If numbers don’t work for you, scale
the intensity with your arms: Arms spread wide would be a ten, while palms
together would be a zero. Or you can scale the intensity geogra phically: as
small as your house or as big as the world. Find what works  for you. Ifyou’re unsure, simple guess your level of intensity . Don’ t think too hard
about this. Y ou’ll get comfortable with practice. Step 3. Craft your EFT setup statement . Your setup statement will have
two parts:
1. Your problem—that is, the negative tapping target—you phrase like this:
“Even though I have (state your pr oblem) … .”
2. Your affirmation, something positive about yourself. The standard EFT
affirmation is “ … I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Basic Gold Standard uses the phrase “deeply and completely love and
accept myself.” Before proce eding, practice deeply and completely
accepting yours elf right now. Simply insert your target problem into the
EFT setup format like so:
Even though I (have this problem), I deeply and completely accept
myself. The EFT format does not change; it’s a negative linked to a positive, but
the content—your target problems—will. You can play an infinite number
of melodies on the same instrument. For example, “I don’t like what my
boss said to me this morning” would look like this: “Even though I don’t
like what my boss said to me this morning, I deeply and completely accept
myself.”
Now you have the first part of the EFT basic recipe: the EFT setup
statement, which we’ll put together with the starting Karate Chop point. Step 4. Find the location of the Karate Chop point you’ll use in the setup.Figure 4: Karate Chop point, EFT basic r ecipe
starting point. Start the pr ocess by karate
chopping continuously while expr essing your EFT
setup statement. The Karate Chop point on the
side of the hand corr esponds to the small intestine
acupunctur e meridian. Either hand can be used to
chop. T apping is all along the side of the palm, not
just on one point. These instructions describe the use of the left Karate Chop point for
clarity . However , you can tap either the left or right Karate Chop point; it all
works. Find the Karate Chop point by opening your left hand , pinky side
facing down. Using the finger tips or palm of your right hand, tap gently all
along the edge of your left palm. This point is named for the hand position
karate masters use when they “chop.” You can switch hands at any time, if
your tapping hand or fingers tire. Step 5. Repeat the EFT setup statement while tapping the Karate Chop
point. Repeat your EFT setup statement while tapping gently and continuously
on the Karate Chop point. This setup aims a spotlight straight at the
problem that you have identified  as your first tapping target. This alerts the
entire central nervous system that you’re ready to work. It begins activating
and rebalancing your energy system. Combining a negative expression witha positive one neutralizes any subconscious resistance you may have to
achieving your goal. Express your EFT setup stateme nt aloud one or more times while karate
chopping. You may have seen it done three times, but Gold Standard has
evolved and one time is enou gh. Gold Standard EFT says once, while
others repeat three times. It’s really up to you; you won’ t go wrong
repeating your setup statement. You can say the EFT setup silently in your
head, shout it out loud, whispe r it, whine your way through it, or sing it. The key is to help the upset around your tapping target bubble to the
surface. Alternate Starting Point for the Setup: The Sor e Spot (SS)
An alternate, equally effective but less common starting point for tapping is
the Sore Spot (SS). Find it by “walking” your fingers out from the center of
your collarbone , either three inches to the right or left, toward your
shoulders. Rub or massage this area gently in a circular motion. The spot is
often tender , which is why it’ s called the Sore Spot (SS). As with the collarbone points, there are two sore spots, one on each side
of the chest. The Sore Spot is not the collarbone point. See Figure 5 for
clarity and location of the two dif ferent tapping areas.Figure 5: The Sor e Spot, an alternate, less used
point, can be used instead of the Karate Chop to
start the EFT basic r ecipe and activate the body’ s
energy system. Step 6. Practice the EFT setup now. Repeat  the following EFT setup
several times while tapping continuously on your Karate Chop Point or
Sore Spot:
Even though I have this problem, I deeply and completely accept
myself. EFT basic r ecipe, Part II (The EFT Sequence Reminder Phrase
and Eight Ener gy Points)
You’ve set up the problem by saying “Even though I have this problem, I
deeply and completely accept myself .” Now , work on the second part of the
EFT basic recip e, the EFT sequence. Tap down the sequence points whileexpressing a reminder or proble m phrase that reminds you of your tapping
target. Step 1: Create an EFT Sequence Reminder Phrase. Sometimes EFT can work so quickly that people forget what they were
tapping on. The reminder phrase keeps the spotlight where it belongs, on
the tar geted problem. To create a reminder phrase, choose a phrase from your setup statement
that elicits the most emotional intensity . Suppose you’re upset  about what
David said on the phone last night. Here’ s the EFT setup: “Even though I
have this upset over what David said on the phone last night, I deeply and
completely accept myself .” Choose a reminder or problem phrase such as:
“upset at what David said,” or “my David phone upset,” or simply “David
upset.”
Suppose your EFT setup looks like this: “Even though I am sad about the
loss of my dog Cedar who died last month, I deeply and compl etely accept
myself.” A reminder phrase might be: “my sadness about Cedar dying,” or
“Cedar died and I’m sad,” or “my Cedar loss.” You can even just use the
generic “this pr oblem,” as your reminder phrase. If you’re upset but can’t quite identify what you’re feeling, just tune into
the feeling happening right now. The words are not as critical to success as
the feelings—both emotional and physical sensations—relating to the
problem. Staying tuned in to the feelings you’r e experiencing when you
focus on the problem is at the heart of EFT. The feelings lead you to
resolution, and it’s feelings, not words, that become stuck inside your
primitive brain. Even if you don’t have the right words or are unclear how
to say it, EFT will still work if you are tuned in to the upset feeling. Step 2: Combine reminder phrase with the eight ener gy points. Repeat the
reminder phrase while tapping on the eight tapping points of the EFT
tapping sequence, on the head and upper torso (see Figure 6.) Using the
index and middle fingers of the left or right hand, tap gently about five to
seven times on each point.Figure 6 : After the EFT setup statement, wher e
you state your pr oblem while karate chopping, you
then apply the EFT Sequence, tapping on the eight
points in the or der given in the text holding a
feeling, body sensation, thought, or image
associated with the tar geted pr oblem in mind. The sequence starts at the top of the head and moves down from there
through to your under arm point. T ap on each point five to seven times, with
index and middle fingers of either hand. Locate the following tapping
sequence points:
Top of Head : Gently tap with palm open wide atop the center or crown of
your head for a few seconds or the equivalent of five to seven taps. Inside of eyebrow:  Touch the bridge of your nose, and then move your
tapping fingers slightly to the left or to the right to just inside theeyebrow . Tap lightly . Side of eye: Touch the bony part outside of your eye, and tap lightly; it’s
about a half-inch from the outsi de edge of your eye, but not as far as the
soft temple spot. Under eye:  Find the bone underneath your eye, under the iris. Tap gently on
this under -eye bone, as it may be tender . Under nose:  Tap under your nose in the crease between the nose and upper
lip. Chin:  Tap under your lower lip in the indention between your lower lip and
chin. Collarbone:  You already know the collarbone point as the Tarzan tapping
point. Under arm: Find this point about four fingers down from the armpit, on the
upper rib cage. For women, this would be about at the bra line. When you
massage this point a bit deeper , it is often sore. Access these points easily
by reaching one arm (e.g., the right) across the body to tap on the other
side (e.g., under the left arm). You can tap this point with all four fingers
or the flat of your hand and fingers. When you are tapping, you can switch hands, tap with one or both hands
at the same time, tap with all your fingers or just one finger , or cross your
hands and tap on opposite sides of your body . No matter which side you
tap, you’ve stimulated the meridians and activated your body’ s energy
system. Step 3. T est your intensity after each tapping round. After you tap one full
EFT tapping round, return to the original upset you were tapping on and
