Emotional Freedom TechniquesTapping to Health

What is EFT?It is a very simple procedure that anyone can learn and use to alleviate stress or anxiety, and all the ways those emotions manifest themselves in our lives.

EFT: What is it?EFT is like acupuncture without the needles.

In fact, new research indicates that simply tapping on meridian points is every bit as effective at relieving symptoms in the body as acupuncture.

What is EFT?Tapping can be used to address the everyday stresses, emotions, frustrations, and aches and pains that we all have. It can relieve headache pain, even migraines. It can help you fall asleep. It can enhance your performance.

Tapping is VERY good for all of that!!

And, its something so simple to use that even children can easily master it!

Were Going to Give It A Try!

RIGHT NOW! But first..

Before we begin:

On a scale from 0 to 10:with 0 being the least possible stress,and 10 being the highest level of stress imaginable

what number would you assign to your stress level now?

How can Tapping Work on so Many Different Things?HEADACHES DIFFICULTY SLEEPING STRESS KNEE AND JOINT PAIN

IMPROVING YOUR GOLF SCORE FEARS AND PHOBIAS

Test Anxiety Fear of Public Speaking Limiting beliefs

How is it possible?

How can something as simple as tapping do so much to impact the body in a positive way?

The Miraculous BodyThink about taking a bite of food. You take that bite of food and your body immediately puts it to work in numerous ways to produce nourishment and health.

The Body Can utilize the healing aspects of EFT in the same way.

Well be talking about exactly how EFT works as a calming mechanism within the body in just a few minutes.

So, The Question IsDo you have two minutes to invest in your own wellbeing? Because that and EFT are all youll need to rid yourself of the stress that can lead to illness, or to a lack of productivity, or to less happiness and joy than is possible in your life.

BecauseIf any of those issues present a problem for us, it is because stress and anxiety define our relationship to them.Tapping treats the anxiety.

How does Tapping work?Until very recently, it was our understanding that EFT worked by removing blockages to the free flow of your bodys energy system. And, this is true. It does that.

How Does EFT Work?In the same way that blood flows through your body, energy flows through you as well.

We ARE energy, just as everything in the universe is energy.

How does it work?The cause of ALL negative emotions is a disruption in the bodys energy system.

-Gary Craig, founder of EFT, a form of Meridian Tapping

The fact is:If you never use tapping for anything beyond those things that create daily stress in your life

it will be one of the greatest gifts youll ever receive. Pass it on to others, and youll be giving an amazing gift to them as well.

How does EFT Work?In the last few years, new research on EFT has expanded our knowledge and understanding of exactly how Tapping positively impacts the body

How does EFT work?Studies on the brain reveal that tapping on specific meridian points using the EFT protocol actually sends a calming signal throughout the body, particularly to those areas where anxiety or the fight or flight response is being held and is causing you distress.

This distress can show up in your body as an emotional or physical symptom, or both.

Some of you may have heard of EMDR.

You might be wondering how EFT is like, or not like, EMDR.

Lets answer that question right now.

How is EFT like, or not like, EMDREMDRstands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

In 1987, Francis Shapiro discovered quite accidentally that bilateral stimulation could assist the brain in processing trauma.

Bilateral StimulationThere are a number of ways to create bilateral stimulation within the brain.

EFT VS. EMDRAlike? Different?You might say, they are both a little strange, at least in the way we normally think about healing.

EFT and EMDRThey are quite different in how they work within the body, and yet, the results they achieve may look very much the same.

They may be thought of as spokes of the same wheel.

How EMDR works:EMDR works by activating the clients information processing system through bilateral stimulation. It involves an 8 step process* and a trained clinician is expected to guide the process to facilitate a successful reprocessing of a traumatic event.

How does EMDR Work?EMDR seems to have a direct effect on the way that the brain processes information. Normal information processing is resumed, so following a successful EMDR session, a person no longer relives the images, sounds, and feelings when a traumatic event is brought to mind. You still remember what happened, but the strong emotional charge attached to the event is dulled or removed entirely. That sounds very much like what happens in EFT.

How does EMDR Work?EMDR appears to be similar to what occurs naturally during dreaming or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.

Therefore, EMDR can be thought of as a physiologically based therapy that helps a person see disturbing material in a new and less distressing way.

