March 2019 - Finding the Meaning in Everyday Life

Food Is My Only Pleasure

For some people food feels like their only pleasure. This is not currently true for me, but it has been true at other times in my life. Just the thought of giving up highly pleasurable foods can cause panic and despair. Try tapping along to release your desire for food pleasure.

Setup (Karate Chop Point) – Even though I am afraid to give up my food pleasure, I deeply and completely love and accept myself. Even though I am afraid to give up my food pleasure, I choose to feed my body with love and logic. Even though I am afraid to give up my food pleasure, I am open to feeling joy and pleasure in other ways.

diagram of the tapping points to use with Food Pleasure

Eyebrow…I am afraid to give up my food pleasure

Side of Eye…If I give up some of these foods, I may never feel any pleasure ever again

Under the Eye…I have so few pleasures now that I don’t want to give any of them up

Under the Nose…What would I ever have to look forward to if I didn’t have these foods?

Chin…I am so afraid to give up my food pleasure

Collarbone…Sometimes it feels like that is all I’ve got

Under the Arm…I don’t think I can give up my food pleasure

Top of Head…Without my food pleasure, there would be no end to my misery

Eyebrow…The pleasure of food keeps the sadness away

Side of Eye…The pleasure of food keeps the boredom away

Under the Eye…The pleasure of food keeps the loneliness away

Under the Nose…I wonder if there is a way to keep some of the pleasure of food

Chin…Without overeating and making myself fat?

Collarbone…That would be a great compromise

Under the Arm…I am open to the small possibility that I don’t have to eat so much in order to feel pleasure

Top of Head…I am open to the small possibility that I don’t have to eat foods that are bad for my body in order to feel pleasure.

Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.

Do you have questions about tapping about diet and exercise or just questions about tapping in general? Many of your questions may be answered in Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your Weight With Meridian Tapping. I’d also love to hear from you. If you are uncomfortable asking your questions in this public forum, you can email me at dontdietbook@gmail.com.

Happy Tapping.

book cover for Don't Diet Reprogramming Your Weight With Meridian Tapping

Lack of Respect

Raising kids is definitely stressful. Most parents I talk to consider their children to be a blessing, but consider their behaviors to be something quite different. While there are so many different thoughts and feelings that come up, Mark’s experience is a great example. Mark had two children that were somewhat headstrong. They were always questioning what he told them and testing the boundaries he set for them. It drove him crazy and he often interpreted their behaviors as a challenge against his authority or lack of respect. After tapping, he was able to reduce his automatic reactions and deal more effectively with their actual behaviors. As we use Mark’s tapping sequence be sure to use gender appropriate pronouns as needed.

Say this problem statement aloud, “My child does not repsect my authority.” Rate the intensity that you feel on the 0-10 scale and record your rating.

Setup (Karate Chop Point) – Even though my child does not respect my authority and that makes me feel very angry, I deeply and completely love and accept myself. Even though my child questions me, doesn’t follow my rules, and sometimes even ignores me, I deeply and completely love and accept myself. How dare my child challenge my authority? Even though she does, I deeply and completely love and accept myself anyway, including all of my feelings, conscious and unconscious.”

Eyebrow…My child does not respect my authority

Side of Eye…Who am I kidding? My child doesn’t respect ME!

Under the Eye…She doesn’t believe me when I teach her things

Under the Nose…She questions me when I explain things

Chin…She doesn’t follow my rules

Collarbone…I have to tell her more than once to do things

Under the Arm…These are all challenges to my authority

Top of Head…When she behaves this way it really upsets me

Eyebrow…Children are supposed to respect their parents

Side of Eye…And that means doing what they are told

Under the Eye…I am confused about why this bothers me so much

Under the Nose…My reaction seems out of proportion to the behavior

Chin…I wonder if there is more to this than what I really know?

Collarbone…I am open to understanding my own reactions to this

Under the Arm…I am open to understanding my own beliefs about parenting and respect

Top of Head…I am open to clarity about this subject

Eyebrow…Even though my child does not respect my authority

Side of Eye…I choose to remain a calm and loving parent

Under the Eye…Even though my child seems to bring out the worst in me

Under the Nose…I choose to do the best parenting that I know how to do

Chin…Even though it seems she does not respect me

Collarbone…I seek to understand her behavior

Under the Arm…Even though my child does not respect me in the way I would like

Top of Head…I am open to the possibility that this could change.