check your intensity level again on the 0 to 10 scale to see what has
changed and what’ s left to work on. Do more rounds if your intensity is
higher than 2 before moving on to tap on a dif ferent issue. Now all the pieces of the EFT basic r ecipe ar e in place. Let’ s
review:1. Identify a problem—a troubling feeling, sensation, thought, or bad
memory . 2. Rate the current intensity of the problem on the 0 to 10 scale. 3. Insert the problem into the EFT template to create the EFT setup
statement. 4. Repeat the EFT setup statemen t one or more times while continuously
tapping the Karate Chop point. 5. Create an EFT reminder phrase that is shorthand for the problem. 6. Tap the eight points of the EFT tapping sequence while repeating the
reminder phrase. 7. Test the intensity number again after tapping one or two sequence
rounds. 8. Adjust for changes in intensity by tweaking your setup phrase or creating
a different setup phrase, and start the process all over again. This EFT basic recipe summary is also in Appendix A  along with imag es
of the tapping points for easy access as you move through the rest of the
book. If you are not new to tapping, you likely have seen people tapping
other points. You may know that the original basic recipe was longer and
that it keeps evolving. We’ll explore the original basic recipe points toward
the chapter ’s end, as well as other effective tapping points. With more than
four-hundred meridian points on our bodies that are all connected, variation
is definitely okay . Exercise: Putting It All T ogether
Let’s practice the whole EFT basic recipe—the EFT setup statem ent and the
EFT sequence— without any specific content. Tap your Karate Chop point
while repeating your EFT setup phrase one to three times. In this case, since
you are learning, I’ll repeat the setup three times:
Karate chop: Even though I have “this problem,” I deeply and
completely accept myself.Karate chop: Even though I have “this problem,” I deeply and
completely accept myself. Karate chop: Even though I have “this problem,” I deeply and
completely accept myself. Next, follow the setup with the EFT tapping sequence, tapping the points
below while saying aloud your reminder or problem phrase about the
problem you’ve tar geted. 1. Top of head:  Your reminder/problem phrase. 2. Inside eyebrow:  Your reminder phrase. 3. Side of eye:  Your reminder phrase. 4. Under eye:  Your reminder phrase. 5. Under nose:  Your reminder phrase. 6. Chin: Your reminder phrase. 7. Collarbone:  Your reminder phrase. 8. Under arm:  Your reminder phrase. Excellent! You have just comp leted one round of Gold Standard EFT
tapping. People regularly tap through the sequence one or more times, but it
still counts as one round until the EFT setup statement changes. See EFT
Resources  to access video and more written tutorials on the basic recipe. Exercise: T apping on a Real T arget
Step 1. Identify a mini problem. Since you’re just starting out, don’t take on
your deepest, darkest issues and fears yet. You’re in a learning phase. Ask
yourself: Is there something that happened earlier today or this week that
was mildly upsetting to me? Am I feeling a negative emotion about
somebody or something that happened recently? Am I feeling a body ache
or pain? As an example, I’ll use Matt, who is experiencing tightness ar ound
the left shoulder  blade from sitting hunched over his computer . Tap along
with Matt’ s problem example below or create your own EFT setup phrase.Step 2. Rate your current intensity (how you feel right now)  about the
targeted problem  on the 0 to 10 scale, and write that down. Matt’ s shoulder
blade tightness is a 5 on the scale. Step 3. Create your EFT setup statement to accurately describe the
problem. Matt says, “Even though I have this computer tightness feeling in
my left shoulder , I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Step 4. Repeat the words aloud while tapping continuously on your
Karate Chop point. (Remember , you can use your own phrase, or the one
provided here.) Matt’ s statement: “Even though I have this computer
tightness feeling in my left shoulder , I deeply and completely accept
myself.”
Step 5. Tap through the EFT sequence, tapping down the points while
expressing the reminder or problem phrase aloud. Matt’ s reminder phrase
might be: “this tightness in my left shoulder due to being hunched over the
computer ,” which is a bit wordy . Saying “tightness in my left shoulder”
also reminds him of the proble m and keeps his mind, body , and energy
system focused there:
Top of head: Tightness in my left shoulder . Inside eyebrow:  Tightness in my left shoulder . Side of eye:  Tightness in my left shoulder . Under eye:  Tightness in my left shoulder . Under nose:  Tightness in my left shoulder . Chin:  Tightness in my left shoulder . Collarbone:  Tightness in my left shoulder . Under arm: Tightness in my left shoulder . You’ll notice that all the words  were the same in this tapping sequence. This makes it much easier to focus on the precise detail that you are tapping
on and to make sure your body -mind is tuned into the problem. To avoid
confusion as you begin your learning and to lay a solid foundati on for moreadvanced EFT later, we’ll apply the same reminder phrase word ing used in
the earlier stages. As you learn  more, you can use phrases that are within
the scope of your EFT setup statement, such as: “It really hurts,” “it’s so
tight,” “ouch it hurts,” “this tight left shoulder ,” “this tight shoulder
feeling on my left side.”
Step 6. Get feedback by testing your results. Matt started out with a 5 in
intensity on his left shoulder tightness on the 0 to 10 scale. Now the
tightness level has subsided to a 2. After each tappi ng round, remember to ask yourself: Am I still feeling the
same, or has the intensity gone up or down? Write your number on the
intensity scale and compare it with the intensity with which you began. Writing it out helps you recognize any shifts you have made and guides you
to where you should go in your next tapping round. What if you notice that
another detail or aspect  of this problem is now botherin g you? This simply
means you have tapped down the first aspect enough to allow the next
aspect or detail in line to rise to the surface, and that’s progress. Ideally you
tap your first target down to a 0 or at least below a 2 before moving on, or
you’ll have blowback. Understanding the concept of aspects  (components or details) of a
problem is important for underst anding the feedback you receive from the 0
to 10 scale and for effectively targeting your ongoing EFT work on
yourself. What to Do When Intensity Subsides,  
Increases, or Stays the Same
When you start out as a tapper , it can be challenging to specifically separate
out every detail of a problem, rate your feelings, or even know what  you are
feeling. Your skills will improv e as you learn to think in terms of aspects
and intensity . For now, if you are finding this too difficult, go ahead and do
a minute of one-point tapping and then continue on. Or perform the EFT
basic recipe, naming your intensity on the 0 to 10 scale, using this EFTsetup phrase: “Even though this is too hard, I deeply and completely accept
myself.”  Reminder phrase:  “this is too hard.” Retest your intensity when
you are done. After One Round—Intensity lower: If your intensity on the 0 to 10 scale
has dropped, it means that you are experiencing some relief from  the
problem. A rating of 0 means that the issue no longer bothers you. If you
have a little remaining intensity , you can tap about any other detail that is
troubling you that’s related to the original problem. In Matt’ s case, it would
be anyth ing else that is bothering him or that comes to mind as he tapped or
as he thinks about the tightness in his shoul der. You can use this new
information to adjust your origi nal setup phrase to reflect the changes you
experience or to develop a new setup phrase. If the intensity is low enough,
move on to the next issue. Intensity higher:  If your intensity has gone higher , keep tapping! This
means that you’re tuned in to the target and that there’ s a lot of intensity
you’ve been sitting on. The good news? The feelings and sensat ions around
the issue  are releasing as you tap. Keep going until you feel complete relief. The tapping is literally forcing the disruption to resolve itself. Emotional
gushers are a good sign of release and relief, in most cases. However , in
some situations, when there is undiagnosed or unresolved significant
trauma, if the intensity remains high and you experience ongoing  upset over
hours or days, seek resources outside of yourself, including a mental health
professional and an ACEP-accredited EFT professional. Intensity same:  No change could mean a couple of things. The EFT setup
statement may be too general. If Matt’ s “tight left shoulder”  has the same
intensity as when he started tapping, he might require a sharper focus to get
results, such as: “this tight, sharp point about the size of a pencil point just
inside my left shoulder blade.”
