Emotional Freedom Techniques

I wrote this post on Emotional Freedom Techniques for my friend Babita's brilliant Advent calendar on her great blog http://meadysmusings.blogspot.com/

Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease ~ Hippocrates

Throughout the ages, the energy or force that animates all life has been referred to as Prana, Qi (Chi), Ki, Ka, Pneuma, Ashe, Ha, Life Force and Spirit. Ancient healing systems such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine have studied and documented the effects of how this energy influences and directs the body and mind. Today we are building on this solid foundation with the developing fields of mindbody medicine, energy medicine, energy psychology and energy healing. Holistic psychiatrist Dr John Diamond refers to this animating life force as Life Energy. Life Energy is “the innate healing power of the body, and it is intimately connected with health in that whatever the symptoms of any particular illness, underneath we will always find a diminution of Life Energy. It is the Healing Power within us, the restorative powers of our own body, and the only true healing comes by raising the Life Energy.”

Some day the medical profession will wake up and realize that unresolved emotional issues are the main cause of 85% of all illnesses. When they do, EFT will be one of their primary healing tools ... as it is for me ~ Eric Robins, MD

Emotional Freedom Techniques or EFT, simply stated, is emotional or psychological acupressure. Acupressure is the act of applying manual pressure, or tapping, usually with the fingertips, on various meridians located on the surface of the body, the same meridians used in acupuncture. Meridians are the channels through which energy flows, much the same as veins and capillaries are the channels through which blood flows. Energy needs to flow freely and unimpeded through these channels, otherwise it stagnates and becomes blocked, this congested and clogged energy can eventually become so dense that it results in emotional and physical dis-ease. EFT helps to dissolve and release the energetic blocks and restores the natural flow to our Life Energy. As Dr John Diamond states “Holistic Healing always starts with the actuation of the Life Energy, the Spirit—the Healing Power Within. Only then can there be the full appreciation and joyful acceptance of the beauty and wonder of life. This and nothing less than this is True Health.”

The visible world is the invisible organisation of energy 

~ Heinz Pagels, Physicist

EFT is a very elegant technique, it can be used on issues such as headaches, pain, fear of public speaking, dyslexia and it may also be employed to treat more complex, serious and chronic issues such as multiple sclerosis and cancer. Very often, in treating an emotional issue successfully with EFT, a related physical ailment will disappear or diminish and the same is true when working on a physical issue, related emotional issues melt away. We all know the effect emotions can have on our physiology, when we're afraid or nervous for example, our stomachs may tense up and become knotted, our hearts may beat faster, we start to sweat and our breathing becomes shallow and fast as we take shorter breaths. As the founder of EFT, Gary Craig, states in the discovery statement of EFT “All negative emotions are caused by a disruption in the body's energy system.” EFT works on this simple, but profound, truth.

The latest discoveries in physics and cell research are forging new links between the worlds of Science and Spirit. The latest science leads us to a worldview not unlike that held by the earliest civilizations, in which every material object in Nature was thought to possess a spirit. This is the world of quantum physics, in which matter and energy are completely entangled ~ Bruce Lipton, Ph.D author of Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles

Much research has shown us that the mind and body are inextricably linked, if not one and the same. Dr Candace Pert, author of Molecules of Emotion, Why you Feel the Way you Feel, states that the body is the “outward manifestation of the mind”, and what influences and directs the mind more than the beliefs we hold about our self, others and life? These beliefs create the filter through which we view, perceive and live life. Cell biologist Bruce Lipton writes in Biology of Belief "When cells band together in creating multicellular communities, they follow the 'collective voice' of the organism, even if that voice dictates self-destructive behaviour. Our physiology and behaviour patterns conform to the 'truths' of the central voice, be they constructive or destructive beliefs." Skilled use of Emotional Freedom Techniques unveils core beliefs, which can then be tapped on to help dissolve and release them. Just like poet William Blake wrote “When the doors of perception are cleansed, everything will appear to man as it is: infinite”, when we dissolve beliefs that do not serve our highest good, we too will see that we are infinite and therefore have infinite potential, possibility and power.

