Energy Therapy FAQ & Emotional Freedom Technique Basics
Energy Therapy FAQ and EFT In A Nutshell: The Ultimate Quick-Start 
© 2003, 2007 by Maryam Webster, after the work of Gary Craig (both at right) All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted individuals to keep a copy of this document for their personal files, and for websites to provide a LINK to this document at: http://maryamwebster.com/eftbasics
WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS "ENERGY STUFF"?
Briefly, Energy Therapies are based upon the same energy patterns that exist naturally in the body. Given this, there are three broad categories of Energy Therapy:
1. Those utilized in accupuncture or the Meridian-based therapies. EFT and The ETHOS Method (ETHOS) are two of these.
2. Those based on the energies in the Ayurvedic chakra power-points, and body’s energy envelope or aura, which we call the Biofield-based therapies. Reiki and Chakra Balancing are two of these.
3. Those based in the energy we generate through intentionally focused thought in the brain – these are called the Thought-Field or Intentional-based therapies. Be Set Free Fast and ZPoint Process are two of these.
"Emotional Freedom Technique" or EFT, is based in solid acupuncture technology and was discovered by Stanford Engineer Gary Craig, in working with psychiatrist Dr. Roger Callahan, originator of Thought Field Therapy (TFT). Callahan had begun working with an acupuncturist and discovered, as acupuncturists have known for centuries, that acupoints could be manipulated to eliminate both negative emotions and physical pain and disease.
Emotional Freedom Technique uses primarily the Merdian-based energy patterns, but instead of using needles to access these energy patterns, we can self-treat a variety of thought disorders (fear, anger, sadness & traumas) and even physical dysfunctions (pain, headaches, menstrual cramps, hot flashes, etc.) by tapping or holding a precise sequence of these accupuncture points. It’s not important that you know accupuncture or accupressure, just that you memorize a simple series of spots on your body and how to use them.
You’ll learn all that, and have a "first-aid kit in your fingertips" – for life.
Easy!
"But I can get the Original EFT Manual at emofree.com…so why this ‘Quick-Start’?"
You definitely should get the Original EFT Manual! (click this link and it will open in a new window) It is the definitive source on Emotional Freedom Technique. But, it’s definitely not for everyone.
Gary is a thorough and prolific researcher and writer. As an engineer, he was trained to be, and is meticulous in his documentation of every aspect of EFT. But for those who want to learn EFT to help themselves right away, his 80 page manual can sometimes be a lot to wade through.
I developed this comprehensive Quick-Start Tutorial for my own clients as a TEN MINUTE PLUG & PLAY. If this is what you’re looking for, look no further, you’ve found it! Let’s start with what EFT is based on:
THE EFT "DISCOVERY" STATEMENT
Craig and Callahan discovered that:
"The cause of all negative emotions is a
disruption in the body’s energy system"
When we experience a trauma or upset, the body’s systems clench up and release stress hormones and other neurotransmitters which encode an "interrupt" in the body’s energy system. This "interrupt" is like sawing through an electrical cord severing a few of the vital pathways and then trying to use it to power an appliance. With a short in the wire, the appliance just doesn’t work correctly. Neither do our bodies or our emotions, with such shorts in our internal energetic wiring. Due to these many interruptions in the body’s energy flow, just by remembering the hurt, or experiencing a similar incident or stress, the feeling of the trauma – even if it was a very small upset – is recreated, and we experience the emotional impact anew.
How EFT Works:
We balance the body’s energy in EFT by holding the negative emotion or situation in mind using a specific affirmation, while simultaneously tapping a sequence of powerful acupressure points with our fingertips, 10 taps per point. The points are tiny, so I use two fingertips to make sure I get right on top of the point. This releases energy and allows those negative emotions to dissolve. The body’s own natural healing and equilibrium system can then go to work restoring balance and functionality to the individual.
You can also use this same tapping sequence in a slightly different way to program in exactly the kind of future you desire. Freed from emotional blockages and with new tools to create your best life, you can be effortlessly successful!
BEFORE YOU START…Choose Your Initial Tools
EFT is accomplished by first identifying and setting into memory the specific problem you wish to treat,. Once you have done this, you need to take care of any possible forces that may prevent your healing this issue. We do that by performing what is known as a "PR Correction". PR stands for Psychological Reversal, and represents the "devil’s advocate" part of you may get some benefit from your having the problem and is working to keep it in place.
