Have you ever met someone that seemed nice enough on the surface, but the two of you just didn’t make a connection? Or, perhaps the opposite is true. You met someone that was completely different from you and you felt an instant connection?

Our reactions to others are based on many different aspects. We react to others based on our current mood and attitude, the time of day, the environment we are in and our past experiences. We respond to others based on their appearance, their body language and the sound of their voice. We also have an energetic response to others that we can be very conscious of or we may have a response that is unconscious to us. Based on these factors, we feel compatible or incompatible to the people in our lives.

I know for myself, I have friends that others typically don’t like. They tend to rub people the wrong way, but for whatever reasons their behaviors, actions and conversations don’t affect me like they do others. I always find it interesting that I don’t experience their behaviors as annoying. For whatever reason, our energy systems are compatible on some level.

I also remember when I was dating, I would meet men that had everything going for them. They would be smart, good-looking, funny and have a great personality, but there just wasn’t that connection. I am sure you have probably had similar experiences.

Back then, it was fine if I didn’t make a connection with someone because there were lots of guys to date, but what happens when you have to interact with people with whom the energy feels off? How do you shift the energy?

Gary Craig, creator of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) has a motto “Try EFT on Everything.” So, why not try correcting the energetic mismatch with some EFT meridian tapping?

Balancing your energy system with a person is certainly an interesting way to use EFT. In order to notice any dramatic or subtle changes, you have to be paying attention. I suggest you keep a journal and make some notes about your relationship with the people with whom you are going to balance your energy before you begin and then keep track of any changes that you notice after you have balanced the energy.

If you try this process out, you will want to “treat” each person separately. Then, if you have a group of people, say at work with co-workers and a boss, or a family unit of parents and children or siblings, you can go through the same tapping process while visualizing all of them.

Here are the steps for balancing your energy with an individual:

Imagine the person you want to balance your energy with in your mind’s eye or get a picture of them to look at while you are tapping.

Set a clear intention to balance, harmonize and align your energy with “this person.”
(Replace “this person” with their name.)

Repeat aloud this intention:

I intend to balance my energy with “this person” today. I intend to feel in alignment and in harmony with “this person.”

Begin the EFT sequence by taking in a deep breath in and as you release it out, tap on the Karate Chop point and say:

Even though I may not be an energetic match with “this person,” I intend to balance my energy with “this person” so we can bring out the best in each other.

Even though I may not be an energetic match with “this person,” I intend to come into harmony with “this person” so we can bring out the best in each other.

Even though I may not be an energetic match with “this person,” I intend to come into alignment with “this person” so we can bring out the best in each other.

Now, move to the Eyebrow point and tap and say…

Eyebrow: I choose to balance my energy with “this person”
Outside eye: I choose to be in alignment with “this person”
Under eye: I release any imbalance I have with “this person”
Under nose: I allow my energy system to come into balance with “this person”
Chin: It feels good to balance my energy with “this person”
Collarbone: It feels good to make an energetic connection with “this person”
Under arm: Any remaining imbalance with “this person”– I release it now.
Top of head: I allow my energy system to come into complete balance and alignment with “this person.”

Stop tapping. Take a deep breath in and release it out.

One round of tapping is all that should be necessary, but if your intuition let you know that you should repeat the sequence, certainly trust that voice and repeat the tapping.

This process only takes a couple of minutes to run through, so make it a practice to balance your energy system with anyone that you interact with whether you notice any energetic imbalance or not. It certainly can’t hurt and it may improve your relationship.

Here are the steps for balancing your energy with a group of people:

After you balance your energy with each person separately, imagine the group of people in your mind’s eye or if possible get a picture of them to focus on while you are tapping.

Set a clear intention to balance, harmonize and align your energy with “this group of people.” (Replace “this group of people” with “my family,” “my co-workers,” “my parents,” “my siblings” etc.)