From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that we are here for the sake of each other - above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labours of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received

~ Albert Einstein

The phenomenon in which EFT often works best when we tap with others rather than alone, is evidence to many of us that we are all energetically connected. We shift more blocked energy, we perceive things differently, we don't feel so alone, we feel connected, what’s really happening in my opinion is that we are HEALING our spirits. I believe this energetic or spiritual connection is also why distance healing and surrogate EFT works. We are connecting to the energy of intention when we tap with the intent for the highest good of a person to manifest. I think this quote sums it up beautifully "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20

Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire 

~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

The founder of EFT, Gary Craig, has always held the vision of Emotional Freedom Techniques bringing us closer to who we truly are: spiritual beings having a human experience, not the other way around. He is also a minister for A Course in Miracles and its philosophy is embedded in the very spirit of EFT: to love and accept ourselves unconditionally EVEN THOUGH we have issues. As mentioned previously, energy is also known as spirit, so, it is in raising our Life Energy, our Spirit, with the help of EFT that we will realise what Gary Craig wrote in his recent blog announcing his retirement “the exquisite beauty that is our birthright”. Thank you Gary for your beautiful gift of spirit and peace to the world.

Love is my religion ~ Rumi

I feel or I am?

When you are feeling a feeling do you identify with it or associate your self with that same feeling or quality? An example of what I am talking about is:

I feel horrible

or

I am horrible

Do you see the difference? If we internalise a feeling and it becomes a part of our identity, it can have a profound effect on our lives. Children very often find certain emotions or energies difficult to process and understand and they tend to internalise the feeling instead. Going through life feeling like you are a horrible person is not pleasant, and, sadly, we tend to attract people and events that seem to reiterate this so-called truth.

When we internalise a feeling, the energy of that feeling becomes stuck. The same thing happens when we identify with a feeling, or judge and criticise the feeling. Instead of allowing it flow through, our judgements, criticisms and identifications impede the natural flow and the energy cannot follow its natural course of in, through and out. Pay attention the next time this happens and practice observing the energy of that feeling and see what happens when you tap along with that. EFT short cut diagram.

Beating to the sound of your own drum

This is an EFT script to help you with clarity; becoming clear about you and your life. EFT short cut diagram.

Tapping the KC continuously or rubbing the sore spot say:

Even though I feel I'm all over the place sometimes, I love and accept myself

Even though I don't really know what it is that I want or where it is I'm going, that's okay, at least I'm asking the question

Even though I don't know what the best direction for me is, I'm confused, I deeply and profoundly love and accept myself anyway

Even though I'm not clear right now, I'm open to listening to my heart's desires

TH I'm confused

EB I don't know what to do

SE Nothing is clear to me

UE It feels________

UN I wish I knew what to do

UC I wish I knew where I was going

CB Maybe I need to listen

UA Maybe I need to quieten the noise so I can hear

TH What I have to say

EB So I'll know

SE What I want

UE What I really really want

UN That feels________

UC It feels good

CB But ...

UA I still don't know

TH And that's okay

EB I'm still listening

SE To what I have to say

UE About me

UN And my life

UC What my heart's true desire is

CB What is it?

UA I'll keep listening ...

Everyone sees the unseen in proportion to the clarity of his heart, and that depends upon how much he has polished it. Whoever has polished it more sees more - more unseen forms become manifest to him ~ Rumi

EFT and Intention: An Interview with Noreen Barron MA EFTCert-I

Interview by MohammadEFT, visit his great website http://www.eft-personal-development.com/

1. Can you please tell the readers about what you do?

I am an EFT practitioner who specialises in working with sensitive souls, chronic dis-ease, trauma, anxiety and depression. My experience is though, that people are drawn to work with a practitioner because of who they are, not necessarily what their speciality is. In essence I believe many of the issues we have are due to a lack of self love and self acceptance. We take on erroneous beliefs as a result of certain events and people but these beliefs are not who we truly are at our core. Though they can certainly feel like it. What occurs in our lives does not define or 'damage' us in any way, it's 'just' our 'story', which can be powerful and used to heal others and our self, but ultimately our true self cannot be touched or changed by these temporary experiences. I think trust is one of the most important factors in a working relationship, if not the most important factor, it enables people to feel safe, fully connect and open up so deep healing can take place. I believe that I facilitate people to do their own healing, so being as clear as I can possibly be is very important for EFT to work as well as it can. As Gary Craig says “get yourself out of the way”! I am also currently training to be an Emotrance practitioner and I intend to do the intermediate EFT certification in the new year. 

