Wednesday, April 3, 2013

EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique

By Wayne D. Richardson


(EFT) Emotional Freedom Technique is an alternative healing method invented by Gary Craig in the 1990s. Based on the teachings of his one time mentor Roger Callahan, it has been hailed as miraculous by many holistic healers and doctors, equally disparaged by critics who call it pseudo science, and in spite of, or perhaps because of the controversy is wildly popular. It is available for purchase on DVD on the internet, is taught in workshops in conjunction with the DVD and has been glowingly endorsed by celebrities such as Deepak Chopra. The basic theory of EFT is simple, heal the mind and good health will follow. EFT is The Power of Positive Thinking taken to a whole new post modernist level.

There are many books on the market for learning EFT, and also some free manuals you can download from the web (search for "EFT manual"). These can be valuable resources, and each has a different way to express the EFT process. Some are very detailed and show a large number of ways to use EFT and others teach just the basics. This is a very cost effective way to learn EFT, ranging from free to around 30. There are two big disadvantages though.

Firstly, if you haven't actually experienced or watched an EFT session, you won't know what to expect and this may affect your ability to make great progress in whatever you are treating. Secondly, if you find the process doesn't work for you, it is unlikely that it is because it won't work for you, but because you are not using it properly. There are some reasons that could completely block it from working, and with a tiny adjustment, everything can start to move forwards. The big problem here is that not experiencing EFT working for you could put you off it for life and prevent you being able to enjoy its immeasurable benefits. You can download a free manual from the web site shown at the bottom of this article.

There are many You Tube videos showing EFT in action, and you can tap along with many of them, experiencing your own personal shifts and transformations. The issue here is that although you will hopefully have an experience of EFT working for you, this is a disjointed approach as there is no formal training. This means that if you try to use it on yourself without having foundational knowledge, it may work, or it may not. If it doesn't work, you could become disheartened and put EFT aside. Again, this would be tragic as, if used properly, EFT could literally be life changing for you.

I also find that Anonymous Tapping is very beneficial just before going to bed. Again, it helps release all the tension built up over the day and improve the quality of your sleep.Remember, saying something specific to focus on an an issue will always be more effective. Only use anonymous tapping to settle yourself down in general.Most people in the West think of Emotional Freedom Technique as a disciplined practice of tapping acupuncture points and set-up phrases intermixed with western energy psychology and are not aware of its deeper Classical Chinese medical aspects which this article will hopefully elaborate.

Gary Craig himself has said placebo controlled studies of EFT are unreliable if not impossible because energy meridians are influenced and manipulated by tapping anywhere on the body. Thus EFT is really unable to be tested through scientific means and this has caused its opponents to label it as pseudo science. Its reliance on anecdotal evidence and aggressive promotion on the internet have also damaged its plausibility. It has been speculated in an article of the Guardian that perhaps the act of rhythmically tapping the body while in distress simply serves as a distraction from the ailment, making it seem as if EFT is effective.

Whether or not EFT can cure an individual of phobias or other non life threatening illness is open to speculation, and it seems to be relatively harmless in that regard. It is in its claims of being able to cure cancer and other potentially terminal illness that it runs into trouble. Its claims are specious at best and there is simply no medical evidence that EFT is effective. Any proof that has been presented is purely anecdotal.

Again, if you are not able to get it to work for you, you will come unstuck and your DVDs will get put back on the shelf. Lastly, if you wished to go on and take a more advanced level of EFT training, the pre-requisite of formal workshop training means DVD training will not be sufficient and you will need to attend an EFT course in person anyway.

Learn EFT from Courses and Workshops.Without a doubt there is no better way of learning EFT than by attending a course or workshop. The disadvantage is the cost, which tends to range from $150 (100) to $220 (140) for one-day workshops. However you get far more than just learning EFT. Most workshops have plenty of practice where you get to work deeply on your personal challenges or blocks, so attending a workshop is probably also the healing equivalent of a couple of therapy sessions with an EFT practitioner! A good facilitator will ensure you really get the EFT technique and will handle all your personal questions and confusions to make sure you leave the workshop with real experience and understanding under your belt.

If possible, attend a workshop that is accredited by the AAMET (Association for the Advancement of Meridian Energy Therapies) as this is the largest EFT organization in Europe and the U.S. If you wish to become an EFT practitioner, as we go in to the future, the AAMET is most likely to be the first organization to be approved by government health departments; as I write there is no other EFT organization that comes anywhere close in terms of its formalized structures designed to provide a clear curriculum and protocols for the safety of practitioners and clients.




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