The following post is a prescription for joy. If you’re happy rolliing ’round the mud, run the other way. If you want help taking your foot off the brake pedal so that you can move forward and be happier, more confident, successful then this is the post for you. Emotonal Freedom Technique: Why I love it and you should too.
http://thejuicywoman.blogs.com/my_weblog/2011/06/emotional-freedom-technique-for-kick-butt-confidence-why-i-looooooooooooooove-eft-and-you-should-too.html
Is Your Self Esteem Saggin’ at the Knees? Are you sabotaging your every move and beating up on yourself every single, solitary step of the way?
Most people are pretty hard on themselves, but those who have encountered abuse in their past are extremely self critical and abusive of themselves, forever pointing out their flaws, putting themselves down, and doubting their own self worth.
These nasty things you say to yourself aren’t just in your head. As science continues to prove, your thoughts are energy – an integral part of the universe – each with their own ability to affect the world, and most important, you. Every day your thoughts are creating your reality. Thoughts are tangible, they are energy, and they are constantly moving and vibrating, seeking out thoughts and things of similar vibration. Everything has a vibration! It’s a universal law. The law of attraction is the law of vibration in motion.
What Story Are You Telling Yourself?
What are you vibrating? What are you attracting into your life by the stories you tell and the thoughts you think?
Imagine that the stories we tell ourselves are like a broken record, continuously playing over and over again, in a loop without ever stopping. This is what happens every time you’re reminded of an emotionally charged event. Because your brain can’t tell the difference between an imagined thought and reality, your body responds as though you’re actually re-experiencing the event all over again. If the experience was traumatic and painful, as much as you may want to change and get out of being a victim and feeling helpless, you can’t because you’re stuck in a rut, unable to move beyond thinking about the problem.
My Powerful, Personal Experience with EFT: Changing My Story
For years as a woman who has endured a history of being sexually abused and verbally battered, I always felt as though I was cursed in life. I acted like and thought of myself as a victim which kept me stuck in so many ways, playing small and being afraid. I was stuck in my life.
Today I credit EFT for healing me. It’s given me the most powerful tool I know to transform my fearful and negative thinking, tame my nasty inner critic and make me whole again after being broken and feeling so painfully unworthy for so many years.
Despite being able to function at a high level running a successful multi-millon dollar real estate business, I was really living in a private hell, stuck under a dark cloud of fear and shame. Whenever I wasn’t working I retreated from the world, clammed up, hid away by eating myself into oblivion.
Because I felt so horrible about myself and was completely ashamed of my body, I tried to be as invisible as I could be. I avoided most social gatherings. I didn’t play full out, I rarely ventured beyond my comfort zone and I never felt safe taking risks. Because I had a basic mistrust of men, I always felt intimidated by them. When it came time to sell the buildings, I procrastinated and put off listing them for years fearing the prospect of having to negotiate and deal with the various interested male buyers.
From the bedroom to the boardroom, I was overly cautious and fearful of expressing myself, saying what was on my mind, standing in my power and letting people know that I had thoughts and opinions worthy of respect.
Despite somehow finding and marrying a wonderful husband (who still adores me to this day 21 years later), I struggled desperately with trust issues. I pretty much kept my heart tucked away, always trying to keep myself safe.
Because I had so many negative charged memories around the issue of sex, I felt like a child stuck in the body of a woman. I didn’t feel comfortable loving or being loved, asserting my needs, being sexual.
Every fear of the unknown had the potential power to plunge me back into the depths of the darkness of my soul. With insecurity as my constant companion, I was always wondering when the next shoe was going to drop.
It seemed like there were a million situations in life that triggered my fears and pain, constantly threatening my peace of mind and sanity. I could be fine one moment and broken down in tears the next, getting completely swept away by my paranoid fears and imagined horrible circumstances. I spent 18 1/2 years in traditional therapy, with little to show for it.
The day a colleague of mine introduced me to EFT, my whole life changed. At the time, I was experiencing a panic attack, because something I saw and heard in a classroom setting had triggered a memory of sexual abuse that I had experienced in my past.
I remember feeling and seeing my body begin to shake uncontrollably as I looked down and watched my trembling hands, vibrating as they bounced on my quivering knees. I could feel the all too familiar lump in my throat and the tension in my eyes as they began to moisten. My colleague quickly came to my assistance and escorted me out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind us, my silent tears gave way to heaving sobs.
Within just a couple of minutes of tapping, the emotional charge of the flood of fearful memories plaguing me that day was completely neutralized. Today I still have those same types of memories but I don’t feel anything when I think about them.
Forgiveness is a Gift You Give Yourself
That one single experience that I had with EFT created such an enormous momentum of change in my life that day. For the first time ever, I finally understood that by being unwilling to forgive my abusers and holding onto that anger and hatred, I was only hurting myself. That day forgiveness became a no brainer and I finally realized that forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. With that new insight, I was freed from my self imposed prison of being a victim.
Thanks to EFT, now I am the Juicy Woman. I can see things differently. I can see that painful experience of my abuse as something that, although it was horrible, it was really a powerful learning experience for me because I now realize how strong I am. I know that I would never have the depth of compassion for myself or others if I would not have experienced the abuse I did. Since that first encounter with EFT, I’ve resolved to share this gift with other women whose lives have also been touched by abuse.
EFT Rocks
Today I continue to use EFT often and always, whenever a fear, limiting belief, negative memory or discomfort pops up, I know that I can easily disarm it and glide past it. I consider EFT my recipe for courage in a bottle. My experience of healing with EFT is just one of many thousands of people whose lives have been changed by this simple, silly looking little powerhouse of a technique.
Uses for EFT
You can use Emotional Freedom Technique to get relief for issues of anger, sadness, fear, shame, overwhelm. It’s used to help people to release and neutralize traumatic memories of war, rape, abuse, molestation, eliminate or alleviate physical pain. It works to eliminate all forms of performance anxiety, including: fear of public speaking, heights, vertigo, overcome mental blocks, improves test taking, increases your desire for sex. You can use it to overcome a variety of fears and phobias, eliminate allergies, clear up brain fog, break free of limiting beliefs, eliminate anxiety, undesirable thoughts or feelings, neutralize food and addictive cravings, PMS, depression, stiffness or soreness.
As I describe in my book and teach my clients, by using it as I do, you can create kick butt confidence and overcome a fat and ugly, negative self image, years of self doubt, a chronic negative mindset, fear of asserting yourself and so much more. As a professional certified empowerment coach, I love EFT. I consider it the bees’ knees of coaching tools and the single best thing that ever happened in my life.
Have you had experience with EFT? Do you love it as much as me? Please click on comment to share your story and inspire others.
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Andrea Amador, The Juicy Woman, Lovin’ the Skin You’re In, Emotional Freedom Technique, EFT, confidence, self esteem,