I recently participated on a wilderness trip to Colorado with 25 other people, most of us not the “wilderness” type. The trip featured a rock climb on one day, followed by a trek (overnight hike) two days later.

There was a lot of trepidation in the group about many things; the rock climb, the hike, the workshops we were doing, the presence of wild animals, altitude sickness (we all live at almost sea level, and our climb went from 9,000 to 10,650, so it was a challenge for many).

As we shared our gifts in preparing for the trip, I offered EFT as my contribution to the group. We did one 15 minute session before leaving for Colorado, where I explained and demonstrated the technique. Many folks used it, and several thanked me for sharing it, saying it helped them in various ways.

One member of the group, a woman not known for being timid in any aspect of her life, had a special request of me once we got to Colorado. To prepare for the rock climb, she had gone to practice at an indoor rock gym. She reported she was shocked to find herself frozen just a few feet off the ground at the rock wall, unable to climb any higher. She said she was worried about the climb the next day, and asked if we could have a session.

I did a ten minute session with her that evening. We started tapping on her recollection of fear and feeling frozen, like she couldn’t move, as soon as her feet left the ground on the indoor rock face. After two rounds of tapping, she was startled to have the insight as to what was being triggered for her. She recalled a death in the family several years earlier, and the resulting responsibility she had to assume, which had left her with the same panicked, stuck feeling that she had on the wall.

The few statements she made about the issues made it clear that under the circumstances it was not at all appropriate to start to unpack this past event, or even to tap on it at all. In my experience, once a client has accessed a core event, it is difficult to work on it “just a little bit” without triggering that which wants to come out. I elected to stop while she was still in her intellect about the event, and explained my reasoning to her. After all, we had a clear goal for that evening, which was to get her as comfortable as possible about climbing the actual rock face the next day.

Consequently, we used the device of creating a box for safekeeping of the issue she had uncovered, and all its associated fears and concerns. I did not want her to feel we were fleeing the issue—instead we were establishing that she was in control of the decision to safely and strategically delay unpacking this event. After a couple of rounds of putting it securely in a box and storing it away, she felt ready to turn to setting an intention for the rock climb.

We tapped another round or two setting a positive intention that she could allow herself to easily climb the rock, and then we closed the session.

The next day, she was indeed able to climb as high as she was comfortable going, without getting “stuck” emotionally.

This session offered a true gift in the rapidity of the insight my friend achieved—the fastest major insight to come out of a tapping session yet in my experience.

At the same time, it presented a challenge for me, as my friend had opened a large issue that needed to be safely stored away so that she could do what she was there to do. Her ability to access a core issue so quickly along with her facility with using the strategy of creating a safekeeping space meant that our ten minute session in a relatively public setting had a very happy ending.

Ange Dickson Finn is an AAMET-certified Level 2 EFT Practitioner. She is based in the Houston, Texas, and works with clients over the phone and via Skype. Ange has helped clients with issues including physical pain, health and well-being, work-related stress, unresolved grief, equestrian sports and relationships. Visit her on the web at www.TapIntoYourself.com or www.RideWithoutFear.com. Contact her via email at ange@tapintoyourself.com.

Recently, I learned something very powerful about practicing EFT that I’d like to share. A practitioner friend named Ganesha, a friend and recent student of Sonya Sophia out in California, did something with me that has not only been beneficial for me personally, but has also strengthened my ability to help others. In essence, by offering a gentle, thorough line of questioning, he helped me release my problem. I believe this happened because I was able to make connections at the beginning of our session that served to disarm my resistance to looking deeply at what was going on with me.

Many practitioners are familiar with the importance of asking good questions and building rapport with your client. What was new to me was how Ganesh allowed the details and intensities to linger while we delved deeper and deeper into my subjective experience of the issue. This is something I had previously touched on in many sessions, but never quite like this. Later what I realized was so powerful about this approach was how our exploration seemed to naturally disarm any body resistance to change (called PR or Psychological Reversal).

Our rapport together was also strengthened, and I literally felt so held and free by his gentle line of questioning, there was literally no real need to use the “setup” phrase during the entire process. Experienced EFTers will also notice how we employed the strategy of “continuous tapping” on acupuncture points during the discussion – which helped my body clear the energy of the words as we tapped. He also tested and measured my intensity levels around the original issue as well as several other aspects that were uncovered along the way. It is also worth noting that we spent time tapping on one specific (and intense) early event that rose into consciousness during the process.

My Body Won’t Let Go

We began with me talking about my “issue.” I had just awoken from a nap at a friends house and had noticed my jaw was tight and that I felt frightened. It had occurred to me that this was a somewhat common occurrence. I started to describe my symptoms:

It feels like I’m scared to sleep sometimes. Like I’m afraid to completely let go. It’s almost as if my consciousness is hanging on for dear life and won’t let go of the bed.

He asked me to put my issue into a few succinct words. We decided upon, “My body won’t let go.”

What Are Some Negative Feelings You Have Around “My Body Won’t Let Go?”

In other words, he was asking me what is was like to experience what I was going through. My EFTer’s mind was racing: I remembered that these symptoms had appeared in my late twenties, and I knew that there had been trauma that was a likely cause. However, I actually didn’t want to revisit this today. Instead I chose to go with the sense that something else, something earlier in my life was involved. Ganesha was already tapping, and motioned that I could tap along as well. So I tapped as I talked, one thought per point or so:

“Frustrating. It isn’t safe. Disappointing. I can’t fix it. Out of control. Awareness of teeth clicking. Unease. Trepidation. Limitation. Stuckness. The stuckness is about a 7 (on an intensity scale of 1-10).”

