Today I planned to drive out of town to do some shopping - but my paycheck, which I’d mailed to my bank, isn’t there yet. So the money I wanted to spend is suspended in time, waiting to be delivered. I’m grounded.

This caused a physical reaction - a narrowing and darkening of vision along with heat in the chest and arms, and of course there was accompanying emotional pain. I was worried about my finances! What if my check was lost or stolen? What if it never arrived? What a worry-wart I can be! Though life is full of disappointments, there are also ways to overcome them.

And what a great opportunity to use EFT, Emotional Freedom Techniques!

I used the setup phrase: “Even though my money hasn’t arrived at the bank yet and I’m worried about it, I deeply and completely accept myself.” Then I tapped using phrases like “worry about money” and “disappointment because the check isn’t there yet”, and “very upset because my check is not safe at the bank”.

It is such a simple thing to deal with life’s disappointing moments with EFT. Rather than going off on the kids, the spouse or the neighbors, we can use EFT to instantly feel better about whatever’s upsetting us.

The uses for this technique are endless. Having it as a tool to call upon when we’re disappointed and upset is a gift to us.

If you haven’t used EFT yet, I’m happy to tell you, it is easy to be effectively dealing with disappointment by using this simple system of tapping on energy meridians while vocalizing and concentrating on what you’re disappointed or upset about.

To Do EFT:

Start with a setup phrase that describes what you’re dealing with - your exact feeling of disappointment. Start the phrase with “Even though…” and add to that, “I deeply and completely accept myself.”

Examples:
Even though I gained five pounds, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though my grandchild broke her arm while I was watching her and I feel responsible, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though my husband broke his promise to take me out to dinner, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I got an F on my test, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I didn’t get the job I wanted, I deeply and completely accept myself.

After you formulate your setup phrase, you’ll repeat that entire sentence out loud three times while tapping on what we call the karate chop point, which is the side of the hand near the little finger. Or you could say it while rubbing the sore spot about four inches below your shoulder. (You’ll have to experiment to find the right spot.)

When that’s done, start tapping on energy meridians - in the same locations acupuncturists use to insert needles. Don’t panic! We’re simply tapping, not using needles! The locations on which to tap are clearly explained in Gary Craig’s free ebook on EFT. See the link below. We tap on each spot seven to ten times then go on to the next.

After tapping on my problem this morning, dealing with the disappointment of having an insecure money situation, I felt a lightness. A burden lifted from me. The fear dissipated. I felt free - emotionally free - of my financial worries.

I believe that you too can experience emotional freedom by using the techniques explained clearly on Gary Craig’s DVD’s and in his free e-book. I read the book and bought the DVD’s, and have been living a happier, more joy-filled life ever since.

* Learn EFT at home! Get Gary Craig’s FREE pdf e-book or buy the DVDs now!

Anxiety comes from free-floating fears that keep us from our greatest happiness. We cannot be totally happy while we’re worrying about things that might happen, that haven’t happened yet. Too many of us are kept back from total happiness in life because of anxieties, whether rational or not. Either way, they have to go - and this is one thing EFT is especially good at defeating.

EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) can eliminate blockages along the energy meridians; these blockages cause various types of problems including emotions and some types of pain. If you don’t know how to do the ‘basic recipe’ tapping procedure, it is fully explained in Gary Craig’s free e-book on EFT. There’s a link to the free e-book on the front page of my site, EFT Joy.

During a recent meditation I realized that in order to cleanse our auras, we must eliminate bad attitudes. When I questioned how I, as a healer, could help people do this, I learned I should be cheerful and tap on all fears that keep us from feeling our complete happiness.

Go ahead and try it. I did. Picture yourself in a condition of complete joy and happiness. Bliss. Feel it.

If there’s anything blocking you from feeling your total happiness, consider what that is. I quickly realized I had some free-floating fears that kept me from being able to feel cheerful all the time.

So I started with this EFT setup phrase:

“Even though I have fears that keep me from feeling totally happy, I deeply and completely accept myself.” Then I repeated the words, “I deeply and completely accept myself.” I realized that the first time I said those words I questioned it but the second time it really settled in and I identified with deeply and completely accepting myself, totally and absolutely, without a doubt.

For those not familiar with EFT: while saying the chosen setup phrase three times, we either tap on the ‘karate chop point’ on the side of our hand, or rub the ’sore spot’. You really have to get that free e-book to understand where the sore spot is at.

After doing the setup phrase I used a kinesiology technique to determine if the setup message was working. (It might not have worked right if I were experiencing a reversal. Reversals are also explained in the free e-book.)

Next I started tapping on the energy meridians commonly used in EFT. While tapping on these points I repeated the word, ‘fears’. The common points for tapping are the eyebrow, side of the eye, under the eye, under the nose, chin, collarbone, under the arm, thumb and fingers. (All locations fully explained in the free e-book.)

After working through this complete ‘basic recipe’ I reassessed my anxiety level, and found that some residual fears still existed. So I started again, with this setup phrase, “Even though I still feel some of this residual fear that keeps me from being totally happy, I deeply and completely accept myself. I deeply and completely accept myself.”

Again I tapped through the entire basic recipe, but this time I paid attention to the points at which I felt the most effect. The collarbone point gave a huge response, plus I felt hits on this issue when I tapped on my middle finger, face points, and wrists. So I continued tapping, rotating through those points that seemed to directly correspond to the anxiety I was feeling.

I could do this easily because I was working on myself. If I was working on someone else with this issue I’d be relying more on my intuition to tell me which points were most effective for eradicating whatever the issue is.

After a few rounds of tapping, I suddenly felt a complete release of the issue. Immediately I filled with happiness because the fears keeping me from my total happiness were gone.

