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Richard Bandler's Guide to Trance-formation: How to Harness the Power of Hypnosis to Ignite Effortless and Lasting Change
More than thirty years ago, Richard Bandler set out to discover how some therapists effected startling change with their clients, while others argued about theories while their patients waited in vain for help. Now widely regarded as the world's greatest hypnotist and one of the most brilliant minds in the field of personal change, Richard Bandler created patterns that became the bedrock of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), arguably one of the most profoundly effective approaches for self-improvement. In Richard Bandler's Guide to Trance-formation, he returns to his roots: hypnotic phenomena, trancework, and altered states to provide a highly compelling and effective prescription for quick and lasting personal change.
According to Bandler, "trance" is at the very foundation of human experience. People are not simply in or out of trance, but are constantly moving from one trance to another. We have our work trances, our relationship trances, and our parenting trances. Some of these states are useful and appropriate; others are not. With his signature wit and contrarian approach to therapy, Bandler shows how anyone can reset and reprogram their problem behaviors to reach desired alternatives with lasting and life-altering results. With intriguing case studies, client dialogues, and more than thirty exercises, Richard Bandler's Guide to Trance-formation, is an engaging, read for anyone, whether they are new to NLP, want to further their NLP training, or simply want to make a positive difference in their own lives.
According to Bandler, "trance" is at the very foundation of human experience. People are not simply in or out of trance, but are constantly moving from one trance to another. We have our work trances, our relationship trances, and our parenting trances. Some of these states are useful and appropriate; others are not. With his signature wit and contrarian approach to therapy, Bandler shows how anyone can reset and reprogram their problem behaviors to reach desired alternatives with lasting and life-altering results. With intriguing case studies, client dialogues, and more than thirty exercises, Richard Bandler's Guide to Trance-formation, is an engaging, read for anyone, whether they are new to NLP, want to further their NLP training, or simply want to make a positive difference in their own lives.
368 pages, Paperback
First published September 26, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 9, 2021
Alteering one's perception, working on memory and attitude, getting one's hear's desires and so on. Overcoming fears and complexes, building up skills via mental imagery, used in just the particular way. While some of this is often used in other books, this one's a an easy and fast read. Well structured to boot.
February 9, 2011
This is one of the most useful NLP books that I have read, and it reminds me again that Bandler's work lies at the very heart of NLP, remaining far more important than most of the other components that have been bolted on over the years.
The book is divided into four sections.
Part 1: Patterns of Process and Elicitation: How People Create Their Reality and How We Can Know
This introduces some basic NLP techniques such as disocciation, the visual squash, submodalities, and modeling in a very reader-friendly fashion.
Part 2: Patterns of Induction: Hypnosis and the Art of Creating Powerful Learning States
Here we get into the core of the book where Bandler discusses trance induction.
Part 3: Patterns of Utilization: Using the Tools of Trance-formation
This section gives examples of how to utilize trance states effectively to achieve change.
Part 4: Trance-formation in Action
Here we find two full trance inductions which show the mastery of Bandler's language. This is followed by two transcribed client sessions with editorial annotations showing how Bandler uses the language patterns of NLP and hypnosis to achieve change in clients. The transcriptions show effective use of humour, great listening skills, and a corresponding ability to identify the client's important submodalities.
The resource files at the back of the book are a useful reminder of the Metamodel, Milton model, submodalities, and other useful areas.
The book also includes a DVD which features Bandler on stage carrying out rapid inductions. While he is clearly a fine entertainer and he entertains the audience greatly, he also carries out phenomenal learning trances and healing trances on the volunteers. He turns traumas into giggles and makes neck pains disappear within a couple of minutes. Bandler's long experience and mastery with inducing and using different forms of trance is apparent through his instant inductions and powerful embedded commands. The DVD alone would have been worth the price of the book, and it is worth coming back to again and again to see a true master of hypnosis at work.
