A revolution comes once in a while and creates a quick and massive transformation in the way that society exists.
When the iPhone was released in 2007, it revolutionized what we could carry in our pockets. Now we had something that could help us in almost any situation. If we needed to make a call, take a picture, or a thousand in rapid succession, no problem. If we needed to move money, answer emails, texts, and stay connected to friends and family around the world—no problem.
What if I told you that there is a Smartphone of a different sort out there and you might not know about it?
I believe the Smartphone for the self-help industry is here. Actually, it’s been here for about two decades. The Smartphone that I’m referring to is called E.F.T. or Emotional Freedom Technique, also known as tapping.
You can take it anywhere and it can help you with almost anything. Got pain? No problem. Just witnessed something absolutely horrific? This will be your emotional first aid. Don’t know what to decide? Just tap and you’ll get some clarity. Think you are not good enough? Go ahead and tap away that trauma.
I am not kidding that this technique is revolutionary and simple to use. Sure, there is a bit of a learning curve, but no more than when you first learned to use the iPhone. You probably fumbled through the apps and contents, and you’ll likely fumble the first few times you do EFT, but once you learn it, people rarely go back to the old way of living. It just seems silly to do that.
I’m sure you wouldn’t prefer to carry a corded phone, computer, camera, ATM, etc., in your pocket. With EFT, you don’t have to hold onto things any longer than you want to either, and you get instant upgrades to your software and effortlessly download applications that help you move with ease in the world.
I must divulge that I’m not easily impressed by things. I am a skeptic through and through. I scrutinize almost everything. When something makes it through my filter, I research it to within an inch of its life–only then will I consider trying it.
I’ll freely admit, when I came across EFT a few years ago, I blew it off but being in the health and wellness field, it kept showing up. Eventually, I took a course where they discussed the science of EFT. That’s when I was shocked at the results it could produce and what it could do for the brain and body and our orientation to the world.
It seemed as if it could help almost any ailment, whether physical, psychological or emotional. The research was solid. The statistics were undeniable. The evidence was truly there. Yet it was still hard to believe that people with severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) were getting their lives back after a couple of EFT sessions. And people with remendous fear were getting over that fear in minutes.
It was only after doing several sessions myself with the same unbelievable results that were showing up in the research papers, that I decided to adopt EFT as a new strategy to help people. I’ve now done more than 1000 EFT sessions and completely understand and believe in the power of this tool. Click here if you want to learn EFT.
EFT is based on the idea that the body (specifically the Primo Vascular System/Meridian System) contains energy and information that needs to be moved as it is related/attached to stored trauma. EFT utilizes positive self-talk and tapping on the body to help mobilize this energy and information. Once mobilized, it has the opportunity to be released, allowing for a more neutral position to be experienced about the particular trauma.
EFT is so highly successful that it is being hailed as the 4th wave in psychotherapy, as it combines cognitive, behavioral, and body-based therapies all at once.
Here is an example of when your body has a reactivation of stored energy, that is, you freak out. Pretend you see something that you are afraid of; your blood starts pumping really fast, your thoughts shift unconsciously to survival, your eyes dilate, your muscles tense up and your breath rate increases. Boom! You are in fight, flight, freeze mode. It’s just natural. Your body wants to survive, so this is what it does to survive.
The immediacy with which all those things happen is really remarkable. Have you ever thought about how all of that is even possible? You could not simply command those things to happen. The only thing that makes that kind of quick response possible is the fact that you are made of energy. Yes, energy. Your eyes sent the signal to your brain that quickly alerted the rest of your body. Cell by cell they worked in communication to alert the others— all 300 trillion in a matter of seconds. Unbelievable.
Unfortunately, there are glitches in the system. Let’s say you think about the thing you fear. Your body still freaks out. It doesn’t recognize the difference between it happening and the thought of it happening. This has been proven by Harvard scientists and actually has much greater significance to our lives than you can imagine, but I don’t want to digress.
Another glitch is if you don’t actually want to have this type of response. Maybe you’re afraid of flying and you have to fly frequently for work. Or maybe you decided when you were a little kid that your needs weren’t ever going to be met, but now, as an adult, you know your needs can be met. What can you do?
You can either remove yourself from the fear, decision, or belief (that would look like “checking out” or disassociating), or you could somehow send a different signal to the body that you are safe and can work this out. The latter will likely take some convincing because the brain is pretty set in its pathways. Therefore, you will need to do several things at once to shift this belief system because it has, according to your brain, kept you alive.
This is why standard therapy takes longer to create change. It is not incorporating a way to clear the energetic trauma that you have been holding onto and very likely when you try to change, your brain tells you it is unsafe and overrides the change.
I believe EFT is the perfect combination of input to allow change. First, your body needs to calm down. When you tap on your body, you’re sending a calming, rhythmic beat to your body. It acts as both a distraction and helps to move out, or release energy and information in the body. In my opinion, it also helps to get you back “into” the body. It sort of “wakes” you up, instead of remaining in a “checked out” state. I also believe that it enhances the brain/body connection, and gets them in sync and communicating better. Honestly, if you did just this, you’d be halfway there to changing your reality.
As you both move the energy and send a calming signal by tapping on the body, you are changing the chemistry of your body. Then throw in a couple “I love and accept myself despite what is going on,” statements and the brain thinks, “What’s going on? Normally we (the brain and body) freak out at that fear and now we are calming down?! What is going on?!!”
At that point, the brain reassesses the fear and situation to see if you are actually going to die. When it realizes you are not, and that you might have been operating under a faulty program, it begins to take down the neural network that created and perpetuated that fear. Ahhh, thank goodness. Some relief and progress!
This is how EFT works. As stated earlier, you can use this for many things. If you have pain, physical or emotional, it will provide relief. If you have doubts about what to do, or your ability to be, do or have something, you can tap and you will move out the energy and information that is keeping you from knowing your innate wisdom and truth. This is why I love EFT. This is why EVERYONE should know EFT.
If you are interested in learning EFT, and the best ways to use it to transform your life and health, I’m offering a 4-week group coaching program called, “Rewrite the Script! 4 Weeks of Life Changing Tools!” We will cover EFT, plus other life-changing tools. We start on November 25th and we’d love to have you join us. You can learn more about that here.
Sources:
*The research was solid. The statistics were undeniable. Clond, M., (2016). Emotional Freedom Techniques for Anxiety: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 204(5), 388-395. doi:10.1097/NMD.0000000000000483. Sebastian, B., & Nelms, J. (2016). The effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Techniques in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: A meta-analysis. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing, 13(1), 16-25. doi:10.1016/j.explore.2016.10.001
*The evidence was truly there. Clond, M., (2016). Emotional Freedom Techniques for Anxiety: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 204(5), 388-395. doi:10.1097/NMD.0000000000000483.
*Yet it was still hard to believe people with severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) were getting their lives back after a couple of EFT sessions. Sebastian, B., & Nelms, J. (2016). The effectiveness of Emotional Freedom Techniques in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: A meta-analysis. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing, 13(1), 16-25. doi:10.1016/j.explore.2016.10.001
*And people with tremendous fear were getting over their fear in minutes. Baker, A. H., & Siegel, L. S. (2010). Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) reduces intense fears: A partial replication and extension of Wells et al. (2003). Energy Psychology: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 2(2), 15-32.