As many people know, EFT can be applied to any one of these words or phrases – each one a possibly rich healing doorway, but Ganesha encouraged me to keep tapping while he gently questioned me some more:

What’s Some of Your Negative Self-Talk Around This?

I answered:

“You should be free of this. All this EFT and you can’t be free of this? You’re doing something wrong. You’re irreparably broken.”

I was kind of surprised at what was coming out of my mouth, but it was honest, and I sensed the tapping – and Ganesha’s gentle voice, was really helping things flow. I did really want to get to the bottom of “body won’t let go,” not just in my sleep habits, but in my musical, creative expression as well.

What Do You Think Are Some of the Cultural Beliefs Around This?

Immediately I came out with:

“Letting go isn’t safe – I might be out of control. I might be too much. Things might get out of hand. If things get out of hand, they might embarrass someone. Maybe someone else will feel bad. Oh my god, I’m totally seeing an image of my mother.”

What is Your Earliest Memory of This?

This one was easy:

“My mother disapproved. At 10 or 11, she could shut me down with just one look. I made her feel uncomfortable. My behavior was too much for her. Too girly for a young boy. Too expressive. I had to protect her from me. I think I still do that. Letting go is never safe. Always trying to let go, but how can anyone TRY to let go? It’s impossible! I’ll never be able to let go. Music. It’s part of why I have never given myself over to music.”

Ganesh asked for some intensity levels around what was coming up for me. Sad: 8 (out of 10). I responded with some more thoughts about letting go, knowing from my own work that imagining the possibility of “letting go” might bring up some more core stuff. I continued to talk and tap:

“I don’t know if I can do that. I don’t know if I can let go consistently. What might happen if I did? If I let go, others might be hurt. I was always worried about letting go and hurting others.”

He asked:

What Happened Before When You Did Let Go?

“I lost control. People got hurt. It was ugly. I could have killed someone. I was afraid to hurt others. It was also humiliating. It was shameful when I did lose control.”

At this point a clear memory surfaced. I was seeing myself as a 10 year old, dancing in the laundry room of one of my childhood homes. I tapped and described the scene before me and how I had been mercilessly teased by the neighborhood kids who had been spying on me. How there had been no privacy in that house and how angry I had been. I recognized that there were literally a cascade of emotions, aspects and other memories here, but it felt right to just bring my attention back to this one, specific memory. I continued to visualize myself as a young man, then talk about the house and that time in my life, including all the players involved. It was at this point Ganesh took me back to my original phrase with some systematic tapping:

“Eyebrow Point (EB): Body Won’t Let Go
Side of Eye (SE): Body Won’t Let Go
Under Eye (UE): Body Won’t Let Go…”

Long story short, we continued to tap through “Body Won’t Let Go,” stopping to measure the intensity (in this case, the truth) of the original statement. I actually couldn’t find much truth in the statement at all by this time, and the “stuckness” (remember if was a 7) was now quite low as well.

As our session drew to a close, we discussed the many aspects that had come up, and how I could use EFT to “sweep out the corners” or investigate other areas further as the days went on. I was thankful that he had four pages of notes outlining the process for me to take home.

The Ability to See the Big Picture

In the days that have followed, the most startling effect from our session is my approach to my creative work. Something powerful has shifted within me, and I’m heartily exploring my musical work in ways I never have in the past. Update 5/18: I have also been awakening with a greater sense of peace and confidence in all my abilities – and having this last throughout the day. I attribute this profound shift to this latest session.

In EFT, we are always on the lookout for core issues, but sometimes a core issue is so big, it’s like we’re standing too close to a large painting. Tapping through the questions in the way we did was a like a slow stepping back. With each step the whole story was allowed to come into greater focus. I am greatly appreciative to my friend Ganesha (and his recent teacher Sonya Sophia) for their mindful approach to EFT. Stay tuned!

EFT is so powerful for dissolving emotional blocks and letting us do our ‘deep work’ that we may overlook its suitability as a simple relaxation technique to help us achieve peak performance.

I’d like to share a recent example, using EFT with a group of horseback riders who were preparing for a Hunter-Jumper show.

Preparation: An EFT Demo

I met with these riders in a group while they were doing a week-long riding clinic, and gave them a 15-minute introduction to EFT and how to use it. The group was all-female and included youth and adult riders of varying experience and skill levels. Some had received EFT instruction from me before, and others were new to it. A few of them were practicing to ride in a show four days later.

I asked the group for one example of a problem a rider was having in the clinic. One young rider, riding a lesson horse that can be notoriously stubborn, volunteered, “I can’t keep Blue from diving in off the rail” (meaning, trying to trot in to the center of the arena instead of following the fence around.) I asked her how she felt when that happened, and she said “Frustrated.” Excellent example, which I used to teach the group how to tap.

We tapped on “Even though I can’t keep Blue from diving in and it makes me frustrated, I’m a great rider.” Given that there were several youngsters, I chose this closing phrase rather than “I deeply and completely accept myself.” We did not use a Intensity Level (SUDS) to check this statement; I was going for a more generalized, group experience with these riders.

I had everyone check their body sensations after the round, and they each noticed some degree of relaxation.

As the class resumed, I also took a couple of the riders aside to show them how to tap while in the saddle. For horseback riders, EFT is a great modality because they can use it while mounted. (The rider’s safety comes first; the horse needs to be calm and still, the rider needs to have a hand on the reins, and there should also be a person on the ground to give a hand if the horse does become restless.)

While working, I periodically looked for Blue, the problem lesson horse, and noticed that things seemed to be going well.

After about half an hour, I checked in with Blue’s young rider for her perspective, and she reported that she was having no trouble keeping him on the rail. She also jumped him successfully as the class proceeded to practicing their jumps.

