EFT -- Tapping the Shame Point

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is such a powerful technique, that I try to spread the word on it. It's such a simple technique and nobody deserves to be enslaved by their negative emotions. However, I am often met with some sort of resistance. Many people find it unbelievable that lightly tapping on a few points on the body while tuning into a highly charged memory/feeling can balance and eliminate that negative feeling. Those who would be theoretically open to it are reluctant because they are self conscious about "looking silly" as they say phrases and tap on various points.

The founder of EFT, Gary Craig, encourages experimentation with EFT and variations, so I tried a variation last night that I'd like to share.

Last night, a friend of mine, Collin, had to give bad news to his father. He had borrowed his father's car to come visit me and parked in front of my house. While we were catching up and chatting, an elderly gentleman drove by, and because of a medical condition, blacked out, veered off the road and collided with Collin's father's car. The elderly driver flipped his own car and totaled both cars.

We were all grateful that there were no pedestrians around at that time, and nobody seemed seriously injured from the collision.

While Collin intellectually knew that this was really nobody's fault, he dreaded telling his father what happened. I noticed that he seemed anxious, guilty, ashamed, and embarrassed. After looping with these negative feelings for about 15 minutes, I had Collin tap on what's known as the chin point in EFT which is located in the divot between the lower lip and the chin. This area is associated with the Central Meridian and helps to release feelings of shame.

We did not tap on any other points, we did not come up with a phrase, and we did not correct for the possibility of psychological reversal as is usually required in the EFT protocol. I'm happy to report that simply tapping on the chin point immediately calmed him down. This was Collin's first experience with how powerful EFT can be, and he was stunned who quickly it worked.

Some people become suspicious at how quickly these feelings are released with EFT. Many people believe that negative feelings are somehow virtuous or necessary or that EFT causes people to somehow be in denial about their feelings. Some also believe that without guilt or shame, they would have no moral compass.

EFT only works on the irrational aspects of a belief, and in the case of Collin, feeling guilty because somebody else had a medical condition and collided with his father's car was certainly irrational. EFT corrected for the irrational feelings while still allowing Collin to have clarity over the reality of the situation.