2. How did you first hear about EFT, and how did you first feel about it?

I first heard about EFT in a magazine years ago. It was an article written by Dr Mark Atkinson in a weekly alternative health section of the magazine. The words 'emotional freedom' jumped out at me and from there on I was hooked and immediately wanted to know more about it! At first I felt it was too good to be true, it seemed 'too simple', I think I was afraid of actually believing that it could help me as I had tried other therapies and they hadn't worked. EFT gave me real hope and I learned to take my power back, slowly but surely. 

3) The word "intention" can mean different things to different people. Can you tell us a little bit about what you mean by it?

I read Wayne Dyer's book The Power of Intention a few years ago and I was fascinated by what he said about its meaning “Intention is not something you do, but rather a force that exists in the universe as an invisible field of energy—a power that can carry us.” The energy of intention is creative, kind, loving, beautiful, expansive, receptive and abundant, an energetic force we are all part of and as a result have access to when we tune into our true self. I believe EFT helps us tune in by dissolving all the blocks clouding the way. He also said “accessing the power of intention relieved me of so much of the seemingly impossible work of striving to fulfill desires by sheer force of will.” This gives me a lot of hope and helps me to remember that by tuning into the frequency of intention, which is who we are naturally, life becomes easier, more effortless and inspired. 

4) Let's say someone is still new to the whole world of EFT and intention, and feels overwhelmed by the amount of work that "should" be done. Where would you advise that person to start? 

Start with how you're feeling right now, even if you judge what you're feeling to be 'wrong', even if you're questioning the validity of what you're feeling, if you're feeling it, trust those feelings and start doing EFT with them. I think one of the most powerful things EFT has done for me is to really help me to trust my self more, and value my feelings, emotions and experiences. Self trust is so important and gives us a solid foundation and sense of belonging that so many long for but feel they don't have. 

5) When would you advise someone to consult an EFT practitioner, rather than tapping for themselves?

 When they feel stuck and things are not shifting. If EFT is not working, it may feel like another reason that 'proves' the common belief of "there's something wrong with me". People tend to blame themselves and beat themselves up about EFT not working for them. Also, I feel we are all in relationship to each other, so, working with others, including a tapping buddy or a trusted friend, enables and empowers us to view our experiences from a different perspective. A new perspective can reframe the experience in such a way that it returns our power to us (or reminds us that we had it all along, we were just too afraid to exercise that same power) and helps to dissolve and release any intensity surrounding that experience. Allowing the space for someone to really be heard creates a connection and trust that naturally creates reframes I find, and they usually come from the person themselves. I find it easier to access certain issues and feelings when I do EFT with someone else too, they help me to tune into more painful feelings that maybe I would try to avoid for protection or safety. 

6) Do you have a tapping routine that you go through daily, for example? Or do you just tap when issues come up?

Both! I do have a tapping routine that I do everyday. I always do the three thump tap (collar bone, thymus, spleen) first thing in the morning along with the cross crawl. I also have my personal peace procedure list which I do almost every day (Note from Mohammad: The Personal Peace Procedure is an amazing use for EFT, I will write about it soon). I often tap continuously during the day too, a way of toning up my energy system. And I do tap when issues come up but sometimes if you're really being triggered it can be the last thing you feel like doing. I know from experience that this is the ideal time to tap! So if you can, really try to tap then.

7) Where do you personally see the future of EFT going? Do you have a certain vision for the future?

 I believe very much in the vision that Gary Craig and others hold, that the future of EFT is to realise that we are spiritual beings having a human experience, not the other way around. Using EFT to help us remember that we are infinitely pure, perfect and complete. I find that vision so comforting, hopeful, exciting, and, most of all, true. 

8) Last question, have I told you that I love your blog?

Thanks Mohammad!

Loneliness and many many aspects

This is an excellent article taken from emofree.com which demonstrates how a general issue such as loneliness has many aspects to it.

Hi Everyone,

Here are two letters (about two weeks apart) from Irene Schoenfeld regarding a client with loneliness. This is a multi-aspected client of the type many of us come across. They take more time than others and, until we get more experience with them, we wonder if we are making any progress. They are both a challenge and a blessing to us. They are a challenge because they take more time. They are a blessing because they help us expand our skills.

