John - I've enjoyed reading your narrative of the events leading up to your collaboration with Richard Bandler (Whispering, p140 +). Somehow, the story makes you "more real" and the process of discovery (in general) more accessible. One thing that I am curious about is your relationship with Bateson prior to and during the times that you described. Did you have any professional contact with him or exhange of ideas before you and Richard began colloborating? Had Richard Bandler taken a class with him or had contact with him in anyway? Was his writing or work an impetus for your initial efforts? I'm not asking you to restate anything from Whispering. I'm curious if there is additional information you might be willing to share to help people have a more complete picture of those times and glean more of the intellectual antecedants of NLP (and if nothing else, I wouldn't mind hearing  a good story!) Thanks.   Ryan