Sleight of Mouth: The Magic of Conversational Belief Change
Preface
11 these 'Sleight of Mouth' patterns are made up of verbal categories and distinctions by which key beliefs can be established, shifted or transformed through language. They can be characterized as "verbal reframes" which influence beliefs, and the mental maps from which beliefs have been formed. In the nearly twenty years since their formalization, the Sleight of Mouth patterns have proved to be one of the most powerful sets of distinctions provided by NLP for effective persuasion. Perhaps more than any other distinctions in NLP, these patterns provide a tool for conversational belief change. 11 it is important to distinguish genuine magic from trivial 'tricks'. 11 magic of change comes from tapping into something that goes beyond the words themselves. 12 belief change techniques, Chapter 1: Language and Experience
Page 15 Sigmund Freud, Page 15 Words and magic were in the beginning one and the same thing, and even today words retain much of their magical power. By words one of us can give another the greatest happiness or bring about utter despair; by words the teacher imparts his knowledge to the student; by words the orator sweeps his audience with him and determines its judgments and decisions. Words call forth emotions and are universally the means by which we influence our fellow- creatures. Page 19 how the right words at the right time can create powerful and positive effects. Page 19 Unfortunately, words can also confuse us and limit us as easily as they can empower us. Page 19 The term "Sleight of Mouth" is drawn from the notion of "Sleight of Hand." The term sleight comes from an Old Norse word meaning "crafty," "cunning," "artful" or "dexterous." Page 19 create dramatic shifts in perception and the assumptions upon which particular perceptions are based. Language and Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Page 20 The essence of Neuro- Linguistic Programming is that the functioning of our nervous system (" neuro") is intimately tied up with our capability for language (" linguistic"). The strategies (" programs") through which we organize and guide our behavior are made up of neurological and verbal patterns. Page 20 All the accomplishments of the human race, both positive and negative, have involved the use of language. We as human beings use our language in two ways. We use it first of all to represent our experience - we call this activity reasoning, thinking, fantasying, rehearsing. Page 20 Secondly, we use our language to communicate our model or representation of the world to each other. When we use language to communicate, we call it talking, discussing, writing, lecturing, singing. Page 21 The ancient Greeks, in fact, had different words for these two uses of language. They used the term rhema to indicate words used as a medium of communication and the term logos to indicate words associated with thinking and understanding. Page 21 Aristotle described the relationship between words and mental experience in the following way: Page 21 Spoken words are the symbols of mental experience and written words are the symbols of spoken words. Just as all men have not the same writing, so all men have not the same speech sounds, but the mental experiences, which these directly symbolize, are the same for all, as also are those things of which our experiences are the images. Page 21 words can both reflect and shape mental experiences. Page 21 By accessing the deep structure beyond the specific words used by an individual, we can identify and influence the deeper level mental operations reflected through that person's language patterns. Page 21 Considered in this way, language is not just an 'epiphenomenon' or a set of arbitrary signs by which we communicate about our mental experience; it is a key part of our mental experience. Page 22 'talking about' something can do more than simply reflect our perceptions; it can actually create or change our perceptions. This implies a potentially deep and special role for language in the process of change and healing. Page 22 Heraclitus (540- 480 B.C.) defined 'logos' as the 'universal principle through which all things were interrelated and all natural events occurred'. Page 22 According to Philo, a Greek speaking Jewish philosopher (and contemporary of Jesus), 'logos' was the intermediate between ultimate reality and the sensible world. Map and Territory
Page 23 The cornerstone of Sleight of Mouth, and the NLP approach to language, is the principle that "the map is not the territory." This principle was initially formulated by General Semantics Founder Alfred Korzybski (b. 1879 - d. 1950), and acknowledges the fundamental distinction between our maps of the world and the world itself. Page 24 NLP contends that we all have our own world view and that view is based upon the internal maps that we have formed through our language and sensory representational systems, as a result of our individual life experiences. Page 25 Korzybski's distinction between map and territory implies that our mental models of reality, rather than reality itself, determines how we will act. Page 25 Albert Einstein, "Our thinking creates problems that the same type of thinking will not solve." Page 25 the people who are most effective are the ones who have a map of the world that allows them to perceive the greatest number of available choices and perspectives. Experience
