Author: nlpnow

Categories
Thoughts Travels

I thought my boat had come in


Deserted back streets of Bologna, Italy.

Yesterday was the Italian festival of Ferragosto or Assumption Day, and as I wondered the streets of Bologna, visiting churches, admiring the buildings, the back streets, I reflected on this festival, of how friends were getting together, in their homes, the beaches, the mountains, any where other than the hot streets of Bologna, and how I was alone with my own thoughts.
 

Interior of Convento Padri Agostiniani, Bologna, Italy

I also noticed other people walking by themselves, and wondered why they were alone, what was going through their mind, and decided just to smile at people as they passed.

I was happy as I got a reaction, they smiled back.

I walked on, and what little Italian I know, I decided to use.

I gave a smile and said “Buongiorno” (good morning), and that also created a reaction, a reply of “Buongiorno“.

Perhaps I was raising the spirits of the others like me, walking the streets alone.

But that was as much as I conversed in italian, until I got to a gelateria, an ice cream parlour, seen on nearly every Italian street corner.

I love my gelato, my Italian ice cream. (see the articles on Jack Frost, Milano), and in the 35 degree heat, I decided on buying a cup.

Walking slowly down some of the 42 km of arched walkways, I savoured every spoonful, my mind concentrating on not missing one mouthful of the gelato, when two very beautiful young ladies overtook me, then stopped and turned back towards me, speaking in Italian.


Via Zamboni arches, Bologna, Italy

My heart jumped, two wonderful young Italian ladies, by boat had arrived.

Then my heart hit my shoes, I did not understand a word. My attempts at talking Italian gave a bewildered look on their faces, “Non parle italiano, sono inglese“, (I don’t speak Italian, I am English).

With a shrug of their shoulders, they turned, and walked away, leaving me alone again, but happy with my gelato and my own thoughts.

Categories
Culture

Ferragosto, A National Holiday in Italy

Today, August 15th, as in every year in Italy is a holiday or festival, called Ferragosto. It is the day when Roman Catholics believe the Virgin Mary is supposed to have ascended to heaven

Ferragosto or Assumption Day, is a national holiday, and most businesses are closed including shops and restaurants.

It is said that major cities like Milan and Rome empty, as people leave for the beaches and mountains. Here in Bologna, the locals head for the hills and mountains, to meet with friends, to talk have fun and have barbecues.

I was informed that in pre Christ days the Romans’ honored the gods on this day, August 15, with a celebration they called Feriae Augusti. So like many Christian holidays, traditional holidays have been incorporated into religious beliefs and holidays.

It is not the only day it seems Italians stay away from work in August, as the whole country seems to close down for the month of August.

I will have a wonder around the city after the mid day heat and see if there any celebrations I can witness, Else I will stay indoors catching-up on sleep.

Categories
Thoughts

I am continually learning

This last week has been full, my brain needs a rest.

Here in Bologna in Italy, like all people, I have been learning new things, about myself, others, cultures, history, language, many many things, and it has sometimes been very hard and frustrating.

As I walk into a building, I notice a new picture, a new design, a new word on a notice board in a language I struggle with, because I only speak the English language. Yet that word has entered my brain, every new experience, sight, sound, smell, taste or touch has become part of me and will stay with me. I learn new things every second of the day, I am continually learning.

But why is it that some things are easier to learn than others?

I have a curiosity in most things, I want to know how things work, what makes people and things tick.

I am motivated to learn, and I have desire.

Yet some things are easier to absorb and remember than others, even using the same learning strategies.

Why is it that I can learn how to deal with electronical devices?

How is it that I can work out how a mechanical device works, and repair it?

Why is it that I can hear a word or a phrase in a foreign language, repeat it back, but then it disappears from my mind?

My whole week has been a roller coaster of ups and downs, as I master and learn and think I understand, the next minute I realise it has gone, what I had understood now confuses me.

Or has it?

But that is the learning process for me and many more of us.

There are many types of races, especially horse races. Some races are on the flat, and some have hurdles or fences. Some of the race tracks are very flat, some have hills to climb up and to go down. Some race tracks have curves and corners, whilst others are a straight line from the start to the finish.


