Archive for the ‘EFT’ Category

It’s such a struggle having to be positive all the time.

Having a good attitude. Seeing the bright side to everything. Life’s hard enough as it is and when that becomes apparent, sometimes it really *is* right and proper to really express yourself.

You know, emotions build up. Or should I say, energies build up. And up. It is just like a pressure beginning to rise – hardly noticeable at first, then more and more. The pressure grows, the energy gets denser and tighter. And then there comes the point where the energy body needs to have this pressure removed or else it seriously starts to hurt, seriously starts to unbalance body and mind – and that’s why and when people blow their tops, start shouting or the tears begin to flow.

Of course, the reason for this is a blockage in the energy system, a stopper in the flow that causes the normal energy flow to back up and creates this pressure scenario. When you take out the blockages, the energy rushes through and out and phew – what a relief! That’s when people say, “Oh that’s so strange, that feeling isn’t there anymore – I feel fine now!”

The classical EFT effect, if you will.

But here’s our special application – whining.

Whining is an activity to *express* backed up emotions just as much as a panic attack or a temper tantrum – just at a lower end of the scale.

Here, we are talking about blockages not in the “life-and-death” systems of the energy body but more like a nagging pain or a thorn in the foot.

Even so, when the pressure gets too bad something has to be done and then we whine – about the government, about our spouses, our children, our finances, the weather, anything really to release the pressure for a while.

Interestingly, if people were allowed to whine more frequently to their partners, their co-workers and strangers in the street, they might be more healthy in the long run. But our 21st century First World civilisation frowns upon those who whine, accusing them of having a bad attitude, shunning them at parties and overlooking them for promotions.

We soon learn that whining is NOT how to make friends and influence people (other than to walk away swiftly with a sense of disgust!) and guess what?

What happens to the unexpressed pressure build up which could have been released with a jolly good, “Oh I’m so fed up! It’s so unfair! Whaaa …”?

Well of course, it will have to be *expressed* *somehow* – in other and possibly more damaging ways. In addictions and overeating, in repetitive behaviours, exercise, compulsive cleaning or working, and of course, there are many substances that can come to our aid, producing a state shift and making us move somewhere else for a time where we are unaware of that pressure down there …

So I have decided that whining is indeed, healthy and should be seriously tackled on a regular basis as a prophylactic mental and physical health measure.

Hopefully, we can use EFT as we whine to actually target and unblock the energy flow which *causes* the whining in the first place and thereby not only drain the metaphorical/energetic puss out of the boil but actually heal what caused the boil in the first place – so more whining will lead to less, and less, and eventually we will actually be *really* able to display that “good attitude” of fortitude, pro-activity, strength and courage we have *pretended* to have had for oh so long.

So, and without any further ado, here is:

The EFT Whining Protocol

1. When the time is right, with or without another, sit down with an EFT protocol to hand.

2. Think about something that really annoys you about your life.

Please note we are not talking about major past issues of trauma and abuse in this case, but something you could really whine on about in no uncertain terms for ages. Pick your topic, take a deep breath and start whining.

Example. “Ok, about my wife. She *really* gets on my nerves. Always wanting to watch TV, can’t get her off the couch with a forklift truck! And that’s the least of it. The other day, she actually (insert next item) …”

3. As you whine, you tap. You may tap randomly or intuitively, or simply just tap the whole round, round and round, all through the whine. When you get to the Karate Chop point, you start again with the top of the eyebrow.

Please note: The tapping tends to get faster as you get into the whine. That’s alright and a natural response!

4. Continue until you:

a) run out of things to tap on;
b) feel lots better;
c) start laughing;
d) have somehow forgotten what you were tapping on.

To sum up:

Whining is a natural human activity that denotes the need for an energy release. In and of itself it is very healthy and prevents the need for escalation into cocain abuse, panic attacks, road rage and psychosomatic illness.

However, when the activity of whining is paired with the release and un-blocking effects of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), mind-body health is served in a profound way.

The EFT Whining Protocol is thereby fully recommended as a prophylactic measure and method for all.

Seriously!

