Prior Programming

computer program codePrior programming is the collection of ideas, concepts, views, and beliefs that we use as our “operating system” in daily life. These programs come from our parents, religious institutions, schools, families, peer group, media, and society. Sometimes the programs are valid. Sometimes they are not. When the programs are not valid they definitely work against the positive changes we may be trying to make in our lives.

One aspect of prior programming may be the expectation that we should be content with what we have.  Do you remember an experience as a child when you wanted something but you were told it was wrong to want it? I do. I also remember being told to consider all of the poor unfortunate people who had even less than I had. There is a lot of programming that goes on to convince us to not want more or not want something different (except in TV commercials which do the opposite.)

Say this statement aloud, “I should be content with what I’ve got.”  Rate the truth of the statement on a 0-10 scale. Remember that 10 is very intense or very true for you.  Write down your rating.

illustration for karate chop pointRepeat the following statements while tapping on the karate chop point. “Even though I should be content with what I’ve got, I deeply and completely love and accept where I am right now.  Even though I’ve obviously been taught that I should just be content with what I’ve got, I deeply and completely accept myself and all of my feelings. Even though I know I should be content with what I’ve got, I deeply and completely love and accept myself and my desire for more.”

diagram of the tapping pointsEyebrow…I should be content with what I’ve got.

Side of Eye…I should be content with what I’ve got.

Under the Eye…I should be content with what I’ve got.

Under the Nose…I should be content with what I’ve got.

Chin…I should be content with what I’ve got.

Collarbone…I should be content with what I’ve got.

Under the Arm…I should be content with what I’ve got.

Top of Head…I should be content with what I’ve got.

Take a deep breath and check the intensity of your original statement, “I should be content with what I’ve got.” Write down your new rating.  If the rating is above a 3, continue tapping with the previous statement.  Once your rating is quite low, move on to the positive tapping rounds below.

Eyebrow…I appreciate what I have now

Side of Eye…It is ok to want more

Under the Eye…Wanting more doesn’t mean I am unhappy

Under the Nose…It just means that I see possibilities to make things better for myself

Chin…I feel gratitude for what I have right now

Collarbone…I will feel gratitude if I get the things I want too

Under the Arm…I choose to feel calm and relaxed about wanting other things

Top of Head…I choose to love and accept myself and all of my feelings

Take a dep breath and let it out.  Check the intensity of your original statement, “I should be content with what I’ve got.” Record your new rating. If it has gone back up, consider starting back and the beginning and repeating the sequence.  Or, if you noticed some resistance to the positive tapping statements, it might be useful to just tap while repeating the ones that were most difficult for you.

This is only one example of how tapping can be used to address prior programming that keeps us from moving forward in meaningful ways. Try using it for all of your “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” and you will begin to experience true emotional freedom.

Tapping Into Wealth

Book cover for Tapping Into Wealth: How Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Can Help You Clear The Path To Making More Money by Margaret LynchIt should come as no surprise to anyone that I enjoy reading books about tapping. Tapping has made such a profound change in my life. Quite by chance I ran into the book Tapping Into Wealth: How Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Can Help You Clear The Path to Making More Money by Margaret Lynch.  It probably also isn’t much of a surprise that I would be interested in making more money.  Who isn’t?

In the past I’ve listened to programs from the EFT World Summit on money and wealth, and I’ll admit that although I heard them, I apparently wasn’t really processing the information.  Even with this book, I picked it up at the library and had to renew it twice because I left it sitting on my shelf without actually reading it.

photo of US dollar billsThe timing must finally have been right because I started reading it.  Soon after I was listening to the CDs from the 2014 Tapping World Summit, having pulled one out at random, and it was Margaret Lynch talking about tapping to get rid of energetic blocks against money and wealth.  Wow!  The word that comes to mind is synchronicity.  Before reading the book I would have told you that I didn’t have any real blocks about money and wealth.  I would have been wrong, but that’s what I would have told you.

One of the things I really like about the book is how approachable she makes this complex topic. There aren’t fancy business or finance terms to deal with. There are practical questions that are, in my case, right on target and there are detailed tapping exercises to deal with the emotional responses dredged up via the questions.

briefcase full of moneyTwo of the chapter titles jumped right out of the Table of Contents.  The first was I Don’t Deserve More Money. I wanted to shout back YES I DO.  Then when I worked my way through the chapter I found out that I had a bunch of hangups about worthiness and deserving that could be interfering with my ability to experience wealth and abundance. The other notable chapter title was I Refuse to Be Rick.  Again, at first glance I was pretty sure that this one would not pertain to me. From comments I remember from my parents, religious teachings, and media references there were subconscious programs running in my head about wealth and wealthy people that were not particularly attractive or compelling.

Because of the overwhelming successes I have experienced and witnessed with tapping, I have complete confidence that if I do the work, the tapping will be successful.  Would you like to create more financial abundance in your life?  Get the book and start tapping.

Hoarding or Stocking Up Leads to Scarcity, Not Abundance

What is your mindset?  Are you focused on scarcity or are you focused on abundance?

 

illustration for karate chop pointBegin by tapping on the karate chop point.  Setup: I have a tendency to hoard things. Not like hoarding you see on television, but I sure have trouble throwing things away.  Probably more important than that, I have the mindset that I need to save things in case things go wrong in the future. That mindset goes against what I know about the law of attraction. I know this must be a real issue for me because I don’t even want to look at it. I’ll take that as a sign that I have work to do on this.  I choose to at least begin looking at this issue. I accept myself. I accept my feelings. And I accept my reluctance too.

Eyebrow…I have issues with abundance and scarcity.

Side of Eye…These issues may really be holding me back.

Under the Eye…If I am really using energy anticipating bad things happening

Nose…I am creating those bad things to some extent

Chin…Worrying about worst case scenario is my primary mode

Collarbone…I’ve always thought that by being ready for the worst

Under the Arm…I could handle anything

Top of Head…It is overwhelming to think about how that may be impacting me in the long run

Eyebrow…It certainly has gotten in the way of me enjoying the moment as much as perhaps I could

Side of Eye…I want to embrace this concept more fully

Under the Eye…I suspect it is going to take quite a while for me to really make those changes in my way of interacting with life

Nose…But even small changes can have a big impact

Chin…I’m still feeling some resistance here

Collarbone…I choose to be patient with myself

Under the Arm…I can sit here and tap on this issue until I feel more calm

Top of Head…I can tap on this issue any time I need to

Take a deep breath and let it out.  What did you notice?  When I did this tapping originally a lot of interesting messages came up including things I heard and experienced in childhood, news stories, and information from classes I’ve taken that have led to my previous views on this topic.  If things came up for you, please write them down so you can continue tapping to release any negative beliefs that might be holding you back.