Tapping Q & A - Getting the most out of tapping and EFT

Support the podcast! Even though we spend most of our time tapping to try to reduce emotions, emotions are not our enemy. Our emotional response is our internal guidance system trying to keep us safe and on track. Fear is an extremely helpful emotion in that it helps us to see danger BUT problems arise if our fear response is excessive and causes us to go into a state of flight, fight, freeze, or...

This is really embarrassing, but it's a true story. I live in New York City, a pedestrian city where most people don't drive. Even when you take mass transit you still need to walk a lot just to get around. The subway stop I use most is 3/4 of a mile walk from my apartment. As a result, people here tend to be healthier than the national average because of the daily walking they're required to do,...

On a recent episode of the Judge John Hodgman podcast, one of the litigants (when talking about her husband) said "I want him to have what he wants. I just want him to want something different." That is such a relatable sentiment. Sometimes we believe we can see the best path for our loved ones, but at the exact same time we want them to be in control of their own lives and choices. This week we t...

When we are wanting to take action, it is very easy for us to be stuck because of worry. Worry is nothing more than a part of us trying to keep us safe by keeping an eye out for everything that could possibly go wrong. The problem is that the part of us that worries, often worries way too much. The size of the concern for our safety doesn't match the size of any potential danger. This week I have...

My clients tell me all the time: "This is so frustrating! I feel like I am dealing with the same issue over and over again. When am I going to get past this!?!" I can appreciate their frustration. We want to feel like the time we are spending on our transformation is fruitful. We want to move in a positive direction as we continue to do the work. In reality, we aren't dealing with the same issue o...

There is this interesting phenomenon where the more we hear something, the more likely we are to believe it. It has nothing to do with the validity of the claim. The simple repetition of a statement somehow lends it credibility in our minds. A perfect example of this is in the shape of a question I often receive from my readers. It goes something like this: I really love your tapping scripts, but...

It is good that we are thankful for what we have in our lives. Expressing gratitude helps us to be appreciative, grounded, and there are even health benefits to being thankful. The problem is that on a subconscious level we may feel that wanting more means do not appreciate what we already have, and that can prevent us from moving forward. This week I have a short tap-along audio and script to hel...

Every time we make a choice we are limiting our future options. That is the simple reality of choice. If I choose to study literature at university, I am limiting my ability to become a medical doctor. If I choose to go to Norway on vacation, that limits my ability to go to Japan this year. I have time for one movie tonight, so if I choose "Rear Window" I can't watch "Strangers On A Train". Recogn...

Many of my clients would identify as the 'black sheep' of their families or communities. Because they moved to the beat of their own drums, they were usually out of step with everyone else. This can be particularly difficult for youngsters to handle because it felt unsafe to express their true selves. In order to survive, it's human nature to develop tricks, tools, and techniques to get by. At the...

Support the podcast! One of my clients recently asked me, "What is the endgame to this tapping thing?" What he meant by the question is besides the constant improvement of our lives (which is no small thing), where does tapping lead us? What is the final goal? We usually think that we tap to feel better, and of course this is true, but there's more to it than just feeling better. In my mind, we ta...

There is no shortage of pain or struggle in the world. Because of this, at any given moment any number of our loved ones can be suffering in big and small ways. When our loved ones are in pain, we really want to ease their burden, but just because that is our intention doesn't mean that there are tangible actions we can take to be helpful. In this week's podcast I have a simple tap-along and scrip...

How we end a tapping session is sometimes more important than how we begin it. At the beginning it is most important that we simply start tapping. With each successive round of tapping, we gain clarity about the issue at hand and where we should focus our efforts. For me, there are two goals for the last little bit of tapping at the end of a session. First, I often feel a little groggy and fuzzy b...

On October 20th I received the sad news that Dr. Pat Carrington had passed away the day before at the age of 95. In the tapping world Pat was best known for creating the Choices Method and was one of the Founding EFT Masters. On a personal level, she was an amazing champion of my work and I know I wouldn't have the career that I have today if it weren't for her public support. When someone we love...

Today it is commonly acknowledged that cultivating a sense of gratitude can be a powerful tool for helping us to live better and emotionally healthier lives. So much so that I even have clients who try to find their way to feeling a sense of gratitude when struggling with an emotional issue. My clients regularly tell me things like, "I spent some time this morning doing gratitude exercises to try...

On any given day there are more than a dozen stories in the news about what is happening to the Earth's environment. On one level it is good that we are better informed about what is going on in the world and how our choices impact our environment. But on another level it can feel overwhelming because the problem is so vast. When we don't see how we can make a difference, it is easy to become disc...

One of the most powerful tools in my own learning as a practitioner has been listening to other practitioners working with real clients on real issues. It is a great chance to see how a skilled practitioner takes concepts I understand intellectually and apply them in real world situations. In this unique audio you have the opportunity to hear me working one-on-one with a real client. As well as he...

For me, loneliness is one of the toughest emotions. The sense of disconnection that comes with feeling lonely almost feels like we are losing touch with our own humanity. That swirling black hole of emotion seems to keep pulling us in ever deeper. One of the hardest parts of loneliness is feeling it even when we are surrounded by others. Here is the tapping that I do when I feel lonely. You can fi...

It is no fun when we feel hurt by what someone else says or does. In many cases these hurtful words or actions are unintentional, and others may be completely unaware that they have hurt us. Even though it wasn't their intention to cause us pain, we feel hurt nonetheless. In this podcast we explore the best way to respond when we are hurt by the words or actions of others. You can find the full ta...

Sometimes it's hard to know where to start tapping on an issue. We know tapping will help. We know that we just need to start. But we don't quite know where to start. Our emotions feel like a knotty, tangled up necklace, with no obvious place to begin. In this week's audio I have the perfect way to start tapping for an issue when you don't know where to begin. It's particularly useful for helping...

Tapping is a powerful tool that can be used to clear a huge range of issues, even those that have plagued us for years. Starting to make better choices feels great and allows positive change to seep into every part of our daily lives. At a certain point we almost forget about the issue because it seems like a distant memory. But then: WHAM! Out of nowhere we are right back in the middle of the old...

I pride myself on being a thoughtful and helpful person. I like to believe that I am good at living up to my commitments. Most of the time this is true. BUT I am also human and I do make mistakes and unintentionally let people down. This week I have a very simple tap-along audio (and tapping script) to deal with those times in which we feel shame for letting others down. You can find the full tapp...

In my client sessions over the last few weeks I have found myself repeatedly saying that there are four reasons why we sabotage ourselves and stand in the way of taking the action we know we want to take. Without exception my clients respond with, "Wait! I want to write this down." So here are those four reasons written down for you: We don't have a clear vision. We don't know how to take the step...

In my early years of tapping I was super eager to share tapping with everyone I possibly could. Over time I learned that it was best to share tapping (or anything for that matter) only with people who are actually open to learning something new. A number of years ago I was on a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago and ended up in a conversation with a fellow passenger that led to us doing a tapping...

Note: If you find reading instructions more helpful than listening, you should check out the article version of the topic. When people unsubscribe from my mailing list they have the opportunity to leave a comment. I recently received a really interesting comment from someone who was unsubscribing from my list. She wrote: "I am very busy at the moment and I don't have time to practice, so I feel st...

When I first started using Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) I thought the reason that we tapped was to feel better. My first two experiences with tapping reinforced this belief. My first memory of using EFT on my own was getting rid of one of the most profound headaches I had ever had in about 90 seconds. My second big moment was dealing with my social anxiety. It makes sense that this is what I...