NLP Training: Ericksonian Function

Submitted by Craig on Mon, 10/04/2010 - 21:34

What is the Ericksonian Function?

Summary:

In tonight's free web conference, we delved into the essentials of what Stephen Gilligan has called the "Ericksonian Function", or in other words the essential aspects of Milton Erickson's function as a world-class hypnotherapist, with the ability to direct his subjects' attention in ways that helps them discover their personal power. Power to do what? Power to relieve pain, power to become creative, power to forgive, power to direct one's life in more positive ways, power to improve relationships, power to find ground in psychosis, power to escape from the grip of neurosis, power to become more able in crisis, and the list goes on.

Milton Erickson was a real healer, and a master of his art and craft. Even if the founders of NLP had not been advised by Gregory Bateson to study him and his methods, he would have been a great healer to those her served, and many books would have been written about him. NLP's contribution to studying Milton Erickson was in the modeling of his language patterns, which have been analyzed and analyzed again and again. In our discussion tonight, we shared how the language patterns were only a part of Milton's ability to help people, and in fact Milton has told many of his followers that the language patterns and techniques were secondary in helping people to the dogged belief that people do not know their full potential, and that motivation to help them discover their potential and change for the better is the real prime concern.

Admittedly, I am removed from Milton Erickson by 3 degrees, by which I mean I know people who know people who knew him. So what business do I have talking about a man whom I did not know personally? Well the answer is that I believe that each of us has the ability to capture Milton Erickson's essence as we explore our own unconscious minds, and endeavor to help others do the same. This essence is what Stephen Gilligan was referring to as the Ericksonian Function. In other words, it is the voice of sponsorship that goes with us as we go inward to explore what we might become, might achieve, might overcome, or might enjoy even more. This voice provides direction in trance that is missing in both prayer and meditation, and which if we can develop in ourselves, can be there to help us whether in up-time, or down-time states.

With this in mind, we watched a video of Milton Erickson teaching a subject that they could learn trance, and that this learning could be useful in later life experiences. In light of the Ericksonian function, we used our play time to start to recognize this ability in ourselves.

In our Now, Let's Play section, we explored inwardly to discover whether our inner guide had Ericksonian qualities of Sponsorship, Safety, Positivity, Directionality and drew attention to evidence supporting movement towards goals or outcomes. To the degree that we noticed these qualities in our inner wisdom, we called it the Ericksonian Function. It was a lot of fun to explore.