Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 1

Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 1

EFT What Is It? (click on title for video) EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques - a very flexible improvement tool that can be used to help emotional and physical challenges. It s also referred to as tapping. The original version of EFT was created by Gary Craig about 25 years ago. Gary had studied Thought Field Therapy (TFT) and neurolinguistic programming (NLP). He streamlined the complex system of TFT and the result is today s EFT. EFT or tapping is a type of energy healing a fast, effective, and painless way to release unwanted emotional and physical blocks. It s been called psychological acupressure. You stimulate your own acupressure points by tapping on them with your fingertips. At the same time, you focus on the problem with your words, letting your body-mind know what you want to release. This clears out blocks in the pathways of your energy system so that it s back in balance so you feel better. Basic tapping is great for managing your symptoms the pain, the worry, the frustration. But when you focus on the root problem CAUSING the symptom, tapping can eliminate the issue completely. And permanently. In a surprisingly short amount of time. Emotions are linked to your physical state, so affecting your emotional state with tapping can improve all kinds of conditions and diseases. And tapping is great for releasing fears, old feelings and limiting beliefs that are holding you back. Tapping works much, much faster than traditional therapy does, saving you lots of money and time, without uncomfortable pondering and processing between sessions. To get started learning the basic how-to s of EFT, you ll want to go next to EFT Tapping Points (next page). Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 2

EFT Tapping Points (click on title for video) You tap on the same 10 points each time, so they re easy to remember. Most are endpoints of energy meridians in your body acupuncture points. We ll review them in the order we tap them. The first two are setup points. We ll discuss the setup on another page coming up. Sore spot on chest - Place your right hand over your heart. Where your fingertips are, rub gently until you find a place that s more sensitive than the surrounding area. It s only congestion of lymphatic fluid that makes it sore and it actually helps it to rub it. You ll find a sore spot on the other side, using your left hand in the same way. Karate chop point outer edge of hand in fleshy part below the pinky finger. You can tap both together by crossing your hands at the outside edge of the palms and bumping them together. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 3

EFT Tapping Points (continued) Now for the actual tapping points, explained in the order that you tap on them: Eyebrow inner edge of eyebrow, just above the nose Side of eye on the bone, just outside the outer edge of the eye Under eye on the bone directly under the pupil Under nose center point under nose, above the lip Chin center of chin, right in the crease Collarbone just under the collarbone, about 2 to either side of midline Under arm women: middle of bra band; men: even with the nipple Liver at bottom edge of rib cage Wrist on inside of wrist, below crease where wrist joins the hand Top of head crown of the head Click here to download a printable diagram of EFT Tapping Points. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 4

EFT - How To Use Your Fingers To Tap (click on title for video) EFT involves tapping with the fingertips. There are meridian endpoints on the very tips of the fingers (as opposed to the pads), so it s best to curve your fingers and tap with the tips. If longer nails don t permit this, just tap with the pads of your fingers. You want to tap firmly, because you re activating energy in your energy channels. But don t hurt or bruise yourself. Use all your fingertips clustered together, tapping on both sides of your body at the same time (use both hands). This involves the most meridians (energy channels), giving you more bang for your buck! Studies show this can increase the effectiveness and shorten the time needed to tap. However, using just one hand and/or only two fingertips will still get you good results. A good rule of thumb is to tap 5-7 times at each point. Again, EFT is very flexible, so varying from this won t hurt anything. Sore spots Karate chop Eyebrow Outside the eye Under the eye Under nose Chin Collarbone Under arm Liver Wrists Top of head Rub both sides, crossing your arms if it s easier on your wrists. Cross hands in an X, bumping together at the outside edges Both hands Both hands Both hands One hand One hand Both hands Both hands, crossing arms if that s more comfortable Both hands (if only using one hand, tap on right side) Cross wrists at insides and GENTLY bump them together One or two hands Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 5

