A few nights ago at Center for Transformative Change Victor Lewis came by to offer a quick workshop on Emotional Freedom Technique, also known as EFT, a practice that is related to accupressure because it stimulates the nervous system through tapping on various parts of the body. It’s an easy technique that anyone can learn. And it’s value in terms of healing is ginormous.
Because it is so simple and accessible EFT has been used to heal those who’ve been considered impossible to cure, particularly patients with PTSD. Victor told the story of a villager from Rwanda who’d witnessed the deaths of his wife and children and who had nearly been killed himself. His PTSD symptoms included dizziness and not being able to walk without falling down. To everyone in his village he’d become someone unrecognizable. A visiting medic did some EFT with him and in twenty minutes he was a different man, walking without falling.
EFT has been used on soldiers, victims of various traumas, on people plagued by their own memories or in some cases, plagued by their own bodies. As a sort of test Victor worked with one of our community members who was wheezing from asthma and in ten minutes the EFT had taken effect. The woman he’d been working with was stunned. Through several simple rounds of tapping her wheezing had eased considerably.
It does sound like hocus pocus until you try it. The key to success is persistence. Once you start the process and the issue has eased don’t stop until it’s gone. Why does this work? According to the founders of EFT, the cause of all negative emotion is a disruption in our energy system. EFT keys into our nervous system and lets us get back on track.
Think about the effect that could have on a large scale. Think about the effect it could have in marginalized communities that haven’t moved past old traumas. It could bring empowerment and change to families and communities.
The best thing about EFT is that you don’t need any tools to do it and once you know how, you can take it anywhere and teach anyone. In a matter of ten minutes to or an hour you could be released from things that you’ve held on to for decades. And unlike a lot of the mind-body practices that are out there, EFT gives us a chance to release our memories without re-experiencing them. We simply let go.
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