Take a deep breath and let it out gently. Check the intensity of your original problem statement, “My child does not respect my authority.” Did you notice any change?

Want more tapping? This tapping example and others like it can be found in Tap It Away: 10 Minutes to Freedom With EFT.

Cover Image of Tap It Away: 10 Minutes to Freedom With EFT by Dr. Leanna Manuel

Don’t Rush

I don’t like to rush. I know lots of people who seem to do everything fast. They wait until the last minute to get started with things then have to hurry to complete them on time (if they complete them on time). I prefer a slow and steady pace rather than a periodically rushed pace. It’s not that I can’t hurry if the situation calls for it. I just prefer to plan far enough ahead so I don’t have to. While I may be comfortable being slow and steady, that doesn’t stop other people from making fun of me.

If you have been following along with the animal theme, the tapping that follows is inspired by the snail.

Setup: (Karate Chop Point) – Even though I’m slow as a snail, I deeply and completely love and accept myself. Even though rushing or hurrying isn’t in my nature, I choose to love and accept my own speed. Even though I am uncomfortable zipping around like everyone around me, I love myself completely.

Eyebrow…I’m slow

Side of Eye…It takes a long time for me to get anywhere

Under the Eye…In reality, I’m ok with my speed

Under the Nose…It feels right to me

Chin…I like following my inner guidance

Collarbone…But when I watch everyone else

Under the Arm…I sometimes feel inadequate

Top of Head…I sometimes feel inferior

Eyebrow…I don’t like those feelings

Side of Eye…Going fast may be good for other people

Under the Eye…And it may not even be as good for all of them as they think

Under the Nose…I am different

Chin…I have may own pace

Collarbone…My pace is the best one for me

Under the Arm…When I feel rushed

Top of Head…I choose to remember the perfection of a snail’s pace for that snail.

Stay tuned. More animal inspired tapping is coming, and watch for my upcoming book, Unleash Your Primal Power: Totem Tapping for Health and Happiness.

Bedtime Snack

Do you have a habit of bedtime snacking? We all know it isn’t good for us for a whole lot of different reasons. Give the following tapping exercise a try.

Setup: Even though I feel like I need a snack before bed, I choose to consider the possibility that this is just a habit, not a need. Even though I feel like I need a snack before bed, I choose to address my feelings about bedtime without always turning to food. Even though I feel like I need a snack before bed, I choose to love, honor, and accept myself.

Eyebrow…I always want a bedtime snack

Side of Eye…As soon as I decide it is bedtime

Under the Eye…I automatically start thinking about food

Under the Nose…I’ve had a bedtime snack

Chin…Since I was a tiny child

Collarbone…It might have made sense for me then

Under the Arm…But I know it doesn’t really make sense for me now

Top of Head…Snacks before bed used to make me feel loved and cared for

Eyebrow…Now it is just something I do

Side of Eye…My body doesn’t need the food so that I can sleep

Under the Eye…In fact, sugary snacks probably interfere with my sleep

Under the Nose…Let’s face it

Chin…I love food, and food makes me feel loved

Collarbone…We all want to feel loved

Under the Arm…But I know that food doesn’t really do that for me

Top of Head…I am open to more clarity about this issue

If you are lucky, this might be enough to turn things around for you. More likely than not, you will need to do some additional tapping at bedtime about whatever feelings and thoughts you are noticing as you are ready to reach for that bedtime snack. Hopefully, the above tapping gives you a starting point.

This tapping is exercise 15 in Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your Weight With Meridian Tapping. Check it out and notice the bonus tapping exercise for body image that is included with it.

Protecting My Reputation

How do you react when someone attacks your reputation? Does it bother you? The skunk is an animal that survives in part because of its reputation. You will give it wide berth just because of that reputation and will go to great lengths to avoid ever knowing the spray of a skunk personally. Our own political system exploits the power of reputation, even over reality, by either hiring PR folks to artificially bolster a reputation or by focusing on any potential negatives in an opponent’s reputation instead of focusing on the issues. Somewhere between the skunk and politics we all have thoughts and feelings about our reputations.