Page 27 Our sensory experience is the primary way we get new information about reality and add to our maps of the world. Often our preexisting internal knowledge filters out new and potentially valuable sensory experience. Page 27 To "use sensory experience" rather than to project or hallucinate. Page 27 Effective change comes from the ability to "come to our senses." To do this, we must learn to drop our internal filters and have direct sensory experience of the world around us. Page 27 Uptime is a state in which all one's sensory awareness is focused on the external environment in the 'here and now'. Page 28 Primary experience is a function of our direct perceptions of the territory around us. Secondary experience is derived from our mental maps, descriptions and interpretations about those perceptions– and are subject to significant deletion, distortion and generalization. When we experience something directly, we have no self- consciousness or dissociative thoughts about what we are sensing and feeling. Page 28 People who are successful and enjoy life have the ability to experience more of the world directly, rather than dilute it through the filters of what they "should" experience or expect to experience. Page 29 Sleight of Mouth patterns can be characterized as "verbal reframes" which influence beliefs, and the mental maps from which beliefs have been formed. Sleight of Mouth patterns operate by getting people to frame or reframe their perceptions of some situation or experience. Sleight of Mouth Patterns lead people to 'punctuate' their experiences in new ways and take different perspectives. How Language Frames Experience
Page 30 Words not only represent our experience, but, frequently they 'frame' our experience. Words frame our experience by bringing certain aspects of it into the foreground and leaving others in the background. Page 31 Some people, for instance, have a habitual pattern in which they are constantly dismissing the positive side of their experience with the word "but." Chapter 2: Frames and Reframing
34 implies, a "frame" establishes the borders and constraints surrounding an interaction. Frames greatly influence the way that specific experiences and events are interpreted and responded to because of how they serve to 'punctuate' those experiences and direct attention. 35 Some common "frames" in NLP include the "outcome" frame, the "as if" frame and the "feedback versus failure" frame. Page 36 The application of the Outcome Frame involves such tactics as reformulating problem statements to goal statements, and reframing negatively worded descriptions to those which are stated in positive terms. Page 36 A feedback versus failure frame places attention on how seeming problems, symptoms or mistakes can be interpreted as feedback, which helps to make corrections leading to a desired state, rather than as failures. Shifting Outcomes
Page 40 transforms what might be considered "failure" with respect to one outcome (handling the situation), into feedback with respect to another outcome (" reacting to the good and the bad, and dealing with it adequately'). Page 43 Psychologically, to "reframe" something means to transform its meaning by putting it into a different framework or context than it has previously been perceived. Page 45 The paradox for the fish in the middle is that it has focused its attention so much on one particular behavior related to survival that it has put its survival at risk in another way. Changing Frame Size
Page 47 Childbirth can be an intense and frightening experience for a person who is experiencing it for the first time. Being reminded that it is a process that has evolved over millions of years by millions of women, can help the person to have greater trust and less fear in what is happening within her body. Page 49 widen our frame of perception to the larger life cycle Context Reframing
Page 51 Negative responses often serve to maintain and even escalate problematic behaviors, rather than extinguish them. Page 53 Instead of shifting contexts, content reframing involves altering our perspective or level of perception with respect to a particular behavior or situation. Page 53 Separate one's "behavior" from one's "self." Page 54 Content reframing involves determining a possible positive intention that could underlie a problematic behavior. Reframing Critics and Criticism
