EFT and Spirit

Tapping into Spirit

JoAnn Skywatcher
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Spirit to me is All That Is.  It is everywhere, in everything and is the ultimate force that creates Universes.  And this power flows through me.  It is that simple — remembering Who I really am enables me to experience my life more positively.  And this is not the kind of thing that makes me better than anyone else.  Since Spirit is everywhere and in everything, everyone has access to Its power.  Whenever I remember that Spirit is flowing through me and that I am Spirit, I am able to do everything better.

I found this particularly true after I discovered Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).  I was first introduced to EFT, also known as “Tapping,” when I took some high school students to a “Yes” conference in northern California some 10 years ago. One of the speakers gave a talk on this new technique for healing called EFT.

Curious to the bone, I signed up for the experiential class on it because it appealed to my interest in kinesthetic energy work.  Initially, however, I was somewhat less than impressed with the program.  There were three things that had turned me off to it.  First of all, there was an initial exercise in which everyone was instructed to roll their eyes around.  I thought this looked pretty stupid, and I especially didn’t like doing it in front of people.  Secondly, I didn’t like that the “set-up phrase” was couched in negative wording.  For instance, an example might be, “Even though I got really angry at Linda, I love and accept myself.”  I didn’t want to use negative language.  The third turn-off for me was that the teacher was extremely emphatic about how EFT would help just about anything.  That was just way beyond what I could believe at the time.  I left that workshop, intrigued, but still with somewhat of a bad taste in my mouth.

Over the course of the next two years I would sometimes find myself doing random Internet searches.  In doing so, I came across an article by Gary Craig, who is perhaps the best known popularizer of EFT.  That link laid out a compelling case for what EFT could do.  So, in spite of the unpleasant taste from my first exposure to it, I decided to look more deeply into it.  Not one to do anything by half measures, I jumped in with both feel, learned everything I could and began applying it as soon as I felt comfortable doing so.

So, just what is “tapping?”  In the first place, it can be used as a self-help technique.  The practice requires you to gently TAP on 12 specifically chosen acupressure points (see chart below), while focusing on the exact issue that you want to address.  As you tap, you are directed to say, aloud, words and phrases that you might feel are related to the core emotional issues which seem to be blocking the manifestations of the circumstances that you want to create.  Those could be anything from improving your golf stroke, to decreasing the pain in your shoulder or clearing away the negative reactions due to PTSD.

As an Essence Channel, I tune into my own Essence (Spirit) while I am doing an EFT session with a client.  In doing so, I am putting out a vibration that receptive clients can feel, helping them come back into balance and to release any negative emotions that are keeping them from  more fully experiencing their own connections to Spirit.

When I do EFT with a client (usually by phone), I also tap on the same points on my face and body that I am instructing them to tap on their own.  Tapping on my own points helps me to access my own intuition which, in turn, helps me come up with appropriate questions to ask-as the client and I probe to the depths of their memories.

The client is instructed to pay attention to whatever “pops” into their mind.   It is coming up to be healed.  This might be a memory of a name that someone called them, or an event from their past that may or may not be related to the issue at hand.  The tapping can actually release the old, blocking program and allow us to come back to center–back into our Divinity.

EFT helps us clear our emotional body of negative feelings such as anger, anxiety and fear.  After we clear them from our energy field we open our self to more emotional space – and if you want a stronger connection to Spirit, EFT can help with that too.  However, in and of itself, EFT is not a Spiritual path.  It will help you open more emotional space in your life and bring you back into Spiritual Balance, which is your natural state.

Let’s say that you find yourself Spiritually derailed.  First, you need to recognize that this is so.  Next, you need to choose to do something about it – set your intention for it to be different.  Of course as an EFT practitioner, I understand it as a good choice for helping you clear what is in the way of you having what you want.   You need to get to the core emotions that are around your Spiritual derailment.  What is going on?  Why have you let your Spiritual practice get to this place?  Asking open ended questions can be most helpful.

Next, you would address the “Intensity” of the issue.  This self-evaluation measure is based on the work of John Wolpe who, in 1969, developed what he called the Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS).  It is an attempt to take a subjective measurement whereby, on a scale from I–10, an individual is asked to measure the intensity of distress currently experienced as it is associated with the issue being addressed.  The estimate of this measurement allows an individual to assess where they are on the SUDS level and to suggest how much tapping they might need to do until the effect diminishes to, or very near to Zero.

Following that,clients are asked to create a “setup phrase.”  The format for the setup phrase is “Even though (whatever the problem is and how you feel), I love and accept myself.”  An example for this specific setup phrase might be, “Even though I feel disappointed that I have put my Spiritual practice on a back burner, I love and accept myself.”  Say this phrase three times while tapping on the karate chop point on the side of the hand (see chart).  This point is the one which carries the most force to energetically dismantle the blockage, however deeply seated it may be.

Then tap on the other energy points, starting inside of the eyebrow.  You tap lightly about 7 times while saying your “reminder phrase.”  Personally, I like to use humor, but if you can’t think of something funny, then you can use a short phrase that sums it up.  An example could be “this Spiritual practice problem.”

You just keep repeating your phrase while tapping around 7 times on each point.  While you are doing this, remember to pay attention to any insights that come to you.  If you find repeating the reminder phrase boring, you can run a commentary while tapping on your points.  For example,

Eyebrow: I feel really disappointed in myself

Side of eye: this isn’t the first time I’ve gotten off my practice

Under eye: I did the same thing last time…

And so on…

After doing a round or two of tapping (a round is where you tap all of the points on your body), stop and check and see what the intensity around your issue is—for this situation.  The idea is to get it down to a 0 on the SUDS scale.

Personally, I don’t find it does very much good to tap in the positive energy until the “intensity” gets down to around 3 or less.  Once it does, tap on the energy points saying things like:

Eyebrow: I am so excited to get back into my Spiritual practice.

Side of eye: I feel better about myself when I take time to _____________.

Under eye: I choose to spend at least 30 minutes a day doing my practice.

Continue tapping in the positive on all of the energy points with your affirmations for one round or until it feels complete.  Give gratitude for the positive work that you’ve just done.  Come up with an action plan if that makes sense to you.  Drink water during the process and afterwards.  It really helps integrate the work that you’ve done.  During the rest of the day notice if if you have any insights.  Remember, they show up to help you out. Maybe it’s another situation or something from the past that can be released and then healed.

There is a Power that is always available. We just need to let go of spiritual amnesia and remember Who we really are.