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Thanks for joining us, Tom. Let me preface this by saying that I am genuinely quite interested in NLP and especially self-hypnosis and other mind improvement techniques; I'm simply a bit skeptical about some of the claims on essential-skills, and I get suspicious whenever the word "Energy" is quoted as a kind of mystical force. I posted the question on the yahoo group, so I'll just copy my text here, with some brief modifications:
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I completely understand. The short answer is yes I can influence someone's states.
The not so short answer is that everyone does this all the time. It is not magic, it is human.
I don't like the word energy. I can't define it. I don't try to. Here is what I can say. Everyone has had the experience of someone walking into the room behind them and felt them there, Everyone has had the feeling they were getting stared at. Everyone has had the experience of thinking of someone that you have not thought of for a while and then having them call.
Humans connect in ways that can't fully be explained. Google studies on twins.
I don't try to explain it but I can teach people to use this ability in a focused and purposeful way.
How is this useful to poker players. Well I have trained several poker players to d this and the results seem to be pretty good so far.
The first way this is useful is to be able to calibrate to other players. In our seminars we teach people using a deck of cards. We first have them calibrate to whether the other person is holding a red or black card while staring at them. Then we have them calibrate to high and low cards. Then we have them calibrate to red or black while facing away from each other.
The results are very interesting. Most people are much more accurate when facing away from each other.
Most of you here have had the experience of going against your gut instinct and getting your ass kicked. Where does that come from. Would you claim it was psychic? I wouldin't. I would say it is just ignoring the feeling you get that all people are able to feel.
The second way is to connect with people and then shift their state. Imagin you have a hand you are bluffing with and you want the other guy to fold. What state would you want them to feel? Well at first you want them to say in and build the pot. Then you want to shift them to a state of uncertainty and have them fold leaving you a nice size pot.
This is not mystical or magical. It is NATURAL. I have taught it to people in the justice department to help them read people.
I also use it to cheat at pool [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
A healthy skepticism is good. Without it you flirt with being delusional.
I also teach poeple to mask their states so that they are unreadable.
Yes I know on the surface this all sounds like hocus pocus crap. Again it is a natural skill that everyone has some experience with if you think about it. I just teach people to do it on purpose.
Let me know if this makes sense so far
Tom
www.essential-skills.com