Repeat aloud this intention:

I intend to balance my energy with “this group of people” today. I intend to feel in complete alignment and in harmony with “this group.”

Begin the EFT sequence by taking in a deep breath in and as you release it out, tap on the Karate Chop point and say:

Even though I may not be an energetic match with “this group,” I intend to balance my energy with “this group” so we can bring out the best in each other.

Even though I may not be an energetic match with “this group,” I intend to come into harmony with “this group” so we can bring out the best in each other.

Even though I may not be an energetic match with “this group,” I intend to come into alignment with “this group” so we can bring out the best in each other.

Now, move to the Eyebrow point and tap and say…

Eyebrow: I choose to balance my energy with “this group”
Out side eye: I choose to be in complete alignment with “this group”
Under eye: I release any imbalance I have with “this group”
Under nose: I allow my energy system to come into balance with “this group”
Chin: It feels good to balance my energy with “this group”
Collarbone: It feels good to make an energetic connection with “this group”
Under arm: Any remaining imbalance with “this group”– I release it now.
Top of head: I allow my energy system to come into complete balance and alignment with “this group”

Stop tapping. Take a deep breath in and release it out.

Once again, one round of tapping is all that should be necessary, but trust your intuition to let you know if you should repeat the EFT sequence several times or perhaps repeat the sequence several days in a row.

Pay attention to your relationships after you go through this process and make any notes about your observations in your journal. It is fun to see how much power of influence you have over your relationships with others.

You can also try this process out with people you don’t know personally, but who have the ability to push your buttons…bad drivers, politicians, entertainers, etc. Before you do any tapping, write down what bothers you the most about these people and then notice if you have a different reaction to them after you balance your energy system. Have fun playing with this technique.

Something to remember…

“If people around you aren’t going anywhere, if their dreams are no bigger than hanging out on the corner, or if they’re dragging you down, get rid of them. Negative people can sap your energy so fast, and they can take your dreams from you, too.” Earvin “Magic” Johnson

Don’t bother to balance your energy with this type of person. Eliminate them from your life or severely limit your exposure to them.

Kathy Atkinson

This article is available in Spanish. Go to the Spanish translation.

Work and stress. The two go hand in hand for many. Having both come from the corporate workplace initially—Sejual from law, Lynne from institutional publishing – we knew that there was a great need for stress relief in workplaces, as well as other benefits that are so achievable with EFT.

In contrast to one-on-one therapy work, bringing EFT into the corporate environment requires a significantly different approach. We’d like to share our experiences in successfully doing this with three multinational companies: Merck & Co, Parker Hannifin, a large law firm headquartered in Washington DC., and a government body also headquartered in DC.

Primary Focus: Stress Management

As layoffs and tension increase in the current economic climate, stress levels for the remaining staff at all grades have risen to toxic levels. This regularly results in poor performance, absenteeism, increasing health-care costs, and even lost clients and business opportunities. Such blows hit both the owner and management, so continuing the cycle of harm. This is not novel—we all have personal experience of the cost of stress. But dealing effectively with stress is news and corporations need this information.

In our experience, the best way to create helpful change in the workplace is by bringing EFT into the situation, and positioned as part of a stress-management training. We know EFT is a healing technology that provides impressive results before our eyes. This is true in how it works on all the elements of stress that people experience: anxieties, worries, fears, and physical tension melt away when worked on with EFT. With this aim in mind, we’ve succeeded in introducing EFT into the workplace by billing the workshops as Stress Management Training.

In the business world it is culturally permissible to deal with stress. Rather than a sign of weakness, it can be seen as an advantage to the business and employees to deal with stress. It is now well-accepted that stress relief will help deliver performance-efficiencies and so improve profits.

We also speak directly about delivering “peak performance” techniques. This again carries the promise of the possibility of increased profits and fits with business motives and goals. Top achievers are always looking to “up their game.” We’ve avoided presenting ourselves as a therapist to the wounded. This would make them run away from EFT, given that they cannot allow themselves to be seen as weak in public. It is not as if they have no personal problems—we’ve found that these naturally come up. They can however easily be addressed in the privacy and natural safety of follow-on one-to one-sessions.