Dr Silvia Hartmann is the author of “Adventures In EFT”, “The Advanced Patterns Of EFT”, and the AMT MET Certification programmes. A free EFT Emotional Freedom Techniques protocol can be found in the free downloads section at http://StarFields.org

Technorati Tags: EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique, Energy Healing, Energy Psychology

The term energy psychology refers to a number of related energy therapies that are based on the Chinese Meridian System of medicine. Energy psychology quickly and thoroughly relieves mental health problems by eliminating emotional traumas or blockages from the mind/body continuum by touching or tapping key points on the body. Some of the more popular forms of energy psychology are Neuro Emotional Technique or NET , Thought Field Therapy or TFT, and Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT.

All these energy psychology techniques were developed in the mid 1980s to mid- 1990s, but are still rather unknown by the general public. These energy psychologies have been dubbed power therapies because they work so quickly compared to traditional talk therapy. This appears to be due in part because they target the more primitive parts of the brain. These would include the Limbic system, the Medulla Oblongata, and the Enkephalin system, which is in every cell of the body. EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and Hypnosis are often included as power therapies although they do not directly utilize the Meridian System.

EFT, TFT, and NET all work by accessing the mind/body matrix or Meridian System in Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine addresses the body s need for balance or homeostasis. If the Chi or energy of the body is in balance then it is assumed that the body will be able to cure itself and run at top efficiency. Practitioners assess the body s balance by testing acupressure or acupuncture points in the body, which are divided up into 12 main Meridian Systems. These Meridian Systems are named for the main organs of the body such as the Lung Meridian or the Liver Meridian. Each of these systems corresponds with particular emotions. For example, the lung meridian is associated with grief and sorrow and the liver meridian with anger and resentment. Through a process of tapping acupuncture points on the body, trauma is relieved and homeostasis is reestablished.

Applied Kinesiology tests the Chi or energy by taking a strong indicator muscle, almost any major muscle, and asking the client or patient to lock that muscle while the practitioner tries to challenge the strength of the muscle to see if it will hold its position. The practitioner might ask a client to hold their arm straight out in front of them and lock it, while the clinician with an open hand firmly pushes down on the arm right above the wrist.

The body consists of water and electricity. It is believed that muscle testing checks to see if the muscle has enough electrical activity in it to hold. It appears that Chi is essentially the same as this electricity. Dr. Goodheart, the father of Applied Kinesiology or AK, first demonstrated therapy localization. Therapy localization occurs when the therapist tests a strong muscle alone or in the clear. Then either the client or the therapist touches another part of the clients body to test if a change of muscle strength occurs. If it does, then dysfunction is assumed to be present in the localized area.

Chiropractors who practice AK routinely test or challenge a vertebra in the neck or the back, and if the muscle goes weak then they can assume that the vertebra is misaligned. They then put the vertebra back in and retest. When the muscle is strong it is assumed the vertebra is back in alignment. The client routinely reports feeling much better.

Although there are great similarities among these three main forms of energy therapies in that they all are based on Eastern medicine, there are also many salient differences, at least between TFT and NET . Robert Callahan is the formulator of Thought Field Therapy. He developed his system after being introduced to Chinese medicine from a chiropractor who was practicing Applied Kinesiology, which is the same way that I became aware of these principles in 1990.

The energy therapies adapted and built on Dr. Goodhearts work by applying AK to the emotional arena. Emotions are energy and therefore emotions can be muscle tested through the electrical system of the body. TFT differs from traditional AK, however, because most of Dr. Callahan s techniques do not utilize muscle testing except minimally. Instead he developed several algorithms of tapping certain acupressure points while thinking of a problem such as an addiction or a phobia. This method often allows the body to return to homeostasis and therefore the craving is reduced or the fear is alleviated. Not only is it a highly effective system for many problems, but recent studies have shown that it is quicker and more effective than CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy. However, many repetitions of the treatment are often necessary with this particular type of energy therapy.