For someone new to NLP, this book will not give a comprehensive picture of the field of NLP as it is generally known and taught, but what it does offer is a strong introduction to the work of Richard Bandler with a much stronger focus on trance states than most NLP books or training programs.
The book is divided into four sections.
Part 1: Patterns of Process and Elicitation: How People Create Their Reality and How We Can Know
This introduces some basic NLP techniques such as disocciation, the visual squash, submodalities, and modeling in a very reader-friendly fashion.
Part 2: Patterns of Induction: Hypnosis and the Art of Creating Powerful Learning States
Here we get into the core of the book where Bandler discusses trance induction.
Part 3: Patterns of Utilization: Using the Tools of Trance-formation
This section gives examples of how to utilize trance states effectively to achieve change.
Part 4: Trance-formation in Action
Here we find two full trance inductions which show the mastery of Bandler's language. This is followed by two transcribed client sessions with editorial annotations showing how Bandler uses the language patterns of NLP and hypnosis to achieve change in clients. The transcriptions show effective use of humour, great listening skills, and a corresponding ability to identify the client's important submodalities.
The resource files at the back of the book are a useful reminder of the Metamodel, Milton model, submodalities, and other useful areas.
The book also includes a DVD which features Bandler on stage carrying out rapid inductions. While he is clearly a fine entertainer and he entertains the audience greatly, he also carries out phenomenal learning trances and healing trances on the volunteers. He turns traumas into giggles and makes neck pains disappear within a couple of minutes. Bandler's long experience and mastery with inducing and using different forms of trance is apparent through his instant inductions and powerful embedded commands. The DVD alone would have been worth the price of the book, and it is worth coming back to again and again to see a true master of hypnosis at work.
For someone new to NLP, this book will not give a comprehensive picture of the field of NLP as it is generally known and taught, but what it does offer is a strong introduction to the work of Richard Bandler with a much stronger focus on trance states than most NLP books or training programs.
October 21, 2011
Here’s a dirty little book that I probably shouldn’t admit to reading but here goes. I called ahead to the bookstore, drove straight there and read it in two days without getting up to move around much.
This book is essentially a casual, historical account of the development of Neuro Linguistic Programming by one of its creators, Richard Bandler, intermixed with definitions and descriptions of his techniques.
Some in the medical and psychology communities don’t hold this NLP stuff in too high esteem. That’s probably because its development came from outside these institutions in the mid-seventies. But I’m mentioning this book here because I believe that in the next ten to twenty years this NLP stuff is going to go mainstream in a big way. (It’s really already happening).
I’m recommending this book because, to me, it represents new ideas that are getting ready to explode in a manner similar to how Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams exploded in intellectual circles. Freud took what he’d learned from his study of the, at the time, new theories of evolution and thermodynamics and rolled it into his theory of the mind. Immediately after Freud, all these interconnected intellectuals burst onto the scene, Jung, Cambell, etc. With NLP, the co-creators combined new breakthroughs in hypnosis and therapy with scientific breakthroughs in the areas of computing and mathematics.
Admittedly, I didn’t have the patience to read fully through the ‘trance-scripts’ near the end of the book.
This book is essentially a casual, historical account of the development of Neuro Linguistic Programming by one of its creators, Richard Bandler, intermixed with definitions and descriptions of his techniques.
Some in the medical and psychology communities don’t hold this NLP stuff in too high esteem. That’s probably because its development came from outside these institutions in the mid-seventies. But I’m mentioning this book here because I believe that in the next ten to twenty years this NLP stuff is going to go mainstream in a big way. (It’s really already happening).
I’m recommending this book because, to me, it represents new ideas that are getting ready to explode in a manner similar to how Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams exploded in intellectual circles. Freud took what he’d learned from his study of the, at the time, new theories of evolution and thermodynamics and rolled it into his theory of the mind. Immediately after Freud, all these interconnected intellectuals burst onto the scene, Jung, Cambell, etc. With NLP, the co-creators combined new breakthroughs in hypnosis and therapy with scientific breakthroughs in the areas of computing and mathematics.
