EFT Tapping – Emotional Freedom Technique.
The power of Affirmation.
The I AM statement is the most powerful there is. Every time you say, “I am so sick,” “I am tired,” “I am angry,” “I am poor,” you are manifesting that state of being and forming neural pathways to support that negative state.
How to do the EFT Tapping Basics
The Basic Tapping Procedure
EFT Tapping is an easy to use healing tool that provides the very foundation for expanding your emotional freedom. It is this tapping procedure that we use in every round of EFT … it is easy to learn and easy to apply, which is why EFT has become well known as a tool that anyone can use.
The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system.
It follows, then, that energy disruptions are the reason we have any kind of emotional issue like grief, anger, guilt, depression, trauma, and fear. Since both physical and performance issues often have emotional roots, it also follows that clearing energy disruptions can be useful for those as well.
Once we find those energy disruptions, we use the tapping process to correct them. EFT Tapping blends focused affirmations with a 9 point Tapping sequence. The focused wording tunes us in to the issue and this, in turn, points us to the energy disruptions that we need to address.
The affirmations are an essential part of the process because it tells our system what we are working on.
Negative emotions come about because we tune into certain thoughts or circumstances which, in turn, cause our energy systems to disrupt. Otherwise, we function normally. One’s fear of heights is not present, for example, while one is reading the comic section of the Sunday newspaper (and therefore not tuning in to the problem).
Once tuned into the issue, Tapping stimulates the energy pathways thereby balancing the resulting energy disruptions. Also, for clarification, the points we use are at or near the end points of the energy pathways (meridians and vessels) … OR … at points along these pathways that are close to the body’s surface.
You may be aware that acupuncturists study and use over 300 meridian points on the body instead of the mere handful that are used by the EFT Tapping process. Further, unlike EFT, acupuncturists associate each of the energy pathways with body organs (kidney, stomach, spleen, etc.) and emotions (anger, fear, sadness, etc.) EFT Tapping represents a different use of these pathways that allows someone with no formal training in Chinese medicine to realign disruptions on their own with a simple process.
In practice, the 12 meridians and 2 governing vessels are interconnected and thus sending balancing energy down one pathway influences other pathways. That is why we usually need to address only a few pathways to get the job done.
The EFT Tapping Points
For now, just locate each of these points on your own body and touch each of them with your fingertips.
KC: The Karate Chop point (abbreviated KC) is located at the center of the fleshy part of the outside of your hand (either hand) between the top of the wrist and the base of the baby finger or….stated differently….the part of your hand you would use to deliver a karate chop.
TOH: On the top of the head. If you were to draw a line from one ear, over the head, to the other ear, and another line from your nose to the back of your neck, the TOH point is where those two lines would intersect.
EB: At the beginning of the eyebrow, just above and to one side of the nose. This point is abbreviated EB for beginning of the eye brow.
SE: On the bone bordering the outside corner of the eye. This point is abbreviated SE for Side of the Eye.
UE: On the bone under an eye about 1 inch below your pupil. This point is abbreviated UE for Under the Eye.
UN: On the small area between the bottom of your nose and the top of your upper lip. This point is abbreviated UN for Under the Nose.
Tap lightly on the points
Ch: Midway between the point of your chin and the bottom of your lower lip. Even though it is not directly on the point of the chin, we call it the chin point because it is descriptive enough for people to understand easily. This point is abbreviated Ch for Chin.
CB: The junction where the sternum (breastbone), collarbone and the first rib meet. To locate it, first place your forefinger on the U-shaped notch at the top of the breastbone (about where a man would knot his tie). From the bottom of the U, move your forefinger down toward the navel 1 inch and then go to the left (or right) 1 inch. This point is abbreviated CB for CollarBone even though it is not on the collarbone (or clavicle) per
SE. It is at the beginning of the collarbone and we call it the collarbone point because that is a lot easier to say than “the junction where the sternum (breastbone), collarbone and the first rib meet.”
UA: On the side of the body, at a point even with the nipple (for men) or in the middle of the bra strap (for women). It is about 4 inches below the armpit. This point is abbreviated UA for Under the Arm.
The 5 Steps of The EFT Tapping
1. Identify the Issue:
All you do here is make a mental note of what ails you. This becomes the target at which you “aim” the EFT Tapping. Examples might be: Sore shoulder, my father embarrassing me at my age 8 birthday party or hitting that high singing note. Be sure you are only targeting one issue at a time. As you will learn later, trying to combine issues in the process will compromise your results.