No change could also mean you’re sitting on an emotional present that
perhaps has more than a few layers of gift-wrap around it. Be persistent. Maybe part of the problem you are tapping on is not as big a deal as another
detail or aspect  of the problem . For example, if you are tapping for theproblem of: “my difficulty meeting a decent man/woman,” and the intensity
of 7 is not budg ing, you might look for issues that might be getting in the
way of experiencing relief. These could be: “my anger at my ex,” which is a
10, and “my sadness that I’m alone again,” which is also a 10. The
emotions under lying these issues may be at the core of the energy
disruption. You may need to address them first before the difficulty can be
resolved. Sometimes  shifting aspects  may be behind apparent lack of headway on a
problem. This means that while you tap on one specific issue, such as
“sadness about the loss,” you’re feeling many things: anger , sadness,
frustration, upset, annoyance, self-pity , and more. The issue might not be
shifting because  you’re feeling all these things at once. In time, you must
tease these various aspects out and tap on them one at a time to get results. At first, they may be all jumbled together like a big knotted ball of yarn. As detailed at this chapter ’s end, tapping additional points is helpful
when you’re stuck. I have found them effective when I’m having a hard
time moving down the intensity scale and when the intensity is quite high,
as well. Sometimes the issue can be better handled with the help of a
supportive perso n working with you to get the results you know you can
achieve, including a therapist or a seasoned and proven EFT practitioner . Be
prepared to make that call when you need it. The EFT Spiral: When Aspects Lead to Core Issues
It is typically the case in my own practice that the problem of the day, even
if minor , pings off earlier traum atic events, often early childhood traumas. Even if no logic al link exists between the “today” upset and the past, that’s
okay , we’re working with the subconscious which has a “mind” all its own. Ask yourself “what does this problem remind me of? Have I ever
experienced something like this before?” Then go to that “before” problem
and tap on that. The earlier you go, the more likely you will address the
cause that set in motion patterns that have troubled you for years.When you aim EFT at the earlier experience, you have the opportunity to
resolve not just the minor current problem, but also the root cause from
back in the day. Once these historic emotional traumas release , you might
feel like your whole world has changed. EFT is not a linear process. It’s
more like a spiral  process. So wh en you tap about a teeny , weeny , seemingly superficial upset on the
outside of that spiral, you may also be working through a deeper issue at the
heart of that same spiral, and vice versa. When you’re working on one
event, you are in a sense working on all events housed in that same energy
disruption. Assu me in most cases that even when you are jumping in with
the small stuff, you are working on a number of levels at the same time. In
the long run, when you grow more comfortable with EFT, you’ll  start at any
point on the spiral—from the deep, dark interiors all the way to the little
wiggly tail. With Matt’s troublesome should er, here are some aspects or details that
he did tap on: “This is where I injured my shoulder before; I’m scared it’s
going to get worse; why did I help my sister move that piano yesterday? !”
Each of these would be a separate round of tapping. Lest you think this will
take too many minutes from your life, ask yourself how much the problem
is costin g you now. Then time one tapping round. It takes all of 30 to 60
seconds. Matt addresses these aspects and now feels almost no shoulder pain at all. Is he done? If there is more work to be done, something else may come to
mind, such as a bothersome thought, image, past upsetting experience,
question, or sudden idea about what the target problem is attached to. The
arising of other thoughts and issues is completely normal; consider it a
marvelous hallm ark of EFT and a taste of what can happen when you
harness it for your healing benefit. As Matt  focuses in again on the shoulder , a fleeting  thought comes to
mind: his big work project deadline. He now realizes he’s been holding
himself so tight in the shoulder because of the tight project deadline bearing
down hard on his shoulders and frustration about his colleague who hasn’ tbeen pulling his fair share of the project’ s weight. This is a different issue
from the pain in the shoulder; it’s part of what’ s holding up the pain in the
shoulder . Matt crafts a different EFT setup statement to reflect this. In
accordance with our EFT spiral, Matt’ s present issue is stretching back to an
earlier or core energy disruption from childhood. There was the time when
his father expected him to do something beyond Matt’ s abilities— he had no
idea how to do it. Matt might have felt that performing under  this heavy
burden was the only way he could get approval or love from his father . Here
is the core issue where the ener gy disruption began. The outermost symptom on the EFT spiral—the tight shoulder of today—
leads Matt to a core unresolved problem from his childhood at the spiral
heart: the need to take on heavy burdens without help in order to gain
approval. So the tight shoulder might be an opening to address with EFT
core unresolved painful experiences and events from his childhood. Eventually his tight left shoulder would be a thing of the past or a welcome
reminder that he is taking on too much work or pushing himself too hard
while neglecting  to acknowledge how well he is doing. Later we’ll discuss
in more detail how a simple issue can lead to clearing a chain or pattern of
negative emotions. Can you see how EFT could benefit Matt? His physical shou lder pain
could disappear completely . He would remember to stretch more often at
work and would n’t snap at coworkers. He could ask for help and address
team slacker issues, no longer terrorized by deadline problems. He would
feel more ener gized and vital at home and at work. Thinking, feelin g, and acting differently come with the territory of EFT
results. Recall the image of the small stone in the still pond: the ripples
radiate from the center and affect the whole body of water . EFT ripples will
change your life in surprising ways. Insights and shifts like Matt’ s are par for the course, even when you are
new to tapping. They are called cognitive shifts in EFT parlance. By its
nature, when performed appropriately , EFT goes deep.Going Deeper: W elcoming the Bad Feelings,  
Expressing Af firmations, and More
We welcome bad feelings with EFT, but not because we’re gluttons for
punishment—quite the opposite. The problems are opportuniti es for us to
reconnect with parts of ourselves that were shut down or abandoned in
order to cope. Now we receive ourselves back. Targeting the Negative
Some clients initially resist saying the negatives. With EFT, we say the
negative to allow it to clear , not to feed the fire. Focusing on the negative
with the EFT setup statement does not mean that you are indulging in your
problems or complaining or that you’re going to attract even more
negativity into your life. You are popping the big fear balloon you’ve been
carrying inside and removing the power it has over you. By acknowledging the negative  problem while tapping, we actually stop
pushing it down and start allowing it to flow through and out of our body ,
mind, and energy system. Intentionally allowing ourselves to feel what we
actually feel about a problem releases the troubling emotions around it, and
our bodies experience a corresp onding relief, as they never lie. Living in
present time, our bodies are incapable of lying. Tapping will resolve the
energy disruption, bring relief, and allow our system to rebalance. By pairing the negative with the positive and staying focused on a
specific tapping  target, we can resolve the problem thought, feeling, belief,
or memory with minimal pain and discomfort. More on Choosing the T apping T arget: Specific V ersus  
Global and T abletops
First, clearly identify the problem you’re experiencing. Then home in on the
specific part or aspect  of the problem that’s most bothersome. Taking on the
whole ball of wax is overwhelming, so finding the one thing about the
problem that troubles you most provides a simple and achievable task. Ask yourself thoughtful questio ns, and give yourself a minute or two to
realize what’s causing your present upset. Are you feeling tense  because ofall the traffic? Was it that phone  call a moment ago, when the boss took out
her anger on you? Are you just feeling tired and out of sorts because you’re
bored? Do you have a sinus headache or toothache? Tapping asks us to slow down a moment and check in: “What feels off or
really wrong right now?” Then we get to do something about it. If it feels
too hard yet to identify a target, one way to ease yourself into tapping is
simply to tap and talk about the issue bothering you. This means you tap
while you are talking about something that is upsetting you, which could
include a body ache or pain. Tapping while talking will bring you some
relief,  because  it is activating the body’ s life-ener gy system and pushing the
upset through. Y ou can also tap while you are ta lking on the phone. Tabletops and T able Legs: General,  
Specific, and Global in EFT
Overall issues—depression, grief, a phobia, weight—are general, global,
with many different parts, detai ls, and aspects. Think of these larger issues
as tabletops held up by many specific table legs, each of which is an event
holding up the tabletop, and that’s what we want to work with. Tap to zero
enough specific events (legs) holding up the big tabletop of anxiety and the
whole thing collapses. So no, you don’t have to tap on every little thing
that’s gone wrong in your life … what a relief! That effect is known as the
“Generalization Ef fect” in EFT . Let’s look at a few examples of general versus specific:GENERAL SPECIFIC
feelings of worry worried my child is still not home at
midnight
my food issue can’t stop eating potato chips
anxious in school seeing Steve the bully in gym
boyfriend/girlfriend problems when he/she said, “It might be over .”
bad childhood memories the night my parent threw me out in
the snow
To get specific, get curious. If you’re dealing with anxiety ask: “When do
I have the anxiety?” “What does this feeling remind me of?” “When was
the last time I experienced the anxiety?” “What proof do I have of the
anxiety?” “Wha t was happening in my life when my anxiety first started?”
