The Promise of Energy Psychology: Revolutionary Tools for Dramatic Personal Change

T H E PROMISE OF ENERGY PSYCHOLOGY Revolutionary Tools for Dramatic Personal Change

DAVID FEINSTEIN

DONNA EDEN

GARY CRAIG

Illustrations by Mike Bowen

JEREMY P. T A R C H E R / P E N G U I N Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, N e w York, N e w York 10014, U.S.A. * Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, M4P 2Y3 Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) * Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England * Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) » Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pry Ltd) * Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, N e w Delhi—110 017, India * Penguin Group (NZ), Cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, N e w Zealand (a division of Pearson N e w Zealand Ltd) « Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Copyright © 2005 by David Feinstein, Donna Eden, and Gary Craig Illustrations © Michael J. Bowen, Bowen Imagery, www.bowenimagery.com All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors' rights. Purchase only authori2ed editions. Published simultaneously in Canada Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Feinstein, David. The promise of energy psychology: revolutionary tools for dramatic personal change/ David Feinstein, Donna Eden, Gary Craig; illustrations by Mike Bowen. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1-58542-442-0 1. Energy psychology.

2. Mental healing.

RC489.E53F458

I. Eden, Donna.

2005

II. Craig, Gary.

III. Tide.

2005047132

616.89M—dc22 Printed in the United States of America 3 5 7 9 1 0 8 6 4 2 Book design by Meighan Cavanaugh Most Tarcher/Penguin books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchase for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, and educational needs. Special books or book excerpts also can be created to fit specific needs. For details, write Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Special Markets, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014. Neither the authors nor the publisher is engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in this book are not intended as a substitute for consulting with a qualified health care provider. Neither the authors nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this book. While the authors have made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the authors nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Dedicated to Jean Houston, a giant in our midst

The cell is a machine driven by energy. It can thus be approached by studying matter, or by studying energy. In every culture and in every medical tradition before ours, healing was accomplished by moving energy. —-Albert S^ent-Gyorgyi Nobel Laureate in Medicine

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A book presenting a method that traces back to a 5,000-year-old healing tradition has a long list of indebtednesses. After a respectful bow to the ancestors, we turn to four contemporaries who paved the way for this presentation: George Goodheart, by bringing the energy perspective of ancient Eastern healing arts into the Western, thoroughly modern form called Applied Kinesiology, provided the foundation upon which this program rests. John Thie, by bringing the principles of Applied Kinesiology to the general public and introducing them as "Touch for Health" to hundreds of thousands of people in at least forty countries, demonstrated that powerful healing methods can be used by laypeople responsibly and effectively. Psychiatrist John Diamond and psychologist Roger Callahan, by independently applying the principles of Applied Kinesiology to emotional issues, fashioned prototypes of the approach presented here. The immediate predecessor of this book is a training program for psychotherapists and other health-care professionals called Energy Psychology Interactive: Rapid Interventions for Lasting Change. The book you are holding synthesizes some of the most immediate and practical concepts and procedures from that program, which David Feinstein developed over a four-year period in conjunction with two primary advisors, Donna Eden and Fred Gallo, Ph.D., and an advisory board composed of twenty-four of the field's pioneers and leaders. These included Joaquin Andrade, M.D., Dan Benor, M.D., Patricia Carrington, Ph.D., Asha Nahoma Clinton, MSW, Ph.D., John Diepold, Ph.D., Jim Durlacher, D.C., Charles R. Figley, Ph.D., Tapas Fleming, L.Ac., Rebecca Grace, Psy.D., David Gruder, Ph.D., Dorothea Hover-Kramer, Ed.D., R.N., Warren Jacobs, M.D.,

Martin Jerry, M.D., Ph.D., Peter Lambrou, Ph.D., Greg Nicosia, Ph.D., Larry Nims, Ph.D., Gary Peterson, M.D., George Pratt, Ph.D., Lee Pulos, Ph.D., Mary Sise, MSW, Larry Stoler, Ph.D., Judith Swack, Ph.D., Sharon Cass Toole, Ph.D., and Helen Tuggy, Ph.D. Meanwhile, several hundred lay and professional practitioners have been meticulously describing clinical outcomes and sending them for posting on Gary Craig's Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) website. Although too large a number to acknowledge individually, that level of documentation is a tremendous contribution to a fledgling field, and some of those cases are presented in this book. The influence of each of the individuals mentioned above is gratefully acknowledged, along with the courage and inventiveness of growing numbers of practitioners who are successfully applying energy interventions to all manner of settings, problems, and goals. Special thanks also go to Peg Elliott Mayo, MSW, Ron Ruden, M.D., and Joaquin Andrade, M.D., for their valuable comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. As usual, however, responsibility for this book's content rests solely with its authors.

CONTENTS

Foreword Introduction:

A

Revolutionary Approach

to Personal Change?

1 « Y O U R ELECTRIC BRAIN

2 * A BASIC RECIPE

3 •

FOCUSING ON PROBLEMS

4 •

FOCUSING ON POTENTIALS

5 * CULTIVATING " E M O T I O N A L INTELLIGENCE"

6

• YOUR BODY'S ENERGIES

m

7

• T H E C I R C U I T S OF J O Y

m

Epilogue:

The

Future

of

Energy

Psychology

272

Appendix 1: The Basic Recipe on a Page

283

Appendix 2: If the Program Becomes Unsettling

285

Appendix 3: Research Evidence

291

Notes

307

Resources

318

FOREWORD

O u r ability to help people o v e r c o m e self-defeating emotional patterns, achieve higher levels of psychological well-being, and o p e n their spiritual sensibilities is accelerating at an extraordinary pace. T h i s b o o k introduces y o u to a powerful d e v e l o p m e n t within that unfolding story. T h e biochemical u n d e r p i n n i n g s of a w a r e n e s s — o f sensations such as pleasure and pain, drives such as h u n g e r and thirst, emotions such as anger and joy, and " h i g h e r " states such as awe and spiritual i n s p i r a t i o n — h a v e been identified. "Informational substances" such as h o r m o n e s , peptides, and neurotransmitters find their w a y — i n one of n a t u r e ' s most s t u n n i n g d e s i g n s — t o receptor molecules that are on the surface of every cell in the body. T h e s e "molecules of e m o t i o n " shape m o o d and thought. Significantly, it is a t w o - w a y process. E m o t i o n s and t h o u g h t s initiate a series of cascading chemical and cellular e v e n t s — i n c l u d i n g the formation of n e w n e u r o n s — t h a t are the basis of other emotions and thoughts. Some studies suggest, in fact, that meditation m a y cause neurological shifts that are as potent as o u r most effective medications for alleviating anxiety and depression. The Promise of Energy Psychology is a synthesis of practices designed to deliberately shift the molecules of emotion. T h e s e practices have three distinct advantages over psychiatric medications. T h e y are noninvasive, highly specific, and have no side effects. E n e r g y interventions impact the

xii * Foreword

b o d y ' s intricate electrochemical system as well as m o r e subtle energies. Subtle energy is a t e r m b o r n of an e m e r g i n g p a r a d i g m that is still just o u t side the embrace of W e s t e r n science, t h o u g h it has long been central to the w o r l d v i e w of Eastern medicine and spiritual disciplines. T h e s e practices focus on energy systems that still cannot be detected by o u r scientific instruments, t h o u g h they are well k n o w n to the m o s t sensitive healers and sages of every culture in recorded history. T h e p r o g r a m you are about to begin teaches you about these natural energies and h o w to influence t h e m to shift patterns of emotion, t h o u g h t , and behavior that are blatantly dysfunctional, or merely self-limiting. T h i s b o o k is an early formulation of a n e w field. It brings unfamiliar m e t h o d s into the therapeutic and self-help arenas, using tapping as m u c h as talk, aiming for e n e r g y integration as m u c h as insight. T h e procedures, as you will see, can look quite odd. T h e range of appropriate clinical and self-directed applications is still b e i n g debated, b u t my personal i m p r e s sion, based on my o w n experience, is that it is e n o r m o u s . The Promise of Energy Psychology g r o w s out of an earlier highly acclaimed w o r k by a team of twenty-seven health and mental-health p r o fessionals led by D a v i d Feinstein to b r i n g the n e w tools of e n e r g y psychology to psychotherapists. T h i s b o o k brings those m e t h o d s to a n y one w h o wishes to apply them. At the same time I was d o i n g my early w o r k on the opiate receptor at T h e Johns H o p k i n s University School of Medicine in the 1970s, D r . Feinstein was there conducting research on psychotherapeutic innovations. T h i rty years later his focus has t u r n e d to the intersection of psychotherapy and energy medicine. W h i l e he has practiced as a clinical p s y c h o l o gist d u r i n g the intervening decades and in fact pioneered a powerful m e t h o d o l o g y for helping people transform the internal guidance system he refers to as a "personal m y t h o l o g y , " he has also accumulated some u n usual credentials for a psychologist. N o t the least of these is that he is married to o n e of the w o r l d ' s m o s t r e n o w n e d e n e r g y healers, D o n n a E d e n , a co-author of this b o o k .

Foreword *

xiii

T o g e t h e r with G a r y Craig, founder of the most widely used single approach to e n e r g y psychology, the three have p r o d u c e d a w o r k that is authoritative, engaging, and refreshingly friendly. You will find it an illuminating companion as you incorporate these wonderfully e m p o w e r ing m e t h o d s into your life.

—Candace Pert,

Ph.D.

Research Professor,

Georgetown

University School of Medicine

INTRODUCTION

A REVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO PERSONAL C H A N G E ? David Feinstein, Ph.D. All truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally it is accepted as self-evident. —SCHOPENHAUER

/ " o u r emotional health, your success in the world, and y o u r level of joy can all be dramatically enhanced by shifting the energies that regulate them. T h a t is the promise of the fascinating n e w field of e n e r g y psychology. W i t h it, phobias and s t u b b o r n anxieties often fade in minutes. T h e lifelong grip of an early t r a u m a can frequently be released within one or two sessions. A n g e r can be m a n a g e d m o r e reliably. Depression can in m a n y cases be alleviated w i t h o u t drugs. Achievements in sports, school, music, and business can be given a powerful boost. O t h e r complex issues can be separated into a n e t w o r k of self-limiting beliefs and dysfunctional emotional responses that are eliminated one by o n e . Even elusive physical p r o b l e m s m a y respond where other treatments have failed.

1

After m o r e than three decades as a clinical psychologist carefully m o n i t o r i n g the field's developments, I find that the energy approach p r e sented in this b o o k is the innovation that has m a d e the most p r o f o u n d dif-

2 •'• T H E P R O M I S E O F E N E R G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y

ference in helping my clients. E n e r g y psychology can shift problematic beliefs, behaviors, and emotions so rapidly because it allows the therapist to alter the client's brain chemistry with a precision yet gentleness that is unprecedented within psychotherapy. A n d while e n e r g y m e t h o d s can be extraordinary tools in the hands of a skilled clinician, perhaps their most important application is h o w e m p o w e r i n g they can be in y o u r o w n hands.

