Energy Psychology Archives - Finding the Meaning in Everyday Life

I Love Bears

Bears have always been special to me. I’ve been smitten by all kinds of bears. I love black bears, polar bears, Smokey Bear, Gentle Ben, Winnie the Pooh, and stuffed bears. Most recently I’m in love with a black bear, cinnamon in color, that we have named Cinnamon Buns. Cinnamon Buns likes to visit my yard and eat all of the apricots from my tree.

In Unleash Your Primal Power I write about my close awareness of bear energies and I do believe that the bear is one of my spirit or totem animals. Perhaps it is my association with “momma bear” energy or possibly the frequent desire I feel for hibernation. Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson lists multiple characteristics associated with bear energy. These include strength, confidence, leadership, solitude, fearlessness, healing, mothering, cunning, nurturing, and gentle strength. I would add hungry!!

The bear sightings at my house started last year. It was quite shocking and exciting to see a bear sitting in the tree, so close that I could touch him (I at least think it is a he). He came back multiple days in a row and cleaned out the apricots from all three trees. He climbed, he shook the tree, and bounced up and down on the branches, until they were all gone from the tree. Then he devoured them. This year I have only see him once so far, but the apricots weren’t quite ready. So it seems he ate all of my tomatoes instead.

Another bear with 2 cubs was in the driveway last week. They ran so fast and went up a tree so I couldn’t get a good photo. Yesterday I found out that the forest service was out and trapped a bear because it was “menacing” in the neighborhood. I don’t really believe that he was menacing. I sure hope it wasn’t Cinnamon Buns or that momma bear with cubs. My apricots are almost ready so I’ll be watching for Cinnamon Buns to come any day now.

In late spring I had the experience of a behind the scenes tour with the polar bears at our local zoo. It was amazing to be within inches of them. I was somewhat glad to have that strong fencing between us, but another part of me wanted to touch that big beautiful paw so badly. I also want to scratch those ears.

There are several tapping exercises involving bear energies in my book, Unleash Your Primal Power, and I included one for you now. If you are unfamiliar with tapping here is a tapping tutorial if you click HERE.

Hiding

Bear sightings in most areas are infrequent. There are always reports of bears scavenging in campgrounds, and I’ve occasionally seen them near dumpsters. But, unlike Yogi Bear and Boo Boo, they general stay out of sight unless they are hungry. I often prefer to stay out of sight too.

Say this statement aloud: “I want to hide.” How true does that feel to you on a 10-point scale (0=not at all up to 10=very much)?

Setup: (tapping on the karate chop point) – I have a habit of, or preference for, hiding instead of being out in the open. It feels so much safer to hide, but this hiding doesn’t always bring the result I want. I don’t risk rejection, but I also don’t have the impact on the world that I really desire. Even though I’ve been hiding to stay safe, I love and accept myself. Although I’d prefer to hide most of the time, I honor myself and my old habits. Even though I’ve always hidden myself behind the scenes, I am excited about the possibility of making a change, the possibility of making a difference.

Eyebrow – I like to hide
Side of Eye – I prefer to be behind the scenes
Under the Eye – I dislike being out in the open
Under the Nose – It is pretty scary
Chin – Too risky
Collarbone – My need to hide
Under the Arm – Sure, it can keep me safe
Top of the head – But it doesn’t really fit well with my goals
Eyebrow – I want to make a real difference in the world
Side of Eye – And to do that
Under the Eye – I might need to stop hiding so much
Under the Nose – I’d like to be more comfortable with that
Chin – I’m open to clarity about this issue
Collarbone – I choose to increase my visibility
Under the Arm – And still manage to feel comfortable
Top of Head – I want to believe in my ability to protect myself, hiding or not

Take a deep breath and let it out gently. Say the statement aloud again “I want to hide and re-rate the truthfulness or intensity you feel. Notice any change?

Recently I snagged these bear photos. Enjoy!

Do I Still Do Reiki?

People have asked, “Do you still do Reiki?” The answer is Yes, I do. However, much like tapping, I don’t use it as intentionally or as frequently as in the past. That realization makes me feel sad.

I find that the absence of a local Reiki Community is a factor. My Reiki Community in Ohio was robust. I loved being around other people, doing, sharing, and talking about the practice. I really miss that. I also miss those people that were in my life then.

I deliberately use Reiki in two ways now. When I am enjoying time in nature I often send energy out to the trees and animals. Combining Reiki with tapping is also something I do fairly frequently. I focus the Reiki energy in my fingertips while I am tapping on the meridians and it seems to enhance my experience.

