EFT works in a fraction of the time because it goes directly to the root of the problem, that being to correct the disruption in our body’s energy system. Energy meridians, like major highways, travel through-out our body, each meridian supporting a specific body system. The Chinese discovered the energy meridians over 5,000 years ago which is why we respond favorably to alternative healing techniques such as acupuncture, Tai Chi, and Qigong, just to name a few.

The energy pathways in our body are invisible which is why traditional medicine utilizes high tech medical equipment such as electroencephalographs (EEG’s) and electrocardiographs (EKG’s) to record the electrical activity of the brain and the heart respectively. During hospital stays patients are monitored closely with this equipment and if the screen suddenly shows no electrical activity or flat lines, the medical staff are alerted to attempt to bring the energy flow back into the body. No energy flow, no life.

The following statements reflect the importance of Gary’s observations and resultant "discovery."

The Discovery Statement: "The cause of ALL negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system."

Distressing Memory = Disruption in body’s energy system = Negative Emotion

The energy flow in our body can be further described by comparing it to that of a television set. As long as the TV is plugged in and receiving a steady flow of electricity, the sound and the picture quality will be clear. If you were to take a screwdriver and poke it into the back of the TV where all of the electronics are located, the screen would show a significant amount of static and you would probably hear a ZZZZZZZT. The malfunctioning of the set can be compared to negative emotion. Gary states, "If the memory does not cause a disruption in the body’s energy system, then the negative emotion cannot occur."

Gary’s mentor and teacher Dr. Roger Callahan discovered he could stimulate specific energy points on the body thus releasing the troubling symptoms and negative emotions.

Mary: This major discovery came about in 1980 after working with a patient named Mary using conventional methods for over a year and not making any headway in relieving her symptoms. Mary had an intense water phobia, severe headaches and couldn’t sleep at night because of reoccurring nightmares involving her fear of water. Callahan had been studying the body’s energy system and during a session he heard Mary complain about her stomach bothering her. He decided to step out of the "boundaries of psychotherapy" and try something out of the norm. Callahan began gently tapping his finger tips under Mary’s eyes where the end point to the stomach meridian lies. He was totally amazed when she announced her troubling fears about water were no longer a concern. She reportedly headed to a nearby swimming pool and began splashing water on her face with no fear at all. Her headaches disappeared; her frightening nightmares were no more.

Mary had been searching for a solution to her problems for years, going from one therapist to the next with no relief. However, once the body’s energy system was addressed, the symptoms disappeared. Incredible as it sounds, thousands of people have been helped with similar disturbances using the same logic of addressing the body’s meridians and energy system.

To help people gain confidence in this state of the art technique, Gary began taping and recording as many EFT healing sessions as possible. After all, seeing is believing. One of his greatest pleasures during this process was when the Veterans Administration in Los Angeles invited him and his associate Adrienne Fowlie to come out to the Veterans Center to assist soldiers with their troubling war memories and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Rich: One of the veterans they worked with was Rich. He had been in therapy for over 17 years for his PTSD. He was haunted by flashbacks of over 100 graphic memories of his experiences during the Vietnam War. It took Rich 3 to 4 hours each night to get to sleep if he was lucky and that was under heavy medication. In addition, Rich had a fear of heights from having to make over 50 parachute jumps.

Gary and Adrienne were able to neutralize some of Rich’s most intense and traumatic war memories in a matter of an hour. His fear of heights was taken care of in 15 minutes and afterwards tested by taking Rich up several floors in the building and going out onto the fire escape. It was gratifying to see that he had no phobic reaction. The EFT techniques were then taught to Rich and he continued to work on the remainder of his difficult memories independently. Within a few days he was completely free from his trauma and was able to sleep through the night.

Anthony: Another veteran of war that has benefited from EFT is Anthony who, for many years, had been frightened to go into public places for fear he would be attacked by a Vietnamese soldier with an AK47. Anthony would panic and freeze at the thought of going anywhere. After working a short time with Anthony to deflate his most frightening and haunting memories, the true test was taking him to a restaurant in town that was filled with over 200 customers. Anthony sat with Gary and Adrienne, laughing, making conversation and looking completely relaxed. Anthony described how he was feeling at the time as "not having a nickels worth of anxiety."

