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"Meditation" for people who can't sit still
Using EFT as daily practice

I've tried taking up meditation several times over the years- I've read the books, listened to the tapes, and even did a 12 week meditation course at my local Buddhist centre. But somehow, I could never quite manage it. For me at least, the very thing that meditation is supposed to cure, was preventing me meditating! Anxieties, stray thoughts, worries about whether I was "doing it right", thinking about everything else I was supposed to be doing, and so on.

I guess that makes me a typical Western person: goal-oriented, and addicted to "doing". But when I discovered EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), I realised it could be used for far more than dealing with "big" negative emotions like fears, stress, traumas and so forth. It can also be used for dealing with our everyday low-grade anxiety and the background negativity that plagues so many of us. The feature of EFT that makes it so ideal as an alternative to meditative practices is that it involves Doing Something that fully involves and absorbs the conscious mind (usually the "enemy" of traditional meditation). (See below for how to learn EFT)

So how can you set about creating a "daily practice" for yourself based on EFT?

First, choose an adaptation of EFT that you prefer:

        S-L-O-W EFT - (protocol by Sylvia Hartmann, Advanced Patterns of EFT - and Gary's corner below ). A typical round of EFT takes about a minute. SLOW EFT uses the same sequence of points but you simply spend much longer on each point  - perhaps as much as a few minutes or as long as feels good or until you notice a "shift" or change in your thinking about the issue. . You can also add in the Forehead and Crown points (see "Wake up to EFT" below) especially when you want to generate inspiration, insight or creativity.

         Chords - If you find tapping too distracting, or you just prefer something calmer, a gentler method involves just touching the EFT points while breathing gently. You can touch multiple points simultaneously. Chin, Under Nose, Under Eye and Side of Eye points can all be touched fairly easily with one hand, while the other hand touches the Eyebrow and Forehead points. "Spare" fingers can rest anywhere that's comfortable. Even more comfortable is resting the fingers and thumb of one hand against the respective fingers of the other hand (include the ring finger), while resting both wrists on the lap, thus touching five meridian points at a time. Move the hands to different points from time to time to include all the points.

Next, choose your focus:

         Big, Complicated or Stuck issues - such as a complicated relationship, a long-term health issue, or even a general aspiration such as wanting to be more creative or open spiritually. Although you are focussing on an issue, notice whatever new thoughts or images come up while you are tapping. Often these will be ideas, insights or related issues which you can then pick to tap on further. You're not aiming to fully resolve and clear these issues in one sitting, but over time they should begin to "loosen up" so you can start to see a way forward. And you can then do regular EFT on any specific aspects of the problem that come up.

         An Object - This can be either a devotional object such as your breath, a candle, an image or a word, or a "problem" object such as a bill or a picture of someone you have a problem with.

         A Resourceful State -  Start by remembering a time when you felt happy, loving, creative or whatever positive quality you want to expand. Then tap while you concentrate on that good feeling. This a great way to set up a state of mind that you want to have for the rest of the day.

         Nothing in particular! - Just let your mind wander while you tap. This practice allows your subconscious mind to bring up whatever most needs attention.

Using EFT as a daily practice turns "worrying" or "daydreaming" into proper self-development activities - and that should help to keep your conscious mind quiet for a while!
 

EFT for two

If you're already an EFT user you'll be familiar with the standard EFT set-up statement:

"Even though I have this problem, I deeply and completely accept myself"

But other people - and how you feel about them - are frequently an "aspect" of a problem: a parent, child, partner, friend, boss, colleague, or someone from the past.

Where the other person is the source of a trauma or negative feeling, then using the standard EFT setup to forgive that person can be what is needed to deal with the relationship aspect of  the problem.

But when the problem involves another person that you are close to and feel no negative feelings towards, forgiveness is not the issue. Often the issue is simply shared by both of you e.g "Our house was robbed" or "We love each other so why do we fight?".

So how can EFT be used to include the other person, without it being about forgiveness and without surrogately trying to fix them?
In these cases, I use a modified form of the setup statement that includes both parties:

"Even though we have this problem, I deeply and completely accept both of us"

This addresses how you feel about yourself AND about the other person. Even if the other person isn't doing EFT on the issue, "accepting both of us" in the situation will make it easier for the two of you to move to a new way of being around the issue.

I've also found this modified setup useful when the client is experiencing a part of themselves that they feel disconnected from or which seems to have a life of its own. e.g. "Part of me feels angry and part of me feels guilty", or "There's a part of me that just doesn't want to be here".

In such a case, which part of the client is the "I" in the standard setup phrase?

We could tap for one part and then the other - but this just seems to emphasise the disconnection. Tapping for "both of us" ensures that both parts of the client each receive the EFT in a more elegant way.

Wake up to EFT - Using EFT for alertness and focus

If you've used EFT you'll know that it has a generally calming effect, emotionally and physically. But did you know you can also use many of the EFT points to increase energy and mental alertness?  I use these points regularly for situations where I need to be more awake and want to enhance mental processes such as creativity and insight such as:

- Ensuring full alertness when driving*
- Waking up in the mornings and keeping going in the evenings
- Feeling sleepy after a meal
- For focus, concentration and mental sharpness while reading or studying
- Maintaining focus while stressed (e.g. looking for lost keys when in a hurry)

Of course you can do the full EFT sequence on any of these issues ("Even though I'm feeling sleepy..." or "Even though I can't find my keys...") - but for a quick "pep" the following points can be tapped.

Quick wake up:
- The eye points ( The Eyebrow, Side of the Eye and Under Eye)
- Forehead (middle of the forehead, or "third eye")
- Crown (top of the head - use all fingers spread out to tap all over the Crown)

A full diagram of the standard EFT points is in my QuickStart manual on my website (link below).
*NB - Be responsible when driving - never drive when overtired and never limit your visibility or attention by tapping. Ideally get a passenger to tap you or stop, tap and carry on.

Gary's Corner

Gary Craig, the originator of EFT maintains an excellent website packed with real case histories and articles.

Each month I select a case or article from the site that really shows the power and range of EFT.

This month:

S-L-O-W  EFT
for self help on
broad issues

An article by Sylvia Hartmann explaining in detail how to apply S-L-O-W EFT
and the range of issues it can be used to help.

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