Page 56 Critics are frequently perceived as "spoilers," because they operate from a "problem frame" or "failure frame." (Dreamers, on the other hand, function from the "' as if' frame," and realists act from the "outcome frame" and "feedback frame.") Page 56 A major problem with criticisms, on a linguistic level, is that they are typically asserted in the form of generalized judgments, Page 56 Thus, criticism usually leads to polarization, mismatching and ultimately conflict, if one does not agree with the criticism. Page 56 The most challenging problems occur when a critic doesn't merely criticize a dream or a plan, but begins to criticize the "dreamer" or "realist" on a personal level. Page 57 "Avoiding stress," and "becoming more relaxed and comfortable," for example, are two ways of verbally describing a similar internal state, even though they use quite different words. Page 57 many criticisms are framed in terms of what is not wanted, rather than what is wanted. Page 58 "If (stress/ expense/ failure/ waste) is what you do not want, then what is it that you do want?" or "What would it get for you (how would you benefit) if you were able to avoid or get rid of what you do not want?" Page 58 "It is too expensive," Page 58 "How are we going to afford it?" The Sleight of Mouth Patterns of 'Intention' and 'Redefining'
Page 61 Identifying and acknowledging the positive intention of the critic, and turning the criticism into a "how" question, is an example of a type of 'verbal magic trick', using Sleight of Mouth to shift attention from a problem frame or failure frame to an outcome frame and feedback frame. Page 61 Redefining involves substituting a new word or phrase for one of the words or phrases used in a statement or generalization that means something similar but has different implications. Substituting a positively stated phrase for a negatively stated one is an example of "redefining." Page 61 Applying the pattern of Intention would involve responding to the positive intention( s) behind a particular generalization or judgment, rather than directly to the statement itself. Page 62 "I like this, but I'm afraid it is too expensive." To apply the pattern of intention, the salesperson might say something like, "I hear that it is important to you that you get good value for your money." Page 62 "Is it that you think the item is overpriced, or are you concerned that you cannot afford it?" Page 63 "Thinking" and "being concerned" are in many ways very different from being "afraid." They imply cognitive processes more than an emotional reaction (thus, more likelihood that something will be perceived as feedback). Page 63 Relabeling "pain" as "discomfort," is another good illustration of the impact of the Sleight of Mouth pattern of redefining. One Word Reframing Exercise
Page 65 "I am firm; you are obstinate; he is a pigheaded fool." Perceiving a Situation from a Different Model of the World by Taking 'Second Position'
Page 68 Taking second position involves stepping into another person's point of view, or 'perceptual position', within a particular situation or interaction. Second position is one of the three fundamental Perceptual Positions defined by NLP. Chapter 3: Chunking
Forms of Chunking
Page 73 In NLP, the term "chunking" refers to reorganizing or breaking down some experience into bigger or smaller pieces. "Chunking up" involves moving to a larger, more general or abstract level of information– for example, grouping cars, trains, boats and airplanes as "forms of transportation." "Chunking down" involves moving to a more specific and concrete level of information– for example, a "car" may be chunked down into "tires," "engine," "brake system," "transmission," etc. Page 73 Chunking, then, has to do with how a person uses his or her attention. Page 74 Given a particular situation, the way a person is chunking his or her experience may be helpful or problematic. When a person is attempting to think "realistically" it is valuable to think in smaller chunks. When brainstorming, however, attention on small chunks may lead the person to "losing sight of the forest for the trees." Chunking Laterally (Finding Analogies)
Page 81 Inductive reasoning involves classifying particular objects or phenomena according to common features that they share - noticing that all birds have feathers for example. Inductive reasoning is essentially the process of 'chunking up'. Deductive reasoning involves making predictions about a particular object or phenomenon based on its classification; i.e., if - then type logic. Deduction involves 'chunking down'. Abductive reasoning involves looking for the similarities between objects and phenomena - i.e., 'chunking laterally'. Page 82 Abductive or metaphorical thinking leads to more creativity and may actually lead us to discover deeper truths about reality. Punctuation and Repunctuation
Page 86 The various forms of chunking (up, down and laterally) provide a powerful set of linguistic tools to help us enrich, reframe, and "re- punctuate" our maps of the world. Different "punctuations" of our perception of the world allow us to create different meanings of the same experience. Page 86 that that is is that that is not is not is not that it it is Page 86 That that is, is. That that is not, is not. Is not that it? It is! Page 87 The content of our experience is like the first string of words. It is relatively neutral and even void of any real meaning. Cognitive processes, such as chunking, time perception, and representational channels, determine where we place our mental and emotional question marks, periods and exclamation points. Our mental punctuation influences which perceptions are clustered together, where our focus of attention is placed, what types of relationships are perceptible, etc. Chapter 4: Values and Criteria