WHAT IS ENERGY PSYCHOLOGY? W h e n James Reston, a New York Times reporter accompanying H e n r y Kissinger on a visit to C o m m u n i s t China in July 1971, had an acute a p pendicitis attack, Chinese physicians performed an emergency appendectomy. Reston suffered from postoperative abdominal pain, which was treated with acupuncture, a routine procedure in m a n y Chinese hospitals. T h e publicity s u r r o u n d i n g Reston's successful acupuncture treatment, which included a front-page article in the Times, is credited with having opened Western minds to the practice of acupuncture. By 2005, the A m e r ican A c a d e m y of Medical A c u p u n c t u r e had over 1,600 physician m e m bers, and the World Health Organization listed m o r e than fifty conditions for which acupuncture was believed to be effective. Since the early 1980s, Western mental-health practitioners have been finding ways to apply the principles of acupuncture to psychological issues, patterned initially on the w o r k of California psychologist Roger Callahan and Australian psychiatrist John D i a m o n d . W h i l e acupuncture is usually associated with the use of needles, less invasive p r o c e d u r e s — such as tapping or massaging specific points on the surface of the s k i n — can also p r o d u c e the desired effects. T h i s allows therapists not trained in the use of acupuncture needles to still apply the principles of a c u p u n c ture, and it allows y o u to use t h e m on a self-help basis as well. E n e r g y is the blueprint, the infrastructure, the invisible foundation for the health of your body. Your b o d y is composed of energy pathways and

A Revolutionary Approach to Personal Change?

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3

energy centers that are in a d y n a m i c interplay with your cells, organs, moods, and thoughts. If you can shift these energies, you can influence your health, emotions, and state of mind. These energies include electromagnetic impulses, such as those that can be recorded by an MRI or E E G , as well as m o r e subtle energies, which existing scientific instruments are not able to detect. But cultures that are closer to nature have developed disciplines— such as acupuncture, yoga, and qi g o n g — f o r w o r k i n g with these energies. As the field of energy psychology is maturing, it is d r a w i n g from these traditional systems while also staying consistent with the storehouse of k n o w l e d g e offered by c o n t e m p o r a r y Western science and psychology. E n e r g y psychology, in fact, builds u p o n conventional psychotherapies. It works within the context of established psychological principles such as the decisive role of the conditioned response in h u m a n activity and the w a y s that early experiences shape current emotional and b e h a v ioral patterns. But energy psychology also has a special card in its deck. Stimulating energy points on the skin, paired with specified mental activities, can instantly shift your brain's electrochemistry to:

*

help overcome u n w a n t e d emotions such as fear, guilt, shame, jealousy, or anger,

*

help change u n w a n t e d habits and behavior, and

*

enhance your abilities to love, succeed, and enjoy life

T h e p r o c e d u r e allows virtually anyone w h o learns h o w to use it greater emotional control, inner peace, and effectiveness in the world. But this was not always my assessment of the approach.

A SKEPTIC'S JOURNEY My personal voyage into the perspective reflected here occurred over m a n y years and with m u c h resistance. I happened to m a r r y a w o m a n ,

4 •

T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y

D o n n a E d e n , w h o was destined to b e c o m e one of the w o r l d ' s most r e n o w n e d natural healers. For the first nineteen years or so of o u r relationship, I did n o t k n o w w h a t to make of her w o r k . I had early in my o w n career served for seven years on the faculty of T h e Johns H o p k i n s U n i versity School of Medicine, a fount of innovation in health care, b u t I'd never seen a n y t h i n g like this. As I witnessed people c o m i n g to see h e r from all over the world with serious illnesses report i m p r o v e m e n t after a session or two, I explained to myself that these outcomes w e r e a p r o d u c t of D o n n a ' s empathy, charisma, belief in the p o w e r of her m e t h o d s , and perhaps a peculiar healing presence. I certainly did n o t think it was a system that could be t a u g h t or replicated, and the "subtle e n e r g y " explanations that w e r e bandied a b o u t by alternative healers seemed m o r e confusing than clarifying. D o n n a was receiving overtures to write a b o o k and she asked m e , skepticism notwithstanding, to help her tackle the job. T h e next t w o - y e a r period was an amazing process. I interviewed her, day after day. I could n o t pose a question that she could n o t persuasively answer from within her e n e r g y paradigm. G r a n t e d , she had one little quirk that was h a r d to verify: a lifelong ability to " s e e " e n e r g y as if it w e r e as visible as the print on this page. Repeatedly, she had, by simply looking at a person's body, m a d e health assessments that w e r e later confirmed by medical tests. W h i l e her abilities to see and read energies w e r e far b e y o n d a n y t h i n g I'd personally experienced, her explanations remained coherent no matter h o w h a r d I tried to poke holes. T h a t , combined with her accurate medical evaluations and impressive cure rate, pushed me to conclude that effective healing forces w e r e s o m e h o w being mobilized by her " e n e r g y " approach. O n c e the ability to derive meaningful information by reading the b o d y ' s energies is accepted, then D o n n a ' s m e t h o d t u r n s out to have a s t r o n g internal logic. T h o s e w h o can see e n e r g y — a n d D o n n a is by no means u n i q u e in t h i s — r e p o r t that the material w o r l d is patterned on a "blueprint of energetic forms." Medical intuitives w h o can recognize

A Revolutionary Approach to Personal Change?

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5

p r o b l e m s in the flow of the b o d y ' s energies (a n e w genre of electronic in2

struments can also identify such abnormalities ) are able to accurately predict the kinds of physical problems that are likely to e m e r g e before a n y s y m p t o m s or other signs have been detected. A n d they can prevent the b r e w i n g illness by restoring the e n e r g y flow. Many healing traditions u n derstand this relationship. In some provinces of ancient China, w h e r e w o r k with the b o d y ' s energies was highly refined, y o u paid the physician to keep y o u healthy. T h e recognition of e n e r g y disruptions before s y m p t o m s appeared allowed those disruptions to be corrected rather than to progress and finally erupt into a cancer or heart failure or n e r v o u s disorder. If y o u got sick, m o r e intensive treatments w e r e offered, b u t they w e r e free. I eventually realized from the discussions with D o n n a leading to her b o o k that she operates according to principles that are highly empirical, a fact that had eluded me for nearly t w o decades. H e r approach is based on observation ( t h o u g h t h r o u g h an unusual lens) and experimentation. She sees and feels w h e r e the energies are n o t flowing or n o t in balance or not in h a r m o n y , uses her h a n d s or other means to t r y to correct the p r o b l e m and, based on what happens, figures out the next step. E v e r y o n e ' s hands actually have an electromagnetic field extending b e y o n d the fingers, so simply h o l d i n g o n e ' s hand over an affected part of the b o d y can have a therapeutic effect, as can massaging, tapping, or holding specific e n e r g y points on the skin. O t h e r techniques m i g h t include asking the client to m o v e or stretch or contract in designated w a y s . Basing h e r approach on such m e t h o d s , and also d r a w i n g from ancient as well as m o d e r n practices—including acupuncture, Applied Kinesiology, and T o u c h for H e a l t h — D o n n a had formulated h u n d r e d s of interventions for correcting specific kinds of problems in the e n e r g y system. W h y c o u l d n ' t these interventions be systematized and m a d e available to a n y o n e wishing to learn them, w h e t h e r or n o t they have a special facility in sensing the b o d y ' s energies? T h i s became o n e of o u r central objectives in writing Energy Medicine. Now, with the b o o k widely distributed (U.S.

A Revolutionary Approach to Personal Change?

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O n e of the first times I publicly demonstrated the approach, following my o w n training and certification in it, was d u r i n g a six-day residential w o r k s h o p I was teaching in South Africa. Many of the participants w e r e leaders in their communities w h o had come to learn about the u n c o n scious beliefs and motivations that shape a p e r s o n ' s life, what I call a " p e r 3

sonal m y t h o l o g y . " 1 had b e e n formulating ideas for integrating e n e r g y interventions into the personal m y t h o l o g y m o d e l , b u t I was uncertain h o w to introduce them. At the close of the first evening, an o p e n i n g a p peared. O n e of the participants told the g r o u p , with great embarrassment, that she was terrified of snakes and was afraid to walk t h r o u g h a grassy area from the meeting r o o m to her cabin, about one h u n d r e d feet away. Several participants offered to escort her. Sensing that she could rapidly be helped with this phobia, I t h o u g h t this m i g h t also lend itself to a credible introduction of e n e r g y m e t h o d s . I a r r a n g e d — w i t h her tense b u t trusting p e r m i s s i o n — f o r a guide at the g a m e reserve w h e r e the w o r k s h o p was b e i n g held to b r i n g a snake into the class at 10 A.M. the next m o r n i n g (having the snake there was n o t necessary for the treatment to w o r k , o n l y to d e m o n s t r a t e that it had w o r k e d ) . I set up the chairs so the snake and the handler w e r e about t w e n t y feet away from her, but within her range of vision. I asked h e r w h a t it is like to have a snake in the r o o m . She replied, "I am o k a y as long as I d o n ' t look at it, b u t I have to tell you, I left my b o d y t w o minutes ago." She was dissociating, a psychological defense mechanism in which specific, anxietyp r o v o k i n g thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations are blocked from a person's awareness. W i t h i n less than half an hour, using m e t h o d s that y o u will learn in this b o o k , she was able to imagine being close to a snake without feeling fear. I asked her if she was ready to walk over to the snake, across the r o o m . As she approached it, she appeared confident. T h e confidence soon g r e w into enthusiasm as she began to c o m m e n t on the snake's beauty. She asked the handler if she could touch it. Haltingly b u t triumphantly, she did. She reported that she was fully present in h e r body. A couple of days later, she joined the g r o u p on a n a t u r e walk, and at the

6 * T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y

sales in excess of 100,000 copies, and a dozen foreign editions) and m a n y students trained, a plethora of reports has c o m e to us that the procedures w o r k w h e t h e r self-applied or applied by practitioners w h o do n o t have D o n n a ' s sight. Energy Medicine was released in J a n u a r y 1999, and we headed out for a six-month w o r k s h o p and publicity tour. I t o o k a sabbatical from my private practice as a clinical psychologist in Ashland, O r e g o n . As the close of the six m o n t h s approached, the b o o k seemed to be hitting a cultural nerve and at least o n e reviewer had already referred to it as the "classic" in its field. D e m a n d for additional talks and trainings t h r o u g h o u t the world became compelling. I r e t u r n e d to Ashland and, with s t r o n g m i s givings, closed what had b e e n a deeply satisfying clinical practice in o r d e r to support this n e w t u r n in D o n n a ' s journey. W h i l e these w e r e exciting developments, I also m o u r n e d the loss of my practice and recognized that I might be leaving forever a career I loved. I was already in my fifties, and I had no idea w h e r e e n e r g y m e d i cine would lead m e . W h e r e it led was right back into psychology. M a n y of D o n n a ' s students w e r e psychotherapists w h o were applying e n e r g y interventions to psychological issues. Because of their influence, I b e g a n to study with some of the pioneers in this area. E n e r g y p s y c h o l o g y had d e veloped independently of D o n n a ' s w o r k , t h o u g h they are b o t h part of the same Zeitgeist. While I was n o w open to an energy paradigm, as I educated myself about e n e r g y psychology, I discovered that despite this b e i n g a relatively n e w area, it w a s a l r e a d y rife w i t h c o n t r o v e r s y , incompatible explanations, and deep schisms about procedures and appropriate claims. T h i s reignited my skepticism, which was further fed because the techniques used in energy psychology look exceedingly strange. S o m e t h i n g else h a p p e n e d , however, that in my mind overshadowed the field's o d d procedures and lack of coherent explanations. T h e outcomes I witnessed seemed remarkable. For a relatively wide range of complaints, the results w e r e m o r e rapid and consistent than a n y t h i n g I'd ex

p e r i e n c e d in my thirty years of clinical practice.

