Pointing to a New Modelling Perspective
James Lawley, co-author of 'Metaphors in Mind', introduces his latest work in Symbolic Modelling:

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“After more than a decade of searching for a satisfying analogy that describes the perspective I take when symbolic modelling, I’ve finally found one right under my nose. It is the simple and everyday act of pointing. It wasn’t until I came across Raymond Tallis’ Michelangelo’s Finger – a whole book devoted to pointing – that I realised just how much mental activity is involved. The moment I understood what the recipient of pointing has to do with their attention, I thought: ‘That’s what we do. That’s how we model symbolically’. Before exploring what pointing can reveal for symbolic modellers, I will examine how pointing works and what both facilitator and client have to do with their attention during pointing.”

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James is a psychotherapist , trainer, coach, and therapist supervisor. He is the co-developer with his partner Penny Tompkins of the Clean Language-based methodology Symbolic Modelling and co-author of ‘Metaphors in Mind: Transformation through Symbolic Modelling’ (Developing Company Press 2000). More at www.cleanlanguage.co.uk

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