“Where do I feel anxiety in my body?”  The answers produce specific
tapping targets. The “what does this remind me of?” question is one you’ll
turn to again and again to uncover specific events. Here’ s another example for a person upset about “the divorce.” Choose
specific experie nces along the divorce timeline: “finding out about the
cheating,” “opening the bill from the lawyer ,” “the hateful way my spouse
looked at me across the table at mediation,” “telling the kids,” etc. Think of
these memories as moments in time. It may take a little practice breaking down problems, events, or feelings,
but soon it’ll be second nature. Name Y our T argeted Event, Review It as if It W ere a Movie
It is also helpfu l to give the target you are tapping on a name, such as,
“wor ry about my son,” or “potato chip fiasco,” or “bully fear.” Consider it
as if you are using your event to title a book or a scene in a movie. Then,
once you have tapped the target down to zero, run through the whole thing
as if it were a movie, scene by scene, and tap down any remaining intensity
including sensations, upsetting details, or images and thoughts . You combthrough the scenes of the movie trying to raise intensity , because if you
leave any outstanding intensity , the weeds aren’ t pulled out at the roots and
the event will come back to bother you again. Balancing Negative and Positive
The classic EFT affirmation phrase is, “I deeply and completely accept
myself.” Not surprisingly , people sometimes feel uncomfortable thinking or
saying this, asking, “What if I really don’t?” “What if I can’t honestly say
that?” “Isn’ t it wrong to accep t a certain part of myself that I want to
change? Doesn’ t that mean I’m giving up?”
You don’t have to believe the acceptance phrase, but an affirmation is
part of the proce ss. If you are having a hard time thinking anyth ing positive
about yourself—and this is a common challenge for people new to EFT—
what do you feel good about? Use that as your affirmation phrase, for
example: “I love the park down the street from my house,” or “my friend’ s
four-year -old is so completely alive,” or “this is a beaut iful day,” or “I love
my kitty cat, Mr . Purr ,” or “I love to______” (you name it). More advanced work might have you tapping on all the negative feelings
that come up when you say or think about the phrase: “I deeply and
completely accept myself.” In this case, tap till you feel comfortable saying,
“I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Incidentally , the resistance that comes up as a result of saying  you love
and accept yourself is called a tail-ender in EFT. It means that you’ve
flushed out something else to tap on. These are also known as “yes-buts.”
Tail-enders and yes-buts show you where the resistance is. Just tapping on
tail-ender or yes-but resistance can be a richly rewarding experience. Use it
for your healing. If you’re like most of us, you’ve already beaten yourself
up enough in this lifetime, so be patient with yourself. Other acceptance phrases that work include:
I really want to completely accept myself. I love, honor , accept, and for give myself. I’m okay .Maybe someday I can accept myself. I accept myself and how I feel. I love, honor , accept, and for give myself. Find a place of positive truth that feels just right to you. Accepting
yourself even though you have a problem helps the part of you that’s stuck
realize that you are more than just the problem: you have intrinsic worth no
matter how you feel, what you look like, what “bad” things you’ve done, or
what’ s happened in your life. It’s the big picture of you that sees your value
and worth all the time, the higher self that sees you as far more than just the
upset you are feeling in the moment. Likewise, you need to be in the
present to make a change. Apex Ef fect: Going Deeper with the  
Intensity Scale and Aspects
The intensity scale is a critical component of EFT. Don’ t skip over it! If you
do, you might be subject to the apex effect, which is when a person forgets
that he or she actually had a problem and doesn’ t even remember tapping
on it. Sometimes it will even happen in the middle of a tapping round; that’s
how quickly EFT can work. I once tapped with my friend Scott on his decades-long snuffling and
snorting problem from a deviated septum after walking into the side of a
barn when he was twenty years old. This problem had plagued him
personally and professionally; it made him look socially inept , the sound
was off-putting, and it worsened in uncomfortable social situations. We
tapped on all aspects relating to this problem, from the social issues to the
benefits of not having to socialize because the snort was off-putting, from
the sound to the initial trauma, and to the fact that he didn’ t have to have it
because both he and his nose had survived. The snorting disappeared that
night and never returned. He forgot he had ever been a “social snorter.” All
this to illustrate why writi ng down your setup statement and your intensity
rating in your EFT journal is important. You need to track your progress
and get feedbac k, especially when you are feeling low. Seeing in yourjournal that chan ge is possible and that you have already made phenomenal
strides in your healing work is a great boost. It helps restore hope to its
rightful place of honor . Limiting Beliefs: What If I Can’t Do this “Right”? Are you wondering if EFT will really work for you? Are you worried you
won’ t be able to do it right, or do you feel overwhelmed  by all the
information? Maybe you’re afraid of what will happen if you make big
changes in your life. If any of this is happening right now, take a look at
these setups to see if they reson ate with you. We will use the first phrase
here as the example:
1. “Even though I don’t know if EFT will work for me, I love, honor, and
accept myself.”
2. Rate your intens ity when you express this aloud. How true does this feel
to you on the 0 to 10 scale? 3. Express the EFT setup statement: Karate chop : “Even though I don’t
know if EFT will work f or me, I love, hon or, and accept myself.”
