Richard Bandler and John Grinder
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Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D. Vol. I Richard Bandler and John Grinder 1 We dedicate this book with the highest reverence to Ghost O.T. a little snow in summer and Mazda (the car for people who can hear) 2 Table of Contents Processes. , , , . , . , . , . , . , . , , , 209 .PREFACE……………………………………Vii Transderivational Phenomena. , . , . , 217 AACKNOWLEDGMENTS. .. xi Ambiguity. 233 GGUIDE TO VOLUME I of Patterns of Erickson's Lesser Included Structures. .. , . , , , . ,. 237 Work 1 Derived Meanings, . , . , . , . , 241 Summary of Part III ... .. 247 PART I EPILOGUE. .. .. .. 253 Identification of Patterns of Erickson's Hypnotic Work. ………………………………………………..5 Introduction: The Map Is Not the Territory. …... 7 APPENDIX Preview of Patterns. .. ….. .. 15 Syntactic Environments for Identifying Natural Language Presuppositions in English. , , . The Interspersal Hypnotic Technique for Symptom …………………. , " 257 Correction and Pain Control. ………... .. 26 BIBLIOGRAPHY. .. 263 Basic Trance Induction, with Commentary. .. .. 51 A Special Inquiry with Aldous Huxley into the Nature and Character of Various States of Consciousness, with Commentary. … . ………… . .. 59 PARTII Familiarization with Patterns of Erickson's Hypnotic Work. ….. …... .. 127 Introduction. .. .. 129 PART II (continued) Pacing, Distraction and Utilization of the Dominant Hemisphere. …….. .. 137 Accessing the Non-Dominant Hemisphere. .. 179 Conclusion to Part II ……………………………201 PART III Construction of the Patterns of Erickson's Hypnotic Work. , . , , , . , ……………….. , . ,. 205 Introduction. , , . , . , , . , . , , . , . 207 Construction and Use of Linguistic Causal Modeling 3 important role, both negative and positive, in the process of discovery itself. By pushing a precise but inadequate formulation to an unacceptable conclusion, we Guide to can often expose the exact source of this inadequacy and, consequently, gain a deeper understanding of the linguistic data. More positively, a formalized theory may automatically provide solutions for many problems other than those Volume I of for which it was explicitly designed. This volume represents our effort to perform this same service for the field of hypnosis. Patterns of When Erickson recognized this skill, he expressed the hope that this volume would be constructed so that other practitioners of hypnosis would have available to them his powerful tools and techniques. It is the authors' intention Erickson's Work in this first volume to present to you some of the patterns of Erickson's behavior in hypnosis. We intend to give you, in an easily learnable, step-bystep manner, Milton Erickson is internationally acclaimed as the an explicit model which will make these skills available to you in your own leading practitioner of medical hypnosis. He has written more work. This book has three stages or levels of modeling, each represented by a than a hundred professional articles on hypnosis and has taught separate part. and practiced hypnosis since the 1920's. He, more than any other Part I contains several of Erickson's articles, exciting examples of his human being in this field, has been able both to explore and to own work. We will present a parallel commentary that will identify the patterns demonstrate the vast potentials that hypnosis has to offer human- in his behavior. The patterns we will identify do not, by any means, exhaust ity. His ability baffles the scientific mind, and his accomplish- what is present in Erickson's work. This volume is designed only to begin this ments, typically. are either viewed as miracles or denounced as process, and, at the same time, to present the most essential elements of impossibilities, although first-hand experience presents him as Erickson's language patterns. an undeniable reality, a striking contrast to what most people In Part II we will take these patterns and sort them into natural believe is possible for the mind to accomplish. Furthermore, few groupings. Hopefully, this will provide you with an overall way of both of his students have learned to exercise the skills in hypnosis understanding Erickson's work and organizing your own experience in that Milton Erickson uses so easily. The behavior Milton hypnosis. Our purpose is to familiarize you with these patterns, and to show Erickson demonstrates while both inducing and utilizing examples in which they occur in hypnotic states of consciousness is extremely complex. Yet he is Erickson's work. This will be accomplished by excerpting small very systematic; that is, his behavior has distinctive patterns. portions of various published articles about his work, most of them of a Our skill is in building explicit models of complex transcriptual nature. human behavior. What