Musings 
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Some years ago I attended a workshop given by George Leonard, former president of the Esalen Institute and author of numerous books on human potential including ‘Mastery: the Key to Success’ and ‘The Life We Are Given’.
The subject of the workshop was NLP and ESP.
NLP is ‘Neurolinguistic Programming’, an approach to communication and personal development that claims there is a connection between neurological processes and behavior patterns, especially as expressed in one’s physiology. NLP has techniques that claim behavioral patterns learned through experience can be changed to achieve specific goals in life. NLP claims that communication may be enhanced through practice and observation of one’s own or another person’s unstated thoughts or feelings which might be interpreted through unconscious physiological expressions.
ESP is ‘Extra Sensory Perception’, also called ‘Sixth Sense’. ESP includes claimed reception of information not gained through recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. Psychic abilities such as intuition, telepathy, and clairvoyance are claimed to be possible.
The intention of the workshop was to bring together expert practitioners of NLP with claimants of personal ESP. Exercises were introduced to stimulate experts and claimants to discover any intersection of projected abilities.
Richard Bandler, cofounder of NLP, was chief expert present. Additionally present were NLP trainers and practitioners. On the ESP side there were claimants who professed skills of telepathy, teleprojection, and/or psychic healing.
One exercise conducted was aimed to determine any intertwined connection of oral communication, physiology, and unconscious understanding. This exercise involved a young Swedish man telling a story entirely in his language to a group of non-Swedish speaking persons. I was part of this group. The group assignment was to use the techniques of NLP or ESP to try and intuit the story. These techniques involved mirroring the Swedish young man’s physiology as closely as possible to include matching his breathing and gestures. At completion of the story our group discussed what we thought it was about. Surprisingly three of us guessed, in pieces, that it was about a fishing trip with his father. This was true. We were quite struck by even this minimal version of unconscious perception. There were many, many more details for which we had no guesses.
A significantly more impactful personal experience was had when I was selected, with four others, to spend some time with Sean O’Donnell (I have forgotten his real name). Sean was a 7th Son of a 7th Son. In Irish folklore this meant that he would have special powers including the gift of healing.
Sean, 28, advised that from the age of 14 he experienced positive healing effects when he placed his hands on a person wanting healing. Our group was very interested and appropriately skeptical. We agreed that the positive mental attitudes and expectations of healer and patient may contribute to some measure of perceived healing.
Sean invited each of us, one at a time, with his back turned and eyes closed, to place our hands on his shoulders with intention to project healing energy. Sean would thereafter advise if he felt any sensation. When my turn came, I placed my hands on his shoulders and with focused intention I silently projected, “Heal, heal, heal.” Sean advised that no sensation was sensed. The same was experienced for the other group members.
Sean asked if anyone would like to try again. I stepped forward. This time with great intention and an intense emotional feeling I silently projected, “Love. Love. Love.” Sean startled. He said that he definitely felt a strong transmission of warmth and energy from my touch. I was startled too.
To this day I remain openly doubtful and also openly hopeful about possibilities of physical healing through human touch. In spite of some skepticism I admit that for the last many years whenever I am experiencing pain, physical or emotional, including stress or anxiety, with focused attention and intention I project internal energy to the source of the challenge and silently voice, “Love. Love. Love.”
For me, this has made a Life difference…