EFT usually eliminates fears forever. However there may be other aspects of the fear that will need tapping on, or there may be completely different fears that come up and cause new bouts of anxiety. Keep tapping! I believe we can overcome them all with EFT.

[Note: It is best to be specific about fears when we're doing EFT. In this example I was not at all specific. If I were to name the exact fear, EFT would be more effective in eliminating it. For example, “Even though I'm afraid of driving because I might have a flat tire on the freeway, I deeply and completely accept myself.” ]

“Tapping? How can that help?” I asked my boyfriend. This was about eight months ago right after he found an advertisement for EFT, Emotional Freedom Techniques, on his favorite website.

“Well, hold on,” he said, “I’m reading about it now.” There was a website full of information and a free e-book for anyone wanting to learn how to do EFT. We dove right in and tried to get as much information about it as we could.

The e-book, written by EFT promoter Gary Craig, explained that we can be set free from emotional traumas by tapping on our energy meridians – the same ones used during acupuncture. With EFT we don’t use needles – just our fingers, tapping on the right places. This is supposed to eliminate energy blockages that occur along the meridians, and free us from emotional or physical pain. The e-book explains exactly where those places are – at the inner corner of our eyebrows, on the side of our eyes, under our eyes, under our noses, under our mouths, on our collarbone, at our sides, and various places on our fingers and the side of our hands. (You should read the free e-book before trying this as it explains exactly where to tap.)

To do EFT we start by using a ’setup phrase’ based on whatever we’ve experienced that’s causing us problems. It is better to focus on specific events than on generalities. For example if a childhood incident of abandonment is causing an adult to fear being alone, the setup phrase might go something like this: “Even though my father left me alone in the house when I was little, I deeply and completely accept myself.” In basic EFT, the setup phrases always start with “Even though…” and end with “…I deeply and completely accept myself.”

After saying the setup phrase three times while tapping on one of two places (these are explained in the e-book) the person needing help goes on to tap on the various energy meridians while repeating a phrase such as “abandoned” or “left alone”, or whatever the problem is.

Of course there’s many other reasons to seek relief using EFT — it isn’t just about feelings of abandonment. EFT can be used on almost anything including physical pains and ailments. Gary Craig encourages people to try it on everything. There may be things it doesn’t work for, but there’s no harm in trying, and many people have found relief for the following types of things: phobias, traumas, panic/anxiety attacks, chronic pain, headaches, backaches, toothaches, snoring, ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, weight loss, addictions, allergies, sports performance, hypertension, diabetes, and depression.

If you’re interested and want to try it, please look into getting the free e-book and reading some of Gary Craig’s articles.

I’ve been studying EFT - Emotional Freedom Techniques - for over six months. I originally bought Gary Craig’s DVDs so I could overcome some of my own emotional difficulties and my fear of heights. I love the program so much, I’m now studying to become an EFT practitioner. EFT consists of a method of tapping on energy meridians (the same ones used during acupuncture) to eliminate emotional reactions. EFT has been used for a multitude of problems including trauma, abuse, fears, depression, headaches, and other physical or emotional ailments. Most recently I used EFT to get through a difficult day at the local dental office.

It started right after Christmas. My right upper gum swelled up and the pain was intense. I tried everything I could to make the pain go away. Because of the holiday, the local dental office was closed. Because I live in a remote area of the Klamath National Forest, it is the only dental office within seventy miles.

My home treatments included bathing the area in golden seal extract, and gargling with hydrogen peroxide. I don’t know what worked best, but eventually the swelling went down and the pain went away, for the most part. I knew that side of my mouth was still swollen - but not enough to cause pain. Every now and then over the next few weeks the swelling and pain would increase, but I managed to keep it under control.

Finally I convinced myself that it was time for a trip to the dentist. I filled out the paperwork last Thursday and saw the local dentist on Monday. This was my first visit to the Karuk Dental Clinic, which is owned and run by the Karuk Tribe here in Northern California. All the employees there were friendly and helpful. The dentist is a black woman, not a Karuk Indian, as the other employees there are. I was deeply impressed with her kindness and her ability to do her job efficiently.

She told me I had a large cavity in one of my molars and a huge abscess. I could have either a root canal or an extraction. “I’d prefer to have it pulled out,” I told her. “I’ll never have trouble with that tooth again.” I recall the tooth in question had been filled, and re-filled. I was tired of having such a trouble-making tooth in my mouth. This pain was the last straw.

On Wednesday I went back for the extraction. She went through the normal procedures to numb my gums, and I felt myself tense up with negative expectations and fear. Every muscle in my body was tense by the time she’d given me two shots. Then she left me alone for a while so the medication could take effect.

While she was busy with another patient, I remembered my EFT training, and started tapping on my energy meridians. I used the setup phrase, “Even though I am tense, I deeply and completely accept myself.” Then I tapped on all the usual EFT points (eyebrow point, face, fingers, etc.) and before long, I was feeling much better. I had to do two rounds of EFT, and then I felt totally relaxed.

When the dentist came back a few minutes later she pulled the tooth as I relaxed and enjoyed the moment. There was no more pain. It occurred to me that every dental office could use the help of an EFT practitioner specializing in dental patient concerns. If I’d done the EFT first, I would have been much more relaxed from the beginning, rather than panicking when I got the injections.
EFT, according to Gary Craig, “often works where nothing else will.” It has been used for pain management, addictions, weight loss, allergies, children’s issues, vision, headaches, panic, anxiety, asthma, trauma, stress, abuse, depression, dyslexia, carpal tunnel, anger, ADD/AHDH, fears, phobias, eating disorders, ODC, blood pressure, diabetes, neuropathy, and sports performance. EFT practitioners are taught to try it on everything.

For more information about EFT, see Gary Craig’s Website: Emotional Freedom Techniques