The Sh*t NLPers Say: “NLP is a Powerful set of Tools.”

Something I have noticed with NLPers is they all say exactly the same things. They are brainwashed (or programmed as they put it) to blindly accept what they are told as the truth and never to question it. This is particularly true when they try to argue that NLP is not a cult. When they try to describe what NLP is, a typical example would be:  

“NLP is a powerful set of tools.”

It is true that they are taught to use certain tools at NLP brainwashing camp (they call it “NLP Training”).

What actually are these tools and are they powerful?

The tools taught as NLP are mostly not unique to NLP. They can be found elsewhere and are generally aimed at manipulating, misleading and distracting. Rapport and mimicry are used to gain someone’s confidence by faking likeness. Embed commands are used to manipulate people into unwittingly being controlled. Many techniques are designed to distract attention from the truth.

It is all just like a “Magician” or illusionist using smoke and mirrors to trick your mind into believing what you think you are seeing.  This answers the other part of my question, is it powerful? Just like magic can seem powerful to someone with no knowledge of how it is done, once the secret is explained and demonstrated it loses all power. Once you know how the magicians assistant appeared to be cut in half but wasn’t really, the illusion will never work on you again. The same is true of NLP manipulation, once you know how they do it; they’ll never manipulate you again. 

You are a wiser person when you know that magic doesn’t exist, it is all sleight of hand and deception, you are a wiser person when you know the same of NLP. 

Hell Hath No Fury Like an NLPer Defending his Master (or Mistress).

On my Facebook page I shared a link to the following satirical site: 

http://neurolinguisticpropaganda.blogspot.co.uk/

I found it quite amusing in the way it lampoons NLP and NLPers.

Underneath the picture with “Richard Bandler The Art of Free Stupidity” is this graphic:

With this caption underneath:

“All content of this blog aims only to satirize NLP from a humorous point of view and excludes any form of personal offense. “

Unbeknown to me Judith Delozier is the NLPer that brainwashed Damon. His sense of humour has been deleted. As I pointed out in the first post on this blog explaining the ways in which NLP is a cult:

·                     The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as The Truth.

If you have ever criticised Richard Bandler or his teachings in the presence of a believer you will have experienced the full wrath of the fanatic. All scientific evidence of the falsity of his teachings will be dismissed.

It turns out this zealously filters all the way down the hierarchy of the NLP cult and Damon has been programmed to defend his mistress in the same manor. She programmed him to think what she wants him to think not think for himself and this must form part of that.

In the end it turned out like any difference of opinion you will ever have with an NLPer. The NLP sociopath is never wrong. They do not debate or argue as normal people do, they try to enforce their will on you using the manipulation techniques they have learned. They will never give up no matter how absurd their arguments are or how strong the reasoning against them is. So in the end I was left with no choice but to ban Damon from the page, despite repeated requests and reasonably pointing out that he had had his say and I had had my response he was incapable of leaving it. The NLP sociopath must always have the last word; they must browbeat their victim into submission. He was ignoring the protocols of polite society. (It is my page and my right to end the conversation by request.)

Unfortunately by banning him the text is all now hidden so other visitors to the page cannot see this example of how impossible it is to reason with an NLPer. So I am publishing it here and will share it from Facebook.

Damon Cart you got upset with me for using a curse word in our exchange and you post this which has a picture of Judy Delozier, not only a personal friend, but one of the kindest, warmest human beings you'll ever meet, with the caption "How to fuck your daughter's husband". you've got a lot of nerve and if you got to know Judy you would be ashamed of youself and you should be ashamed of yourself. She's done more to help people than you will ever do.

NLP is a Brainwashing Cult You said I was "full of shit". I didn't get upset, I told you not to. I posted a link to a post I found interesting. Yet again it is not for you to tell me how I would feel, think or anything else. Yes I have nerve, I'm proud of that and not ashamed.

Damon Cart if you have any decency and any respect for good people and you knew anything about Judy you would take that post down.

NLP is a Brainwashing Cult You are not the boss of me. Who made you the arbiter of decency and respect? You will not censor me. Now please leave or I will have to ban you. I don't want to do that as Facebook will delete all your nonsense. I think it is a great example of the way NLPers behave and should remain published.

Damon Cart you are correct. i am not the boss of you and i cannot censor you and i would not censor you. i just think it is incredibly mean. you should take it down because you realize you're putting hate out there and because hopefully you're not a hateful person. if you don't realize that then i'm not going to try to change you, but i will bring it to your attention.