Someday I would like to re-engage in a more intentional program of study, practice, and instruction. Teaching Reiki has always been greatly satisfying. Now does not feel like the right season for me, but I remain open for it when it appears

Do I Really Tap?

Do I tap? The quick answer is yes. I do tap, but not as much as I would like to. I think about tapping often, but for some reason I don’t always follow through. There are probably lots of reasons. Sometimes I’m in a situation where tapping just wouldn’t be comfortable. Sometimes I feel like I don’t have time. In reality that would almost never be true. The more accurate answer is that I would like to have more time to tap on an issue at length and don’t want interruptions. Other times I’m just too upset to remember that I even know tapping. Yes, that’s a real thing. I’m not the only one this happens to.

Honestly, I used to do it a lot more. Several years ago I had many more problems and challenges than I have now. The past several years have been really good for me. I’ve made many lifestyle changes that have brought me great contentment and satisfaction. This has resulted in having less urgency to do tapping in my day.

It is important to state that I definitely believe that tapping works. I believe my life would be even better if I was using it on a daily basis. I’m working toward that. It would be ideal to do before I even get out of bed, but that probably isn’t realistic for me. Because I’m a creature of habit, it is very hard to change the pattern of activity when I’m not yet fully functional and haven’t looked at my to-do list. I’m usually on autopilot until I get into the shower. Perhaps a few minutes of tapping in the shower might be helpful for getting my day started. Tapping right before bed to declutter my mind and body from all the of “junk” of the day is great.

I now do tapping mostly around issues of physical pain, uncertainty about a plan or choice, and occasional feelings of insecurity. There is benefit from tapping when I am teaching it to clients and get to “borrow benefits” from tapping along with their issues. I don’t consider that my tapping, but it still helps. Other challenges that are waiting for me in my “tapping journal” include issues of aging, difficulty managing clutter, and negative comparisons of myself with others. Difficulty balancing my many activities, or difficulty letting go of some of my many activities, is also a topic for future tapping.

If you are a tapper, I’d love to hear how you use tapping in your daily life.

Never done tapping and want to learn more? Click Here.

How Long Does Tapping Take?

How long does tapping take? That question has two different components. First, the question could be how long does tapping take to learn? The second question seems to be how long does it take to bring relief from a problem or challenge? The first question is the easiest so lets start there.

Learning the basics of how to tap takes less than 10 minutes. All you need to do is learn the tapping points (or if you are really in a hurry all you need is to look at a tapping point chart or tap along to a video).

Tapping is one of those skills that gets easier and more effective with practice though. What can sometimes take the longest about tapping is to learn how to get to the heart of the matter that is bothering you. Sometimes we are really resistant (on a subconsious level). That is why I usually recommend that you start, without any of the words that you see people using when they tap, and just experience the relief from the physical tapping first. Then, as you become more comfortable with that part, you can add words to help you “tune in” to whatever is going on.

The question about how long it takes to get relief is more difficult. How long seems to be a very specific to each individual and problem. That is not to say that problems causing severe distress take longer and minor distress resolves quickly. Some problems have been there longer, and in my practice seem to take longer to resolve. They often involve habitual ways of thinking and responding that have been reinforced by multiple life experiences.

For me that takes more tapping. That said, there can be significant relief within the first round or two of tapping, but there is more work to be done. I’ve managed the overwhelm and pain of physical therapy within a few minutes. Managing the frustration of needing physical therapy because of an injury has taken much longer. That is because of the negative self talk involved.

I have also found that the sooner you start tapping about something that is currently going on, the more quickly it will resolve. Stuck in traffic and frustrated? Tap while you are waiting and the emotional distress melts away. Wait 15 years to tap about something someone said to you in high school and it might take longer.

Happy Tapping.

Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.

Why Tapping?

This could easily be a very short article. Why Tapping? It works! That really sums it up.

In all fairness, lots of other traditional psychotherapy techniques work too. In my practice I found that tapping (also known as Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT) worked more quickly. It also worked with less pain and distress, and was useful for a wider array of problems. What could take years to improve with traditional therapy improved within weeks or even hours if the person was committed to tapping.

I wasn’t always an enthusiast. I was an active skeptic and resisted the belief that anything that worked that fast for that many different kinds of problems could be legitimate. The results were very hard to dispute. After first using EFT for myself, then with a few different clients that were willing to give it a go, it really became my go-to technique for almost everything and still is.

One of the things I find most interesting is that tapping works for “small issues” that most people don’t even think about addressing until much later. To say it another way, tapping can help someone stop a little problem before it gets to be a bigger problem. An example would be a playground dispute at a preschool. But it works in the other direction too. Tapping can be used to address really BIG problems.

Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.

Bees – A Tapping Meditation

What is the first thing you think of when you see a bee? Is it the potential for being stung? Or perhaps it is the important role they play in our ecology. There is much we can learn from the spirit, role, and behaviors of bees. Join me in a tapping meditation.

Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.

Fox – A Tapping Meditation

Adorable fluffy omnivorous orange fox with white spot on neck and brown eyes standing in wild nature on blurred background

The fox is known as the magician and the keeper of magic. It is also said that the fox possesses the gifts of shapeshifting and invisibility. They often live at the edges of forests and in the border areas. There are 21 different species but we almost never see them in the wild. Even though we don’t see them, they may have a lot to teach us.

We are not going to use a problem statement (MPI) or do the setup (karate chop), but instead are going to hop right into the tapping meditation. Take a few deep breaths and let them out slowly.

Eyebrow…Fox

Side of Eye…Concealment

Under the Eye…Fox

Under the Nose…Camouflage

Chin…Fox

Collarbone…Knowledge

Under the Arm…Fox

Top of Head…Silent

Eyebrow…Fox

Side of Eye…Keen senses

Under the Eye…Fox

Under the Nose…Recognizing opportunity

Chin…Fox

Collarbone…Trusting instincts

Under the Arm…Fox

Top of Head…Finding and accepting blessings

Eyebrow…Fox

Side of Eye…Sexuality

Under the Eye…Fox

Under the Nose…Cunning

Chin…Fox

Collarbone…Protector of family unity

Under the Arm…Fox

Top of Head…Adaptation

Eyebrow…Fox

Side of Eye…Swift thought and action

Under the Eye…Fox

Under the Nose…Decisive

Chin…Fox

Collarbone…What message do you have for me?

Under the Arm…Fox

Top of Head…Open to the wisdom of the fox

Eyebrow…I like the idea of being silent

Side of Eye…Becoming like the wind

Under the Eye…And being undetected in my observation of others and situations

Under the Nose…The downside is that I can feel I am not worth noticing

Chin…Sometimes I think I am too visible

Collarbone…Striving for recognition

Under the Arm…Experiencing jealousy or envy

Top of Head…Or putting myself in a position to be attacked

Eyebrow…The fox has the ability to shapeshift

Side of Eye…And choose when to be visible

Under the Eye…And when to be invisible

Under the Nose…It also can move silently

Chin…And not reveal its intentions to anyone

Collarbone…I need to learn more of this

Under the Arm…And I call upon the wisdom of the fox to teach me

Top of Head…I would like to be more mindful of how I interact in the world

Eyebrow…And learn to control my aura

Side of Eye…To be more harmonious with my environment

Under the Eye…And the people around me

Under the Nose…This totem teaches us

Chin…That we don’t have to reveal everything we know

Collarbone…This is another skill that I seem not to have developed

Under the Arm…I used to feel bad

Top of Head…When I wasn’t noticed

Eyebrow…But maybe that is just my inherent and unrecognized fox energy

Side of Eye…Working its magic

Under the Eye…Once recognized, I could learn to control it

Under the Nose…And enjoy being silent and invisible

Chin…When it suits me

Collarbone…And becoming visible when I think it is important

Under the Arm…Claiming the energy of the fox

Top of Head…Exercising my fox-ness.

Take a deep breath and let it out gently. If certain thoughts or feelings came up, be sure to write them down, or continue tapping with them now. As noted above, the fox tends to be invisible so I haven’t had very many personal experiences with them. I find them intriguing and am excited to seek out more opportunities to learn from them.

A couple of situations and tendencies did pop into my awareness and will need further tapping. I became aware of my tendency to call people out on things, just to let them known that I know what they are up to. This has not always worked to my advantage. To divulge the knowledge just so they don’t think I’m naive or gullible is not very fox-like. I also became aware of how my previous tendency to stay in the background is at odds with my desire to be known as an author. Obviously, to sell books and make a living I will need to be more in the spotlight. Some tapping about how that could be congruent with fox energy will be quite interesting I think.

You can find a video of tapping with this animal here.

Is there another animal that you would like to see a tapping about? Let me know. Perhaps you would like to tap with the lessons from the hawk. You can find more tapping about animal characterstics in Unleash Your Primal Power: Totem Tapping for Health and Happiness.

Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.

Until next time, Happy Tapping.

Life is Hard

There seems to be a prevalent belief that life is hard and that we should just accept it. I’m not sure where that belief actually comes from, but that prior programming is likely to get in the way of having the life I desire. As with all prior programming, tapping can eliminate or decrease its impact on my life.