How does EMDR work?American Indians engaged naturally in bilateral stimulation as a way of processing events.

When returning from the hunt, they danced around the campfire to the beat of a drum and told their story of the adventure.

EFT and EMDREFT, on the other hand, works directly on the bodys energy system.

EMDR and EFT achieve very similar results and both have been shown to be extremely effective in the treatment of trauma, or PTSD.

Why EFT?For me, the beauty of EFT is that it puts your healing in your own hands. It takes away the need for a clinician to facilitate the process. You dont have to make an appointment and wait until the clinician is available. You can use EFT right NOW!!

Will tapping work for me?In order for tapping to work, you have to be WILLING to give up your symptom(s). Not everyone is willing to give up their symptoms.

Sometimes there is secondary gain involved.

Ask yourself: Is this issue serving me in some way?

Giving up your symptomMaybe the symptom is too tied to your identity.

Who would you be without the symptom?

If I tap on this symptom, whats going to have to change? Am I ready for that?

Ask YourselfAsk yourself: What is the downside of letting go of this problem/ symptom?

What is the upside of holding onto it?

Lets Dig A LITTLE DEEPER NOW into what tapping is capable of doing for you.

Brain PlasticityAs recently as the 1970s we believed that after the teen years our brains were unchangeable. Research on brain plasticity has changed all that.

Brain PlasticityNow we know that the brain is able to change and change rapidly. Trauma is laid down rapidly in the brain, and healing can occur just as rapidly, as it does with EFT.

Stress HormonesWhen the body/brain suffers a trauma, or even the memory of a trauma, it releases stress hormones into the brain adrenaline and cortisol.

Stress HormonesCortisol is referred to as the stress hormone because it is released in high quantities during the flight or fight response.

CortisolHigher and more prolonged levels of cortisol in the bloodstream (like those associated with chronic stress) have been shown to have negative effects, such as: Impaired cognitive performanceSuppressed thyroid functionBlood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemiaDecreased bone density

CortisolHigher and more prolonged levels of cortisol in the bloodstream can produce

Decrease in muscle tissueHigher blood pressureLowered immunity and inflammatory responses in the body, slowed wound healing, and other health consequences

Today We Life High Stress LivesStress has become almost a normal and accepted part of our lives.

Almost universally, people acknowledge the high stress levels they live with every day.

Heres Some Very Good News Research has demonstrated that tapping is able to dramatically and quickly lower cortisol levels in the body.

EpigeneticsThe field of epigenetics is also changing our understanding of how the body works.

EpigeneticsResearch in the field of epigenetics shows how the functioning of a gene actually changes as a result of the environment the gene exists in.

What does that mean?

EpigeniticsWell, it means that a persons emotions, thoughts, and experiences of a traumatic nature, or of a spiritual nature, etc., actually impact the functioning of their genes.

Dr. Bruce LiptonDr. Bruce Lipton is a cellular biologist and a pioneer in the field of epigenetics. His work shows scientifically how your beliefs actually change the cells in your body. You can read more about it in his book, The Biology of Belief.

What does EFT have to do with Epigenetics?Tapping is an excellent way to get at and release the underlying belief structures that limit us and now we know can actually define us at a cellular level.

So, its not just our energy system thats impacted by tappingIts the limbic system in our brain that controls the flight or fight response.

Its the hormonal system that controls the release of stress hormones in our body.

Its our genetics as well.

Tapping is New To You?We live in a culture in which the medical model is supreme. That means not fully recognizing and accepting that body and mind are one entity.

We live in a culture where we are most comfortable leaving our health decisions in the hands of the experts (doctors, psychiatrists, therapists) who will instruct you as to what you must do to be healthy.

ButLets just imagine for a moment that YOU are the expert on YOU!

REALLY -How can anyone know YOU like YOU do???

MaybeYou can take a much more active role in your own healing and wellness than you might imagine, or than you currently do.

How EFT Helps and HealsHow are those blockages in our energy system produced? Where do they come from?

Well, believe it or not, they come from our thought patterns.

How EFT Helps and HealsRemember what Gary Craig said:

Negative thoughts or memories create negative emotions which result in a disturbance, or blockage, in our energy system.

