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EFT-Talk Podcast #12 — How does EFT fit into the New Energy Medicine?
The New Medicine is a holistic approach to healing the bodymind, respecting all complementary approaches to restoring and improving natural healing responses. EFT plays a key role by offering self-empowerment and increased self-awareness.
– Treating “symptoms” to control disease has limits and seldom heals.
– Dis-ease represents a lack of ease in the physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies.
– We are a field of energy and intelligence… that sometimes gets disrupted.
– What is mental health?
– Is there a link between the emotional description “Something is eating at me” and the appearance of ulcers? How about “there’s so much I need to get off my chest” and the appearance of breast cancer?
– Isn’t it stupid or at least ignorant at this point to create a strict dicotomy between the mind as “psychological” and the body as “physical/biological”?
– When was the last time you had YOUR energy system checked by a doctor? Never??
– Oriental medical approach is still a treatment protocol, not designed for self-empowerment.
– EFT empowers YOU and increases self-awareness.
– These are natural comfort points we’re using!
– But it’s still WEIRD… so we tap on that so you can stay connected and centered in your own guidance.
Transcript:
Carol Look:
Welcome to EFT Talk with your hosts, Rick Wilkes and Carol Look. We are here to help you raise your vibration with Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and the Law of Attraction, to help you bring into your life all that you’re looking for. So, welcome Rick.
Rick Wilkes:
Hi, Carol.
Carol:
Our question of the day is, “How does EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) fit into the new energy medicine, the new paradigm of medicine for us in this world?”
Rick:
A recent PBS special talked about the new medicine. As someone who’s been in the complimentary and alternative medicine field now since 1991, watching as people learned about how vitamins can support their immune system during times of chronic illness and how meditation can help shift someone who has heart disease, and we’re starting to explore all different aspects to what is called mind-body medicine… the new medicine, energy medicine, vibrational medicine. All of these are a term for a holistic approach to the body-mind.
When people started cutting into the body, they started seeing that when someone died of pneumonia, that there was scarring and pus and other things around the lungs, and so we started looking at treating those symptoms as a way of controlling disease. If you think about the term “disease” and you split it up with a hyphen, dis-ease, there’s a physiological component to it. But there’s also an emotional component to it, there’s a spiritual component to it.
The decision that I made was to call all of these things energy, and of course that’s supported by science, the Quantum Theory: everything is energy and information.
Carol:
Right.
Rick:
And if we look at the body as an integrated energy field of multiple layers, multiple dimensions, it totally shifts the way that we “treat” a condition, the way that we “approach” mental illness, the way we “approach” even success and abundance.
Carol:
Right, and even that word “integrated.” I always tell people mental health is about integration of all your parts. It’s not denying a part of your body or a feeling or a set of feelings. Integration is everything pulled together in acceptance and owning it all. Basically owning all the energy and all the parts of you.
Rick:
One of the early pioneers in this field, Dr. Bernie Siegel, working with exceptional cancer patients would notice that a woman that had a mastectomy, a radical mastectomy, would use terms like, “There’s something I have to get off my chest.” People with chronic ulcers that, “something is eating at them.”
Carol:
Right.
Rick:
And these are thoughts… these are energies… these are
beliefs that have a direct physiological impact on our body.
Carol:
Right, and as you say, forever we’ve separated the mind and body, and when you’re calling it mind-body medicine, you know, my friend says we shouldn’t even hyphenate that word anymore.
Rick:
Right.
Carol:
Mindbody is one word…
Rick:
Yeah, I call it…
Carol:
We shouldn’t hyphenate it, we shouldn’t slash, we shouldn’t…
Rick:
Bodymind [laughter].
Carol:
Bodymind is one word…
Rick:
In fact, in this new medicine show, one of the rounds that the [hospital] residents were doing with a specialist in this area… his only goal was to get them to realize that if they create a dichotomy between what is going on in the mind and treat it as psychological, and what is going on in the body and treat it as medical, it is stupid. He was very powerful in making it clear to them that such a dichotomy cannot exist. The physiology, the biology, the neurology, the psychology, it all comes back to an integrated system.
Carol:
That you’re doing yourself a disservice if you say, “Oh well, that was just a germ” or, “Oh well, that runs in my family.”
Rick:
Right, and DNA is not predictive in all cases, and being exposed to a virus is certainly not predictive, that people have been exposed to HIV and not gotten it. Why is that?
Carol:
Right.
