Using EFT Tapping for Yourself

 

1.  Identify the Issue:

All you do here is make a mental note of what ails you. This becomes the target at which you “aim” the EFT Tapping Basic Recipe. Examples might be Sore shoulder, my father embarrassing me at my age 8 birthday party or hitting that high singing note.  Be sure you are only targeting one issue at a time. As you will learn later, trying to combine issues in the process will compromise your results.

2.  Test the Initial Intensity:

Here you establish a before the level of the issue’s intensity by assigning a number to it on a 0-10 scale where 10 is the worst the issue has ever been and 0 is no problem whatsoever. This serves as a benchmark so we can compare our progress after each round of The EFT Tapping Basic Recipe. If, for example, we start at an 8 and eventually reach a 4, then we know we have achieved a 50% improvement. The number of possible issues we can address with The EFT Tapping Basic Recipe is endless and they don’t all fit into neat testing boxes. That is why we have an entire segment later on dedicated to Testing Your EFT Tapping Work. For this stage of your learning, however, here are some useful methods to help you access your issue(s) and arrive at your 0-10 numbers. They apply to most issues.

• For emotional issues, you can recreate the memories in your mind and assess their discomforts.
• For physical ailments, you can simply assess the existing pain or discomfort.
• For performance issues, you can attempt the desired performance level and measure how close you come to it.

3.  The Setup:

The Setup is a process we use to start each round of Tapping. By designing a simple phrase and saying it while continuously Tapping the KC point, you let your system know what you’re trying to address.

When designing this phase there are two goals to achieve:

1)  acknowledge the problem
2)  accept yourself in spite of it

We do this by saying:

“Even though I have this _______________, I deeply and completely accept myself”.

The blank above represents the problem you want to address, so you can just insert things like:

This sore shoulder:
“Even though I have this sore shoulder, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

This fear of spiders:
“Even though I have this fear of spiders, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

This humiliation at my eighth-grade graduation:
“Even though I have this humiliation at my eighth-grade graduation, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

This difficulty making free throws:
“Even though I have this difficulty making free throws, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

Not all of the issues will fit neatly into “Even though I have this ____________,” so you can use some flexibility when designing your Setup phrase. For example, instead of “this sore shoulder” you could say “Even though my shoulder hurts, I deeply and completely accept myself”. Or instead of “this humiliation at my eighth-grade graduation” you could say “Even though my dad humiliated me at my eighth-grade graduation.”

By using “Even though I have this _______________,” you will automatically choose something that represents your experience, your reaction, or a problem that you recognize as something that belongs to you, and that is an important feature.

We do not want to use EFT on someone else’s problem. For example, rather than, “Even though my son is addicted to drugs, I deeply and completely accept myself,” it’s better to focus on your own reaction which might be, “Even though I’m frustrated by my son’s drug addiction.” Or instead of “Even though my husband works too much…,” better to try something like, “Even though I feel alone when my husband stays late at the office…” We want to aim EFT at our part of the problem rather than trying to fix someone else’s problem.

By identifying the problem with this phrase, you “set up” the initial behind-the-scenes so the Tapping has something to resolve.

4. The Sequence:

This is the workhorse part of The EFT Tapping Basic Recipe that stimulates/balances the body’s energy pathways. To perform it, you tap each of the points shown in the Sequence Points diagram (see above) while saying a Reminder Phrase that keeps your system tuned into the issue. I list the points below followed by a description of the Reminder Phrase:

Top of the Head (TOH)
Beginning of the Eyebrow (EB)
Side of the Eye (SE)
Under the Eye (UE)
Under the Nose (UN)
Chin Point (CH)
Beginning of the Collarbone (CB)
Under the Arm (UA)

The Reminder Phrase is quite simple as you need only identify the issue with some brief wording. Depending on your issue, you might say the following at each tapping point….

“This sore shoulder”,
“My father embarrassed me”,
“This difficulty in singing that high note.”

 

5. Test the Intensity Again:

Finally, you establish an “after” level of the issue’s intensity by assigning a number to it on a 0-10 scale. You compare this with the before level to see how much progress you have made. If you are not down to zero then repeat the process until you either achieve zero or plateau at some level. You can also include some additional Tapping points that will be introduced in the next section of this article. Otherwise, you will likely need to “get to the roots of the issue”.