Emotional Freedom Technique is an offshoot of Thought Field Therapy. It was developed by Gary Craig, a minister and personal trainer. There seems to be very little difference between EFT and TFT. EFT taps all the meridians with the rationale that thereby they are bound to balance the affected meridian. EFT also varies the affirmations used in TFT. Most of the following systems that are offshoots of TFT also differ mostly in slight variations of tapping and/or affirmations and were developed later than TFT. These other systems include BSFF (Be Set Free Fast), EDxTM (Energy Diagnostic and Treatment Methods), ESM (Emotional Self-Management), EvTFT (Evolving Thought Field Therapy), FFFF ( Freedom From Fear Forever), HBLU (Healing from the Body Level Up), HSE (Human Software Engineering), PEAT ( Psycho Energetic Auro Technology), Seemorg Matrix Work, TAAP (TAAP Training Institute), TAT (Tapas Acupressure Technique), TEST ( Thought Energy Synchronization Therapies), and 3 in 1 (Three-in-One Concepts).

Dr. Scott Walker, a chiropractor and applied kinesiologist, developed Neuro Emotional Technique or NET  in the early 1980 s. He developed his system independently from Dr. Callahan and within the same time frame. Both men were influenced by Dr. John Diamond who worked with Meridian systems in the late 1970 s and early 1980 s and developed Behavioral Kinesiology. Dr. Diamond stressed the use of positive verbal affirmations to change meridian systems.

All of the energy systems have great merit and are quite effective. What makes NET or Neuro Emotional Technique vastly superior and versatile is the tailored muscle testing that is the standard in this technique. Individual muscle testing makes pin point diagnosis of a problem possible.

Dr. Callahan was a cognitive behavioral therapist before becoming an energy therapist. Possibly because of this, practitioners of TFT often stress the theoretical importance of operant and classical conditioning or stimulus and response learning to explain why energy therapy is effective. Conditioning is certainly one of the main ways through which energy therapies work, but it is not the only component.

The essential reason that I believe NET is so much more effective than any of the other energy therapies is that part of the muscle testing protocol involves assessing for the earliest event where a feeling or problem originated. Because of this component the energy balance is more complete, and as a clinician there usually isn t a need to repeat the corrections multiple times, which is often the case with the other energy therapies.

The theoretical basis behind NET is not only behavioral in nature, but psychodynamic. Freud s concept of repetition compulsion is one of the central tenets of NET . Freud believed that when a trauma is not fully processed or relieved an individual will develop a maladaptive symptom or behavior pattern in a fruitless attempt to resolve the original problem. A present stressor is more likely to become a trauma if it is similar to an event that was traumatic to an individual in their past. When the earliest trauma is relieved at the basic energy level, most present traumas collapse in response. Not addressing this earliest pain is the most common reason for psychological reversal, which shows up with much greater frequency in the other systems for energy rebalancing. Therefore, NET seems to be more thorough in its approach, although it is still relatively unknown by mental health practitioners and the general public compared to TFT or EFT.

The world continues to dramatically shrink due to the amazing advances in technology and communication. In the past knowledge was often encapsulated by individual cultures. The brilliance of Eastern and Western thought is now beginning to mingle. The scientific method of the West is now being applied to some of the techniques of the East. There have been several studies in Florida universities and South America where TFT has been proved effective and NET is now under extensive study at Oxford University. It will not be long until these recently discovered energy systems will take their place as accepted and respected treatment modalities. I believe that NET will become the gold standard of these mind/energy therapies.

JEF GAZLEY, M.S., LMFT, DCC has practiced psychotherapy for over thirty years and is the owner operator of http://www.asktheinternettherapist.com since 1998 and http://www.hypnosistapes4health.com He is the author of eight mental health educational videos and DVDs and is currently writing a book on distance counseling. Jef is State Licensed in General Counseling, Marriage/Family, and Substance Abuse in Arizona and is a certified hypnotherapist. He is dedicated to guiding individuals to achieving a life long commitment to mental health and relationship mastery. In his private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona, Jef specializes in ADD, love addiction, hypnotherapy, dysfunctional families, codependency, and trauma. He is a trained counselor in EMDR, NET , TFT, hypnotist, and Applied Kinesiology. Jef received his B.A. in Psychology, History, and Teaching from the University of Washington and his Masters in Counseling from the University of Oregon.

Technorati Tags: EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique, Energy Healing, Energy Psychology