I then showed the riders two tapping points for the horses that often produce calm; different horses prefer different points. One point is on the horse’s forehead, roughly where the sworl of hair is, or what we think of the “third eye” spot; the second is on the horse’s upper lip, between the nostrils or about an inch lower (the exact spot depends on the horse, some horses will lip your fingers if you’re too close to the mouth, but will respond well to tapping higher on the nostrils .)

This was all the work I did with these riders in their clinic.

At The Show

Four days later, I attended the show to give a hand with the tapping for those who needed it. Two youth riders and two adult riders used EFT in real-time between rounds, to improve their performance. Each used it while mounted, either with me or with their trainer/instructor. The trainer and I watched the rounds, and worked with the riders on specific elements.

Results from this show:

• Sarah, a youth rider, was nervous in her first class, and it affected her performance and her placing. She had been tapping on generally doing well, but after placing last in the first class, she and her trainer then focused the EFT technique. They narrowed it from working on “generally doing well” in the show to the elements she needed to improve. Sarah went on to win a first place in her more-difficult canter flat class, executing her skills solidly.

• Emma, a youth rider moving up to Maiden Riders Division, wasn’t as relaxed and solid as she needed to be in her first rounds. Her horse refused a fence, and rushed a few others, due to Emma’s nervousness on the more challenging course. Her trainer zeroed in on her two-point position, (the position a rider takes when going over a fence) and told Emma that she was not getting into two-point which was affecting her jumping. Before her last class, Emma and I tapped two rounds specifically on her two-point position; in her last class, her two-point position was solid and her jumps were clean. She won Reserve Champion for the division, and the judge specifically complimented her two-point position in the last round.

• Helen, an adult beginning rider riding in her first show, placed last in her first class, struggling with an understandable case of nerves. To add to Helen’s challenges at her first show, she is from Russia and has only been in the US a short time. Her inexperience on horseback, language barriers, and show nerves gave her a lot to overcome. Between her first and second round she used her EFT skills, conquered her nerves, and finished 3d in the most challenging class of her division, the ridden pattern equitation class.

• The judge’s comment to the trainer/instructor on these riders: “All of your students’ rides got better as they went along.” This is significant because riders and/or horses often become tired as the show goes on. Either the rider or the horse, or both, are likely to become less organized and less focused toward the end of the day than they were at the beginning. To see a consistent pattern of improvement among a group of riders of different ages is rare, and a significant outcome.

• The trainer commented that EFT kept all her riders focused.

• Each of the EFT rounds used during the show was done in less than five minutes, while the riders were mounted. The riders had fun using their tapping skills!

There are several significant takeaways for amateur competition from this example:

• EFT was taught mechanically, and applied only to executing specific skills

• We did not work on any emotional issues, and we narrowly defined our desired outcomes: “Keeping Blue on the rail”, or “Improving my two-point”

• At the show, we kept the rounds short and we kept them fun

• Their trainer/instructor reinforced this tool, tapping with them or asking me to do so, and encouraging them to tap with each other. This helps give it credibility to the rider, who can then use it openly and with the assistance of teammates as part of her tool-kit

• Although the riders themselves knew they improved, the results and judge’s comments also provided an objective measure of how the EFT had helped

An added bonus for riders is that horses look for coherence in humans; that is, when biological systems such as brainwaves and heart rhythms become regular and synchronized. This gives a focused and relaxed energy that the horse, a prey animal expert at picking up on energy states, responds to. The horse can then also relax and access its own skills, and the team of horse and rider reinforces one another positively.

Thus, the use of EFT with easily-quantifiable goals and a focus on relaxation and skill-execution helps both horse and rider.

These results can be generalized to any sport or hobby. For amateur competitors, the relaxing and focusing aspects of EFT may be all they need to allow them to access the skills they have practiced at home and accomplish their goals.

Ange Dickson Finn is an AAMET-certified Level 2 EFT Practitioner. She is based in the Houston, Texas, and works with clients over the phone and via Skype. Ange has helped clients with issues including physical pain, health and well-being, work-related stress, equestrian sports and relationships. Visit her on the web at www.TapIntoYourself.com or www.RideWithoutFear.com. Contact her via email at ange [at] tapintoyourself.com.

In my years of using EFT on myself and as a practitioner, I’ve addressed health, self-esteem, subconscious programming, and other issues that respond well to tapping. It was a while, though, before I thought of using it on the most dreaded phrase in a writer’s vocabulary: “Writer’s Block.”

The phrase could more correctly be called “Creative Block,” because it can visit anyone who has run out of creative solutions to any life problem. Your creativity may relate to running a harmonious household or finding new ways to attract customers to your business or practice. To live life fully and with satisfaction always involves creativity.

I have learned that reasoning it out or applying logic to any creative challenge rarely works. Neither does pushing through my resistance. I invariably end up with a lot of text (or a life) that’s dry and lifeless.

When I’m blocked, it’s because I lack inspiration. Tapping sparks creativity in a way that few other methods can. I’ve discovered with my clients that approaching a problem or crisis as a creative challenge often frames the issue in a way that invites their own innate creativity to come out and play, with dramatic results.

If I don’t know exactly what’s stopping me, I tap on a common default belief. Just as I sometimes believe that money is only available in finite quantities, so I can catch myself believing that I have only so much creativity and only so many ideas. When that happens, I use the following tapping sequence:

Setup Statement

Even though I believe I only have a limited number of creative ideas, I choose to realize that I am the source of infinite creativity.

Even though I believe I’ve used up my supply for the day, I choose to recognize that my supply is inexhaustible.

