Further EFT Endorsements

Dr. Joe Mercola DO

An osteopathic physician offering a ‘whole person’ approach trained in traditional and alternative medicine. “We use EFT in our clinics to help patients and to eliminate many forms of pain”.

Dr. Patricia Carrington

A leading psychologist, widely acclaimed author and one of the few ‘founding’ EFT masters taught by Gary Craig EFT’s creator. “Tapping literally revolutionized my practice as a clinical psychologist because I could suddenly do things for people that I had never been able to do before, not even been able to approach, during my traditional practice as a psychotherapist”.

Wayne Dyer

International best selling self-help author and international speaker “Put away your skepticism this really works... I've had great results with tapping in my own life.”

 

Eric Leskowitz, MD

Director, Integrative Medicine Task Force, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.“As a practicing psychiatrist with over 25 years of clinical experience, I see EFT as the most promising new treatment I've ever encountered…”

Louise Hay

Author of You Can heal your life. “Have you tried Tapping? I truly believe that it is a wonderful and life-changing tool.”
“If you're not familiar with [the technique], it is a wonderful tool that works on a variety of issues, from pain relief, physical issues, and weight loss to attracting abundance, clearing limiting beliefs and healing.”

Dr Catherine Saltzman

“EFT has helped my clients deal successfully with addictions, grief, fears, phobias, sexual abuse, performance issues, self-image and stress”.

Joe Vitale

Nicknamed Mr. Fire for his bringing of innovative self-help and healing techniques to the attention of the public in double quick time! Also best selling author of many books and a much sought after motivational coach.
“I have been using EFT for years and I highly recommend it.”

 

The History of EFT

EFT shares a commonality with Quantum Physics and that is ENERGY. Science has proved that all matter is energy from an apparently solid table to us humans!! Everything is in motion! The contemporary unfolding of this discovery began with Max Plank as early as 1900 and became more and more focused with work of others the most well known being Albert Einstein.

It is amazing therefore that a deep understanding of energy in the form of acupuncture existed long before the discovery of Quantum Physics. Chinese Medicine from which Acupuncture is born dates back thousands of years. Acupuncture may go back 5000 years or more! Much the same as today acupuncture involved using needles to tap into various points along the body’s energy pathways/maps (known as Meridians) in order to restore energy balance where the energy had become blocked. These blockages resulting from physical, emotional , mental or spiritual issues would in time if left uncleared result in a breakdown of health Of course steel needles didn’t exist all that time ago and It is noted in the classics that 2000 years ago these ‘needles' were made of stone. It is also thought that bone may have been used too.

Returning to the twentieth century EFT has its more recent roots in Kinesiology often referred to as Energy

Kinesiology. This was pioneered as early as the 1930’s by Dr. Robert Lovett and was expanded in the forties by Henry and Florence Kendall.

In the early sixties Dr George Goodheart was using comprehensive muscle testing in Kinesiology to find out what was and wasn’t ok for a person (for example food) sensitivities) using the body’s natural energy response. Later still in the seventies Dr. John Diamond was working on Life Energy Analysis which included combining affirmations with tapping on parts of the body discovering that there was a connection between meridians and emotions. This has much in common with EFT.

Given that the heart beats, the capillary beds beat and that there are natural rhythms occurring throughout our bodies the ‘beat’ of tapping is familiar to us and creates energetic resonance. In 1979 the American psychologist Dr. Roger Callaghan created TFT (Thought Field Therapy) which involved tapping with an affirmation but there were different tapping protocols for different conditions. making it quite involved for the client to use on themselves. Gary Craig, the founder of EFT, was an avid student of Dr Callaghan. Gary had been trained at Stanford University as an engineer and had a lifelong passion for self empowering techniques and was a life coach and NLP practitioner. He felt that TFT really had something but that it was too complicated for the average person to take on board and use so he set about simplifying it and from the chrysalis of TFT EFT was formed.

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What is EFT?

EFT is one of the fastest growing therapies worldwide that come under the umbrella of headings that include Energy Medicine, Energy Psychology (PS), and Meridian Therapies. As mentioned on the home page it is also being increasingly adopted by professionals in many walks of life around the globe. These include medical professionals and in the UK it is being increasingly adopted by the NHS.

Put together the above headings collectively describe EFT as combining simple psychology with energy principles relating to the ancient Chinese Meridian Therapies, the most well known of these being Acupuncture. Unlike Acupuncture which uses needles EFT uses simple tapping techniques. This will come as a relief to those with a fear of needles although if you have such a fear EFT will tackle this too!!

