Emotional Freedom Technique

Welcome to A Journey to Inner Wisdom. I am Crystal Kotow-Sullivan and I am a Wisdomologist. In this podcast I will be covering the ABCs if the journey.

Hi everyone, welcome to Journey to Inner Wisdom. Today I am going to talk about EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique – E in the Wisdom alphabet! You may know EFT Simply as tapping. 

I have been using Tapping myself and with my clients for over 30 years, as well as worked with a practitioner to get at some deeper shifts about 10 years ago. 

I love Tapping because it is easy to learn and use. I can teach my clients how to tap and they can use it on their own. 

I often use it when I am driving and I get angry or frustrated with other drivers. I can tap at the stop light!  Over time you will find that some tapping points work better for you than others. 

For those who are not familiar with EFT, it evolved first from Applied Kinesiology (1960s) which is based on muscle testing. In the 1980s, Roger Callahan used a diagnostic procedure using muscle testing along clients tapping on acupressure points which he paired with exposure therapy to develop Thought Field Therapy. Gary Craig, in the 1990s, dispensed with the muscle testing and used 13 meridian end points. This then developed into EFT which can be learned and used by anyone.

It is based on acupuncture points on our body. Acupuncture has been around for over 2500 years and it is based on the energy flow in the meridians of our body. Typically, acupuncture is applied with needles, but we also know that if we apply pressure to certain points we can get similar results. Both acupuncture and acupressure are based on the energy flow through the meridians in our bodies. When these meridians are blocked, we can become ill. There are 12 meridians running in our body according to Chinese medicine.

Tapping is based on 9 energy points found at the end of these meridians. I am going to walk you through an EFT exercise today so you can learn these points. 

When Gary Craig begin using and teaching EFT, it seemed like magic. It worked so well and so quickly it was like snake oil! Over the last 50 years, there have been over 51 peer reviewed papers that report of investigate the clinical outcomes of EFT. It is now considered an evidence-based treatment. 

So then how does it work?

There are three reasons that EFT works according to Church in the EFT Manual:

First, EFT reduces stress. 

Second, EFT diminishes the intensity of emotional trauma, and 

Third, EFT modifies the way the brain processes emotional information.

We all know about stress. When we are stressed our bodies do not function at optimal level. When we reduce stress, all of our systems – circulation, respiration, digestion and every other system works better! Circumstances may not change but when we have made our resources available because we are calm, we improve our functioning abilities. This is why EFT works with such a variety of  aliments and complaints. 

With recent discoveries about brain plasiticity we also know that once we begin to rewire our neural pathways and change how we think. 

If we are working with a traumatic memory, the memory does not go away, but our emotional reaction to that memory shifts and changes. 

Tapping can be used with our emotions, physical ailments and performance. Today in order to teach you the process, I am going to use affirmations. Sometimes affirmations get blocked by our past memories without even knowing it!  There are many resources available for learning EFT. If you are interested, I would recommend Nick Ortner’s site. He is the author of The Tapping Solution. He has some great resources on his website as well as a Podcast and an app for doing EFT.

 Napoleon Hill in his classic book, Think and grow Rich, stated that when we are in a heightened state of awareness, speaking our affirmations becomes even more effective…our body, mind and spirit are primed to take on the affirmations with little or no resistance from our inner voice.

Affirmations when practiced, impact our neuropathways and can shift our perception and belief system.

So today I am going to teach you the Tapping process with the nine points.  We will go through the points several times before we actually do the Tapping.  We will explore and create our own affirmations to use during the tapping Session. 

So let’s go…

Emotional Freedom Technique – Tapping

Now, you can’t see me so I will explain these points as clearly as I can…Let’s locate them first before we start…

Now lets go through the sequence. Take your two fingers and tap on these points. Some people use both hands, I like using just one hand and you can use which ever hand is your dominant hand.

1. Side of the Hand Karate Chop - take two fingers as if you are pointing to something. Take them and tap them against the side or your palm…not on your palm but the narrow side under your little finger…tap and repeat your affirmation three times as you tap. 
2. Top of the Head - TAP
3. Start of Eyebrow - TAP
4. Outer edge of Eye – on the bone - TAP
5. Under the Eye – on the bone under the pupil - TAP
6. Under the Nose - TAP
7. Between lower lip and chin - TAP
8. Collarbone point- Find the notch of your collar bones, move 2cm down, now 2 cm out…this is the tapping point - TAP
9. Arm point – 4 inches below the arm pit – TAP
10. END AGAIN WITH THE KARATE CHOP 

Affirmations

You may have a favourite affirmation already.  If not here are some examples that you could use.

Remember, 

• Begin with ‘I am…”
• Use the present tense.
• Affirm what you want…not what you don’t want!
• Keep it brief.
• Be specific. I am driving my new, navy blue Mercedes C-class Cabriolet.
• Include an action word and end it in -ing.
• Make it about you not others.
• You could also add, ‘…or something (someone) better.”

Some examples from Jack Canfield, Shakti Gawain, Zig Ziglar

• I am constantly aware that my world today is full of abundance and opportunity
• I follow my heart and feel joyful because I am doing what I was born to do.
• I am calmly expanding my comfort zone to include everything I want to be, do and have.
• I am acting in alignment with my true life purpose.
• I am now attuned to my higher purpose and my life is unfolding exactly as it needs to.
• I am intelligent, competent, persistent and creative.
• I am enough.
• I am an open channel to creative energy.
• I accept all aspects of my internal weather and learn from the changing climate.
• I am confident in my ability to___________.
• I listen to my intuition and my inner guide.
• I give myself the care and attention I deserve.

First, Rate your belief level of your affirmation…jot that down or hold it in your mind…0, not at all, 10 unwavering belief

Let’s do some Tapping 

State your affirmation I am going to say mine out loud:

I am calmly expanding my comfort zone to include everything I want to be, do and have.

1. Side of the Hand BEGIN WITH AFFIRMATION
2. Top of the Head ALL OR PART OF AFFIRMATION
3. Start of Eyebrow ALL OR PART OF AFFIRMATION
4. Outer edge of Eye – on the bone A...