Dear Gary,
I have been using EFT for a little over a year
now. I have watched the original tapes several times, the Ultimate Therapist
tapes a couple of times, and just recently purchased From EFT to The Palace of
Possibilities.
Last June I had a client (Ann) who came to me
for Reiki, to help her release stress and anger she felt she was building up.
Work was overwhelming and her relationship with "Steve", her partner, was
unwinding. We sat and talked before the Reiki session, and I asked her if she
knew where all the "anger stuff" was coming from. She said she had never gotten
over being gang raped 20 years ago by her ex-husband ("Neil") and a bunch of his
service buddies (he also beat her regularly in those days and was verbally
abusive). She felt she could never forgive him (Neil), even though she had been
through much traditional counseling. Her history was negatively affecting her
current relationship with "Steve" and her ability to be intimate.
I suggested that before we do Reiki, we try
EFT (it was a new tool for me) and attempt to clear up the energy system a bit
so that Reiki might be even more effective. She was willing to give EFT a try.
So Ann started telling me her story and immediately had a SUDs [0-10 intensity]
level of 10+. We defined that aspect as feelings of helplessness, and did two
rounds of tapping to get that to a 0. As she retold the story, many other
aspects came up and we tapped for them all. Some of them were:
anger at her husband
anger at the other men involved
anger at herself for allowing it to happen
disgust at herself
feelings of shame
feelings of weakness
feelings of dirtiness
feelings of embarrassment
feelings of worthlessness
why did this happen to me?
I made this happen
I am not good enough
I did not deserve this
this is my fault
why me?
and even more.
We tapped ( often using the shortcut) until
each one was a 0. The whole process took about an hour and a half, and was, at
times, a tearful encounter. Ultimately she told the story, in several ways, and
commented that it was like watching a movie - she was now outside the events, no
emotional charge to it. She was thrilled and amazed. We moved on to her Reiki
session and she left relaxed and happy.
Two weeks later I received a call from Ann.
She wanted to tell me about what had happened to her. She was on the phone with
her ex-mother-in-law (whom she had remained in contact with throughout the
years) who had called to wish her a happy birthday. While Ann was speaking to
her ex-mother-in-law, her ex-husband "Neil" walked into the house and grabbed
the phone. He said "happy birthday Annie" in what she heard as a
sarcastic tone of voice. Ann said she was amazed - normally that would have
caused her to "freak out" and go into panic and fear and an anxiety attack.
Instead she just thought it was ridiculous and told him to put his mother back
on the phone - no emotional charge. She was thrilled.
Five months later Ann decided to file for an
annulment from "Neil" (although they had divorced years ago, she had never
gotten an annulment). She sent him the papers and was at peace with whatever
would happen. He called her and they were able to have lunch and talk. He
actually apologized and said he wanted to help her gain the annulment and
whatever else he could do to make amends.
Ann has since been able to talk with this man
and explain how his past behaviors hurt her and caused her both physical and
emotional pain, and she has been able to help both herself and him through a
healing process. Her relationship with "Steve," her current partner, has become
more comfortable and they are now working through intimacy issues she had
previously been unable to approach.
During all this time, Ann was seeing a
traditional therapist and receiving medication for depression. She recognizes,
as I do, that all of these tools have helped her to heal, and that they have
worked in synergistically to produce results she had only dreamed of in a short
time frame.
I have changed names to respect client
confidences. Thanks for letting me share this experience.
Ellen F. Simes, Rph.
Ellen F. Simes, Rph.
