Meridian Tapping 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.

Worried About the Economy

No matter which news channel you watch you will find dire predictions from time to time about the economy. Unless you have advanced knowledge in that field it is so hard to know who to believe. This can create significant anxiety about money, finance, and the future. We can use tapping to decrease that anxiety.

Money and the economy can be sources of stress, even for individuals with good jobs, steady incomes, and money in the bank. It seems that money issues are quite common and sometimes very debilitating. In addition to spending a great deal of our time each week in the active pursuite of money, we have many beliefs about money that can disrupt our energy system at times.

Take a minute and write down a few of the thoughts and feelings you have about money, the current economy, or predictions about the future. Set aside some time later to tap on the things that you wrote down. For now, tap along with the following script to get started.

Say this statement aloud, “I’m worried about the economy.” Rate the intensity or truth of that statement on a 0-10 scale, with 10 being very worried and 0 being not worried at all. Write down the rating.

Tap on the karate chop point and repeat these phrases,”Even though I am worried about the economy, I deeply and completely love and accept myself. Even though I am worried about the economy, I deeply and completely love and accept myself and all of my worries. Even though I am worried about the economy and it makes me feel uncertain about my future, I deeply and completely love and accept myself anyway.”

Eyebrow…I am worried about the economy.

Side of Eye…The news is always bad

Under the Eye…No one seems to have enough money

Under the Nose…I am afraid for the future since the economy is so bad

Chin…I am worried about the economy

Collarbone…Feeling very insecure about money

Under the Arm…With the economy being as bad as it is

Top of Head…It makes sense to worry about money

Eyebrow…Even though I am worried about the economy

Side of Eye…I choose to look for options

Under the Eye…It seems like no one has enough money

Under the Nose…But there are people who seem to be doing fine

Chin…Instead of looking at the problems

Collarbone…I choose to look for the solutions

Under the Arm…When I feel insecure about money

Top of Head…I choose to feel calm and confident anyway

Take a deep breath and let it out. Check the intensity of your original statement by saying it aloud, “I’m worried about the economy.” Record your rating. Continue to tap using these, or more personal statements until the intensity is much lower.

Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.

Happy Tapping.

Ready, Set, Wait a Bit Longer for Unleash Your Primal Power

It has been an exciting week. On Friday I saw the cover design and interior layout for Unleash Your Primal Power: Totem Tapping for Health and Happiness. While a few tweaks will be necessary, the finish line for getting this book “on the shelves” is starting to come into view.

Just the title is enough to make you feel that something is happening. After all, the word UNLEASH gives you the sense that something powerful is about to be set free. Indeed I hope that is true for you. I believe that most, if not all people, have an inner wisdom or spirit, that if we just allowed it to flow freely or be “unleashed,” would guide and improve our lives.

Unleash Your Primal Power combines the technique – tapping, with animal characteristics to form an easily learned technology for lasting personal change. The book will guide you through multiple examples, using different animal characteristics, to help you get started.

Try this exercise:

What is the first animal you would like to visit at the zoo if you could just walk straight to it?
Name at least 3 characteristics of that animal that you admire or enjoy.
How similar are you to that animal?
In your daily life do you exhibit those 3 characteristics above? Do you behave somewhat different, or opposite of those 3 characteristics?
How would it help you to be more like the animal?
What situations do you see yourself in that, if you behaved or thought more like that animal, you would benefit?
Have there been specific times when you behaved the opposite?
Was there a specific time when you “learned” that having those characterstics was unsafe?
Is it still unsafe?
Imagine yourself exhibiting the characteristics of the animal. How does it feel?

I hope you wrote down your answers. Now, start tapping using the questions and answers above. Change tapping spots as you are guided by your intuition. When you are done, be sure to write down any thoughts or feelings that you had.

Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.

Tapping In My Own Life

I was recently asked how I use tapping in my own life. I was hesitant to answer this one because it is a bit embarrassing (tap, tap, tap). My confession is that sometimes I don’t. I was concerned that my readers would think I was a fraud. I have heard others talk about this too. It seems incongruent that I would believe in tapping, teach it to others, and then not always use it.

I forget. I know that sounds lame, but even after all of these years I forget about tapping. Jessica Ortner, from the Tapping Solution, has talked about how she doesn’t always remember to use tapping, because emotionally or energetically she isn’t at her current, adult, tapping-expert stage. She is in that upset inner child frame of mind and her inner child doesn’t know tapping. I was so relieved to hear her say that. I get there too.

I use tapping frequently to manage the minor inconveniences and hassles of daily living. Stuck in traffic – I tap. Feel foolish because I dropped or spilled something – I usually tap. Over-the-top angry with someone close to me – I sometimes tap. Upset about a repetitive pattern that extends back to childhood and makes me feel inadequate – I almost never remember to tap right away.

I manage this by having other people in my life that remind me to tap when I am getting that overwhelmed and haven’t started tapping on my own. They bring me back into my adult self so that I can use the tools I’ve honed over the years.

Happy Tapping.

Need to learn more about tapping? 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.

Back to the Beginning – How I Got Started with Tapping

One of the questions I get asked is how I got started with tapping. After all, I am a traditionally trained psychologist. While that is true, I’m actually not all that traditional. When I had my private practice I used a lot of traditional methods, but I also used some non-traditional interventions such as martial arts to help clients overcome difficulties. I became a Reiki Master and studied Tai Chi and those also were part of my practice. It wasn’t that much of a stretch to get to tapping.

My tapping journey actually started with a whisp of serendipity. I wanted to get out of town for a conference, there was one in Florida about applied kinesiology (something I had been reading about), so I decided to go. The conference was good, but while I was there I was exposed to tapping, during a break in the action at the conference.

I was intrigued. When a tapping conference was announced in Flagstaff in the coming year I felt compelled to be there. In the meantime I purchased some training CDs from Gary Craig, the founder of the Emotional Freedom Technique, and started to get myself up to speed. Once in Flagstaff everything just seemed to fall into place. I got to see the masters in action.

I used tapping for myself and started teaching it to others in my practice as soon as I got home. Not everyone welcomed the technique. There are a lot of expectations that psychological treatment has to be hard work, so since tapping is so easy, there was a lot of skepticism. Once people tried it, nearly everyone saw results.

I continue to train and study and refine my technique so that change can occur even more quickly and completely. It is definitely my go-to technique for myself and others.

Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.

Ready…Set…Tap

Are you struggling with your weight? I am, and I’m finding it a little hard to accept since I literally wrote a book on losing weight. I was successful for quite a few years but recently have gained some weight. I’m inviting you to join me as I re-start my weight loss/health improvement journey.

This video is the first in what I hope will be a series of very real, very personal, and very successful tapping experiences to get me back on track. As with all good journeys we need a starting point so listen in on my back story and future plan.

Stay tuned. The next video will be on resistence to doing portion control.

Until next time….Happy Tapping

Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.