Do you ever have a crick in the neck – a pain that lingers for days and keeps reminding you that something’s wrong there? Here’s my most recent story of having this problem – and what I did about it.
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I’d had neck discomfort for more than a week, maybe two weeks this time. I didn’t want to call it a pain – though there were a few brief painful moments, especially at first.

Try as I might, I couldn’t stretch my neck far enough in any direction to unpinch a nerve. A friend lovingly kneaded my neck and shoulder muscles, relaxing them. Yet my misery continued unabated.

This Saturday morning, unimpeded by the need to leave for work, with spare time on my hands, I sat at my computer and opened a file named “Morning Ritual”. In there I’ve posted a few morning prayers I like to use, and a format for recording my morning inspirations, goals, and intentions. One section is for recording information about whatever EFT I choose to do that day.

EFT = Emotional Freedom Techniques.

When I saw that notation in my file today, I remembered I had the crick in my neck. It was the only problem I could think of as it was bothering me quite a lot, as usual.

My EFT setup phrase was “Even though I have a crick in my neck, I deeply and completely accept myself.” In EFT, the setup phrase is repeated three times while an accupressure point on the side of the hand is tapped repeatedly. Next I did the full ‘basic recipe’ adding in tapping points on top of my head and on my wrists. I also included both sides so it was a basic recipe, plus. (If you don’t know what a ‘basic recipe’ is, you need to read the free e-book!)

When I got done I still felt a tiny bit of soreness in my neck, but it didn’t hurt. I decided to leave it be, and went on to doing other things.

It wasn’t until about an hour later that I realized the crick in my neck was 100% gone for the first time in days. All day long, my neck has felt absolutely wonderful. No crick; no pain!

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

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 now!

Worries about self esteem afflict millions of people worldwide. Too many of us worry about how we measure up compared to all the other beautiful, athletic, insightful and artistic people around us. We live in a goal-oriented society where our ideals of perfection, heaped on us by the media, are unattainable by most. In wasting time worrying about our shortcomings, we lose the opportunity to use each moment for the joy of appreciating our lives as they are.

When I was a child, I was shy beyond what I’ve seen in anyone else. I let my sister do the talking, feeling I couldn’t compete with her conviviality. I never knew what to say to people I’d recently met, and kept to myself as much as possible. I wondered what more popular girls had to talk about; I saw them chattering together incessantly.

I was worried I might say the wrong thing. I stressed over having nothing to say. My power of speech was blocked. I wasted precious moments in shy, suffering silence when I could have been speaking freely, enjoying friendships, and living a normal child’s life.

Since enjoyment of life makes everything worthwhile, boosting self esteem should be of primary importance to anyone who is concerned about issues such as not feeling loved, feeling inadequate, extreme shyness, or feeling a lack of success in life. Many if not all feelings of personal failure are tied into self esteem issues.

Boosting self esteem is easy with Emotional Freedom Techniques, EFT.* It helps to have confidence in the EFT process, but as we know, EFT often works whether you believe in it or not, and when nothing else produces results. EFT could have helped that shy child to learn to speak freely and without fear. EFT could help anyone feeling blocked socially, financially, or artistically.

One of the worst emotional problems I had when I started using EFT over a year ago was that I felt unworthy of being loved. I felt inadequate, which created a huge abyss in the relationship I was trying to build with my new boyfriend. In fact, for a while it looked like we wouldn’t make it through the forest of my fears and inadequacy feelings. Many of the issues I initially tapped on concerned my buildup of low self esteem feelings. I explored the reasons for my fears, and tapped on each of them in turn.

In my case the problems originated with my relationship with my older sister, who I considered in all ways better than me. She was the oldest, the pretty blonde one, the talkative one, the mother-child who tried to take care of us all. She got perfect grades in school and had the perfect boyfriends and the car and the college education and good career. My life has been a perfect contrast to hers! I had a lot to tap about, but working through these feelings of inadequacy was crucial to recovering from the fears that made my relationship-building incredibly frightening.

My first EFT sessions may have started something like this: “Even though my sister did better than me in school, I deeply and completely accept myself.” Or: “Even though my sister talked freely and I couldn’t because I was shy, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

When doing EFT for issues like these, other issues come to mind. While I’m doing the tapping process, I often have some secondary issue bubble up from my sub-conscious, and I take mental note of it. When I’m done tapping, I take a deep, slow breath, and meditate for a moment to see how much the original issue still bothers me. If I’m over it, I can go on to the next issue that occurred to me. In this way I can tackle many aspects or facets of a problem in one session.

When doing EFT it is important to address each of these aspects separately, and to tap on any individual hurtful events of the past that come to mind. Years later, we may still be psychologically reeling from the impact of painful or shocking events. Some things sink in and never totally go away, leaving us feeling blocked energetically and in our outward lives. EFT is a method for removing those blocks, restoring our health, and giving us back the emotional freedom to live life fully without fears or pain.

So if you are feeling anxious or fearful about life and think you’re not doing as well as others, take a few moments to explore the roots of your feelings. Write a list if you need to. Then start tapping.

I worked through the painful old feelings and thankfully, my relationship with my boyfriend is still thriving. Just yesterday we had the best day ever; we drove to Mt. Shasta for shopping and dinner out. Two women spent time talking to my boyfriend and I didn’t get stressed at all – I enjoyed seeing him have someone new to talk to for a change. I didn’t waste any time thinking I wasn’t good enough because I wasn’t able to talk exactly the same way they did.

* Learn EFT at home! Get Gary Craig’s FREE e-book now!