The Structure of Meaning
Page 90 From the NLP perspective, meaning is a function of the relationship between "map and territory." Different maps of the world will produce different inner meanings for the same experiential territory. Page 90 Meaning is the natural consequence of interpreting our experience. Page 91 Because meaning is a function of our internal representations of our experience, altering those internal representations can alter the meaning an experience has for us. Page 91 Meaning is also greatly influenced by context. Page 91 The mental frames we place around our perception of a situation, message, or event serves as a type of internally generated context for our experience. Page 91 Another influence on meaning is the medium or channel through which a message or experience is received or perceived. Page 92 the way a person makes meaning of a communication is largely determined by the para- messages and meta messages that accompany that communication. Page 92 there is a difference between "No?", "No.", and "No!"). Page 92 One of the fundamental principles of NLP is that the meaning of a communication, to the receiver, is the response it elicits in that receiver, regardless of the intention of the communicator. Page 92 Beliefs relating to cause- and- effect and the connection between perceived events and our values largely determine the meaning we give to those perceived events. Altering beliefs and values can immediately change the meaning of our life experiences. Values and Motivation
Page 94 values are "principles, qualities or entities that are intrinsically valuable or desirable." Page 94 axiology (from the Greek axios, meaning "worthy") to describe the study of values. Page 95 Values, then, are the basis for motivation and persuasion, and serve as a powerful perceptual filter. When we can connect our future plans and goals to our core values and criteria, those goals become even more compelling. Criteria and Judgment
Page 96 One of the challenges in defining, teaching, debating, or even talking about values and criteria is that the language used to express them is often very general and 'non- sensory based'. Values and core criteria are expressed by words such as: "success," "safety," "love," "integrity," etc. These types of words, known as nominalizations in NLP, are notoriously "slippery." As labels, they tend to be much farther removed from any specific sensory experience than words like "chair," "run," "sit," "house," etc. This makes them much more susceptible to the processes of generalization, deletion and distortion. It is not uncommon for two individuals to claim to share the same values and yet act quite differently in similar situations, because their subjective definitions of the values vary so widely. Chunking Down to Define "Criterial Equivalences"
Page 100 "Criterial equivalence" is the term used in NLP to describe the specific and observable evidences that people use to define whether or not a particular criterion has been met. Page 100 The type of sensory evidence, or criterial equivalences, that a person uses to evaluate an idea, product or situation will determine to a large extent whether it is judged as being interesting, desirable or successful, etc. Page 100 Effective persuasion, for example, involves the ability to identify and then meet a person's core criteria by matching their criterial equivalence. Page 100 1. Think of some value or criterion that is important for you to satisfy (quality, creativity, uniqueness, health, etc.) 2. How do you know, specifically, that you have met this value or criterion? Is it something you see? Hear? Feel? Do you know it based solely on your own evaluation, or do you need verification from outside of yourself (i.e., from another person or an objective measurement)? Page 101 The sensory perceptions that form our criterial equivalences greatly influence how we think and feel about something. Reality Strategies
Page 102 Reality strategies involve the sequence of mental tests and internal criteria an individual applies in order to evaluate whether or not a particular experience or event is "real" or "really happened." It is essentially the strategy by which we distinguish "fantasy" from "reality." Page 102 Our brain doesn't really know the difference between imagined experience or remembered experience. Page 103 The quality of information that we have in our senses is somehow coded more precisely for the real experience than the imagined one, and that's what makes the difference. Page 103 If I want to make something real for you, or convince you about something, I have got to make it fit your criteria for your reality strategy. Page 103 By identifying your reality strategy, you can determine precisely how you need to represent a change in behavior in order to be convinced that it is something that is possible for you to accomplish. Chunking Up to Identify and Utilize Hierarchies of Values and Criteria