Rick:
There’s much, much, much more that we don’t know than what we do know. When I ask people, “When you go to the doctor, when was the last time that he checked your blood pressure?” and of course, “We get our blood pressure checked every time we go to the doctor.” And then I’ll ask everyone to say, “When was the last time that they had their energy system checked?”
Carol:
Hmm, exactly.
Rick:
And they don’t even know what I’m talking about! Here are people that have suffered with chronic arthritis and fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, things that are clearly based upon how much energy is moving in your body, and they’ve never had their energy system checked. Now, of course, if you go to an Oriental medical doctor, he will listen to your pulses, he will check your tongue, he will do a different way of diagnosing the energy system.
Carol:
Right.
Rick:
And of course applying acupuncture needles to these key power points that we use in EFT.
Carol:
So how does EFT fit in, would you say, with the new medicine? How do you…
Rick:
To me we’re really blazing some new frontiers here. The acupuncture approach is one still of the
“learned doctor” observing and not sharing squat with you in a way that you can understand, even if you are Chinese, about what’s going on in your body. My wind is weak, my water is damp. It is not…
Carol:
My fire is…
Rick:
It is not the sensible way for us to become more aware of what’s going on in our body. It is a treatment protocol. For me, EFT says, “I’m going to be increasing my body awareness intentionally.”
Carol:
“I’m going to empower myself… “
Rick:
“To take care of myself with emotional self-care, with physical self-care, and with recognizing my vibration.” So the first step in EFT is to notice what’s going on in your body. How does my energy feel? What thoughts are associated with it? If I have a particular thought, how does it make me feel in my body? And by using that and then tapping these acupoints, which have been known for thousands of years, and in fact I like the way that you and Dr. Carrington — in conquering emotional overeating — talk about them as natural comfort points.
Carol:
Right.
Rick:
And you show pictures of how if somebody is suddenly shocked by news, they might put their hands at the base of their throat right over the collarbone points. Can you imagine that! And I saw a small child the other day looking very unsafe, and they had their hands under their armpits kind of rubbing and squeezing, and I’m thinking…
Carol:
[laugh]
Rick:
Yeah! These are the weird spots, aren’t they? And that’s what I’d like to do some tapping around.
Carol:
Great.
Rick:
This is still weird. People tell me, “Well, I could never tap in public!” Okay, would you hug yourself in public, would you cross your hands, would you put your hands on the side of your head in public? “Well yeah, maybe.” This is still weird, and I recognize that, and while I may be out there tapping in public, that’s okay, but…
Carol:
[laugh]
Rick:
Some people find it too weird to be a participant in this energy view of the body. It doesn’t fit their paradigm. Just like as you listen to the doctors on the new medicine show talking about how when they first entered medicine, this whole idea that
“a thought could cause, could be the contributing core energy around a cancer…”
Carol:
Right.
Rick: …would have been rejected and ridiculed so soundly that they would have left someone crying out of their office if they had brought that up as a belief. We’re still at the point where some troglodytes are out there that are very insensitive about these approaches. Others are further along the path. They’re hearing some signs that there are some good works going on; people are going into miraculous remission.
Carol:
Yes.
Rick:
They call it remission simply because they don’t have a paradigm for some of these things being completely cured and cleared out of the energy system, and there’s an increasing number of cases where hospitals are recognizing that body-mind medicine, creative visualizations, can make an enormous difference in a person’s well-being,
and their recovery from surgery. On this show also they talk about a visualization CD that they give to people that are going to be undergoing surgery, and it’s paid for by the insurance companies…
Carol:
Beautiful.
Rick:
But they save about nine days of recovery…
Carol:
Oh my gosh.
Rick:
On certain surgeries, if people properly prepare their energy system. EFT is not the only way. Guided imagery is very powerful; prayer, meditation, anything that soothes your system so that you vibrationally feel more alive is where it’s at.
Carol:
More alive and healthier. I had someone in the class this weekend, which was about abundance by the way. We were tapping on a pain. We did surrogate tapping on her pain, and it went from an eight to a 0, and she said, “This is the first time in 17 years I have not been in pain.”
Rick:
Yeah. What’s up with that?
Carol:
[laugh]. No pills, no meds, and you know, this class, of course, is full of people who are not that skeptical. They’re already on board, most of them, 80 – 90%.
Rick:
Yeah, their vibration is in alignment with this working…
Carol:
Right.
Rick:
And they’ve become sensitive to the vibrations, and that makes it helpful, yeah. But what’s up with that? Most people would consider that just weird, and if that’s what you are.