As an example, if complaining about a headache gets a person lots of attention they don’t always get, they may find themself plagued by more headaches. The part of them that desires more positive attention is "running the show" and directs the body to produce headaches that the person themself probably doesn’t really want. This person enjoys the attention but doesn’t connect it to the headaches.
Even if we don’t know what little bits of us might want to "keep" our problems, we can put that part of us to sleep while we perform the necessary corrections with EFT.
How we do that is by choosing either:
1) RUBBING the "Sore Spot" on the upper chest (see model below) -OR-
2) TAPPING on the "Karate Chop" spot on the side of the hand.
The part we’re trying to get out of the way is that internal saboteur that urges you to "Go on, have a slice of cake – just this once…!" while your real goal might be to refrain from empty calories or avoid eating sugar. Rubbing the Sore Spot OR tapping the Karate Chop point while saying the EFT Setup phrase effects a PR correction that puts this "saboteur" part of yourself to sleep while you perform the rest of the EFT routine.
Below is a model showing the specific EFT accupoints that you will be tapping on. Of these, the "Sore Spot" on your upper chest represents a general area rather than one specific, tiny point – your own particular Sore Spot may be a little above, below or to one side.
To Find the Sore Spot: Feel gently around your upper chest (usually a couple of inches above where the breast tissue begins) until you hit a tender area – that will be your Sore Spot. As with most of the EFT acupoints, the Sore Spot exists bi-laterally, on either side of the body, the Spot on either side may be used. I gently rub with the whole of my loosely-held fist, in a gentle circle atop the sore spot. Don’t rub too hard! This is junction of neurolymphatic tissue, and can be a very tender place! It is however thought by many to be a bit more effective than the Karate Chop. You’ll know by trying both which is best for you.
To Find The Karate Chop: If you cannot find your Sore Spot, you may tap on the Karate Chop point instead. It’s right on the side of your hand, directly in the middle, between the place where your little finger attaches to your hand, and the wrist.Tap using the pads of all four main fingertips to cover the whole side of the hand. Most practitioners find it super-powers their practice to turn the hands sideways, and bang the two Karate Chop points against one another while repeating the Setup Statement (see below).
Using either of these places on the body will help to make sure no part of you covertly wishes to keep your problem. The effectiveness generally lasts from twenty to thirty minutes – much more time than you will actually need Once that part is out of the picture, your tapping will be much more successful. The full PR Correction Procedure is part of every EFT session and is below. Take a test go on both areas and decide which you feel more comfortable using.
EFT IN A NUTSHELL – "Here’s How!"
The Really Pared-Down Nutshell: Memorize The Basic Recipe, below. Aim it at any emotional, physical or spiritual problem by customizing it with an appropriate Setup affirmation and Reminder Phrase (below). Where necessary, be persistent until all aspects of the problem have vanished.
Specifics To Ensure Success…
Just remember, If Necessity is the mother of Invention, then "SPECIFICITY is the mother of Success" in all things as well as EFT! Be VERY SPECIFIC in terms of actual incidents you’re treating yourself for. Tapping on "my sadness when Dad didn’t come home for two days", then "my fear when Dad didn’t come home", and "seeing Dad’s empty chair at dinner" is much more effective than tapping on a "global feeling of anxiety due to abandonment".
Separate emotions or "scenes" of incidents that happened to you require separate tapping sessions to completely dissolve. Such as the sadness, then fear, then the scene of Dad’s empty chair are all separate tappings. Treat all the separate incidents and emotions you can find and with persistence, the negativity surrounding your central issue will come tumbling down!
Memorize the tapping points below, and then begin the Basic Recipe, below.
Note on Abbreviations: The letters and numbers to the sides of each point refer to the accupuncture meridian and the number of the point on the meridian. "Side of Eye" for instance, is Gallbladder Meridian, point #1. The Collarbone point/s are the twenty-seventh points on the Kidney Meridian. I include this information for students of accupuncture and accupressure and your own information.
THE BASIC EFT "RECIPE"
1. First Step, Rate Your SUDS – Not soapsuds, but Subjective Units of Distress. Before you begin the tapping sequence rate your SUDS, or the strength and intensity of the emotion or physical symptom you’re dealing with on a scale of 0 to 10. The top of this scale, 10, is the worst your situation could get, and 0 being completely gone. Write this number down - you’ll be looking at your progress later on by referring to it.
