FAQ’s for Your Personal Peace (YPP) and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

This is a common question that I will address with three main points:

First of all, there is a popular school of thought that tells us to affirm our desire or intention and basically ignore the negative thoughts that come up; basically, to overpower the negative thoughts…why the heck do I need to bother with EFT or anything else?

Sometimes that can work and hard work it truly is; in fact, it also will take an inordinate amount of patience before you can change those thought processes by force or willpower because they may be quite ingrained within your Being.  As we all know, ignoring the negatives does not make them go away.  Here are some notes from Edmund J. Bourne, PhD. (psychologist) on the subject of our thoughts (I summarized for this post):

* Emotional reactions usually occur without our noticing what we said to ourselves just before we reacted.

* Self-talk is often in shorthand, where a word or image contains a whole series of thoughts, memories, and associations.

* Even irrational self-talk tends to sound like truth; it reflects beliefs we are scarcely aware of, so habitual irrational self-talk tends to go unchallenged and unquestioned.

* Negative self-talk perpetuates avoidance. You tell yourself a situation is dangerous and avoid it, and by avoiding it you reinforce the belief that it is dangerous.

* Negative self-talk is a series of bad habits. We aren’t born with a predisposition for it; we learn to think that way.

My second main point is that when you access those negative emotions, thoughts and memories, we do NOT do it in the same way when we use EFT.  When I work with individuals, quite often, they begin to fall into their same story-telling mode that they have used to recount their terrible experience over and over again.  As an EFT practitioner, one of my main jobs as a guide is to shift my client’s focus or interrupt their pattern and approach the negative issue or story in a different way.  That is by addressing resistance, being specific (including looking for details that, quite often, are overlooked and are the “triggers” to their emotional intensity) and staying focused amidst shifting aspects.  When we use EFT to clear or straighten out the energy system in relation to a memory, we are doing it in the interest or with the approach of allowing the energy to flow…to release…rather than “reliving” it in the same manner.

The last point is that when we do EFT, we actually have incorporated a positive affirmation in the statements, such as, “I deeply and completely love and accept myself.” Or, we use other methods of reframing, such as: humor, other positives, the Choices Method, etc.  So, we are also inserting some positive into the void left by the negative energy as it flows and releases.  We are exposing the issue and our entire being to love, acceptance and forgiveness.

What you resist…persists!

So, ignoring negative thoughts does not usually allow that negative energy to flow or leave us and, therefore, does not eliminate the affect on us.  There are times when we can “overpower” the negative, but for most people the energy, persistence and strength to do it are just too overwhelming.  Also, if there is a less painless and smoother transition from the negative to positive, wouldn’t that be your choice?  If not, you can do it the hard way.

If you wish to tread the road less traveled and one that can allow you to transition from the negative to the positive with more grace and less angst, then consider this:  Until we “face” the negative aspects (and we can do it with finesse and gentleness) we will not allow that emotional energy to leave along with the energetic effects. When we do, we then allow the natural love, acceptance and forgiveness to begin.  Make room for it and allow it to overcome you…overcome your life!

Take care and keep tappin’!

Tags: being negative, EFT, emotional freedom technique, emotional freedom techniques, Negatives, positive thinking

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 at 7:02 pm and is filed under Negatives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.