Bigger than Brainstorming
April 22nd 2012 03:30
You will know by now, if you’ve read a few of these posts, and a huge thank you to the wonderful people who do read them, that I don’t pontificate. You’ve probably worked out that my aim is to offer practical tools and ideas that you can use to affect change in your own life as is best for you. The same tools that I use personally and professionally in my work as an NLP coach.
And hey, sometimes, these changes we cause in our lives will have a ripple effect outwardly. As when you and I grow, so do the people around us. It’s called Quantum, or collective unconscious, depending on which school of philosophy / science combination you favour.
This morning, I have been doing an interesting exploration of myself and my needs and desires in relationships. This has come from a question put to me last night by the man in my life.
What exactly do you want in a relationship?
I immediately knew that question had brought me directly to an inner boundary condition in my map of my world. You know that feeling when you say to yourself: Heck, I don’t know? Looking at my past history of 2 marriages / divorces and now in a long term cohabitation relationship, a third marriage basically without the licence and paperwork, this was definitely a timely question that I had to address. I let my unconscious and conscious mind sleep on it.
As Carl Jung said: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
This morning, I also knew what I had to do to get clarity in my mind and begin to take vital steps in my life around the feedback I received from my previous marital history. However, I am working from this quote that I found on the Internet, anonymously written, and have pinned to my wall in my office.
“Don’t look back. You’re not going that way.”
I am focussing on moving forward, knowing that what I do here and now will affect what happens in my future. I decided to do my self-exploration using a Neuro-Linguistic Programming technique called The Hierarchy of Ideas. It is a way of thinking, directing your thoughts actually, that encourages greater flexibility in how ideas and answers come to you when you have a question in your mind. It is also useful in a whole bunch of other situations and scenarios. The more you play with it, the more opportunities for using it will appear.
The Hierarchy of Ideas is based on the premise that every idea exists somewhere on a broader hierarchy of ideas. At one end you have ideas that are very vague and abstract in nature. While at the other end you have ideas that are incredibly specific and exact. And there are absolutely no limits as to how you can explore the original idea / thought. In some ways it like an amazing brain storming session but on a much deeper level, and as I said, you can direct your thoughts, or you can free form and see what comes up. I did a combination of both and got personal validations and terrific life changing insights about myself.
For practice, let’s do a Hierarchy of Ideas on fish.
You chunk UP to get right into abstract and big picture.
You chunk ACROSS to get other examples.
You chunk DOWN to get to the specific, the details of how and what.
Environment
Survival
Food
FISH—salmon—herring—haddock-- prawns--mackerel
Sea—wild—waves—stormy--exciti ng
Fishermen—tough--hardy
Boats--
Fishing—nets—nylon
You can use this technique on anything. There is a lot more you could expand on fish I am sure.
How do you do the Hierarchy of Ideas?
First get yourself a big piece of paper, maybe a piece of butchers paper, definitely bigger than A3. Why not glue four sheets together? You are going to think BIG and BROAD and EXPAND your consciousness.
This is fun and energising.
Get a bold pen, black or blue. Avoid flimsy pastels or red.
Divide your paper into two sections across the middle, and on the left hand margin, write your question.
Eg What exactly do I need / want in a relationship?
Use the first person pronoun, I, throughout because this is about you.
Remember that if you don’t know what you need, then you sure as heck won’t get what you want.
And if you can’t tell someone else what you need and want, then they won’t know how to give it to you.
And, if you don’t encourage the person you love to do the same, then can you really read their minds and do it for them?
So you have a big blank piece of paper. Gee, lets get started!
First, ask yourself that big important question and write down on the sheet what immediately comes to mind.
Then continue to chunk ACROSS the middle of the page by asking What else…what else? until you have about 7 – 10 points/ideas straight across your page.
Second, take each one separately and chunk UP. Ask the following questions.
For what purpose do I need ..?
What is my intention for..?
One of them might work best for you. Alternating might suit you better. Aim for at least three ups.
Third, take each one separately and chunk down by asking these questions.
What specifically is..?
What is this an example of?
Go for broke with the downs.
What might you expect to happen?
You might hit a few boundaries of your own map. I strongly recommend you push through and keep asking yourself the questions. You want to explore and expand your map.
You might find it is easier to chunk up or easier to chunk down. So you’ll begin to understand if you tend to be a big picture person, finds abstract ideas easier. Or you may note that you are a detail person, and can quickly get into the nitty gritty of what to do... (We all need to be both)
You may find repetition. This is okay, good in fact.
(For example, the ideas of love, trust and togetherness came up in a few columns for me.)
You will begin to see connections and links. You will get some 'ah ha' moments. Well Done You!
As I began to see connections, I began to draw arrows and lines and patterns emerged. Some not so pretty but I kept on going. Solutions and options began to pop up from the down chunks.
My man came along and began to read it too. He decided to do his own. This is a work in progress he tells me and I love that. We are scraping beneath the surface of what has been happening in our individual thinking which has reverberated out onto our relationship. We will soon do another Hierarchy of Ideas on our relationship together and I can’t wait.
What do you think you can do with this technique? Can you use it in other areas of your life? Can you use it in your workplace? Can you use it during negotiations or meetings or mediations?
“If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. Primary reality is within; secondary reality without.”
Eckhart Tolle
I wish you well on your journey.
And hey, sometimes, these changes we cause in our lives will have a ripple effect outwardly. As when you and I grow, so do the people around us. It’s called Quantum, or collective unconscious, depending on which school of philosophy / science combination you favour.
This morning, I have been doing an interesting exploration of myself and my needs and desires in relationships. This has come from a question put to me last night by the man in my life.
What exactly do you want in a relationship?