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T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y

end w h e n s o m e o n e asked h e r if it was difficult, given her snake phobia, a surprised look came over h e r face. She had never even t h o u g h t about it. H e r lifelong fear had evaporated and, on follow-up two years later, had n o t returned. I have n o w worked w i t h m a n y cases that w e r e similarly dramatic and have interviewed dozens of practitioners w h o s e clinical records contain literally thousands of instances that c o r r o b o r a t e my personal experiences. T h i s does n o t constitute scientific p r o o f — c a s e reports never c a n — b u t it is not a one-person medicine s h o w either.

SORTING O U T THE CLAIMS T h e conflicting claims and theories a m o n g the field's practitioners w e r e still troubling. H e r e we had a m e t h o d that had leaped ahead of all available scientific explanations. It was perhaps unprecedented for an a p proach with so little theoretical or research support to generate thousands of reports of striking clinical results from h u n d r e d s of fully credentialed professionals w h o represented the whole spectrum of b a c k g r o u n d s and theoretical orientations. W h a t w a s going on? As a w a y of sorting t h r o u g h the field's claims and confusion I, along with D o n n a and Fred Gallo, P h . D . (author of Energy Psychology, the first academic b o o k to introduce professionals to the field), invited an advisory b o a r d of twenty-four of e n e r g y psychology's pioneers and recognized leaders to carry out a project that focused on one question: W h a t are the essential principles and procedures that psychotherapists n e w to e n e r g y psychology should master before introducing the m e t h o d s into their o w n practice? T h e project transformed my computer into a lightning r o d for the field's controversies. After four years of wrestling w i t h core questions, a consensus was built, and Energy Psychology Interactive, a comprehensive home-study course to introduce clinicians to the field, was released early

A Revolutionary Approach to Personal Change?

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in 2004. It consisted of a forty-hour computer-based training p r o g r a m on C D - R O M , a c o m p a n i o n b o o k , and a client self-help guide. W h i l e the b r o a d e r mental-health field had b e e n slow to embrace the e n e r g y parad i g m , o u r p r o g r a m received surprisingly positive reviews. In o n e of them, the journal Clinical Psychology called e n e r g y psychology "an exciting and rapidly developing r e a l m " and, after describing some of the c o n t r o v e r s y s u r r o u n d i n g it, concluded that " e m e r g i n g research suggests that these m e t h o d s are v e r y effective indeed, extremely rapid, and t h o r o u g h l y 4

g e n t l e . " In a l a n d m a r k review, the A m e r i c a n Psychological Association referred to e n e r g y psychology as "a n e w discipline that has been receiv5

ing attention due to its speed and effectiveness with difficult cases." T h e Association for C o m p r e h e n s i v e E n e r g y Psychology, a 700-member p r o fessional organization, h o n o r e d the p r o g r a m with its O u t s t a n d i n g C o n tribution Award.

How T H I S B O O K CAME A B O U T A b o o k based on the authority of the professional training p r o g r a m but designed to b r i n g the new m e t h o d s to the general reader seemed a natural next step. But it carried some special challenges. By introducing health and mental-health professionals to the field, Energy Psychology Interactive had the buffer of each practitioner's professional j u d g m e n t before the m e t h o d s w e r e applied with any particular individual. A popular b o o k , however, w o u l d not have that buffer. T h e person with by far the most experience in b r i n g i n g e n e r g y psychology m e t h o d s to the general public was G a r y Craig. G a r y is not a p s y chotherapist by training, b u t I had noticed in d o i n g the research for Energy Psychology Interactive that m a n y of the leaders in the field w o u l d regularly seek his opinion, or direct me t o w a r d him, about various p r o fessional questions. His kind responses to my requests always offered insightful, practical, experience-based guidance. In addition, he had p e r -

io * T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y

sonally, or t h r o u g h his h o m e - s t u d y p r o g r a m s , trained m o r e professionals and nonprofessionals in the basic m e t h o d s of e n e r g y psychology than anyone else; and his training manuals, videos, e-newsletter, and website constituted a significant portion of the field's evolving literature. T h e t h o u g h t of inviting G a r y o n t o the team was almost instantaneous. Trained as an engineer at Stanford, G a r y has a remarkable eye for what works and what d o e s n ' t w o r k , and he had been one of the early synthesizers o f N L P (neurolinguistic p r o g r a m m i n g ) , self-hypnosis, and other methods for personal improvement. On studying Roger Callahan's " T h o u g h t Field T h e r a p y " ( T F T ) , he was stunned to find that simple physical interventions could help people overcome u n w a n t e d emotional reactions and conditions with speed, efficiency, and lasting results. He r e w o r k e d Callahan's approach into the Emotional F r e e d o m Techniques ( E F T ) , making the m e t h o d s m o r e accessible to the general public. He has now, for m o r e than a decade, been tirelessly advocating the idea that e m o tional freedom is e v e r y o n e ' s birthright and can be reclaimed by skillfully applying E F T ' s simple set of procedures, which have powerful n e u r o l o g ical consequences. A p r o m o t e r ' s missionary zeal does not particularly impress m e . Yet the closer I looked, the m o r e impressed I was with the w a y s G a r y ' s training, website, and newsletter w e r e guiding people to use the methods effectively and with a wide range of issues. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, D o n n a had in h e r o w n w a y been practicing e n e r g y psychology for a quarter century, and her m e t h o d s w e r e quite different from T F T or its derivatives. First of all, she did not separate the physical from the psychological in her approach. Second, while T F T , E F T , and various other m e t h o d s that fall within energy psychology begin by focusing on an issue or presenting a p r o b l e m — u s u a l l y desired changes in a behavioral, t h o u g h t , or emotional p a t t e r n — D o n n a ' s focus was on the b o d y as an energy system. Yet her results often yielded strong psychological benefits. I asked D o n n a if she w o u l d b r i n g her experience with seeing h o w ene r

g y moves w h e n dealing with psychological issues t o the b o o k , checking

A Revolutionary Approach to Personal Change?

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the concepts and procedures against her o w n observations, and i n t r o d u c ing m e t h o d s from e n e r g y medicine that might a u g m e n t the m o r e t r a d i tional e n e r g y psychology approach (this b e c a m e chapters 6 and 7). She m e t the idea with enthusiasm, and the blueprint for the project had been laid. I have written the first draft of each chapter based on interviews w i t h my co-authors and consultation with their earlier writings, combined with my o w n clinical experience, and they have then reviewed and further revised each chapter T h i s is a b o o k that can be approached with a " s h o w - m e " attitude. Experiment with the m e t h o d s it presents. G r o w i n g n u m b e r s are finding t h e m to be potent and rewarding.

1 YOUR ELECTRIC BRAIN Information transmitted by one n e u r o n and received by another takes the form of electrical signals generated by charged atoms. — J E F F R E Y M. SCHWARTZ, M . D . , The Mind and the Brain

v e r y t h o u g h t or emotion that you experience causes a reaction in a .. specific area of your brain. Joy or sadness, love or jealousy—all have distinctive counterparts in the w a y your n e u r o n s fire; m o d e r n electronic imaging technology allows us to view the intricate dance in y o u r brain's energies that accompanies y o u r every t h o u g h t and feeling. If you w e r e to watch the screen of a brain-imaging device such as a P E T scanner while you w e r e experiencing substantial stress or anxiety, you would see specific areas receiving arousal signals that make the screen light up like a Christmas tree. If your brain recognizes a similarity between a distressing situation from your past and what you are seeing or hearing in the m o m e n t — e v e n t h o u g h there is no current threat or d a n g e r — t h e same distress signals that you experienced in the earlier situation can become activated. A l t h o u g h it m a y seem unreasonable, the emotional response can be overwhelming. Or it might be m o r e subtle. Perhaps y o u r spouse's voice hits just the tone of

u

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your parent's voice right before you got spanked, and y o u are suddenly a n g r y at your spouse and fiercely defending actions that w e r e n ' t being criticized. T h o u g h people often are not aware of it, this basic s e q u e n c e — where a current situation activates an outdated response—is at the root of m a n y of their difficulties, from dysfunctional patterns in their relationships and self-defeating choices on the job to u n n a m e d anxieties, u n p r o voked bouts of depression, and irrational jealousy, fear, or anger. E n e r g y psychology shows h o w y o u can stimulate specific points on y o u r skin that will send electrochemical signals directly to your brain. If at the same time y o u hold in your mind a situation that triggers an u n w a n t e d emotional response, y o u can actually shift your brain's response to that situation. It is an unconventional approach, yet it frequently p r o duces undeniable i m p r o v e m e n t in only one session and often works w h e r e other approaches do not. You can also stimulate points to help y o u achieve specific personal goals, like thinking m o r e positively, speaking m o r e confidently, or eating m o r e sensibly. T h i s b o o k shows you how.

RAPID SUCCESS WHERE YEARS OF THERAPY H A D FAILED Despite seventeen years of psychotherapy for symptoms of posttraumatic1

stress disorder ( P T S D ) tracing back to the Vietnam war, R i c h ' s insomnia was so disabling that he had checked himself in t w o m o n t h s earlier for yet another r o u n d of inpatient treatment at the Veterans' Administration Hospital in Los Angeles. W h e n he tried to sleep, any of m o r e than a h u n dred h a u n t i n g w a r m e m o r i e s might intrude into his awareness. He felt trapped in these o v e r w h e l m i n g images, and every night was dreaded and interminably long. E v e r y day was clouded with exhaustion and further anxiety. He could n o t function effectively. He also suffered from a severe height phobia that had developed over the course of some fifty parachute jumps he had m a d e d u r i n g the war.

