Covert Metaphor

admin :: Dec.29.2007 :: metaphor, myth :: 2 Comments »

The following is a stream of consciousness which I wrote sitting at a café one morning. I was thinking about things which disturb me, and this is what came out. Read it carefully because there are a few key components of persuasion and manipulation sprinkled about.

What do I find disgusting and revolting? Now as I attempt to produce an answer I can’t think of much that really gets to me. Where some people might tend to resist the image of blood and guts, I think what makes me cringe the most is the effects of successful persuasion and manipulation which break all ethical boundaries; those insidious techniques used against people to ruin lives.

Even slightly more mild examples make my skin crawl. I can’t stand watching small children parrot every commercial they see, or spew forth religious dogma on cue like trained puppies, their parents smiling so proud. Vomit.

I see it everyday when someone manipulates their partner using emotional techniques of give and take. The willing victims are those who don’t analyze their own actions, question their own beliefs, and accept everything at face value. Is an unexamined life really worth living?

It is a disturbing thought to think humans may be nothing more than organic vessels carrying loads of useless memes around, infecting each other at every opportunity.

If there is such a thing as absolute truth, I have only seen glimpses of it indirectly. That is through pure intuition, devoid of any symbols, stories, language or thought.

It is possible to translate this experience into language and art, but you are still left with only symbols which represent the experience. This is the reason language will always fail to give that which it promises.

It may seem perplexing to some that I study and teach techniques of persuasion and manipulation when I find many of its effects revolting.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, life does not work without it. We are all manipulators. Every child manipulates its parents, every lover their partner. It is inescapable.

Of course not all outcomes of persuasion and manipulation are negative. Wouldn’t you try to persuade a friend who might be walking down a path of self-destruction? It all depends on the context doesn’t it? Context is everything in this game.

There are some recent ads targeted at teenagers against the use of methamphetamine (speed). I’ll take two of these ads to clarify the point I am trying to make. The first billboard shows a young man with lesions on his skin, dark circles under his eyes, and a caption reads, “Actually, doing meth won’t make it easier to hook up.”

Imagine if we changed the context and put him in a completely different environment. For example, change the background and put him underneath a tropical sun standing before a beautiful pool, surrounded by a group of skimpily clad bikini models. The caption remains the same, but the story changes completely.

The second billboard is a picture of a filthy toilet stall and a caption that reads, “No one thinks they’ll lose their virginity here. Meth will change that.” Now keep this caption but instead of a filthy toilet stall, replace it with an image of a beautiful room, a large ornate bed with silk sheets and a young attractive half-naked man with muscles. The effects will obviously be different. The context tells an entirely different story. Context is being used to control the masses on a daily basis.

Also, recognize the type of appeal being made in these ads. They are targeted at teenagers who tend to be more susceptible to emotional appeals rather than rational appeals. Ads using rational appeals are declining because of an increase of less-educated people.

Speaking of stories…

Humans are hardwired for stories it would seem. Depending on your own stories is what determines your life outcome. The stories you consistently tell yourself determines your own reality. Is yours a story of frustration, sadness, and failure, or one of success, happiness, and health? Do you hate your job? Well, that’s a story too.

Perceive what is behind the language, symbols, and metaphor. Recognize the context and write your own story.

admin :: Dec.23.2007 :: metaphor, persuasion, psychology, storytelling, symbology, propaganda, deception :: No Comments »

Here is an excellent example of reframing conveyed through metaphor:

There is a story of a farmer whose horse ran away. That evening the neighbors gathered to commiserate with him since this was such bad luck. He said, “May be.”

The next day the horse returned, but brought with it six wild horses, and the neighbors came exclaiming at his good fortune. He said, “May be.”

And then, the following day, his son tried to saddle and ride one of the wild horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. Again the neighbors came to offer their sympathy for the misfortune. He said, “May be.”