The tapping is done with fingertips on established significant meridian energy points around the body. This is done whilst focusing on the problem and the feeling that goes with it in combination with voicing and repeating a relevant statement. The tapping clears away any energy blocks associated with the problem along with the corresponding negative emotional feelings that it has brought about. By relieving the body and mind of the burden of these blocks energy is restored to allow the body to do what it is miraculously good at creating and maintaining Homeostasis As will be seen in more depth In the how does it work section while many therapies concentrate on working with memories and feelings EFT additionally focuses on the added element of energy disruption with its associated negative feelings that the memory of a particular circumstance or particular adverse circumstances brings about.

In conclusion as to what is EFT, EFT is an extremely safe, gentle, fast and efficient way of resolving a seemingly limitless number of issues. Furthermore it is self empowering in that after a single session you will have learnt the essentials and be able to use them for yourself in between appointments. This means that improvements are not limited to the session but are ongoing as and when you choose to use EFT.

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How does it work?

EFT’s underlying principle is cited by Gary Craig in what he calls the ‘Discovery Statement’ that “the cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system”. This disruption (energy imbalance) has an effect on the body’s mental, emotional and physical state and if you are a spiritual person it will have an effect here too. By addressing and rebalancing the the energy disturbance the corresponding negative emotions will cease to exist. The ancient Chinese medicine systems worked on similar principles. They utilized maps of the body’s energy called meridians and employed different techniques to restore the body’s energy to its natural balance.

EFT does this by combining simple psychology to identify the key issues, (briefly recalling the memories and the feelings they bring up summarized in a repeated statement) with gentle tapping on specific meridian points to address the energy disturbance. Many therapies focus on addressing painful memories and negative emotions. With EFT as energy disruption is implicated in all cases where there are negative emotions present the principle focus is on addressing the body’s energy disruption that brings about this imbalance. The sequence of events might look like this: - Distressing memory (thoughts) -> a disruption in the body’s energy system -> negative emotion - > anxiety, resistance, procrastination, low self image, unhappiness, lack of enjoyment, poor health, etc. By addressing the energy disruption the resistance simply disappears and the thoughts will no longer carry any disruptive capability as they will have become neutralized.

Using a computer analogy, most problems that interfere with our overall sense of wellbeing have their origins in faulty or out of date programming. When things are faulty or not up to speed they don’t run properly, there is energy disruption to the system and as a result things glitch. Working with EFT it is possible to disengage old programmes and repair those that are current but not running at their best. By tapping into the body’s energy system it is also possible to restore our ‘factory default’ setting. restoring a person to how he/she was before the energy disruption arose. This removes the energy disruption and allows for smooth running. With our energy running freely and without blocks, resistance, and glitches the achievement of our full potential is achieved! The hard disc of the subconscious is defragged and the RAM of the conscious is cleared for best results.

Working with EFT brings with it several advantages. For example it is not necessary to continually revisit in depth painful memories but rather to engage the disruption just enough to be able to work on it to restore balance. With the focus on energy disruption whatever appears to be the problem is dealt with by clearing that disruption rather than continually reliving painful memories. It may be because of this that EFT like the advert for the well known beer reaches the parts that other therapies often seem not to be able to do!! Gary Craig puts it succinctly “persistent use of EFT often works when nothing else will.”

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What can EFT do for me?

On the Home page there is a list of some of the issues that EFT is often used for. Given the results that I have seen both working on myself and with clients along with feedback on line, from workshops I have attended, and from colleagues the question is more what won’t it work on!

In the early days Gary Craig frequently said try it on everything!! There are now in addition to the thousands of people who have been helped by EFT a growing number of incidences of extreme physical healing phenomena as a result of EFT. It is likely in my view given the mind/body link (for more information view the relevant section further down) that the effects of EFT speed up and strengthen the bodies natural healing capacity.

There isn’t anything I have so far used EFT for with clients that hasn’t resulted in some benefit. Indeed in the majority of cases there has been a complete recovery from whatever the client has brought with them to work on. Because of its versatility, its ease of use and its track record it is being used in more and more diverse fields. For example It is finding a place in sports. Many people suffer from confidence issues that pop up from time to time. These issues will almost inevitably have a series of memories and an underlying root memory that fuels an energy disruption when some event triggers them. A very simple example might be that if you were a champion golfer and had a bad run of luck on the thirteenth hole of a particular golf course it is likely if you revisited that course especially under pressure for example in a championship that your play might well suffer at that same hole!!! EFT is able to neutralize the disruption of energy brought up by the memory and the negative feelings which most likely then results in poor play. This is likely to be a full and final neutralization so that in our example the thirteenth hole will no longer carry any charge and will become like all the others.