I immediately knew that question had brought me directly to an inner boundary condition in my map of my world. You know that feeling when you say to yourself: Heck, I don’t know? Looking at my past history of 2 marriages / divorces and now in a long term cohabitation relationship, a third marriage basically without the licence and paperwork, this was definitely a timely question that I had to address. I let my unconscious and conscious mind sleep on it.
As Carl Jung said: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
This morning, I also knew what I had to do to get clarity in my mind and begin to take vital steps in my life around the feedback I received from my previous marital history. However, I am working from this quote that I found on the Internet, anonymously written, and have pinned to my wall in my office.
“Don’t look back. You’re not going that way.”
I am focussing on moving forward, knowing that what I do here and now will affect what happens in my future. I decided to do my self-exploration using a Neuro-Linguistic Programming technique called The Hierarchy of Ideas. It is a way of thinking, directing your thoughts actually, that encourages greater flexibility in how ideas and answers come to you when you have a question in your mind. It is also useful in a whole bunch of other situations and scenarios. The more you play with it, the more opportunities for using it will appear.
The Hierarchy of Ideas is based on the premise that every idea exists somewhere on a broader hierarchy of ideas. At one end you have ideas that are very vague and abstract in nature. While at the other end you have ideas that are incredibly specific and exact. And there are absolutely no limits as to how you can explore the original idea / thought. In some ways it like an amazing brain storming session but on a much deeper level, and as I said, you can direct your thoughts, or you can free form and see what comes up. I did a combination of both and got personal validations and terrific life changing insights about myself.
For practice, let’s do a Hierarchy of Ideas on fish.
You chunk UP to get right into abstract and big picture.
You chunk ACROSS to get other examples.
You chunk DOWN to get to the specific, the details of how and what.
Environment
Survival
Food
FISH—salmon—herring—haddock-- prawns--mackerel
Sea—wild—waves—stormy--exciti ng
Fishermen—tough--hardy
Boats--
Fishing—nets—nylon
You can use this technique on anything. There is a lot more you could expand on fish I am sure.
How do you do the Hierarchy of Ideas?
First get yourself a big piece of paper, maybe a piece of butchers paper, definitely bigger than A3. Why not glue four sheets together? You are going to think BIG and BROAD and EXPAND your consciousness.
This is fun and energising.
Get a bold pen, black or blue. Avoid flimsy pastels or red.
Divide your paper into two sections across the middle, and on the left hand margin, write your question.
Eg What exactly do I need / want in a relationship?
Use the first person pronoun, I, throughout because this is about you.
Remember that if you don’t know what you need, then you sure as heck won’t get what you want.
And if you can’t tell someone else what you need and want, then they won’t know how to give it to you.
And, if you don’t encourage the person you love to do the same, then can you really read their minds and do it for them?
So you have a big blank piece of paper. Gee, lets get started!
First, ask yourself that big important question and write down on the sheet what immediately comes to mind.
Then continue to chunk ACROSS the middle of the page by asking What else…what else? until you have about 7 – 10 points/ideas straight across your page.
Second, take each one separately and chunk UP. Ask the following questions.
For what purpose do I need ..?
What is my intention for..?
One of them might work best for you. Alternating might suit you better. Aim for at least three ups.
Third, take each one separately and chunk down by asking these questions.
What specifically is..?
What is this an example of?
Go for broke with the downs.
What might you expect to happen?
You might hit a few boundaries of your own map. I strongly recommend you push through and keep asking yourself the questions. You want to explore and expand your map.
You might find it is easier to chunk up or easier to chunk down. So you’ll begin to understand if you tend to be a big picture person, finds abstract ideas easier. Or you may note that you are a detail person, and can quickly get into the nitty gritty of what to do... (We all need to be both)
You may find repetition. This is okay, good in fact.
(For example, the ideas of love, trust and togetherness came up in a few columns for me.)
You will begin to see connections and links. You will get some 'ah ha' moments. Well Done You!
As I began to see connections, I began to draw arrows and lines and patterns emerged. Some not so pretty but I kept on going. Solutions and options began to pop up from the down chunks.
My man came along and began to read it too. He decided to do his own. This is a work in progress he tells me and I love that. We are scraping beneath the surface of what has been happening in our individual thinking which has reverberated out onto our relationship. We will soon do another Hierarchy of Ideas on our relationship together and I can’t wait.
What do you think you can do with this technique? Can you use it in other areas of your life? Can you use it in your workplace? Can you use it during negotiations or meetings or mediations?
“If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. Primary reality is within; secondary reality without.”
Eckhart Tolle
I wish you well on your journey.
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Comments (1)
Comment by Jordi
on Have we lived before? I believe it without a doubt.
Jordi
Poetry from Jordi
Glad to see you are writing and questioning.
Have you ever heard of folks who meet a new baby and recognise them as 'an old soul'? I haven't had that experience as yet in my life but I know people who have. If people can recognise an old soul, could they similarly know a new soul?
I actually agree with your last comment. You don't need to believe anybody else. We all learn best from our own experience.
I have done a lot of reading and studying of a number of religions and spiritual beliefs, which were all very interesting in seeing how humanity searches to find reasons for existence.
The best thing for me was doing what are called spiritual exercises. These can be done personally, without anyone else being there or knowing what you are doing. I used Om as a chant many years ago, which is a Buddhist spiritual exercise, and that helped me through labour in childbirth. But a better one for me is HU, just like the word hue. I have been using that word a lot longer. It is an ancient word and is considered to be a love song to God.
I used to sing it in the shower as at first it sounded daft but the echo gave it a pleasant feel. As time progressed, I found this word has special qualities that uplifted and supported me. I sing it under my breath if I am in public, in the car, before I go to sleep, if I am stressed, if I am happy. HU is now a habit of my lifetime.
If you want to try it out maybe for a week or 2, I would be very interested in hearing what experience you may get from it.