Carol:
Which is it. [laugh]
Rick:
Yeah, so let’s do some tapping. There’s a chart of easy EFT acupoints on our website at
www.eft-talk.com, if you need to refer to it. We start at the karate chop point, which is on the side of the hand, and we just continually tap while we make some statements about how we might feel about using EFT for our own health and well-being.Even though this is really weird.
Carol:
Even though EFT is really weird.
Rick:
“I’m not sure I can be that weird.”
Carol:
I’m not sure I can be that weird.
Rick:
“I’m open to the possibility of it helping anyway.”
Carol:
I’m open to the possibility of it helping anyway.
Rick:
“Even though I don’t understand why it seems to help me.”
Carol:
Even though I don’t understand why it seems to help me.
Rick:
“And no one else around me does either.”
Carol:
And no one else around me does either.
Rick:
“And they think I’m just being foolish.”
Carol:
And they think I’m just being foolish.
Rick:
“I’ve decided to listen to my own intuition.”
Carol:
I’ve decided to listen to my own intuition.
Rick:
“Which has attracted me to this way of healing.”
Carol:
Which has attracted me to this way of healing.
Rick:
“I go to the top of the head next. This is weird.”
Carol:
This is weird.
Rick:
Eyebrow: “How can this help?”
Carol:
How can this help?
Rick:
Beside the eye: “This doesn’t make any sense!”
Carol:
This doesn’t make any sense!
Rick:
Under the eye: “They never taught this.”
Carol:
They never taught this.
Rick:
Under the nose: “And I’m uncomfortable.”
Carol:
And I’m uncomfortable with it.
Rick:
On the chin: “Is it okay?”
Carol:
Is it okay?
Rick:
Collarbone: “It feels okay.”
Carol:
It feels okay.
Rick:
Under the arm: “It’s my body.”
Carol:
It’s my body.
Rick:
Top of head: “I’ve decided to comfort it.”
Carol:
I have decided to comfort my body.
Rick:
Eyebrow: “And it feels good.”
Carol:
It feels good.
Rick:
Beside the eye: “I’m feeling some relief.”
Carol:
I’m feeling some relief.
Rick:
Under the eye: “It doesn’t have to be an instant cure.”
Carol:
It doesn’t have to be an instant cure.
Rick:
On top of the nose: “I just want some relief!”
Carol:
I just want some relief.
Rick:
On the chin: “I deserve some relief.”
Carol:
I deserve some relief.
Rick:
Collarbone: “And this is helping a little.”
Carol:
And this is helping.
Rick:
Under the arm: “And sometimes a lot.”
Carol:
And sometimes it’s helping a lot.
Rick:
Top of the head: “And that gives me hope.”
Carol:
And that gives me hope.
Rick:
Take a deep breath.
Carol:
[deep breath]
Of course, I don’t think it’s weird anymore, but that tapping round reminded me of was how many people are not listening to their body but they’re listening to someone else say to them “this is weird.”
Rick:
That’s a good point.
Carol:
So their body feels better. They’ve gotten some relief. They look at other people. They’re in a class. They’re in a demonstration. Somehow they do it and they get some relief, and they’re fine with it until someone starts talking them out of it. “What do you mean you’re tapping on acupuncture points to feel better. Give me a break!” And then they start backing away, so it really just reminded me of staying connected, staying centered in what you feel, your vibration. You’ve got to trust yourself, and that includes if EFT doesn’t feel like the best tool for you, then don’t use it all the time or don’t worry. Go to something else in energy medicine.
Rick:
There are many different approaches and exercises. Some people don’t prefer to tap. Some people find it physically upsetting, wherever their energy symptom is, to physically tap. You can hold the points and breathe. You can imagine the points and breath. Those of us who are energy experts have a wide variety of things in our toolkit. We focus on EFT because it is so successful in combining thought and intention, the Law of Attraction, and a physical body component. So many times the things that keep people from making these changes are when they’ve given their power away.
Carol:
Right.
Rick:
And they’ve given it away to doctors, they’ve given it away to parents and spouses, friends and family, who are well-meaning perhaps but also
not in your system.
Carol:
Right.
Rick: One of the greatest teachings is that
your guidance system is your guidance system. Your feelings are your feelings, and they are the ones that are going to take you from where you are to where you want to be.
Carol:
And remember, everyone, when you have a trauma or get yelled at or failed a test, or any of those things, it doesn’t just happen in your mind. It does happen in your body, mind, and soul, and that’s why, Rick, when you were just describing how it’s for the whole body, it’s the whole body, mind, and soul. That’s what you need to heal in all the places where the problem happened. You can’t just talk yourself out of it. You need to get the body component and the spirit component.
