Let's get personal. Have you washed
your face today? Brushed your hair? Shaved or put on makeup? Brushed
and flossed your teeth? Dressed yourself? Tapped on your feelings?
If you said "yes!" to all of the above, you are part of a
rare minority practicing good physical and emotional hygiene. If you
answered "no” to the last question, you have a lot to look
forward to.
Tapping refers to two revolutionary techniques in the fields of
personal growth and psychotherapy, Thought Field Therapy (TFT) and the
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT.) TFT was developed by an innovative
psychologist, Roger Callahan, PhD. While treating a patient with a
severe phobia of water, Dr. Callahan discovered that tapping on
specific sequences of points on the acupuncture meridians rapidly
relieved fears, blocks, angers, guilt, upsets, traumas, self-sabotage,
addictive cravings, etc. He followed up this discovery with years of
research, and created the system now known as Thought Field Therapy.
TFT is amazingly effective, but can be somewhat complex to learn
and apply. Enter Gary Craig. With an engineering background, Craig
looked at Callahan's TFT system and wondered if there was a way to
create a simpler, easier to learn system. After conducting his own
research, he developed the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), the
'user-friendly' version of Thought Field Therapy.
Most of us take very good care of our faces, our mouths and our
bodies. But how many of us take good care of our emotional body? We
slather ourselves with suds, dowse ourselves with deodorants, and wash
our mouths out with mouthwash, to prevent bad breath and body odor.
But we have become all too willing to accept and live with
‘stinky’ emotions, whether in others or ourselves. (You know what
I mean: those people with destructive anger or guilt, those living in
abusive relationships, with ‘toxic’ shame, deep-seated fears and
resentments, chronic anxieties or dark depression, etc.) And we walk
around, pretending not to notice the naked Emperors all around us.
We all sweat. We all get dirty. We all get bad breath (if we
don’t brush our teeth.) And so we need to wash and brush and floss
every day. Every day there are mistakes, accidents and screw-ups.
Every day people push our buttons. Stress happens. So, every day we
need to do something to release that stress, resolve triggered
emotions, and restore ourselves to balance and well-being.
What to do with our feelings?
Feelings are valuable feedback. Feelings are meant to be felt. Once
felt and acknowledged, we can use them as valuable input, learn from
them, and move on. For many of us, however, feelings hang on like
storm clouds in Seattle, for days and weeks and months. Then we feel
sticky; we become 'emotionally constipated;’ we pile up our secret
storehouse of hurt, fear, anger, guilt and resentment. Sooner or
later, these spill over to our relationships, hurting the ones we
love. Or, they might erupt within our bodies, as cancers and skin
disorders and heart attacks and other psycho-somatic dis-eases.
How can we deal with our feelings consciously and healthily? There
are many ways. These include talking it out with a friend or
counselor, journaling, directly expressing our thoughts and feelings,
pounding pillows and crying, etc. Although these methods may help us
feel good and serve to release feelings, they often do not resolve our
feelings. And this is where tapping comes in.
Tapping (EFT & TFT) does several things. It desensitizes the
emotion and the sense of being emotionally overwhelmed. It stimulates
the flow of chi (energy) in the meridians, and balances our whole
subtle energetic system. It releases endorphins, our own natural
feel-good chemicals, and triggers the relaxation response. (Just as we
have a fight or flight response, which gets us uptight and stressed
out, so we also have a relaxation response, which relaxes and renews
and rejuvenates us.) It releases tension and locked-up energy in the
muscles and tissues. It triggers profound energetic, perceptual and
cognitive shifts so that we start seeing, thinking and feeling
differently. It shifts our neurophysiology, and leaves us feeling
calm, relaxed, whole, peaceful and happy.
What is EFT good for?
EFT is used to relieve fear, blocks, upset, trauma, and any kind of
stress or emotional baggage. It can help relieve aches, pains,
tensions, headaches, PMS, and menstrual cramps. It may assist people
in overcoming food cravings (including cravings for cookies and
chocolate!) and drug addictions, as well as allergies and
sensitivities. On the positive side, people who use EFT may achieve
better grades and test (and golf and tennis) scores. EFT may help
improve academic, athletic and musical performance. It can enhance
self-confidence and self-esteem, and create superior physical and
emotional health and deep well-being. The uses of EFT are as varied
and creative as the humans who use it.
