neuro-linguistic programming

 I remember the first time someone said “neuro-linguistic programming” to me. It sounded like some kind of science fiction brainwashing technique, and I immediately felt skeptical. But over the years, I’ve learned to listen when something stirs discomfort in me, it often means there’s something there worth exploring.

So I did. And what I found was both useful and messy. Neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP, is less about some rigid doctrine and more like a language of the subconscious. It’s about understanding how we create meaning, how our thoughts and words shape our emotional world and how to shift patterns that no longer serve us. That part resonated. I’ve spent most of my life observing people’s patterns, how they speak, how they breathe when they’re nervous, how one painful memory can replay in their body like a broken record. NLP, in its best form, offers tools to interrupt that.

What intrigued me most was the way NLP blends the mental and the somatic. You might be asked to call up a painful image and then, through visualization or breath, shift the color or location of that image in your mind. At first it feels silly, like you’re play-acting with your inner child. But something subtle happens. You realize that your “reality” is more pliable than you thought. That the way you’ve been carrying your grief, your fear, your anger ; it’s a construction. And if it’s a construction, it can be reshaped.

There’s something amazing about that. Especially for those of us who’ve walked through trauma, who’ve been told that healing is linear or clinical or only happens in a therapist’s office. NLP reminds us that healing can be creative. That we can speak to the parts of ourselves that are stuck using metaphor, image, sensation. That we don’t have to wait for years of analysis to begin feeling free.

Of course, like many tools that promise transformation, NLP is often overmarketed. It’s been used in sales and persuasion in ways that feel manipulative. I’ve seen coaches throw around jargon and push people into breakthroughs that don’t stick. And that’s not my way. Healing is sacred. It takes trust. It takes consent. It takes knowing when to stop and just breathe together in silence.

But when I strip it down to its essence, NLP is about listening, to the inner language we’ve been using to tell our story. It’s about becoming the author again, instead of the character reacting to every scene. And that, to me, is aligned with everything I’ve learned through Ayurveda, through shamanism, through the traditions of my ancestors. We’re here to remember who we are. And sometimes, we need new language to do that.

~ Shanti Freedom Das