Setting limits on myself can be difficult. I often wonder, “how much do I need?” This video is about looking deeper into the reasons why I might be resistant to setting those limits.
If you didn’t see the background story click here.
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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.
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.
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.
If you have been tapping for any time at all, you have become convinced of the value tapping brings to the table when talking about anxiety, depression, anger, and frustration. What you may not have experienced is the relief you can get with physical symptoms. In the past I’ve used tapping to manage the fear, pain, and helplessness associated with physical therapy.
As you will see in the video, tapping may not directly change the physical problem, but you can still get relief. In my case, tapping was useful in quieting the negative self-talk related to my injury. In addition, my my was reduced because my muscle tension was reduced. I strongly suspect that the tapping will enhance physiological healing as well.
Need to learn more about tapping? Click here.
Happy Tapping!
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.
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Someone told me recently that they have a hard time reading the tapping exercises and doing the tapping at the same time. I listened. Here is a tapping video of the fox tapping meditation I posted recently so that you can perhaps follow along more easily.
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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.
I do believe that it is important to choose your thoughts wisely. And yes, you can choose. Today while swimming I had the opportunity to practice choosing my thoughts. I wish I could have tapped at the time, but swimming and tapping at the same time exceeds my coordination skills. I went to the gym today, expecting it to be empty since it was July 4th. It was quite surprising to see that it was packed, but then relieved that the pool wasn’t.
I swam in one lane for a while. When the person in the lane next to me left, I moved over to the middle lane (my favorite). I was on lap 22 when I saw another woman swimming in MY LANE. I’m used to sharing, but I don’t really enjoy it. Usually swimmers at least let you know that they are joining your lane. It seems like a safety and courtesy thing to me. I didn’t know she was there until we almost crashed.
That started a cascade of negative thinking. Why did she have to pick my lane when there was room to join a different lane? She is rude. It got really personal like she did it just to make me miserable. Then, I remembered something my friend Zach said to me once. He told me that not everything was about me. Remembering that comment caused me to re-evaluate how I was thinking about this situation.
I started with a statement of gratitude (in my head because I still had my face in the water swimming) that I had been given the opportunity to swim 22 laps without needing to share my lane. Then I chose another statement of gratitude that I am able to swim 22 laps and general gratitude for my health. Another gratitude statement about being able to afford to go to a gym that has a pool where I can swim popped in too.
As soon as I started feeling good about myself that I was able to turn my thoughts around, those other negative thoughts popped back in. This pattern continued for all 33 laps. When I was purposely engaged in the positive thoughts I enjoyed my swim but when I allowed the negative thoughts to linger I did not. While I wish that the negative thoughts didn’t even occur, I am pretty excited to have had the experience of feeling good when I choose my thoughts wisely. Just imagine how effective it would have been if I was also tapping while choosing my thoughts. Mind Blowing!
What thoughts will you choose today?
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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.