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Rich was one of t w e n t y patients treated by G a r y C r a i g and his associate, A d r i e n n e Fowlie, d u r i n g a w e e k l o n g visit after a hospital administrator had invited them to d e m o n s t r a t e the effects of energy-oriented therapy on emotional trauma. Rich's treatment first focused on his height phobia. He was asked to think about a situation involving heights. His fear level shot up immediately. He was w e a r i n g short pants, and he pointed out that the hair on his legs was literally standing up. At the same time, as he b r o u g h t to mind the terror of facing a height, he was directed to stimulate a series of electromagnetically sensitive points on his skin by tapping t h e m with his fingertips. W i t h i n fifteen minutes of using this p r o cedure, Rich reported no fear reaction w h e n imagining situations involvi n g heights. To test this, G a r y had him walk o u t o n t o the fire escape of the third floor of the building and look d o w n . Rich expressed amazement w h e n he had no fear response whatsoever. G a r y then focused on several of Rich's most intense w a r memories, using the same tapping p r o c e d u r e . They, too, w e r e similarly " n e u t r a l ized" within an hour. He still r e m e m b e r e d them, of course, but they had lost their debilitating emotional charge. G a r y t a u g h t Rich a technique for stimulating e n e r g y points that he could apply to his remaining m e m o r i e s outside the treatment setting. He complied with this h o m e w o r k assignment, focusing on several of the m o r e intense memories. Eventually, there was a "generalization effect" in that, after a n u m b e r of the traumatic memories had b e e n neutralized, the others lost their o v e r w h e l m i n g e m o tional charge. H a u n t i n g m e m o r i e s simply stopped intruding into Rich's awareness, even at night. W i t h i n a few days his insomnia had cleared, and he discontinued his medication. He checked himself o u t of the hospital shortly after that. At a t w o - m o n t h telephone follow-up, he was still free of the height phobia, the insomnia, and the intrusion of disturbing w a r memories. Most of the twenty V.A. Hospital patients that G a r y and A d r i e n n e worked with enjoyed near-immediate, readily observable results for P T S D s y m p t o m s that had in m a n y instances resisted years of psychotherapy.

16 • T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y

Sessions w i t h six of these m e n w e r e videotaped and are available for in2

spection, including the w o r k with Rich. Successful e n e r g y interventions have been demonstrated in a range of difficult situations. In Kosovo, for instance, 105 victims of ethnic violence, after receiving e n e r g y psychology treatments from an international team in 2000 over a period of several m o n t h s ( T F T , or T h o u g h t Field T h e r apy, was the p r i m a r y modality), experienced "complete r e c o v e r y " (based on self-reports) from the posttraumatic emotional effects of 247 of the 249 m e m o r i e s of torture, rape, and witnessing the massacre of loved ones 3

they had identified. A l t h o u g h such anecdotal accounts are scientifically equivocal, their impact on the local c o m m u n i t y was profound, with the chief medical officer of Kosovo (the equivalent of our surgeon general), D r . Skkelzen Syla, stating in a letter of appreciation:

Many well-funded relief organizations have treated the posttraumatic stress here in Kosova. Some of our people had limited improvement but Kosova had no major change or real hope u n t i l . . . we referred our most difficult patients to [the international treatment team]. The success from T F T was 100% for every patient, and they are still smiling until this day [and, indeed, in formal follow-ups at an average of five months after the treatment, each was free of relapse].

If y o u r o w n situation is as t o u g h as or t o u g h e r than Rich's or than that of the victims of ethnic violence in Kosovo, you should be using this p r o g r a m only in consultation with a psychotherapist. If not, some i m p o r t a n t cautions still apply. So in either case, please carefully consider the g u i d e lines presented later in this chapter u n d e r the heading " W h a t T h i s B o o k C a n D o and W h a t I t C a n ' t D o " before applying its m e t h o d s .

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RAPID RESULTS, SLOW ACCEPTANCE You might think based on the outcomes described above that every relief organization and every V.A. hospital in the c o u n t r y w o u l d be experim e n t i n g with these m e t h o d s . T h a t is n o t h o w it played out. In professional practice, as in h u m a n history, an old w a y is not necessarily immediately replaced just because a better o n e appears, particularly w h e n the n e w w a y cannot be u n d e r s t o o d using familiar concepts. Most relief workers have still not heard of, or at least have not investigated, the m e t h ods offered by energy psychology. As for V.A. hospitals, the evolution has been interesting. Initially there did n o t seem to be any curiosity on the part of the treatment staff. Even with the conspicuous, rapid help the m e n described above were receiving for the s t u b b o r n s y m p t o m s of P T S D , none of their therapists accepted invitations to sit in on the sessions. N o n e responded to offers to watch the videotapes. A n d t h o u g h most of the patients expressed s t r o n g enthusiasm and appreciation, no one on the clinical staff indicated any interest in hearing m o r e or learning m o r e . T h e V.A.-hospital episode is a microcosm of the w a y m u c h of the p s y chotherapy c o m m u n i t y initially responded to e n e r g y psychology and its 4

unconventional techniques. T h o u g h u n f o r t u n a t e — p e o p l e such as Rich w h o could have been helped h a v e n ' t been h e l p e d — i t is also u n d e r s t a n d able. Seasoned clinicians have learned, t h r o u g h hard experience, to be r e luctant about e m b r a c i n g n e w m e t h o d s before they have been scientifically substantiated; and the m e t h o d s discussed here are just starting to c o m m a n d the attention of serious researchers. W h i l e the professional a t m o 5

sphere is b e c o m i n g m o r e r e c e p t i v e — a n u m b e r of V.A. hospitals, for instance, w e r e a decade later routinely training their clinical staffs in these 6

methods with g o o d results —psychotherapists are, of course, skeptical u p o n hearing claims that strange and unfamiliar m e t h o d s p r o d u c e d nearinstant cures of long-standing problems. Beyond suspicion about the o d d - l o o k i n g procedures used in e n e r g y psychology, therapy is n o t b e -

is * T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y

lieved to be so rapid. T i m e is needed for building rapport, examining the antecedents of the p r o b l e m , exploring the m e a n i n g of the s y m p t o m s in the person's life, assessing which therapeutic modalities are most a p p r o priate for the u n i q u e situation, applying them, observing, and revising. W h a t might account for the contrast between the videotaped outcomes with the patients at the V.A. hospital, corroborated by thousands of similar cases reported by g r o w i n g n u m b e r s of energy-oriented psychotherapists, and conventional w i s d o m regarding the therapeutic process? If we try to understand the results in t e r m s of the stock concepts of p s y c h o t h e r a p y — such as insight, cognitive restructuring, reward and punishment, positive expectation, or the curative powers of the r e l a t i o n s h i p — t h e y make little sense. If we examine electrochemical shifts in brain chemistry that are b r o u g h t about by stimulating points on the skin that are k n o w n for their electrical conductivity, however, a coherent explanation for these rapid shifts in long-standing patterns of m i n d , emotion, and behavior begins to emerge. T h e brain-scan images shown on the inside back cover of this b o o k tell the story visually. T h e y show a patient's progression over twelve treatm e n t sessions, conducted d u r i n g a four-week period. T h e treatment involved tapping electrochemically sensitive areas of the skin while bringing to mind anxiety-provoking images. T h e patient was being treated for generalized anxiety disorder. W h e r e a fear or phobia is a response to a specific type of situation (such as Rich's fear of heights), generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by persistent free-floating anxiety, accompanied by s y m p t o m s such as tension, sweating, trembling, light-headedness, or irritability (such as the unrelenting nervousness, insomnia, and p h y s i cal tension that w e r e part.of Rich's P T S D ) . T h e brain scans s h o w that the disturbed b r a i n - w a v e activity found at the start of treatment with the patient suffering from generalized anxiety disorder had normalized by the end of the treatment. By comparison, matched patients at the same clinic w h o w e r e successfully treated with cognitive behavior therapy, a conventional treatment

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for generalized anxiety disorder, showed a similar progression of b r a i n scans, but it took a greater n u m b e r of sessions before the brain-wave patterns had normalized and, on one-year follow-up, the i m p r o v e m e n t was less likely to have held. Patients w h o w e r e treated with medication also showed a decrease in s y m p t o m s , b u t the brain scans did not s h o w significant changes in the b r a i n - w a v e patterns, suggesting that the medication had masked rather than treated the disorder. A n d indeed, in addition to frequent side effects b e i n g reported with the medication, s y m p t o m s tended to return w h e n the medication was discontinued.

How Do ENERGY TREATMENTS W O R K ? G r o w i n g u n d e r s t a n d i n g about the relationship between electromagnetic energy and the molecules that carry information t h r o u g h o u t the b o d y is causing conventional medicine to rapidly u p d a t e the old perspective that treats the person primarily as a b a g of chemicals and organs. T h e E E G , E K G , P E T , and MRI are diagnostic instruments that allow us to glimpse the dazzling intelligence of the b o d y as an electrical system. Your brain, for instance, consists of some one h u n d r e d billion n e u r o n s that each connect electrochemically with up to ten thousand other n e u r o n s in g o v e r n i n g your every movement, feeling, and thought. Despite this incomprehensible complexity, powerful treatments are b e i n g devised that influence the brain's electrical activity in precisely the w a y s needed to o v e r c o m e a range of psychiatric and other medical disorders.

•

T h e magnetic stimulation of specific areas of the brain, for instance, has b e e n s h o w n to help w i t h major depression that did 7

not respond to other therapies, as well as with bipolar disorders. *

8

T h e surgical implantation of deep brain stimulators—devices that deliver precisely targeted electrical stimulation in the b r a i n — has helped thousands of patients w i t h Parkinson's disease to

20 « T H E PROMISE OF ENERGY PSYCHOLOGY

control their s y m p t o m s . T h e s e " b r a i n p a c e m a k e r s " are also b e ing used with some success to stimulate the vagus nerve in treating severe depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and other neurological conditions. •

9

More closely related to the approach described in this b o o k , b e cause it is based on the client's o w n efforts, is neurofeedback training. By using E E G biofeedback to teach patients h o w to alter their brain-wave patterns, i m p r o v e m e n t has b e e n d e m o n strated for a wide range of psychological disorders, including attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, depression, anxiety, m i graines, panic attacks, P T S D , seizures, impulsivity, and cogni10

tive performance. Neurofeedback training does, however, require expensive equipment and has a longer learning curve than stimulating points on the skin.

Except for such still-rare and sometimes invasive applications, however, Western medicine has so far p r o d u c e d v e r y few treatments that take full advantage of the w a y s the b o d y ' s energies can be directed to mediate the complex flow of biological information that influences health. E n e r g y p s y chology, on the other hand, is part of a c o m i n g wave of such approaches. W h i l e Western medicine m a y be slow to understand the b o d y ' s subtle energies and even slower to accept that these energies can be used in healing, other cultures have been w o r k i n g with e n e r g y healing for thousands of years. F r o m tribal healers t h r o u g h o u t the w o r l d to H i n d u yogic p r a c tices to traditional Chinese medicine, models for w o r k i n g directly with the b o d y as an e n e r g y system are plentiful. O n e of the most elaborately developed systems, and one that has held up relatively well to Western scientific scrutiny, is the practice of acupuncture. A c u p u n c t u r e is not only a m o n g the oldest k n o w n medical treatments, extending back some five thousand years, it is o n e of the most widely used health-care systems on the planet. In acupuncture, the tips of needles are inserted at specific points in the

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skin to treat pain or disease. An acupuncture point, or acupoint, is a tiny area of the skin with significantly lower electrical resistance than other areas of the skin.

