consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to
affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to i free ourselves from this prison by widening
our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." ,

Those who have the ears to hear, let them hear.

!
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The Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England,
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The Other Gospels: Non-Canonical Gospel Texts, Ron Cameron (editor), The Westminster Press,
Philadelphia, PA, 1982

Neuro-Linguistic Programming Vol. I, Dilts, R., Grinder, J., Bandler, R., DeLozier, J.; Meta
Publications, Cupertino, California, 1980.

Changing Beliefs With NLP, Dilts, R.; Meta Publications, Cupertino, California, 1990.

Beliefs; Pathways to Health and Well-Being, Dilts, R., Halbom, T. Smith, S.;
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Angels Fear: Towards an Epistemology of the Sacred, Gregory and Mary Catherine Bateson,
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The Structure of Magic Vol. I & II, Grinder, J. and Bandler, R.; Science and Behavior Books, Palo
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California, 1983.

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Maruyama, American Scientist, Vol. 51, pp. 164-178, 1963.

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Appendix A: Overview of NLP
NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming, a name that encompasses the three most influential
components involved in producing human experience: neurology, language and programming. The neurological
system regulates how our bodies function, language determines how we interface and communicate with other
people and our programming determines the kinds of models of the world we create. Neuro-Linguistic
Programming describes the fundamental dynamics between mind (neuro) and language (linguistic) and how
their interplay effects our body and behavior (programming).
NLP was originated by John Grinder (whose background was in linguistics) and Richard Bandler (whose
background was in mathematics and gestalt therapy) for the purpose of making explicit models of human
excellence. Their first work The Structure of Magic Vol. I & I I (1975,1976) identified the verbal and behavioral
patterns of therapists Fritz Perls (the creator of gestalt therapy) and Virginia Satir (internationally renowned
family therapist). Their next work Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H . Erickson, M D . Vol. I
& I I (1975,1976) examined the verbal and behavioral patterns of Milton Erickson, founder of the American
Society of Clinical Hypnosis and one of the most widely acknowledged and clinically successful psychiatrists of
our times. As a result of this earlier work, Grinder and Bandler formalized their modeling techniques and their
own individual contributions under the name "Neuro-Linguistic Programming" to symbolize the relationship
between the brain, language and the body. The basics of this model has been described in a series of books
including Frogs Into Princes (Bandler & Grinder, 1979 ), Neuro-Linguistic Programming Vol. I (Dilts, Grinder,
Bandler, DeLozier, 1980), Reframing (Bandler & Grinder, 1982) and Using Your Brain (Bandler, 1985).

I. Basic Presuppositions of NLP

1. The Map Is Not The Territory.

As human beings, we can never know reality. We can only know our perceptions of reality. We experience
and respond to the world around us primarily through our sensory representational systems. It is our
'neuo-linguistic, maps of reality that determine how we behave and that give those behaviors meaning, not
reality itself. It is generally not external reality that limits us or empowers us, but rather our map of reality.

2. Life And 'Mind' Ar e System ic Processes.

The processes that take place within a human being, and between human beings and their environment, are
systemic. Our bodies, our societies and our universe form an ecology of systems and sub-systems all of which
interact with and mutually influence each other. It is not possible to completely isolate any part of the system
from the rest of the system. Such systems are based upon certain 'self organizing' principles and naturally seek
optimal states of balance or homeostasis.

. The .... Model

"The pursuance of future ends and the choice of means for their attainment are the mark and criterion of
the presence of mentality in a phenomenon" William James - Pri nciples of Psy chology