Typically, we’ve held introductory workshops for groups up to twenty; any more than this and it can be difficult to deliver meaningful results to. We are always paid well for these workshops.

Getting In—How to Open the Doors

Working with corporations sounds like a great idea, but how did we get in? The answer is pretty simple—by using EFT to align ourselves with the end outcome. We both employ the principles of attraction in our work. Given that we both had corporate backgrounds and wanted to serve that field, we worked with EFT and a positive mindset for our own benefits to allow opportunities to naturally arise in an easy way.

Lynne had ongoing friendships with people who were highly placed in firms and institutions on the one hand. She also had a client who had experienced such significant change during his one-on-one work with her that he wanted to bring it to his company. For Merck Pharmaceuticals, Sejual was invited to take part in a health fair in the workplace through networking locally and took it further by asking to run a paid workshop. She was able to work with Parker Hannifin after an impressed client championed her into her firm. The client even helped organize a meeting with the HR department at her company.

In each approach, there was no “formula” or set technique to “get in”—but rather being alive to the opportunities as they showed up in conversations. Sometimes the negotiation and presentation goes on for a long time—in one case a workshop began in discussions one January, was executed in July, and ongoing workshops are being negotiated for this new year. We don’t force conversations or outcomes. Instead we look for ways to engage in sincere and professional discussions that are focused on delivering maximum benefits. Our focus is on serving our clients’ needs.

Stay tuned for Part II – Building Bridges and the Nuts and Bolts of a Corporate Workshop…

Sejual Shah www.healthyinmind.com
Lynne Shaner www.eftpraxis.com

Click here for Part I of “EFT at Work”

Relevance to Business—Building Bridges

Once we’re booked to give a workshop in a corporate environment, we find that bridge building is essential. When introducing EFT to this audience we have been deliberate to speak in language that the business market finds relevant. Most people in these roles work in a highly pressurized environment, both emotionally and mentally. Even if they have yet to accept the effect and importance of their emotional wellbeing on their physical health, by billing our workshops as Stress Management with EFT, or simply Stress Management Training, we immediately “speak to their pain.”

New techniques and alternative approaches are not necessarily welcomed by traditional corporations, or by the decision-makers within them. The use of Stress Management as a label puts the emphasis less on our employing a “weird technique” and more on adding a new tool to their various coping strategies. However, as seasoned users of EFT know, we so quickly can achieve lasting relief that management becomes a thing of the past. We deliberately use the term management rather than relief as people come to our corporate workshops not expecting to do away permanently with the root causes of their stress. So we start our presentation with language and concepts that are available and familiar to them. By meeting our audience from where they start we establish ready rapport and can progress to what can be compellingly possible with EFT.

A Typical Workshop

A typical workshop will last between one and three hours. First, we start with Stress Management, the effects of stress, and the problems stress can cause. Then we introduce EFT in a general way, to start gaining acceptance and to build trust. We briefly introduce ourselves as “one of them.” Both Lynne and Sejual have had careers in the corporate world. Lynne was publishing director at two of the Smithsonian’s museums and other large academic institutions for fifteen years in Washington, D.C. and Sejual was an antitrust law barrister for five years in London and Brussels. We explain how we came to EFT to help cope with our high levels of stress in our former careers and found it a compelling enough technique to change careers to work full time with it and bring it into other corporate environments.

We talk about areas that all can identify, explaining that EFT has a strong track record of helping with physical pain, emotional (or “stress”) upsets, and enhancing mindset and performance. Using language that notes the effect of the mind/body interaction we introduce the idea that we’re working with the body’s meridian system and stimulating it like an acupuncturist would do. It is important to be aware, however, that not everyone is comfortable with the idea of invisible paths of energy flow. So another approach we often employ is to talk about working with the body’s nervous system. We understand that each of the EFT points is centered on an accumulation of nerve endings more dense than at many other parts of the body. We explain this and note that by tapping on these points we’re stimulating the body’s central nervous system, and so are introducing beneficial electrical change while using the mind’s ability to focus.

