Mapwork - the basis for effective NLP

The words that you are reading right now, in and of themselves, have no meaning.

The things that have happened to you so far today, in and of themselves, have no meaning.

And the events you see and hear about in the news, in and of themselves, have no meaning.

In "fact"*, nothing in the universe, in and of its self, has any meaning at all - until a sentient mind creates some. Now that mind might be your mind or my mind, an animal mind or an alien mind. And for some it might be the ultimate mind of God. Whoever's mind is doing the making, the result is a dynamic construct of meanings and beliefs that NLP calls a map of the world.

Your map of the world is both the sense you have made of everything, and the reference from which you continue to make sense of things. Everything that you believe to be true makes up your map, and everything you perceive is interpreted by it. So in this sense your map quite literally creates your perception of reality! Sadly, most people don't even realise that they have this map, even though they operate from it all day every day. This is because it is most often confused with the very reality that it is designed to make sense of - people confuse the map with the territory.

NLP's understanding that "the map is not the territory" is the absolute foundation for the "magic" that it achieves. In recognising maps as distinct from objective reality, NLP has formulated methodologies for not only more effectively utilising existing maps, but also altering and updating maps to better do their job. Indeed, working with maps is the very backbone of NLP.

For some, NLP is largely about communication. And for communication to be at all effective, it needs to reference the communicatees map. Where most people leave this to chance - relying on there being adequate broad similarities to their own map - the savvy NLP communicator switches on to work directly with the communicatees own map. To do this, he or she remains alert to clues given both verbally and non-verbally, and will elicit specific details as required.

For others, NLP is largely about working with psycho-physiological states - dissolving problem states while creating, and/or utilising resourceful ones. Again here mapwork is fundamental: maps create and govern states - you cannot elicit a state without working with the map that governs it. So the better you know that map, the more effectively you can work with the states as desired.

For others still, NLP is about modelling and strategies. As Tad James puts it, 'a strategy is what goes on in our head when we want to do something. All our external behaviours are controlled by internal processing strategies.' Every step of a strategy gains its impetus from the map that governs it. If part of a strategy goes see x then feel y, the casual link lies in the governing map. So successful modelling consists eliciting all the relevant map details in addition to the basic strategy. And it is often the case that the map details alone will give you the result that you want.

The fundamental nature of mapwork in NLP is reflected by historical position of the meta-model as the founding model of NLP. The meta-model is essentially a model for eliciting and examining maps, and as such serves as the foundation for all other NLP work. Learning the meta-model cultivates an awareness for the 'broad strokes' of peoples maps, as revealed through their verbal language. It also highlights the areas of missing detail and serves as a powerful tool for recovering them. In exposing the details of a persons map, opportunity is created for assessment, utilisation, re-evaluation and change.

When I was new to NLP, the meta-model just bored me. I was much more interested in the 'sexy' Milton model and state work stuff. Over time, I have come to see how use of the meta-model (with subtlety) is an essential underpinning for all consistently effective NLP work, because if you don't do your mapwork right, most of what you do will just come down to chance.

One final note on maps: The presuppositions of NLP are the basic mapping points of NLP itself. In assimilating the presuppositions into their own maps, NLP'ers create the reference they need to do further work on those maps over time. This is a powerful self amplifying resource - a dynamic, self-enriching map that cumulatively generates ever greater choice and personal richness. This is the map that creates the true heart and attitude of NLP.

* "Fact" has been put here in quotes because there is more to this can of worms than might meet the eye - in fact it is a little known fact that there is no such thing as a fact.