An Old Guy Pushes NLP Part 3: 'Mental Inventory and Submodalities'

This is the third article in a series that introduces books while touching upon the significance of spiritual seekers learning and utilizing NLP.

In the first article, I introduced Richard Bandler, one of the founders of NLP, and his book 'Neuro-Linguistic Programming'.

In the second, or previous, article, along with an introduction to another book by Richard Bandler, 'Get the Life You Want', I explained why using NLP can raise one's level of consciousness using the concepts of Samskara and Vasana.

The principle that if you can remove the problems within your mind—that is, the causes that prevent you from functioning well in various senses—your level of consciousness will rise accordingly, is not something that applies only to NLP.

The purpose of spiritual knowledge (Jnana), Yoga, and meditation is said to be "enlightenment" or "awakening," but as I have mentioned in various ways, understanding it in this way itself makes enlightenment or awakening difficult to achieve. Nevertheless, in these practices as well, various mental problems are resolved in the process of accumulating them. However, that is a result, and it is not a direct approach to specific problems. And generally speaking, it takes a relatively long time to raise the level of consciousness through these practices.

On the other hand, the scale of consciousness revealed by Dr. Hawkins shows that the path to awakening or enlightenment is something that anyone can reach by progressing step by step from the point (state) where they are now. At the same time, it is clear that not only is it not the case that there is no meaning in the search if one does not reach awakening or enlightenment, but for anyone at any stage, there is great significance in raising their level of consciousness even a little from there as well. The great significance means that the person can live more happily, they can make the people around them happy, and it also leads to the happiness of all humanity.

If you first understand that you can grow step by step in this way and that there is definite meaning in doing so, I think it will be easier to understand how NLP relates to spiritual seeking. Without the concept of the level of consciousness, it becomes a question of 'Can you reach enlightenment with NLP?', and in that case, the only way to answer is 'Well, not exactly'.

When you learn the concept of the level of consciousness, various things that you previously overlooked as having nothing to do with spiritual seeking turn out to be meaningful for the growth of consciousness, and it becomes possible to actually incorporate them into the process of seeking. That is what I am talking about.

So the next thing you might be wondering is, 'Then how can I raise my level of consciousness?'. Everything I write could be called my answer to that, but if I were to list the main points, they would be as follows.

1. Learning the scale of consciousness and understanding it more deeply
2. Coming into contact with things (people, objects, events) that measure at a high level of consciousness
3. Removing problems that suppress the level of consciousness

I have already mentioned each of these here and there, so I will not delve deeply into them here, but what this NLP magazine deals with is 3, 'Removing problems that suppress the level of consciousness'. This problem that suppresses the level of consciousness is the "Vasana (mental tendencies)" that we dealt with in the previous article, isn't it?

In the previous article, I conveyed that NLP can rewrite these Vasanas. This time, I would like to talk about 'Why can NLP rewrite Vasanas?'.

Book Introduction: 'Get the Life You Want: The Secrets to NLP from Its Creator'

First, let me introduce the book. Since the following discussion is based on the assumption that you will read this book, please be sure to buy and read it.

The previous book, 'Get the Life You Want', was written by a student of Bandler, and its content was about a protagonist, a fictional character, who participates in Bandler's three-day seminar at the recommendation of his sister. By reading this book, you can learn what kind of person Bandler is, what kind of things he talks about, and what kind of changes those talks bring to the protagonist and other characters by sharing the protagonist's experience.

The book 'Neuro-Linguistic Programming' introduced in the first article was written by Bandler himself. This book talks about what NLP is, why he came up with it, and what happens when you use it, but more than that, I think it conveys the uniqueness and extraordinary nature of Bandler's way of thinking.

Those who have read each of them should feel this way about these two books.

'I understand that Richard Bandler is somehow intense. And it also conveyed that NLP is apparently something amazing. However, I don't feel like I understand NLP at all just by reading this.'

That is absolutely correct. This is because, although these two books contain practical examples of NLP, they do not contain any systematic explanation of what NLP is specifically. And of course, there are many other proper textbook-style books on NLP. There are various ones ranging from introductory to advanced content, so in that sense, these two books are not even introductory books on NLP, but at most books where you can get a taste of the atmosphere of NLP.