4. Tap through the EFT sequence. Top of head:  I don’ t know if tapping will work for me. Inside eyebrow: This might not work for me. Side of eye: This might not work for me. Under eye:  Afraid tapping won’ t work for me. Under nose:  I don’ t know if this will work. Chin:  Afraid this won’ t work for me. Collarbone:  I don’ t know if tapping will really work. Under arm: This might not work for me. 5. Retest your intensity . Do you believe as strongly that it won’ t work for
you? Other sample phrases to consider tapping one round on:
Even though I’m not willing to say all that negative stuff about
what’ s going on, I deeply and completely accept myself.Even though I’m afraid of change, I accept myself anyway . Even though this feels really hard, I’m open to doing it anyway . Even though I don’t understan d how something this easy could
possibly help me solve my kind of problems, I deeply and
completely accept myself. Even though I don’t think I can get this right, I deeply and
completely accept myself. Tapping on the truth about what you’re really  thinking can be
transformative—and come up more quickly than you think. Choose any of
these phrases that resonate with you and tap on it. You might find things
feel easier, lighter , and more possible after just a few tapping rounds. Try a
few rounds now . Additional Useful T apping Points:  
the Nine Gamut, Finger Points, and More
The original EFT basic recipe used to have more points. Other energy-
meridian tapping  practitioners also use a wide range of tapping points and
approaches. The points that were in the original recipe include finger points
and the nine gamut points. The fingertip and gamut series were performed after one full round of the
EFT basic recipe . However , as EFT has distilled into Gold Stand ard EFT, in
the majo rity of cases, neither finger points nor gamut points are essential. Use these points when you’re not getting expected results with the EFT
basic recipe or when dealing with a stubborn aspect. I apply it with clients
and on myself when tsunami-ty pe feelings—sobbing, rage, or acute pain
spikes—arise or when feeling stuck. It seems to move the upset through
faster . I’ll use them maybe once or twice in a sixty-minute tapping session. The gamut process also resonates with people who have experienced the
trauma-treatment therapy known as Eye Movement Desensit ization and
Reprocessing (EMDR), those who know that crossing the midline helps
with left-right brain integration and enhances a person’ s ability to learn, orthose who have tried REM (Rapid Eye Movement) therapy . The process
accesses both sides of the brain and helps to integrate left and right
hemispheres so you access whole-brain thinking. Take note of all of these point  locations, and experiment on your own
with them. You will be encourag ed to try these points while reading as you
continue to test the process. All of these points can be found in Appendix A
along with images for easy reference as you continue on through the rest of
the book. Fingertip Points
After one round EFT tapping round, start tapping on the tip side of the
thumb of either hand, the side facing away from the index finger . Then tap
on the side tip of the index finger , the side nearest your thumb. Follow
through with each finger excep t the ring finger in the same manner . The
ring finger is not tapped because  the meridian for this is on the other side ofthe fingertip. It’s faster and easier to stay with the routine of inside finger -
point tapping. Some practitioners rely mainly on the finger points as part of
their tapping protocol. The finger points are also useful when you can’t tap on all the points
because you’re in an office meeting or you’re in another place where you
don’t want to appear conspicuous. Just drum with your fingert ips on your
body or on the tabletop, or just bring your hands together and tap one
against the other—no one will know you’re tapping. The fingertip points
can also be used when you have difficulty reaching the other basic recipe
tapping points. I use the finger  points in combination with the nine gamut. First the
finger points, then the nine gamut series. Please note that fingertip points will come in handy as you tap and read
throughout the text. I’ll also be asking you at regular interva ls to tap on
these finger points, the collarbone point, or the EFT sequence points, as
you’ll soon see.Nine Gamut Series
After tapp ing the fingertip points, tap on the top of either hand, just behind
the knuckle and the V formed by the ring finger and the pinkie (the gamut
point), whil e doing nine different things. The left-right action harnesses and
integrates both creative and logical sides of your brain. While tapping on the gamut point on either hand:
1. Close your eyes. 2. Open your eyes, and look up as high as you can without moving your
head. 3. Look down to the far right while keeping your head steady and straight
ahead. 4. Look down to the far left while  keeping your head steady and straight
ahead. 5. Fully circle your eyes clockwise starting at 12:00. 6. Fully circle your eyes counterclockwise starting at 12:00. 7. Hum two seconds of a song that has no negative emotiona l charge
associated with it. You want a song that does not stimulate a bad
memory . I often use “T winkle T winkle Little Star .”
8. Count to five. 9. Hum two seconds of song. Next:
1. Repeat the EFT sequence, tapping down the eight points using the
reminder phrase. 2. Then test your results, rating your feeling about the tapping target on the
0 to 10 scale. If you still haven’ t resolved the issue completely , look for
other aspects, and tap on those using the EFT basic recipe. Below Nipple Points/Liver PointsThe “below nipple” points are just under the breast, directly below the
nipple, one on each side. They are often omitted because they can be
awkward to access, but I like tapping on these because the liver is often
associated with anger . Wrist Points
You can tap on the insides of the wrists about three finger -widths down
from where your hand starts. You can tap the inside and then the outside of
one wrist with the inside of the other or use the fingers of one hand to tap
the inside of the other wrist. To revie w, altho ugh the basic recipe involving the Karate Chop point or
Sore Spots and the sequence of eight points are normally all you need, the
nine gamut series and the finger, liver, and wrist points can be used in
addition when you are not making headway , when there is significant upset,
or just to see how things change for you when you try these points. In ConclusionNow that you know the basics of how to tap with Gold Standard EFT, why
we tap on the negative and positive, what an aspect is, how to check your
intensity on the intensity ratings scale, and how to experimen t with other
tapping points, you’re ready for chapter 3. You’ll discover how to
efficiently identify what to tap on, tools to clear long-standing challenges,
and surprising tips and tricks for using EFT on complicated issues. Ready
for more? [contents]OceanofPDF .comChapter 3
Getting Specific, Getting Results
A common mistake people make with EFT is not being specific enough in
the stories they are tapping on. They don’t get the results they expect and
then quit. But really , these people just needed to get more specific about
their tapping tar get. Getting to the heart of an event is sort of like reading a good book: you
need the details to get caught up in the story . The same is true when you are
unsticking place s in your heart,  body , mind, and energy system  with EFT
tapping. You go into the heart of a troubling memory to release its hold over
you, and you do that by uncov ering the specific details of the memory ,
aspect by aspect , tapping on them one at a time all the way down to zero,
until you experience neutrality and relief when you think about that targeted
memory again. In the first part of this chapter , we’ll explore different ways we can get
specific to get results:
1. Differentiating between the global or the big, overall tabletop issues, as
opposed to specific events or table legs. 2. Creating specific EFT setup statements;
3. Uncovering and tapping on aspects, or the unique details or components
of a specific event; and
4. Working with the individual, separate events that make up a global issue. When I first started tapping on my own, the effect was fast, easy, and
encouraging. I figured I’d resolve everything: the fibromyalgia, self-
sabotage, single -mama resentm ents, longstanding simmering anger at myex, and of cours e all the humilia tions from childhood and bad memories in
just a few tapping rounds. It was, er , slightly overly optimistic! Tapping on, say, the big issue of my fibromyalgia (I said, “Even though I
have fibromyalgia, I deeply and completely accept myself”), my self-
sabotage  (“Even though I sabotage myse lf, I deeply and completely accept
myself”), my childhood humiliations, and the like didn’ t get me very far on
the road to relief. In fact, these issues were too general—they were the