At this point, we briefly introduce some of the health/mindset issues we’ve had success with in client work and personally. We have found, however, given the analytical nature of this audience that it is often more helpful to emphasize that we wish them to gather their own personal evidence of EFT at work, as that will be more meaningful to them.

The First Workshop

During the first workshop we have found that two exercises and one “instant” EFT suggestion provide plenty of content. We first get them to write down their intensity level around a stressful event that happened in the office a while back using the 0-10 intensity scale. It is helpful to suggest examples, which might include a computer crash, the loss of a document, or a photocopier jam. Most have experienced such a problem, and they will be able to experience the effectiveness of EFT without having to go into anything personal, which is too intrusive in a work environment. They then put this to one side to come back to.

Second, we take them through the constricted breathing exercise. This illustrates EFT’s efficacy with nearly everyone. And because it is not at all personal, and doesn’t highlight any weakness, people immediately start to relax. Given that this is the first time the group is tapping together, we bring humor into our wording. They usually feel silly and awkward tapping on themselves, and so we make a little joke of it. We’ve used wording like:

Even though I can’t believe I’m in the conference room, tapping on my hand and body, it’s a good thing that door is shut, I’m OK with this for now.

Even though I’m doing this silly tapping thing in front of my colleagues, I’m not sure it’s going to work, but maybe I can give it a go.

Even though this seems really out there, and I’m a logical person, I’m OK with giving it a shot right now.

We use reminder phrases like “this looks so odd,” “hope the cameras aren’t rolling,” ”I can’t believe I’m doing this”. It is always worth using transitional phrases like “I’m OK with this now,” or “I’m ready to give it a go,” instead of “I love and accept myself” as is traditionally taught in EFT. It is important to steer clear of language that feels out of place or too personal in the office. And we find when we bring humor into the equation, everyone laughs as we voice what is going through their minds. Laughter has the great benefit of easing their worries and releasing things quickly for them.

We then move on to the second exercise. We have them return to the incident they had picked at the beginning. We ask them to check their intensity scale, and allow them to switch to another incident if they prefer. By reassuring them that they will not need to voice their issue in front of the group, we provide more comfort. We choose a reminder phrase that will act as the vehicle, or umbrella term, for everyone, like “this stressful event” or “that time,” and emphasize the clear benefit of being able to maintain privacy even though we are in a group setting. Sometimes we’ll use a rambling style that’s broadly about feeling tense about the unknown issue, picking up on the general ways of feeling anxious that come up for all of us (e.g. using visual, kinesthetic, and auditory cues). We facilitate the rounds of tapping to make sure everybody achieves some form of relief with tapping, thus giving them a concrete, experiential way buy in to the possibility that there’s more to it than they might have thought.

There are normally a lot of questions once people start getting changes, so we allow time for questions and discussion. We provide them with a tapping chart handout, a generic script on “this stress,” and give them an ultra shortcut. We show them how to gently tap on the fingertip and hand points with hands in their lap so that no one can see what they’re doing. We call this “stealth tapping,” and everyone likes this notion and always wants to know about it.

Questions and Answers about EFT

Once we have our audience’s awareness of change, the questions often start coming in about how EFT works. It is important to remember that this is a highly logical audience. We’ve found that to maintain rapport it’s best to be honest and say that science is still trying to conclusively understand how exactly EFT delivers results. Nonetheless, we’ve found it helpful to draw on the work of Bruce Lipton, Candace Pert, and Dawson Church in referring to possible explanations. We’re also grateful to Carol Look for having brought the work of neurologist Dr Robert Scaer to the EFT community. Scaer’s discussion of the surge of adrenaline in “flight or fight” situations is a handle that most can accept with regards to the origins of high stress levels.

