By L. Michael Hall
NLP Going Meta delves into the integration of the Meta States model within the modeling process, particularly through logical levels. This is an advanced NLP book primarily focused on behavior modification, making it challenging for beginners.
Understanding NLP Modeling
At its core, NLP modeling operates with the question:
“If I were to take your place for a day, what would I need to know and do to replicate your results?”
Modeling is fundamentally about understanding and replicating processes. NLP itself emerged as a result of modeling experts like Milton Erickson (hypnosis), Fritz Perls (Gestalt therapy), and Virginia Satir (family therapy). Bandler and Grinder formalized these methodologies into explicit patterns, utilizing Representational Systems and strategic sequencing to decode human subjectivity.
How Experts Think and Learn
We process and acquire knowledge through multiple layers:
- Constructing mental representations using sensory input (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.).
- Using language to describe and interpret these representations.
- Structuring our experiences with submodalities.
- Applying beliefs, values, metaphors, presuppositions, and cognitive frameworks to shape our understanding.
Mental Mapping
Our perception of reality is shaped by mental maps rather than direct interaction with the world. Physical reality consists of events, forces, and changes, whereas our conceptual world is built on differences and interpretations. These internal maps determine our responses, and feedback mechanisms allow us to update them for improved decision-making.
Strategies: The Blueprint of Thought and Action
A strategy is a structured sequence of thoughts and actions used to achieve a particular outcome. Strategies operate within our mental maps and serve as an initial framework for modeling.
- On a micro level, strategies influence thoughts and beliefs.
- On a macro level, they affect skills and communication styles.
Understanding a person’s strategies can enhance our ability to influence and communicate effectively.
Purpose and Intention
The effectiveness of any skill is driven by an underlying purpose and intention—often outside conscious awareness. This “big why” serves as the foundation for learning and expertise. While NLP generally focuses on “how” rather than “why,” recognizing an expert’s deeper motivation can provide insights into their mastery.
Meta States: The Foundation of Advanced NLP Modeling
A major reason why some NLP techniques fail is the attempt to apply primary state tools to meta state experiences. Meta states require distinct mechanisms such as language, symbols, or metaphors to be effectively anchored.
A Meta State occurs when one mental state references another, influencing both perception and behavior. For example, we may feel excited about learning or frustrated with frustration itself—these layered states control and shape our responses.
Humans possess unique abilities such as:
- Reflexive thinking (thinking about our thoughts).
- Self-fulfilling prophecies (expectations shaping reality).
- Complex emotions (feeling ashamed of being afraid, or proud of being confident).
Meta states influence every aspect of our identity, beliefs, and perception of meaning and purpose.
Gestalt Meta States
Abstract concepts like beauty emerge from a holistic perception of order and symmetry. However, analyzing this wholeness often dissolves its structure. Emergence occurs when a system’s organization produces an effect that doesn’t exist independently—like the way a thermostat maintains temperature within a system.
Meta Programs: Filters of Perception
Meta programs act as cognitive filters, shaping how we:
- Perceive and interpret stimuli.
- Prioritize and process information.
- Sort, reframe, and structure our experiences.
These deep-seated cognitive patterns influence our personality, values, and overall worldview. Meta programs operate at both a global level (defining personality) and a contextual level (adjusting based on circumstances). A core example of a meta program is the use of representational systems (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.).
Beliefs and Values: The Framework for Action
Beliefs influence our abilities, behaviors, and motivations by providing a framework of validation. While beliefs do not create objective reality, they shape subjective experience, impacting both mind and body.
- Primary states relate directly to external experiences (sensory input and basic responses).
- Meta states represent abstract concepts (ideas about ideas, beliefs about abilities, etc.).
Understanding these distinctions is crucial in NLP modeling.
Framing: The Invisible Structure of Meaning
Our perceptions and decisions are influenced by unconscious frames—the mental structures that determine meaning.
Key meta frames include:
- Meaning – the interpretations we assign to experiences.
- Beliefs – validated ideas we hold as true.
- Values – concepts we deem important.
- Identity – our self-concept.
- Expectations – what we anticipate happening.
- Paradigms and schemas – complex systems of thought that shape our worldview.
Out Framing: Shifting Perception at a Higher Level
An expert’s ability to solve problems often comes from viewing situations through different frames than others. Identifying and modifying these frames can unlock new solutions.
The NLP Modeling Process
Presuppositions of Modeling
- Every behavior has an internal structure.
- Order, sequence, and timing are crucial.
Steps in the Modeling Process
- Elicit strategies – Slow down the thought process and ask precise questions.
- Recognize patterns – Observe word choices, representations, and synesthetic connections.
- Analyze eye movements – Internal cognitive processes are made explicit through eye accessing cues.
- Examine logical consistency – What distinguishes an expert from a novice?
- Document strategies consistently – Just as musical notation captures melodies, NLP models encode thought sequences.
Meta Strategies: The Art of Framing and Reframing
- Anchoring – Tying experiences to specific contextual cues.
- Framing – Setting the meaning or context of an interaction.
- Deframing – Breaking apart existing meanings.
- Reframing – Assigning new meaning from a different perspective.
- Pre-framing – Establishing a frame before entering a situation.
- Out framing – Moving beyond all frames to a higher perspective.
Certain linguistic patterns reveal meta states:
- Use of words like of, about, regarding, beyond, in terms of.
- Hyphenated words (self-confidence).
- Quotation structures (“And he told me…”)
- Nested loops and storytelling techniques.
Logical Levels: The Key to Transformational Change
Understanding logical levels helps in:
- Distinguishing between descriptions and evaluations.
- Taking a broader, objective perspective.
- Identifying leverage points for change.
- Integrating different elements into a cohesive system.
- Creating generative changes that affect the entire system.
Unlike simple lists (such as values ranked in order), logical levels form hierarchical relationships where each level controls the one beneath it.
Installing Strategies for Lasting Change
- Anchoring – Linking a strategy to a specific sequence or context.
- Guided instructions – Visualizing and mentally rehearsing the process.
- Practicing synesthetic patterns – Strengthening multi-sensory associations.
- Game-based learning – Engaging in playful, experimental application.
- Pattern interruption – Disrupting ingrained behaviors to create flexibility.
Out framing is particularly effective in installing new strategies, as seen in techniques like the miracle pattern or “as if” reframing. Many NLP conversational reframing methods (e.g., Mind Lines, Sleight of Mouth) function as out frames, shifting perception at a higher level.
NLP Going Meta provides a comprehensive approach to modeling expertise through Meta States, logical levels, and strategic framing techniques. By understanding these principles, we can refine our ability to replicate high-level skills, restructure limiting beliefs, and create deep transformational change.