tabletop, global concerns held up by troubling specific table leg events from
the past. To get a handle on the global issues, I had to get specific. I got
curious about my issues and started asking myself a lot of open-ended
questions. Taking my self-sabotage as an example, I came to wonder along these
lines: When did I sabotage? In what areas of my life did I sabotage? Was
there a pattern to my self-sabotage? What was happening in my life right
befor e I began one of the sabotage cycles? What are the pegs or memories
holding up my self-sabotage? When was the first time I ever sabotaged that
I can remember? What negative  talk, big feelings, and beliefs come to mind
when I did sabotage or when I was stepping out of my comfort zone and
hadn’ t yet sabotaged? These questions gave me a plethora of specific events to tap on. These
events (tapping targets) were legs holding up the global issue, self-sabotage. After resolving the emotional intensity on many specific tapping targets,
including tapping on the details in each event that had intensity for me and
vividly visualizing the upsets to uncover any unresolved aspects, I began to
make great strides in all areas of my life. And while EFT wasn’t the only
healing work I did, it was one of the main catal ysts in my transformation. It
gave me a way to access the emotional drivers holding certain problems in
place. As we continue , go ahead and tap continuously on the fingertip points
(see Appendix A for an illustration) or practi ce tapping on the EFT
sequence points continuously . While not Gold Standard EFT, tapping
continuously will help you absorb the material faster .Global Issues versus Specific Events
Global tapping on an issue such as “my anxiety” as the feelings arise will
likely give you some surface relief, but it won’ t get you to the cause or roots
of your anxiety . Tapping on even one specific anxious event, as it is called
in EFT, is going to pay off in the long run and in most cases build the
foundation for clearing your anxiety at its roots. Your anxious event could be when you saw that an email blaming you for
a work problem had been copied  to your boss and your colleagues; you felt
the whole world closing in on you. It could be that time long ago on the first
day of kinder garten when you didn’ t want to let go of your mom’ s hand and
walk through the big doors alone, terrified of being lost for good. It could
be when you were eight and felt anxious watching Mom and Dad argue in
the kitch en that one night, feeling like your whole world was ending. It
could be your anxious feeling when anticipating the SAT coming up on
Monday as the test-taker or the parent of the test-taker . Each of these “anxious” events an be tapped individually . Tapping into
the feelings, sensations, thoughts, and beliefs that accompany anxious
events accesses and resolves the energy disruption, causing you to
experience freedom from anxiety as a result. There may be a few or dozens or hundreds of specific events under global
issues. Clear or neutralize enou gh of them—three, twenty , or a hundred—
and your global problem collapses all the way to its roots, thanks to the
Generalization Ef fect. EFT’ s effects will ripple out so you don’t have to tap
on every little upsetting event in your life. Whew! This works because similar anxious events are filed under the same folder
named “Anxiety ,” if you will. By tapping on one, the subconsc ious is also
working on unraveling others in that file. When situations that once caused
anxiety are revisited, there is now neutrality where you once felt upset and
angst. You may feel anxious again, but not at the same high level, which
just means you have uncovered another aspect. Start with a Specific EventYou can start with any specific memory that has intensity for you. The
earliest childhood memories can have more impact in collapsing the global
issue because they’re more foundational and may have laid the groundwork
for later, simila r events you have experienced. But you don’t need to go
right there just yet—you’re learning. For now, just remember that these
early events are considered core issues. In my practice, when a client presents with a “today” problem, I will ask
about the first time they felt that problem feeling. Often there will be a first
time and a specific memory related to it. Another question that helps
uncover specific events include: What’ s the one thing that happ ened to you
that you wish you could have skipped? “What does this feeling or event remind me of?” is important to ask
yourself—it may bring you right back to a core memory . Here’ s an example
of what I mean. Let’s say that John fell and hurt his right shoulder . The
shoulder should have recovered by now but it isn’t getting better . When we
tap on the shoulder pain, what emer ges is memories of growing up as the
oldest of twelve kids and having to “shoulder” the brunt of family
responsibility when he was little because his parents were overwhelmed. They leaned on him hard to help out. The pain of today is sitting atop the
unresolved heavy burdens he carried as a youngster . Now he has the
opportunity to clear the early events and when he does, the shoulder pain
resolves of its own accord. What if you can’t isolate a specific event or time under your global or
tabletop issue? Again, looking at the issue of anxiety , maybe it seems like
you experience anxiety all the time. Start where you are. Go ahead with a
global round of tapping on your feelings of anxiety . Your EFT setup
statement would look like this: “Even though I have this anxiety , I deeply
and completely accept myself.” Something more specific relatin g to your
anxiety will often come to mind. For exam ple, my client Shirley said she couldn’ t remember a time when
she didn’ t feel anxious; she couldn’ t isolate a specific anxious event. After
one global tapping round, I again asked her what the earliest time sheremembered feeling anxious was. A forgotten memory bubbled up from her
subconscious without her even having to think about it: “I was four or five
and hiding from Mom because she was trying to spank me.” Shirley had
both a physical sensation as she thought of the memory as well as some
emotional intensity . I asked her: “If this was a scene in a movie, what would
this scene’ s title be?” Giving the event you are about to tap on a title helps
provide a bit of emotional distance, and it also gives you an easily made
reminder phrase. She named the specific tapping target “Hiding from
Mom,” and that’ s where we started our work. After tapping through just this
one specific event, she found herself feeling much more resilient when
faced with situations in which anxiety would normally occur . Incidentally ,
as you start asking questions in this way, you will find it common for long-
submer ged memories to bubble up. Shirley’ s “Hiding from Mom” memory had all the hallm arks we needed
for a tapping tar get:
1. It was a specific event. 2. It had intensity . 3. It had a beginning, middle, and end. 4. It was under three minutes in length in real time. 5. There was one big emotional crescendo and several smaller emotional
spikes of feelings as she recal led the event right now in present-d ay
time. Now we’ll begin to explore how to move from a general complaint to a
more specific event and why that’s important. Let’s look a little closer at
how to get specific in an EFT setup statement. Getting Specific with Y our EFT Setup Statement
The following examples will help you understand the difference between a
general and a specific “tappable.” Compare the general and specific phrases
below that cover the same issue . Which phrase is more interesti ng, drawing
you deeper into the story?Situation 1: A person with low self-esteem
Global: “Even though I have low self-e steem, I deeply and completely
accept myself.”
Specific:  “Even though my feeling that I’m not as good as everyone else
hurts my career , I deeply and completely accept myself.”
More Specific:  “Even though I totally clammed up at the staff meeting
when they asked me a question because I was afraid they’d see how
dumb I am, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Situation 2: A person depr essed about his divor ce
Global: “ Even though I feel sad about my divorce, I deeply and complet ely
accept myself.”
Specific:  “Even though I’m sad not living at home since the divorce, I
deeply and completely accept myself.”
More Specific:  “Even though watching the kids walk in the door last night
after I dropped them off at what used to be our house, I deeply and
completely accept myself.”
Situation 3: A person with chr onic pain
Global:  “Even though I hurt all over my body , I deeply and complet ely
accept myself.”
Specific:  “Even though the pain on my right side is burning and throbbing ,
I deeply and completely accept myself.”
More Specific:  “Even though the pain on the right side of my back feels
like a sharp, red-hot needle stabbing me, I deeply and completely accept
myself.”