Six Steps of a Tapping Session (click on title for video) Basic EFT follows a simple formula that is super-easy to follow. I break it down into six (6) steps. You ll find more details about each step in the pages coming up. Here s a list of your steps: Choose your issue and create your reminder phrase. Pick a simple and specific issue to tap on. Simple issues are current and have one component to them. Specific issues apply to one person, one event, or one pain in a certain location. Then create your reminder phrase. Measure your emotional intensity. In this step you rate the strength of the emotions, belief or physical feeling (like pain) that s associated with the issue. You ll use a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the most intense. Do your setup statement. The setup is an affirmation statement where you acknowledge that you have a challenge, and let yourself know that you want to accept yourself anyway. Begin tapping. Now you start tapping around the 10 tapping points, while repeating your reminder phrase, and then tap on the details of the challenge. Revise and repeat. Every few rounds, you ll stop tapping and repeat steps 2, 3 and 4. You ll measure your emotional intensity again. You ll do a revised setup statement. And then you ll tap again, using a revised reminder phrase. The revisions reflect that the strength of your issue is changing. Test your results. Once your emotional intensity level gets down to a zero, it s important to test it to make sure the issue is resolved. If not, revise and repeat again until it is. Those are your basic six steps for a tapping session. For more details on each step, go next to Step 1 - Choose Your Issue. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 6

Step 1 Choose Your Issue (click on title for video) This is a critical step in the EFT process. If you want to get good results when you re starting out, you need to choose the issue carefully. So there are 2 important things to remember as you choose. The first is to pick a simple issue. A simple issue is current (not chronic). A simple issue has one aspect to it one component. Here are some examples of what is simple and what s not: Simple: pain in your neck from sleeping in a weird position. Not simple: chronic pain in your neck from an accident 3 years ago. Simple: anger at the dentist who kept you waiting for 40 minutes. Not simple: anger at your father for how he treated you as a boy Simple: reluctance to start mowing the lawn Not simple: reluctance to leave a bad relationship It s not that EFT won t work on all those issues. It s just that complex and chronic issues require more skill and expertise with EFT The second criteria for your issue is that it is specific. Choose an issue that applies to one event, one pain, one person. You don t want it to be too general. Here are some examples of what is specific and what s not: Specific: headache over my eyes Too general: feeling bad today Specific: craving for chips Too general: poor self control Specific: worry about tomorrow s meeting Too general: anxiety Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 7

Step 1 Choose Your Issue (continued) Now that you have chosen your issue, choose a short reminder phrase to use while tapping. For instance, knee pain, this anger, lawn problem. Keep it short and easy to say because you ll be saying it a lot. So For Step 1 Choose Your Issue, pick a simple and specific challenge to tap on. Then create a short reminder phrase about it. Now it s time to move on to Step 2 Measure Your Intensity. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 8

Step 2 Measure Your Intensity (click on title for video) OK. You ve chosen your simple, specific issue. Now it s time to measure your level of intensity. If it s a feeling or event you re tapping on, measure how strong your emotions are. If it s a physical issue like pain or tightness, measure that sensation. If it s an unwanted belief, you measure the strength of it how true it feels. You ll measure on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 as no problem and 10 being the most intense. To get this number, just close your eyes and ask yourself what it is. And go with the answer that comes up whether it makes logical sense to you or not. This is a gut feeling number. Not an intellectual assessment. If it s hard to come up with a number, just say, I don t know what the number is, but if I had to guess I d say it was a, and then go with that. Why measure? So you ll know if you re making progress. It gives you a guideline to see whether the tapping is effective. AND it lets you know when you re done. Otherwise, you re just feeling better. Which is great. But completely clearing an issue is so awesome! If you start at a level 10 intensity, a 3 is a huge improvement. If you re not measuring, that may be as low as you go, thinking you re done. But in reality, getting down to a zero could completely change your world. If you re not measuring, you ll quit before you get there. Measuring will let you know exactly where you are. The more you do this, the easier it becomes. You may see a number, hear a number, or just sense it. The important thing is to trust the process. The more you can trust it, the faster it will go for you. Be sure to write your number down. It can be very easy to forget what it was after you ve tapped a few rounds. So write it down. Now you have chosen our issue, created your reminder phrase, and measured your intensity. It s time to move on to Step 3 Do the Setup Statement. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 9