But Im a Positive Thinker!We have somewhere between 12,000 and 60,000 thoughts per day

Yet, only 7 percent of our thoughts rise to a conscious level.

Conscious vs UnconsciousFully 93 percent of our thoughts each day remain at an unconscious level, where they are not assessed, edited, or judged for their merit.

SoooooooIf only 7 percent of our thoughts are at a conscious level, then its the 93%, or all the unconscious thoughts, that are running the show of our lives most of the time.

AndThat can be a problem. Because its the way we think about things that creates our experience of them.

What happened? Why do I see it this way?

Up until the age of six, you were like a small but powerful computer

You simply downloaded everything that came at you. (All the good stuff, but also All the negativity, the pain, the rejection, the fear, the sense of abandonment, even the trauma.)

You downloaded it all without having the maturity or the insight to be able to edit it, or refute it, or simply discard it as wrong.

No, not you?No, we didnt all live with mean, awful people bent on damaging us.

True, some of us might have.

Many of us grew up with well-intentioned, loving families, were educated by caring teachersand yet we STILL felt hurt, pain, and rejection.

What this is Not! Its Not about finding someone to blame for the limiting beliefs you have about yourself today. And, please understand this

Youre In Good CompanyThere are very few of us who dont have beliefs about ourselves that hold us back from realizing our full potential in some way. You are in good company on this!

So, here it is.Those beliefs that you downloaded as a young child, that said something to you about yourself.that defined you and created a pattern of limiting beliefs about yourself and your capabilities, and the possibility of being able to fulfill your dreams..

Those beliefs continue to inform your decision making and your beliefs about yourself TODAY!

Why Tap???

Its not what happened to you in the past thats the problem its how you think about yourself today as a result of that event.

When you tapThe details of the story dont change, but the thinking/the perception/the emotional charge the story holds for you, does.

The Good NewsWhat youve made up (about yourself) you can unmake up. (Not the trauma itself, but what we tell ourselves or believe about ourselves as a result of that trauma.)

Traumatization is an inside job.

Why does it matter?Whether you believe something negative, or something positive about yourself as a result of the things that have happened in your life, youll continue to have experiences that support that belief.

The thoughts you put out attract experiences, people, etc, that are an exact match.

Why does it matter?

Sometimes things happen and we say, Why is this happening to me?

The more productive question might be: What am I believing about myself to have this experience in my life?

Lets tap on Limiting Beliefs

Those small t traumasWe are more likely to confuse the small stuff the small t traumas with who we really are.

Many people come to see Big T trauma as something that strengthens them They survived it!

When you tapHow do these things show up?You may notice memories, events, or moments from long ago, suddenly popping up in your mind.

Youll be tapping on anger, and youll remember something something that doesnt feel at all related to what youre tapping on right now

And, yet???

Dont be too quick to dismiss those thoughts or ideas as not relevant.

Why People Dont Heal..

SurprisinglyIt may be easier to hold on to the anger than to bump up against some of the issues that may arise if you really examine it.

Bear in mindResistance is feedback It doesnt necessarily have to get in the way of growth.

Reaching for CongruenceCongruence is whats critical: What you state to yourself and the world out here, in consciousness, has to match what youre telling yourself on the inside, unconsciously.

The unconscious mind has a mind of its own

The language of the unconscious is where all change occurs.

It needs to be able to trust that its safe to change.

For some, the spiritual answer to being wronged is to Forgive and Forget.

Trauma (undischarged) is a lot closer to therock in the shoe.

You have to bring the unconscious to the conscious level in order to heal it.

No one is stuck theyre afraid.Everybody wants change, but nobody wants anything to be different.

What will change?If I address this, what else will have to change?

I might have to learn to say No, or to be more visible in the world, etc.

What pushes your buttons?Things that trigger you:You have to have a template inside of you for it to bother you (now).

Your triggersYou wouldnt be worried about being called stupid (or moody, or incompetent, etc.) if you didnt already have a template for it inside you.

So, the question to ask is:

Do I remember a time in the past when I was made to feel that way?

Do I remember a time when someone I cared about made me feel stupid, or called me stupid, or treated me like I didnt know anything?

If so, thats important tapping material.

Symptoms as BlessingsAppreciate your symptoms.believe it or not, they are trying to help you.