Having copies of these authors’ books with us allows members of the audience to page through them afterward if they are interested enough. They also demonstrate our commitment to finding out further answers as a practitioner of this stress management tool.

Turning the question of how EFT works back on them can also be revealing. It allows them to offer suggestions about what’s happening based on their outlook. When presenting a Stress Management with EFT workshop at Merck Pharmaceuticals, Sejual found that staff decided it was a method for calming the body’s stress response, which then helped them think more clearly and so logically. As a result her audience were more able to accept EFT as a tool they would like to explore further. This ongoing interest is important to helping them continue to grow in their EFT knowledge.

Private Concerns/Public Stress

In a work group environment, it is simply not appropriate or possible to cover private issues. Individuals are understandably loathe to admit to any of their weaknesses in front of colleagues. In normal EFT group shares within our private practices we’re not so restrained. People come from unrelated backgrounds and so feel comfortable sharing more intimate details of their lives. In an office environment we showcase EFT in relation to the group’s shared stresses. This helps indicate how EFT can be used to improve team performance leading onto peak performance.

Peak Performance

Here’s the fun part. When we introduce peak performance we’re also able to inject humor, and increase interest in and desire for more change. We do this by talking about how EFT accelerates sports performance—we’ve referred to golf handicaps, tennis serves, weight workouts, weight loss, stamina in running, and flexibility in yoga, so that we’re touching a broad range of interests. The group sees a “fun” benefit to the workshop. It’s not just about dissolving stress so that they can be better office drones. These associations are positive and upbeat and we tie in sports language with performance at work themes. By working on an area that’s personal but accessible in a work environment we are still able to clear limiting beliefs or old worries. This information can be introduced in a couple of places—during the question-and-answer segment, as people often ask about what else EFT can help with, or during the closing comments, as we open up even further possibilities with the people in the workshop.

What is perhaps most helpful about bringing in the performance improvement element is that it makes it permissible for staff to be seen talking with us and going to our workshops. This is because they are demonstrating their desire to do something concrete that will increase their abilities. By doing this we keep EFT in a positive space that encourages participation, ongoing interest, and pass-along value. Consequently this has led staff to also come to us for private sessions.

Given the extraordinary stress levels people are under in the current economic climate, now is the best time for corporations to integrate EFT into their approach for success and wellness. EFT has the potential to significantly reduce stress, increase effectiveness, improve morale, and reduce health care costs, as employees at all levels begin to use EFT routinely. Workshops are the simplest way for corporations to begin exploring the rewards of EFT because employees can personally experience the benefits on the spot. Companies find that by bringing in EFT, they gain a real competitive edge.

EFT is also sweeping the social media world, particularly on Facebook and Twitter, where business presence is growing. So it is simply a matter of time before EFT will be routinely used as a stress-management and peak performance tool in the workplace. Until then, however, forward-thinking firms that adopt EFT will reap the significant advantage of being early adopters of a profoundly effective technology that their competition may not yet have. And that could make all the difference to their success and leadership within their fields in a still-challenging global business environment.

Sejual Shah www.healthyinmind.com
Lynne Shaner www.eftpraxis.com

While we often think of EFT in terms of addressing physical and emotional concerns, EFT can also be remarkably effective in helping people achieve their goals and become their best selves—I love working with people as they work toward peak performance, among many other concerns. One of my clients with whom I’ve worked for a while has reported some significant achievements and I wanted to share those with you, along with the ways we approached her concerns.

This client, whom I’ll call Annalinda, came to me initially for anger issues and work challenges. We have worked through some childhood trauma and were able to clear that and begin opening up the next levels—flourishing and transformation—which are so exciting to tackle in our EFT work. Annalinda is an officer in the military, and has a very difficult sales challenge—that of recruiting for medical positions—specifically doctors and nurses and dentists. The reason this is known to be one of the most difficult recruitment/sales challenges is that MDs and nurses have so many lucrative options that the military is not a place they often like to consider. Furthermore, we wanted to make Annalinda’s experience fun, easy, and effortless.