Step 3 Do The Setup Statement (click on title for video) Your setup statement is an acknowledgment and an affirmation. You acknowledge that you have a problem, and you affirm that it s OK to have a problem. Here s the formula for it: Even though I have this problem, I want to love and accept myself anyway. You ll repeat this 3 times, using your setup point. You have two choices here for the setup point either the sore spot on your chest, or your karate chop points. Take a look at your Tapping Points Diagram to see where they are. For the sore spot on your chest, press gently with your fingertips and rub in a circular motion. You can cross your hands over each other or not, depending on what s more comfortable. Or your karate chop points, which you can tap on by bumping them together. You can use whichever setup point feels best for you. I get better results using the sore spot, so that s what I use. But either choice is fine. So here s an example: Even though I have this worry about tonight, I love and accept myself anyway. If that doesn t feel honest to you, say: Even though I have this worry, I WANT to love and accept myself anyway. And repeat it 3 times. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 10

Step 3 Do The Setup Statement (continued) That s the simple version. You can elaborate a little more if you want to: Even though I have this worry about tonight and it s making me nuts and I don t want to spend my whole day like this, I still want to love and accept myself. I m doing the best I can. Even though I have this worry about tonight and I m not sure I want to let go of it, I deeply and completely love and accept myself anyway. And you can vary it a little each time. But just be sure to keep the two basic parts of it and say it 3 times. Even though I have this problem, I love and accept myself anyway. OK. So you chose your issue and your reminder phrase. You measured your intensity. You did your setup statement. It s time to move to Step 4 Begin Tapping. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 11

EFT Step 4 Begin Tapping (click on title for video) Ok, you chose your issue and reminder phrase, measured the intensity, did your setup statement, and now you re ready to tap. A round of tapping is tapping one set of all 10 points. So for your first round, just use your reminder phrase. We ll use This worry as an example. Begin at your eyebrow point, tap 5-7 times while you re saying, This worry. Now move to the outside the eye point, tap 5-7 times while you say, this worry. And continue around to all the EFT tapping points, saying the same thing each time, finishing at the top of the head. For your next round, give voice to the problem. Talk about the details of it. Use your own words (the ones that play in your head). A round could go like this: Eyebrow: I m just so worried. Side of eye: I don t know what will happen. Under eye: I wish I didn t have to go. Under nose: I don t know who will be there. Chin: It s making me nervous. Collarbone: I can t stop thinking about it. Under arm: I shouldn t worry like this. Liver: I feel like such an idiot worrying about it. Wrist: But it feels like a big deal. Top of head: Why am I such a worrier? And if you have a lot of thoughts and feelings about it, tap another round giving voice to all that. It s important to use your natural words when you tap not therapy words or spirituality words, but your own words. Your tapping will be more effective that way. You ll clear your issues faster. OK. Now you chose your issue and reminder phrase, measured your intensity, did your setup statement, and began tapping. Now it s time to move to Step 5 Revise Your Tapping. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 12

EFT Step 5 Revise And Repeat (click on title for video) OK. You have just finished tapping your first rounds on your issue. Before you move on to more EFT, it s time to adjust your tapping by doing the last 3 steps again with modifications: Reassess your intensity level Revise your setup statement and say it 3 times Revise your reminder phrase and start tapping again. Here s how that goes: Take a look at the original intensity number you wrote down. Close your eyes, go inside, and ask yourself, If I started at a (7), what number is it now? This will help you to measure in the same way each time, which is important. Then write the new number down. To revise your setup statement, you acknowledge that things are changing. So now it s, Even though I still have some of this worry about tonight, I want to love and accept myself anyway. You ll repeat it 3 times, using your setup spot. And now revise your reminder phrase to this remaining worry. Tap one round of this remaining worry, and tap a couple of rounds giving voice to how you re feeling now. Your second round could start like this: Eyebrow: I still feel kind of worried. Side of eye: It s not as bad. Under eye: Maybe it s a good thing to be worried. Under nose: Maybe it will keep me on my toes. Chin: No, I don t think so. I want to let go of this. Collarbone: Oh, I m not sure. Maybe I let go of enough. Under arm: But I m sick of worrying like this. Liver: Maybe it will be OK tonight. Wrist: I feel better, but I still feel tense when I think about arriving Top of head: Yeah, I m still kind of worried. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 13

