Emotional Freedom Technique

I have several friends who are EFT practitioners and I have been using it myself quite a bit lately. It is a bit weird and hard to get your head around, but if you can suspend your disbelief and give it a go you might be surprised.

In very simple terms it is a sort of emotional version of acupuncture, you tap certain acupuncture points as you say phrases and the idea is to make you feel more positive about what is going on and to help release negative emotions or limiting beliefs.

Those have you that have seen the film 'The Secret' might be interested to know that several people featured including Bob Doyle, Joe Vitale, Bob Proctor and Jack Canfield are all big fans of EFT.

When I first looked into it I must confess I was put off by the evangelical enthusiasm of the orange, over tanned Americans in the videos. It just seemed too goo to be true and just too easy. I was never quite sure what phrases to use and so tried EFT a few times and then stopped. Now there is a huge amount of good quality information and videos on youtube so it's much easier to find out more.

One of the things I really like about the EFT community is that the founder Gary Craig encourages free distribution of the information so more people can find out about how it works. You can pay to see an EFT practitioner to work on specific issues and there are courses available if you want to learn more but there is a lot of great free stuff out there.

http://www.emofree.com/ The Official EFT website from the founder of the technique Gary Craig.

Brad Yates has a very extensive website and many short youtube EFT videos and audio files to tap along to which cover a variety of themes.

Tapping.com An excellent site from Magnus with some longer EFT videos of around 20 minutes on a variety of themes including an introduction to EFT, self acceptance, procrastination, stress relief and dealing with anger.  Also some EFT articles and 'cheat sheet' of tapping points when you sign up for his free newsletter.

While EFT has produced remarkable results, it must still be considered to be in the experimental stage and thus practitioners and the public must take complete responsibility for their use of it and their own physical and emotional well-being. EFT should not be seen as a substitute for regular care from your GP or other health provider.

There are a growing number of EFT practitioners in the UK. Locally I can highly recommend Penny Lowe who works in Settle and Ilkley, Elham Kashefi in Bentham and Lancaster and Heather Smiles in Barnoldswick who also works does EFT with people and animals, especially horses.

If you want to give it a try and start your day with a bit of tapping, I highly recommend this video from Brad Yates, Tap O The Mornin! Guaranteed to make you smile :)

Homeopaths are lovely!

It's official - Norwegian research shows homeopaths are nice people!

I was amused, but not entirely surprised, to come across this research paper from Norway. The researchers did some psychometric tests on a group of homeopaths and found they differed considerably from the average Norwegian. 

'People who work as homeopaths can be described as open to new and different ideas, and as caring, understanding, and altruistic persons. Therefore, there is reason to believe that these dispositions are central in choosing homeopathy as an occupation.'  

I wonder how our critics would fare if a similar study turned their attention to the skeptic community?! See my previous blog about the intolerance and bigotry of some of our critics. 

This idea of openness reminded me of something else I'd read recently.  

I’ve started going to a Mindfulness Meditation Group in Bentham which has been very enjoyable and thought provoking. They follow the teachings of Thich Nhat Hahn and we often read passages from his books. One recent passage from The Heart Of Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy and Liberation really struck a chord with me. (For those of you not familar with the language, in this context Dharma = teacher and sutra = teachings)

When we hear a Dharma talk or study a sutra, our only job is to remain open. Usually when we hear or read something new, we just compare it with our own ideas. If it is the same, we accept it and say it is correct. If it is not, we say it is incorrect. In either case, we learn nothing. If we read or listen with an open mind and an open heart, the rain of the Dharma will penetrate the soil of our consciousness.

The gentle spring rain permeates the soil of my soul,

A seed that has lain deeply in the earth for many years just smiles.

While reading or listening, don’t work too hard. Be like the earth. When the rain comes, the earth only has to open herself up to the rain. Allow the rain of Dharma to come in and penetrate the seeds that are buried deep in your consciousness. A teacher cannot give you the truth. The truth is already in you. You need only to open yourself – body, mind and heart – so that his or her teachings will penetrate your own seeds of understanding and enlightenment. If you let the words enter you, the soil and seeds will do the rest of the work.

Jo Rhodes is a participant in the Amazon Europe S.à r.l. Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.