Why do we take this step? Because EFT is so effective that people often forget how upset they were after tapping – Dr. Callahan referred to this the "Apex Problem" but it doesn’t occur when we take the simple precaution of writing our SUDS numbers down. Noting them in a journal is a good way of seeing how far you’ve come on a particular issue, and with your general life circumstances over time. It also helps when you are testing the results you get with EFT.
2. The Treatment Setup – We use a very specifically worded affirmation to begin our EFT work. Once you have a very specific incident, symptom or other problem in mind that you’d like to apply EFT to, you will plug it into this affirmation:
"Even though I have this _______________________
(fill in the blank with your SPECIFIC fear, pain, etc)
I DEEPLY and COMPLETELY ACCEPT myself!"
Do you realize how little we tell ourselves that even with all our problems, we accept ourselves anyway? Even if you don’t believe it initially, this statement WILL have a powerful, positive impact upon your relaxation and wellbeing.
Example Set Up Statements:
"Even though I have this inability to approach my boss about a raise because she scares me to death, I Deeply and Completely Accept Myself!"
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"Even though I have this pain in my shoulder where the ball hit me, and I felt like and idiot in front of the guys, I Deeply and Completely Accept Myself!"
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"Even though breaking up with Jim hurts so bad and I’ve cried so hard I’m sick to my stomach, I Deeply and Completely Accept Myself!"
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"Even Though I have this miserable migraine headache, I Deeply and Completely Accept Myself!"
Here’s where that Karate Chop or Sore Spot comes in. Go on and fill in your own words to describe what you’re working on but make them as simple as possible. Say this phrase THREE TIMES while continuously rubbing the Sore Spot -OR- tapping the "Karate Chop" point on the outside edge of either palm. This neutralizes any small part of yourself that may, for whatever reasons, wish to keep you in that negative emotion, situation or feeling and is also known as the "PR Correction" (see above).
Tapping the Karate Chop point works almost as well as rubbing the Sore Spot to neutralise these "internal saboteurs", and can be helpful for those who can’t find their Sore Spot or who’ve rubbed it so much that the "sore" has gone away. This treatment setup corrects for any part of you that may be invested in keeping the negativity for whatever reason, allowing you to perform the EFT process successfully.
3. The Tapping Sequence (first set) – The part that you filled in for The Setup phrase (eg; "this headache") becomes your Reminder Phrase to use while tapping. As an example, for The Setup "Even though I have this headache, I DEEPLY and COMPLETELY accept myself", the Reminder Phrase would be "this headache". To start the sequence, tap 10 times on each of the following energy points while repeating your Reminder Phrase at each point: (refer to the diagram above) Note: While tapping the eye points, we always tap on the bony socket that surrounds the eye, NEVER on the eyeball itself.
1st Set Tapping Points: Crown (top of head, where a marionette’s string comes out), 3rd eye (middle of forehead), Eyebrow, Side of Eye, Under Eye, Under Nose, Chin, Collar Bone, Under Arm, Under Breast.
4. The Tapping Sequence (second set) – Tap 10 times on each of the following energy points while repeating your customized Reminder Phrase at each point. Two sets make one Round of EFT Tapping. It doesn’t matter which side you start on.
2nd Set Tapping Points: Crown, 3rd Eye, Eyebrow, Side of Eye, Under Eye, Under Nose, Chin, Collar Bone, Under Arm, Under Breast, tap inner sides of both wrists together to end the set.
5. Re-Take Your SUDS Rating – Take your SUDS rating again, after each round of two sets. Observe your SUDS move down, down, down…. If the intensity you feel about the problem is going down, then keep tapping and focusing on the various different aspects of the problem until you reach zero. If you’re at zero, you’re done! If not, keep going. It takes so very little time and works fantastically well.
(6 full tappings of the points from top of head to lower body)
add The 9 Gamut Procedure below and do Long Form EFT:
Long-form EFT & The 9 Gamut Procedure
If you aren’t making much headway with EFT and your issue doesn’t seem to be moving, use this process which "ping-pongs" the new instructions deeply into your mind.
How does this work?
By bringing balance back to the energies in the two hemispheres of our brain, and getting them to work as one. The humming that you’ll do during the 9 Gamut Procedure (below) engages the right side of your brain, counting engages the left brain, and the eye movements synch the two hemispheres together in working towards your goal.