EFT Step 5 Revise And Repeat (continued) Stop tapping after a few rounds to reassess how you re doing. Then use your revised setup statement again 3 times, and tap again with your revised reminder statement, followed by a few rounds of giving voice to the issue. And repeat this process until you re down to a zero intensity level. Now there s one step left to the process and that is Step 6 - Test Your Results. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 14

Step 6 Test Your Results (click on title for video) You ve gone through the whole process now. You chose your issue and reminder phrase, checked your intensity level, did your setup, began tapping, revised your tapping and got your issue down to a zero. Wonderful! Now the final step is to test your results. You can do this by imagining the event and try to get yourself upset. Or you can try to create pain in your knee and see if it s there. Don t be afraid to do this! It s really a good thing. You cannot create something that isn t there. And if there is a little bit left, what better time to find out? Simply go back and do a few more rounds of tapping on that last little bit that remains. In truth, sometimes you can t really test the issue until the next time it happens. But you can use your imagination and envision yourself at the event, with the person, or in the circumstance and try to raise your intensity level. Sometimes your intensity level goes up, but it turns out to be a closely related issue not what you were specifically tapping on. So check to make sure you re testing and measuring exactly the same thing you started with. Some people avoid this step, afraid they will make things worse. But testing is actually another way to make things better! If you find you have a little bit of the issue left, just tap it away right now and finish the job. Testing is the perfect way to polish off your session. Now that you ve gone all the way through the steps of basic EFT, it s time for a wrap-up and review. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 15

EFT Session Wrap-Up & Review (click on title for video) OK. You are ready to tap on your own now. Get out your EFT Tapping Points diagram. Get a pen and paper and a glass of water. And go through these steps now. 1. Choose your issue (simple and specific). Create your reminder phrase (short and easy to say.) 2. Measure your intensity. On a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest intensity, what s your number? Write it down. 3. Do your setup statement 3 times on the setup point (sore spot or karate chop point). Even though I have this problem, I want to love and accept myself anyway. 4. Start tapping. Tap one round (all 10 points) repeating your reminder phrase (this problem, this problem, this problem.) Tap a few more rounds giving voice to the issue. Stop tapping. 5. Revise and repeat your tapping with 3 things. A. Measure your intensity again and write it down. B. Revise your setup statement, saying even though I still have some of this problem, I want to love and accept myself anyway. Repeat it 3 times. C. Revise your reminder phrase, saying this remaining problem. Tap a round with your reminder phrase and tap a few rounds giving voice to how you feel now. Stop every 3-4 rounds to measure and revise until you re down to a zero. 6. Test your results. If needed, finish off your tapping. Congratulations! See how easy that is? Now acknowledge yourself for your great work and keep an eye out for shifts in your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 16

EFT Session Wrap-Up & Review (continued) And please remember this key point: You can t do it wrong! Yes, you can use it in some ways that are more effective than others, but you can t really do it wrong. So don t worry about finding the tapping point exactly, or choosing the perfect words. Just go ahead and try it. EFT is a very flexible and forgiving tool. You can t make things worse with EFT because it only works with what s already there. And it only helps to bring you back into balance. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 17

About the Author Janet Hilts, Breakthrough EFT Coach, helps women flip their old thought patterns and ditch emotional baggage so they can live the life they crave. With perspective coaching and EFT, she quickly finds and eliminates the internal blocks holding them back. Her compassion, experience, skill and humor make even tough topics easily approachable. She has helped over 700 clients in 13 countries in her 10 years of EFT coaching. Janet creates the freedom and support for her clients to finally do what they really want to do move forward with momentum behind their vision. You can learn more about Janet and her services at www.janethilts.com Tap along with Janet in her Facebook group Mindset Design Studio. Janet Hilts International All Rights Reserved page 18