Even though I believe I’m only entitled to a certain amount of creativity, I choose to believe that I am entitled to unlimited inspiration.

The Sequence

Then I follow by tapping through the Sequence with a negative round:

I’ve run out of ideas.
I have nothing new to say.
It’s all been said.
I did as much as I could.
I don’t deserve any new thoughts.
My brain has gone dead.
I’m blocked, that’s all.
I’m stuck.

I continue with variations on the above themes until something clicks – often a childhood memory of my creative impulses being squashed. Over the years, I’ve discovered several beliefs that prevent inspiration from sparking. Like most of the beliefs that block anyone, these reside as programs in the subconscious mind.

If I’m writing a new kind of article or attempting a fictional innovation, I will sense, if I’m observant, distinct danger signals. The subconscious mind doesn’t want to get us into trouble. It learned when we were very young what was safe and what was risky, and it is scrupulous about protecting us.

Not Safe to Create

An aspect of danger is “They won’t like it.” They could be anyone: an editor, literary agent, family and friends, significant others, or a faceless public. Following this belief is “I will fail, and I will be humiliated.”

Not only do the above two paragraphs contain a lot of tapping material, they also provide openings for further discovery. If you tap on the idea of humiliation, you may remember childhood incidents where THEY didn’t like your ideas or your creations. I knew someone who was thoroughly humiliated in grade school for painting a green pumpkin.

Once I’m ready for one or more positive rounds, I use the following phrases or variations:

Maybe some more creative ideas are sitting in my mind.
They may be waiting for my invitation.
I invite them to come out and play.
I\’m looking forward to meeting them.
They are most welcome.
I know there are lots of them.
I feel them stirring now.
They\’re ready to play.

Getting Specific

I also adapt this for specific blockages. Examples for fiction could include:

Even though I don’t know what this character wants, I choose to listen to her.

Even though I don’t know where this story is going, I choose to follow it.

For both fiction and nonfiction, I use these statements:

Even though I don’t have the right words now, they will come. That’s what editing is for.

Even though I don’t think this is well organized so far, once I’ve written down the thoughts, I’ll know how to organize it.

Although I use the above statements for writing, they can be adapted for any creative endeavor — which includes any movement to expand your boundaries, come up with a solution for a problem, or spark your imagination for any purpose.

And if you think you’re not creative, try this:

Even though I think I’m not creative, I know that to be human is to be creative, and I welcome the new thoughts even now forming in my mind.

When you reframe a problem as a creative challenge, solving it can be both rewarding and fun.

I work with many women to heal food addiction, chronic dieting, emotional eating, out of control sugar cravings and the overwhelming sense of needing to be “perfect” both in their bodies, and in their outer world as well.

Of course, I too have been that woman. (You can read my bio at eatlikeagoddes.com).

I sometimes feel as though I have tapped into the beating heart of our culture with the way we as women view ourselves in the world. It is as though our relationship to food and our bodies perfectly reflects just how far we have progressed in terms of freedom and equality in the culture as a whole in my opinion. How far can we as women in the Western world have come if we hate our own bodies?

The rise in eating disorders illustrates this.

I believe the current statistic is that somewhere around 65% of U.S. women between the ages of 25 and 45 report having an eating disorder, and this is just the reported number. But I can tell you that it has to be a lot higher than that if you take the rest of us who have, or have had at some point some form of “disordered eating” habits.

I see this all the time in my practice:

We are afraid of food because we think it will make us fat.
We avoid eating for this reason and swing from diet to diet.
We have developed a love hate relationship with food and our bodies, making us feel guilty all of the time with food.
We want to feel like we look \”normal\” or beautiful enough but that feeling doesn\’t arrive, no matter how much weight is lost.
The need to be perfect drives us to do more, be more and leaves us exhausted and unsatisfied and struggling even more with food.

Though my mother’s generation in the late 1950′s did not have all of the same opportunities as we do today as women and faced discrimination that in some ways we do not face now, they did not have to stare down the self mutilation of eating disorders to the extent that we do today.

What is going on? Why is this happening, and why now?

Have we – as the next generations of women moving forward from the oppressions faced by our mothers and grandmothers – stopped short at the door of freedom and full self expression?

If so, what do we do about this?

I’ll tell you a story about a client who worked with me to lose weight. She had been going from diet to diet and cleanse to fast for her entire adult life. She was health conscious and couldn’t understand what was holding her back. Though she’d been exhausted and frustrated… she could not get herself to stop dieting, and in fact thought of me as the enemy that I would even suggest it. I think that she actually thought I was going to recommend a new and improved diet for her when she originally contacted me and got a big let down! I’m sure if you are reading here, you know what I did, and it wasn’t recommend another cleanse.

I listened to her very carefully as she told me how frustrated and unhappy in her body she was and that she needed to lose this weight YESTERDAY. As a nutritionist, I made the simple recommendations that I often do that have nothing to do with fasting, starving, or doing anything other than supporting and nourishing ourselves.

This client was unable to follow through with any actions we set out for her and it was at this point that we began tapping.

“Even though I wish to have lost this weight YESTERDAY, I’m so frustrated, and I hate the way I look… I choose to love and accept myself.”

“Even though I really want to do a fast or a cleanse just to get off some of this weight NOW and I can’t make myself eat anything… I choose to feel safe in my body and know that I can succeed without dieting.”

After tapping for several minutes on this frustration and all of her thoughts about her body and dieting, a clear memory came up for her of being 12 years old and feeling like she was ugly. She had thought that she should look more like anther girl her age who was smaller. Though she was not overweight by any measure, she had decided that something was wrong with her body right then and there, and that she was too big. The dieting started shortly after this.

