Covert Metaphor

The main character goes out searching for a god in order to find a suitable gift for the village shaman. During a hunt he comes across Odin.

I introduce Odin as a higher power who will help the main character to discover new abilities.

Odin, the Allfather, God of Poetry, Battle, and Death tells the main character he must first pass a test of courage, and then he will recieve the gift of magic to help his village. Magic will help him heal, give an advantage in battle, call the rain and the sun for crops, and protect the village against attacks.

The process of passing the test and Odin giving the power of magic will symbolize the conquering of fear and newfound self-confidence.

Odin gives the main character a test which requires a skill he has never developed. He must trust himself and break through his own fear in order to pass the test. He will learn his limitations are self-imposed.

When the main character returns to his village he will teach others about magic.

Looking back we started with:

1. Address a problem. (example: insecure and self-doubting)
2. List new abilities. (example: developing new skills and teaching others)
3. Offer desired outcome. (example: self-confident and secure)

Address A Problem

The main character has a problem with insecurity and self-doubt. This is addressed by showing his feelings of not being able to provide, in his eyes, an adequate gift for the local shaman. So, he ventures out to find a god which can give him the ultimate gift.

List New Abilities

The main character will need to pass a test by using abilities he does not know he already has. This will be done by going beyond his self-imposed limitations. What should the test consist of? And what abilities will he discover?
This is still undecided. What do you think?

Offer desired outcome

The main character will pass the test given to him and receive the power of magic. He will realize he already had the power of magic in him to begin with. After returning to his village he will teach others, increasing his self-esteem and self-confidence.

It may look a bit sloppy so far, but like I said, don’t concern yourself with details just yet. Just address the three key points and let the metaphor follow a natural progression. But we’re far from finished.

admin :: Jul.31.2007 :: magic, metaphor, myth :: No Comments »

In the beginning of constructing a metaphor, details should be kept to a minimum. Chunk up as much as possible. No more than two or three characters are needed to convey the message. It is often that inanimate objects like rocks and trees, for example, can be used as characters in the metaphor.

Depending on the audience and the problem being addressed, we can even use mythical creatures. Since this piece is about weaving myth and metaphor, this is exactly what I’ll be doing.

The metaphor must not be strictly isomorphic, but the problem should at least be associated with that of the main character.

Yesterday, I decided which problems would be addressed, but I’ll reiterate for clarity’s sake. Suppose I have a friend who has doubts about his own abilities to succeed in life. His fear is blocking him to take action. Perhaps he was told by his family he would never succeed at anything and is still living this childhood trance. He may be good at many things, but underestimates his own abilities and believes everyone else can do many things better than he can. Of course this is not based on logic and reality, but rather his belief of himself.

As it turns out this problem is not uncommmon, and ignorant parents continue to pass on their ridiculous trances onto their children. It is interesting to note that some of my writings trigger negative past experiences in some readers, causing them to relive those childhood trances. I recognize their attacks as such and offer to help them.

The main character has a problem with fear and self-doubt. He would like to conquer his fear and be self-confident.

Write down something similar to the following:

Main Character

problem————->outcome

fear, self-doubt—–>conquer fear, self-confidence

The main character already has the abilities to achieve the desired outcome, but is just not aware of it. I have chosen the Norse myths to work with, and therefore I have decided that he will be a hunter and warrior who admires the village shaman for his ability to heal. The shaman also tells stories of the Gods that the villagers live their lives by. Because of this he is very precious to the villagers and receives many gifts.

The main character doesn’t feel he has much more to give than the meat, pelts, furs, and skins of the animals he hunts. Up to this point I have addressed his problem of self-doubt, but I am still unsure how I will work the problem of fear into the story.

Remember, a good metaphor can take months to construct, even years. Don’t start out by trying to write award winning prose. After some months of telling and rewriting the metaphor, your unconscious will reveal ways to build on it you never thought possible.

Join me tomorrow as I continue to mix myth and metaphor.

admin :: Jul.29.2007 :: metaphor, myth :: No Comments »

What a creepy image, but there might be some truth to it…

admin :: Jul.29.2007 :: hypnosis, persuasion :: No Comments »

I find it unfortunate that myths are no longer an important part of modern culture. Mythology has become a class you take at the University, a subsection of the sociology section in the corner of a bookstore, and a bedtime story you read to your kids.

