I thought I'd share with you my initial impressions of "The Metaphor Machine" 2 CD Set from The Mastery InSight Institute.

There are 2 CDs. In the first Jonathan explains the difference between Isomorphic and Homomorphic metaphor and argues that the latter is a far more powerful and subtle device; warning that people may feel patronised by the Isomorphic variety. He goes on to expain "The Metaphor Machine", a step by step a technique for constructing Homomorphic metaphors.

On disc 2 first he runs through the technique on 5 different example cases, showing how the process results in each case in a metaphor that elegantly addresses the presenting situation. He ends the set with a stream of metaphors to fully engage our unconscious minds in the learning process.


Why do I think this set is excellent?

• The material is presented clearly and cleanly, the technique is deceptively simple.
• It seems easy to start using the technique to create useful metaphors immediately, with the exciting prospect that with practice and imagination the same technique is capable of delivering really masterful results (unconscious competence beckons!)
• It is completely focused on this one technique, there is no waffle and no distraction from the desired outcome.
• Jonathan gives the unconscious mind a clear step by step process to understand and then works at embedding the learning unconsciously, and for me this seems to work brilliantly. It seems that when I use the step by step process (the conscious bit) the results at each step "just come to me" (the unconscious bit) and the end result just seems to work.

This is what I produced in my first use of the "metaphor machine". The "problem"; a new powerful person joining an established business team resulting in culture shock and disharmony. I fed this into the metaphor machine, pressed the buttons, and to my surprise got a metaphor about FriendsReunited.com. At first I was dubious as to the value of this, but as I explored and developed the metaphor it started to feel a strangely good vehicle for what I wanted to achieve. Now I doubt that in the past I would ever have jumped straight to this metaphor without using Jonathan's machine. Furthermore I trust him when he says that with practice the step by step process will drop beneath the surface leaving the ability to quickly get straight to an excellent Homomorphic metaphor.

So, could this set be improved in any way?

One loose end for me is how Homomorphic Metaphors can best be used in combination. On disc 1 Jonathan differentiates between Isomorphic Metaphors which have a 1:1 relationship with the presenting situation, and Homomorphic where the relationship is less direct and the required outcome is achieved by a combination of sequenced metaphors. It's not clear (to my conscious mind !) how to use the Metaphor Machine to create a set of complementary metaphors. Perhaps you just run the process repeatedly with the same input and use the different outputs that result.

I also feel that Jonathan is perhaps too "black and white" in his dismissal of Isomorphic metaphor, which surely can be done elegantly and in a more subtle way than in the example he gives; although perhaps when an "Isomorphic" metaphor is subtle and elegant it is by definition "Homomorphic"!?

Overall, I'm delighted with "The Metaphor Machine". I've got plenty of NLP stuff on my MP3 player that helps me access positive states but this material is sharply focused on one sophisticated and powerful techique and it delivers practical results immediately. By far the best example of NLP training on disc that I've come across so far.


NLP Products: "Metaphor Machine" 2 CD Set!

I'm not good with long jargon words, and I'm not ashamed to say so...

Can anybody be kind enought to tell me what "isomorphic" and "homomorphic mean??

Here is a web chat from Jonathan Altfeld himself all about metaphors

IRC Chat Log, 5/14/98: Metaphors

J

Wow!! I haven't seen one of those in a long time. I really enjoyed those chats. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Jay. :-)

Venus

Okay, thanks, I think I'm getting it now...

So, anyway, an englishman, an irishman and a scotsman go into a bar and the barman says, "Welcome to Joe's bar. What can I get you? The House beers are draught and keg."
And the Englishman says, "what are they?"
The irishman says, "ask that unconscious guy slumped over in the corner"
The scotsman says, "mmm...beer...remember that time we got totally out of our heads..."
So the Englishman walks up to the drunk guy and gives him a shake and says, "Hey Pal. Are you okay?"