this means is that we build maps of these Part III of this volume is a step-by-step, explicit presentation of the complex patterns of behavior and these maps then allow other patterns identified in Parts I and II. This Part is intended to give you the skills people to learn and use these behavior patterns. We quote Noam necessary to construct each pattern through an understanding of its formal Chomsky's remarks1 concerning his initial formulation of a characteristics. Our belief is that in this way the patterns of Erickson's behavior model for modern transformationallinguistics.. forms part of will be made available to you for use in your own work. an attempt to construct a formalized general theory of linguistic We strongly recommend that you read this volume carefully structure and to explore the foundations of such a theory. The and that you spend some time experimenting with each pattern. This book is search for rigorous formulation in linguistics has a much more designed primarily as a training manual, not as a novel. Careful use and re-use serious motivation than mere concern for logical niceties or the will reap the best rewards for you. desire to purify well-established methods of linguistic analysis. Precisely constructed models for linguistic structure can play an FOOTNOTE 1. Syntactic Structures, Mouton & Co., The Hague, 1957, p. 5. 4 PATTERNS OF ERICKSON'S PART I HYPNOTIC WORK IDENTIFICATI ON OF 5 play "Lightnin'," in which, by the utterance of the single word no at various times, he conveyed at least sixteen different meanings. Preface These meanings included an emphatic No, a subtle Yes, an implied promise of Not yet, an amused Don't be ridiculous, and even the exquisite negative Not even if all bell freezes over! Altered tone of voice can constitute an actual vocabulary of transformation of verbal communication, as can body An attack of anterior poliomyelitis in 1919, shortly language. after my graduation from high school, rendered me almost totally paralyzed for several months, but with my vision, hearing Then, I was introduced to experimental hypnosis by Clark L. Hull, and thinking unimpaired. Since I was quarantined at home on and I became aware of the possibilities both of decreasing the number of foci of the farm, there was little diversion available. Fortunately, I had attention and of selecting and maneuvering specific foci of attention. This led to always been interested in human behavior, and there was that of the combining of my awarenesses of the complexities of communication with my parents and eight siblings, and also that of the practical nurse my understandings of hypnosis, for experimental and psychotherapeutic who was taking care of me, available for observation. My purposes. inability to move tended to restrict me to the Although this book by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, to which I intercommunications of those about me. Although I already am contributing this Preface, is far from being a complete description of my knew a little about body language and other forms of non-verbal methodologies, as they so clearly state it is a much better explanation of how I communication, I was amazed to discover the frequent, and, to work than I, myself, can give. I know what I do, but to explain how I do it is me, often startling contradictions between the verbal and the much too difficult for me. non-verbal communications within a single interchange. This A simple example of this may be cited from the experience of my aroused so much of my interest that I intensified my daughter, Kristina, as a medical student. She happened to pick up a paper by observations at every opportunity. Ernest Rossi and myself, on the double bind, and, after reading it, amusedly The discovery that "double takes" were perceptions at commented, "So that's how I do it!" Dr. Rossi, who was present, immediately two different levels of understanding, often based upon totally asked, "So that's how you do what?" She explained, "Every patient has the right dif ferent experiential associations, opened a new field of to refuse permission for a rectal and hernial examination, and many patients do. observation. Then, when I discovered that a "triple take" could But when I have reached that part of the physical examination' I tell my occur, I began mentally rehearsing the phrasing of a single patients, sympathetically, that I know they are tired of having me peer into their communication to cause differing perceptions, even eyes, and peak into their ears and up their noses, and poking and thumping here contradictory in character, at differing levels of understanding. and there, but that, as soon as I complete the rectal and hernial examinations, These efforts led to the recognition of many other factors they can say good-bye to me. And they always wait