I have just read a book, semi autobiographical with a remarkable, but unlikely hero. He was born in the early days of the 20th century, a late developer who did not speak until he was four, who came from a modest American farming family. He was disadvantaged with dyslexia and at seventeen he contracted polio so severely
that, it was feared he would not survive the night. He stubbornly insisted on seeing just one more sunset and survived that night and many more. Totally paralysed, apart from his eyes, all he could do for the next year was listen and study his parents, seven sisters and single brother. He entertained himself and became adept at nonverbal communication, noting
“I started watching people and my environment. I soon learned that my sisters could say no when they meant yes. And they could say yes and mean no at the same time. They could offer another sister an apple and hold it back. And I began studying nonverbal language and body language.
I had a baby sister who had begun to learn to creep. I would have to learn to stand up and walk. And you can imagine the intensity with which I watched as my baby sister grew from creeping to learning how to stand up. My Voice Will Go With You – S Rosen
As he recovered he realised that he no longer had
the strength to become a farmer, but that he could
train to be a doctor. Milton H Erickson became not
only a doctor, but also a gifted psychiatrist,
Eric Hoffer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia::
Hoffer was a young man when his father, a cabinetmaker, died. Los Angeles was the best place for a poor man, Hoffer took a bus there in 1920.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_HofferHOME |
psychotherapist and was the founding President for
the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis. The
book My Voice Will Go With You is a collection of
the stories he used in therapy and teaching. They
speak volumes of Erickson’s gentleness and
philosophy.
While others may have made a fortune from
apparent supernatural gifts, Erickson used his
uncanny ability to read body language for the
betterment of mankind. I can not do justice to the
many stories Erickson tells of the treatment of
patients. But all are told instructively and with
compassion, even those where the patients will not
take his advice and continue on their own self
destructive path. Throughout the book Erickson’s
love of life and sheer playfulness shine through: Let me illustrate this is with a tale about one of his students.
A new Dean arrived at the medical school with a
brilliant protégé, who was gifted in pathology but hated all psychiatrists. The Dean warned Erickson that his student had a sharp tongue and would insult him any way he could. When all the other students handed in an assignment, the protégé handed in a blank sheet. Erickson said, “Without reading your review, I notice you have made two mistakes: you haven’t dated it and you haven’t signed it. So, hand it in next Monday” Taken completely by surprise, the “difficult” student took the paper back and produced the best work Erickson had ever seen.
All his stories are instructive and Rosen adds his
commentary to them. Erickson’s techniques are still used in therapy and are a basis for change,
especially in NLP (Nero Linguistic Programming).
Of all the things I have read in this ntertaining book, perhaps this is the most profound: Erickson
encouraged all his students to get a novel they
hadn’t read by an author they were familiar with.
Then to read the final chapter first and try to work out how the previous chapter brought them to this point. Then read preceding chapter, and try to work out the one before that. This concept has just blown my mind. Instead of a world of limitations, there becomes a world of infinite possibilities
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A Remarkable Man