Mythology used to shape the minds of whole cities, and even countries. Many people seek out destruction, either of themselves or others, often because a person’s pain and suffering has no relevance to any story they could use as a guide to help them solve their inner conflict.

All the old myths we now take for granted were created out of our collective unconscious. This may be a bold statement, but I am truly convinced that there are a set of universal myths that transcend religous, cultural, political and social boundaries. A little research will soon reveal this common thread without question.

Myths can give meaning to our lives in the same way that dreams can. They both draw from the same well of powerful symbolism. Realizing this I began to mix myths, conversational hypnosis, and advanced metaphor techniques to create truly powerful stories that would affect people on multiple levels. I’m still experimenting with this idea, but I see a lot of potential. Currently I am working on a set of stories based on the Norse myths which I will record for CD or MP3 in the future.

As I develop these stories and refine them, I’ll will post all material during the process and the techniques I employ, so you can do the same with your own stories if you choose. From the rough beginning of a simple story to a persuasive and powerful metaphor. Please follow along.

The first step is to choose which problem we will create a solution for, the type of new abilities we will develop, and our desired outcome. The first phase is basically a simple formula. Once we have the foundation of the story, then we will need to tweak it quite a bit and transform it into a covert metaphor.

So, again we start with:

1. Address a problem. (example: insecure and self-doubting)
2. List new abilities. (example: developing new skills and teaching others)
3. Offer desired outcome. (example: self-confident and secure)

I’ll develop this further tomorrow…

admin :: Jul.29.2007 :: metaphor, myth, storytelling :: 1 Comment »

I’m not sure if I should be writing this on the front page of my site, but I’m sure you’ll keep what you’re about to read to yourself.

No one can keep a secret even though they swear on their mother’s grave they’ll never tell a soul. They just can’t help it. “Hey, I’m not supposed to tell you this, so make sure you don’t tell anyone, alright?” And before you know everyone knows your secret.

I understood very early on that people just can’t keep a secret even if they have the best intentions. I used to play around with this a bit in High School for my own amusement. I’d tell someone a secret, making sure they promised to absolutely keep it to themselves, and then sit back and watch it spread like a virus.

A good example of this can be seen in the movie American Pie. The character Paul Finch gives his friend Jessica $200 to spread rumors about his extraordinary sexual abilities. Soon he’s getting a lot of attention from other girls.

Secrets are considered more believable and valid. If it wasn’t true, why would someone want to keep it a secret, right?

So, imagine the potential of persuading whole groups of people by telling one person a little secret that will lead to your desired outcome.

There are so many business and social applications to telling secrets. Ever hear this one? “You seem like a nice person and I could get in trouble for this, but if you can keep this to yourself, I can give you a real good deal on this car.” Yes, now I’ll get the same price everyone else does!

Yes, it is somewhat devious, but it can be a very effective persuasion technique. Remember, don’t get hung up only on conversational hypnosis and language patterns. There are no rules to any of this. The real power comes from knowing what combination to use in any situation. Don’t wait for the perfect moment to try and use these techniques. If you fall on your face in the beginning so be it, but honestly how many people study persuasion and consciously guard themselves against it?

I use this stuff all the time against those that study persuasion and conversational hypnosis, most of the time unconsciously, and they still fall victim to it. Nobody is aware 100% of the time. It happens to me too. Friends and family are out to tweak me, and they are successful. They even use my own material against me!

Just don’t tell anyone I told you about this.

Learn Conversational Hypnosis, NLP, Sleight of Mouth, and Metaphor techniques which you can use instantly. Click Here To Find Out How >>

admin :: Jul.28.2007 :: persuasion, psychology :: No Comments »

Persuasion is a fact of life. Kids persuade their parents. Friends and couples persuade each other. In my opinion, there are very few people out there that serve others unconditionally. They expect some kind of reward. Even people who donate their time to help those in need do so out of egotistical reasons. We’re persuading each other all the time.

Have you ever asked a stranger to watch your things in a public place while you went to the restroom? I’m willing to bet that people who have done this have always come back to still find their things exactly where they left them. This is a form of persuasion and there is a very good reason why this works.

