In 1985 Richard Bandler published the book "Using your brain for a change". A series of transcripts that changed the way many people thought about the way the mind works, how it encodes information and how people can make profound changes in their lives with ease.

It's now 2009 and Richard Bandler is making his way onto the stage at the Dreams Hotel, Puerto Vallarta Mexico. As the rock music plays, the crowd stands to applaud the creative genius behind the technology known as NLP. This is "Using A Lot More Of Your Brain For A Change" with Richard Bandler, Gabe Guerrero and special guest, Eric Robbie.

Arriving at the Dreams hotel after a loooong flight from the UK via Dallas Texas, we're immediately greeted by the sand. The hotel is situated directly on the beach and I'm excited about going for a swim in the ocean when the morning arrives. I check in and the gentleman at the desk informs me that; "There are 5 restaurants, 2 swimming pools, an Internet cafe...and....24 hour room service all inclusive..and oh, there are just 2 things that you'll have to pay for if you want them....The lobster and bottles of wine".

I enter the room in which the next 7 nights will be spent sleeping and waking and as the door clicks open....the sunlight from outside hits me and my eyes immediately defocus. For just a moment or two, everything's a blur and as my eyes start to refocus again, the ocean comes into view through the large double door windows on the far side of the room. I have a single room but as I look at the super kingsize bed, the long stretching room and the mini bar in the corner, I start to wonder just how big the double rooms must be.

Our first full day in Mexico is spent soaking up the sun whilst drinking piña colada and having flown here with the amazing Eric Robbie, we sit on the beach soaking up not only the intense Mexican sun but also the stories and mental tasks of a master at work. We're glad we arrived a day early and as Eric, Chris and I strole out for dinner, we know the next day is going to be something special.

As I lay down to sleep, I remember that come 6am "the ninja", a shaman from Mexico who's spent more than 10 years in the monasteries with the monks, traveling with the gurus, studying with the shaman of the world and now, for one week, he's here in Mexico to teach those of us who are interested about the magical ways in which the world and it's elements work. Remembering to meet him on the beach for 6am I set my alarm and drift off listening to the sound of the waves crash onto the shore just meters from me.

When I arrive at the training course for the first day I'm handed a name badge and as I look down at it, I'm reminded of all those other courses I've been on and how reading the name on this badge in front of me now is only an indication of who I was before the end of this course. I step into the room where for the next 5 days, something magical is about to occur.

Richard is first up on the stage and as he starts to talk, part of me wants to track what's he's doing, what he's saying, how he's saying it and what sequence everything is happening in. Another part of me starts to melt into the chair as Richard talks about making good decisions with hypnotic tones in his voice. Looking up I notice that Richard isn't the only one on the stage because just to his side are two of Mexico's finest Musicians and NLPers, Omar Fuentes Soto and Gasu. I've been to many training courses before but this isn't just a guy on a stage telling stories, this is an orchestra of sound being used to take us in and out of different states and before I know it, It's time to grab a partner and begin the first exercise.

As we drift through into the afternoon I almost forget that what's about to come. Returning to the slightly cooled seminar room for the afternoon session after a sumptuous lunch in the Oceana restaurant, I remember who's about to take the stage. As one of the few people that Richard Bandler truly recognises as being a genius in his own right, Gabe Guerrero steps up onto the stage with a roarous applause. Having trained with Gabe before both in Mexico and in London, I realise that many of the non Mexican participants of the course may not have seen Gabe at work before and some of them are wondering, just how can anyone take the stage after Richard Bandler and create even more magic than they expected. As Gabe begins to talk and peoples eyes light up, I'm reminded of why I spend so much time training with Gabe. There's something special going on not only between Gabe and his audience but between each and every part of what makes the way he teaches so magical. The musicians are playing and not only are we learning through metaphor and unconscious installations of certain beliefs, concepts and a structures, but Gabe is explicitly teaching us about what's he's doing and how he's doing it, how to create lasting change and how to understand and predict the way human behaviour works and operates.

Learning from Gabe is not only an experience in watching a master at work but also a chance for many of the unconscious learnings from many other places to now become conscious so that we can understand them, fine tune them and take what we know, what we don't know, what we're about to know and what we didn't know we didn't know, to the next level.

As evening approaches we're once again on the beach watching the sun set behind the majestically horizon as the boats sail on the edge of the ocean, and I sit back in awe with old friends and new friends, I'm thankful that I made a great decision and that I'm spending time with people who I can laugh with, talk with, learn from and teach.

