It occurred to me today that 8 years as an EFT practitioner, personal coach and business owner have brought questions that surface over and over again. I plan to respond by answering the top 3 during the next few days for the benefit of those who may have forgotten the answers in the past as well as those who have not yet asked these questions.
Question #1: How do you know what to say while tapping?
New clients and people just learning Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) are often amazed at how good they feel after their first experience with tapping. Shortly after having that initial great experience, they also realize that they feel inadequate about trying EFT on their own. The tapping points are easy to remember, yet there is worry about saying the wrong thing. I never meant to intimidate anyone by letting the words flow while leading EFT sessions, although that is what often happens for beginners.
The best answer for all EFT beginners is to keep the words simple. Tapping without saying a single word will help you feel a little better and that’s a place to start if you are feeling really stressed about words. From there, you can choose a short reminder phrase, repeating it over and over again as you tap. The words need to keep you focused on the problem and can be as simple as stating the problem (i.e. “This left hip pain”) or raising a question to bring insight as you tap (i.e. “What do I need to know about this pain/problem?”). Eventually, trust the words that come from your mouth and say them as you tap. You can also tap while stating, “I’m stressed because I don’t know what to say.” I suspect that will help you relax into some more comfortable language.
Worrying about the words is NORMAL! I started there too.
I remember a particular time I was feeling rotten, yet didn’t even know why I was feeling bad, what emotion I was feeling or what to say while tapping. I decided to try tapping anyway and used the phrase “Show me what this means.” After one round of tapping with this phrase, I broke into tears and understood exactly why I felt so lousy. Another round of tapping on a new, more specific phrase inspired through that question gave me complete peace as well as understanding. I now realize that it wasn’t so bad to confront the ugly feeling either.
Persistence pays! Keep tapping and give it your best shot. I know of thousands of people who made a commitment to daily tapping and feel peaceful today. You can be one of them!
If you want to learn more about EFT, join me for group practice on Sept. 25, Oct. 30 and Nov. 20, 2013 where I will offer ideas, tips and language to help your EFT self-care work more effectively. I’ll also be sharing EFT tips at the Women’s retreat on Sept. 14 and a weekly study group that will begin in late September. Free consultation calls are also available if you would like to learn more about private coaching and EFT sessions. Fill out the form at http://www.theindigoconnection.com/contact.htm to request additional information.