A mental strategy is typically organized into a basic feedback loop called a T.O.T.E. (Miller, et al, 1960).
The letters . .. E. stand for Test-Operate-Test-Exit. The T.O.T.E. concept maintains that all mental and
behavioral programs revolve around having a fixed goal and a variable means to achieve that goal. This
model indicates that, as we think, we set goals in our mind (consciously or unconsciously) and develop a TEST
for when that goal has been achieved. If that goal is not achieved we OPERATE to change something or do
something to get closer to our goal. When our TEST criteria have been satisfied we then EXIT on to the next
step. So the function of any particular part of a behavioral program could be to (T)est information from the
senses in order to check progress towards the goal or to (O)perate to change some part of the ongoing experience
so that it can satisfy the (T)est and (E)xit on to the next part of the program.
 For example, one TEST for creativity might be that an idea is "unique". If the concept you have come up
with is not unique enough you will OPERATE or go through a procedure to make the idea more unique or to
come up with a better concept. Individuals will have different ways to TEST for something like "uniqueness"
based on personal representational system preferences or proclivities.

III. Levels of Processing and Organization

People often talk about responding to things on different "levels". For instance, someone might say that
some experience was negative on one level but positive on another level. In our brain structure, language, and
perceptual systems there are natural hierarchies or levels of experience. The effect of each level is to organize
and control the information on the level below it. Changing something on an upper level would necessarily
change things on the lower levels; changing something on a lower level could but would not necessarily effect
the upper levels. Anthropologist Gregory Bateson identified four basic levels of learning and change - each level
more abstract than the level below it but each having a greater degree of impact on the individual. These levels
roughly correspond to:
Spiritual Vision & Purpose Who Else?
A . Who I Am - Identity Mission Who?
. My Belief system - Values and Meanings Permission & Motivation Why?
C. My Capabilities - Strategies and States Maps & Plans How?
D. What I Do or have Done - Specific Behaviors Actions & Reactions What?
E. My Environment - External Constraints Constraints & Opportunities Where? When?

The environment level involves the specific external external conditions in which our behavior takes place.
Behaviors without any inner map, plan or strategy to guide them, however, are like knee jerk reactions, habits or
rituals. At the level of capability we are able to select, alter and adapt a class of behaviors to a wider set of
external situations. At the level of beliefs and values we may encourage, inhibit or generalize a particular
strategy, plan or way of thinking. Identity, of course, consolidates whole systems of beliefs and values into a
sense of self. While each level becomes more abstracted from the specifics of behavior and sensory experience, it
actually has more and more widespread effect on our behavior and experience.

* Environmental factors determine the external opportunities or constraints a person has to react to. Answer to
the questions where? and when?

* Behavior is made up of the specific actions or reactions taken within the environment. Answer to the
question what?
 * Capabilities guide and give direction to behavioral actions through a mental map, plan or strategy. Answer
to the question how?

* Beliefs and values provide the reinforcement (motivation and permission) that supports or denies
capabilities. Answer to the question why?

* Identity factors determine overall purpose (mission) and shape beliefs and values through our sense of self.
Answer to the question who?

* Spiritual issues relate to the fact that we are a part of a larger system that reaches beyond ourselves as
individuals to our family, community and global systems. Answer to the question who else?

Each of these processes involves a different level of organization and mobilizes successively deeper
mobilization and commitment of neurological 'circuitry'.

IV. The R.O.L.E. Model

The goal of the R.O.L.E. modeling process is to identify the essential elements of thinking and behavior used
to produce a particular response or outcome. This involves identifying the critical steps of the mental strategy
and the role each step plays in the overall neurological "program". This role is determined by the following four
factors which are indicated by the letters which make up name of the R.O.L.E. Model - Representational
systems; Orientation; Links; Effect.

Representational Systems have to do with which of the five senses are most dominant for the particular
mental step in the strategy: Visual (sight), Auditory (sound), Kinesthetic (feeling), Olfactory (smell), Gustatory
(taste).
Each representational system is designed to perceive certain basic qualities of the experiences it senses.
These include characteristics such as color, brightness, tone, loudness, temperature, pressure, etc. These
qualities are called "sub-modalities" in NLP since they are sub-components of each of the representational
systems.
 Orientation has to do with whether a particular sensory representation is focused (e)xternally toward
the outside world or (i)nternally toward either (r)emembered or (c)onstructed experiences. For instance, when
you are seeing something, is it in the outside world, in memory or in your imagination?

