SIP-NSNLP - BRUNEI CHAPTER 2008
1 SAFAR 1429H
HOW IT ALL GOT STARTED
SIP-NSNLP stands for the Special Interest and Practice group of Neuro-Semantics NLP. The idea was first mooted during a casual conversation on NLP I had on the night of 2nd February 2008 with Hjh Rahmah, a lecturer/instructor from Maktab Teknik Saiful Rijal, Brunei Darussalam. And we had several other conversations and discussions prior to this one. She asked me if she could learn and acquire some skills on NLP. I didn’t know if she was really serious in learning NLP, but I thought it would be a good idea if I could suggest her to gather some 20 people, so that I could introduce and demonstrate some NLP skills to the group.
She accepted the offer and I proposed we meet on the following Friday 8th February 2008, to start what I initially called ‘an interest group.’ She did accept that one too. Well, what do you know? It all got started. She shortlisted a few names of close friends, while I supplemented a few more. We put them together and she got the first invitation out on Monday through emails that were then followed by several sms and phone calls. The venue was decided and Hjh Rahmah negotiated for an attractive rental rate for the Lounge room on the 1st Floor of the LeGallery Hotel at Jalan Tutong, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam.
Hjh Rahmah, Coordinator SIP-NSNLP
With her vast past experience in organizing major events, the organization of the first meeting of SIP-NSNLP was easy and swift. She has put a lot of good preliminary work on organizing this event and on Thursday, a day before we had our first meeting she decided to sponsor the event. Alhamdulillah, and on behalf of the group, I would like to express our gratitude for the sponsor and getting the first meeting proudly launched. May Allah’s blessings be upon her and the rest of us who I'm sure will benefit from such a deed, ameen.
And as Anthony Robbins once said, "It is in the moment of decision that your destiny is shaped." This is truly a decision that we have all made, whether out of curiosity or the knowledge that we believe will change our destiny and our future, God-willing.
KNOWING AND PERFORMING AXES
So why do we decide on an interest group? Is having an interest good enough?
And as NLP and Neuro-Semantics are two fields that are interrelated, and engage people more experientially, I found that it would be more appropriate to call it an interest and practice group instead. You will also discover that NLP in itself is experiential in nature. That means it places great emphasis on modeling, experimenting and testing, in contrast to merely setting up a complete theoretical and hypothetical foundation. Hence, the ‘Special Interest and Practice Group of Neuro-Semantics NLP’, the acronym SIP-NSNLP was formed.
Being interested and knowing what to do with the patterns and techniques of Neuro-Semantics NLP is not enough, we got to do what we know. Hence, Knowing and Performing are the two axes that SIP-NSNLP will build upon. It's truly experiential. Learn it, experiment it, test it and try it on!
OBJECTIVES OF THE SIP-NSNLP
Here are some objectives that we thought will be adequate for the time:-
a) To develop interest and share with members about NLP and Neuro-Semantics.
b) To engage members into NLP and Neuro-Semantics through experiential learning, experimenting it and trying it!
c) To enable members to develop skills to handle negative experiences, eliminate fears (phobias etc), reduce stress and other unresourceful states of the mind-body-emotion.
d) To create positive changes amongst members thus increasing members capacity to develop a better quality of life.
ENGAGE IN THE STATE OF CURIOSITY
Gauging on the first meeting we had and the introductory session on Neuro-Semantics and NLP that was shared, I notice that the levels of curiosity and interest of those present were remarkable. 'Curiosity' is a positive mental-emotional state that is often used in NLP as a resourceful frame to navigate the world. It is also an attitude to an accelerated learning process. Imagine how a child absorbs abundance of knowledge while being curious... naively curious. And being curious is a good thing. It opens you up to endless flow of information. I hope this will be maintained and will continually grow as we grow together.
A DATE TO REMEMBER
Remember that, 1st Safar 1429H / 8 February 2008 marks the beginning of our SIP-NSNLP Brunei Chapter.
A REFLECTION
Let us self-reflect on this verse, and figure out how the senses can play a vital role in our development and to the sense of ultimate gratitude to the Creator, Allah Al-Mighty.
"And Allah has brought you out from the wombs of your mothers while you know nothing. And He gave you hearing, sight, and hearts that you might give thanks." Surah An-Nahl Verse 78.
I believe the verse is one in which lie a foundation to the heart of NLP and a building block to the structure of excellence that SIP-NSNLP attempts to use as a driver to explore our inner realities and use them to navigate the external world in the most resourceful way possible. All praise be to Allah.
To that, it is a great pleasure for me to welcome you as members of the SIP-NSNLP and I wish everyone a great success in this endeavour and may the contributions from each and everyone make a difference in and to ourself, our family, the society, the country and the world we live in, Insha-Allah.
To your highest and best!
With kind regards
M Nasser Ismail
Personal & Executive Coach, ACMC (MCF)
Neuro-Semantics and NLP Trainer (ISNS)
*p.s. - membership is limited and by invitation only. Dr Michael Hall, the co-founder of the International Society of Neuro-Semantics (ISNS), Colorado, USA was informed of the formation of the SIP-NSNLP (Brunei) soon after the first email was sent out.