NLP is a Brainwashing Cult I think you should stop telling me what I should do, what I should realise, what I think etc. That is one small part of what I find so obnoxious about NLPers. You have no right to try and change anyone. You didn't just bring it to my attention. You told me what I should do about it, that is a line I won't let be crossed without response. I leave it for others to judge whether they think linking to something I found interesting is hateful or mean. I personally don't think it is. Speaking ones mind is everybody's right, not being offended is not a right. If you don't like what is written then don't read it.

NLP is a Brainwashing Cult PS. I hadn't even noticed that picture until you pointed it out. I like satire and that is quite funny.

Damon Cart do what you want, but it says a lot about you. you're going to criticize NLPers for being "bad" and at the same time post meanspirited nonsense like that? satire can be quite funny and it's a valuable part of speech. however, if i posted a picture of your grandmother and wrote something obnoxious about her on it and called it satire would that be funny or valuable? no it would just be mean.

NLP is a Brainwashing Cult Meanspirited??? I think you may have missed that the joke is on how NLP is advertised not on the lady in the picture. You are entitled to find anything you want mean, or interpret what that says to YOU about me. That should not be confused with how other people see me. That is for them. Which is why I want this to remain published. Please you have said your piece and I have replied. Can we leave it there please.

Damon Cart if you want to leave it there then simply stop responding to my comments. i'm only responding to yours. yes, meanspirited and it's not a clever joke and if it wasn't about the lady in the picture then why is her name on the picture? the NLP trainings i go to are not about seduction and are not advertised that way.

I didn’t reply to his last comment. But it would have been something like this:

“I don’t take orders from you as whether I should respond on MY wall. I politely requested you to stop posting, you ignored my request. Your opinions as to what is mean-spirited, clever or funny are yours and yours alone and you have no right to impose them on anyone else. Ask the author why they chose her, I have no idea. NLP is not advertised in that way? I just Googled “NLP seduction” here is the first hit http://www.seductionscience.com/2011/nlp-seduction-patterns/.”

I didn’t post that reply as it would be pointless. The conversation would never end. He would keep coming back with the same statements and ignoring anything I answered with. Above he sometimes uses the telling me what I do or should think etc. method, bossing me about and attempting to bully me. When I tell him not to he moves on to pretending to agree “you are correct. i am not the boss of you and i cannot censor you and i would not censor you.” And then just continues to try and tell me what to do and censor me. This is a very poor attempt to trick me through false agreement. I think Damon is not a very accomplished NLPer yet, I’ve seen of far more adept than him.

Trying to get a brainwashed cult member to see what has happened to them by reason is impossible. Experts in the field of cult rehabilitation agree that the only successful method is extraction and isolation from the cult. It then takes many months or even years before the victim recovers and re-joins society fully. That is why there is no point continuing my conversation with Damon, unless his family or a close friend can save him he is doomed.

NLP Standard Deception and Lies. Parts 2 & 3.

NLPers are masters of deception. Question everything they say, and you will find it is all smoke and mirrors designed to deflect your attention from the truth.

Part 2.

After the last post this was posted on Facebook:

i read what you wrote on that link and i posted a comment which will probably not be approved. you're full of shit and if you really think that way, this is going to be amusing. let's start off with the specific methods and approaches that NLP uses that matches those of cults. what are they and is it possible to use neutral but effective methods for good or bad? also what NLP training have you had and who was the teacher or teachers? in the wrong hands NLP can hurt people just like you can learn martial arts to enrich your life, stay healthy and protect yourself and others or you can use it to hurt or even kill people. would you say martial arts is a cult because some people use it to hurt others?

Here is my response:

i read what you wrote on that link

Thank you.

and i posted a comment which will probably not be approved.

It was approved.

you're full of shit and if you really think that way, this is going to be amusing.

That is puerile, and I will not dignify it with a response.

let's start off with the specific methods and approaches that NLP uses that matches those of cults. what are they

The use of fake education establishments to indoctrinate people and using mind control techniques like embedded commands to get people to act as you want without them being aware that they are being used. That’s just two to start. I’ve already covered much more in this blog. Read the 1^st post as a starting point. http://www.is-nlp-a-cult.com/2013/05/is-nlp-cult.html

and is it possible to use neutral but effective methods for good or bad?

That is loaded by calling them neutral. In my opinion using manipulative and underhand tactics to get someone to do what you want is morally wrong. Whether you deem that action to be good or bad is not yours do decide. If you have denied them the option to be aware and decide for themself if it is good or bad then that is manipulation.

also what NLP training have you had and who was the teacher or teachers?