They are talking to you, and they will continue to talk, louder and louder, until you hear them.

Remember: This problem was once a solution.

Once we pop a symptom then we have something to work on, to tap on.

What was going on in your life before, or at the time, your symptoms came on?

People often ask Am I saying the right words when I tap?

There are no Wrong words!If it helps, write down all the negative self-talk that fills your head on the subject THOSE are the words and phrases you need to tap on. And, be asspecific anddetailed aspossible.

For exampleIll never be a success.Im no good at this kind of thing.People would reject me if they knewIm a total failure at _____________.Bad things always happen to me.

Henry Ford saidWhether you believe you can, or you believe you cant, youre right!

And, remember Positive thinking is great, but it only exists at the conscious level.

You have to clear the negative/limiting beliefs you hold about yourself at the unconscious level.

Tapping StrategiesThe Tell the Story technique:Just tell the story of what happened, and tap as you do. (Keep answering the question: And then what happened?)

Ask What if statements as you tap: What if I decided to accept myself?What if I believed it would all work out?

Tapping on PainWorking with Pain: A way to view the pain:My body is trying to talk to me and Im not listening.What is my body trying to tell me?My body is pretty smart, and Im ignoring it.If the pain in your knee was trying to tell you something what do you think it would be? If my pain was an emotion, what would it be?

Remember: Whats your Number? But firstbefore you begin On a scale of 0 10, with ten being the highest level of distress possible and 0 being no distress at all, how distressing does this event/memory/thought feel when you think about it now?

Its important to determine this so you can gauge the effectiveness of your tapping.

To beginBegin with a couple of rounds where you really explore and acknowledge your negative feelings about the issue.

If you could chooseThenyou can suggest a transition, another way to think about it as you tap. How would you like to feel about this?

I choose to see this situation as part of my growth. to accept that I dont have to be perfect.

to see this person as trying to help me. to feel confident and competent in this situation.

I am willingEven though I feel so much anxiety about this- I am willing to see it in a calm and stress-free way.- I am willing to see it as helping me.- I am willing to be calm and relaxed every time this occurs.

Tap before somethingIt helps to tap in advance of somethingAn eventA presentationA social/family gatheringAn interaction with a person/client/colleague that you feel might be stressful

This can instill positive energy that will create a much less stressful and more successful experience.

After youve tappedAnd, youve taken a deep breath and let it out sloooowly:

Nowask yourself What do I notice? Whats coming up for me now? (There are no right or wrong answers here. Just notice.)

What thoughts, if any, has the tapping triggered for you?

After youve tappedIn the end: You have to test your work!

After youve tappedYou have to look at the issue youve tapped ontell the story again, or picture the situation again.

Test your emotions, your feelings on the topic.

Where are you now? (Scale of 0 10)

Aha moments?Write down your Aha momentsthose ideas/thoughts that come forth at the end of a round of tapping, if you dont plan to tap on them right then.

Aha MomentsThey can be valuable gems of wisdom as to where the trail leadswhat you should tap on next. But if you dont tap on them immediately, they can easily get lost in your unconscious again.

It happens to me all the time.

FinallyYou should be aware:What happens with tapping goes far beyond what occurs for you during the actual tapping experience.

FinallyThe result/effect can come in days later and you only notice because youll find you are responding differently to a situation.

If you need helpSometimes the most difficult thing is to figure out what questions to ask yourself in order to find the underlying issues to tap on.

If you need helpWhile you can tap on your own and make very good progress, there may come a time when you would benefit from working with a practitioner in order to better focus your work.

FinallyWe are so much more than we believe ourselves to be.

Finally

We are so much more capable, more powerful, more in every way than we could ever imagine.

KnowingWe are infinite and vast and theres a part of us that KNOWS this, knows that we are so much more than our bodies and our past traumas and our limitations.

You can heal your life!This Knowing really makes the difference. Knowing you can heal allows you to believe in the possibility of healing in others.

You will telegraph that belief to others.

Healing is a process, not an event!

Every moment is a left right moment!

With each step you takeALL YOU NEED TO DO IS TURN SLIGHTLY,IN THE DIRECTION YOU WANT TO GO.

Use EFT

And you WILL get to that place of peace and healingthat place you want to be!