Emotional Freedom Technique: EFT
- Denise Kilonsky
- Feb 1, 2017
- 3 min read
Emotional Freedom Technique – EFT was founded in the early 90’s by Gary Craig, a Stanford engineer graduate who was interested in self-improvement and personal development methods. This led him to Dr. Roger Callahan who developed Thought Field Therapy or TFT. TFT required the use of specific tapping sequences called “algorithms” that needed to be referred to from a user’s manual.
Gary loved TFT and used it successfully but his engineering background got him thinking that there has to be a quicker, easier way of doing this. He was inspired to tap in a specific sequence on the head and torso of the end points of each energy meridian. It’s just one simple “protocol” for everything and tapping on each meridian covered all of the bases.
EFTs effectiveness has been so profound that prestigious institutions such as Stanford, Harvard and many other universities, clinics and hospitals have chosen to use and/or study it.
ABOUT EFT
“The cause of ALL negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system.” -Gary Craig, founder of EFT
This fundamental principle is the basis of EFT - All negative emotions are felt through a disruption of the body's energy. When you get upset or something traumatic happens you can “blow a circuit”. This will disrupt the flow of energy so you are essentially not operating at 100%.
The body, like everything in the universe, is composed of energy. Restore balance to the body's energy, and you will mend the negative emotions and physical symptoms that stem from the energy disruption.
Physical pain and disease are intricately connected to negative emotions. Health problems create feedback – physical symptoms cause emotional distress, and unresolved emotional problems manifest themselves through physical symptoms. So, the body's health must be approached as a whole. You cannot treat the symptoms without addressing the cause, and vice-versa. EFT restores the body's energy balance, and negative emotions and symptoms are eased.
Energy, which is referred to as "qi", circulates through your body along a specific network of channels called meridians discovered and used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2000 years. In ancient times, the Chinese discovered that by stimulating these meridian points, they could heal. You can tap into this energy using your fingertips while doing EFT.
HOW EFT WORKS
I’m not going to give you all the details of how to do EFT. Please come to the workshop to learn and get some hands-on experience. You can also go to Gary Craig’s website www.emofree.com. He provides a free book download, videos and how-to’s on how to do it.
Here are the basics:
Focus on a problem, negative emotion, fear, anxiety, bad memory
Consider how this is making you feel and rate it on a scale of 0 - no stress to 10 - maximum stress.
Compose a set up statement that acknowledges the problem you want to deal with. "Even though I feel this anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself."
Tap it away. As you tap on each point, repeat a simple reminder phrase, such as "my anxiety" or "my illness" or "my health situation." Tap firmly with the first two fingers on each hand.
After tapping a few sequences, tune into the problem and see if your stress level has decreased. In my experience it always does! Often times, different aspects will come up and as you focus on those and tap you can keep going deeper into your issue. Before you know it, you should feel the relief! I know, it seems too simple, but it really does work!
Here is what got me hooked on using EFT
In 1998 I received an early morning phone call from my parents telling me that my uncle had just died in a fatal car crash. It was so shocking that I started crying and couldn’t stop. I was enrolled in a weekend training seminar that I couldn’t miss so I drove to the training, crying all the way.
When I got to the training, my teacher told me about the EFT and asked if I’d like to give it a try. I had to do something, I was still so upset but I wanted to be present for that days training. I said yes and she guided me through the tapping. Within minutes my distress was relieved and I was able to stop crying. Even though I was still very sad about my uncle’s untimely death I was at least able to stop crying.
By tapping on the meridian points and focusing on my shock and sadness, the disruption in my body’s energy system had been cleared and reset. I was able to be present and complete the days training. It was such a miracle.
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