2. Test the Initial Intensity:
Here you establish a before level of the issue’s intensity by assigning a number to it on a 0-10 scale where 10 is the worst the issue has ever been and 0 is no problem whatsoever. This serves as a benchmark so we can compare our progress after each round of The EFT Tapping. If, for example, we start at an 8 and eventually reach a 4, then we know we have achieved a 50% improvement. The number of possible issues we can address with The EFT Tapping is endless and they don’t all fit into neat testing boxes.
When dealing with emotional issues, you can recreate the memories in your mind and assess their discomforts.
For physical ailments you can simply assess the existing pain or discomfort.
For performance issues you can attempt the desired performance level and measure how close you come to it.
3. The Setup:
The Setup is a process we use to start each round of Tapping. By designing a simple phrase and saying it while continuously Tapping the KC point, you let your system know what you’re trying to address.
When designing this phrase there are two goals to achieve:
1) acknowledge the problem
2) accept yourself in spite of it
We do this by saying:
“Even though I have this _______________, I deeply and completely accept myself”.
The blank above represents the problem you want to address, so you can just insert things like:
This sore shoulder:
“Even though I have this sore shoulder, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
This fear of spiders:
“Even though I have this fear of spiders, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
This humiliation at my eighth grade graduation:
“Even though I have this humiliation at my eighth grade graduation, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
This difficulty making free throws:
“Even though I have this difficulty making free throws, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Not all of the issues will fit neatly into
“Even though I have this ____________,” so you can use some flexibility when designing your Setup phrase. For example, instead of “this sore shoulder” you could say “Even though my shoulder hurts, I deeply and completely accept myself”. Or instead of “this humiliation at my eighth grade graduation” you could say “Even though my dad humiliated me at my eighth grade graduation.”
By using “Even though I have this _______________,” you will automatically choose something that represents your experience, your reaction, or a problem that you recognize as something that belongs to you, and that is an important feature.
We do not want to use EFT on someone else’s problem.
For example, rather than, “Even though my son is addicted to drugs, I deeply and completely accept myself,” it’s better to focus on your own reaction which might be, “Even though I’m frustrated by my son’s drug addiction.” Or instead of “Even though my husband works too much…,” better to try something like, “Even though I feel alone when my husband stays late at the office…” We want to aim EFT at our part of the problem rather than trying to fix someone else’s problem.
By identifying the problem with this phrase, you “set up” the initial disruption behind the scenes so the Tapping has something to resolve.
Important, Important, Important:
The language that we use always aims at the negative. This is essential because it is the negative that creates the energy disruptions that EFT Tapping clears (and thus brings peace to the system). By contrast, conventional methods and popular self-help books stress positive thinking and preach avoiding the negative. This sounds good but, for our purposes, it does little more than cover over the negative with pleasant sounding words. EFT, on the other hand, needs to aim at the negative so it can be neutralized. This allows our natural positives to bubble up to the top.
4. The Sequence:
This is the workhorse part of The EFT Tapping Basic Recipe that stimulates/balances the body’s energy pathways. To perform it, you tap each of the points shown in the Sequence Points diagram (see above) while saying a Reminder Phrase that keeps your system tuned into the issue. I list the points below followed by a description of the Reminder Phrase:
Top of the Head (TOH)
Beginning of the Eyebrow (EB)
Side of the Eye (SE)
Under the Eye (UE)
Under the Nose (UN)
Chin Point (CH)
Beginning of the Collarbone (CB)
Under the Arm (UA)
The Reminder Phrase is quite simple as you need only identify the issue with some brief wording. Depending on your issue, you might say the following at each tapping point….
“This sore shoulder”,
“My father embarrassed me”,
“This difficulty in singing that high note.”
5. Test the Intensity Again:
Finally, you establish an “after” level of the issue’s intensity by assigning a number to it on a 0-10 scale. You compare this with the before level to see how much progress you have made. If you are not down to zero then repeat the process until you either achieve zero or plateau at some level. You can also include some additional Tapping points that will be introduced in the next section of this article. Otherwise, you will likely need to “get to the roots of the issue”
Now let’s give The EFT Tapping Basic Recipe a test drive. Just pick an issue of your own and tap. Results follow as you expand your use of it.
If you would like to learn more contact us and press 1 to speak with Brittney Jewell, Licensed Massage Therapist and EFT practitioner.