Hugs, Gary

By Irene Schoenfeld

FIRST LETTER: "I have a client who has a big loneliness issue. He feels if he gets over this it will free him from a lot of his life problems. He is a people pleaser and has problems dealing with people if there might be a possibility of them leaving him alone. He was massively reversed so I had him rub the PR spot saying, "I love and accept myself even though I am miserable" for a week. Then I had him do the PR spot for loneliness which he did for a couple of days. During that week he had a massive bout of loneliness but it did not occur to him to tap. We have been tapping on loneliness for two sessions (the first one 2 hours and the second one and one half). We get it down but if he gets into it he can bring it back up. I do ask him to work at getting in as deep as he can when we first start. Do we just continue or do you have other thoughts?"

GC COMMENT: My apologies. You asked me about this a couple of weeks ago and I haven't responded until now. Although we spoke on the phone about it, I wanted to add to it through this written response. I've been thinking about it in the meantime. Here are some thoughts.

1. Loneliness is a big wide label that is likely to include many aspects. Incidents of rejection are high probabilities. Abandonment also comes to mind. In your letter you said he, "has problems dealing with people if there might be a possibility of them leaving him alone." I suspect there is a fear here in many forms. This list could probably go on indefinitely and may be one of the reasons you have long sessions with him. He keeps bringing up other aspects. See if you can't zero in on some of these other emotions that make up his sense of loneliness. It's a way of being specific.

2. This is a case where the client will likely benefit from doing EFT for the general issue of "loneliness" 10 times a day or more. If he thinks of a specific issue during the day then use that one instead. The case of Lori which we wrote up a while back was just like this except her issue was the general one of "self image." Spectacular change occurred for her. Your client may "forget" to do what needs to be done here and you may have to be a bit more persuasive. A daily phone call as a reminder might help.

3. You may be making great headway and not know it. Good possibility here. He may be skipping from aspect to aspect in a generalized way and each time he does so EFT may have topped (improved) the previous tree in his emotional forest. He still seems beset with problems but you will know you are making headway when some of the previous problems don't seem to come up any more. He is off to new ones. Good news indeed.

Gary

---

SECOND LETTER: Hi, I have a client same client as above-GC that is great at getting specific but sometimes I wonder if it slows us down. Here is an example: Being Fearful start at 4 go to 2 and then he says the worst part of the fear is I can't make it on my own, he continues talking and then it becomes fear of moving ahead. That is an 8+. Goes quickly to a 3 and then to a 0. He then spontaneously talks about fearful of being with himself, that's a nine and we get it to 0. He wanted to do it one more time and a tear runs down his cheek because he has never accepted who he was before. I test the fear of moving ahead and he finds an aspect of "if he moves ahead his business will blow up." This is a 7. During the tapping he talks about feeling his essence is getting bigger. He doesn't feel like a small being any more. We get the "if he moves ahead his business will blow up" to a one and I asked him what's keeping it there after 3 run throughs. He says: uncertainty of the right direction of my business, uncertainty of what kind of person I will change into when I become successful, can I change in myself what I need to change and will I actually need to do the work. Fear is down, uncertainty is up. Doubt is what is holding the fear in place.

Any suggestions? At that point we had been at this for 2 hours so I ended the session so I could have a chance to look at it all. I think that I need to tap on Doubt. What do you think?

By the way this is the person who has been tapping on loneliness for several weeks and he says that it is getting much better. When his friends say they can't see him he doesn't get all plugged in.

Irene Schoenfeld

GC COMMENT: I think you are to be commended for hanging in there with him and for probing for all those aspects. It started with loneliness. Several forms of fear came in. Now doubt. Probably more to come. I know it seems endless but it sounds to me like you are doing marvelous work with a difficult if not "impossible" (with conventional healing techniques) case. I hear music here. An unfinished symphony.

Please note that persistence has helped with his "loneliness" issue but the way he "gets" this is by being aware of his emotions when his friends cannot see him. Although a powerful change, it manifests itself rather subtly. It isn't like a phobia where we can produce instant results of the type, "now you see it, now you don't." We would love to have this kind of result every time but some clients, like this one, present us with a sea of problems all at once. You may be blessings to each other. He needs your love, patience and experience and you need his circumstances to sharpen your skills. What we learn along the way with our "tough" clients makes us better with our future clients. Getting through these "challenges" takes you to the next level of proficiency and your reward will be increased confidence that benefits YOU as well as your clients. I've been through this many times over the past 6 years. It is getting harder and harder to "throw me." In most cases I am presented with, I've been there before. It's just a matter of experience and hanging in there.

Also, when your client shifts from one aspect to another (I call this the daisy chain effect) he is not likely to come back to a previous aspect and, if he does, it will usually have a different flavor to it. If this is what is happening, you now have a BIG CLUE that you are making superb headway. It may take many sessions but please notice that the client is always bringing up NEW issues. The old ones seem less of a bother. He is getting healthier before your eyes. Maybe he doesn't notice it yet (because he keeps bumping into new trees) and you may need to keep reminding him of his headway by pointing out things that no longer seem to bother him. You are doing this man a loving service by staying with him. Persistence, persistence, persistence.

My love to you both, Gary

P.S. How much headway do you think you would have made with this client if you didn't have EFT? How many hours of talk therapy, visualization, cognitive work or other conventional techniques do you think it would take to help this man? Just a little perspective.

EFT, Inner Theater and Guilt

This is a guest article by EFT practitioner Pat Burns who lives in Tallahassee, Florida. You can find out more about Pat's work on her lovely website and blog.

Inner Theater combines the power of EFT with inner visualization. With Inner Theater, a client creates a safe place in their mind/imagination --- an inner sanctuary of sorts in which they have total control. Nobody can enter that sanctuary without their permission, and nothing can happen in that space that they don't wish to have happen.

Clients are encouraged to give their imagination free reign, and to "go with the flow", and not try to analyze what happens as this imagery plays out. If a client can trust in the process, they will find EFT and Inner Theater to be powerful tools for change and healing.

Inner Theater is not only tremendously powerful when combined with tapping -- it also allows clients to approach highly emotionally charged issues with far less fear and anxiety than with more traditional methods.

Once I learned the Inner Theater technique I found that it was useful when doing tapping on my own issues, particularly those with a high emotional charge. One such issue was the guilt that I felt about what kind of mother I had been. A part of me felt that I had let my daughter down, and that was difficult to deal with.

I started by focusing on how that guilt looked and felt to me. I got a mental picture of myself lying on a bed of nails. Each nail represented a time when I had let my daughter down, and with any little movement that I made, the nails pierced me. My intensity on this issue was a 10. I started tapping.

“Even though I have this guilt about my mothering that looks and feels like a prickly bed of nails, I’m ready to start letting go of that guilt, and I deeply and completely love and accept myself”.

“Even though this mothering guilt is really painful, I’m open to the possibility that I can let go of the guilt AND the pain and feel better about myself, and I deeply and completely love and accept myself”.

I used reminder statements such as:

· “I love my daughter so much and I let her down”

· “I did the best that I could, but it wasn’t good enough”

· “I wasn’t the mother that my daughter needed”

· “It’s time to start letting go of this guilt”

· “I’m open to the possibility that maybe I wasn’t such a bad mom”

· “I did the best I could, and that’s all anyone can do”

· “Breathing out that guilt with every breath I take”

I could physically feel the guilt level dropping. My muscles started to relax. I tapped a bit more.

“Even though I’ve released a lot of my guilt, I’ve still got more that I’m holding onto, and I’m ready to bring some healing to this, and I deeply and completely love and accept myself, and I hold myself in kindness and compassion”.

· “Letting go of the guilt”

· “Feeling better and better about myself”

· “Breathing out guilt, breathing in peace”

· “Transforming the last of the guilt into a healing energy”

I estimated my emotional charge at this point to be about a 5. I checked back in to see whether there was any change in that bed of nails, and right before my eyes, the nails transformed into blades of soft grass, gently cushioning me.

Next I pictured myself standing face to face with my daughter. I expressed my remorse, and apologized to her for all of my shortcoming as a mother. Her immediate response was that she was lucky to have me for a mom. This was something that she had actually said to me.

A loving feeling filled me, and the tears flowed freely. I felt a great release of emotion, and my body somehow felt lighter.

Now I said aloud to myself “I was a bad mother” to see how it felt. The statement no longer felt true, and the emotional charge was down to zero.

This tapping session was transformational for me, and I felt a deeper, more profound connection with my daughter as a result.

By using Inner Theater and EFT together, you too can experience the combined power of the two. Open your mind, free your imagination, and find out what EFT and Inner Theater can do for you.