[Neurons] 2012 Meta Reflections #5

[L. Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall

Meta Reflections 2012  #5

January 30, 2012

Empowerment Series #1

 

 

THE NEURO-SEMANTICS OF 

EMPOWERMENT

 

Empowerment - empowering people to recognize and own their own personal
powers and to develop those powers or energies so that they become their
skills and competencies.  This lies at the heart of every model and pattern
in the field of self-development.  Empowerment was a theme that first caught
my attention about NLP.  The early NLP literature presented Neuro-Linguistic
Programming as a model that enables a person learn how to "run your own
brain" and from that then be able to manage your own state.  I liked that.
I needed that.  So I entered into the field to explore what NLP could offer
on the subject of personal empowerment.

 

Empowerment also led me to study William Glasser's Control Theory, Frankl's
Logotherapy, Ellis and Beck's Cognitive Psychology, and many others.  I
wasn't looking to have power over others, I just wanted to have power over
myself and power with others.  Then in the process of learning and
developing self-power (self-efficacy or trust in self to handle things in
the future) I discovered that this is the very structure of proactivity,
responsibility, accountability, taking initiative, and feeling in control of
your own life.

 

Later, when I discovered "the secret history of NLP" (e.g., the first Human
Potential Movement, HPM), I discovered that NLP's "running your own brain"
was just one small facet of actualizing your highest and best by identifying
and unleashing your potentials (self-actualization).  In Maslow's work I
also discovered an emphasis on a fundamental facet of empowerment-that of
one's biological, mental-emotional energy that we experience as vitality.
And that led to the Self-Actualization Workshop on "Unleashing Vitality."

 

So within empowerment are numerous concepts and experiences that are
fundamental to being able to live with yourself and others and enjoy your
life as you seek to become your best self:

Energy, power, responsiveness, response-power (responsibility), initiative,
proactivity, control, feeling in-control of oneself, power with others
(empowering others via coaching, managing, leading), accountability, etc.

 

Therefore with Neurons post, I am beginning a new series on Empowerment
which will cover these subjects.  Additional articles will appear depending
on your questions and responses. 

Your biological energy or vitality in living.

Your four fundamental powers.

The structure of response-power - responsibility.   

The myths and truths about "energy."

How to take control in your life and feel in-control.

 

Your Foundational Power - Your Metabolic Energy

When it comes to your personal power -your power to respond, to feel, to
think, to speak, to act, to relate - all of these powers depends upon your
biological energy.  All you have to do is catch a cold or get the flu to
feel your "power" drain out of you, your experience.  Suddenly the achy
feeling in your body, the stuff-up feeling in your head, the sore throat,
the congestion in your lungs makes everything feel like a burden.  Suddenly,
you have no vitality, no energy for doing anything!  We all know that.  But
why is it that way?

 

It's because our life vitality is a function of the health and well-being of
our body and that arises as a function of our metabolism.  This is the
neuro- part of Neuro-Linguistics and Neuro-Semantics.  That is, it is
dependent upon how well our body brings food and oxygen in and processes it
and thereby giving you the energy to think, feel, speak, and act.  When your
life-energy is down through an illness like the flu or due to lack of the
basic survival needs (food, sleep, etc.) we feel weak.   Then it becomes
harder to think, to feel up or positive about life's challenges, to speak
and to act.

 

Your fundamental powers and energies, and mine, then are obviously functions
of our most basic survival skills and habits.  It's a function of your
eating and exercising habits, your life habits of drinking, sleeping,
stretching (taking care of your health and fitness).  These are foundational
for your life vitality-energy.  If you are not meeting your basic lower
needs of survival, safety, social, and self needs- your energy levels will
be compromised.

 

For each of these there is a level of understanding that's required.  If you
are "burning the candle on both ends" pushing your sleeping hours til late
in the night and getting up early so that you are not getting sufficient
sleep (which sleep researchers say is between 7 and 9 hours), sleep
deficiency will undermine your energy and the quality of your responses.
The same goes for skeleton strength exercise, for cardio-vascular exercise,
for stretching, for eating moderately, etc.

 

A lot of "depression" falls back to these things.  Why do people feel
fatigued, tired, bored, easily frustrated, anxious, easily angered,
stressed, etc.?  Often it is because people are not taking care of their
physical energy by effectively meeting their biological needs.  Minimally
this is the place to begin- check the foundation of the person's energy.
Biological needs adequately met releases a person's natural vitality.  Here
it is a matter first of knowing what the true gratifiers are, second of
providing them, and third, of giving them the appropriate meanings.

 

With animals only the first two steps are needed.  Not so with us humans.
As a semantic class of life, we also need the third step.   That's because
above and beyond taking care of your biology and metabolism and all of the
environmental factors that enhances or dimensions your energy are your
mental-emotional states.  You can worry yourself into unhealth, stress
yourself, overwhelm yourself, you can waste energy in states of anxiety,
jealousy, envy, hatred, fear, fearfulness, anger, bitterness, resentment,
skepticism, pessimism, and so on.  Such states operate as energy-holes in
your vitality.  Conversely, there are other mental-emotional states that
will amplify your vitality.  It's all connected, mind-body-emotion.  It's a
system, a neuro-semantic system.  More about this later. 

 

 

 

 

L.  Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Neuro-Semantics Executive Director  ----   <http://www.neurosemantics.com/>
www.neurosemantics.com

P.O. Box 8

Clifton, CO.  81520 USA                              

1 970-523-7877                                               

     

What is Neuro-Semantic NLP?   Get your free subscription to "Neurons" ---
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occur  on Tuesdays and Meta-Coach Reflections on  Wednesdays.   Contact Dr.
Hall at  meta at acsol.net  

 

For world-class Coach Training --- see Meta-Coaching System at
<http://www.meta-coaching.org/> www.meta-coaching.org and at
www.metacoachfoundation.org  

 

Neuro-Semantics launched the New Human Potential Movement in 2007, for
information about the Self-Actualization workshops, go to
<http://www.self-actualizing.org/> www.self-actualizing.org

 

 

 

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