Sound impossible? Not with EFT. Keep in mind that we had already done a few sessions on her own challenges—clearing childhood trauma and resultant anger, working on her relationships at home, etc. So in this session, she came from a very clear place inside. I began asking questions, following the trail—how do you feel about recruiting/sales? How does it feel when you have this ahead of you? We tapped on any resistance or negative feelings. Then I asked about the clients she didn’t want to attract, who were they, what were their characteristics? (reluctant, need a lot of hand-holding, bear grudges toward military, not very interested). And did she feel this anywhere in her body? In her chest. We then explored who were her ideal clients/prospects? Who would she really love to see come into her office or into her email or find at the end of the phone line? Oh, they would be enthusiastic, they would be excited about the idea of serving as a military medical officer candidate, they would understand how wonderful the benefits are that are being offered, they would love Annalinda’s expertise and feel happy to have found her, they would feel as if she were a kind mentor. We wanted it to be really effortless (though Annalinda is a very hard worker—we just wanted the whole process to be easy and flowing.) So we programmed in the desire for things to be just that—easy and effortless, and specifically noted that people would come to her, would be drawn to her.

Here are some of the phrases we used:

First Round—Tapping on the Karate Chop:

Even though I sometimes get angry and frustrated, because people don’t understand this opportunity, and I can feel this in the pressure in my chest, I love and accept myself and I choose to allow the perfect prospect to come.

Even though sometimes the people who come are difficult and negative, and sometimes I feel scared because I have so much to do, I love and honor myself and I choose to draw the right people to me, who are mine to serve.

Even though this seems difficult and I know it is a hard job, I love and accept and forgive myself, and I forgive all of those recruits who have been difficult. And I’m ready to allow this to become easy and effortless.

Tapping through The Sequence:

EB: I get frustrated sometimes—this is hard.
SE: And the wrong people have been coming—they are angry or disappointed or uninterested.
UE: I have frustration and resentment and pressure in my chest—don’t they understand?
UN: This is hard and I work so hard—I get frustrated.
CH: There is so much to do and this is a hard mission.
CB: And I feel a little scared because I have to do so well.
UA: This frustration—theirs and mine.
Wrist: All of this fear and frustration, and pressure in my chest.
Head: This difficult people frustration.

Second Round—Alternating clearing the “negative” and allowing in the reframes and new directions:

EB: All of this fear and frustration and chest pressure.
SE: But I’m choosing to draw just the right people—they love this gift and are excited to come.
UE: Releasing the people who don’t want this, and who are frustrated or uninterested or reluctant
UN: Allowing in the perfect people for me—easy and effortlessly they come, and they love working with me.
CH: Releasing my fears and frustrations about recruiting. Releasing this pressure in my chest.
CB: I love working with these new enthusiastic people, who love these wonderful options and opportunities.
UA: Letting go of my resentments and fears and pressure and anything in my past that might be linked to this.
Wrist: Because I’m ready for wonderful new prospects who go to commitment easily and effortlessly.
Head: Allowing in joy and peace and a sense of play.

Third round—fully opening to new potentials and goals:

EB: I am really ready and am allowing in the right people for me—they love working with me.
SE: We laugh and talk together and they are drawn to this, knowing they are receiving a gift.
UE: My work is easy and effortless—I love going there in the morning and know delightful people are waiting for me.
UN: Easy and effortlessly—working with a sense of easy grace.
CH: Releasing any remaining fears or frustrations and pressure—theirs or mine
CB: opening the doors wide to wonderful opportunities and a sense of joy in work
UA: I feel a sense of deep pride and joy in the work that I do and it shines from me to them.
Wrist: Joy and delight come to me at work easily and effortlessly.
Head: I exceed my goals with easy grace.