Setup (Karate Chop Point) – Even though I’m concerned about my reputation and what others think of me, I choose to love, honor, and respect myself. Even though I’m concerned about my reputation and what others think of me, I choose to love, honor, and respect myself. Even though I’m concerned about my reputation and what others think of me, I choose to love, honor, and respect myself.

Eyebrow…Uncertainty about my reputation

Side of Eye…Not sure how other people see me

Under the Eye…And how their view may impact me

Under the Nose…It is upsetting to think

Chin…That someone may judge me

Collarbone…On what other people may say about me

Under the Arm…Instad of who I am

Top of Head…Or their own experience of me

Eyebrow…This uncertainty about my reputation

Side of Eye…I don’t have a lot of control

Under the Eye…Over what people think

Under the Nose…So I don’t have as much control of my reputation as I would like

Chin…I’m relieved when people say nice things

Collarbone…And concerned when people say not so nice things

Under the Arm…Which are true? Which will become my reputation?

Top of Head…Concern about my reputation

Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. What did you notice? Perhaps some memories of when someone said or did something to damage your reputation surfaced. Be sure to tap about those specific memories too.

Looking for more tapping inspired by animal characterstics? Stay tuned. Unleash Your Primal Power: Totem Tapping for Health and Happiness is coming very soon. In the meantime, you can get find animal tapping in Tap It Away: 10 Minutes to Freedom With EFT. Chapter 7: Animal Wisdom can get you started.

I Don’t Know How To Stop Eating

To say that I don’t know how to stop eating may sound really strange…to anybody that hasn’t experienced before. I can fast. I can restrict my eating to mealtime. But I can’t seem to stop once I’ve started. This is the hallmark of many different “addictive behaviors” which is why abstinence is such a useful strategy. But here’s the rub…you can’t just abstain from eating.

Setup: I don’t seem to know how to stop eating. I can have a healthy plan but once I start eating I usually eat too much. I don’t understand why I can’t just eat a small amount. Leaving food on my plate makes me feel anxious. Leaving food in the saucepan or skillet makes me feel anxious too. I’d like to be able to eat a reasonable portion and then just be done. In spite of all of these frustrations, I choose to love and accept myself anyway.

Eyebrow…I can’t stop eating once I start

Side of Eye…I tend to overeat at every meal

Under the Eye…I just can’t seem to get enough

Under the Nose…Enough what? I don’t know

Chin…I would be lying if I said I was hungry

Collarbone…I rarely eat to stop hunger

Under the Arm…I don’t usually get hungry

Top of Head…I eat too much food to really feel hungry

Eyebrow…So why can’t I stop eating?

Side of Eye…I plan my meals

Under the Eye…I plan nutritious food

Under the Nose…And then once I start eating I can’t seem to stop

Chin…Even though I can’t seem to stop eating once I start

Collarbone…I choose to eat according to my plan anyway

Under the Arm…Even though leaving food on my plate makes me feel anxious

Top of Head…I choose to leave food on my plate anyway

Eyebrow…Even though leaving food in the kitchen makes me feel anxious

Side of Eye…I choose to leave food in the kitchen anyway

Under the Eye…Even though I feel anxious when I don’t finish all of the food

Under the Nose…I choose to eat in a healthy way

Chin…All of this food anxiety

Collarbone…I am open to clarity about these confusing feelings

Under the Arm…Food anxiety

Top of Head…I am open to loving myself in spite of all of this confusion

This is a great tapping to do BEFORE you begin eating. It will help to take the edge off of the compulsion to overeat. There are obviously other strategies that can help as well such as having limited food available, putting away the anticipated leftovers before beginning the meal, etc. but if you don’t deal with the underlying problem, most people will just find another way to self-sabotage. Going through the tapping helps to rearrange the energy of your body and can help you get to the bottom of the issue.

This tapping, and more like it can be found in Don’t Diet: Reprogram Your Weight With Meridian Tapping.