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Acupoints also have a higher concentration of receptors

that are sensitive to mechanical stimulation; and specific points, w h e n stimulated, send signals directly to areas of the brain that are associated with emotions. T h e electromagnetic properties of the acupuncture points can be activated by tapping, massaging, or h o l d i n g them, as well as t h r o u g h m o r e intrusive means such as the insertion of needles, electrical stimulation, or the application of heat. At least 360 acupoints are distributed along a n e t w o r k of e n e r g y p a t h w a y s that is called the meridian system. A m o r e accurate translation (from the Mandarin) than " p o i n t " is "hollow," and because of their lower electrical resistance, acupuncture points have been called " w i n d o w s " into the b o d y ' s e n e r g y s y s t e m .

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T h e s e e n t r y w a y s into the b o d y ' s e n e r g y system can be used for restoring physical and mental h e a l t h .

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Stimulating an acupoint can send i m -

pulses to areas of the b o d y that are far away from the point itself. For instance, an acupuncture needle inserted into a specific point on the toe can be seen in a "functional M R I " (fMRI) as affecting blood activity in the b r a i n ,

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t h o u g h no nerve, vascular, or other physical connections are

k n o w n to exist. A n o t h e r study, also using an M R I , demonstrated that stimulating specific points on the skin not o n l y changed brain activity; it also deactivated areas of the brain that are involved with the experiences of fear andpain}*' Stimulating certain acupuncture points also causes the secretion of s e r o t o n i n ,

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a neurotransmitter that, if n o t present in sufficient

a m o u n t s , is associated with depression, anxiety, and addictions.

A BASIC HYPOTHESIS T h e implications of these findings for w o r k i n g with psychological issues are e n o r m o u s . H e r e is a preliminary explanation for the near-instant, lasting results seen in the snake-phobia case reported in the Introduction and

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T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y PSYCHOLOGY

the P T S D cases reported earlier in this chapter. First, the following is an outline of the k n o w n biological sequence that is involved w h e n a typical, threat-based, dysfunctional emotional response has been triggered:

1. A harmless sight, sound, smell, feeling, or t h o u g h t (the trigger) is recognized by the amygdala, a part of the brain that identifies threat, as being similar to a previous experience that involved physical d a n g e r or emotional threat. 2.

T h e amygdala sends impulses to the autonomic n e r v o u s system that elicit the "fight, flight, or freeze" alarm response. C h e m i cals such as adrenaline, noradrenaline, and Cortisol are released into the bloodstream, causing the heart rate, blood pressure, and other bodily processes to u n d e r g o a series of dramatic changes. At the same time, primitive areas of the brain, d e signed to respond to threat, shape perception and t h o u g h t . T h e rational mind has little involvement in this sequence.

3.

T h e physical sensations of the alarm response are experienced as angerlike feelings (fight), fearlike feelings (flight), or an inability to take action (freeze).

A n d here is an outline of the w a y we believe e n e r g y interventions interrupt the above sequence:

1. T h e triggering image is b r o u g h t to mind while physically stimulating a series of acupoints that send impulses directly to the amygdala, which inhibit the alarm response. 2.

T h e s e impulses also cause a reduction, within the amygdala, of the n u m b e r of neural connections b e t w e e n the image and the alarm response.

3.

After a n u m b e r of repetitions of n u m b e r 1, the image can then be b r o u g h t to mind, or the situation can be experienced directly, without eliciting the alarm response.

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T h i s explanation addresses the w a y that stimulating acupoints m a y help overcome psychological p r o b l e m s .

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O t h e r research holds implica-

tions for the w a y energy interventions can enhance peak performance and the achievement of goals. It has been established within sports psychology, for instance, that mental rehearsal can i m p r o v e performance. Vividly imagining fifty successful free throws initiates neurological shifts increases shooting effectiveness on the c o u r t .

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Reports from e n e r g y p s y -

c h o l o g y practitioners suggest that c o m b i n i n g such imagery with acupoint stimulation intensifies this effect. Based u p o n these observations and the above speculation about the role of the amygdala in the treatment, a tentative hypothesis can be formed to explain the rapid i m p r o v e m e n t that is so frequently reported after e n e r g y interventions.

Hypothesis: Stimulating specific electromagnetically sensitive points on the skin while bringing a psychological problem or goal to mind can help a person overcome that problem or reach that goal by changing the chemistry in the amygdala and other areas of the brain.

ARE FEAR AND ANXIETY THE PRIMARY C O N D I T I O N S ENERGY PSYCHOLOGY C A N TREAT? Do the psychological problems that e n e r g y interventions can effectively treat go b e y o n d phobias and other anxiety-related issues? T h e r e is to date no published research on this question, b u t impressions from various clinicians are available. T h e only systematic examination at this point of the conditions for which energy-oriented psychotherapy is most and least effective (indications and contraindications) is a substudy c o m i n g out of a fourteen-year investigation that was conducted in eleven clinics in South America, involving some 31,400 patients (details on p. 301, Appendix 3).

24 • T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y

Clinicians w h o w e r e n o t involved in the treatment assessed the o u t c o m e of e n e r g y interventions with a sample of patients that represented a wide spectrum of clinical disorders. T h e y gave each case a subjective score of 1 to 5, estimating the effectiveness of the e n e r g y interventions in contrast to the conventional treatments that m i g h t have been used (a 5 indicated that the rater believed the e n e r g y approach was far m o r e effective than the conventional treatment w o u l d have been; a 1 indicated that the rater believed it was far less effective than the conventional treatment w o u l d have b e e n ) . W h i l e highly subjective, these ratings w e r e designed to help the South American clinics generate guidelines as they introduced e n e r g y techniques. T h e staff reports having found that the resulting guidelines w e r e administratively useful and clinically trustworthy. T h i s is, of course, still largely impressionistic, and the degree that the ratings m i g h t generalize to other settings is also u n k n o w n . But the ratings at least give an early glimpse into the conclusions of one g r o u p of practitioners. Most anxiety disorders received a 4 or 5. T h e s e included panic disorders, agoraphobia, specific phobias, social phobias, separation anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders, acute stress disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and generalized anxiety disorders. T h e raters believed that the e n e r g y interventions w e r e m o r e effective or far m o r e effective than other available treatments for these anxiety conditions. Also receiving a 5 — a n d this is highly relevant for this b o o k — w e r e m a n y of the emotional difficulties of everyday life, from u n w a r r a n t e d fears and anger to excessive feelings of guilt, shame, grief, jealousy, rejection, isolation, frustration, or love pain. O t h e r conditions that w e r e rated as m o r e likely to respond to an energy a p p r o a c h included adjustment disorders, attention-deficit disorders, elimination disorders, impulse-control disorders, p r o b l e m s related to abuse or neglect, learning disorders, and communication disorders. Cases receiving a 3 indicated that the rater believed that the e n e r g y intervention p r o d u c e d a result that w o u l d be about the equivalent of other

Your Electric Brain

*

25

available psychological treatments. T h i s w o u l d suggest that m a x i m u m clinical advantage would be gained by c o m b i n i n g the energy approach with the m o r e conventional treatment. Conditions in this category included mild to m o d e r a t e reactive depression, learning-skills disorders, motor-skills disorders, T o u r e t t e ' s s y n d r o m e , substance-abuse-related disorders, and eating disorders. Cases where a conventional treatment approach was rated as b e i n g likely to have b e e n m o r e effective than the energy treatment included m a jor e n d o g e n o u s depression, personality disorders, dissociative disorders, bipolar disorders, psychotic disorders, delirium, and dementia. N o t e that each of these conditions has a s t r o n g genetic or biological basis. R e p o r t s are nonetheless n o w appearing that people within these diagnostic categories have been helped by energy treatments with a range of life p r o b lems that are secondary to their c o n d i t i o n .

20

Seasoned healers are also

finding w a y s of adapting e n e r g y m e t h o d s to treat the p r i m a r y conditions themselves. But the typical practitioner with k n o w l e d g e only in the r u d i m e n t a r y use of acupoint stimulation should, at a m i n i m u m , have special training and experience in w o r k i n g with these conditions before using energy interventions so they can be applied in conjunction with m o r e established m e t h o d s .

WHAT T H I S B O O K C A N D O AND WHAT I T C A N ' T D O T h e place of energy interventions within the field of psychotherapy is still unfolding. W i t h some kinds of problems, such as uncomplicated p h o bias and m a n y mild to m o d e r a t e anxieties, the e n e r g y intervention itself can often overcome the p r o b l e m . W i t h other psychiatric disorders, ene r g y interventions are b e i n g combined with m o r e traditional approaches, and a g r o w i n g n u m b e r of clinical reports suggests that they significantly increase the effectiveness of the standard approaches. T h e r a p y is still

26 • T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y PSYCHOLOGY

about insight, intention, positive thinking, cognitive restructuring, and the healing p o w e r of relationship, but being able to directly shift the energies that appear to impact the n e u r o l o g y that maintains psychological problems is a powerful adjunct. T h e predecessor to this b o o k is a self-help guide that was originally included in the Energy Psychology Interactive training p r o g r a m as a resource for psychotherapists to give to their clients to support and reinforce the procedures b e i n g used in the office. As substantial anecdotal evidence was accumulating that the m e t h o d s can be responsibly and effectively applied to a variety of everyday p r o b l e m s w i t h o u t the aid of a psychotherapist, we m a d e the Self-Help Guide available to the general public. T h i s b o o k expands u p o n that earlier w o r k . Its procedures can help you w i t h m a n y d a y - t o - d a y psychological and emotional challenges, b u t you also need to be aware of some significant limitations. The Promise of Energy Psychology presents powerful tools for personal development. It does not, however, teach you h o w to b e c o m e a p s y chotherapist, and it is not designed to w o r k with psychiatric disorders w i t h o u t the involvement of a qualified mental-health professional. A small p r o p o r t i o n of the population has a physical or emotional frailty so severe that they should n o t attempt any potent healing intervention w i t h out the presence and guidance of a skilled professional. T h e p r o g r a m is also not presented as an independent "self-help" resource for the treatment of such conditions as major depression, severe anxiety, personality disorders, bipolar disorders, dissociative disorders, the aftermath of severe t r a u m a or any substantial bodily injury, substance abuse, or p s y chotic disorders. Please enlist the help of a qualified psychotherapist if you suffer from any of these conditions. C o m p e t e n t help is available to you (see Resources, p. 318). T h e techniques presented in this b o o k m a y supplement the procedures used by a psychotherapist w h e n serious p s y chological p r o b l e m s are present, b u t t h e y do n o t substitute for them. T h e y may, however, be effective tools for helping you negotiate the ups and d o w n s of daily life and for reaching goals that have eluded you.