We did a few rounds along these lines, using her language, including more about the ones who needed hand-holding, etc. Her emotional intensity (SUDS) levels dropped from a 9 to a 0, keying to the level of anxiety and frustration she reported at the beginning, along with tension in her chest.

A few days later, she sent an e-mail: “You won’t believe this, “ she wrote. I had three people waiting for me that afternoon. And they’re exactly what I was hoping for—enthusiastic, happy about the idea, really interested.”

Two weeks later, in our next session, she said that the flow of wonderful prospects just continues. She is busy with everyone and is on track to exceed her goals for the year. She said “you won’t believe this—they are calling me! They are coming to me!” Months later, as the year wound up, Annalinda was back in touch to let me know that she had won an award for her high achievement in recruiting.

This is easily transferable to any business situation in which one wants to clear out negative patterns and allow in the ideal client.

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

Diane (not her real name) felt stage-fright singing in front of a huge audience. She knew she was a talented singer because she had received many accolades for her work. Yet, when it came to singing in front of a big audience, she would fumble, forget her lyrics or just feel ill with anxiety.

When we talked, she was a few days away from performing in front of an audience of 200. She felt nervous just thinking about it, with an intensity of about 3 or a 4. She said that perhaps if she was sick before the performance then she would have an excuse for not performing perfectly. I asked her what would happen if she “failed.” And she replied that it would be the end of the world for her.

With such a strong statement, I suspected that her intensity was in fact higher than what she reported.

I inquired into why she needed to be perfect, and she recounted the story of hearing her brother being hit by her father because he wasn’t “perfect.”

We tapped:

Even though I feel nervous, I don’t know the words for the whole song yet, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though if I failed, that would be the end of the world for me, and that won’t do, I want to trust that I will be OK anyway.
Even though I need to be perfect, if I am not, I will be hit just like my brother was, I deeply and completely accept how I feel.

The tapping about her brother brought up a lot of sadness (intensity level 9) and tightness in her throat. She felt fearful and hurt for him. Diane was surprised at how intensely she felt her feelings. So we tapped on the event where she remembered her brother being punished.

Even though I can still hear his scream, I deeply and completely forgive myself for not coming to his aid, what can a little girl do?
Even though I can still hear his cries, I felt so sad and hurt for him, I honor how hard it was for us both.
Even though I have this “bedroom” scene in my head, I choose to let it go. I was sad, scared and confused, and I accept how I felt.

Then we tapped on the meridian points:

His screams…
Still echo in my ears…
I couldn’t help him…
What could a little girl do…
I need to be perfect…
It’s not fair…
I forgive myself for not helping him out…
I would get hit too if I try to help my brother…
I forgive myself for feeling afraid of being hit and hurt…
I was confused, scared and sad for both of us…

After several rounds, she reported that she felt lighter and her throat was less tight. The intensity had fallen to 0.

Then Diane suddenly remembered a specific event from long ago: she forgot her lyrics as she sang in front of her entire graduating class in her high school graduation ceremony. There were 400 people watching her.

Even though I forgot my lyrics in front of my whole school, I forgive myself.
Even though I saw their eyes looking at me, and something in me got spooked that I forgot the lyrics I had practiced over and over again, I forgive myself.
Even though it was unforgivable what I did, how could I let myself down in front of the whole school, it was so humiliating! I want to forgive and accept myself anyway.
I mixed up the words…
Hit three wrong notes…
In front of the entire crowd…
What an embarrassment…
I was a failure…
I had to compete to win this opportunity, and how could I let myself down this time…
Their eyes…
The look on their faces, I can’t bear it…
I was imperfect and I felt so humiliated…

We did several rounds of tapping on this scene. Then I asked her to run the scene in her mind again using the movie technique, and asked if there was any remaining intensity. She said that it was all 0.