Admittedly, I didn’t have the patience to read fully through the ‘trance-scripts’ near the end of the book.
February 14, 2011
Probably one of the best books about personal change ever written.
May 4, 2011
All of Richard Bandler's stuff is good, of course. He is a pioneer in NLP and all that hypnotic stuff.
Another good NLP practitioner to watch is Jonathan Altfeld. You can check out his material at: http://www.altfeld.com/mastery/
Another good NLP practitioner to watch is Jonathan Altfeld. You can check out his material at: http://www.altfeld.com/mastery/
November 15, 2020
This book is a crash course in NLP and Hypnosis, RB describes many of the aspects of why the processes he uses, modelled, or developed work and how. It's a cool read for people who want to gain more tools to retool their minds or the people who are curious about NLP and Hypnosis and want to learn more.
February 25, 2014
This is one of those books that has more pointless filler content than actual important concepts. However, Bandler does scope over many important concepts, more so than most of the other Hypnosis books. I would suggest that one read, " Monsters and Magic sticks", before reading Trance-formations. Bandler vaguely describes some really important hypnosis concepts, which could leave a new student in a trance of confusion. Monsters and Magic sticks will help the learning process on some of the tougher topics to chew. The only reason I am giving this book 4 stars is because of Bandler's covering on synesthesia patterning,Meta-model, Milton-Model, fairly in-depth glossary, and informative age regressing information. These concepts, from my minimal research standpoint, have not been covered in some of the "top" hypnosis books I have read. Sadly these concepts are not even unfolded until later in the book, and I feel one should not have to spend time reading 360 pages to just gain a handful of applicable concepts.
April 26, 2010
This is the real deal. Finally, a well-written overview of neuro-linguistic programming, hypnosis, altered states, trance, and all the other models and tools pioneered by Richard Bandler. Written in 2009, this book is the latest and most advanced version of these concepts.
The downside is that all the ideas are so tightly interrelated now there is little to no distinctions among them. This is the way it should be, but it makes the ideas more difficult to learn.
Also, there is not enough room to go into depth on anything. Bandler focuses on the quickest and most effective techniques, which in turn makes understanding a little more difficult, and the book less satisfying. It's a good overview and introduction, but it would take a library to fully explore these ideas.
Nonetheless, this is the guide and introductory text I've been looking for. I loved it so much, I purchased a copy to reread on the same day I returned it to the library.
The downside is that all the ideas are so tightly interrelated now there is little to no distinctions among them. This is the way it should be, but it makes the ideas more difficult to learn.
Also, there is not enough room to go into depth on anything. Bandler focuses on the quickest and most effective techniques, which in turn makes understanding a little more difficult, and the book less satisfying. It's a good overview and introduction, but it would take a library to fully explore these ideas.
Nonetheless, this is the guide and introductory text I've been looking for. I loved it so much, I purchased a copy to reread on the same day I returned it to the library.
October 28, 2019
This is an incredible introduction to NLP. It's like a practitioner course in a book. Very helpful for anyone who wants to learn the technology, but cannot yet attend a practitioner or for someone who wants to touch up their skills. If you're trying to learn NLP from a book, this is the best one to do that. If you need to hone in and learn one of these skills in tremendous depth, this book might not be as helpful for you, but it goes into more depth than a lot of training programs (and I've watched or been to a lot of NLP trainings).
The only thing I'd add to make this book better is to make the notes on the transcripts more elaborate and to have a full analysis of what's going on and why. They only point out a small amount of what Bandler does. And without a full analysis, it doesn't have the impact it could have. I'd love to see a book from Bandler written using case study transcripts that's similar to Hypnotherapy by Erickson and Rossi. That'd be a wonderful, helpful book.