When you ask someone to do something and they agree, they are mentally committing to it. Breaking that commitment would cause an internal conflict, and by nature, most people avoid internal conflicts.

Master persuaders and salespeople are well aware of how internal conflict works and how to create it. It starts off simple enough by getting someone to say yes to small commitments. These small commitments seem innocent enough in the beginning, and then you’re in so deep you can’t really back out of it. Family members do this unconsciously all the time to each other.

For example, they may start off with, “Well, can you at least take a look at it to see if it interests you?” You answer yes. OK, you’ve committed.

Then they may ask, “This is definitely a purchase you’ll make at some point, right?” Another yes. Damn, committed again.

And then, “You said you wanted this, and you did come all the way out here after all. Just think how you would feel going home with it today.”

Suddenly you’re experiencing all this internal conflict you need to get rid of, and you’ll buy if they offer a solution.

This kind of interaction can be found everywhere. We see it between couples. We see it between a boss and their employees. It’s everywhere. I often see this type of interaction in the workplace. There’s always that co-worker who keeps getting everyone to commit to little favors, until finally people are actually doing that person’s job for them.

Of course, if you only offer internal conflict most sensible people will begin to get a bit angry. So, you offer them a solution; a way out of the conflict you created. This is beginning to sound a little something like what a government does to its people. First get them to commit to those little things – get them saying ‘yes’. Create some conflict and then offer a solution. Instant control.

Next time you see one of those commercials asking for money donations in order to help a good cause, think about what you just read here. I mean you could afford at least a dollar a day to help a sick child, couldn’t you? I’m not against helping others in need. I’m just making a point here.

Get commitment, create conflict, offer solution. It’s used by everyone for everything.

admin :: Jul.26.2007 :: persuasion :: 2 Comments »

I wasn’t sure if I should write about cause and effect linkages, because using these kind of advanced language patterns can make you very persuasive.

The use of cause and effect in pacing and leading statements can be very powerful. One of the reasons it is so powerful is that many people already speak like this naturally.

The pacing statement begins with an undeniable truth:

“As you sit here…”

“This could be the most important book you will ever read…”

“There are a variety of ways to respond to a situation…”

“You are interviewing more than one candidate for this job…”

“Your desire to make more money…”

Undeniable truths are not always necessarily physical facts. Many beginners, when they learn leading and pacing statements, get hung up on including only facts which are only visually obvious. This works well in conversational hypnosis and indirect suggestion within a therapeutic setting, but persuasion settings can require more flexibility. For example, “As you breath in and out…”, “As you sit in that chair…”, and “Having your arms folded…” are very obvious undeniable truths.

Using words like “perhaps”, “may”, “can”, “could” and so on, still makes the statement an undeniable truth because it can go either way. In my second example I state that this could be the most important book you will ever read. Well, it could be, couldn’t it? You can also use their own language in a pacing statment as in my last example. If you ask a customer, “What exactly about this product interests you?” and they answer, “Well, I want to know if it can make me more money.”, then that has become an undeniable truth which you can use.

Cause and effect words include “make”, “require”, “have to”, “must”, and “cause”, but you may include any verb really, which matches the situation. Notice the following examples include presuppositions, making them even more powerful:

“you find yourself beginning to relax quickly and easily.”

“because it will cause you to make decisions leading to wonderful changes in your life.”

“which means you may have to choose between red or blue.”

“means you will be required to make a choice, and hire the right candidate.” (points to self, marks off embedded command with change in tonality)

“tells me you must absolutely recognize the power of this software.”

Now put the first and second examples together to see the full cause and effect linkages in action.

I shouldn’t have to tell you now that I’ve been using cause and effect statements throughout this post, because then you may have to read this post again to see if I’m lying.

admin :: Jul.25.2007 :: advanced language patterns, covert hypnosis, persuasion :: 3 Comments »

I could say that it’s very easy to go into trance, but it may take you some time and a few more visits to this blog before you know it to be true. People can, you know, go into trance quickly and easily and they don’t have to say anything or make any conscious effort at all. You don’t even have to really concentrate on what I write here because your unconscious mind will understand all of it clearly.