When we tapped on this specific core event/issue she began to cry. She felt deep in her heart that she would never be beautiful no matter what she did because she would never measure up and this is where her desperation came from to diet and try to do something to change her body. Of course, none of this had been conscious to her until tapping brought it up.

We tapped on various aspects of this issue and her remaining feelings around it using the choices method until she could begin to feel some distance from it and relief.

Within one month of that session, she was able to finally stick to a plan that made sense for her and begin to lose weight without starving herself or doing a cleanse… and over the holiday season no less.

By releasing some of the pressure of feeling like she never looked right she was able to stop feeling the desperate need to change her body.

I mention this clients story because she is like so many women’s stories that I hear. Formative decisions about how we look form some of the core experiences of our relationship to food and our bodies.

We can love our bodies and ourselves no matter where we are today. EFT can help us to release old core wounds, beliefs, habits and patterns wherever they come from and move forward into our lives fully expressed, peaceful with food and ourselves.

Sometimes tapping issues can be a little tricky to sort out. There are the feelings you have and the plain old truthful facts about it. If your emotions on the topic are strong, the separation between facts and feelings can be hard to find. Or you may think it’s all feelings, or even all facts.

Maybe you’re thinking, “So what? I’ll just start tapping and it will all sort itself out.” That is one approach, and it may be successful. But it can help to at least be aware of the facts-versus-feelings components of your issue.

In The Beginning

Tangling up facts and feelings can cause resistance to tapping on the issue in the first place. Let me give you an example. A client (“Ben”) was extremely uncomfortable at networking events. He mumbled, avoided people and felt nauseous. He felt ashamed that he didn’t know how to clearly describe his coaching practice.

Ben saw no point to tapping on this issue because he was sure he just needed to come up with his perfect 30-second intro speech. But the fact was that his dread of networking came up any time he thought of writing his speech. And that fear stifled his ability to think creatively to write a good intro speech. With this tangled knot, there was no way out of his dilemma.

What’s The Answer?

Here’s what we did: We acknowledged that it is a fact that he could benefit from writing a good intro speech. We acknowledged that he had strong feelings of fear and shame when networking.

We tapped away the fears and shame and limiting beliefs and here’s what happened: He went to a networking event the next day and had fun! He still didn’t have a good intro speech, but he wasn’t concerned about it. He was able to connect with people anyway, which is the whole point of networking.

So the fact that he needed a good speech didn’t change. But we untangled it from the feelings. Now Ben has the confidence that with some focused effort, he can craft a good speech. And it’s still a fact that when he does, his networking will probably produce better results.

Check For Self-Blame

An important consideration: Self-blame about an issue like this can be easily overlooked. But it can anchor other emotions so that they’re hard to clear. So when you untangle your own knots of facts and feelings, be sure to check for that. In Ben’s case, the self-blame was strong related to his unwritten intro speech. We cleared the other feelings and beliefs more quickly by starting off with eliminating that blame.

When we’re “off our game,” “out of the vortex” or feeling bad in the face of a challenging life situation, a personal EFT practice can turn things around for us. Unfortunately, if you are anything like me, giving yourself loving, mindful attention when you’re feeling down is just about the last thing you might want to do. In the past, when I have struggled in a whirlpool of negative emotion, self-care has often been the last thing on my mind – especially when someone elses actions have lead me to this place. In such situations I can almost hear myself yelling, “I don’t feel like it!” and I’m probably getting waaaay too much out of having a good reason for being ticked off. However, when I remember to, giving myself structured, mindful tapping attention is always the biggest gift I can give myself (and those around me) – better than food, dessert, coffee – almost anything. And my personal EFT practice, now that I’ve learned a way of doing it that’s right for me, never fails to help me. In this article, I will share with you what works for me, and hopefully my perspective will help you take your personal tapping practice to a whole new level.

Being Where You Are

There are many people out there who know about EFT, who have experienced it’s transformative power – in a session or in a group, but when it comes to doing it at home they don’t make the time. “It doesn’t work for me,” or “what’s the point,” or even “I don’t know what to say,” are pretty common refrains I hear about the process. The first thing I share with people when they want to connect with EFT for themselves is to completely acknowledge their thoughts and feelings about practicing – while tapping. Why not give yourself the gift of acknowledging and allowing where you are right now and see what happens?

Creating the Time and Space

Once you’ve decided to give EFT the good ole college try on your own, it’s time to devote time and space to getting yourself into a nice healing groove. For me, sitting alone in the shower is the perfect space for practicing EFT. Alone in a private space, where I’m free to express myself, I know I can always get to the heart of what’s bothering me. Waiting for the bath to fill, tapping before bedtime or walking and tapping are also excellent ways to give yourself needed personal attention.

Intending to “Put Your Finger on It”

Setting your intention to tap into a what is really going on with you right now is an excellent way of ensuring that regardless of the words you are going to use, you will be on the right track. In other words, when you intend to get to the heart of what may be holding you at cross-purposes with yourself, or take a keen interest in what’s really going on with you right now, you’ll have a better chance of maximizing your time – feeling better more quickly and with a lot less effort. You may not have a clear idea of what’s bugging you at first (or what your particular challenge is doing to you), but intending to “put your finger on” the energy of what is really bothering you will allow you to circle-in naturally as you talk and tap with yourself.

Trust the Words, Feelings Will Follow

When you just can’t turn your attention away from the weight and seriousness of a problem, physical, relational, emotional, or if you just cannot seem to get out from under the weight of all the details, drama and emotion, talking and tapping can help you out. In my experience, our most present thoughts carry the energy of feelings – and feelings respond to thoughts – so any time we speak what is on our mind, we “put our finger on” the energy of problem so that tapping can do it’s magic.