Which of the EFT setups place  you directly in the situation so you can
really feel and see it clearly? Which ones do you think will more  effectively
help you find the source of the problem and get relief? Exactly . Not all of the previous examples conform to the structure of beginning-
middle-end and two minutes or less as described above. For example,“looking right now at those four stacks of papers piled so high on my dining
room table is totally overwhelming”  is ongoing every time that person looks
at the papers; “the pain on the right side of my back feels like a sharp, red-
hot needle stabbing me” is an ongoing concern. That’ s okay . Thankfully ,
there are exceptions to every rule in life. I am offering you general
guidelines to navigate your way through this work. T rust your judgment and
you’ll do fine. And please note, this way of chunking down problems takes
time—no one expects you to get it right away . Tap, tap, tap … if you’re a
perfectionist who needs to get things right! Exercise: Creating Specific EFT Setup Statements
Take out your EFT journal or open your EFT file. We’ll target three general
or global issues you want to address. You might title this section “Global
Versus Specific EFT Setups.” We are now going to create three global EFT
setups and then see how to get specific with each one of them. As you start working on this exercise, consider tapping as you read. Doing so will help ease any intensity that arises as you begin delving into
areas of your life that bring discomfort. Consider the Tarzan tap, the finger
points, or the tap-down points from the EFT sequence while reading. See
Chapter 2  for illustrations if you need a refresher . Step 1. List one or more global problems in your life you’d like to see
change or you’d  like to feel better about, areas in which you’ve struggled. Examples include: my overeating, my anxiety , my “mom” stuff, I’m a
horrible parent, my feeling of hopelessness, my consistent relationship
sabotage, my performance anxiety , my low self-esteem, my chronic pain,
my grief, or my feeling of being overwhelmed. Create an EFT setup, one at a time. “Even though I have this (insert your
problem), I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Step 2. Now answer one or more of these questions about each global
tapping target. Remember , even one question and answer will do as a goodstart. You can only work with one thing at a time. Examples: How  do I
know I have this problem? What does this “today” problem remind me of
from the past? What situations  bring this problem up for me? What else
happens when I am having this problem? Can I name these situations as if
they were scenes in a movie and list them one at a time? Whe n does this
problem happen  most often? Who am I around when this happens? How
long have I had this problem? What happens inside my body when I
experience this problem? What thoughts and beliefs do I have when I think
about this problem? What other events does this problem remind me of? What is happen ing around me or just before I start having this problem? When was the earliest time I can remember having this problem? Step 3. Now that you have a good amount of information about your
global topic, see how many specific events you can find relating to the
global topic. Ask yourself if your tapping target has a beginni ng, middle,
and end. Is it two minutes or less in length? Give a short title to each of
your tapping targets. Is there at least one emotional spike you feel when you
think of the tapping tar get? Step 4. List as many tapping targets as you wish under each of your
global setup statements. Remember , you will be working on them one at a
time. Now that you have a pile of specific events, do you see how you can
create much more specific EFT setup statements? These will be far more
sharp-edged than the global EFT setups or setups you already  created in
Step 1. Asking curious questions  can help you travel into the specific events
and stories holding a global problem in place. Keep these handy: you can
use them  as tapping examples throughout the book as well as for your own
tapping later on. Getting Even More Specific with Aspects
We just covered  global problems versus specific tapping targets. With Gold
Standard EFT, we also emphasize getting specific within each tapping
target.7 Each tapping target can have multiple components or details that areupsetting. These components are called “aspects,” briefly introduced in
Chapter 2. Whether you tap on an upsetting event that happened, a
performance issue, or a physical issue, there will be aspects of intensity . Clear the aspects and you’ll experience relief. It may take one tapping
round; it may take twenty . For example, “So-and-so looked at me the wron g
way just now” probably has way fewer aspects than “the mugging.” But
even if it takes one or more hours to clear the intensity around “the
mugging,” isn’t that better than living a life in fear of going out on your
own again? How much has being scared to walk on the street cost you? A
little perspective helps. And remember that one tapping round takes about a
minute or less. Ideally , you tap on one aspect at a time until the intensity of that bit of the
story subsides, to a 2 or below on the intensity scale of 0 to 10. Then move
onto the next aspect that’s troubling you and so on until nothin g about the
tapping target bothers you anym ore. If you’re wondering how you find such
aspects, wonder no longer: As you tap one down to zero, anoth er one will
generally poke its head up for you to tap down to zero. You mig ht be surprised to see how quickly your emotions shift after even
one tapping round. Perhaps you uncover a big anger aspect after tapping a
grief aspect down to zero. Or you find that after you cleared rage to zero,
big tears of hurt poured out but then quickly faded after a round and now
you are experiencing an aspect of deep understanding. Maybe after tapping
on the feeling of not being able to figure out that all-importa nt problem,
you’re now laughing at how silly it all seems. Laughter like this may
happen even though the aspect you just tapped on is how your life feels like
it’s ending because you couldn ’t figure out the problem. Don’ t trouble
yourself to go looking for aspects—they will find you. Once you believe you have cleared all intensity of your tapping target,
you will want to test yourself by running through the issue in your mind
purposely testing for any remaining points of intensity to tap on. Poke
around in that memory , try to make yourself upset. You will know you are
done if you feel neutral about what had heretofore been a bad memoryreplete with negative feelings, thoughts, and sensations. You have cleared
the energy disruption and restored your system to balance. You might even
laugh at what happened, wonder what the bother was all abou t in the first
place, or forget you had the problem altogether! Remember the story of
Scott’ s snorting from Chapter 2 ? It’s the Apex Ef fect at play . On occasion, you might uncover something more to tap on even though
you thought you were clear on that tapping target. For example,  maybe you
chose to tap on your fear of spiders and thought you covered everything
because you aren’ t afraid of them any longer . But then a couple months
later in the basem ent, you see one swinging from a strand of its web and get
scared again. The fear won’ t be as strong, and you won’ t need to tap on the
whole thing again, just on that one aspect that didn’ t come up when you
were tapping the first time. When T apping on Aspects Leads  
to More Core Specifics
Here’ s an example of how effective tapping can be when you tap on the
various aspects of a specific issue. Anita, a 16-year -old, feels anxious about
her SAT coming up on Saturday . She names the issue, with plenty of events
and aspects under it, “My SA T Fear .” She easily uncovers plenty of aspects,
including beliefs, feelings, sensations, and thoughts about the original
concern. For example: “I’m scared about failing,” “I need to do well to get
into a good college,” “I never do well on tests,” “my stomach is all tight and
I feel like throw ing up,” “I feel dread,” “I know I’ll freeze,” “I try so hard
but it doesn’ t pay off,” “the SAT practice test I took was humili ating,” “my
parents are expe cting more of me,” “my sister is so much better  at this than
I am,” “I’m just not smart enough,” “why can’t it be easier ,” “I feel so
stupid, like I’ll never make it in the real world,” “I don’t understand how it
can be so hard,” and so on. Addressing these details with the EFT basic recipe, one round  at a time
—“Even though I’m scared about failing” … “Even though I need to do
well to get into a good colleg e”—puts you right into the heart of theexperience again, which is surprisingly exactly where you want to go. Not
because you’re a glutton for punishment; rather , you are tapping into the
energy disruption for the purpose of restoring your system to balance
around this issue. In this test-anxiety case, Anita taps on these various aspects, one EFT
round at a time. As she does so, three different specific even ts come to
mind: In first grade, she had to take a test and didn’ t understand the
instructions. The teacher wouldn’ t answer her questions, and she got a bad
grade. Another time, she remembered her mother trying to teach her math,
getting angrier and angrier with Anita for not comprehending the problems
immediately . Anita also watche d her sister sail throug h her homework and
be praised, while Anita struggled and was ignored. Interestingly , these stories from Anita’ s earlier life are core issue s that are
at the heart of her anxiety . They are the foundational energy disruptions that
by age sixteen, have globalized as anxiety about taking any test. What does
she need  to do now? For the time being she bookmarks the “today’ issue of
Saturday’ s test and taps on one of these events and any of the aspects that
arise, all the way down to zero. Maybe she taps on all three. Then she
returns to her present-day anxiety and checks it. When she has tapped
enough aspects down to zero, meaning they have no intensity anymore, she
no longer has a fight-or -flight anxiety response. She feels confident about
her future and understands that she has great potential. She no longer thinks
she is less than her sister . She can now effectively prepare with a clear head,
absorb the material better , make the decision to get proper rest, take the
time to study without worry , and be wholly comfortable taking the test. Even if Anita doesn’ t do well on the test, she will now have more
resources availa ble to get the help and support she needs, and she will not
equate low test scores with being a failure and experiencing shame and
guilt. Getting Specific with Events  
Longer Than T wo MinutesBefore you start thinking, “I have to get this timing right! I can’t do it
unless my event s are under two minutes” I want to tell you that’s not it at
all. EFT takes practice, as I’ve mentioned before. How long, for example,
does it take a baby to crawl, and then to walk? The Buddhist tradition has
“precepts,” or simple guidelines from which to live. Each one starts with “I
undertake the practice to … .” This means it’s a given that we’re not going
to be perfect, that it’s going to take a while, and that we’ll make mistakes. Keep this language in mind as you continue. Your EFT work is a practice,
and practice is never perfect. Let’s try that collarbone tapping for about 60 seconds right now. Go
ahead, tap your collarbone points. While you are tapping, choose a song,
poem, story, or image you love. Go ahead and tap while focusing on that
“love” target. Or just become aware of your body and check into what’ s
happening insid e as you tap. Experience your body sensations without
judgment for 60 seconds of the T arzan tap. What do you do when you have events that are upsetting that lasted for
extended periods of time?