After EFT has been used a painful memory no longer comes with the attachment of energy disruption along with its accompanied emotional disturbance!!! Often a person will say they can’t understand that they felt as they did about the problem they came in with. Some are so amazed that they can’t believe that is EFT that has brought about the change latching on to spurious other causes that might be responsible for their change!!! The most consistent noticeable differences I have seen after EFT sessions with my clients apart from their issues resolving is that their mood changes for the better, they become more relaxed and they become energized, hopeful and happier. In addition to the benefits of the session they have a self empowering skill they can take home with them.

Undoubtedly EFT has a proven track record for addressing and correcting many issues however as with all therapies if you have a medical problem do make sure that you have been to your doctor. EFT can be a very useful add on to any traditional medical treatment that a person might have to undergo. You will see example on this website of medical practitioners using EFT on their clients alongside their medical expertise! It is an extremely safe and gentle therapy and the worst that could happen is no change to the problem though to date I have not encountered this!. This is rare and the usual result is that the problem targeted improves or simply disappears!

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Will the benefits last?

Yes this is the norm as EFT is goes to the root of the problem i.e. the energy disruption. . If the problem should return it is likely that some aspect of the problem didn’t come to light in the session. An example of this might be a fear of flying where the cause of the fear (the energy disruption) was not the flying but an incident linked to it maybe an upsetting incident that occurred just before a particular flight a long time ago. Further tapping on the fear and associated feelings around ‘flying’ is likely to uncover any such associated event which can then be tapped on in the usual way.

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Is it as effective if I use it on myself?

The answer here is, it can be. Many people have great success tapping on themselves others not to the same extent. In general with simple everyday issues tapping on one’s own works very well. When dealing with more complex issues where the core memory that is bringing up the disruption is elusive it is often advantageous to work with a skilled EFT practitioner. They will most likely be able to spot key elements in the problem that might be missed in the subjectivity of tapping alone. It may also be that be that without the confidence in and the support of an experienced practitioner the EFT routine has not been applied sufficiently. I wouldn’t in general recommend tackling ‘big’ traumatic issues alone as it is important not to get stuck whilst shifting major issues as this can be unnecessarily distressing. Also with major trauma it is even more important to have support at hand.

In short EFT with the help of a skilled practitioner rarely fails to work. Working alone can for some be less consistent in shifting problems particularly those that are more deep rooted.

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The mind and body connection

There was a time when mention of mind and body was considered to be airy fairy! This is no longer the case the discoveries learnt in the fields of neuroscience, the new biology, epigenetics and neuroplasticity have made the subject very real. As a result of these studies It has now become well established that there is indeed a strong mind/body connection and with that understanding it becomes easy to see how EFT works.

In the field of psychoneuroimmunology the influence of thoughts and the moods they create has been shown to have an effect on the immune system. Negative emotional states such as anger, anxiety, fear guilt etc., have been found to undermine the body’s resources and interfere with our health. Conversely psychological harmony and quiet optimism boost the body’s ability to maintain health. A peaceful contented state of mind floods the body with beneficial chemicals that, as we will see in a moment, positively affect the behaviour of every cell in the body! It is fast becoming established that there is a link between the individual’s emotional personality and the type of illness that that person may be most prone to. The mind/body connection is evidenced in the groundbreaking work of, amongst others, cell biologist Bruce Lipton PhD and neuroscientist Candace B Pert PhD who have shown that the brain transmits chemicals to our cells according to how we feel. This, over time especially, has a dramatic impact on our bodies, our health, and our general wellbeing etc. Indeed as our cells divide regularly what has been attached to the receptors of the cell divides also!! If we change the emotions that create and send chemicals form the brain to the cells we can change what the cells receive and the performance of the cells themselves!!! The science behind these ideas is explained in Bruce Lipton’s groundbreaking book the ‘Biology of Belief’ and in Candace Pert’s equally pioneering book ‘The Molecules of Emotion’ The Jim Newman quote on the home page“Yesterday's thoughts have created your present. Today's thoughts are creating your future” takes on a much broader meaning with this understanding of the influence of our thoughts on our health and our very cells!! You can change your future by changing your current habitual patterned thinking. Regular use of EFT can do this for you!!.