Some horses prefer flat racing, some horses are better over fences. Some horses prefer left handed curved courses, others right handed, and still others cannot handle curves. Some horses have to wear blinkers because they become distracted by passing scenery.

No one horse is the same as another, they have preferences. It is up to the trainer and rider to see the potential, and to bring-out the winning streak, to improve and strengthen the weaknesses.

As we learn, it can be like being on a race track.
 
There could be many hurdles along the way which will slow the learning process, as long as we overcome the hurdles we will learn. There may be many distractions, many times we may not know what is around the corner. As long as we run the race to its’ conclusion we will overcome the frustration.

There can only be one winner in a horse race, as some horses are quicker and better than others and are in the right race for them, but as long as we finish the race we can all be winners of our own race, and at least we have taken part, and become part of the group.

Categories
Travels

A visitor on the 26th floor Villa Angsana, KL

It was late afternoon sitting in the 26th floor Villa Angsana apartment in Kuala Lumpur, when it appeared to be a large piece of paper float past me in the strong breeze coming through the open French windows.

It soon became apparent that it was not a piece of paper but a moth, and a large one at that.

I had a mixture of shock, fear and amazement at the size a beauty of this moth.

It rested a while, then flew of again.


Lyssa zampa, a moth from Malaysia

Lyssa zampa (Butler, 1869), from in the family Uraniidae (subfamily Uraniinae). It’s colour can vary gray to brown depending on the light. It is one of the largest moths in the Malaysian Peninsular, the largest being the Atlas Moth. The wingspan can be 100-160 mm., and flies from June to August depending on the location. Commonly found in primary forests or secondary growth.

Categories
Thoughts

Don’t Judge a Book by its’ Cover

As a PhotoReader, PhotoReading Trainer and now an avid book reader, I am almost pulled into a bookshop as much as I am into an electronics or gadget shop, they all have a mysterious power over me.

I search the bookshelves for books on subjects near to my heart, on subjects I may be researching, on authors I have read before and enjoyed.

But, how many times have I been caught out by seeing a book, buy it, take it home and start reading it, and find it all too familiar? It is as if I have read the subject before, it all makes sense.

I look on my bookshelves for books by the same author, but I cannot see the book I have just purchased and finding so familiar.

Then I spot one, take it off the shelf. The covers are different, but the title is the same.

I compare my new book to the old, and they are both the same inside. The author or the publisher have just changed the cover. Maybe the author has added a few new words, a new section, but the book and contents are the same. 

I have found in the past few months that as I was loosing weight, it would be best to take some dietary supplements, especially vitamin C due the all the travelling I make, and found a product called Berocca which I feel has had some beneficial effects upon me.

My brother-in-law, nearing the end of his life and as of yesterday in hospital with spreading cancer, has not been eating, fruits, meats, anything for weeks, and thus his body is lacking the nutrients it needs to exist, he has now mouth ulcers, his lips are dry, cracking and bleeding, his gums are in a bad way, a sure sign of scurvy, the lack of vitamin C. I remember my tablets, and we get him to start drinking the effervescent drink, and his condition seems to improve, even with the small amount he takes.

I search the shops here in Malaysia for the same product, as in this global society and market we live in today, it will be sold here as well as the UK, and eventually find it. The packaging has the same colours and artwork, but the box is a different shape, so I am drawn to compare the ingredients, the composition of the product itself, and guess what, they are different. The UK Berocca product has more ingredients, and the quantities of ingredients that each product share are different, yet the tablet looks the same.

This tablet is not the only product that I have eagerly purchased because I am familiar with them, used to, aware of in my home country of the UK, yet when I buy it in Turkey, Italy, China, Peru, they are different.

Cadbury’s chocolate seems to be totally different here in Malaysia then in the UK, due I am told to the hot climate, as the UK product would melt in the tropical weather of Malaysia.

In Italy, I eat pizza, and love it, yet in the UK after eating a pizza I suffer from indigestion.

KFC is different in Malaysia as it is in other countries although, like McDonald’s, the restaurants and menus look the same. They cater for local tastes and customs.

