Creating a Better Life

Try It On Everything - A New EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Documentary

There’s a new documentary on EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) in the works, called Try It on Everything. More information about it, including a trailer and a free ebook with articles by many proponents of energy healing, including Carol Look, Joe Vitale, and Bob Doyle, can be found at http://www.tryitoneverything.com/

The title of the documentary comes from what has become the #1 suggestion for EFT practitioners. Since the techniques have shown such excellent results when used on a wide variety of issues (from pain management to depression to addictions to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to performance issues), people have begun tapping on everything to see what kind of results they get. And while EFT is not claimed to be a cure-all, the results so far are pretty amazing.

I was first introduced to EFT through Bob Doyle’s Wealth Beyond Reason program. In that particular program, EFT is used to clear vibrational resistance to wealth creation, and there are some good articles on the EFT website itself about clearing limiting beliefs around money (See Using EFT for Money, Abundance & Success by Carol Look.)

One of my favorite things about EFT is that you don’t have to “believe in it” for it to work. You just have to do it. There is no claim that any of the theories behind it need to be accepted, any more than you have to “believe” that an asprin will take away a headache for your headache to go away. Of course, the placebo effect will always be a factor, so a belief in the treatment’s effectiveness will usually assist in having a positive outcome.

If you don’t believe in it so much that you aren’t even willing to try it, then you’ll get exactly no results.

On a personal level, I’ve had the most success with EFT when it comes to motivation and procrastination. Whether it’s getting started on a project that I’ve been thinking about, doing my Daily Target Praxis in the mornings, or sitting at the computer staring at a blank screen with nothing to write about, EFT is amazing. One round of tapping and I’m usually ready to go. Two rounds and I’m always ready.

I’ve had the least success with my cigarette addiction. One thing that I’m seeing regarding that is just how psychologically reversed I am when it comes to smoking (that’s just a fancy way of saying “I want to quit, but I don’t want to quit.”) The EFT DVD’s devote an entire section to addictive cravings, and when I tap rather than smoke, the craving does go. But the issue is deciding to tap before smoking - and until I’ve worked through the ambivalence, sometimes I’ll choose to tap, and sometimes I’ll choose to smoke.

When it comes to simply raising my mood, the tapping always works, and for someone who has struggled with clinical depression his entire life, this has be a godsend. But once again, you’ve “gotta wanna”, and unfortunately, a person in the pit of depression usually doesn’t feel like they have the ability to do anything. But I do know now that, while there is never a point of no return, it’s easiest to catch a slip in my mood early, while I may be a bit off but not yet completely down.

I’m really excited about this new documentary. I went ahead and purchased the All Access Pass that is being offered, which is a pre-order of the DVD (there’s still six months to go before it’s released) along with tons of bonuses, including pre-release versions of the interviews in the film. And anyone who purchases an All Access Pass also has the opportunity to send a free copy of the film to the institution of their choice, which I think is a fantastic idea!

If you haven’t already, give the trailer a watch. If it peaks your interest, be sure to pick up the Free EFT Get Started Package from emofree.com

And have fun tapping!

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[This article contains affiliate links to Gary Craig's Emotional Freedom Techniques site, the Wealth Beyond Reason Program, and the Simpleology program, all of which I'm a happy customer of. Please see my Full Disclosure Statement for more information.]

More Things That I Learned from Jack Canfield

Yesterday I wrote an article about a call I was going to participate in that was being hosted by Jack Canfield. This article details what I learned from that call. Not everything that was discussed on the call is included here, and I’ve rearranged some of the ideas to allow them to flow better. I’ve also done my best to distinguish between Jack’s ideas and my own take on them.

Personal Responsibility

I had a little trouble connecting to the call, but I was persistent and ended up getting on about 5 minutes after it started. When I finally got connected, Jack was talking about the following formula:

E + R = O

Huh? I tried to catch up with that one, but he must have already explained it to the audience by the time I got on the call. So I did some looking around this morning and found an explanation of it on this page (I had to reload it a couple of times to get the video to work), which has a video that explains:

Event + Response = Outcome

While we may not be able to control the Event (E), we can always control our response to it, which will influence the outcome we get.

Most people blame the event when they don’t get a desired outcome. The key is to change what we can (our response to the event) in order to create a desired outcome.

Feedback and Criticism

Information is only stuff coming in. We can do whatever we want with it.