New to EFT? Check out the Free EFT Manual.

Acknowledging, Accepting and Allowing Transformation

I think of EFT as a three part process: Acknowledging, Accepting and Allowing. We acknowledge and accept in the Setup (Karate Chop or Sore Spot) part of the recipe, then allow the energy of the problem to flow and transform while we tap the points in the Sequence.

Begin by tapping the Karate Chop (or rubbing or tracing the Sore Spot) while you speak the thoughts that reflect where you are right now. This is the first half of the EFT Setup phrase: “Even though…” Often, this part can go on for a while as we sink-in to what we are really experiencing. In the next part, accept, we reach for something we can believe that honors our process, our thoughts or our feelings completely in some way. In part three, allow, we continue to tap through the Sequence in a “stream-of-consciousness,” as the tapping transforms the energy of the problem.

In the below example of a personal “circling-in” approach, my friend “Keisha” was learning to use EFT to help transform her relationship to her job. Before we began, she agreed to trust that talking and tapping would naturally help her “get to the heart of the matter” and “put her finger on what was really bothering her,” while she expressed herself in the moment completely. All she felt certain of when she started tapping and talking was “I don’t want to go to work.”

She began by Acknowledging:

KC: Even though I don’t want to go to work… I have to give myself an hour and a half to get my head together before I have to go in… I dread going into that office…

Accepting:

KC: I’m allowed to feel what I feel

Acknowledging:

KC: Even though I don’t want to go to work and deal with whats-her-name, she just makes me miserable, I hate picturing her, I hate feeling so awful…

Accepting:

KC: This is where I’m at right now. I accept myself right now.

Acknowledging:

KC: Even though I wake up early so I have more time before I go in…
Even though I can’t stand the thought of going in and seeing that woman, my experience of her has been so negative for so long…
Even though I don’t want to see her, the way she makes me feel…

Accepting:

KC: I’m tapping on my own. I’m supporting myself through this process.

Next, Kiesha continued to speak her most intense, present thoughts as she tapped on each point in the Sequence, starting at the Top of the Head:

Allowing:

TOH: I can’t stand that woman, the way she walks and acts, so entitled. Seeing her walk. Seeing her sit there.

EB: I just feel so trapped. That’s what it is, I feel trapped, walking on eggshells, obsessing on what she’s thinking…

SE: I think I must be afraid she’s judging me. That’s it, she’s judging me, thinking I’m not doing a good job. I’m afraid I’m not doing a good job!

UE: I’m afraid – no, I AM doing a good job! I just feel so powerless and trapped around her. I hate how she makes me feel. I feel so blechhh around her. I can’t stand how nervous and miserable she is.

UN: She is miserable. I almost feel sorry for her. I hate going in there. I hate how guilty and weird I get around her. She is so unfriendly. She never says hello or goodbye to me. I think she’s jealous. I know she thinks she’s better than me. I keep thinking I’m responsible for what she thinks, controlling what she’s thinking. Thinking I’m not doing a good job, probably afraid she’s not doing a good job…

Chin: Something about responsibility. Feeling responsible. Being afraid, responsible, trapped, powerless, guilty too…

CB: Blecch… Trapped and responsible… guilty… These are old feelings.

UA: Blecch… Responsible for her behavior, for her feelings, for what she thinks about me. I am doing a good job there, and I’m tired of thinking I’m not.

Finger Points: Guilty… judged… like I’m not doing a good job… not doing a good job…

Gamut Point: I’m feeling better… Now if I saw her… I kind of feel sorry for her…

Refocusing on the Karate Chop, Kiesha brings her attention back to her most intense, current thoughts as she considers going to work:

Acknowledging (with some Accepting and Allowing thrown in for good measure):

KC: Even though I still feel like I don’t really want to see her… I feel lighter. When I imagine seeing [her], it isn’t much of an issue… I am allowed to feel how I feel about her. I’ve felt this way for a long time, judged, guilty but it feels better now – less intense. I don’t have to take this on…

After going through that a few times in our tapping group, Keisha, who could never find her way to tapping on her own, reported that she’s been tapping successfully on her own for the first time. While I’m abbreviating Keisha’s experience quite a bit, I hope you get the idea that when we intend to really “put our finger on” what’s really going on with us, we can speak our thoughts and focus the power of EFT, finding our own way towards relief, clarity, and seeing things from a broader perspective.

If you want to connect more with your own personal EFT practice, I encourage you to explore this “circling-in” approach. Before you know it, you could be talking (and tapping) yourself into feeling better more often .

Jade Barbee shares EFT by phone and skype from his office in Southern Vermont. He specializes in helping people transform their relationships to life, work, their bodies and the people and animals in their lives. Visit him online at http://www.emotionalengine.com.

I have just retired from many years as a school counselor. This summer has been interesting, as I am beginning to develop my EFT private business. So, in order to have exposure, I have offered to be a guest speaker and have also offered to do free sessions to develop research.

Last week I worked with a man who will be in a power lifting tournament at the end of the month. I worked with him a total of 1 1/2 hours. At the beginning he told me that he is able to lift 365 pounds, but a couple of years ago he could lift 375 pounds. His goal was to lift that amount again. For the first 30 minutes we discussed what was the “wall” that he hit regarding the amount of weight he could lift. Then I asked him questions regarding what his thoughts have been when he could press more weight a couple of years ago, but cannot now.