_OceanofPDF.com_Tapping_Into_Wellness_-_Kathilyn_Solomon.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        If numbers don’t work for you, scale
the intensity with your arms: Arms spread wide would be a ten, while palms
together would be a zero. Or you can scale the intensity geogra phically: as
small as your house or as big as the world. Find what works  for you. Ifyou’re unsure, simple guess your level of intensity. Don’ t think too hard
about this. Y ou’ll get comfortable with practice. Step 3. Craft your EFT setup statement. Your setup statement will have
two parts:
1. Your problem—that is, the negative tapping target—you phrase like this:
“Even though I have (state your pr oblem) …. ”
2. Your affirmation, something positive about yourself. The standard EFT
affirmation is “ … I deeply and completely accept myself. ”
Basic Gold Standard uses the phrase “deeply and completely love and
accept myself. ” Before proce eding, practice deeply and completely
accepting yours elf right now. Simply insert your target problem into the
EFT setup format like so:
Even though I (have this problem), I deeply and completely accept
myself. The EFT format does not change; it’s a negative linked to a positive, but
the content—your target problems—will. You can play an infinite number
of melodies on the same instrument. For example, “I don’t like what my
boss said to me this morning” would look like this: “Even though I don’t
like what my boss said to me this morning, I deeply and completely accept
myself. ”
Now you have the first part of the EFT basic recipe: the EFT setup
statement, which we’ll put together with the starting Karate Chop point. Step 4. Find the location of the Karate Chop point you’ll use in the setup. Figure 4: Karate Chop point, EFT basic r ecipe
starting point. Start the pr ocess by karate
chopping continuously while expr essing your EFT
setup statement. The Karate Chop point on the
side of the hand corr esponds to the small intestine
acupunctur e meridian. Either hand can be used to
chop. T apping is all along the side of the palm, not
just on one point. These instructions describe the use of the left Karate Chop point for
clarity. However, you can tap either the left or right Karate Chop point; it all
works. Find the Karate Chop point by opening your left hand, pinky side
facing down. Using the finger tips or palm of your right hand, tap gently all
along the edge of your left palm. This point is named for the hand position
karate masters use when they “chop. ” You can switch hands at any time, if
your tapping hand or fingers tire. Step 5. Repeat the EFT setup statement while tapping the Karate Chop
point. Repeat your EFT setup statement while tapping gently and continuously
on the Karate Chop point. This setup aims a spotlight straight at the
problem that you have identified  as your first tapping target. This alerts the
entire central nervous system that you’re ready to work. It begins activating
and rebalancing your energy system. Combining a negative expression witha positive one neutralizes any subconscious resistance you may have to
achieving your goal. Express your EFT setup stateme nt aloud one or more times while karate
chopping. You may have seen it done three times, but Gold Standard has
evolved and one time is enou gh. Gold Standard EFT says once, while
others repeat three times. It’s really up to you; you won’ t go wrong
repeating your setup statement. You can say the EFT setup silently in your
head, shout it out loud, whispe r it, whine your way through it, or sing it. The key is to help the upset around your tapping target bubble to the
surface. Alternate Starting Point for the Setup: The Sor e Spot (SS)
An alternate, equally effective but less common starting point for tapping is
the Sore Spot (SS). Find it by “walking” your fingers out from the center of
your collarbone, either three inches to the right or left, toward your
shoulders. Rub or massage this area gently in a circular motion. The spot is
often tender, which is why it’ s called the Sore Spot (SS). As with the collarbone points, there are two sore spots, one on each side
of the chest. The Sore Spot is not the collarbone point. See Figure 5 for
clarity and location of the two dif ferent tapping areas. Figure 5: The Sor e Spot, an alternate, less used
point, can be used instead of the Karate Chop to
start the EFT basic r ecipe and activate the body’ s
energy system. Step 6. Practice the EFT setup now. Repeat  the following EFT setup
several times while tapping continuously on your Karate Chop Point or
Sore Spot:
Even though I have this problem, I deeply and completely accept
myself. EFT basic r ecipe, Part II (The EFT Sequence Reminder Phrase
and Eight Ener gy Points)
You’ve set up the problem by saying “Even though I have this problem, I
deeply and completely accept myself. ” Now, work on the second part of the
EFT basic recip e, the EFT sequence. Tap down the sequence points whileexpressing a reminder or proble m phrase that reminds you of your tapping
target. Step 1: Create an EFT Sequence Reminder Phrase. Sometimes EFT can work so quickly that people forget what they were
tapping on. The reminder phrase keeps the spotlight where it belongs, on
the tar geted problem. To create a reminder phrase, choose a phrase from your setup statement
that elicits the most emotional intensity. Suppose you’re upset  about what
David said on the phone last night. Here’ s the EFT setup: “Even though I
have this upset over what David said on the phone last night, I deeply and
completely accept myself. ” Choose a reminder or problem phrase such as:
“upset at what David said,” or “my David phone upset,” or simply “David
upset. ”
Suppose your EFT setup looks like this: “Even though I am sad about the
loss of my dog Cedar who died last month, I deeply and compl etely accept
myself. ” A reminder phrase might be: “my sadness about Cedar dying,” or
“Cedar died and I’m sad,” or “my Cedar loss. ” You can even just use the
generic “this pr oblem,” as your reminder phrase. If you’re upset but can’t quite identify what you’re feeling, just tune into
the feeling happening right now. The words are not as critical to success as
the feelings—both emotional and physical sensations—relating to the
problem. Staying tuned in to the feelings you’r e experiencing when you
focus on the problem is at the heart of EFT. The feelings lead you to
resolution, and it’s feelings, not words, that become stuck inside your
primitive brain. Even if you don’t have the right words or are unclear how
to say it, EFT will still work if you are tuned in to the upset feeling. Step 2: Combine reminder phrase with the eight ener gy points. Repeat the
reminder phrase while tapping on the eight tapping points of the EFT
tapping sequence, on the head and upper torso (see Figure 6. ) Using the
index and middle fingers of the left or right hand, tap gently about five to
seven times on each point. Figure 6 : After the EFT setup statement, wher e
you state your pr oblem while karate chopping, you
then apply the EFT Sequence, tapping on the eight
points in the or der given in the text holding a
feeling, body sensation, thought, or image
associated with the tar geted pr oblem in mind. The sequence starts at the top of the head and moves down from there
through to your under arm point. T ap on each point five to seven times, with
index and middle fingers of either hand. Locate the following tapping
sequence points:
Top of Head : Gently tap with palm open wide atop the center or crown of
your head for a few seconds or the equivalent of five to seven taps. Inside of eyebrow:  Touch the bridge of your nose, and then move your
tapping fingers slightly to the left or to the right to just inside theeyebrow. Tap lightly. Side of eye: Touch the bony part outside of your eye, and tap lightly; it’s
about a half-inch from the outsi de edge of your eye, but not as far as the
soft temple spot. Under eye:  Find the bone underneath your eye, under the iris. Tap gently on
this under -eye bone, as it may be tender. Under nose:  Tap under your nose in the crease between the nose and upper
lip. Chin:  Tap under your lower lip in the indention between your lower lip and
chin. Collarbone:  You already know the collarbone point as the Tarzan tapping
point. Under arm: Find this point about four fingers down from the armpit, on the
upper rib cage. For women, this would be about at the bra line. When you
massage this point a bit deeper, it is often sore. Access these points easily
by reaching one arm (e. g. , the right) across the body to tap on the other
side (e.
Scale the intensity with your arms (spreading them wide for a 10 and together for a 0).
What is the suggested alternative to using numbers to rate the intensity of a problem?
The EFT setup statement aims to alert the central nervous system and activate the body's energy system, neutralizing any subconscious resistance to achieving your goal.
What is the purpose of the EFT setup statement?
The original recipe had more points, but Gold Standard EFT has evolved and is now more efficient.
What is the difference between the original EFT recipe and the Gold Standard EFT?
Getting specific is crucial in EFT, as it allows you to resolve the energy disruption and restore your system to balance.
What is the importance of getting specific in EFT tapping?
The reminder phrase is used to keep the focus on the specific problem and avoid any subconscious resistance to the process.
What is the purpose of the reminder phrase in EFT?