However, I think that this atmosphere is actually very important. Without grasping this atmosphere well, you can learn NLP, but it won't be useful. But if you don't start from this atmosphere, the threshold for NLP will feel very high, and I don't think you will be able to learn it completely.

I view NLP as a method for self-care, but many of the NLP books out there are explanatory books for therapy methods. In other words, they are books written for people who want to learn NLP to treat others. Of course, not all of them are like that, and since I learned NLP intensively 20 years ago, I think there are many more books available now, but as long as NLP is a method of clinical psychology, it is natural for explanatory books to have that tone. Also, another trend in NLP books is those that explain 'methodologies for utilizing NLP in business settings,' and this includes those related to coaching.

Even if you call them spiritual seekers, many of those people are likely working in the real world, that is, business people, so those business-oriented NLP books are actually recommended as well. And if you are someone who can read my articles smoothly, you will probably be able to read the NLP textbooks for therapists mentioned earlier, and I plan to cover some of those books in this magazine eventually.

On the other hand, it seems there are some NLP books with simpler content for the general public, but I cannot recommend them because I haven't read any of them myself. Also, although it's not my place to say since I haven't read them, simplifying stories that contain advanced content for the general public is impossible without spoiling something important.

However, when it comes to NLP, if it is something written by Richard Bandler, it is a different story. Rather, if there is a book that serves as an entrance to NLP prepared by Bandler himself, the most important essence should be written there. And yes, that is 'Using Your Brain for a Change'.

For that reason, I first recommended 'Using Your Brain for a Change' to everyone. Even if you learn more deeply about NLP from now on, it is good to reread this book from time to time. I am sure you will have new realizations every time you reread it.

Now, the book I am introducing this time, 'Get the Life You Want' (and so on), is a book suitable for those who have read 'Using Your Brain for a Change' to read next. The content introduces concepts that can be called the basics of the basics of NLP, namely 'Submodalities' and 'Mental Inventory', and you will learn techniques to utilize these through exercises. Even though it is the basics of the basics, it is very important for that very reason, and for the purpose of resolving problems that suppress your level of consciousness, it can be said that making the content of this book your own is almost sufficient.

However, an increase in the level of consciousness means that the person will contribute more to the world (the consciousness of all humanity). There are various ways to contribute, but no matter the way, contribution here specifically refers to something that entails the result of 'raising the level of consciousness of others'.

To put it simply, if your level of consciousness becomes higher than it is now, the number of others whose level of consciousness can be raised by your existence will increase, and the extent to which they can be raised will also increase. Such people may not be reading this article, but if your level of consciousness were less than 200, you would not have the power to raise the level of consciousness of others right now, but if your level of consciousness exceeds 200 in the future, there is a possibility that someone else will exceed 200 because of your existence.

For example, suppose you have mastered NLP and were able to make a great leap in your level of consciousness. When your level of consciousness leaps, simply put, your suffering decreases and you become happier accordingly. Then you might want to teach the NLP that made you happy to other people. If someone who has been watching your change, where you suddenly seem happy, hears that you were able to become happy through NLP, that person will surely become interested in NLP as well. If as a result that person was also able to become happy with NLP, it means that the energy (power) coming from your level of consciousness raised that person's level of consciousness. Although the realm of the level of consciousness is different, this is exactly the same in principle as an awakened master conveying spiritual teachings to people.

Therefore, even after reading this book, I hope that you will continue to learn NLP and become able to convey the wonder of NLP to others or help solve other people's problems, and I will continue to write articles for that purpose. However, as I repeat, I want to state clearly that the content of this book alone is sufficient to solve personal problems.

All that's left is for you to actually get the book and read it, is what I would like to say, but finally, I will briefly touch on submodalities and inventory.

Why can NLP rewrite vasanas?