3. Links have to do with how a particular step or sensory representation is linked to the other
representations. For example, is something seen in the external environment linked to internal feelings,
remembered images, words? Is a particular feeling linked to constructed pictures, memorh of sounds or other
feelings?
There are two basic kinds of ways that representations can be linked together: sequentially
simultaneously. Sequential links act as anchors or triggers such that one representation follows another in a
linear chain of events.

Simultaneous links occur as what are called synesthesias. Synesthesia links have to do with the ongoing
overlap between sensory representations. Certain qualities of feelings may be linked to certain qualities of
imagery - for example, visualizing the shape of a sound or hearing a color.
 Certainly, both of these kinds of links are essential to thinking, learning, creativity and the general
organization of our experiences.

4. Effect has to do with the result, effect or purpose of each step in the thought process. For instance, the
function of the step could be to generate or input a sensory representation, to test or evaluate a particular
sensory representation or to operate to change some part of an experience or behavior in relationship to a
sensory representation.

V. Physiological Clues: Making the R.O.L.E. into a B.A.G.E.L.

The R.O.L.E. model elements deal primarily with cognitive processes. In order to function, however,
these mental programs need the help of certain bodily and physiological processes for consolidation and
expression. These physical reactions are important for the teaching or development of certain mental processes
as well as for the external observation and confirmation of them. The primary behavioral elements involved in
R.O.L.E. modeling are:

Body Posture.
Accessing cues
Gestures.
Eye movements.
Language Patterns.

1. B_ody Posture

People often assume systematic, habitual postures when deep in thought. These postures can indicate a
great deal about the representational system the person is using. The following are some typical examples:

a. Visual: Leaning back with head and shoulders up or rounded, shallow breathing.
b. Auditory: Body leaning forward, head cocked, shoulders back, arms folded.
c. Kinesthetic: Head and shoulders down, deep breathing.
 2. Accessing Cues
When people are thinking, they cue or trigger certain types of representations in a number of different ways
including: breathing rate, non-verbal "grunts and groans", facial expressions, snapping their fingers, scratching
their heads, and so on. Some of these are idiosyncratic to the individual and need to be 'calibrated' to the
particular person. Many of these cues, however, are associated to particular sensory processes"

a. Visual: High shallow breathing, squinting eyes, voice higher pitch and faster tempo.
b. Auditory: Diaphragmatic breathing, knitted brow, fluctuating voice tone and tempo.
c. Kinesthetic: Deep abdominal breathing, deep breathy voice in a slower tempo.
3. gestures.
People will often touch, point to or use gestures indicating the the sense organ they are using to think with.
Some typical examples include:

a. Visual: Touching or pointing to the eyes; gestures made above eye level.
b. Auditory: ^ Pointing toward or gesturing near the ears; touching the mouth or jaw.
c. Kinesthetic: Touching the chest and stomach area; gestures made below the neck.

4. Eye movements
Automatic, unconscious eye movements often accompany particular thought processes indicating the
accessing of one of the representational systems. NLP has categorized these cues into the following pattern:

5. Language Patterns
A primary method of Neuro-Linguistic analysis is to search for particular linguistic patterns, such as
'predicates', which indicate a particular neurological representational system or sub-modality, and how that
system or quality is being used in the overall program of thought. Predicates are words, such as verbs, adverbs
and adjectives, which indicate actions or qualities as opposed to things. This type of language is typically
selected at an unconscious level and thus reflects the underlying unconscious structure which produced them.
Below is a list of common sensory based predicates:

VISUAL AUDITORY KINESTHETIC

"see" "hear" "grasp"
"look" "listen" "touch"
"sight" "sound" "feeling"
"clear" "resonant" "solid"
"bright" "bud" "heavy"
"picture" "word" "handle"
"hazy" noisy" "rough"
"brings to light" "rings a bell" "connects"
"show" "tell" "move"