Old Year's Resolutions
Or why Kahlil Gibran could have used some EFT

I'm currently reading a biography of Kahlil Gibran, author of "The Prophet" and many more works of spiritual poetry. Apparently, he once declared to a friend that he was a "false alarm" - that he had to not lived up to the ideals and values expressed in his poetry and prose. If even someone like Kahlil Gibran, who had spent over 20 years developing and nurturing his spirituality and his expression of it into the world, could find it hard to make his physical everyday life come into line with those values, what hope is there for the rest of us?

We face exactly the same dilemma every time we resolve to "go to the gym more often", "be nicer to our family", "be more compassionate", "give more to charity", "meditate regularly", "give up smoking/chocolate/alcohol", "watch less TV and read more books", or whatever it is that represents for us self improvement or becoming closer to who we feel we really are.

Somehow whatever we know to be true with our minds, or feel to be true with our hearts, something else just isn't playing ball - the body! It sits on the couch while your mind thinks about going to the gym. It yells at the kids while your mind tells you off for not being more in control. It fails to write the cheque even while the heart feels sorrow for the suffering of others. It walks all the way to the fridge/petrol station/off-licence even while your mind is making plans for giving up tomorrow. And it switches relentlessly between TV channels while your mind tells you it's all rubbish. Somehow all the philosophy, the logic, the positive thinking, the intellectual knowledge of the correct way to live, isn't enough, on it's own, to make us go and do it.

What's needed is an energy shift - one which INCLUDES the body. EFT is the perfect tool for this, since EFT involves both the conscious mind and the energy system of the body at the same time. Here is an 8-step program for getting an energy shift on resolutions of any kind. You can either do all 8 rounds of EFT one after the other for several days, or do one a day, several times and going into more depth if you wish.

1. Stating what you want
"Even though I really want to <insert goal>, I deeply and completely accept myself"

2. Forgiving yourself for not doing it yet, or not doing it properly, in your opinion
"Even though I've tried this before/failed before, I completely forgive myself"

3. Acknowledging any part of you that maybe doesn't want you to succeed
"Even though a part of me doesn't really want this, I deeply and completely..."

4. Acknowledging any doubts you have about your ability to do it
"Even though I'm not sure if I can really do it this time, I deeply and completely accept myself"

5. Acknowledging any fear you have about failing again or giving up after a while
"Even though I'm afraid I'll fail again/think I'll just give up again, I deeply and completely..."

6. Deal with other people's possible opinions or doubts
"Even though I'm afraid what X will think/that Y will undermine me, I deeply and completely..."

7. Deal with the fact of your task requiring ongoing effort over time to succeed
"Even though this task will take time and persistence, I deeply and completely..."

8. Choose your new way of being to replace your old way of being
"Even though I'm still working on this goal, I choose to be...."
Choose a word that describes you as "A person Who" has achieved their goal e.g. "A compassionate person", "A fit and healthy person", "A smoke-free person", "An avid reader".

If you are one of those people (and you are not alone) who reads this and thinks "Yes, I'll try that - maybe in the New Year..." then before you try any of the above, address any procrastination about doing EFT on the issue:
"Even though I don't even want to do  the EFT on this yet, I deeply and completely..."
Do this every day that you can until it feels time to start doing 1-8.

It's probable that other "objections" or issues specific to you will come up as you work through these steps - in which case do EFT on those too, if you can. But even doing these 8 rounds on a regular basis will still have a positive effect on loosening up your energy system and making your body feel more like co-operating with your mind.

Phew what a scorcher!
3 long weekends and a book

It's been a busy month - and the reason this newsletter is somewhat nearer to the festive end of the month than intended.

First there was the EFT training at the Harmony Centre a month ago (see below for one participant's reaction).

Then at the end of November I was privileged to attend Silvia Hartmann's last ever outing in the field of energy healing in Eastbourne - I am now an EmoTrance practitioner.

Then last weekend I had a stall at the Woodbridge Holistic Craft and Health Fayre where I was offering taster treatments and giving a talk on EFT. Fourteen people attended the talk and after a short background to EFT we got straight down to my favourite way of telling people about EFT - and that's actually doing it!

We started off working on anxiety of public speaking and several people's anxiety levels dropped significantly. One lady however had zero anxiety from the start since her job involves regular public speaking. This was a great demonstration of the fundamental underlying assumption of EFT, that negative emotion is caused by disruption of the individual's energy system - NOT by "stuff happening to me" like "people looking me", "people thinking I'm stupid", "being in the spotlight" and so on.

Next we worked on cravings. Most people chose a food - such as chocolate, coffee, crisps or sweets to work on. A couple of people chose cigarettes. And one person chose to work on the desire to play a particular computer game - something they found themselves doing frequently. At the start, one person declared that as a result me asking them to think about their worst craving they would "absolutely HAVE to go straight out and buy a Twix bar on the way home". By the time we finished, three rounds later, their craving was a 2, and they assured me they no longer had an urge to buy chocolate on the way home.

The person working on the computer game "felt different" but it was a hard one to measure. But they returned on Sunday for a taster session and reported they had not played the game that night or in the morning, even though they normally would have done so.

And in between all that, I've been drafting a book called The EFT Coach, which I hope to have available online early in the New Year.  It must be time for some holidays!

EFT speeds up paperwork
How a workshop participant used EFT to get his Sunday afternoon back

In November I ran my first workshop at the beautiful Harmony Centre near Halesworth, Suffolk. And although the day was a success, I was especially pleased to hear about one participant's results in applying his new knowledge almost immediately!

He told me that the next day he had been struggling to complete some paperwork needed for Monday. He decided to tap to address his block around finishing it: "Even though I really don't want to be doing this on a Sunday afternoon, ...".

The results were amazing - he had it all done in 10 minutes - and the rest of his Sunday free for himself.
 

Gary's Corner

Gary Craig, the originator of EFT maintains an excellent website packed with real case histories. Each month I select case histories that really show the power and range of EFT. This month:

How to become unstuck

Dr Pat Carrington relates a case of getting a trainee teacher "unstuck" and back on track with her career.

Learn EFT now! You can start using EFT for yourself right now by downloading my EFT QuickStart manual.

Upcoming events:

Introduction to EFT - 1 day training - early February
Ipswich - location to be announced - see January newsletter

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