The only thing I'd add to make this book better is to make the notes on the transcripts more elaborate and to have a full analysis of what's going on and why. They only point out a small amount of what Bandler does. And without a full analysis, it doesn't have the impact it could have. I'd love to see a book from Bandler written using case study transcripts that's similar to Hypnotherapy by Erickson and Rossi. That'd be a wonderful, helpful book.
May 1, 2012
Taking a step aside from considering this as a work on hypnosis per se, if nothing else it offers some superbly accessible explanations of how the conscious and unconscious interact. As a hypnotherapist it offers further value, but I have also found that the layperson can get a great deal from this book.
January 11, 2018
Whichever way you look at it, this book is crammed with life-altering techniques. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to enhance their life. Definitely warrants a second and even third read.
Currently reading
July 12, 2009Interesting book about how human beings are "programmed" by random events and suggesting it is better to take responsibility for your own programming and reprogram yourself.
September 20, 2015
Great book on NLP, probably the most basic guide towards it.
Loved the techniques given in the pages.
Loved the techniques given in the pages.
January 24, 2022
DNF - o abandonez fără remușcări, înainte să-mi taie cheful de citit definitiv.
Autorul repetă obsesiv și absolut enervant că numai metoda lui are rezultate, spre deosebire de toți ceilalți terapeuți-psihologi, psihiatri, etc. Am găsit afirmația pe aceeași pagină cu faptul că a ajuns la metoda lui câștigătoare urmarind mai mulți terapeuți care aveau rezultate. Păi nu spusese că numai a lui are?
Pretinde vindecarea unei femei care avea episoade psihotice de 8 ani și fusese tratată de 3-4 terapeuți, după o ședință de 15 minute... Își atribuise mai înainte calități magice metodei, dar totuși...
Nu neg că sunt și idei interesante - gen 'atunci când ți se întâmplă ceva rău, să nu-ți pese'... Nu-i o idee rea, pentru cine poate de la natură, dar nu zice și cum am putea face asta toți ceilalți.
Cică ar fi genul de carte ce-ți schimbă viața - așa o fi fost pentru unii, dar eu n-am văzut picior de așa ceva.
Autorul repetă obsesiv și absolut enervant că numai metoda lui are rezultate, spre deosebire de toți ceilalți terapeuți-psihologi, psihiatri, etc. Am găsit afirmația pe aceeași pagină cu faptul că a ajuns la metoda lui câștigătoare urmarind mai mulți terapeuți care aveau rezultate. Păi nu spusese că numai a lui are?
Pretinde vindecarea unei femei care avea episoade psihotice de 8 ani și fusese tratată de 3-4 terapeuți, după o ședință de 15 minute... Își atribuise mai înainte calități magice metodei, dar totuși...
Nu neg că sunt și idei interesante - gen 'atunci când ți se întâmplă ceva rău, să nu-ți pese'... Nu-i o idee rea, pentru cine poate de la natură, dar nu zice și cum am putea face asta toți ceilalți.
Cică ar fi genul de carte ce-ți schimbă viața - așa o fi fost pentru unii, dar eu n-am văzut picior de așa ceva.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 30, 2019
كتاب قوي احترافي في الطب النفسي و البرمجة اللغوية العصبية .
إقتباس
* كل العمل الذي يتطلبه التغيير هو " الاستمرار في العمل لإكتشاف مايجدي وما لا يجدي ثم استبعاد ما لايجدي واستبداله بأشياء اخرى تعمل بشكل افضل .
إقتباس
* كل العمل الذي يتطلبه التغيير هو " الاستمرار في العمل لإكتشاف مايجدي وما لا يجدي ثم استبعاد ما لايجدي واستبداله بأشياء اخرى تعمل بشكل افضل .
November 28, 2017
Mostly inductions and hypnosis.
August 20, 2018
Nice book
April 20, 2020
Very efficient use of language, highly informative and engaging. Very enjoyable read.