He said that doubt would creep into his thoughts, and the word failure would pop up. When asked when failure was an issue, he said that while trying out for a university football team, another player said that he was too small and would never make it. So we tapped on “this George statement.” We tapped for releasing “this George statement” and that George had been given too much power for too long. We tapped about 3 or 4 rounds regarding George. When asked if George’s power was still in his cells, he said that it wasn’t. Also, while tapping for doubt, I asked him if the doubt were an animal, what would it be? His response was that it would be an elephant. We tapped that down to being a baby elephant.

Then we went into the exercise room to test the results. This included his regular stretching and safety issues prior to power lifting. I also showed him the “covert” tapping sequence, in case he did not want others to be judgmental. The covert tapping that I taught him was the tapping on the upper corner of each of his fingernails. So when the other person came into the exercise room, and my client’s doubt was returning, he turned his back to the other person and whispered his words while gently pinching the corners of each of his nails. Because other people were in the room, he did use the covert method. However, after a little while, that did not seem to be an issue.

He easily power lifted the 365 pounds. He stated that the weight seemed lighter. Then we tapped for any doubt that arose. Next, he lifted 370, then we tapped more, then he lifted 375. He was so excited that he reached his goal. Next he decided to try for 380, which had not been his original goal. He was successful! At this point, I looked at my watch and noticed that our total time had been only 1 hour. For the last 1/2 hour we talked about how energy psychology works and what he needs to do for his homework.

I truly enjoy working with athletes because they are already in the mindset of success. Three days later, he was still excited and willing to aim for 400 pounds. This whole session felt like pure enjoyment to me. Work. . . what work?

Follow-up 3 weeks later:
I just wanted to give you an update regarding my article about the power lifter. He had his tournament last Saturday and on Monday I was told that he won the state championship!!! His girlfriend told him that the tapping was weird, but he said that he didn’t care, since it works so well! Yea!!!
Sincerely,
Monica Broadfoot Johnson

Monica Johnson is an educator who shares EFT in Tucson, Arizona. She offers her skills to those with peak performance goals, including athletes, sports teams, hiking clubs, physical therapists, personal trainers and schools. Her educators’ support website is www.eftgetsubetter1.com

It was time. It seemed as if all the signs were pointing to opening up a full-time EFT practice. I was nervous and excited all at once. I opened. Clients began to come. And then the global crash happened, just weeks after I had decided that this was going to be my path. How could this work? And then my client list doubled. And doubled again. Even though the economy tanked, and I’m located in one of the most conservative areas in the country, in terms of adjunctive or complimentary medicine and therapies, the practice began to thrive, and continues to do so. I think it is because of a number of things, but primarily because of what could be called co-creative marketing – I also think of it as mystical marketing, or contemplative marketing. Regardless of the label, it works.

First, it is important for me to know that the basics are in place—my website is up and running, beautifully. I feel wonderful whenever I hand my business card to anyone because it is lovely, and it directs them to a site I feel absolutely wonderful about. I post flyers locally, and have an ongoing Google ad running. I am listed in practitioner’s listings. But we all, basically, do those things, yes? What gets us to the next level, that of attracting a solid, steady stream of clients we love and who love us?

There are probably as many approaches and ideas as there are practitioners, but these are the steps I take, over and over, which have continued to provide a wonderful, steady, stream of gifted clients.

Ideal Client Creation

First, imagine your ideal client. Who is she? Who is he? I focus on the way I want to feel in the session once their true self is emergent. I feel delighted and grateful that they are there, and excited about the amazing results they are getting. I have a particular openness in mind—they love this work, feel as if this is their great gift to themselves. They feel fortunate to have found me and find it easy and effortless to pay my fees. They love referring friends and family. They feel as if they have found a life-changing gift in coming to me. I have some ideas, too, about the sort of work or issues I want to work with. So—what rings true for you? What does your ideal client feel like to be around? Be very clear about this. Where do they live? Are they parents? Students? Professionals? Be clear. Write a little biographical paragraph, and end it by saying “and the universe is bringing these wonderful souls to me every (day, week, month—whatever is right for you).“ Tap it in while you are saying it.

Visualization

I know we’ve all heard this a thousand times. Visualize. Creatively. But how? And does it really work? Yes, thank heavens. I use three specific visualization exercises: out of the mists, calendar, and numbers.

I am indebted to my colleague Jade Barbee for “out of the mists” : he told me about it and I use it, and have probably adapted it a bit. I picture a soft, pleasant, foggy mist, and picture my clients walking out if it and over to me—I don’t visualize the whole trajectory. I just see them coming out of a cloudy place and into reality. I usually see them as silhouettes. Heaven only knows why. As you can imagine, I love our banner on EFTfree.net—which shows happy people all in silhouette!

My next visualization tool is the calendar tool. I use this all the time. I look at my electronic calendar, and I picture my appointments all filling up. When I was first starting, I actually put in blocks saying “client,” so that I could see them all filled up when I looked.

And then I use numbers. I have in mind a certain number of sessions I want to appear each week, so I visualize the number and say it internally to myself.

Calculating the Clientele

This flows from the numbers approach, and is really a part of the same idea. I calculated, early on, what income I wanted. I did not do a pie-in-the sky number, but one that could support me with room left over–about the level I was at in my former job. I have a desire to allow this all to build gently so that I don’t get what one colleague calls “vibrational whiplash,” from setting the goal supernaturally high. So. Solid goals, but not outlandish. Then I divided that number by twelve, for the months, by four, for the weeks, and by my fee. That leaves me with what I need in terms of sessions per week, and also builds in about four weeks of vacation. That number becomes my baseline.