He used an analogy that I’ve always loved - the green hair analogy

If you’re a blond, a brunette, or a redhead, and a person says to you “I really hate that green hair of yours!”, all you would do is think that they were a little strange. It wouldn’t even occur to you to say “Oh My God, I bet my green hair IS something people hate! I better take care of that!”

If you have an emotional reaction to criticism from someone, it probably means that they are reflecting back to you something you already believe, even if it’s on a deep subconscious level. Getting angry about criticism is like getting angry at the sky being blue… it just is what it is. You get to decide what you want to do with it.

This can also be helpful when giving criticism. If the person has a strong emotional reaction to what you are saying, you’ve probably hit home. And if they attack you because of your criticism, just remember that it’s about their reception of it, not the criticism itself.

And by the way, I’ve found that it isn’t a good idea to go around handing out unsolicited criticism. That can really amp up any emotional response you may get!

He also said later in the call that business people should be asking for feedback. Ask your customers for a rating from 1 to 10. If it’s not a 10, ask what you can do to make it a 10. This can also be applied in relationships - just be ready and willing to hear the truth if you ask!

You can also ask yourself, “If I were my client (spouse, lover, friend, whatever…), what would I want from me? What could I be doing better?”

When Should I Quit?

It’s pretty cool that Aldian asked this very question yesterday in the comments of the previous post!

One of the suggestions he made was that we pay attention to our body. Ask the question of yourself: if you get a contracted, tight, tense feeling, maybe it is time to quit. If you get a relaxed, expansive feeling, keep going. This reminded me of muscle testing, a la Power Vs. Force (aff), but extremely simplfied.

He talked about the 144 rejections he and Mark Victor Hansen got when they were trying to get Chicken Soup for the Soul published. He described it as a magnificent obsession to get that book out there… they would have self-published if it became necessary.

It seems to me that the answer is related back to personal responsibility - regardless of the events around us, even if it seems that we are getting nowhere, even when the world seems to be actively opposing you reaching your dreams, it’s only your own thoughts and emotions that can determine if you will continue or quit. There’s nothing wrong with quitting, as long as that’s what you want to do.

I’m So Overwhelmed!

Jack also talked about getting overwhelmed when it comes to personal development. There is just so much out there; so many areas that we can improve; so many principles that can be integrated. He talked about his book The Success Principles, and how it’s best to use it. This could be applied to just about any book out there:

1) Read the book from cover to cover to get the gestalt of it.
2) Take 30 days to integrate just one principle from the book. After the 30 days is up, move on to the next.

This keeps us from becoming overloaded when it comes to trying to change too much, too soon.

Fear

Whenever we are afraid, we are visualizing something that we don’t want.

He brought up the fact that it’s actually best to purposely bring up our fears (or any negative emotion) in order to eliminate them. Until they are dealt with, they won’t go away. He compared this to the arcade game “Whack a Mole”, where the objective is to smack moles with a hammer as they pop their heads up out of their holes.

Jack recommends The Sedona Method for releasing negative emotions. I can’t comment on that, since I’ve never used it and know very little about it. I’ve had some success with EFT (aff) (I just recently got the DVD’s, thanks to the kindness of The Sprout Lady, Deborah!). Whatever method you use, the point is to stop burying your feelings… we can’t whack them down if they are hiding just below the surface.

Habits

This was the most powerful part of the call for me, personally. I haven’t smoked a cigarette since listening to it (that was at about 10:30 am on Aug. 1, 2007)

He suggested that we stop trying to break habits, and that instead we look for ways to get the desired outcome from the habits in healthier ways. He did use smoking as an example: it’s primarily an anxiety and stress reducer: the smoke coming into the lungs is an irritant, which distracts us from unwanted emotions. The deep breathing relaxes us. And the oral gratification comforts us.

We are looking for distraction, emotional relief, relaxation, and comfort.

I’ll add on the physical drug addiction (he didn’t mention that factor).

For distraction and release of negative emotions, EFT tapping is ideal.
For deep breathing, I can… well, breath deeply!
For oral gratification, sugar free gum and health foods are ideal.
For the nicotine addiction, I’ve chosen to use nicotine replacement therapy.

I’m getting into detail on it here (as I have in the past) because of another thing he talked about regarding habits:

It’s always easier to build a new habit with accountability.