Your Electric Brain

* 27

T h e y m a y be used to help y o u shift self-defeating patterns of t h o u g h t or behavior. T h e m e t h o d s m a y assist y o u in countering emotions that you consider intrusive or irrational, such as inappropriate anger, grief, guilt, jealousy, fear, attachment, self-judgment, worry, sadness, or shame. T h e y m a y help you reach any of a w i d e range of personal goals, from healthier eating habits to speaking with greater poise to peak performance in a chosen sport. T h e y m a y set you on a j o u r n e y w h e r e you learn to respond to y o u r feelings m o r e skillfully, cultivating greater inner h a r m o n y and o u t w a r d success. T h e y are offered with the clear intention of the authors that they provide you with potent tools for navigating y o u r w a y t h r o u g h life's challenges m o r e skillfully, m o r e effectively, and m o r e joyfully.

IN A NUTSHELL: Energy psychology is a contemporary application of methods that are at least 4,500 years old. Specific points on the skin can be stimulated for distinct neurological effects, and this principle can be used for helping to overcome a range of psychological problems. While the research supporting this approach is still in its early stages, reports of effective treatments from hundreds of therapists representing the spectrum of clinical orientations are provocative. This book will provide you with the tools you need to experiment with these methods in your own life.

2 A BASIC RECIPE By stimulating the flow of engjgj^the body's own healing network can be activated. — R O G E R C A L L A H A N , P h . D . , Tapping the Healer Within

I

n this chapter, y o u will learn one of the most basic protocols from 1

e n e r g y psychology for reducing distress, and y o u will practice it by

applying it to an unpleasant m e m o r y . You will begin by giving a rating to the a m o u n t of distress you feel w h e n you b r i n g this m e m o r y to mind and end by assessing the degree to which y o u w e r e able to reduce the distress. O n c e you have developed the ability to reduce the a m o u n t of distress caused by a troubling m e m o r y , the following two chapters will show you h o w to adapt the same m e t h o d s to virtually any psychological problem or goal you wish (within the limits outlined at the end of chapter 1). If at any point that y o u are using the techniques presented in this b o o k y o u begin to feel overwhelmed, uncertain, or upset, please read "If the P r o g r a m Becomes Unsettling" (Appendix 2). You m a y w a n t to glance over that material now. As y o u go t h r o u g h the p r o g r a m , k n o w that it is there to be consulted at any time y o u wish. T h r o u g h o u t the b o o k please also keep in mind the following principle: T a p p i n g on acupuncture points

A Basic Recipe

« 29

to decrease the emotional charge a r o u n d a past m e m o r y requires only tkaXyou know w h a t you are focusing u p o n — c l i n i c a l experience has s h o w n that it is not necessary and it is not useful to immerse yourself in a traumatic m e m o r y or in any w a y retraumatize yourself for e n e r g y psychology m e t h o d s to have their benefits. L e t ' s begin. Bring to m i n d an early m e m o r y that holds an unpleasant emotional charge. Perhaps it was a time you w e r e embarrassed in front of y o u r classroom. Perhaps it was w h e n a relationship ended. Or y o u r family m o v e d to a strange n e w place. Or y o u w e r e betrayed or humiliated. Or a pet died. Or you m a d e a terrible blunder. Or you had to h u r t s o m e o n e y o u loved. For this first time t h r o u g h , we suggest that you n o t choose a core traumatic event, say a devastating loss or a m e m o r y of physical or sexual abuse. But the loss or betrayal or e m b a r r a s s m e n t or blunder can be substantial. If y o u cannot think of an incident from early in y o u r life, choose one that is m o r e recent. E v e r y o n e has at least a few, t h o u g h y o u m a y have to b e c o m e still and go inward to find one. You will need a sheet of paper. On it, write a brief description of the m e m o r y — j u s t a sentence o r two.

PRELIMINARIES You will be exploring a n e w idea in this chapter. Virtually everyone in the mental-health profession agrees that negative, self-limiting emotions can often be traced back to early life experiences that w e r e emotionally d a m aging. A current event psychologically activates the early experience, and this results in a defensive emotional response that leads to choices and life patterns that are restrictive and dysfunctional. T h e n e w idea is that there is a step b e t w e e n the m e m o r y and the emotion, and that step is a disturbance in your body's energies. T h e electrochemical events triggered in the amygdala by the m e m o r y are detailed on pp. 291-305, A p p e n d i x 3, b u t to express it v e r y simply:

30

•

T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y PSYCHOLOGY

leads t o .

„

,

,

,

,

A Troubling Memory

•

leads t o .1,

T->-

i

An Energy Disturbance

„ „ „ _ . , .

^ A Self-Defeating • ° Emotional Response

Conventional p s y c h o t h e r a p y focuses on the m e m o r y . E n e r g y p s y chology focuses on the e n e r g y disturbance as well as the m e m o r y . F o c u s ing on the m e m o r y without changing the energies it evokes can perpetuate rather than resolve the emotional problem, as w h e n some people in p s y chotherepy delve deeper and deeper into u n d e r s t a n d i n g the sources of their difficulties w i t h o u t making any significant changes in their behavior or lifestyle. Focusing on the energy disturbance, as you will be learning to do in this chapter, can resolve the emotional problem so rapidly that it can be hard to believe that you are n o t feeling it a n y m o r e . T h e w o m a n d e scribed in the Introduction, w h o walked up to and touched the snake after a lifelong terror of snakes, was amazed that half an h o u r of tapping on certain points dissolved her phobia. She could have talked about and analyzed h e r fear incessantly, and it is n o t likely that this would have changed it. W h e n Rich climbed o n t o the fire escape after a few minutes of tapping and felt no fear, his surprise was surpassed only by his relief. We know, based on our combined w o r k with thousands of individuals, that witnessing such changes evokes p e o p l e ' s skepticism, and we w a n t to address yours. In demonstrations, people do n o t question that the change happened. T h e y will see a friend w h o was terrified of public speaking calmly addressing a large g r o u p after a few minutes of treatment d u r i n g a workshop. But they explain it according to frameworks with which they are familiar: " I t was the p o w e r of suggestion." " I t was a distraction techn i q u e . " "Positive thinking can do that." "It was m i n d over matter." "It was the enthusiasm and persuasiveness of the therapist." " T h e p e r s o n b e lieved it w o u l d w o r k , so it w o r k e d . " People generally d o n ' t have a framew o r k to conclude " O h , of course, the e n e r g y system was b e i n g balanced while the p e r s o n was tuned in to the p r o b l e m , so naturally the u n w a n t e d emotional response was eliminated." But that is exactly w h a t happens.

A Basic Recipe » 31

Fortunately, you do n o t need to believe it in o r d e r for it to w o r k . In fact, people rarely "believe in" these techniques until they have seen t h e m w o r k a n u m b e r of times. So we d o n ' t ask that you have any faith or belief in the methods, only that y o u carry them o u t precisely as described. O u r insistence on staying strictly with the protocol is because, at this point, we h o p e these basic procedures will b e c o m e automatic for you. Later in the b o o k , we will discuss modifications and shortcuts. A n o t h e r reason people initially feel skeptical about the m e t h o d s used in e n e r g y psychology is that they look strange. A n d we mean really, really strange. T h e protocol you are about to learn will have y o u talking to yourself, rolling y o u r eyes a r o u n d in your head, and h u m m i n g a s o n g while tapping on various parts of y o u r body. T h e s e m e t h o d s d o n ' t even remotely resemble p s y c h o l o g y as most people think of it. In fact, the premise that these procedures could be d o i n g a n y t h i n g that has a significant impact might be w a y b e y o n d y o u r sense of what is plausible. H o w ever, once you understand their neurological basis (see inside back cover of this b o o k ) , you m a y w o n d e r w h y they w e r e n ' t discovered earlier (as, of course, they w e r e , by Chinese physicians some five thousand years ago).

SELECTING THE PROBLEM W h i l e you initially will be w o r k i n g with the disturbing m e m o r y y o u selected earlier, the range of d a y - t o - d a y goals that could be addressed m i g h t involve:

•

Emotional reactions, such as "to overcome my resentment toward my m o t h e r " or "to stay calm and relaxed even w h e n my spouse is treating me insensitively."

•

Physical reactions, such as " t o stop the stress headaches I get at w o r k " or "to keep my heart from p o u n d i n g so h a r d w h e n I am about to ask s o m e o n e out on a date."

32 •

•

T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y PSYCHOLOGY

Habits of thought, such as "to focus m o r e on my son's strengths and achievements than on his s h o r t c o m i n g s " or " t o stop dwelling u p o n unfinished tasks w h e n e v e r I m i g h t have a m o m e n t to relax."

•

Patterns of behavior, such as "to c h e w m o r e slowly" or " t o stop going to the refrigerator w h e n e v e r I feel agitated."

RATING THE PROBLEM O n c e y o u have selected the issue or m e m o r y y o u wish to w o r k on, the next step is to rate it on a scale of 0 (no distress) to 10 (extreme distress, or the worst it has ever b e e n ) , based on the a m o u n t of discomfort you experience w h e n y o u think about it. Again, it is neither necessary n o r desirable to relive a past t r a u m a in o r d e r to have a successful o u t c o m e using e n e r g y techniques. If the issue y o u are focusing on is particularly intense, a v a r i ety of techniques can be used to keep the m e m o r y , situation, or feeling "at a distance." You could, for instance, give it a rating by " v i e w i n g " the m e m o r y or situation t h r o u g h a l o n g tunnel. You could simply think about what it would be like to think about the issue. Or you can use the "tearless t r a u m a " technique, w h e r e you simply guess at w h a t the emotional intensity w o u l d be (on the scale of 0 to 10) if you w e r e to vividly imagine the traumatic incident. If, on the other h a n d , you find yourself h a v i n g difficulty getting y o u r mind a r o u n d the problem or accessing your feelings about it, y o u might take m o r e time to attune inwardly while focusing and b r e a t h i n g deeply. You could visualize circumstances that activate the p r o b l e m , or replay in y o u r imagination a situation in which y o u have in the past or m i g h t in the future experience the problem. O n c e m o r e , it is not necessary or desirable to immerse yourself emotionally in the m e m o r y — o n l y that y o u touch into it lightly. T h i s is e n o u g h that it will be neurologically active while you are d o i n g the tapping. F o r instance, think about a scary m o v i e right

