APRIL/MAY 2009
Creating Community Prosperity
Crystal Arnold
Re-Localizing Capital
Jeff Golden
How Unlimited Interest Rates
Destroyed the Economy
Amy Goodman interviews
Thomas Geoghegan
Honoring the Duh-Design Principles
Shaktari Belew
Stimulating Local Agriculture
Jody Woodruf
Fresh Food From Small Spaces
R.J. Ruppenthal
Small Farm Renaissance
Chuck Burr
Where Are the Seed Growers?
Don Tipping
Try it On Everything!
The Healing Power of EFT
DVD Review by Jill V. Mangino
A Naturopathic Perspective
on Vaccination Choices
Michael H. Shuman
Safety and Protection
Peter Moore
Cosmic Calendar
Salina Rain
Try It On Everything!
The Healing Power of EFT
DVD Review by Jill V. Mangino
A startling discovery known as Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is featured in a new DVD entitled Try It On Everything: The Revolution Starts Within. In the film, ten participants join EFT practitioners for a retreat that changes their lives forever. From healing grief, chronic back pain, in-somnia, addictions and phobias their profound, personal transformations offer evidence of EFT’s effectiveness. Leading wellness experts, physicians and best-selling authors including Dr. Norm Shealy, Cheryl Richardson, Jack Canfield, Bruce Lipton, Ph.D, Dr. Joseph Mercola, Bob Proctor, Joe Vitale and Dr. Patricia Carrington tout the benefits of EFT and testify to its astounding ability to transform myriad psychological and physical ailments.
The healing concepts that EFT, or “Tapping,” is based upon have been in practice in Eastern medicine for over 5,000 years and it is rapidly gaining worldwide recognition as a healing modality that offers tangible results. Like acupuncture and acupressure, EFT utilizes ancient Chinese meridian points to relieve emotional distress and physiological pain. It’s a powerful, self-administered technique where you stimulate meridian points by tapping on them with your fingertips—literally tapping into your body’s own energy and healing power—combined with verbal statements that acknowledge and address the issue.
“When I found EFT, I was startled by the results, I knew I had to find a way to get this information into the mainstream. In the film, we don’t just talk to experts about what EFT can do, we show how it alters the lives of 10 participants and their results are astounding,” states the film’s producer and EFT practitioner Nicolas Ortner.
Psychologists, healers and physicians are now using EFT to provide relief from chronic pain, emotional problems, disorders, addictions, phobias, post traumatic stress disorder, and physical diseases. Here’s how a basic EFT sequence works:
Identify the problem you want to focus on. It can be general anxiety, or it can be a specific situation or issue which causes you to feel anxious.
Consider the problem or situation. How do you feel about it right now? Rate the intensity level of your anxiety, with zero being the lowest level of anxiety and ten being the highest.
Compose your set up statement. Your set up statement should acknowledge the problem you want to deal with, then follow it with an unconditional affirmation of yourself as a person.
“Even though I feel this anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
“Even though I’m anxious about my interview, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
“Even though I’m feeling this anxiety about my financial situation, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
“Even though I panic when I think about ______, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Perform the set up. With four fingers on one hand, tap the Karate Chop point on your other hand. The Karate Chop point is on the outer edge of the hand, on the opposite side from the thumb.
Repeat the set up statement three times aloud, while simultaneously tapping the Karate Chop point. Now take a deep breath and get ready to begin tapping. Here are some tips to help you achieve the right technique.
• You should use a firm but gentle pressure, as if you were drumming on the side of your desk or testing a melon for ripeness.
• You can use all four fingers or just the first two (the index and middle fingers). Four fingers are generally used on the top of the head, the collarbone, under the arm—wider areas. On sensitive areas, like around the eyes, you can use just two.
• Tap with your fingertips, not your fingernails. The sound will be round and mellow.
• The tapping order begins at the top and works down. You can end by returning to the top of the head, to complete the loop.
Now, tap 5-7 times each on the remaining eight points in the following sequence:
Head (H)
The crown, center and top of the head. Tap with all four fingers on both hands.
Eyebrow (EB)
The inner edges of the eyebrows, closest to the bridge of the nose. Use two fingers.
Side of Eye (SE)
The hard area between the eye and the temple. Use two fingers. Feel out this area gently so you don’t poke yourself in the eye!
Under Eye (UE)
The hard area under the eye, that merges with the cheekbone. Use two fingers, in line beneath the pupil.
Under Nose (UN)
The point centered between the bottom of the nose and the upper lip. Use two fingers.
Chin (CH)
This point follows symmetrically with the previous one, and is centered between the bottom of the lower lip and the chin.
Collarbone (CB)
Tap just below the hard ridge of your collarbone with four fingers.
Underarm (UA)
On your side, about four inches beneath the armpit. Use four fingers. Then return back where you started to complete the sequence.
As you tap on each point, repeat a simple reminder phrase, such as “my anxiety” or “my interview” or “my financial situation.” Tap firmly with the first two fingers on each hand.
Now take another deep breath. Now that you’ve completed the sequence, focus on your problem again. How intense is the anxiety now, in comparison to a few minutes ago? Give it a rating on the same number scale.
If your anxiety is still higher than “2”, you can do another round of tapping. Keep tapping until the anxiety is gone. You can change your set up statement to take into account your efforts to fix the problem, and your desire for continued progress. “Even though I have some remaining anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself.” “Even though I’m still a little worried about this interview, I deeply and completely accept myself.” And so on.
Once you have focused on dispelling your immediate anxiety, you can work on installing some positive feelings instead. Here are some example phrases to guide you:
“I have faith in my ability to change.”
“I am joyful about these positive changes.”
“I am accomplishing so much.”
“I enjoy the calm and peace that I have.”
“I am becoming a more relaxed and joyful person.”
You can use these positive phrases with the same EFT tapping points and sequences described above. Congratulations! You’ve completed your first EFT sequence.
Jill Mangino is a freelance writer and President of Circle 3 Media. More information can be found at www.tryitoneverything.com where you can also purchase the DVD. To hear free interviews with EFT experts, visit www,eft-revealed.com. Basic EFT sequence reprinted with permission. Visit the Emotional Freedom Techniques home page at www.emofree.com for a free manual.