Page 116 Recognizing that people have different criteria (and different hierarchies of criteria) is essential for resolving conflicts and managing diversity. Some individuals and cultures value the 'achievement of tasks' more than they do the 'preservation of relationships'. Others have exactly the reverse set of priorities. Chapter 5: Beliefs and Expectations
Beliefs and Belief Systems
Page 122 Beliefs are essentially judgments and evaluations about ourselves, others and the world around us. In NLP, beliefs are considered to be closely held generalizations about 1) causation, 2) meaning and 3) boundaries in: (a) the world around us, (b) our behavior, (c) our capabilities and (d) our identities. Page 122 Beliefs function at a different level than behavior and perception and influence our experience and interpretation of reality by connecting our experiences to our criteria or value systems. Page 123 typical belief statement links a particular value to some other part of our experience. The belief statement, "Success requires hard work," for instance, links the value "success" to a class of activity (" hard work"). The statement, "Success is mainly a matter of luck," connects the same value to a different class of activity (" luck"). Depending upon which belief a person had, he or she would most likely adopt a different approach to attempting to reach success. Furthermore, the way in which a situation, activity, or idea fits (or does not fit) with the beliefs and value systems of an individual or group will determine how it will be received and incorporated. Page 124 Beliefs tend to have a self- organizing or "self- fulfilling" effect on our behavior at many levels, focusing attention in one area and filtering it out of others. The Power of Beliefs
Page 125 Beliefs are a powerful influence on our lives. They are also notoriously difficult to change through typical rules of logic or rational thinking. Page 126 Certainly, these examples seem to demonstrate that our beliefs can shape, effect or even determine our degree of intelligence, health, relationships, creativity, even our degree of happiness and personal success. Yet, if indeed our beliefs are such a powerful force in our lives, how do we get control of them so they don't control us? Limiting Beliefs
Page 129 Obviously, the most pervasive beliefs are those regarding our identity. Some examples of limiting beliefs about identity are: "I am helpless/ worthless/ a victim." "I don't deserve to succeed." "If I get what I want I will lose something." "I don't have permission to succeed." Page 129 Limiting beliefs sometimes operate like a "thought virus" with a destructive capability similar to that of a computer virus or biological virus. Page 129 the most influential beliefs are often out of our awareness. Page 129 Ultimately, we transform limiting beliefs and become 'immunized' to 'thought viruses' by expanding and enriching our models of the world, Page 130 Many limiting beliefs arise as a result of unanswered 'how' questions. That is, if a person does not know how to change his or her behavior, it is easy for the person to build the belief, "That behavior can't be changed." Expectations
Page 132 Beliefs, both empowering and limiting, are related to our expectations. Expectation means "to look forward to" some event or outcome. Page 133 In self- managed activities, for instance, people who are skeptical about the possibility of the outcome occurring, or about their abilities to perform, tend to undermine their own efforts when they approach their limits. Page 137 our expectations exert a strong impact on our motivation and the conclusions we derive from our experience. Page 137 beliefs and expectations about future reinforcement have more influence on behavior than the objective fact that the behavior has received reinforcement in the past. Page 137 the more a person is able to see, hear and feel some future consequence in his or her imagination, the stronger will be the expectation. Expectations and the Sleight of Mouth Pattern of Consequences
Page 139 No response, experience or behavior is meaningful outside of the context in which it was established or the response it elicits next. Any behavior, experience or response may serve as a resource or limitation depending on how it fits in with the rest of the system. Using the 'As If' Frame to Strengthen Beliefs and Expectations
Page 150 The 'as if' frame is a process by which an individual or group acts 'as if' the desired goal or outcome has already been achieved, or by which an individual or a group pretends to be some other person or entity. The 'as if' frame is a powerful way to help people identify and enrich their perception of the world, and or their future desired states. It is also a useful way to help people overcome resistances and limitations within their current map of the world. Page 150 Acting 'as if' allows people to drop their current perception of the constraints of reality and use their imagination more fully. Chapter 6: The Basic Structure of Beliefs
The Linguistic Structure of Beliefs
