This article is being written at the suggestion of my teacher, Shidoshi Jean-Pierre Seibel who thought an article relating the science of Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) to the warrior path would be interesting. I can only write from where I am now, at this particular moment on the path, and as everything in the universe changes, my thoughts will most likely have done the same by the time this is published. I am far from being an authority on either so I can only write about my experiences and observations rather than the technical aspects. My challenge now is to apply all that I have learned to the musha shugyo of moving 750 miles away to college.

NLP is the study of the structure of experience and the modeling of excellence. For me, it has been esoteric so it is rather difficult to explain away analytically and mechanically. I believe an answer to some of the concepts can best be found using a technique taught to me by my Zen teacher, slapping the floor. My understanding is that this allows one to experience the void before the thought process. The nature of some of these things does not lend well to explanation, especially by me. I am nineteen years old and hold only a sixth kyu. I don’t really feel ready to write about these things yet but my teacher asked me to so here is my best attempt. Basically, NLP states that as we progress through experiences, we develop personal “maps” to navigate through life. NLP seeks to upgrade these maps. Information, taken in through sensory channels and processed, is used to create the maps and ultimately the ways in which we individually relate to ourselves and the world. The information can become clouded by one’s own filters, thus creating what may seem like a problem when things don’t appear to be the way one wants to experience them. Kadampa Buddhism teaches that the ultimate nature of reality is emptiness, or lack of inherent existence. So far, I have found a close parallel and use the former to better understand the latter. NLP can also be used to transcend attachments, limiting beliefs, and just about anything else.

Not a religion, NLP is rather a set of tools that can be used on any level, from simply helping one accomplish a material goal, to helping one progress on a spiritual path, or both. An interesting set of circumstances led to my reunion with an old friend who is an NLP master and his subsequent decision to teach me which has had a very profound impact on my life. My teacher is a very spiritual person who shares many of the same ideals that I do. Now in his fifties, he has endless wisdom from many experiences to share with me. Having first noticed a glowing aura around his head, I later learned that he has experienced the awakening of the kundalini.

NLP has served as a tremendous catalyst for my understanding of Eastern Spiritual disciplines and Ninpo. Kadampa Buddhist lineage holder Geshe Kelsang Gyatso defines enlightenment as the dissolution of all limitations and the cultivation of all positive virtues to perfection. If this is indeed enlightenment, then NLP can most definitely be used to speed progress in that direction and help free one from samsaric suffering. Through NLP, I have been able to grasp a deeper understanding of many writings in Shihan Hayes’ writings on Ninjutsu, especially almost everything in Wisdom from the Ninja Village of the Cold Moon. I have been introduced to methods of changing my perspective to see things in a different light, mind control techniques to help myself and others see reality, diffusing and resolving conflicts, love, ways of aligning myself with my “higher” goals and purpose, the subtle power of suggestion, materialization of intentions, and ways of finding the resources that I need to accomplish what I want. (I am currently working to differentiate between transient desires and actual intentions.) Further, the tools given to me have helped me to better relate to other methods of identifying with outcomes that I have been lucky enough to encounter. I should note that I have chosen to use the tools that I have been given for these purposes, however they can be used for anything; they do not inherently exist for any one purpose.

Like Ninpo, NLP is a completely open and flexible art. My teacher has taught me to perceive things as information without passing judgment and attaching my filters to the information gathered through experiences. (I have by no means mastered any of this yet.) I have become more aware of how I perceive thing through my five senses and become more in tune with my 6th sense. NLP does not make generalizations and allows for the creativity of the practitioner. It is not a detached art like psychology can be at times and it recognizes that communication is only worth the response that one gets in return. Therefore, when my teacher works with a client he opens by saying something like “What can we explore?” rather than “What can I help you with?” which can imply that the person needs help and can cause him or her to put up a defensive barrier.