Gary and Adrienne met with at least four other veterans during their six days at the veteran’s center and were able to successfully neutralize many of their most traumatic war memories. Interestingly enough, after working with several of these individual memories (trees) and cutting them down, the rest of the memories (forest) fell by the wayside. EFT doesn’t remove the memories. The memories can always be recalled but the "ZZZZZZZT" or the disruption in the energy system is what has been removed.

Wanda: Childhood trauma can also be successfully taken care of using EFT. While watching one of Gary’s training videos, he brought a woman up onto the stage. "Wanda" wanted some relief from her addiction to cigarettes. You could tell from the way she carried herself that she was in a tremendous amount of emotional pain and torment. She looked extremely angry and was on the verge of tears.

Gary began working on the emotions behind the cigarette addiction. He wanted to know what emotions were driving the need to smoke. While asking some questions he was able to discover she had been sexually and physically abused by her father. Wanda shared that this had been going on since she could remember. Gary then had her tune-in to one of the most disturbing incidents that she could remember. She was not asked to talk about it in great detail because it wasn’t necessary and he didn’t want her to retraumatize herself. Gary then began to tap with her using the specific energy meridian points used by EFT to relieve the pain and anguish that she had been carrying around with her for many years. You could literally watch the healing as it took place.

By the end of this short session with Gary, Wanda was feeling a great release from her past torments and her desire for a cigarette was extinguished. During a later practitioner’s workshop that she attended and which was filmed, Craig followed-up with her and asked how she was doing. Wanda said she felt like a different person and you could clearly see significant changes in her physical and emotional energy presence. Her face was relaxed and she had a new positive glow about her.

Dr. Robert Scaer, a neurologist and author of "The Body Bares the Burden: Trauma, Dissociation and Disease" is a proponent of EFT and has much to say about the effects of trauma on the human body. He has over 20 years experience working in his rehabilitation center where he found "early trauma was the cause for most if not all of his patient’s chronic pain."

Once these traumatic events were resolved and released from the body’s energy system, the patient’s physical pains would amazingly disappear.

Traumatic events come in many packages and, unfortunately, are part of life here on planet earth. Please be aware that smaller traumas have an effect on our body’s energy system as well and our body stores these energy disruptions just like in a battery. How many of us have lost a job or experienced fear about our current state of affairs here in America? EFT is an incredible stress reducer and can quickly assist you in removing troubling emotions such as loss, fear, guilt, grief, anxiety, depression, anger, and worry. I encourage you to make a list of all your mini-traumas ranging from as far back as you can remember. Use EFT on each of the items on your list and feel the emotional freedom.

Gary has created a well-written, 80-page manual that can be downloaded for free. He will walk you through the EFT procedure step-by-step, giving you plenty of examples and fun illustrations to inspire you to continue your study. I would also recommend signing up for his free weekly newsletter at www.emofree.com. People from all over the world write in and share about their successes with EFT. His website will also benefit you in gathering information on specific health issues and how others have approached them using EFT.

Gary also has a large collection of DVDs showing example after example of how EFT works. His DVDs are reasonably priced and he encourages people to copy them and spread the word.

Dr. Carol Look, an EFT Master, is one my favorite teachers. You will enjoy her workshops, DVDs and newsletters. I highly recommend the DVD series called Healing Pain & Illness with EFT. I like to tap along with each of the people she works with so I can "borrow the benefits." Dr. Robert Scaer is a guest speaker on this program and he speaks at length about trauma and its effects on the body.

It is evident that our emotional health has an immense impact on our physical health and well being. By utilizing the tools that EFT brings to all of us, we can remove the effects of unwanted emotions resulting in happier, healthier and more productive lives.

Susan Greene is an EFT practitioner residing in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She may be contacted through her email address at beenbear@imbris.com

The EFT Manual, Sixth Edition

by Gary Craig

The EFT newsletter and training DVDs,

www.emofree.com

Dr. Carol Look, EFT Master

www.attractingabundance.com

Dr. Robert Scaer,