It's the middle of the course and as lunch approaches we're told that there's a special treat being prepared for the afternoon. It's a tiny secret and everyone is excited and as one of those who knows what's about to come, I enjoy the feverish excitement of those anticipating the brilliance that's about to unfold in front of their very eyes in the afternoon session.

We enter the room and excitedly take our seats, Gabe announces that neither he nor Richard will be taking us for the next few hours. Stepping onto the stage, beaming with energy and looking out over the room with a twinkle in his eye is the man himself, Eric Robbie.

Having been on tour with Richard for many years and as the UKs most senior NLP trainer, Eric begins to talk and the room goes silent. This is the kind of silence where not only is no-one speaking on the outside but something on the inside has stopped to listen too. Eric teaches us about the different types of internal dialog that people have and shows us how, just by looking and paying attention, you can begin to notice whether they're receiting, remembering, debating, scripting, wondering and more. We get into groups of 3 and head down to the beach to try out some of what Eric has been teaching us and not only are people surprised at how easily they can do this, they're excited and discussing different ways these learnings can be applied in the real world.

In 2 hours we've learned more about sensory acuity than many learn after years of training and as Eric leaves the stage this time around, I can't help but feel a sense of pride and admiration for a man who's created so much of what we take for granted in NLP. I start to think forward to the next time I'll be watching him up on the stage and as Eric smiles I know that many more will be joining him for his next training event.

As the days drift on and our understanding of how the human mind works increases, I start to look back on the various stories that Richard, Gabe and Eric told us throughout the seminar and I begin to piece together some of the different teachings and noticing some of the different structures that were used throughout the seminar.

Sitting in the seminar room on one of the last days, the lights suddenly go out. A voice comes on over the PA system and I recognise it as being Gabes and as he begins to talk and we sit in wonder, the music slowly begins to come in, quietly at first and gradually increasing with every word. Then a light comes on over the back of the room and a flame stands on the stage lighting up the eyes of everyone who watches. Then a second light, a third and a fourth. As I listen to the music and watch the different breams of light flowing through the room, I listen to Gabe talking and something inside me begins to shift. The magic of the light and sound show takes everyone into awe and the more we listen and the more we see, the more intense the feelings become. I look around the room and as the spotlight moves from person to person I start to see just how excited yet relaxed everyone is. I start to focus on one of the lights on the wall that's projecting a 3D sphere and as I watch, I start to go inside and things that didn't make sense before start to slot into place. Now I realise just how magical this experience is and how the perfect sign-off to a course being held in the most perfect of places is just the start of so much more to come.

Checking out of the hotel I take one last glance back at the ocean crashing up onto the sandy shore and I smile. I know i'll be back, the only question is when. In a place where all the food is free, all the drinks keep coming and the most amazing of experiences is to be had, sometimes the lobster and wine is worth paying for.

In 1985 Richard Bandler put his mark on the world with his book "Using your brain for a change". Now in 2009 and on into the future we can all look forward to using a lot more of our brains for a change.

Jamie

Source: Using a lot more of your brain for a change | Warmth on the soul

Beautiful Jamie,

I almost feel like I was there

Nina

Jamie, adding some info about the musicians on stage.

...just to his side are two of Mexico's finest Musicians and NLPers, Omar Fuentes Soto and Gasu.

Omar is a Master Trainer of NLP with speciality in DHE. We co-train very often and he has helped me in the development of the program Conversational Change Specialist. He played several years ago with a rock band called "Victimas del Dr. Cerebro" and had the chance to play several times in front of more than 50,000 people.

Gasu is a Design Human Engineer Level 3 who is very involved with Yoga as his wife is a great kundalini yoga instructor. He played and still plays the guitar with a rock band "Los Amantes de Lola" (they've sold over 4 million records). He composed a #1 hit single in 1992 and has produced other bands as well.

BTW (I'll have my own ego trip) a few times they used during the program some sequences that I recorded on my keyboards. So I was also involved in the composing and performing music at this program, haha. However they (Omar and Gasu) are truly amazing musicians.

I find it so useful to have live music on a program like this because music has the power of evoking very powerful states and also involves much more right hemisphere functions during the presentation.

Anyway it is all ovr now.... until January 2010!
Or my monthly programs involving live music and a lights show all part of a research and development journey.