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James' Version of EFT
This is a series of articles written for a great little magazine called Jungle Drums. So far we have:
The Promise of Emotional Freedom
I tried to do myself in at the age of 13. I'm not proud of it, neither the fact that I tried, nor the fact that I failed (now, I'm glad I did fail!) Ever since I have been looking for explanations of my feelings and answers to my questions. Over these 42 years I have found a lot of explanations and a lot of answers, as you can see from my string of "qualifications": EFT Practitioner, NLP Master Practitioner, Reiki Master, Counsellor, teacher of counsellors, Master of Philosophy. Soon I will add Yacht Master to the list!
None of the answers I found were wrong; none of the explanations invalid. However, there always seemed to be a missing key. It turned out to be as simple as making sure that I have my batteries in the right way round! (For some people, just putting the batteries in at all makes a big difference!) You see; we are all a mass of electrical activity-energetic activity-no one argues that. This activity sets up energetic fields all around us. The radical and new(ish) understanding is, that it is glitches and reversals in these energetic fields that are responsible for our dis-eases. John Adams, an American MD in the 1920s, made a remarkable discovery. He was percussing (tapping the tummy) of a patient during a ward round. Suddenly, to his surprise, the sound changed. Investigation showed this happened when the x-ray machine in the next room was switched on, and only if the patient was pointed east west, feet to the west!! He went on to develop a remarkable machine (the great-grand-daddy of today's MRI scanners) that showed the characteristic waveforms of diseased tissues, and he became proficient at diagnosis with this machine.
One day, whilst demonstrating the diagnosis of malaria, someone asked what would happen if quinine were put into the machine. It was tried, and they found that the characteristic waveform of quinine was the exact inverse of that of malaria. When I read this, I realised that it's all energy! Whether the intervention is clinical, medical, pharmacological, spiritual, social, mechanical, electrical-at base it's all energy. Which is why my current practise is a combination of EFT (sorting out the glitches in the energetic fields) and Reiki (plugging in to the energy source).
I have clients who come to me for all sorts of reasons. They are fearful of things that seem strange to the rest of us (bridges, needles, sex, men, women, travelling, staying at home, cats, dogs); they are enslaved to harmful chemicals (nicotine, alcohol, etc) and to harmful behaviour (anger, jealousy, gambling). But when I listen to these people, the common denominator is that, at some level, they are enslaved to negative emotions-most frequently to fear or anxiety. And when I look back-that was my problem, too. So when I discovered that I could cure my problems by tapping on acupuncture points in a certain way, whilst conditioning my mind in a special fashion, I gave it a try, and, hey presto, 42+ years of emotional enslavement were over! The relief was amazing!! During all that time I had been haunted by destructive voices: I started EFT, and they never returned.
Now I am starting a research project to investigate how we can use these techniques in a "peer" fashion (I'll help you, then you help me), to free ourselves from enslavement to food, whether to an excess of it, or to its absence. Of all addictions, food is the worst, because you have to have it, at least three times a day! My hypothesis is that the combined energy fields of a group of people, all working in the same direction (a normal relationship with food), will be more powerful than working alone. I have lots of experience of working this way, from years of working with peer group counselling, and of working with peer-group research for my M.Phil. And, by the way, I've already lost 5 stone (32Kg). But I still need help with my remaining 3 stone (20Kg)!
We will start with some workshops to teach EFT and Reiki, and to learn the skills of working in peer groups, and will then embark on the journey to free ourselves of this pernicious enslavement. If you are interested in joining me on the journey, drop me a note at FreedomFighter@co-met.org.uk, or call me on 07973 788240.
I look forward to our finding our freedom together!
Towards
a Psychology of Lightness
A lot’s happened since my last article in JD. I’ve been on an interesting workshop, attended a life-changing conference in Brighton (and it was life changing not just because I met The Lovely Susan (TLS)), ran a couple of workshops, and been sailing. A good summer, in fact. And this weekend I’m off to Turkey again for two weeks; part business, part pleasure. I’ve started working with a number of interesting clients who have come to me through the pages of JD (and if you called me, and then lost touch, please call again! Especially the health-working lady from Wiltshire!). And the co-operative research group on eating starts this Sunday (it’s not too late to join in! Call me or e-mail). I’ve also found a wonderful exercise and nutrition programme: Bill Phillips’ “Body for Life”. I can heartily recommend it (it was recommended to me by TLS).
One of the interesting things that I have discovered, however, is that some old friends are leaving me. One of them called to tell me that he finds it “very difficult to be around me”. That got me thinking: since I started working with Energy techniques I’ve been much happier than I’ve ever been before, and feeling much stronger, getting more done, getting fitter. And yet someone who has professed to like me in the past finds it difficult to be around me. Interesting!
Then TLS passed me a paper to read. She works in an interesting way, spanning two disciplines. She’s a very advanced energy worker and she’s also a psychotherapist with a practice in Harley Street, and she’s doing a Master’s degree in the stuff (no slouch, this girl!) The paper was by an author steeped in both the psycho-therapeutic model, and also in Judeo-Christian mythology. It was all about betrayal, and I hated it. It seemed so dark. It contrasted so starkly with the feelings I get when I do this energy work, and especially with the feelings I got from the conference, which was just sheer joy. And suddenly I heard, in the back of my mind, the constant critical refrain that often comes from the world of serious workers in this field, “he’s denying his shadow side”. And I got cross. It’s probably true that we have a “shadow” side, but I’d like to say that this word “shadow” is a metaphor: it’s not reality! So let’s examine the metaphor. How do we produce a shadow? We have a light, and we shine the light on something, and the something absorbs (and re-radiates) the light on one side, and produces a “hole” in the light on the other. We call this light-hole a shadow. And how do you get a darker shadow? Stand in a brighter light! And if all you can see is shadow? Then you are facing the wrong way! If life seems bleak, turn around. After all, “Seeing the world as beautiful is just a trick of the Light”. (As someone very wise once said).
I realise that, over the years, most practitioners of therapies that I have tried, practiced, studied and taught had, explicitly or implicitly, this attachment to the dark side of the soul. And, I’ve noticed, this focus seldom produces much in the way of results. It doesn’t help miserable people become wildly and abundantly joyful. It just sort of ameliorates the misery; makes it bearable, and gives you a virtuous sense that you are not denying your shadow side. But for the most recent period of my life I have experienced increasing levels of wild enthusiasm, great joy and laughter, deep peace, increasing personal power, and enormous fun. And absolutely no guilt at all that I’m denying my shadow and not integrating it! How can I deny my shadow? If I choose to stand in this brilliant Light, of course I’ll have a dark shadow… but only in contrast!
So,
‘lightness’ has become my working metaphor of late, and I work more and more
to bring lightness to my, and other people’s, lives. We can extend the metaphor: the increasing lightness in my
life means that I have stopped weighting, and am now a stone lighter than when I
last wrote for JD. So, if you would
like to join me in this search for lightness, whether lightness of the body,
emotions, mind, or spirit, please get in touch.
The Eating group is already working on lightness of body, and discovering
that lightness is connected throughout. We will start our workshops to teach EFT, Reiki, and other
energy modalities in mid-to-late October. We
will learn the skills of working in peer groups, and will then embark on the
journey to free ourselves of the pernicious and dark enslavement of weighting!
If you are interested in joining us on the journey, drop me a note at FreedomFighter@co-met.org.uk,
or call me on 07973 788240.
I look forward to our finding our freedom, and our lightness, together!
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