Page 154 Cause- effect statements (characterized by words such as: "cause," "make," "force," "leads to," "results in," etc.) link values causally to other aspects of our experience. Such linguistic structures are used to define the causes and consequences of particular values. Complex Equivalence
Page 155 In the statement, "He is in poor health, he must really hate himself," for example, the speaker is implying that "poor health" is in some way equivalent to "self hatred." These two experiences are somehow the "same thing" in the speaker's map of the world (although they may have no connection at all in reality). Some other examples of 'complex equivalences' would be statements such as, "Thinking or acting outside of the social norms means that you are mentally unstable;" "Safety means having the power to fight unfriendly forces;" "If you don't say much, then it must mean you don't have much to say." Page 156 whether one is able to find interpretations which offer a new perspective, Cause-Effect
Page 159 our senses do not actually perceive things like "causes", they can only perceive that first one event happened and then another event happened right after the first one. Page 159 only the sequence of the events is what is perceived– "cause" is a freely chosen internal construct that we apply to the relationship we perceived. Page 159 The closer we get to the actual primary relationships and rules that determine and run our experience, the further we are from anything that is directly perceivable. Page 161 Looking for precipitating causes leads us to see the problem or outcome as a result of particular events and experiences from the past. Seeking constraining causes leads us to perceive the problem or outcome as something brought out by ongoing conditions within which the current situation is occurring. Considering final causes leads us to perceive a problem or outcome as a result of the motives and intentions of the individuals involved. Attempting to find the formal causes of a problem or outcome leads us to view it as a function of the definitions and assumptions we are applying to the situation. Page 163 In many respects, our language, beliefs and models of the world function as the 'formal causes' of our reality. Sleight of Mouth and the Structure of Beliefs
Page 168 All Sleight of Mouth patterns revolve around using language in order to relate and link various aspects of our experience and maps of the world to core values. Page 169 from the NLP perspective, the issue is not so much whether one has found the "correct" cause- effect belief, but rather what types of practical results one is able to achieve if one acts "as if" a particular equivalence or causal relationship exists. Chapter 7: Internal States and Natural Belief Change
The Natural Process of Belief Change
Page 190 People often consider the process of changing beliefs to be difficult and effortful; and accompanied by struggle and conflict. Yet, the fact remains that people naturally and spontaneously establish and discard hundreds, if not thousands, of beliefs during their lifetimes. Perhaps the difficulty is that when we consciously attempt to change our beliefs, we do so in a way that does not respect the natural cycle of belief change. We try to change our beliefs by "repressing" them, disproving them, or attacking them. Beliefs can become surprisingly simple and easy to change if we respect and pace the natural process of belief change. The Belief Change Cycle
Page 193 When we 'want to believe' something, it is usually because we think that the new belief will produce positive consequences in our lives. Page 193 Becoming 'open to believe' is an exciting and generative experience, typically accompanied by a sense of freedom and exploration. Page 194 when we first attempt to take on a new belief, it comes into conflict with existing beliefs. Page 195 In order to reevaluate and let go of existing beliefs that are interfering with the establishment of a new belief, we must become 'open to doubt' the existing belief. Page 195 "If I view it from a larger perspective, what other possibilities do I become aware of?" Page 195 "What is the positive purpose that this belief has served, and are there other ways to achieve that positive intention that are less limiting and more enriching?" Page 195 When we truly change a belief, we no longer need to exert any effort to deny or suppress the belief. Our relationship to it is more like the experience we have of seeing historical items in a museum. Page 196 In many ways, trust is the cornerstone of the natural process of belief change. Page 197 Trust, in fact, is often something we must rely on when we have no proof. Belief Change and Internal States