Rick:
Bodymind medicine, new medicine, vibrational medicine, and energy medicine all recognize this integrated viewpoint, that at the smallest level we are energy and intelligence, and where that energy has been disrupted, if you can find some doorway into it that brings soothing relief, which you will notice right away because your energy will shift, your vibration will shift. Know that you’re on the right track there. Give yourself the opportunity to explore it further and just see how far it takes you. It may lead you in some very interesting ways and some very different re-perceptions about your life as it’s been and how it can be.
Carol:
We have time for one quick… one more quick round.
Rick:
Sure. What would you like to tap on?
Carol:
Just more on trusting myself.
Rick:
Yeah, okay. Karate Chop: “Even though I’ve never learned to trust myself.”
Carol:
Even though I never learned to trust myself.
Rick:
“Other people have scrambled my signals.”
Carol:
Other people have scrambled my signals.
Rick:
“I’m open to finding it surprisingly easy.”
Carol:
I’m open to finding it surprisingly easy.
Rick:
“To listen to my inner guidance now.”
Carol:
To listen to my inner guidance now.
Rick:
“Even though this is a new skill for me.”
Carol:
Even though this is a new skill for me and a new technique for me.
Rick:
“And I’m going to feel uncomfortable at times.”
Carol:
And I’ll feel uncomfortable at times.
Rick:
“I choose to feel supported in this work.”
Carol:
I choose to feel supported in this work.
Rick:
Top of the head: “This is uncomfortable.”
Carol:
This is uncomfortable for me.
Rick:
Eyebrow: “I’ve been uncomfortable.”
Carol:
I’ve been uncomfortable.
Rick:
Beside the eye: “I want to be more comfortable.”
Carol:
I want to be more comfortable.
Rick:
Under the eye: “This is weird.”
Carol:
This is weird.
Rick:
On the nose: “I don’t really trust it yet.”
Carol:
I don’t really trust it yet.
Rick:
On the chin: “And that’s okay.”
Carol:
And that’s okay.
Rick:
Collarbone: “I don’t need to trust it right from the start.”
Carol:
I don’t need to trust it right from the start.
Rick:
Under the arm: “I can build experience.”
Carol:
I am building experience.
Rick:
I like that. Top of the head: “And that feels good.”
Carol:
And that feels good.
Rick:
Eyebrow: “I want to trust myself.”
Carol:
I want to trust myself.
Rick:
Beside the eye: “I intend to trust myself.”
Carol:
I intend to trust myself.
Rick:
Under the eye: “I definitely choose to trust myself.”
Carol:
I choose to trust myself.”
Rick:
On the nose: “I’m learning to listen to my deepest wisdom.”
Carol:
I’m learning to listen to my deepest wisdom.
Rick:
On the chin: “It’s coming out now.”
Carol:
It’s coming out now.
Rick:
Collarbone: “That feels good.”
Carol:
And that feels good.
Rick:
Under the arm: “I love that power.”
Carol:
I love the power of my wisdom.
Rick:
Top of the head: “I love the way it makes me feel.”
Carol:
And I love the way it makes me feel.
[deep breath]
Carol:
Wonderful. You and I both like to remind people that we were skeptical in the beginning, that we…
Rick:
Oh, yeah.
Carol:
That we had to build up experiences, that we had to really learn to trust our own intuition around tapping medicine and all of these strange new techniques, but when our bodies and minds were giving us feedback that was undeniable, that was successful, that’s how we turned the corner. That’s how I did it with skeptical clients, with myself when I was skeptical, and then you just build and build and build, and now there’s no choice for me. Now it’s so obvious.
Rick:
It’s a knowing. We use it so often.
Carol:
Energy medicine…
Rick:
And as I look at what’s being promoted as ways of returning to well-being, I believe that energy exercises of some kind will be viewed as being the preliminary exercises that one should do, could do, and need to do before you go out there into the world for work, for play, for exercise, what have you. If you get your energy system tuned up… It’s a bit like having a computer and the timing and the fuel controls all set properly in the car before you try to turn it on and go someplace.
Carol:
Right.
Rick:
When you get all of that into alignment using EFT and other techniques, your life will unfold by the Law of Attraction in a beautiful way.
Carol:
Beautiful it is! Thanks Rick. And for anyone who has a question or a comment, please write us at ask@EFT-talk.com. Thanks everyone!