And finally, he also talked about how beliefs are simply habits of thought. As we change the thoughts that we repeat to ourselves each day, we change our beliefs.

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There was a lot more that he mentioned on the call, but those were the main points that stuck me. Jack does this on the first Wednesday of every month. You can submit your questions via Ask Jack Canfield, and purchase recordings of past calls on the Ask Jack Canfield Archives.

New Ebooks, Audio, and Video Added in the Last Week

www.freeimages.co.uk

Added to the Personal Development Video page

Joel Spitzer of WhyQuit.com has an excellent series of videos posted to help you through the first days and weeks on quitting smoking: Videos to watch as you prepare to stop smoking nicotine.

Bob Doyle, creator of the Wealth Beyond Reason program, answers the critics of the movie and book The Secret and clarifies some of the misconceptions surrounding it, such as “it’s all about money”, the necessity of action, and the myth of “like attracts like” in Bob Doyle Responds to “Secret” Misconception

Added to the Personal Development Audio page

Accidental Creative - Podcasts - “little ‘droplets’ of insight, inspiration and education about creativity and how to thrive in the ‘create-on-demand’ world.”

Karen Salmansohn hosts Be Happy, Dammit! on Sirius Satellite Radio channel LIME Radio 114. Her radio show runs Monday through Friday, 8 - 9 am EST, and useful excerpts from the show are posted regularly.

Added to the Personal Development EBooks page

This is a real gem: The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment by Thaddeus Golas. Also available as an audiobook.

New Quit Date

So I’ve got a new smoking quit date: 4/27/2006

I enrolled in a quit smoking program that my work is sponsoring. It’s done through the American Cancer Society. My work will pay for 8 weeks of nicotine patches, and I’ll have 5 phone counseling sessions with an ACS counselor. I had my first session today, and it went well.

I almost didn’t answer the phone when the counselor called. I actually had a previous initial session set up, but had already failed at the last attempt, so I blew it off.

Forget that. I cannot, must not, quit quitting. I’m going to follow their program, use the patches and counseling sessions, and do my homework for my next session.

I’m supposed to:

1.) Make a list of reasons why I want to quit, and post it somewhere that I’ll see it every day.
2.) Switch my brand to one that I don’t like as much.
3.) Start tapering off, and try to get down to about 10 smokes a day before my quit day.

I can do this. I will do this.

As a matter of fact, I’m going to do some of that homework right now.

Smokin’

Man, this addiction is a bitch! Two days, and back at it again, puffing away!

What the FUCK!

If there’s ever anything that I’ve been powerless over, it’s these damn tubes of rolled up leaves.

There are a million excuses rolling around in my head. I just wasn’t ready, it’s too hard, my job is too stressful, I’m lonely because my wife is away for the weekend…

Boo Hoo Hoo!

Even the damn powerless thing. Is that causing a lot of the problem, my belief that I’m powerless? My belief that I’m sick?

Or maybe, I just don’t want to stop smoking.

I enjoy it some of the time, maybe 5 to 10 percent. But the rest of it is just such a pain in the ass. It’s just maintaining nicotine levels in my bloodstream, or giving me an excuse to duck out of social situations.

It’s also just such an ingrained part of my sense of self. I’ve been smoking since I was 12 years old. I thought I was… I guess the only word that can describe it is sophisticated. But even that’s not quite right.

It was almost like it was reverse peer pressure. No, that’s a load of horse hockey, too. The people that I wanted to be like, the rebels, the ones on the outside of what was good and decent and normal, all smoked.

And now I’m trying to be one of those good and decent and (lord help me) normal people, and this one thing isn’t friggin’ cooperating!

It’s not the fact that I smoke that I object to. It’s the fact that I have to smoke that I hate. I really could care less about the health consequences 30 years down the line. Of course, ask Lyman 30 from now if he cares about them, and he’ll probably give you a grand “Hell, yeah!”

What I’m after, though, is quality of life today. And having to be chained to a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, this nasty cough, not being able to spend more than a couple of hours comfortably before having to get a fix… these things do not a quality of life make.

I have come a long way since July 18, 2004 (the day nearly lost everything, including my life). I’m not back to where I was before the drink and depression really kicked my ass, but I’m better, and better off, than I was 3 months ago, six months ago, 9 months ago, a year ago.

This is just one of those things that’s taking a little longer than I’d like it to.

I’m gonna go have a cigarette now.