Some people exploit human nature to be comfortable with familiarity, our need to have what we are used to.

In China, the books of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling are like in any country, very popular, so much so that a whole new industry has been born on creating new books with Harry Potter in the title, even having the same classic style of book cover. Apparently the list includes, “Harry Potter and the Hiking Dragon,” “Harry Potter and the Chinese Empire,” “Harry Potter and the Young Heroes,” “Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Harry Potter,” “Harry Potter and Leopard-Walk-up-to-Dragon,” “Harry Potter and the Big Funnel,” “Harry Potter and the Golden Armor,” “Harry Potter and the Crystal Vase,” and on and on.

So we have to be aware, that is to say, do not judge a book by its’ cover. Is it the real thing?.

We as human beings are like books, and people say they can “read people like a book”. We put on an outer covering, we hide behind a mask, we show a persona. a character we wish to show, and for the world and others judge us by.

Like books and products in different countries, different societies and cultures, will be changed to be appropriate, to be suitable and be acceptable, it is with us as human beings. We as humans can and do change.

A Managing Director of a large company will have to be strong, a leader, a decision maker when in the office hours, but if they use the same characteristics in the home, they will be and are in trouble. A nurse in a hospital has to be hard, decisive yet compassionate, but will act different when with their loved ones at home even if they stub their toe.

Yet, unlike a book or a product, we humans can change of our own free will, and we do. That is what makes humans what we are. We can and do change, we have choice if we so wish. That is what NLP teaches us to do, have choice to make changes, and to make changes.

So perhaps a person who has been hard, unforgiving, a tyrant throughout their lives can change at the end.

A person who has shown compassion, love and helped others thought their life in a caring profession, can become very demanding, and aggressive at the end.

It is said that a leopard cannot change its’ spots, perhaps not, but has it shown all its’ characteristics to us as an observer before? Have we seen or witnessed all the persona? Are we aware of all that is beneath the covers, the capabilities, personalities?

As a lasting thought, perhaps we should all look beneath our own covers, see ourselves as other people see us, before we judge others.

Categories
Sleep

REM Sleep

REM sleep or Rapid Eye Movement, is part of the sleep cycle, and in a normal nights sleep can occur a number of times, say 5 or 6 times.

As we sleep, we enter into differing levels or stages, 1 – 5, from a light sleep to a deep sleep, and theses stages will cycle round as mentioned perhaps 5 or 6 times.

Initially as we fall asleep we enter the 1st of 5 stages. This first stage is very light and is akin to being awake it is so close, and often people do not recognise stage as the body begins to relax.

The 2nd stage is a light sleep, where the heart rate slows down, the muscles relax and contract, and the body temperature begins to fall.

As sleep continues the sleep goes into the deepest stages, the 3rd and 4th, the 4th being the deepest, and the sleep will cycle between these two stages. The brain activity is very rhythmic and the body is quite still.

There are different levels of brain activity, and these are defined as:-

BETA           high brain activity, awakened state
ALPHA        a studious brain
THETA         a daydreaming brain
DELTA         low brain activity, deep sleep

It is during this Delta sleep, the 3rd and 4th stages, that the 5th stage is entered into, and this is defined as REM.

REM is characterised by quick, rapid movements of the eyes under the eyelids, and is often accompanied by the rigidity or the paralysis of the muscles, believed by sleep scientists to stop us enacting out our dreams, because it is believed that it is during REM sleep that we dream.

When the brain is monitored with an EEG, and the sleep cycle is studied with a Polysomnography (PSG), it will be seen that there is a high level of brain activity, the heart rate increases, and there could be twitching of the legs, fingers or facial muscles. Very similar to the wakeful state. This is compared to NREM (no rapid eye movement) sleep, which produces brain waves seen on an EEG that are typically slow and of high voltage, the breathing and heart rate are slow and regular, the blood pressure is low, and the sleeper is relatively still.

This REM sleep is often call paradoxical sleep, a mixture of encephalic (brain activity) states of excitement and muscular immobility.