That is completely irrelevant. My arguments are against what is taught as NLP.

in the wrong hands NLP can hurt people just like you can learn martial arts to enrich your life, stay healthy and protect yourself and others or you can use it to hurt or even kill people. would you saymartial arts is a cult because some people use it to hurt others?

Analogies can sometimes be useful and other times can side track the conversation from the main point. In this instance the analogy is useful in explaining why I studied and researched NLP. Someone was manipulating me with it and I couldn’t understand what was happening. Just like someone learning a martial art to defend them would do, I went and found out how I was being attacked. Understanding NLP techniques enabled me to defend myself. No of course I wouldn’t say martial arts are a cult. Again my arguments against NLP are with its methods not what people use it for.

Part 3.

Then this:

You don't want to debate me because you know you can only keep this nonsense up for so long before you appear absolutely paranoid. If your intent with your blogs and Facebook page is to warn people of the dangers of cults that is a noble cause and if you want to warn people that some people who use NLP use it to manipulate and take advantage of people I have no problems with that either because it's true. It can happen. But to call all of it or even half of it a brainwashing cult is ludicrous. NLP wouldn't even qualify as a religion. Christianity is far more cultish than NLP could ever be. You simply don't have all the information and experience to know what you say you know about NLP. Your breakdown and responses to what I posted were not only paranoid but they were also manipulative. Maybe you have studied NLP......

You don't want to debate me

Really?

because you know you can only keep this nonsense up for so long before you appear absolutely paranoid.

Again telling me what I know. Again you are completely wrong. Then telling me what other people will think when they read this. I will leave them to decide that.

If your intent with your blogs and Facebook page is to warn people of the dangers of cults that is a noble cause and if you want to warn people that some people who use NLP use it to manipulate and take advantage of people I have no problems with that either because it's true. It can happen.

It was in part, thank you. It is more to warn against getting involved in NLP period. Not because of how some people use it. All use of NLP is despicable and can cause great harm. Like losing a sense of reality, losing and alienating your friends amongst other things.

But to call all of it or even half of it a brainwashing cult is ludicrous.

In your opinion, not shared by me.

Christianity is far more cultish than NLP could ever be.

Agreed. Someone wrote in the comments of another blog that “NLP is a religion for the inept.”  I concur.

You simply don't have all the information and experience to know what you say you know about NLP.

I never claimed to have all the information or experience. I believe have more than enough to form an opinion that I feel is well founded enough to publish and let those that read it make up their own minds.

Your breakdown and responses to what I posted were not only paranoid but they were also manipulative. Maybe you have studied NLP......

My breakdown responses are the only way to successfully get my argument across when you make so many points in one go. I can see no way anything I have said could possibly be construed as paranoid or manipulative. Please expand so I can understand what you are getting at.

NLP Standard Deception and Lies

Smoke and Mirrors. The tools of NLP.

Someone posted this on my Facebook page:

how can a method or an approach be a cult? who is the leader of this cult?

Both standard defences from cult members and easy to answer, so I did.

It uses both the methods and approach of a cult. Richard Bandler.

He came back with more:

what you're noticing are the methods of success and that can be succeeding in doing unethical things or wonderful things. there is a light and a dark side to anything especially something that is powerful. it depends on the person using it. NLP is just a study and a set of tools. You can use it to create a cult and manipulate people or you can use it to find solutions to end world hunger. i've done several trainings in NLP and no one has ever tried to manipulate me or control me. i've never met Richard Bandler. i've never pledged allegance to him nor have i ever been asked to. you're thinking that NLP must be a cult is the same narrow minded thinking that creates cults. NLP is a method that frees people from their limiting beliefs instead of creating limiting beliefs about things they don't know much about.

Of course it sounds quite convincing on first reading but let’s look a little deeper and answer line by line.

what you're noticing are the methods of success and that can be succeeding in doing unethical things or wonderful things.

As with many NLPers he immediately starts by trying to tell me what I am thinking, a basic mind control technique designed to manipulate me in to accepting what he said is true. What I notice is the unethical use of mind control. That is attempting to use these techniques on someone unaware of what is being done to them, that is unethical.

there is a light and a dark side to anything especially something that is powerful.. it depends on the person using it.

That is patently untrue. Is there a light side to genocide or a dark side to fluffy toys?

NLP is just a study and a set of tools.

NLP is the study of mind control and manipulation, so yes tools. It is also dressed up as science and sold to the unwitting.

You can use it to create a cult and manipulate people or you can use it to find solutions to end world hunger.

I have seen many examples of the former never one of the latter.

i've done several trainings in NLP and no one has ever tried to manipulate me or control me.