Submodalities are the fine elements that make up the information (= memories, impressions, feelings) of what we have experienced through our five senses. Details are written in the book, but for example, in terms of vision, whether a scene in a memory is vivid or blurry, color or monochrome, whether that scene is large or small in your head, or where that scene is located in your head, or whether you can see yourself in that scene or only the scene is visible, these are submodalities. You can extract submodalities not only for vision but also for hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

Inventory (mental inventory) means a 'list'. This is something where you extract many submodalities related to various experiences in your head and organize them. By creating an inventory, it becomes clear what kind of submodalities constitute 'good experiences,' 'fun experiences,' and 'experiences where you felt motivated' for that person, or conversely, what kind of submodalities 'unpleasant experiences,' 'experiences you are not good at,' and 'scary experiences' have.

By utilizing this inventory, you can transform the submodalities of negative experiences (not only past experiences but also experiences you are about to have) by referring to the submodalities of other positive experiences. The techniques that appeared in the two books introduced so far used a general (universal, common) inventory, but in this book, you will first create your own custom inventory. While a general inventory has been confirmed to be effective for many people through clinical accumulation, it does not fit everyone, and there are many cases where it does not fit.

However, since your own inventory is exactly how you use your own head, once you create it, you will be able to deal with any problem in your own way from then on. This book introduces many exercises for readers to become able to deal with things in that way, so please be sure to do them exactly as described. All of them are important and all of them are effective, but personally, I thought the part about stopping 'procrastination' from P.252 was particularly significant for spiritual seekers.

This is because procrastinating on things, or even before that, thinking that things are troublesome, is something I think everyone does, but this habit is one of the factors that makes 'surrender' in spiritual seeking difficult. The fundamental cause hindering surrender is 'pride (arrogance),' but I have written about that in detail elsewhere. What I want to point out here is that when you are faced with a situation where you have to do something, there is no question of whether to do it or not.

For example, things like renewing your driver's license or filing a tax return are basically things you 'have to do.' Things you have to do should be done as quickly as possible. If you don't do that and put them off, stress will only accumulate in your heart, and there are even times when you leave it until the last minute and when you decide to do it, a more urgent matter arises, and you end up in a bind.

While such examples are easy to understand, it is difficult to notice that there are many other 'things that must be done' happening in life every day. In human relationships, 'things that must be said' tend to be postponed forever. For the sake of health, 'let's eat this first' tends to take priority over 'things that must be done'.

In short, 'procrastination' comes from the ego's greatest flaw, which is the nature of 'being unable to distinguish the truth of things'. It is not a judgment of right or wrong, but a distinction of whether something is true or not (of course, the ego cannot judge right or wrong either). Pride is the same; it is born from the inability to distinguish whether the thoughts one believes to be correct are true or false.

'Things that must be done' are necessary for survival and for the evolution of consciousness. The ego puts a stop to this by giving various reasons, but that is nothing more than putting a stop to the evolution of one's own consciousness. Conversely, if you treat 'things that must be done' as inevitable and complete them efficiently, more 'things that must be done' will come your way one after another. If you consider these 'things that must be done' as karma in the form of divine will, then not procrastinating is surrender. Since the ego cannot distinguish the truth, entrusting judgment to God is surrender. In other words, not procrastinating in fulfilling 'things that must be done (=karma to be purified)' is surrender.

Now, I have digressed quite a bit, so let's get back to the topic.

By understanding submodalities and creating an inventory, you will come to understand the patterns of how your mind works. And by utilizing those patterns, you will be able to rewrite various mental habits and emotions tied to memories.

This means that the mind can be changed.

If you identify the mind as yourself—that is, if you think the mind is who you are—then someone who has been able to completely change their mind through NLP could be said to have 'become a different person.' In fact, I think many people have felt that way.

However, the fact that the mind can be changed means that the mind is your possession and nothing more than a tool. NLP submodalities and inventories are, so to speak, samskaras and vasanas viewed from a different angle, and the patterns of submodalities that appear as an inventory can be considered a reflection of samskaras. These patterns give rise to individual algorithms (=vasanas) in the workings of a person's mind, but by using the inventory patterns to your advantage, these vasanas can be rewritten.

By repeating this process, the inventory patterns themselves will eventually flatten out, which suggests that the person's consciousness is transcending duality. In other words, it means that samskaras are disappearing, which is to say karma is being purified.

That is all for this time. Thank you for reading until the end. See you in the next article! 😉✨️✨️