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The importance of balance

As we have seen in the ‘How does it work’ section EFT restores energy balance when there is an imbalance (energy disruption). This is important because when we are out of balance negative emotions arise. In this out of whack somewhat disconnected state things our perception of conversations, events, etc., become distorted and we are no longer able to RESPOND from a ‘grounded’ place but rather REACT from a disconnected ungrounded place. Unfortunately reacting in this way creates more negative emotions amplifying our disconnected state further and adding to the stress and interference on the body’s health maintenance systems. Furthermore these reactions may create a new point of energy disruption with its associated distressing memory that when recalled triggers more energy disruption and negative emotions!!! It has the semblance of a perpetual negative emotion machine! By using EFT regularly, as and when new issues arise, it is possible to prevent any new cycles developing by restoring balance at the time of disruption. This ensures healthy energy/emotional balance maintenance.

Rudyard Kipling in his poem ‘If’ says ‘if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you….if you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat these two impostors as one…. Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it…’. The word that is key here is balance. If we can maintain a healthy energy balance along with the associated balanced emotions we will be able to find opportunities even in disaster and will be better able to enjoy life more readily. Regular use of EFT can do this for you!!

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Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction has had much attention over the last few years in particular but actually has been considered throughout all periods of history (see quotes below). So what is it? Michael Losier in his excellent book Law of Attraction defies it succinctly. ‘I attract to my life whatever I give my attention, energy and focus to, whether positive or negative.’ In simple terms you might recognise the following examples and the different ways the day may pan out as a result of the way you deal with the incidences. Getting up in the morning and spilling a cup of tea on a new carpet when you are already late. Whilst this is annoying and frustrating one person might react to the situation with a great deal of agitation and negativity taking that energy and the thoughts that are driving it to work with them. The likely result will be that not only will the day be haunted by their agitated thoughts but that these thoughts may cause the day to become peppered with negative events. Another person might be initially fed up with the spill but will simply clear up the mess and forget about it the likelihood is that their day will proceed without any influence from the spilt tea incident.

Almost everything in creation in one way or another is influenced in one way or another by the law of attraction. It is similar to gravity in that it operates often without our conscious knowing. However once you know what you are looking for the effects can be readily seen and we can then learn to consciously use the law of attraction to enhance our life. Like most things this takes practise and patience as what we would like may have a different time frame to manifest than what we were hoping for.

Quantum physics has established that everything around us vibrates even something that we see as solid like a table has its own vibrational frequency. In effect we are living in an ocean of vibration. We are all connected by a unified field of energy and the mass of energy within us has a local field and interconnects with the bigger field. When we go down to a sub-atomic level what we find here is pure energy not matter!. This is often called The Unified Field or The Matrix. I have touched on this concept on in the description of Matrix Reimprinting which recognises the importance and significance of these fields. To the uninitiated this may all be hard to get one’s head around or indeed believe but remember the earth was once considered to be flat, microscopes opened new previously unknown worlds and similarly on a universal scale telescopes. There are many other things that have now become accepted without question that once were not even mooted!!

Once we really grasp that everything is vibration then we can start to embrace the law of attraction in our lives. Add to this that things of a similar vibration are drawn together and that we have the ability to control our own vibrations for example how we think, our emotions, our behaviour and a door starts to open to being able to influence who and what we would like to bring into our lives and who and what we would prefer not to encounter.

The key is working on the renewing and refocusing of our mind, sharpening our awareness and perception, becoming a keen observer and focusing our thoughts diligently so we can best draw t us what we most want out of life. The change occurs by changing the patterns within us within our thinking and being not by expecting the changes to occur out there! Ironically what we experience from the outside will change when we make the necessary changes within. We are the magnet and we can choose what we want to bring forward in our life. This process can be likened to a sound engineer at a mixing desk choosing to bring the voice forward in the mix.

The law of attraction plays has an important role in our lives if we learn to use it appropriately. It is a key ingredient in EFT and Matrix Reimprinting as when we neutralise any energy disruption caused by negative thinking what we experience in our lives will change accordingly!

I leave this section with the words of Jack Canfield;

‘Your thoughts are the primary cause of everything.

When you think your thought is immediately sent out to the Universe. That thought attaches itself to similar frequencies, and then within seconds sends the reading of that frequency back to you through your feelings.

Your feelings are communicated back to you from the Universe, telling you what frequency you are currently on, and you will attract exactly that back.’