One of the most important lessons that I have learned so far is that success in anything depends on being completely in the moment. This becomes of critical importance in my practice of Buddhism, Taoism, and other spiritual practices and in noticing and directing another’s behavior patterns. I believe that this may be the key to higher spiritual work and I was told by my Zen teacher that it is how to experience the divine. Being completely absorbed in the moment and harmonizing or becoming one with what is happening is an incredible experience when I am able to do it. NLP is helping me cut off analytical thinking when necessary and develop right-brained creativity. I am very gratified that I have a teacher who can point out areas that need work such as this. It has been said that the mystic is completely honest in what he says because he is not concerned with worrying about what others will think. My NLP teacher is one such person. This is especially true in seeking to transform relationship problems into opportunities. (A real challenge!) I have been working with the Heart Sutra recently and using my NLP background to better relate to the Skandas.

The techniques that I have learned from my teacher for directing another’s thoughts can be used in either a positive or negative context. In NLP, we have an implied oath that the techniques will only be used with the most positive of intentions, but as a Ninjutsu student I like to consider the martial applications as well. One such tool is known as anchoring.

Anchoring occurs when a stimulus evokes a sensory response identical to the state that the person was in when the anchor originated. For example when one hears a certain song, it can bring him or her back into a memory. We are all familiar with this. Anchoring can occur subconsciously or can be done intentionally. I have noticed the use of many intentional anchors in Ninjutsu. This has been confirmed by my Shidoshi. I leave it to your imagination to notice how.

In applying NLP to the Buddhist teachings on compassion, I have learned how to more effectively help somebody by not allowing their suffering to affect me emotionally. Emotions can become a spiritual obstacle. As an Emergency Medical Technician and volunteer fireman, I remember my first experience doing a clinical rotation at Yale New Haven Hospital. The violence, death, and suffering that I saw left me thoroughly shaken as did contemplating how I could someday be able to introduce my training in Oriental Medicine and acupuncture to help those suffering from the conditions that I saw in the emergency room. Combining NLP and Eastern Philosophy has helped me to realize that all things fit in under the grander picture of totality.

When I first began studying Ninjutsu, I thought it was the supreme ultimate way of doing everything. Now I see that at like NLP, Ninjutsu can provide the tools and inner resources to do anything. I have found that sometimes it is best to look elsewhere to find the keys to better understanding of Ninjutsu, but then what is understanding Ninjutsu? Like I said earlier, NLP is not inherently a spiritual path but I have chosen to use it that way. Far more than just intellectual psychology, NLP, like Ninpo, is a living set of tools to be embodied by the practitioner and taken out and applied to experiences. NLP is most commonly used in the same context of psychology, to help a client overcome an obstacle. I apply it to better understand the path that I am on. I am seeking to develop knowledge of all religions though I would like to pursue Mikkyo as soon as an opportunity becomes available. I feel that with NLP I have the resources to more fully embody what I study.

Shidoshi Seibel once said to me, “You are clearly on the spiritual path, but don’t get caught up in the manifestation of what that path is.” I believe that one need not study any particular philosophy to realize some of these things on his or her own. Being human and having experiences is the only prerequisite. I have chosen to live a warrior and religious life. Most of my friends have not and have made some of the same observations that I have. Many of the concepts are the same in different parts of the world. I admire Jesus and through Buddhism have found a path to be more like him. (Though I have heard that there may have been some evidence that Jesus studied Buddhism.) At the request of my teacher, I have attempted (with difficulty) in this article to explain things that I have come to know. By helping me to realize these things, my Ninjutsu teacher has taught me perhaps the greatest lesson — that the best teacher of all is yourself. This article then is dedicated to my Ninjutsu teacher, J. P. Seibel and my NLP teacher, J. Seph Mayo who have had almost unbelievable patience with me. I hope that others can obtain some benefit from it as I believe that what is on paper can be useless unless it is realized through experience.

Don Siclari is a student at New York Budo. He may be contacted via Jean-Pierre Seibel at: nybudo@aol.com.