There is also evidence to suggest that we encode negative experiences in the brain by what position our eyes were in as they happened. Since we usually don’t know where that was at the time of the particular trauma or unpleasant memory, a thorough scanning of the eyes around a circle in the Nine-Gamut helps lift this coding out of our system. The full procedure is explained below but first a word about:
Long-Form EFT
To do Long-Form EFT which is EFT in its original format, you will add the finger tip points to the first round of your tapping routine.
To do this, you’ll tap down to the under breast point, then choose one hand and start tapping, with two fingers of the other hand (to add weight to your tapping) on the outside edge of the fingernail. Where you’re tapping is the side of the finger pointing towards your belly-button if you’re holding your hand out in front of you.
As you tap the finger points, repeat your Reminder Phrase, on the thumb, forefinger, middle finger and little finger, then on the karate chop point. From the Karate Chop, proceed on to the Nine Gamut Procedure:
The Nine Gamut Procedure: That Which Turns Self-Saboteurs Into Helpful Friends
Tap continuously on your "Brain Balancer" or Gamut Point. This point is located on the back of your hand between the little finger and ring finger, half an inch towards your wrist. Put your index finger where you can feel the "V" of the little and ring finger bones come together on the back of the hand. You’ll feel a little "valley", or slight depression at this point. Tap here, while keeping your head faced straight forward, not moving your head. Tap on the Gamut Point as you:
(1) Close Eyes
(2) Open Eyes
(3) Eyes look hard down on the floor, to your right
(4) Eyes look hard down on the floor to the left
(5) Roll your eyes in a complete circle
(6) Roll eyes in a complete circle going the other direction
(7) Hum (don’t sing words) 5 seconds of a song – a simple "do-re-mi" scale is suggested
(8) Count to 5
(9) Hum (don’t sing) 5 seconds of a song
Stop tapping on the Gamut Point, take a deep breath in and out. This is the end of your First Round. Take your SUDS rating and note whether it went down or not. Write down your number. Go back and do a second round without the Nine-Gamut to comprise a set. Rate your SUDS again. Keep going until your SUDS is at a zero.
…Breathe deeply between sets to
continue deep movement of the energy…
Subsequent Round Adjustments:
Sometimes it takes more than a few rounds of tapping to release your emotions around an incident. In subsequent rounds of tapping, (after your initial two rounds that comprise a set), The Setup affirmation and the Reminder Phrase are adjusted to reflect that you are addressing the remaining problem. Example: "Even thought I have THIS REMAINING headache (pain, thought, fear, or whatever you’re working on)… " Then also adjust the Reminder Phrase "his REMAINING headache, this remaining headache" as you tap.
Speed EFT: Superpower Your EFT Routine To Get Results FAST.
To erase negative emotions faster, tap down the body from crown point down to the armpit, then back up the body from armpit back up to the crown. Go up and down several times, until you feel the need to take a deep breath, sense a deep relaxation, sigh, stretch, or in other ways feel the energy shifting. Take your SUDS again and note how your emotions have changed.
Making It Better: A Note On The Art of Delivery:
In the model above, points on both sides of the body have been highlighted. While either side is valid to tap on, most advanced practitioners currently practicing EFT tap on the forehead both eyebrow, side eye and under eye points at the same time, then tap the upper lip and chin simultaneously, followed by both collarbone points and both underarm and under breast points, then the points on either hand, if doing long-form EFT.
Final Note & Disclaimer:
I am not a medical practitioner and cannot advise you on diagnosis or treatment – that is up to you and your healthcare providers. On the other hand, many people including myself can attest to the efficacy of EFT in helping reduce or eliminate symptoms of all kinds. In addition to following your regular medical or psychological treatment, try EFT on everything that gives you pain, negative emotions or trauma. As inventor Gary Craig says:
"Keep tapping, every day – try EFT on everything!"
To read case studies of people who have successfully dealt with serious mental, emotional and medical conditions using EFT, click here.
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Get more information at the Original EFT website, including in-depth treatment articles, email lists, low-cost tutorial CDs, videos and the Free original EFT manual, here at: www.emofree.com
Thanks and kudos go to our lovely EFT Model, LifeCoach Gwyneth Anne Freedman. Gwyneth Anne is a coach for expatriates settling into new cultural environments and people seeking balance in their lives. You can contact her and find out more here
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