Say this problem statement, “Life is hard.” Rate the intensity you feel on the 0-10 scale.

Setup (karate-chop point) – Even though life is hard, I deeply and completely love and accept myself. Even though life is hard, and anything that seems easy is therefore suspicious to me, I deeply and completely love and accept myself, including my old ways of doing things – those old, really hard ways. Even though life is hard, I am open to the small possibility that not all things have to be hard.

Eyebrow…Life is hard

Side of Eye…It is supposed to be hard

Under the Eye…If it isn’t hard, I’m probably not working at it enough

Under the Nose…If it doesn’t feel hard, I’m probably slacking

Chin…Everyone knows that hard is better than easy

Collarbone…That good old Puritan work ethic. Its got to be hard

Under the Arm…Life is hard

Side of Eye…The harder the better

Under the Eye…Maybe I can make it even harder so that I can feel good about how hard it is

Under the Nose… Maybe I could make it so hard that no one could succeed

Chin…Now I’m just being silly

Collarbone…At least part of me knows that it doesn’t really have to be hard to be good

Under the Arm…I’m trying to remain open to clarity about this

Top of Head…I’m trying to remain open to the possibility that easy can be good too.

Take a deep breath and let it out. Check the intensity of your original problem statement, “Life is hard.” Write down your new rating then continue tapping with these, or similar reminder phrases until your intensity around the problem statement is significantly reduced.

Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.

Cover Image of Tap It Away: 10 Minutes to Freedom With EFT by Dr. Leanna Manuel — More tapping can be found in this book.

Rabbit – A Tapping Meditation

When I put out a survey a while back I asked whether you wanted a tapping exercise about the cardinal or about the rabbit. The survey was a tie, and I already gave you the one about the cardinal. Today we will consider the rabbit.

I’d love to do some tapping videos about animals you are interested in. Let me know what you would like to see next.

Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.

Happy Tapping

Tappable Offenses

What are tappable offenses? While calling it that may not sound particularly kind or loving, I want to catch myself in tappable offenses, defined as those things I say to myself that limit who I am or what I can be. A tappable offense almost always begins with the words “I am” or “I am not.” These words have amazing power and work at the subconscious level, which is estimated to be somewhere between 80-95% of all of the processing that goes on in our brains.

The term tappable offense doesn’t feel negative to me. It acknowledges that I have said something to or about myself that is “offensive” and that it is tappable. That means that I can do something about it. It is also very positive when I can actually catch them rather than let those negative limiting beliefs run unchecked through my subconsious for very long.

Once I noticed how often I do this, I decided to make a list (in my tapping journal) and wanted to share a few of them with you to inspire you on your own transformational journey.

I am too old
I am not a technie
I am stupid
I am an introvert so I can’t do that
I am not wealthy
I am tired
I am not pretty
I am not fast (related to swimming)
I am too fat
I am lazy
I am too short
I am stuck in my job
I am never going to achieve my goals
I am too anxious to put myself out there
I am unlovable

That list was generated with negative self-statements I made within just 2 short days about myself. I am often able to devise a counterargument for some of them pretty quickly. However, the fact that the statements showed up means that on some level they are true for me at least some of the time.

In their present form, they represent wonderful problem statements, aka most pressing issue (MPI) to start of some rounds of tapping. Make a list of your own, and write it down WITHOUT JUDGING. Then make 3 columns. In one column write down all of the proof that your problem statement is true. Include past experiences that you believe support this position. Then in the second column write down all of the evidence, including experiences, in which this problem was not true. If you are like most people the second list will be shorter than the first.

In the third column, write down all of the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that you would like to have that could prove that the MPI is untrue in the future. Describe your hopes and desires for how you might handle any of the past situations if they would happen again in the future (words like grace and dignity popped into my mind). Then, start tapping.

You can make your setup statement by tapping on the karate chop point and stating your problem statement, followed by the words “I deeply and completely love and accept myself” or “I am open to new thoughts, feelings, and experiences.” After you have done that 3 times while tapping on the karate chop point you can begin the tapping rounds.

You can use the things in the first column of your list as you tap through the points as many times as it takes for the problem statement to start feeling less true. Then alternate the first and second column “proof” as you continue to tap through the points. Once you are pretty sure that you have erased this issue from your negative and limiting beliefs library, tap through the points again using the things that you wrote in column three.

I plan to put together some videos that address some of the issues I included earlier on my list soon. If you have specific issues you would like to have a tapping script for, just ask. Stay tuned.

Happy Tapping

Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.