Meridian tapping is basically tapping on various parts of the body. Usually, these tapping points are on acupuncture meridian points. This led to early versions often being described as “acupuncture without needles.” I am going to give a brief history of tapping and the most accepted explanations and theories of why it works.
Dr Callahan and TFT
Dr Callahan is a psychiatrist who was treating patients in a home office in the 80’s. He was treating a patient for a water phobia. She became nauseated and said she may not be able to finish the session. Dr Callahan asked if he could tap on some stomach meridians to see if it would help her nausea. She suddenly said, “I’m not afraid of water anymore” and ran down to his swimming pool. She splashed some water on herself. She said, “I still know I can’t swim; I’m just not afraid of the water anymore.”
Dr Callahan refined his work and wrote a book called the “Five Minute Phobia Cure.” It didn’t gain a lot of traction because of three factors. First of all, it went too far against the accepted theory of his time. Second: it was NOT user friendly. The book was written in a style that one had to be another doctor to process. Third, the technique was too complicated. There were different protocols for different problems.
Enter Gary Craig
One reader who did understand was Dr Gary Craig, whose doctorate was in Engineering. He distilled all of Dr Callahan’s work into a simple protocol that would “work on everything” that Callahan’s method would work on. He called his work EFT. His manual was released in the 1990’s. In the 2000’s, he would release his manual into public domain. His work is free for all to use.
Further Evolution
Dr Craig’s original EFT included tapping, some EMDR, and more tapping. It was called the “sandwich.” People using the technique started to notice that the EMDR wasn’t always necessary. As more people started using and teaching it, they went to a shorter form of tapping.
Others found new points that seemed to work better for them. Others started using kinesiology to help work with the body, as in Body Talk, or emotions, as in the Emotion Code.
My Customized Tapping Techniques
I use three different levels of tapping. On the 7 Minutes to happiness podcast, I experimented for a few months with one, two, and three points until finally deciding on one point on the breastbone.
In my ebook, How I Stop Anxiety in 2 Minutes (and have fun doing it), I teach a simple technique called “tap and complain” with my own nine preferred tapping points In my Amazon Book, I teach my own nine preferred points for tapping along with some hacks I learned to be happy before discovering tapping.
In my 7 Day Happiness Reboot, I teach my 9-point system and some of the hacks from the Amazon book in a structured way that is designed to reboot your brain for happiness in 7 Days.
In my 30 Day Intensive Life and Happiness Reboot, I teach a system that is expands on original EFT and uses a lot of different things. By the end of 30 days, the results can be life-changing. If you are interested in the 30 Day Intensive, email me at admin@7minutestohappiness for more details. I am currently doing this individually at a substantial discount from my normal coaching rate.
So How Does it Really Work, anyway?
Dr Craig’s original theory is that it clears “stuck emotions” from your body’s electrical system. He compares those stuck emotions to static on a TV with antenna reception. Dr Callahan called them “thought fields.” Dr Bradley Nelson, who developed a complicated system called “The Emotion Code,” believes we are simply using the technique to reconnect with repressed emotions. Once they are acknowledged, they resolve on their own.
In other words, nobody is sure how it “really works.” But as long as it works, I’m fine with it.
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