The Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is an innovative approach to healing that is gaining attention from medical professionals and laypersons all over the world. EFT can be applied to any emotional and physical issues you can name and often gets results when nothing else works. The basics of EFT can be learned by anyone and can be self-applied (usually in minutes).
Started by Gary Craig in the nineteen nineties as a revision of Roger Callahan's (TFT) Thought Field Therapy, EFT is based on the belief that disturbances in the body's energy field cause negative emotions and that by utilizing its techniques ailments ranging from cancer to the common cold can be cured. In its original incarnation as TFT it utilized meridians, i.e. tapping points on the body. The ailing person was supposed to think of a negative emotion while tapping in a specific sequence on a specified series of points or meridians (which correspond to the meridians used in Chinese medicine) thus restoring balance to the body's energy field. Gary Craig discovered that the sequence of tapping points was irrelevant so he simplified Callahan's procedure while maintaining its core belief in meridians and EFT was born.
EFT theory states that negative emotions are created in the following sequence: in response to a negative experience negative emotions are born, thereby leading to negative programming in the body which leads to a disruption in the body's energy field. EFT proponents believe tackling the negative experience alone is not enough to restore health. They believe that the energy imbalance must be remedied along with curing the negative emotions in order to remove the negative responses i.e. illness, phobia, etc
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.
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.
Also, in many DVD packages, you can participate in group tapping experiences from the comfort of your own armchair. Learning from DVDs is very cost-effective, ranging from around $30 to $150 for basic training. Sadly by far the best DVD training from EFT creator Gary Craig has been discontinued as he has retired, although it can be hired from different outlets. That training goes into great depth with hundreds of real examples and "live" cases on video.
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.
For someone who is desperately ill and looking for a cure, it is irresponsible and misleading to claim EFT can cure them, particularly if that person is going to forgo proven conventional treatment in favor of EFT. That is not to say that EFT lacks all value, just that its efficacy has not been proven, and further studies are required before it is accepted or dismissed entirely.
The connection between the mind and body has been a subject of fascination for decades, and there is no doubt that the mind plays a vital part in the well being of the body. What is unclear is how effective EFT is in tapping into the connection between the two. Its popularity and vague results when put to the test make it difficult to determine hype from reality, and further scrutiny is necessary before it can be accepted or rejected. We are only in the beginning phases of learning just how powerful the mind/body connection is, and it would be irresponsible to completely dismiss the power of alternative therapies including EFT, and equally irresponsible to accept them without proper and in depth study.
For now it would be appropriate to say that the power of EFT is unproven, but the possibilities it offers are worth looking into. The field it is exploring is a vital one, and any opportunity to learn more about the connection between mental health and physical health should be welcomed. Skeptics and proponents alike should take more time examining the possibilities before casting judgment, negative or positive.
Started by Gary Craig in the nineteen nineties as a revision of Roger Callahan's (TFT) Thought Field Therapy, EFT is based on the belief that disturbances in the body's energy field cause negative emotions and that by utilizing its techniques ailments ranging from cancer to the common cold can be cured. In its original incarnation as TFT it utilized meridians, i.e. tapping points on the body. The ailing person was supposed to think of a negative emotion while tapping in a specific sequence on a specified series of points or meridians (which correspond to the meridians used in Chinese medicine) thus restoring balance to the body's energy field. Gary Craig discovered that the sequence of tapping points was irrelevant so he simplified Callahan's procedure while maintaining its core belief in meridians and EFT was born.
EFT theory states that negative emotions are created in the following sequence: in response to a negative experience negative emotions are born, thereby leading to negative programming in the body which leads to a disruption in the body's energy field. EFT proponents believe tackling the negative experience alone is not enough to restore health. They believe that the energy imbalance must be remedied along with curing the negative emotions in order to remove the negative responses i.e. illness, phobia, etc
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.
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.
Also, in many DVD packages, you can participate in group tapping experiences from the comfort of your own armchair. Learning from DVDs is very cost-effective, ranging from around $30 to $150 for basic training. Sadly by far the best DVD training from EFT creator Gary Craig has been discontinued as he has retired, although it can be hired from different outlets. That training goes into great depth with hundreds of real examples and "live" cases on video.
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.
For someone who is desperately ill and looking for a cure, it is irresponsible and misleading to claim EFT can cure them, particularly if that person is going to forgo proven conventional treatment in favor of EFT. That is not to say that EFT lacks all value, just that its efficacy has not been proven, and further studies are required before it is accepted or dismissed entirely.
The connection between the mind and body has been a subject of fascination for decades, and there is no doubt that the mind plays a vital part in the well being of the body. What is unclear is how effective EFT is in tapping into the connection between the two. Its popularity and vague results when put to the test make it difficult to determine hype from reality, and further scrutiny is necessary before it can be accepted or rejected. We are only in the beginning phases of learning just how powerful the mind/body connection is, and it would be irresponsible to completely dismiss the power of alternative therapies including EFT, and equally irresponsible to accept them without proper and in depth study.
For now it would be appropriate to say that the power of EFT is unproven, but the possibilities it offers are worth looking into. The field it is exploring is a vital one, and any opportunity to learn more about the connection between mental health and physical health should be welcomed. Skeptics and proponents alike should take more time examining the possibilities before casting judgment, negative or positive.
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