August 6, 2020
Richard Bandler's approach is priceless.
Reading this book is like being in the same room with him. Read it and read it again and learn from the master of hypnosis and NLP.
Reading this book is like being in the same room with him. Read it and read it again and learn from the master of hypnosis and NLP.
February 18, 2025
Good info
I enjoyed the information presented. I have read frogs to princess and the format was difficult to follow but good info.
I enjoyed the information presented. I have read frogs to princess and the format was difficult to follow but good info.
October 8, 2013
I've been listening to hypnosis since last January, but I really did not know much about it that much before reading this book. I am glad I read this book from the master of NLP and hypnosis because it cleared some of the misconceptions of about NLP/hypnosis in the society of NLP.
First: This book teaches you what hypnosis really is and why would you need it.
Second: There is a solid foundation of NLP that is very good the for those are not familiar with NLP.
Third: The book very, very, very practical, so do not expect that your life and the life of you people around change if you do not do the exercises.
Fourth: Hypnosis. How do you master the skills of hypnosis and be able to hypnotize people to get them to the change they want.
Great book, I enjoyed it!
First: This book teaches you what hypnosis really is and why would you need it.
Second: There is a solid foundation of NLP that is very good the for those are not familiar with NLP.
Third: The book very, very, very practical, so do not expect that your life and the life of you people around change if you do not do the exercises.
Fourth: Hypnosis. How do you master the skills of hypnosis and be able to hypnotize people to get them to the change they want.
Great book, I enjoyed it!
December 25, 2018
"It's never too late to have a happy childhood."
With that book (filled with mind models) it can be so easy to update our brain code (to support and enhance our lives).
The writing style is not my favourite, for example, asking to jump to the "File" (where "File" = texts at the end of the book). But, hell yeah, Richard Bandler impacted my life.
It was exciting to decode and see the Bandler's work as of the hypnotherapist and NLP creator/practitioner. To read stories, texts & phrases, with extracted meaning, comments and explanations.
I did only a few exercises from the book, and even so, I'm happy to upgrade my thinking patterns & my level of happiness. I know I want to re-read it & do all of the exercises.
With that book (filled with mind models) it can be so easy to update our brain code (to support and enhance our lives).
The writing style is not my favourite, for example, asking to jump to the "File" (where "File" = texts at the end of the book). But, hell yeah, Richard Bandler impacted my life.
It was exciting to decode and see the Bandler's work as of the hypnotherapist and NLP creator/practitioner. To read stories, texts & phrases, with extracted meaning, comments and explanations.
I did only a few exercises from the book, and even so, I'm happy to upgrade my thinking patterns & my level of happiness. I know I want to re-read it & do all of the exercises.
November 13, 2016
NPL is an interesting topic, and this book is highly authoritative if you are new to the subject.
However if you are familiar with NLP, this book would be skimable.
The exercises at the end are sometimes more important than the chapters which reference them.
Bandler (like most self help authors) tends to dabble on and on with their own life experiences as case studies.
However if you are familiar with NLP, this book would be skimable.
The exercises at the end are sometimes more important than the chapters which reference them.
Bandler (like most self help authors) tends to dabble on and on with their own life experiences as case studies.
April 30, 2012
Need to read earlier works to understand this one much better
November 4, 2012
When I read it I was fascinated, but my problem with NLP and Bandler is that I have no idea what to do with the "tools" they describe, and it always seems very exaggerated.
April 8, 2014
المعلومات الكتاب رائعه وفيه تدريبات لتطوير نفسك للافضل وتعلم الايحاء.. الاسلوب مهوب علمي بحت ومعقد بالعكس سهل وبسيط
August 18, 2016
I high recommend this book for practitioner and master practitioner of NLP.
October 8, 2017
Very good insights about NLP and hoe it works. Some good techniques to try at home.
Currently reading
June 13, 2018Q
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews