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| EFT |
LEARN THE BASICS OF HOW TO TAP WITH EFT
One of the major tools that I use to help people process their emotions and clear out negative, disrupted energy is called emotional freedom technique (EFT). The basis of EFT is that all negative emotions are created by a disruption in the body’s energy system.
For example, let’s say as a small child you came across a snake, and the snake tried to bite you. It really terrified you but didn’t hurt you. As time went on, you forgot about it altogether. However, you noticed as an adult that snakes really scare you, to the point of being hysterical, and you have no idea why.
The reason is that when you were originally frightened by the snake, your energy was disrupted and has remained disrupted, unbeknownst to you. So every time you see a snake, your energy gets “out of whack” and you feel fear. It’s like the event is happening all over again.
If you apply EFT to this issue, you will be able to see a snake and no longer respond in a fearful manner.
Here is a summary of how EFT works (I’ll explain in more detail below): Identify your feelings around a particular fear or resentment and relate the intensity of the emotion on a scale from 0 to 10, 10 being the highest Try to relate these feelings to specific past events if you can
One of the major tools that I use to help people process their emotions and clear out negative, disrupted energy is called emotional freedom technique (EFT). The basis of EFT is that all negative emotions are created by a disruption in the body’s energy system.
For example, let’s say as a small child you came across a snake, and the snake tried to bite you. It really terrified you but didn’t hurt you. As time went on, you forgot about it altogether. However, you noticed as an adult that snakes really scare you, to the point of being hysterical, and you have no idea why.
The reason is that when you were originally frightened by the snake, your energy was disrupted and has remained disrupted, unbeknownst to you. So every time you see a snake, your energy gets “out of whack” and you feel fear. It’s like the event is happening all over again.
If you apply EFT to this issue, you will be able to see a snake and no longer respond in a fearful manner.
Here is a summary of how EFT works (I’ll explain in more detail below): Identify your feelings around a particular fear or resentment and relate the intensity of the emotion on a scale from 0 to 10, 10 being the highest Try to relate these feelings to specific past events if you can
2 Create a set up statement that begins with “Even though” (i.e., Even though I’m afraid of snakes and especially the time that one bit me, I deeply and completely love and accept myself)
Either rub your sore spot or tap on the karate chop point while you repeat the above statement or a variation of it 3 times
State a reminder phrase (fear of snakes) while you tap 8 basic energy meridians with your fingertips of your dominant hand
Assess your emotional intensity on the 0 to 10 scale.
Continue rounds of tapping until you get the intensity down to 0 or 1. Remember that tapping is a very forgiving and gentle technique. Don’t worry about doing it perfectly. Tap long enough on each point to be able to state the reminder phrase.
Focus on your emotion and not on the mechanics of the tapping. If you are overly concerned that you are doing it “right,” you won’t be as tuned into the issue, and you’ll possibly lose some of the benefits. Speak from your heart and what is on your mind.
Don’t worry about saying the setup statement exactly the same each time or even if you do it three times. It is very forgiving! Gary Craig created EFT in the early 90s. I recommend that you go to the following website for more information and to read many of the great articles on how people apply it (www.eftuniverse.com). You can order an EFT manual if you need to know why this works and to read the various legal disclaimers. You will learn about the setup phrase, tapping points, how and why EFT works, etc. in great detail. I’ve taken a lot of the standard verbiage in this section from Gary Craig's EFT Manual. If you don’t want to delve into his detailed report, you can simply follow the basic instructions below. Note that most EFT practitioners don’t follow the long EFT tapping sequence also called the Basic Recipe found in Gary’s report (not even Gary). Instead, they follow a short cut or some variation of a shortcut which I describe below.
1) Decide on a specific issue. What is bothering you in your life? Just pick an area that causes you the most pain. Then list specific events that you believe caused the issue (negligent and/or abusive parents, bad experience in school, sibling rivalry and comparisons, etc.), . There are many ways to approach healing yourself. You have to start somewhere. You could also approach it with the question, “If there was something in my life that I’d just rather hadn’t happened to me, what would it be?”
2) Create Setup Statements that begin with even though and end with I deeply and completely accept myself. For example, “Even though I feel insatiable around food, I deeply and completely accept myself.” We say this statement because we want to accept ourselves even with our uncomfortable emotions. They are a part of us, and often the more we resist this part of us, the more it digs into and wants to remain a part of us.
3) Assess your Emotional Intensity. How much does this issue upset you on a scale from 0 to 10, 10 being the highest? We do this assessment so that you can gauge your intensity moving down. The goal is to get down to a 0 or 1, in which the situation no longer triggers you.
4) The Setup. Sometimes our energy “batteries” are put in backwards. The tapping will not be effective if this is the case. So we do the Setup so that your energy flows properly. Repeat the setup statement you already created and that is appropriate to the issue you are working on three times. For example, you might say, “Even though I feel insatiable around food, I deeply and completely accept myself.” While saying this, you will do either option a or b:
a) Rub the sore spot. To find this, go to the base of the throat about where a man would knot his tie. Poke around in this area and you will find a Ushaped notch at the top of your sternum (breastbone). From the top of that notch go down 3 inches toward your navel and over 3 inches to your left (or right). The left side is preferred because 75% of lymphatic congestion is found here, and you can also rub both sides at the same time if you like.
Either rub your sore spot or tap on the karate chop point while you repeat the above statement or a variation of it 3 times
State a reminder phrase (fear of snakes) while you tap 8 basic energy meridians with your fingertips of your dominant hand
Assess your emotional intensity on the 0 to 10 scale.
Continue rounds of tapping until you get the intensity down to 0 or 1. Remember that tapping is a very forgiving and gentle technique. Don’t worry about doing it perfectly. Tap long enough on each point to be able to state the reminder phrase.
Focus on your emotion and not on the mechanics of the tapping. If you are overly concerned that you are doing it “right,” you won’t be as tuned into the issue, and you’ll possibly lose some of the benefits. Speak from your heart and what is on your mind.
Don’t worry about saying the setup statement exactly the same each time or even if you do it three times. It is very forgiving! Gary Craig created EFT in the early 90s. I recommend that you go to the following website for more information and to read many of the great articles on how people apply it (www.eftuniverse.com). You can order an EFT manual if you need to know why this works and to read the various legal disclaimers. You will learn about the setup phrase, tapping points, how and why EFT works, etc. in great detail. I’ve taken a lot of the standard verbiage in this section from Gary Craig's EFT Manual. If you don’t want to delve into his detailed report, you can simply follow the basic instructions below. Note that most EFT practitioners don’t follow the long EFT tapping sequence also called the Basic Recipe found in Gary’s report (not even Gary). Instead, they follow a short cut or some variation of a shortcut which I describe below.
1) Decide on a specific issue. What is bothering you in your life? Just pick an area that causes you the most pain. Then list specific events that you believe caused the issue (negligent and/or abusive parents, bad experience in school, sibling rivalry and comparisons, etc.), . There are many ways to approach healing yourself. You have to start somewhere. You could also approach it with the question, “If there was something in my life that I’d just rather hadn’t happened to me, what would it be?”
2) Create Setup Statements that begin with even though and end with I deeply and completely accept myself. For example, “Even though I feel insatiable around food, I deeply and completely accept myself.” We say this statement because we want to accept ourselves even with our uncomfortable emotions. They are a part of us, and often the more we resist this part of us, the more it digs into and wants to remain a part of us.
3) Assess your Emotional Intensity. How much does this issue upset you on a scale from 0 to 10, 10 being the highest? We do this assessment so that you can gauge your intensity moving down. The goal is to get down to a 0 or 1, in which the situation no longer triggers you.
4) The Setup. Sometimes our energy “batteries” are put in backwards. The tapping will not be effective if this is the case. So we do the Setup so that your energy flows properly. Repeat the setup statement you already created and that is appropriate to the issue you are working on three times. For example, you might say, “Even though I feel insatiable around food, I deeply and completely accept myself.” While saying this, you will do either option a or b:
a) Rub the sore spot. To find this, go to the base of the throat about where a man would knot his tie. Poke around in this area and you will find a Ushaped notch at the top of your sternum (breastbone). From the top of that notch go down 3 inches toward your navel and over 3 inches to your left (or right). The left side is preferred because 75% of lymphatic congestion is found here, and you can also rub both sides at the same time if you like.
You should now be in the upper left (or right) portion of your chest. If you press vigorously in that area (within a 2 inch radius) you will find a "Sore Spot." The spot is sore when you rub it vigorously because lymphatic congestion occurs there. When you rub it, you are dispersing that congestion. Fortunately, after a few episodes the congestion is all dispersed and the soreness goes away. Then you can rub it with no discomfort whatsoever.
b) Tap on the Karate Chop point. This is located at the center of the fleshy part of the outside of your hand (either hand) between the top of the wrist and the base of the baby finger or....stated differently....the part of your hand you would use to deliver a karate chop. It is the side of the hand opposite the thumb. Instead of rubbing it as you would the Sore Spot, you vigorously tap the Karate Chop point with the fingertips of the dominant hand. As an alternative, you can tap both hands together at these karate chop points.
5) The Sequence. Tap on the end points of the major energy meridians in the body, while repeating a reminder phrase such as “I feel insatiable.” This is the method by which the "zzzzzt" or energy disruptions in the energy system are balanced out. Before locating these points for you, however, you need a few tips on how to carry out the tapping process. Tap solidly but never so hard as to hurt or bruise yourself.
Tap long enough on each point to be able to say the reminder phrase. Most of the tapping points exist on either side of the body. It doesn't matter which side you use nor does it matter if you switch sides during the tapping. I recommend that you tap on both sides of the body in the order presented below, but it’s up to you.
And pay attention to those points that feel good and resonate with you.
Sometimes you may find it necessary to only tap in one spot if you get results there. There are eight points that I recommend (see pictures below): a) EB—Beginning of Eyebrow. This point is just above and to one side of the nose.
b) SE—Side of Eye. This point is on the bone bordering the outside corner of the eye.
c) UE—Under the Eye. This point is on the bone under the eye, about 1 inch below the pupil.
b) Tap on the Karate Chop point. This is located at the center of the fleshy part of the outside of your hand (either hand) between the top of the wrist and the base of the baby finger or....stated differently....the part of your hand you would use to deliver a karate chop. It is the side of the hand opposite the thumb. Instead of rubbing it as you would the Sore Spot, you vigorously tap the Karate Chop point with the fingertips of the dominant hand. As an alternative, you can tap both hands together at these karate chop points.
5) The Sequence. Tap on the end points of the major energy meridians in the body, while repeating a reminder phrase such as “I feel insatiable.” This is the method by which the "zzzzzt" or energy disruptions in the energy system are balanced out. Before locating these points for you, however, you need a few tips on how to carry out the tapping process. Tap solidly but never so hard as to hurt or bruise yourself.
Tap long enough on each point to be able to say the reminder phrase. Most of the tapping points exist on either side of the body. It doesn't matter which side you use nor does it matter if you switch sides during the tapping. I recommend that you tap on both sides of the body in the order presented below, but it’s up to you.
And pay attention to those points that feel good and resonate with you.
Sometimes you may find it necessary to only tap in one spot if you get results there. There are eight points that I recommend (see pictures below): a) EB—Beginning of Eyebrow. This point is just above and to one side of the nose.
b) SE—Side of Eye. This point is on the bone bordering the outside corner of the eye.
c) UE—Under the Eye. This point is on the bone under the eye, about 1 inch below the pupil.
d) UN—Under the Nose. This point is on the small area between the bottom of your nose and the top part of your upper lip.
e) CH—Chin. This point is midway between the point of your chin and the bottom of your lower lip (the dimple of your chin).
f) CB—Collarbone (beginning of collarbone). This point is the junction where the sternum (breastbone), collarbone and the first rib meet. To locate it, first place your forefinger on the U-shaped notch at the top of the breastbone (about where a man would knot his tie). From the bottom of the U, move your forefinger down toward the navel 1 inch and then go to the left (or right) 1 inch.
g) UA—Under Arm. This point is on the side of the body, at a point even with the nipple (for men) or in the middle of the bra strap (for women). It is about 4 inches below the armpit.
h) Top of Head (not shown in Gary’s report or below but used a lot). This point is located at the top part of the head towards the back.
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6) Test Yourself after the tapping to see if you are less intense on the issue on a scale of 0 to 10. The goal is to get to zero when you tune into the issue.
7) Do Repeated Rounds of Tapping. You’ll need to modify the setup statement to say, “Even though I feel this remaining insatiability around food, I deeply and completely accept myself.” The reminder phrase would be “this remaining insatiability.” Basically, you are adding the words remaining.
e) CH—Chin. This point is midway between the point of your chin and the bottom of your lower lip (the dimple of your chin).
f) CB—Collarbone (beginning of collarbone). This point is the junction where the sternum (breastbone), collarbone and the first rib meet. To locate it, first place your forefinger on the U-shaped notch at the top of the breastbone (about where a man would knot his tie). From the bottom of the U, move your forefinger down toward the navel 1 inch and then go to the left (or right) 1 inch.
g) UA—Under Arm. This point is on the side of the body, at a point even with the nipple (for men) or in the middle of the bra strap (for women). It is about 4 inches below the armpit.
h) Top of Head (not shown in Gary’s report or below but used a lot). This point is located at the top part of the head towards the back.
.
6) Test Yourself after the tapping to see if you are less intense on the issue on a scale of 0 to 10. The goal is to get to zero when you tune into the issue.
7) Do Repeated Rounds of Tapping. You’ll need to modify the setup statement to say, “Even though I feel this remaining insatiability around food, I deeply and completely accept myself.” The reminder phrase would be “this remaining insatiability.” Basically, you are adding the words remaining.