Again, a new movie came into her mind. This one was a more recent incident where she sang in front of a crowd and again, forgot her lyrics. She felt that she had let herself and her singing teacher down. We tapped on this incident, which had an intensity of 6, and got it down to a 0.

I asked her what she would like to experience instead of the nervous feelings. She quickly answered that she would like to uplift her audience. She would like to be able to allow God’s gift to come through her so people can be in joy as they listen to her. She knew she has a gift from God, yet she was getting in her own way. As she spoke, her intensity soared again to a 10, and her throat became tight.

She burst out saying that she didn’t want to live up to her audience’s expectations. She wanted them to hear the sound of God without associating it with her. She would like the audience to just enjoy God. She would like everyone to be touched, to feel the message and experience the sound. She would like her audience to leave with the feeling of joy and light.

We tapped:

Even though I feel nervous singing in front of a huge group, what if I forgot my lyrics again and embarrassed myself again, I choose to remember I am singing because I want to let God’s voice pass through me and uplift my audience.
Even though I feel afraid of letting myself down again, I choose to be the vehicle of God’s voice and allow this voice to bless my audience.
Even though I am afraid to forget my lyrics again, it’s easier to believe that I will just fail again, I am willing to be the channel of God’s grace.
I might forget my lyrics again…
Or I might not…
I invite the part of me that forgets the lyrics to relax…
To be a vehicle of God…
To be a vehicle for peace…
I am wishing to be the channel of God…
I would like to let God’s voice to pass through me…
Letting me be the vehicle of grace…
Starting with me, being at peace with myself…
Allowing myself to feel light and joyful…

We did a few more rounds of tapping on her intention to uplift the audience and allowing herself to be a vehicle for God’s voice. Her throat was open and relaxed by the end of our session.

A few weeks later, I emailed her to find out how her performance went. This was what she said: “The performance went well. I had little or no problems with nerves. I even had issues with phlegm in my throat and had to stop a couple times – which would have freaked me out before – but I was fine.”

She sent me an mp3 of her performance, and what I heard uplifted my spirit indeed!

What are the thoughts that would make you unhappy in 2010? This seems like somewhat of an odd question, but this is a question posed by Byron Katie and it really grabbed my interest. She suggests that if we don’t work on these thoughts/ideas for the year ahead, they will certainly work on us!

What a great twist on the statistically unsuccessful New Years Resolutions we tend to make each year! It’s a common notion that coming up with a list of what we don’t want is easier than figuring out what we do want. Once written down on paper, this list will be a great tool for tapping!

Here is one other way to tap into the new year. It is called the Ultimate Truth Statement and I love using this technique. First make a list of your goals, take one at a time and examine it in this way; Let’s say for example that your goal is to go to the gym at least three times each week. You would write the goal out as if you already have it, or are already doing it.

Like this: “I go to the gym at least three times each week.”

Now rate this statement from 0 – 10 based on how “true” it feels to you — “0″ being not true at all and “10″ being very true.

Write down what comes to mind as you say this statement out loud, what is your ‘little voice’ telling you? These thoughts will become your tapping statements.

For example, my little voice says things like:

“You’re too old to do this.”

“You aren’t going to be able to keep up a schedule like this.”

“You don’t even like going to the gym.”

You get the idea, so write down your thoughts about your goal.

Using the energy tapping points, tap while saying the statements, and any other thoughts that come up in the process, until your rating gets higher. That is, until your goal statement becomes true for you. You will want to get the number up to a 10 so keep checking in to see if your number has changed from your original assessment.

This accomplishes a couple of things.

1) You get all those internal “arguments” out into the open and deal with them.

2) Getting to a “10″ puts your conscious and subconscious into alignment to achieve your goal, this is VERY IMPORTANT. Without this congruency, goals are much more difficult to achieve.

So, there you go. I wish you happy tapping and a very Happy New Year!

©2009 Sue Tiritilli

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

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 vibrational 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