Page 199 A basic premise of NLP is that the human brain functions similarly to a computer - by executing "programs" or mental strategies that are composed of ordered sequences of instructions or internal representations. Certain programs or strategies function better for accomplishing certain tasks than others, and it is the strategy that an individual uses that will to a great extent determine whether his performance is one of mediocrity or excellence. The efficacy and ease with which a particular mental program is carried out is to a large degree determined by the physiological state of the individual. Page 200 By becoming more aware of the patterns and cues that influence internal states, we can increase the number of choices we have in responding to a particular situation. Once we are aware of the factors that define and influence the characteristics of our internal states we can sort them and "anchor" them to help make them available for use. Some of the methods used in NLP to sort and anchor internal states include: spatial location, submodalities (colors, tones, brightness, etc.), and non- verbal cues. Page 201 learn how to take an internal inventory Page 201 A physiological inventory Page 201 A submodality inventory Page 201 An emotions inventory Chapter 8: Thought Viruses and the Meta Structure of Beliefs
Thought Viruses
Page 226 Limiting beliefs arise from generalizations, deletions and distortions that have become placed in a 'problem frame', 'failure frame', or 'impossibility frame'. Such beliefs become even more limiting and difficult to change when they are separated from the experiences, values, internal states and expectations from which they were derived. When this happens, the belief can become perceived as some type of disassociated "truth" about reality. This leads people to begin to view the belief as "the territory" rather than a particular "map," whose purpose is to help us effectively navigate our way through some portion of our experiential territory. This situation can become even further exaggerated when the limiting belief is not even one that we have formed from our own experiences, but which has been imposed upon us by others. Page 227 a thought virus has become disconnected from the surrounding 'meta structure' which provides the context and purpose of the belief, and determines its 'ecology'. Page 227 Unlike a typical limiting belief, which can be updated or corrected as a result of experience, thought viruses, are based on unspoken assumptions (which are typically other limiting beliefs). Page 227 When this happens, the thought virus becomes its own self- validating "reality" instead of serving a larger reality. Page 228 Because a good deal of the meaning of the message is implied and not stated, it is more difficult to recognize, "That's just his opinion". Presuppositions
Page 235 One of the major factors that prevents a thought virus from being naturally updated or corrected by new data and counter examples provided by our experience, is that significant portions of the belief are presupposed, rather than explicitly stated by the belief. In order to be changed, the other beliefs and presuppositions upon which the thought virus is based must be identified, brought to the surface, and examined. Page 235 True linguistic presuppositions should be contrasted with assumptions and inferences. A linguistic presupposition is something that is overtly expressed in the body of the statement itself, which must be 'supposed' or accepted in order for the sentence or utterance to make sense. In the question, "Have you stopped exercising regularly?" for example, the use of the word stop implies that the listener has already been exercising regularly. The question, "Do you exercise regularly?" has no such presupposition. Page 236 Because presuppositions, assumptions and inferences do not appear in the surface structure of a particular statement or belief, it makes them more difficult to identify and address directly. Page 239 the more presuppositions the sentence has, the more potential it has to become a 'virus'. Self Reference
Page 242 Healthy systems generally have a balance of 'self reference' and 'external reference' (or 'other' reference). Page 244 "you are damned if you do, and damned if you don't." Page 244 According to anthropologist Gregory Bateson, who originally defined the notion of the double bind, such conflicts are at the root of both creativity and psychosis (depending upon whether or not one is able to transcend the double bind or stays caught inside of it). Meta Frames
Page 255 Meta framing frequently diffuses the impact of a limiting belief by shifting a person's perspective to that of an observer to his or her own mental processes. Logical Levels
Page 260 Rewarding or punishing particular behaviors will not necessarily change someone's beliefs, because belief systems are a different type of process mentally and neurologically than behaviors. Changing Logical Levels
Page 264 One of the most common and effective Sleight of Mouth tactics involves recategorizing a characteristic or experience from one logical level to another (e.g., separating a person's identity from his or her capabilities or behavior). Chapter 9: Applying the Patterns as a System
Definition and Examples of Sleight of Mouth Patterns
Page 268 the purpose of Sleight of Mouth is not to attack the person or the belief, but rather to reframe the belief and widen the person's map of the world in such a way that the positive intention behind the belief can be maintained through other choices. "In unusual circumstances, unusual things can happen" (applying the generalization to itself).