A Basic Recipe

* 33

n o w and your feelings about it. If the m o v i e w e r e your traumatic m e m ory, that is all the activation that w o u l d be necessary. You d o n ' t have to relive the movie scene by scene. W h e t h e r it works best for you to keep the m e m o r y you will be w o r k ing with at an emotional distance or to actually make it m o r e vivid, y o u r task at this point is to rate the intensity of discomfort the m e m o r y evokes in you right now, as you tune into it (as contrasted with w h a t you think y o u would feel if you were in the situation again). On your sheet of paper, write d o w n a n u m b e r from 0 to 10 indicating the a m o u n t of distress it causes y o u to think about the m e m o r y , with 10 b e i n g an extreme a m o u n t and 0 b e i n g n o n e at all. You will be using this rating as a gauge of y o u r progress as you go t h r o u g h the sequence. For some people, children in particular, a m o r e concrete w a y of rating is preferred, such as indicating the a m o u n t of distress by d r a w i n g a shorter or longer line or extending b o t h hands with palms facing to indicate "this m u c h . " If y o u r m e m o r y has several climactic points, focus on only one of them. T h e s e crescendos m a y need to be treated one at a time as separate aspects of the event. If the m e m o r y is of an automobile accident, for instance, the crescendos m i g h t include hearing the tires skidding, realizing an accident is about to happen, the m o m e n t of impact, feeling y o u r o w n injury, seeing others on the g r o u n d . You w o u l d treat each as a separate m e m o r y , b u t you will find that once y o u have neutralized your p h y s i o l o g ical response to a few of them, the rest will p r o b a b l y fall away quite readily. If y o u r m e m o r y has several crescendos, select only one for now. Measure the intensity of your m e m o r y as it exists in y o u r b o d y when y o u b r i n g the m e m o r y to mind, in the moment, rather than what you think it would be in the actual situation. T h i s is because the treatment corrects the energetic and neurological disruptions that occur while you are thinking about the problem or m e m o r y . O n c e the troubling emotion has been neutralized in this way, experience shows that this readily translates to situations that in the past m i g h t have evoked the emotion. F o r instance, if you feel s t r o n g and irrational anger every time you e n -

34 • T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y

counter a policeman, y o u m i g h t close y o u r eyes and b r i n g to mind the first incident y o u can recall w h e n you felt a n g r y toward a police officer. You w o u l d assess the intensity of the anger you feel, on the scale of 0 to 10, ay it exists now, while you think about this memory. If you rate it as a 9, for example, then y o u have a b e n c h m a r k against which to measure y o u r progress as you go t h r o u g h each r o u n d of treatment. W h e n it has g o n e d o w n to 0, you m i g h t w o r k w i t h another similar m e m o r y . O n c e y o u have removed the emotional charge from the memories related to policemen, you are likely to find that the next time you actually see a policeman, your anger will either not be aroused or will at least be substantially diminished. Of course y o u r awareness of past injustices or other causes for your anger will n o t be erased, b u t their emotional grip on you will have been loosened and you w o n ' t continue to generalize the bad feeling to other situations just because they are superficially similar.

A BASIC RECIPE FOR CHANGING AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE O u r goal in this chapter is to provide y o u w i t h a simple recipe y o u can use w h e n e v e r you w a n t to decrease the distress y o u feel in response to a m e m ory, a situation as it is h a p p e n i n g , or a situation that you anticipate. D e rived from the Emotional F r e e d o m Techniques ( E F T ) , it is a recipe for increasing your inner peace and emotional freedom. A recipe, of course, calls for specific ingredients that must be added in a certain order. T h i s recipe has only four ingredients, and two of t h e m are identical. O n c e you have memorized the ingredients, a r o u n d of treatment can be performed in about a minute. T h e ingredients include:

1•

T h e Setup

2.

T h e T a p p i n g Sequence (with R e m i n d e r Phrase)

A Basic Recipe

• 35

3.

The Nine-Gamut Procedure

4.

T h e T a p p i n g Sequence (with R e m i n d e r P h r a s e ) repeated

We are suggesting that y o u do the steps exactly as w e ' v e described t h e m so that the basic procedures b e c o m e rote for you. But there is also one caveat. Even here as you are learning the m e t h o d , it should n o t b e c o m e so rote that y o u do n o t feel an emotional connection with the process. It is better to deviate from o u r instructions for finding the images or w o r d i n g s you will be using if that helps you stay m o r e emotionally connected with the procedures.

I N G R E D I E N T 1: THE SETUP T h e first ingredient, the Setup, is a w a y of establishing a psychological and energetic receptiveness for change. W h e n e v e r y o u decide to change a habit of t h o u g h t , behavior, or emotion, the part of y o u that initially established that pattern m a y resist y o u r efforts. Psychological and b e havioral habits are often h a r d - w o n compromises, and they b e c o m e e m bedded in y o u r energy system, your neurology, and your lifestyle. T h e m o m e n t you think of changing o n e of these patterns, an e n e r g y d i s r u p tion m a y occur that, if n o t effectively addressed, can interfere with a n y further efforts to overcome the p r o b l e m . All psychotherapists are familiar with this d y n a m i c , w h e r e an inner conflict about reaching a treatment goal is blocking progress toward that goal. A n d each therapist m u s t find a w a y to deal with such conflict w h e n it emerges if the w o r k with that client is to be effective. O n e of the first clinicians to write of the energetic u n d e r p i n n i n g s of such conflict w a s Roger Callahan.

2

Callahan describes the first patient he w o r k e d with 3

w h e r e he confronted this d y n a m i c . T h e patient w a n t e d the t h e r a p y to help her lose weight after years of failed attempts. Callahan had b e e n experimenting w i t h a healing approach called A p -

36 « T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y

plied Kinesiology. Tests of the relative resistance of various muscles had b e e n devised to d e t e r m i n e information about a p e r s o n ' s health, from which the treatments follow. T h e practitioner pushes against the person's a r m or leg in w a y s that reveal what is occurring within the p e r s o n ' s ene r g y system. Is the e n e r g y that is supposed to be g o i n g to a particular organ getting there properly, as indicated by the relative strength of a muscle that is on the e n e r g y p a t h w a y to that organ, or is this energy in some w a y disrupted? Is the e n e r g y to the kidneys, for instance, flowing properly? T h i s allowed physical interventions to be m a d e that corrected, with precision, the imbalances in the p e r s o n ' s e n e r g y system. T h e virtues of that approach for p r o m o t i n g health are another story.

4

T h e tangent that is important for o u r story is that these same tests could be used to discover u n d e r l y i n g psychological dynamics. If the person makes a statement he or she believes is true, the muscle will still test strong. Usually. If your n a m e is N a n c y and y o u say " M y n a m e is Nancy," the muscle will stay firm. But if there is a conscious or subconscious disagreem e n t with the statement, it will not. If N a n c y says " M y n a m e is Mary," there is a m o m e n t a r y disturbance in the meridian energies, and the muscle 5

will not hold firm w h e n faced with the same a m o u n t of pressure. You can see the applications for the therapy setting, a kind of lie detector for u n conscious conflict. Callahan asked the w o m a n w h o was c o m i n g for help with her weight to picture herself as b e i n g thin, just the w a y she w a n t e d to b e , and he then did a muscle test. To his astonishment, and hers, w h e n she was able to successfully visualize herself at her ideal weight, the muscle gave way, signifying an inner conflict about the desired image. He b e g a n experim e n t i n g with different variations of this, such as having her make the statement "I w a n t to lose w e i g h t . " Again the test indicated that there was subconscious conflict about this statement. Perhaps this is n o t surprising. S o m e o n e w h o has dieted a great deal m a y have b e c o m e uninterested in reenlisting in the seesaw of losing w e i g h t only to watch it be regained. F o r some, the genuine desire to lose weight is countered by the fear of re-

A Basic Recipe * 37

ceiving u n w a n t e d sexual advances. For others, there is a comfort or p r o tection in h a v i n g a r o u n d e d body. W h a t Callahan discovered was that an e n e r g y disruption accompanied such conflicts a b o u t the desired goal. He b e g a n to do the test w i t h other patients. D i d they also show an energetic disruption w h e n they t h o u g h t about reaching their therapeutic goals? "I want to get over my anxiety attacks." "I want a better relationship with my wife." "I want to be a successful musician." "I w a n t to overcome my impotence." He also had t h e m make their statement in the opposite way, such as, "I don't w a n t to get over my anxiety attacks." To his surprise, he found that with the muscle test, a large n u m b e r of his clients g r e w weaker w h e n they t h o u g h t about getting better, and they g r e w stronger w h e n they t h o u g h t about not getting better. He called this a psychological reversal. Psychological reversals involve unconscious resistance to the consciously desired o u t c o m e . A part of y o u seems to w a n t the reverse of w h a t y o u consciously desire, or y o u do the reverse of w h a t y o u intend. A n d the h a r d e r you try, the m o r e powerful the resistance that counters y o u r efforts becomes. T h i s resistance is c o m p o u n d e d by a disruption in y o u r b o d y ' s e n e r g y system w h e n e v e r you b r i n g your goal to mind. R e m e m b e r the toy puzzle in which you stick a finger into each end of a straw tube and the h a r d e r y o u t r y to pull y o u r fingers out, the m o r e firmly they b e c o m e embedded? T h a t is h o w a psychological reversal feels. Your efforts p r o d u c e the opposite of the result you intend. All effective therapies address psychological reversals in o n e w a y or another. Until these are r e solved, other therapeutic interventions are less likely to have a deep or lasting effect. Callahan's recognition that there was an e n e r g y d y n a m i c in these c o n flicts about the treatment goal helped him find a w a y to address t h e m at the e n e r g y level, and it is disarmingly simple. It is, in fact, the opposite of a long, complex analysis, which often results in greater u n d e r s t a n d i n g b u t little resolution. T h e m e t h o d Callahan developed was this: You make a statement that acknowledges that the p r o b l e m you w a n t to change exists

38 • T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y

(e.g., " E v e n t h o u g h I have this u n w a n t e d w e i g h t " ) and at the same time affirms that you accept yourself even t h o u g h you have that problem (e.g., "I deeply love and accept m y s e l f " ) . W h i l e m a k i n g this statement, y o u w o r k some points that m o v e energy t h r o u g h y o u r body. For reasons that are n o t fully u n d e r s t o o d , this seems to resolve the psychological reversal the majority of the time. Or m o r e precisely, the person will usually then be able to make the statement about a clinical goal, such as "I w a n t to stop s m o k i n g , " without an energy disruption, as shown by the muscle test. A n d most important, Callahan's experience, and the experience of thousands since, is that it then becomes possible to make progress with that goal using other e n e r g y m e t h o d s , even t h o u g h progress had been blocked prior to the p r o c e d u r e . T h e first ingredient of the Basic Recipe, the Setup, allows you to energetically defuse most psychological reversals about a treatment goal. You state a precisely w o r d e d affirmation while stimulating certain e n e r g y points. T h e affirmation statement has two parts:

1) Even

though

I

have

this

,

2) I deeply love and accept myself.

T h e blank is filled in with a brie£xle§£r^tion of the problem b e i n g addressed. F o r example:

*

Even though I have this resentment toward my mother, I deeply love and accept myself.