The length of the REM sleep varies as the sleep cycle progresses, from a short 5 minute burst at the beginning to perhaps 90 minutes prior to waking naturally. This length and quality depends upon physical and psychological factors of the subject, for example depressives have shorter REM stages. Then, it depends if the subject is taking any drugs or stimulants, i.e. anti depressants such a s Prozac (click to read) tend to lengthen the REM stage. For me the herbal tea of St. John’s Wort, lengthens and gives me more intense dreams during REM, as it is a mild anti depressant.

Age also has a factor in the length of REM sleep and total amount of sleep. An infant will typically require 16 – 18 hours sleep a day, whereas a teenager will require say 9 hours, compared to and adult from 6.5 to 7.5 hours sleep. As we enter into old age, REM sleep lengthens.

Research has shown that subjects who do not have REM sleep through sleep deprivation may have memory problems, and may begin to hallucinate.

We have seen in earlier articles that the plasticity of the brain, the learning, passing short term memory to long term memory takes places in REM. We have also seen that REM clears the brain of unwanted working memory by having we can say a spring clean.

As stated above, REM sleep is believed to produce dreams. I say the word “believe” as research I have recently seen may indicate dreams are produced both in REM and NREM sleep.

For participants and people who practice hypnosis, REM phenomenon or REM signs can be clearly seen, the movement of the eyes under the eyelids, the rigidity of the body when catalepsy is induced, changes in muscle tone, changes in breathing, all producing a sleep like state that Dr. James Braid (James Braid 1796 – 1860 the Father of Hypnosis) coined the name of “hypnosis“, a sleep like state.

Once we understand hypnosis, we understand that it is not sleep, the client is fully aware of everything that is happening to them, and has full control, unlike sleep REM were the conscious mind is switched off.

See other sleep related articles on blog. CLICK

Categories
Thoughts

Our little world on the 26th floor

As I sit here in Kuala Lumpur, on the 26th floor of Villas Angsana, I am amazed by how loud the traffic is way down there below me on the new expressway they have just built. I think it is more noisy up here than it is sitting perhaps next to the traffic.

Looking out through the open French windows to the banking area of KL, the massive high office blocks where I was only a couple of days ago in a meeting, seeing all the bankers working away, I wonder if they know or care what suffering is happening to others not far from them.

I look into the sky and see an aircraft at high altitude, carrying people back to their homes or away on business or on their holidays, and wonder if they knew of how life was proceeding towards the end 35,000 feet below. Often as I fly around the world, looking down as the earth slowly passes below me, I wonder if the people know there is someone looking down at them, and I wonder what these people are doing at that time.

As I am writing this blog, do the people who are keeping the internet and the computer structures functioning, know how I and others are trying to make suffering as easy as possible.

I wonder if those in the shopping centres, buying their new dresses, gadgets, toys and food know I can see the bright lights of the shops, yet have no desire to visit them, there are more important things happening here now.

Above the noise of the traffic I hear the calls to prayers, and I wonder if those who are worshipping their god, in their belief system, are considering how they could pray for those less fortunate, and perhaps how they can offer hope, help and support as well as prayer.

At the moment it is as if here on the 26th floor we are on our own.

How many more people throughout our small world are going through what we are experiencing?

……….

We try and find some medicine to make the brother-in-law more comfortable, but suddenly, my brother-in-law has taken a turn for the worse, and we call his two sons and another brother-in-law to come to help as an ambulance is called.

………..

It is a time to give care, kindness and compassion, as he is taken to hospital.

For me I will stay behind on the 26th floor with my sister-in-law, who herself is too ill to go with him.

We will sit up into the night to await news.

Categories
NLP Sleep

Sleep, Power-Naps the downside

I have just awoken from my “power-nap”, and I notice a downside.

I feel very groggy as soon as my eyes open, my arms feel heavier, my legs are like lead, my head does not want to work. I feel my age of 95, or is it 96?

Groggy after sleep
Groggy after sleep

But I know if I relax a little, within a short period, I will be like the superhero I am.