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Law of Attraction quotes

‘A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks he becomes.’ Mahatma Ghandi

‘All that we are is a result of what we have thought.’ Buddha

‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’ Romans 12:2 New International Version (NIV)

‘By thought, the thing you want is brought to you. By action, you receive it’. Wallace D. Wattles

‘The grateful mind is constantly fixated upon the best. Therefore it tends to become the best. It takes the form or character from the best, and will receive the best.” Wallace D.Wattles

‘The law of attraction is most understood when you see yourself as a magnet getting more and more of the way you feel.’ Abraham-Hicks

‘A person is what he or she thinks about all day long.’ Ralph Waldo Emerson

‘When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.’ Helen Keller

‘As soon as you start to feel differently about what you already have, you will start to attract more of the good things, more of the things you can be grateful for.’ Joe Vitale

‘People treat you exactly the way you treat yourself.’ Dr. John F Demartini

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi

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Why choose EFT?

Ultimately the simplicity, effectiveness and the ability to use EFT easily and anywhere make it a very attractive self help package. When you add that to this that EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is rapidly gaining a reputation for getting positive results in a wide range of problems and issues often when other approaches have not had much success it becomes even more attractive! These results and the scientific studies supporting them have brought EFT to the forefront of contemporary healing modalities. I mentioned on the home page that indeed many practitioners in the health profession worldwide spurred on by EFT’s results and the supporting scientific evidence have added EFT to their practices. Similarly in the UK the NHS is increasingly adopting EFT. Indeed the founder of EFT Gary Craig summarizes in his EFT manual that ‘persistent use of EFT often works when nothing else will’. I have observed this regularly both in working with my clients and on myself. I come back also to the list of things that benefit from using EFT. These appear to be endless from simple day to day frustrations to more complex and deeply engraved blocks and issues, some examples listed on the home page.

To summarize the fundamental principle in EFT is that the cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body's energy system. In simple terms you can feel the disturbance when one of your buttons are pushed. This disruption has an effect on the body's mental, emotional and physical state. EFT addresses and rebalances the energy disturbance by combining simple statements associated with the problem concerned with gentle tapping on specific meridian points. These points have been used in the ancient Chinese medicine systems for centuries for example acupuncture. The whole EFT process can be likened to a factory default (reset) button being pressed restoring a person to how he or she was before the energy disruption arose. With the reset complete the body and mind’s amazing operating system is rebalanced allowing homeostasis (the balance between all the interdependent elements to be restored).

I have enormous respect and passion for EFT because of its simplicity along with all the above reasons and always enjoy sharing its benefits with those who feel drawn to it. If anything about EFT resonates with you I highly recommend you give it a try. Even if you are not aware of any major problem in your life one of the beauties of EFT is that those little everyday aggravations can be neutralised as they arise so they don’t all start to accumulate and create a major problem. Although if you currently do have a major problem EFT can accommodate that too!

 

EFT for musicians

It felt important to talk a little about the value of EFT for musicians since wearing my other hat I have spent much of my life as a musician and teacher! I say the value for musicians but actually it could equally apply to anyone in the creative or performing field.

Perhaps the most obvious area where EFT comes to the fore is stage fright. Apart from working on this issue EFT offers the ability of doing a quick round of tapping before going on stage. I know several performers who rely on things like beta blockers to reduce their fear. The beauty of EFT is that there are no side effects and you can use it as much or as little is required. Often the underlying theme is a lack of confidence or a sudden doubt as to whether the performance about to be given is going to go as planned or be received as one would like it to be. EFT is invaluable in addressing these issues.

Another area is that of practise. Often this manifests as procrastination finding other things to do to put off practising!

A secondary issue is that of practising itself. Finding it hard to practise constructively which in turn gives fuel to the procrastination already mentioned. EFT is excellent at focusing on the cause of the procrastination and the causes behind ineffectual practise. The blocks that get in the way are dismantled and practise takes on a whole new fresh approach!

A further concern for many creative artists is an extension of what has been mentioned regarding practise and this manifests as a creative block. This affects most of us at times but becomes a much bigger issue when it afflicts those who rely on their creativity to pay their bills! Composers, writers, artists, and so many more. Again EFT comes to the rescue and releases the blocks that have got in the way. Indeed it can actively promote creativity and better/more consistent musicianship/artistry/craftsmanship.

As with all issues in EFT the principle discussed in detail in the how does it work section is ‘that the cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system’. It looks like this distressing memory -disruption in the body’s energy system - negative emotions. Interestingly and logically if disruption in the body’s energy system does not occur then the negative emotions will not arise. This explains why some people are affected by certain memories and others are not.

There are many articles and websites outlining the growing trend of the deeper and more serious issues currently experienced by musicians I include the following as it outlines these problems and their severity very clearly.

Mental health problems among professional musicians c/o artsprofessional.co.uk

Again EFT has a very good track record for dealing with all anxiety states including post traumatic stress disorder.

EFT is really useful add on for teachers, Performers and composers alike.