Push Hands is similar to NLP Short Therapy

In Tai-chi practice there is this skill called "push hands". Basically you and a partner remain in contact with each other while each player alternately pushes towards your partners center. The practice is to absorb the push and/or redirect the push in useful ways.

Push hands is based on the sequence: listening, following, interrupting, and redirecting.

The primary skill in push hands is listening. This isn't listening with your ears, it is listening with your body. This is a skill is built from many weeks of practice. To succeed at listening you must quiet your own mind, and be open to feel (listen) to whatever your partner is doing. If you do this successfully you can track your partner 100% and you will always know how they are applying force, and where their center is.

By listening well, you enable following. This is the gentle matching of your force with your partner's, ideally, if following is done well, your partner will not even be aware that you are doing anything at all. They will continue to move with the illusion that they are in total control.

Once you are listening to, and following your partner closely, you can then choose an appropriate moment to interrupt your partner's pattern of movement. The goal is to use as little force as possible to redirect what they are doing, and lead them into a new and unexpected direction. The more force your partner is using, the more force you are able to reflect back onto them in your response.

The interruption and its follow through effectively redirect your partners pattern, moving them into one of your choosing. Once you have them in your own pattern, it is easy to bounce, trap or throw them into a nearby painful object.

In push hands this process is practiced many times, until it becomes instinctive for the practitioner.

In NLP, a short therapy may be conducted in a similar manner:

Once again the sequence is: listening, following, interrupting, and redirecting.

You listen to your partner by quieting your mind, and keeping it open to what your partner is doing. Instead of listening for a physical center, you are looking to understand their map of the world, and working to identify their existing behavioral pattern and their desired outcome. In essence you are looking for their emotional center.

You then follow their actions by subtle Mirroring and by using their vocabulary, gestures, and map of the world. This increases their trust in you and builds general rapport.

Once you identify a pattern you wish to change you wait until you see it, then you interrupt it. This can be done through some sudden shock to their system, for instance, a loud noise, or a unexpected gesture. The interruption should momentarily cause your partners pattern to be broken.

Before the old pattern is re-initialized, you have the opportunity to create a new pattern by redirecting your parner to a new behavior at this point.

Rinse and repeat, always replacing the old pattern with the new.

There is a common thread between these two activities, I find it fascinating!

Why can't I learn Chinese in a computer game?

I listened recently to an Adam Up Live podcast (#48) where Adam gave a summary of how to amplify the learning process by doing what he called "Total Immersion". Adams podcast used research from NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and child development to enumerate a list of what was needed to encourage rapid learning. I was struck by how close this list seemed to many of the features we provide in our gaming environments.

I have summarized his list of points below, adding my commentary about how I think they could be applied within virtual environments.

• The participant must want to learn. This is usually done by providing some tactical incentives to encourage goal setting and defining a strategic pathway to a higher level goal, in other words, we need to make progress tasty.
• The participant must be engaged in the moment. Not in the past or the future, but right now. I think this could be facilitated by using a first person point of view and immersing the participant in an interactive environment. (i.e. FPS technology)
• The participant must be immersed in the learning experience. The setting, preparation, game state, environmental cues, and timing must all work together to enhance the ability for the participant to "tune in" to the activity. This is a standard game design goal, nothing in the environment should distract the participant from what he/she is doing.
• The participant should use all senses. This comes from the NLP concept of modalities. Learning is best when done in multiple senses, such as Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic. So the environment needs to provide non-exclusive clues in a variety of senses. Visual and Auditory are pretty well covered in modern computer games, but perhaps kinesthetic could benefit from creative leverage of Wii controller manipulation, or at least rumble feedback.
• The participant should get frequent praise and rewards. We're talking about positive feedback baby! Perhaps the game could come with a hot companion who knows just what to say when you show perseverance and try alternate solutions :) .
• The participant should be liberated from the concepts of success or failure. Young children while learning rapidly are not daunted by a few failures, or complacent just because they accomplished something. Have you noticed how they keep going? over and over and over, (sometimes making adults crazy!) until they are happy with the pattern? Our environment must reward them for their continued participation, rather than categorize what they do as success or failure.
• The participant must pace herself. When the participant gets tired, it needs to be possible to take a break. Forcing someone to "grind" the same puzzle over and over can be very tiring. We need to provide a way to save the game state, or to context switch to a different goal when the participant gets tired. It may even be possible to detect this state and provide some alternate activities at this point.
• The participant needs time to digest and process their experiences. Usually this involves sleeping for a while. The brain spends the time we are sleeping categorizing our experiences and associating them with other portions of our mind. Trying to do too much without digesting the result (with some good solid sleep) is not good for the ultimate retention of the material.

So how would we develop a game to be educational and fun without being pedantic? What if I wanted to play a game where I could learn to read, write and understand spoken Chinese?

I don't believe the game design would need to be that different from existing patterns of computer game design, so what is the blockage? Do we have a problem generating content? or do we need to overcome the competitive nature of existing computer games? Or would such a product fail to make enough money?

Just some food for thought!

How I got started with self hypnosis

I originally got interested in self hypnosis because I was having a weight problem this summer. I noticed that my weight was creeping up, and I knew that at a certain threshold my diabetes would kick in. (I know because it has happened to me before). So, on a whim I spent about $50 on an audio set "Think Yourself Thin" from Adam Eason an entertaining hypnotist with a strong NLP background.

I was pretty determined to not waste my money, so I decided to follow all the instructions, and listen to the audio sessions at the rate suggested (one per week). I used my determination to leverage my subconscious, determined to make a serious change.

The worst part was keeping an eating journal for a while, and actually discovering what it was like to feel hungry again... This had to happen, because I needed to interrupt my old pattern of eating and bring the whole eating thing back into my conscious awareness again. Don't worry, I didn't starve, and after my metabolism stabilized, There was almost no willpower needed to stay on the program!

The most enjoyable part of the program was the audio self-hypnosis sessions. I tried to listen to the latest every day whenever possible. I could feel my body filled with energy and my psyche seemed to feel new enthusiasm after many sessions.

In about 3 weeks I started to notice that my self confidence had improved! and I felt like I had new control over my life. This unexpected result was very nice, and had unexpected benefits in many aspects of my life.

I was told not to weigh myself during the program, so I waited 10 weeks from when I began, I was amazed to discover that I had reduced my weight by over 25 lbs!

Well I was convinced of the power of self-hypnosis, so I purchased the "Master course in self-hypnosis" and started to learn the basics of how it all works. I now can create my own self-hypnosis tapes, and I try to either listen to one of Adams (I still love the Think Yourself Thin sessions) or one of my own, every day.

My life has changed. I've started religiously doing a morning ritual including Qigong, writing and self-hypnosis. I don't feel limited anymore, and I have naturally dropped some self destructive habits I've had for a long time.

If you need to change your life, and need a little guidance, I highly recommend trying a guided program like Think Yourself Thin!