*

Even though I have this tendency to get headaches at work, I deeply love and accept myself.

*

Even though I have this obsession about my sons shortcomings, I deeply love and accept myself

*

Even though I eat when I'm anxious, myself.

I deeply love and accept

A Basic Recipe » 39

A n y psychological or behavioral p r o b l e m or goal, from a craving for chocolate to i m p r o v i n g y o u r tennis serve, can be translated into this format. W h i l e m a n y people are accustomed to stating affirmations only in the positive, in this m e t h o d , you describe the undesired response exactly as you experience it. For y o u r disturbing m e m o r y , the Setup Affirmation m i g h t be s o m e t h i n g like " E v e n t h o u g h I have this pain w h e n I think of M a r y rejecting m e , I deeply love and accept myself," or " E v e n t h o u g h I have this o v e r w h e l m i n g guilt about the awful thing I did to Bobby, I deeply love and accept myself." T h e affirmation is b e s t stated o u t l o u d , with feeling and emphasis. Various alternative w o r d i n g s could serve the same p u r p o s e , w h i c h is to a c k n o w l e d g e the p r o b l e m while a t the same time affirming y o u r w o r thiness despite the existence of the p r o b l e m . A d d i t i o n a l strategies for w o r k i n g w i t h p s y c h o l o g i c a l reversals are discussed t o w a r d the end of the chapter. T h e f o r m a t s h o w n in the above examples, h o w e v e r , is easy t o m e m o r i z e a n d has b e e n used w i d e l y w i t h g o o d r e p o r t s . S o o n y o u r p a p e r , write y o u r Setup A f f i r m a t i o n in the form of " E v e n t h o u g h I have [your e m o t i o n a l reaction a b o u t the m e m o r y ] , I deeply love and accept myself." T h i s w o r d i n g is usually effective, w h e t h e r or n o t y o u believe it. W h i l e the phrase "I deeply love and accept myself" m i g h t seem a simplistic and overly pat self-affirmation, it seems to s o m e h o w interact with the a c k n o w l e d g m e n t of the p r o b l e m in a w a y that eliminates the e n ergy disruption. Anv^ d e e p suggestion that fosters self-acceptance, d e spite the u n w a n t e d p a t t e r n , m a d e with focus and intent, seems to help people address the p r o b l e m w i t h o u t the interference of A e _ « i e r g y j d i s turbance. "I deeply love and accept myself" is usually effective. H o w ever, if this phrase d o e s n ' t fit for y o u , other s t r o n g , positive, affirming statements can h a v e the same impact, such as "I k n o w I am d o i n g my best," "I deserve to feel g o o d , " or "I k n o w deep d o w n that I am a good and w o r t h y p e r s o n . "

40 « T H E PROMISE OF E N E R G Y PSYCHOLOGY

The Energy Intervention T h e E n e r g y Intervention is performed simultaneously with stating the Setup Affirmation. T h e b o d y ' s e n e r g y system can be affected by rubbing, tapping, stretching, holding, or tracing specific points or areas on the surface of the skin. T h e effectiveness of the Setup Affirmation can be increased substantially by finding and r u b b i n g points on y o u r u p p e r chest that are tender. Just press in on various points until you find one or m o r e that are sore. T h i s is the area you will rub while stating y o u r affirmation three times. Find a "sore s p o t " on each side and rub b o t h areas simultaneously. Points that are sore on most people are at the edge of the chest, along the indentation w h e r e the a r m attaches. You can massage these points with

"• Figure 1 »

CENTRAL MERIDIAN REFLEX POINTS Massaging or tapping the central meridian neurolymphatic reflex points helps with various energy imbalances and tends to dissolve the internal resistance that is the hallmark of the psychological reversal.

A Basic Recipe 111 E F T probably wouldn't work, but it only takes a few minutes, so why not try it? Those of us without this problem take these things for granted, but my wife has been set free. I hope this inspires someone else to become free of unnecessary pain, discomfort, and embarrassment.

A w o m a n trained in E F T

2 4

was at an elegant dinner party when o n e of

the guests b e g a n to go into anaphylactic shock. Anaphylactic shock is a rapid and severe allergic reaction to a substance (most often a vaccine or penicillin, shellfish, or insect v e n o m such as a bee sting) to which the person has been sensitized by previous exposure. It can be fatal if e m e r g e n c y treatment, including the administration of epinephrine injections, is not given immediately. Apparently, this m a n was severely allergic to shellfish and he was u n k n o w i n g l y eating crab-stuffed ravioli. As his face and throat began to swell, the host jumped up to call 911. T h e w o m a n i m m e diately took the m a n into another r o o m and b e g a n to treat him with E F T . Before her eyes, the swelling in his face and neck b e g a n to go d o w n and in just a few minutes he had r e t u r n e d to n o r m a l . He rejoined the dinner p a r t y and the 911 call was canceled as all his s y m p t o m s completely v a n ished. All this occurred within a ten-minute period.

GETTING

TO

EMOTIONAL

CAUSES

In each of these cases, little attention was given to the emotional causes of the physical condition, yet a simple tapping routine was sufficient. In other cases, emotional aspects are central in the treatment. G a r y was m a k i n g a presention at a conference w h e n a participant n a m e d Janet asked if she could have a private session to help with her nearly constant pain from fibromyalgia. She had already b e e n tapping sporadically for three or four weeks prior to the conference. At best, she w o u l d get t e m p o r a r y r e lief for an h o u r or two but then the pains w o u l d come back. G a r y decided to focus on the emotional causes of J a n e t ' s condition. He asked her to pick out an intense emotional issue from her past. She chose one that was

112 » T H E P R O M I S E O F E N E R G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y

so intense that she rarely discussed it with anyone. She quickly rated it at a 10 and had s t r o n g bodily sensations at the mere t h o u g h t of it. To apply the tapping with minimal emotional pain, G a r y had her make a mental movie (as described on p. 83) of the event, and narrate it. Because the suggestion to verbalize the event caused Janet to go into an emotional reaction, they did a few r o u n d s of the Basic Recipe even before she began the narration. T h e s e preliminary r o u n d s b e g a n "even t h o u g h I ' m anxious about telling this s t o r y . . . " Eventually Janet was ready to narrate the story as t h o u g h it w e r e a movie. As she did, G a r y had her stop w h e n e v e r she came to any part of it that increased her emotional intensity. T h e y stopped several times and tapped on various evocative scenes. T h e y actually w e n t t h r o u g h the story two or three times, and each time they found different aspects of the p r o b l e m that required individual attention. It took between thirty and forty minutes, including restful conversation in between the r o u n d s of tapping, before Janet was able to tell the story with relative calm. Even then there w e r e a few areas w h e r e a bit of an emotional reaction would come up, but because G a r y had another appointment, they did not have time to cover the aspects involved with those parts of the story. All the aspects w e r e d o w n to n e a r zero, however. W h i l e they d i d n ' t focus again on her fibromyalgia s y m p t o m s , Janet seemed m u c h lighter by the end of the session and she left k n o w i n g substantial emotional h e a d w a y had b e e n m a d e . A couple of weeks later, G a r y received the following note from Janet: " T h e E F T is working just great for me. It is night 13 of falling asleep without the pain of the Invisible C h r o n i c Illness [fibromyalgia] and this is a p h e n o m e n a l record for m e . Since 1991, the onset of this illness, I have not had two pain-free nights in a r o w . . . " On a follow-up p h o n e call, G a r y learned that Janet was continuing to use E F T with u n d e r l y i n g emotional issues and she was essentially pain-free all day and all night. Occasionally she would wake up in the m o r n i n g with a little stiffness, but she just "taps it away." She reported some pain w h e n she had a massage because it involved p u s h i n g on h e r body. U n d e r n o r mal circumstances, t h o u g h , she said, "I forget w h a t pain is about."

Focusing on Problems

•

113

APPLYING THE BASIC RECIPE TO

PHYSICAL PROBLEMS

In medicine, a basic guideline is to apply the least invasive treatment that m i g h t r e m e d y an illness before m o v i n g to m o r e invasive measures. T h e Basic Recipe is about as noninvasive as an intervention can b e . It is easy to apply. It is self-administered. It is gentle. It takes v e r y little time. H u n dreds of reports exist of its being effective with long-standing physical conditions where other treatments w e r e not. T h e relief from s y m p t o m s is often immediate. A n d if it does n o t w o r k , all other options are still available. So as a first intervention with physical conditions, there is good reason to use a m e t h o d that simultaneously addresses the emotional basis of physical conditions and rebalances disturbances in the b o d y ' s energies. T h e Basic Recipe could be part of every healer's tool kit. G a r y is fond of saying, " T r y it on e v e r y t h i n g . " It w o n ' t hurt. It m a y help. But here are three caveats:

1. For any serious medical condition or suspicious s y m p t o m , w o r k in conjunction with a qualified health-care professional. 2.

Even if you completely clear y o u r s y m p t o m s , consult with y o u r physician before y o u discontinue the use of a medication.

3.

Be aware that pain is a signal from y o u r b o d y and if a pain you have subdued using the tapping routine keeps r e t u r n i n g , be sure y o u u n d e r s t a n d the medical basis of that pain.

" T r y i n g it on e v e r y t h i n g " m a y also lead to subtle i m p r o v e m e n t s that help other treatments to be m o r e effective. Bringing balance to the energies disturbed by a physical condition and addressing its u n d e r l y i n g e m o tional causes can only be beneficial. For help with immediate s y m p t o m s , apply the Basic Recipe ("even t h o u g h I have this headache . . . " ) w h e n ever y o u w a n t relief. You will get instant feedback on its effectiveness.

114 •

T H E P R O M I S E OF E N E R G Y P S Y C H O L O G Y

For an illness, you m i g h t apply the Basic Recipe to every specific event that m a y have been involved in the onset or emotional foundation of the illness. Ask yourself, "If there w e r e an emotional contributor to this condition, what would it b e ? " If you d o n ' t know, guess, and treat w h a t e v e r comes up. As y o u w o r k with the illness, additional memories or e m o tional involvements m a y occur to you. Persistence pays w h e n addressing serious or long-standing physical problems. G a r y often has students w h o are addressing an illness go t h r o u g h the Basic Recipe ten times every day, spread t h r o u g h o u t the day. You can r e m e m b e r to do the p r o c e d u r e by tying it in with routine activities such as w a k i n g up, going to bed, eating, or going to the b a t h r o o m . A l t h o u g h this is an uncharted area in t e r m s of scientific investigation, there is e n o u g h totally unexpected anecdotal evidence to w a r r a n t a bit of experimentation, particularly before i n t r o d u c i n g m o r e invasive measures.

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4 FOCUSING ON POTENTIALS Making your goals happen is exhilarating. — J O H N K E H O E , Mind Power

o u ' v e seen h o w a simple tapping protocol can be effective in over.