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 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? 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Just for today, I can ignore my health. That is a great example of unhealthy thinking. But it is also an example of something most of us really think. If you think it is harmful to your body why do you want to eat it on your birthday, or any other time? I don’t have an answer for you, but I do have a short tapping to get you started.
Setup (Karate Chop Point) – Even though I feel entitled to overeat on my birthday, I choose to keep my goals in mind. I feel that I really deserve to blow my diet since it is a special occasion but I choose to consider finding ways to celebrate without hurting my body or my health. Even though there is a possibility that I will “blow it”, I deeply and completely accept myself including the parts of me that want this indulgence.
Eyebrow…It’s my birthday
Side of Eye…I deserve to eat whatever I want
Under the Eye…It doesn’t seem fair to have to say no to food on my birthday
Under the Nose…I want steak or lobster
Chin…I want cake and ice cream
Collarbone…I want pancakes and bacon for breakfast
Under the Arm…How can my day be special without those things?
Top of Head…Of course I could eat all of that but just eat smaller portions
Eyebrow..But I’m not sure that would satisfy me either
Side of Eye…Shouldn’t I be able to have whatever I want on my birthday?
Under the Eye…The answer is yes. But, maybe I should look closer at what I really want.
Under the Nose…Will those foods make me feel good about myself?
Chin…No they won’t
Collarbone…Will overeating make me feel loved?
Under the Arm…No it won’t
Top of Head…I want to choose to find ways to love myself on my birthday without hurting my health
Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Now is the time to keep tapping with the answers to some of those questions. What do you really want? How can you show yourself love without hurting your health?
BONUS TAPPING: Name 3 comfort foods. While tapping through the points, describe them in as much detail as you possibly can. Continue tapping while you describe your first memory of these foods. Spend some time thinking about what these foods mean to you, when you crave them the most, and how you feel when you eat them.