The drunk looks up and says,

"Pleased to meetcha. I'm Joe. Welcome to your isomorphic metaphor..."

:tongue:

Or there was another time there were these corkscrews all laying in a drawer. In the next drawer were knives, in the next forks and after that the spoons, and all sorts of other implements were in there as well, and anyway a spider was walking over the worksurface above chatting with a fly about nothing in particular and all was well, but that's not important right now, because right then the owner of that particular kitchen walked up and opened the drawer and said "Sorry guys but I can't find my trowel and I need to dig up some turnips, so one of you is going to have to stand in and do the job..."
There was of course no reply from a bunch of implements laying in a drawer, so he reached in apparently at random and pulled out an eggwhisk turned it over and on the back in tiny tiny letters was written:

"Homomorphic metaphor"

Hi folks!

First, a public thank-you to Kevin for your product review. It was a pleasant surprise to log in and read your comments, both the praise and the constructive responses as well. As no product is ever perfect, I'll take a review like that any day of the week!

To Jay -- thanks for the reminder of that chat log on Metaphors!

To Jay & Venus -- I too enjoyed the trip down memory lane doing a scan of that chat log on metaphors from a decade ago! Back in 1998, even then when I was already encouraging the use of homomorphisms over isomorphisms, I hadn't yet unpacked my method for arriving at homomorphic metaphor which seemed to come naturally to me. I began teaching the "Metaphor Machine" technique about 3 or 4 years ago, though my delivery of it has tightened up & evolved over those years, and only recently did I reach a point where I felt I was teaching it well enough to take it from something taught live (with visuals, audio, & coaching/feedback) to something taught via CD.

My views on CDs are, any material's got to be really crisp to make a CD-set valuable. As Kevin said, no waffle & no distractions!

Regards,

- Jonathan
(I'll see some of you very soon, as I'll be in both the UK & Australia over the next month & beyond!)

Hi Nigel,

If those are isomorphic and homomorphic metaphors for you, I hope at least those are small parts of your life experience!

Thanks for being courageous enough to share and I wish you luck with that!

Be Well,

Michael Perez

Hi Michael,

Thanks! (although as usual I have little or no idea what you're really talking about... whether you're being straight, weird, humourous or serious...)
If it's a straight communication then, yes, they were both supposed to be references to this thread prior to and including that post...!

Yes? No? You tell me!

:cool:

Hi All,

On a more serious note, and having babbled a bit with Jonathan on the subject, I'd have to say that anyone who wants to not only tell more effective meaningless stories that seem to help people change for no apparent reason would very likely be grateful for having bought this inexpensive CD set!

Jonathan makes some really powerful distinctions about various types of metaphor and even makes some distinctions about how to riff on stories which makes the telling of them more engaging and even funnier!

That's my experience. And Kevin, thanks for the review!

Hi Nigel,

Just goofing around on a Sunday afternoon! I often find myself having a play at joking around and enjoying myself on a lovely evening as this is turning out to be!

And it's always lovely to see how people can read things and enjoy them in just the way that seems to be best for them. Because, as the saying goes, any joke you have to explain wasn't funny! But we learn even from the duds, don't we?

And I assume you've read Jonathan's IRC log where Jonathan defines the terms. And yes, I assumed that was what you were having a play at!

Have fun playing with them, as the more fun you can have, the more enjoyable the learning can be!

Be Well,

Michael Perez

Thanks a lot Michael!

Goofing around is good for me - I do it most of the time - if only I could apply the same dedication to being sensible, I'd be much more successful at making money...!

You're an extremely interesting person to me btw, because you always seem to be saying several things at once (which I tend to assume is deliberate) and I'm never quite sure which one applies to me. Most of the folk around here are fairly easy for me to 'get' but you're an enigma.

I like that. :cool:

Speaking of goofing around...

Sometimes I do tend to take things a bit too literally, as you may have noticed...

Some people may even consider me to be a bit paranoid...

...but they're only saying that because they're a part of the conspiracy against me!