In the Body

There are two critical aspects of all of this that I do while intentionally engaging my body. One is the “I’m ready” stance. This will sound really peculiar, so do bear with me. I know where I want to be in terms of numbers of sessions. I then say to the Universe, or God (I kind of veer toward God, but do what you need to) “I’m ready” while squaring up my shoulders, as if I’m stepping into a task physically. It feels very good to do this. At the moment I do this, I release the thought and let the whole thing go.

The other aspect of vibrational marketing that is very tuned into the body is my fear-sensing apparatus. My gut. When I feel a sense of fear, and for me I do feel it in my gut, and a little bit in my chest—a sense of worry and fear—I immediately know that I need to find out what is there, tap on it, and release it. I then move into a positive exercise of some sort—something quick and easy, like the calendar visualization. Or look back at the last few weeks and say how wonderful things have been and will continue to be, while tapping those thoughts and feelings in around the points. This area worth working on with a practitioner, by the way.

Old-Fashioned and Effective

Prayer. I pray all the time. I also have a prayer group that meets every week via telephone. In that group, we have a simple ritual—first we go around to each member, and we each pray for someone else. Then there are a series of short, comforting prayers we say. Then, we go around again, this time articulating prayers for ourselves. I always mention my practice and my clients-to-be.
I know that many people have been traumatized by religion and so in suggesting prayer, I don’t mean to trigger any of that. It is, however, significant to me that I pray every week in the group and on my own, and things flow. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this step.

Let it Go

Finally, just let all of it go. After you practice these things, get up, go on a walk, let it go. All will be well and your ideal clients will come, steadily and with a sense of appreciation.

Lynne Shaner
www.eftpraxis.com

A couple of months ago I was working with one of my Tapping Groups. We were tapping on particular issues that were keeping members stuck and preventing them from achieving their goals. “Sally” stated that she would really like to start running again. She claimed that running had helped her to lose weight in the past, but that she now felt self-conscious running in public. So we tapped for her. Although it wasn’t possible at that time for her to go out for a run and see how effective the tapping had been, she claimed to feel more positive and less apprehensive. At the following group she reported that she had in fact started running again!

It was after this that I started getting the crazy idea that maybe I should also do some running. Please understand, for me this was really a crazy idea, and anyone who knows me well would also be surprised! I’ve never been much of an athlete. A good swimmer yes, but a bit of a disaster on dry land! I hated running. I used to get stitches, shin splints and go bright red in the face and stay that way for at least an hour afterwards. One year in high school I came last in the annual Cross Country race. I remember arriving at the end and only my mother and one or two other people were still there.

My usual tactic with crazy ideas is to put them on the back burner and see what happens to them. When they don’t go away I take them out and have a better look at them. That’s what happened with this crazy idea. On closer examination I found that it brought up a lot of fear for me, in the same way that it had for “Sally”. I was literally paralyzed at the thought of what other people might say if they were to see me running. I was also seriously afraid that I was not going to be able to do this properly, and that I’d make a real fool of myself. I had visions of myself doubled over unable to breathe, let alone get myself home.

So I did some tapping for myself:

Even though I am so uncomfortable with what people will say if they see me running, I deeply and completely accept myself.

EB: I’m afraid they will laugh at me.
SE: I’m afraid they will call me names.
UE: I’m afraid that they’ll make nasty comments about my body.
UN: What if they think I’m useless?
Ch: I don’t want to be judged by others.
CB: I don’t want others looking at me.
UA: What if I’m not acceptable?
TH: I feel really uncomfortable putting myself out there like that.

EB: Does it really matter what they think?
SE: It’s not like I even know them.
UE: It’s not like I have to hear what they think.
UN: It’s just their opinion.
Ch: I don’t have to concern myself with their opinion.
CB: Their opinion does not have to define me.
UA: I don’t have to restrict myself because of something someone else might think.
TH: It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about me, only what I think about me.

Even though I’m afraid that I won’t be able to do this properly, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.

EB: I don’t think I can do this.
SE: I’ve never been any good at running.
UE: I’m no good at this.
UN: I don’t even know why I want to do this.
Ch: I’m probably going to make a fool of myself.
CB: What if I can’t do more than a few metres?
UA: I don’t think my body can do this.
TH: I doubt my ability to do this properly.

EB: Everyone has to start somewhere.
SE: I don’t expect to be a superstar from the start.
UE: Maybe I can just take it at my own pace.
UN: I’m not that unfit.
Ch: It would be fun to try something new.
CB: Just because I used to be bad at this doesn’t mean it has to always be like that.
UA: I can just go out and give it a try.
TH: I think that I can try this.

After a couple of rounds I not only felt no more fear, but I was actually quite looking forward to trying it! On my first run I soon discovered that there was more to tap for. The part of me that always expects me to do something perfectly the first time and likes me to beat up on myself if I don’t was back. So I did some mental tapping as I went along.

Even though I’m not doing this perfectly, I’m going to be kind to myself and accept myself just the way that I am.

EB: I’m not doing this perfectly.
SE: Normally I’d be beating myself up for that.
UE: It’s ok for me to walk when I need to.
UN: The fact that I’m out here is wonderful enough.
Ch: Criticizing myself is only going to make me depressed and unhappy.
CB: I’m going to accept that I am doing the very best that I can.
UA: I’m going to praise myself instead of being hard on myself.
TH: I’m proud of myself!

That was about 2 months ago. I’m now running about 3 times a week, and have been able to consistently increase the distance that I can run in one go. I actually look forward to it and enjoy it.

I feel that I have already won the most important race of them all – successfully confronting and tapping away my fears so that I could tackle something that I had a very fixed negative belief about. I know for a fact that if EFT could help me to start running, that it can do the same for every other limiting belief that I have about myself and my abilities.

Caren Bestbier
www.eftwithcarenbestbier.webs.com