The day after that, conscription officers came to the village to seize young men for the army, but because of the broken leg the farmer’s son was rejected. When the neighbors came to say how fortunately everything had turned out, he said, “May be.”

admin :: Aug.04.2007 :: metaphor, NLP :: No Comments »

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 :: metaphor, magic, 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 »

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, storytelling, myth :: 1 Comment »

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 :: metaphor, persuasion, covert hypnosis, NLP, advanced language patterns, hypnosis :: 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 :: metaphor, NLP, magic, symbology :: No Comments »

I was introduced to NLP in junior high briefly through a friend of my mother and then forgot about it for some years. This was in the 80’s and NLP was still predominantly used for changework. There wasn’t much talk of persuasion applications. When I was 19 years old I bought Neuro-Linguistic Programming: Volume I (The Study of the Structure of Subjective Experience)  by Robert Dilts. I remember it was roughly $45, but I’d become serious about studying linguistics and its relationship to the human mind and perceptions of reality. NLP seemed like a good place to start as any.

Some weeks later I happened upon a set of Milton Erickson’s books in a used bookstore. I hungrily bought them all and locked myself up in a room for the next few weeks. After I’d read about punctuation ambiguity I couldn’t wait to go out and work it into my conversations with all my friends. My friends and I went out regularly to the cafe near the university for hours at a time, discussing language, mathematics, chess, philosophy, and history.

I remember that afternoon vividly. I walked up to their table and said, “As I look at my watch closely what I’m doing I notice it’s already 4:30pm.” They all looked at my like, “so what?” They really had no idea what I had just done. Their conscious minds had latched onto the noun and not the verb meaning of watch. I had used punctuation ambiguity successfully and slipped in a suggestion. I’d been sure someone would have picked up on the odd structure of my sentence.

Punctuation ambiguity is a word with multiple meanings, that can be both a noun and a verb, but isn’t necessarily always the case. This word is usually referred to as a pivot word. My best results have come from constructing a sentence with the pivot word ending the first part of the sentence using a noun and using the verb meaning of the same pivot word to begin the command or suggestion. A few examples should make this clear.  These examples are off the top of my head, and not all that clever. Decide an outcome and spend a little time on these and no one will be the wiser. Makes you kind of wonder how much ambiguity is being used everyday to influence you through the media.

“So, you’re thinking about buying a new home in on my words closely.”

“It was crooked so I adjusted the picture yourself in my arms.”

“The fields were on fire and the sky was filled with smoke this cigarette and feel good now.”

“The stairs were a bit slippery and he said, “Open your mind your step and hold onto the railing.”

Punctuation ambiguities work well with metaphorical stories as well:

And then she wanted to know if I was going. “Going where?” I asked, unsure of the place this message deeply she was talking about.

Now, some of you may think this looks a bit strange and there’s no way someone wouldn’t notice this. I thought the exact same thing. The only time someone understood what I was doing is when I explained it to them. It is truly amazing how pivot words bypass the conscious mind so easily. Go ahead and take a few days to try it out in your daily conversations and tell me how it went.

admin :: Jul.22.2007 :: metaphor, persuasion, NLP, advanced language patterns :: 5 Comments »

I take the time to research everything out there from Reichian Therapy to Chaos Magic; anything that might enhance spiritual and psychological growth. I have found Psychosynthesis to demonstrate sustaining self-transformation.

Psychosynthesis is based on the work of Roberto Assagioli, and consists of a number of very effective techniques that allow both psychological and spiritual growth. A major part of psychosynthesis techniques are working with subpersonalities.

In psychosynthesis, subpersonalities have have their own motivations. They each perceive the world in their own unique way. The psychosynthesis model of subpersonalities separates our overall personality into mini-personalities. The subpersonality model can be a very useful one if your goal is to unite your unconscious and conscious mind to focus on those things you really want.

Each subpersonality has its own mythology, its own story. Metaphor can be very useful when communicating directly with one of your subpersonalities.

By keeping a daily journal you can easily identify different moods, desires, traits, and reality perceptions. One idea is to separate these traits into subpersonalities using your favorite mythology, and gave each one a name. By objectifying a subpersonality in this way, it makes it possible to dis-identify with it and observe its behaviours.

admin :: Jul.20.2007 :: metaphor, psychology, psychosynthesis, myth :: 1 Comment »