# Neurosemantics

Neurosemantics studies how humans create meaning — how neurology (body, brain,
nervous system) and semantics (meaning, language, symbols) interact to produce
our experienced reality. The field was developed primarily by L. Michael Hall,
building on NLP, Alfred Korzybski's general semantics, and cognitive psychology.

## Core ideas

- **Meaning is constructed, not found.** Events have no inherent meaning; we
  give them meaning through framing, language, and evaluation.
- **The map is not the territory** (Korzybski). Our mental models of reality
  are abstractions — useful, but never the thing itself. Suffering often comes
  from confusing map with territory.
- **Meaning becomes embodied.** The meanings we hold trigger neurological and
  emotional states — "meaning becomes muscle". Changing meaning changes state.

## The Meta-States model

Hall's central contribution. Humans do not only experience primary states
(fear, joy, curiosity); we reflexively bring states to bear _on_ other states:

- Fear **of** fear → panic.
- Acceptance **of** fear → calm courage.
- Appreciation **of** learning → engagement.
- Shame **about** anger → self-suppression.

A meta-state is a state about a state. The higher-level state qualifies,
tempers, or intensifies the lower one. Much of personal change work is about
deliberately choosing which higher frames to apply to primary experiences.

Practical use: ask "How do you feel _about_ feeling X?" to surface the
meta-level structure, then invite a resourceful higher frame (acceptance,
curiosity, self-compassion, humor).

## Frames and frame games

A frame is the context or reference point that determines meaning. Reframing
changes the meaning by changing the frame:

- **Context reframe**: "In what situation would this behavior be useful?"
- **Meaning reframe**: "What else could this mean?"
- **Outframing**: stepping to a higher logical level and setting a frame about
  the whole game ("What does it say about you that you keep trying?").

## The Meaning–Performance axis

Hall describes human excellence as the interplay of two axes: the meanings we
hold (beliefs, values, identities) and the performances we deliver (skills,
actions). Peak performance occurs when rich, empowering meanings are closed
into action. Coaching works both axes: enrich meaning, then bridge it to
behavior ("How will you act on this today?").