[Neurons] 2017 Neurons #17 Self and the Matrix Model

Sun Apr 16 23:05:48 EDT 2017

From: L. Michael Hall

2017 "Neurons" #17

April 17, 2017

The Matrix Model Series #5

SELF

AND THE MATRIX MODEL

Given the de-emphasis on content in NLP and the focus on structure and
process, if I had designed the Matrix Model abstractly or conceptually, I
would never have even thought about including the five content matrices
within the model.  It would never have occurred to me to do that.  Yet I
did.  And I did so because there is one content which is extremely close to
how you process information and create meaning.  There is also one content
that "you never leave home without."  You take that content everywhere you
go and, in fact, you see the world through that content. 

What is that content?  It is the content of your self.  Developmentally, the
first thing you invent and the first meanings that you construct involve you
as a person- Who am I?  What is my value?  Am I valued?  Am I loveable?  Do
I have worth?  What can I do?  Who will be my friend?  Do I count?  As you
and I enter the world, these are the first questions we seek to answer.  And
fortunately, Developmental Psychology has a lot to say about this as does
Phenomenology.  Accordingly, in the Matrix Model we have five aspects of
self -aspects that function very much the way any perceptual filter or
meta-program functions, we interpret the world through the content of the
meanings, intentions, and states that we have created about Self.

For short memorable terms, we have designated The Content Matrices in terms
of five key aspects of the self-

.                  Self is you as a person, as a living human being, your
being- your worth, value, significance, loveability, etc.  In terms of being
human, Self is your construct of your self-esteem.

.                  Power is you in terms of what you do, your behavior, your
skills, competencies, talents, and achievements.  Normally we speak about
this as your self-confidence- your trust in yourself that you can do
something.  Here also is self-efficacy, your sense of responsibility, taking
initiative, and being proactive.

.                  Others is you in terms of your relationships, your social
self- who you are as you connect, relate, and get along with others.  This
is you as a friend, lover, parent, student, teacher, and other key social
roles in life.  It shows up as your social panorama.

.                  Time is you as a temporal being.  You live in time and
time defines your sense of mortality.  Once you construct this aspect of
life, you begin to live in the three time zones and to spend thought and
energy to each.  As a temporal self you have a relationship to time and
define yourself in terms of your age and your stage of life.

.                  World is you in all of the roles that you play in the
many domains or dimensions of life.  In any domain or world where you spend
much time, you also tend to play various roles which define who you are in
that area.  Your role self entails your status, position, titles, etc.  And
just as others see you in terms of that role, you also define yourself in
terms of it.

All of this describes you- you in five dimensions, experiences, or aspects
which, in turn, provides a rich description (and definition) of who you are.
Who are you?  To answer, you will talk about these five aspects of your
life.   Who you are also determines what you perceive in the world and how
you interpret things (the meaning matrix).  That's because as it has often
been said- You see the world, not as it is, but through who you are.

To be more specific, you see the world through the lens of your personal
sense of worth and value (Self, self-esteem), the more conditional and lower
your self-esteem, the more you see the world as threatening and
overwhelming.  You see the world through the lens of your personal powers as
you wonder about whether you can handle various tasks or roles or
challenges.  The weaker your sense of your fundamental powers, the more you
see the world as threatening and over-powering.  The less your sense of
control over yourself and in owning your powers, the more you feel a victim
in the world rather than a victor.

You see the world through the lens of your social self- your social skills,
your ability to connect, your sense of being valuable to others, your social
emotions, and your competencies to handle a wide range of social experiences
from gaining rapport, sharing humor, conversing, negotiating, selling, to
supporting, inspiring, etc.  The weaker or less enhancing your social self,
the more frightening the social world will seem and the less able to handle
the things required to make friends.

You see the world through the lens of your temporal self- your sense of your
own beginnings, current experiences, and anticipated experiences.  As a
temporal self you can hold in mind events that have happened and use them to
define yourself and operate from the states that you once experienced just
as you can anticipate future events that will happened and use them to
determine what and how you think and feel today.  As a temporal self you can
live in the past or in the future.

Finally, you can see the world through the lens of your role self- the roles
that you have learned to play, the titles or statuses that you have
attained, and you can so identify yourself in terms of those roles that to
lose a role could trigger an "identity" crisis.  Your role self may over-lap
with some of your social self, or not.  Over-identifying with any role tends
to make you as a person less flexible, less able to adjust to new
situations, and less authentic since your role tends to become your persona.

You, who you are, and how you understand your person, what you can do, your
relationships, your experience with events over time, and the roles that you
play in life, operate as a very powerful and determining meaning-making
lens.  This is why there are times that you cannot understand something
until you change.  This is also why that sometimes when you change, the
whole world that you know changes.

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

               Neuro-Semantics Executive Director 

               Neuro-Semantics International

P.O. Box 8

Clifton, CO. 81520 USA                             

               1 970-523-7877 

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