As you read this, there is nothing to do now, nothing you have to think about or respond to. You don’t even have to expect anything in particular in this post because you don’t know how your unconscious mind is responding to my words. And after reading all of the material within this blog, you don’t even have to concern yourself at all about how you’re going to integrate this material.

We need a lot of skills to get along in this world. Everybody knows the importance of doing some practicing. Perhaps it’s been a long time since you remember being interested in something. I’m not really sure though. Each person is different. And you’re probably wondering how you’ll ever get turned on by this stuff.

I don’t know if you’ll ever want to actually use this information now or maybe just find yourself using it later on. How would life be different as an excellent conversational hypnotist, capable of weaving covert metaphors like a master story-teller? People have different ways of learning this material.

Some, of course, are interested in learning everything, but others pick and choose. It might only be one little thing that you will find of interest here, one or two subjects in their entirety, just a little part of each, and some of my material may not really be your cup of tea.

Which of this material is easiest for you – Advanced Language Patterns, Metaphor, NLP, Conversational Hypnosis or Storytelling? Which one of these do you have the least chance of giving up on?

What do you want to do after you master all these skills you read about at covertmetaphor.com?

admin :: Jul.24.2007 :: NLP, advanced language patterns, covert hypnosis, hypnosis, metaphor, persuasion :: 2 Comments »

A metaphor is a verbal or written representation of an experience, but is not necessarily limited to conventional language. Universal language is as old as human beings themselves; a language comprised of symbols. Symbols can be thought of as primal metaphors.

The Swiss psychotherapist Carl Jung believed that there exists a set of universal symbols deeply embedded within the human psyche called archetypes, symbols which every human being reacts similarly to without conscious thought. These archetypes encompass all natural forms of the material universe.

Symbols are just as visual as any written language, but their difference in energy is noticeable. Symbols are the language of the unconscious mind, and hold within them a significant amount of emotional, psychological, and spiritual power. Symbols can inspire love, fear, hate, and peace. People will even die for a symbol. When enough imaginative force and emotion is applied to a symbol, it can control entire nations.

Anchors and Personal Symbols

In neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), anchors are associated with specific emotions, and can be triggered later to release emotional content based on a particular memory. Anchors can be visual, tactile and vocal, and tend to set more permanently when matched with a person’s dominant representational system.

Self-created symbols can produce the same effect as an anchor, and are in the author’s opinion a much more powerful method in affecting the unconscious mind to induce self-transformation. By creating a set of symbols, and attaching our own imaginative force and specific emotions to them, we can develop our own personal metaphorical language. This language can then be used to communicate our desires easily and directly to the unconscious mind. This is the key to the law of attraction.

Roll Your Own Symbol

• Sit yourself in a quiet spot where you will not be disturbed for ten to twenty minutes. Make yourself comfortable.
• Place a pen and notepad within arms length if you decide to draw the symbol (read further for details).
• Now for approximately five to ten minutes just breathe naturally through your nose, focusing your awareness on the breath, and the sensations it produces inside the nostrils.
• After some minutes or until you feel a deep sense of calm, intentionally bring up images and emotions related to the outcome of your desire. Wrap yourself up fully in these images and emotions, giving them vivid colors. Spin these colors and images around your body until you feel as if your desire has already been fulfilled.
• Then silence your thoughts and focus only on the pure emotion resonating within your being.
• Ask your unconscious mind to present you with a symbol which represents this desire. When a symbol appears within the dark theater of your mind, draw this symbol immediately on your notepad. Your constructed symbol does not necessarily need to be a drawn symbol. It can be a certain physical gesture or made-up word.

In subsequent meditations you will simply pull up the same images and emotions and mentally link them to your symbol. The more you do this, the stronger those emotions and images will be associated with your constructed symbol.

Begin to use this symbol in your art, notes, and scribbles. Create a paper talisman to carry in your pocket. If your symbol is a physical gesture then incorporate it into dance. If it is a word, use it in poetry and song. Be creative!

It is suggested that your symbols remain private until you are completely convinced of their power.

admin :: Jul.23.2007 :: NLP, magic, metaphor, symbology :: No Comments »

Hopefully my readers have a sense of humor…

admin :: Jul.22.2007 :: NLP, advanced language patterns, hypnosis, persuasion :: 4 Comments »