Blog Layout

Spelling, Anxiety Strategies

Everything we do requires a strategy - from picking up the car keys to eating a meal.


Spelling requires a strategy as well, and as one might expect, some strategies work better than others. In the English language, there are so many exceptions to the maze of spelling rules that it is difficult to spell phonetically (auditorily). Even the word "phonetics" isn't spelled phonetically!


The problem is that many people learned to "sound out" words phonetically. This leads to many spelling errors and if there is negative reinforcement to boot, it can lead to bad feelings as well. "Sounding out" words is still taught in most spelling classes.


Fortunately, there are spelling strategies that are not only more accurate but easy to learn. The NLP Spelling Strategy involves visualizing each word in a certain way - the way that's best for the individual (not for the teacher) - and recognizing when the word is being visualized correctly. Many people are amazed when they not only can spell words they didn't think they knew how to spell, they can spell them both forwards and backwards!


"So why do I (or my child) need an NLP Practitioner to improve spelling? What about a tutor?" Tutors serve a very important role, helping people drill, memorize, and understand the "rules" of spelling and grammar. However, drilling and memorizing using a strategy that is not optimal can compound the problem, which then requires more drilling, and so on. With NLP, we have a model of how the mind works that lets us teach someone a better strategy. Usually, after practicing the new strategy a few times, learning and memorization become easier, making the time spent drilling or tutoring much more effective. Children's grades often improve dramatically after just a few sessions.


Anxiety is the result of a different strategy, usually the result of an unconscious image that results in the feeling of fear. Since the image is in the unconscious mind, we aren't aware of it.


When the image is brought to consciousness via a gentle NLP questioning strategy, it can often be transformed using an NLP technique called the Swish pattern into something much more useful. The Swish pattern works because the mind is always moving, always seeking a direction. Whenever it is shown a direction that works better than what it was doing before, the mind always chooses the more useful direction. The NLP Swish pattern is an effective process for giving the mind a new direction and overcoming anxiety.


You can learn more about both the NLP Spelling Strategy and the Swish pattern in "Heart of the Mind" (Andreas and Andreas); check the bibliography for information on where to obtain this and other NLP books.


Contact Phil Mandel, tel. (503) 887-0889, to schedule your free consultation and find out if the NLP Spelling Strategy, the Swish pattern or other NLP procedures and techniques are right for you

Woman meditating near a lake

Stress Reduction

By Phil Mandel • January 20, 2021
As Dr. Pearson points out, "people can reduce stress by being fully open to the present moment, something stressed out people rarely do. Instead they try to accomplish as much as possible in as short a time as possible; concentrating more on getting things done, than on the doing itself.
Man leaning on a fence

Self-Talk Works!

By Phil Mandel • January 20, 2021
You can easily combat nervousness and anxiety when meeting new people or speaking in front of large or small groups. Just follow these simple steps to give yourself a "Thought Inoculation" against nervousness and create a sense of joy, warmth, enthusiasm and confidence.
Woman in a garden facing the sun

The Power of Breath / Practice Now and Feel Better!

By Bette Phelan • January 20, 2021
Learning to breathe properly can greatly improve your health and reduce the impact of stress on your body. You've probably heard someone say to you when you are upset, "Take a deep breath." That is good advice! Our emotions are directly linked to our breathing.
People looking at a building framed by trees

Post 9-11-2001 thoughts

By Phil Mandel • January 20, 2021
A human being is a part of the whole called by us 'universe'. . . a part limited in time and space. He experiences his thoughts and feelings as separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us.
Crystal ball on top of a post

Perceptual Positions

By Phil Mandel • January 20, 2021
I do not remember exactly at what point I began to apply this way of examining my experience, but very early in my life I would imagine myself in the position of the object in which I was interested. Later, when I became a scientist, I would picture myself as a virus, or a cancer cell, for example, and try to sense what it would be like to be either.
Image of different green vegetables

Naturally Slender Eating Strategy

By Phil Mandel • January 20, 2021
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a methodology that lets us model successful strategies some people have. In the case of food, we have modeled a successful eating strategy. By contrast, one woman had an eating strategy that went like this: SEE food . . . EAT food.
A skiing gnome with a big red pointy hat

Managing Holiday Stress

By Phil Mandel • January 20, 2021
Studies have shown that the Holiday season can be one of the most stressful. People get anxious about getting the right presents for their friends and family members, fixing the right meals, getting to Church on time and for some, memories of childhood experiences can creep up and cause some distress.
Man helping another man get up

Don't Give Up on Illness

By Phil Mandel • January 20, 2021
One medical doctor's opinion is that people need to take care of treating the illness and then start examining what the learning is in the illness. So, physicians are starting to say some of the same things we've been saying all along in NLP.
Health practitioner in green scrubs with arms crossed

Diagnosis doesn't mean give up!

By Phil Mandel • January 20, 2021
Physicians are starting to say some of the same things we've been saying all along in NLP. Do the medical interventions, but if you don't examine the cause of the illness, you're just putting band aids on top. It may pop up in some way later on in your life.
Man sitting at a table with hand holding head

Depression and Beliefs

By Phil Mandel • January 20, 2021
In February 2000, I completed the NLP Health Certification Training at Anchor Point Institute in Salt Lake City. Three of the best trainers in the world were our teachers Robert Dilts, Tim Hallbom, and Suzi Smith (authors of "Beliefs: Pathways to Health and Well- Being").
More Posts
Share by: