(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.
For beginners of EFT, sometime finding the right words is a stumbling block to getting started. However, sometimes you can't put words around the feeling. For example, you come home from a long day at work and just feel tired and run down. In this case, do a couple of rounds of tapping (3-5 rounds, or more) tapping 5-7 times on each tapping point without saying any words and just allow your system to unload whatever disruptions are there. I call this Anonymous Tapping.
This would seem to indicate that the EFT theory of the body's energy meridian system is false. However, a second study involving the use of a psychological test called the SA-45 indicated otherwise. Participants in an EFT workshop were given the test before and immediately after the workshop, and one and six months later. All participants showed significant decreases of pre and post workshop stress.
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.
There are disadvantages of using DVD-based training: Firstly you are not able to ask your own questions. Learning is a personal experience and DVDs are not able to give the individual attention that can help you really get the technique. In addition, if you get stuck when you are first starting, as with the other learning methods above, it can be very difficult to know what to do, without any direct, immediate help.
As an EFT Practitioner, I have made important additions and modifications to Gary Craig's EFT procedure to avoid side effects called 'Qi deviation' and also increase its effectiveness a hundred-fold with a variant of EFT called "EFT Qi-healers Method." The Jing-Well acu-points of the liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach, gall bladder and bladder in the feet are added to balance the Yin (lower) and Yang (upper) meridians, and Pan Gu Shen Gong, Sheng Zhen Qigong, Wuji Qigong, Maitreya (Shiva) Shen Gong, Tibetan Shamanic Qigong with tonic herbs are also integrated with EFT to remove the energy toxins and restore the Three Treasures - Jing (essence), Qi (vitality) and Shen (Spirit) - leaked by the negative emotions held in the five organs.
Tapping of the acupuncture points with intention, and loving and accepting oneself work in EFT therapy because according to the three theories of Classical Chinese Medicine, "Qi follows intention," "the heart is the supreme master of the organs and is the home of shen, the spirit. If the master is brilliant, his subjects are peaceful. If the master is disturbed, his twelve officials [the body's organ systems] are endangered," and "when the Qi obstruction or stagnation in the energy meridians is normalized through acupuncture," balancing of yin and yang, and emotional and physical healing naturally take place.
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.
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.
For beginners of EFT, sometime finding the right words is a stumbling block to getting started. However, sometimes you can't put words around the feeling. For example, you come home from a long day at work and just feel tired and run down. In this case, do a couple of rounds of tapping (3-5 rounds, or more) tapping 5-7 times on each tapping point without saying any words and just allow your system to unload whatever disruptions are there. I call this Anonymous Tapping.
This would seem to indicate that the EFT theory of the body's energy meridian system is false. However, a second study involving the use of a psychological test called the SA-45 indicated otherwise. Participants in an EFT workshop were given the test before and immediately after the workshop, and one and six months later. All participants showed significant decreases of pre and post workshop stress.
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.
There are disadvantages of using DVD-based training: Firstly you are not able to ask your own questions. Learning is a personal experience and DVDs are not able to give the individual attention that can help you really get the technique. In addition, if you get stuck when you are first starting, as with the other learning methods above, it can be very difficult to know what to do, without any direct, immediate help.
As an EFT Practitioner, I have made important additions and modifications to Gary Craig's EFT procedure to avoid side effects called 'Qi deviation' and also increase its effectiveness a hundred-fold with a variant of EFT called "EFT Qi-healers Method." The Jing-Well acu-points of the liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach, gall bladder and bladder in the feet are added to balance the Yin (lower) and Yang (upper) meridians, and Pan Gu Shen Gong, Sheng Zhen Qigong, Wuji Qigong, Maitreya (Shiva) Shen Gong, Tibetan Shamanic Qigong with tonic herbs are also integrated with EFT to remove the energy toxins and restore the Three Treasures - Jing (essence), Qi (vitality) and Shen (Spirit) - leaked by the negative emotions held in the five organs.
Tapping of the acupuncture points with intention, and loving and accepting oneself work in EFT therapy because according to the three theories of Classical Chinese Medicine, "Qi follows intention," "the heart is the supreme master of the organs and is the home of shen, the spirit. If the master is brilliant, his subjects are peaceful. If the master is disturbed, his twelve officials [the body's organ systems] are endangered," and "when the Qi obstruction or stagnation in the energy meridians is normalized through acupuncture," balancing of yin and yang, and emotional and physical healing naturally take place.
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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