Judging by what he has said they have done exactly that. They brainwashed him so thoroughly he is now spreading the gospel and trying to brainwash others using the exact same techniques they used on him. That is what cults do.

i've never met Richard Bandler. i've never pledged allegance to him nor have i ever been asked to.

The same is true of many members of other cults. Meeting the leader or pledging an allegiance are not required to make it a cult. (edit: It turns out Damon was NLPed by Judith DeLozier, a member of Grinder and Bandler’s original group of "students", so his links to the cult leader are closer than he lets on. Students are of course how they refer to themselves, in reality they are the original cultists.)

you're thinking that NLP must be a cult is the same narrow minded thinking that creates cults. NLP is a method that frees people from their limiting beliefs instead of creating limiting beliefs about things they don't know much about.

Yet again telling me what I think and why I think it. Yet again he is completely incorrect. Thinking that something is a cult cannot in anyway create a cult.

NLP is a method that frees people from their limiting beliefs instead of creating limiting beliefs about things they don't know much about.

Cults and other supernatural pseudoscience nonsense often use these meaningless phrases to allude to some secret knowledge beyond those not in the cult. I limit my belief to that can be demonstrated to be true. I do know a lot about NLP, I studied it when someone close to me had her personality and vitality destroyed by it. I needed to find out what happened, and I was horrified by what I found.

Everything he wrote above is identical to how other NLP cult victims respond. They are all taught to defend the cult using these same methods of deception. I can see through them unfortunately they can’t.

How to Spot the NLP Sociopath.

Whilst much of NLP is made up pseudo-science the rest is an instruction manual that should be titled “How to be a Sociopath”. Brainwashing ensures that the NLPer actually believes that these actions are a positive thing and that they are successful in life because of these skills.

Sociopaths can be difficult to spot as they are usually very convincing liars, however if you know what to look for after a little time getting to know them the signs are unmistakable.

Sociopaths are masters at influence and deception. Very little of what they say actually checks out in terms of facts or reality, but they're extremely skilful at making the things they say sound believable, even if they're just making them up out of thin air.

So to help you out here is what to look for:

10 signs for spotting a sociopath

NLP Cult Social Isolation

Another reason proponents of NLP use to deny that it is a cult is that it does not physically or geographically isolate people from the rest of society. The often quoted A Bradbury is one example of this trick. (I can debunk every item in that article.)

NLP does socially isolate people although they still are physically present in society the sociopathic nature of their beliefs and practices makes them intolerable to most people (except psychopaths and other hustlers, confidence tricksters etc.).

NLPers believe that the self is the only thing that matters. Personal wealth and success the only goal in life. Manipulating and using anybody they meet including friends and family in order to achieve their goals is taught as some pseudo-scientific method and given silly names like:

Embedded Commands = subliminally telling people what to do or think

The NLP Power of Agreement = telling someone they agree with you when they don’t

Silence Imposition Technique = being rude and ignoring someone

NLP Cult Recruitment

The NLP Cult members are the recruitment agents. Once they have been awarded NLP Practitioner status they use their persuasion techniques to manipulate anyone they know or meet to attempt to lure them into the cult. The first step is usually a free seminar often 2 or 3 days over a weekend. Once there the potential victim will be subjected to more manipulation and the hard sell to get them to pay for a NLP Practitioner course (full NLP Cult membership). Fake schools are a very common recruitment tactic amongst cults.



This blog post describes what happens at these free seminars

“…… quoting Einstein and other famous scientists. These statements were taken completely out of context and used to support ideas that the people being quoted probably would not have agreed with.”

“He got us to do all these exercises where we'd write down things that we want out of life or something like that, and then we'd have to find someone we've never met and read our list to them...and then high-five them and say, "you’re awesome!" hehehe. Anyway, the last time this happened before the break, he suddenly informed us that the person we had just met was our partner for the weekend. Now this was all really cleverly orchestrated to manipulate us into remaining for the whole weekend. We were told to tell our partner why we were going to give it our 100% etc. and I thought, I'm not definitely going to stay, but there is no point in being here if I'm not going to give it 100% while I'm here.”

“Anyway, it was hard to get my girlfriend to leave with me, not because she wanted to stay, but because she felt bad about ditching her 'partner' when she'd just made all of these promises to him. I explained that that was one of the very reasons I did want to leave, and I convinced her and we left. I felt like shit afterwards. I felt emotionally drained...and I was only there for two hours. The full thing went from 9AM-11PM on friday sat and sunday. I would've been a fucking Zombie by then.”