Super Hero Phillip
Super Hero Phillip

See other sleep related articles on blog. CLICK

Categories
Culture Travels

Villa Angsana Condominium swimming pool

Here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it is a tough time as there are two gravely ill relatives, husband and wife, who cannot look after their basic needs, and as a result I find myself stuck in an apartment on the 26th floor in the Villa Angsana Condominiums, with no head for heights, offering what little help, encouragement and support I can. Today the husband will be taken to hospital for a CT scan, leaving me to be with the sister-in-law.

There is on the complex a swimming pool, in well maintained gardens, used by many of the residents in the complex of this multi cultural and religious country.

Villa Angsana, Kuala Lumpur, swimming pool  Villa Angsana, Kuala Lumpur, swimming pool
 Villa Angsana, Kuala Lumpur, swimming pool from 26th floor walkway and poolside.

Yesterday, two of the many nephews and nieces, and whose parents own apartments in the complex, well the father’s company constructed the condominiums, came across to visit and to take a swim in the pool.

Now me, uncle Phillip is always game for a laugh, and is roped-in to join them for the swim. I have no objection as I enjoy being in water, and it is a chance to cool down in the tropical heat and humidity.

I put on my red swimming shorts and a white short sleeved shirt, the nephew and niece each wearing a short sleeved swimming top and tight figure hugging swimming shorts.

We get down to the pool, and I am just about ready to dive into the pool, which already had a few teenager boys in their tight fitting swimming shorts and briefs, when a guard approached us and indicated that I could not go in the pool as I was wearing shorts.

But these are swimming shorts by Speedo, they are not baggy, or too tight, showing none of my manhood, in fact being very conservative, unlike the bulge enhancing swimming costumes usually seen on the beach or swimming pools, and as the ones being worn by the teenagers.

I then understood that it was not acceptable that I did not have any covering on my upper body, a tee shirt.

But hang on, what about the teenagers in the pool already, how about the man sitting in again tight fitting shorts at the side of the pool? They all have bare chests.

I can not understand that the day before I was swimming in the same way without comments, and now?

OK, I do not want to cause offence, cause distress, go against any religious beliefs, after all Malaysia is not my country, and I must respect others beliefs and culture. It is a shame that visitors and new residents to the UK do not respect the British way of life, culture, and demand to impose their beliefs and religion on the British.

So if my bare chest is a problem, I am happy to cover up, so I put my shirt on, and jump into the pool.

Now another guard turns up, senior to the first, as he is wearing a white shirt as against a blue one worn by the first guard, and also he has more badges. He is not happy that I am swimming in my white shirt. Me? I am happy as I will not get sunburnt like I did the previous week in Rimini, Italy.

So I take my shirt off, and nothing more is said, except the phones are hot to the relatives in the apartment on the 26th floor, that uncle is in the pool swimming in his shirt.

I am confused. Keeping calm, I try to work-out the logic, the reasoning behind what is happening. I can understand the need to keep standards, keep moral code especially in a family based complex, but a swimming pool is a swimming pool, what do people expect swimmers to wear?

Perhaps it is my missing six pack which has long since become a barrel, or my white skin which is really red from the sunburn, and or my white head of hair and beard contrasting against the blue tiles of the pool. Or perhaps it is that the residents management committee is holding their AGM near the pool, and the guard must be seen to be doing his job, upholding the rules.

Such is life.

Categories
NLP

NLP for Human Resource Management


In the NLP for Human Resource Management n Malaysia, in conjunction with LexisNexis, we held a one day workshop on how NLP will help in HR management.


The content of the workshop was extensive, covering what is NLP, how to use NLP, NLP and coaching, negotiation skills including the Harvard University BATNA.


We saw and experienced how the human processes information, and how we understand the world around us, demonstrating George Miller’s 7+/-2 theory, how the human brain then deletes, distorts and generalises information given to it, resulting in an understanding of the world which is not the real Map of the Territory.


We reviewed how the human took in information from external sources through the five senses, VAKOG, and processed this information internally, again with VAKOG.


Understanding how employees and employers accessed and processed information, would help those in the human resource field to manage and lead to achieve excellence.


An interesting and full day, which included far more than the above, including Eye Accessing Cues, thus giving those who attended a broad outline of how NLP can be implemented within their organisations.