EFT – The Thinking Man’s Acupuncture ©

EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), or “tapping”,  has its origins in acupuncture and kinesiology.  Acupuncture is an ancient practice, going back to 200 BCE (Before Common Era, or BC), where needles are inserted in the body to release the blockage of energy and return it to health and stasis.

Acupuncture is based on a five element system (Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood) rather than the four elements, as in the West (Fire, Earth, Air, Water); the prime components of life. Within these elements are 12 meridians.  The ‘meridians’ are documented invisible flows of energy that go up and down the body; 6 go up and down the arms; 6 go up and down the legs and torso.  They are named after 10 organs and 2 processes (heat and cold, essentially).  The Chinese say don’t take that literally, in essence, but when a meridian is blocked, the attendant organ responds with imbalance or dis-ease.

Kinesiology is the scientific study of human movement, or muscles. It is the practice on which muscle testing is based. Applied Kinesiology, using that study for diagnosis and determination of therapy, came into being in the 1930s by chiropractor, George Goodheart.   By attempting to put muscles thru their range of motion by lightly pressing on them, they found that if the muscle resisted, or was ‘strong’, the meridian/organ was healthy, and if it ‘gave’….released….went weak…couldn’t resist….it was out of balance and needed to be returned to stasis by rubbing certain correction points that had been discovered by xray to cause change. It was determined that specific muscles correlated to specific meridians.

Touch for Health came into being by Dr. John Thie, in the 1950s, who created a workbook and study program to assist chiropractors in using the kinesiology work. By muscle testing 12 major muscles, coordinated to the meridian/organs, they found, by correcting key placements, that the blockages would be released and stasis restored.  People went on about their lives, and noticed that not only did physical issues resolve themselves, but life in general, got better. Since then, ‘muscle testing’ and correction has gone far past the perimeters of chiropractic care, and is used world wide in a variety of capacities.

Why does this work?  In 1989, Dr. Bruce Dewe came from Australia to a TFH convention and introduced an emotional component.  So, the muscle went ‘weak’.  Why?  He then used this muscle to test for a variety of emotions, and when it ‘gave’, that was the emotion involved, and then the correction points were utilized to release that emotion.  It was a great advance in AK and Touch for Health.

Next, or concurrently, maybe, Dr. Roger Callahan, an American psychologist, created “Thought Field Therapy”. His premise was that when a person thinks about an experience or thought associated with an emotional problem, they are tuning in to a “thought field.” He described this field as “the most fundamental concept in the TFT system.”  Callahan developed a complex system of tapping on the meridians while focusing on an emotional issue to release that emotional imbalance.

The organs and their associated meridians respond to certain core emotions, from the most negative to the most positive, and everything in between.  When we have an experience, good or bad, it doesn’t go willy nilly anywhere in the body. Specific emotions affect specific organs/meridians. The kidneys respond to fear/peace, the spleen to rejection/approval, the liver to repression/liberation, etc.  When we’re expressing illness we are in the negative part of the spectrum,  and when we tap and collapse the emotional charge, we move it into the positive and begin to heal.

Enter Gary Craig in or around 1994, who felt that it needn’t be that complex. Mr. Craig is a Stanford educated engineer, with a left brained, inquiring mind but a right brained, holistic approach. He decided that if we tap on a variety of points, we’d accomplish the same purpose.  He created EFT, which has gone on to become an internationally accept holistic healing modality, which is used in a myriad of ways for health and well being. Mr. Craig retired in 2010, but his work goes on exponentially.

EFT then, finds that by tapping on the ends and/or beginnings of the meridians for the most part, while concentrating on an emotional issue, that it creates an electrical vibration which connects the mind to the body. (this is my assessment).

In fact, the conservative Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, has recognized that emotions have a significant role in the etiology of disease. The Center acknowledges that over 85 percent have an emotional component, which is a very conservative estimate.

EFT was created originally to reduce the time involved in talk therapy; seeking to collapse years into months or less. What they found was that while it did just that, it also relieved physical ailments as well. When we get in touch with those feelings which have been buried for years, acknowledge them, honor them, and then release them, we come closer to peace of mind. “Thoughts are Things” – when we forgive, love and see things with new perceptions, the negative energy dissolves. The body is showing us, in physical form, what is ‘dis-eased’ in our emotional realm. EFT literally taps into the emotional field, seeing the physical as metaphorical statements, just asking to be recognized.

Yet, EFT isn’t all about tapping.  We focus on the practical application of tapping, but its foundation is in acceptance, forgiveness and gratitude.  The more we apply these attributes to ourselves and others, the more peace and harmony we bring to the world, and the world responds and stress is alleviated.

We coordinate the mind with the body to create a complete process.  By clearing out blockages thru tapping, rather than needles, we achieve the same outcome, but with more lasting benefits in most cases.  With acupuncture, the blockages can be released, but the emotional problem still exists.

“Try it on Everything” is a familiar statement in EFT, and by golly, it usually works!

…© by Pamela Leigh Powers, CCHT, EFT-adv, all rights reserved