RE: Interview Sessions: Emotional Freedom Tapping with @eftnow
Great question @alchemage.
There are many. You can also tap on any meridian point or along meridian lines. I understand that TFT had specific algorithms that were more complex than EFT for individual conditions and used other points.
The ones that are used in EFT are either end points of meridians or crossover points. The idea is that as you tap on every meridian in the process, you don't need to identify which one has the energy blockage.
So long as you are focused on the specific emotions and energy around the thought, event, belief etc, by hitting each meridian along the way, you'll have the opportunity to discharge it. This therefore makes it very quick to apply EFT.
The real skill is how to precisely pinpoint the issue so that the tapping is effective.
Another one that works well is tapping down and then back up the entire spine with a finger on either side of the spine. This is great for soothing babies, calming animals etc and can also be used to deepen relaxation in a massage.
I've also seen people tap chakra points. Whatever works!
Thank you for the indepth response.
Are you saying that there are different meridians for different issues or that it just just important to focus on the issue while tapping?
The only tapping I'm familiar with is for stimulating the thymus, and for EMDR. EMDR, when utilizing tapping and not eye movements, definitely has one focus upon the trauma, as it is a trauma regression therapy; however, thymus stimulation has nothing to do with psychological functions - though, I've heard of people using it to calm down during anxiety attacks.
It's most important to be as precise as possible with the issue, which can take several or even many rounds to pinpoint.
For example "I'm unlovable" is very general and only superficial relief might be felt.
Unfortunately, this is the standard of many EFT videos on Youtube - which has given many people the impression that EFT is quite nice, works a bit.
However, "The look in Mum's eye when I dropped the Christmas pudding" and all of the associated feelings is much more precise. You are looking to recall as much sensory information and the meanings that were created from it as possible."
TFT put more relevance on different tapping algorithms for each issue and EFT simplified it by making sure that each meridian was tapped during a full round.
I find that so long as 4 or 5 points are tapped on the way round while you are focused precisely on the issue tends to work.
EFT is very similar in effects to EMDR. The main difference is that we try not to get people fully back into the traumatised response, just a glimpse and then tap to release the emotions before continuing, so it seems to be more gentle.
Of course, sometimes people do go into a full abreaction from time to time, so it's important to be ready for that. This doesn't tend to happen in self work though, usually only when working with a practitioner who is able to push with questions that your subconscious would normally block you from answering yourself.
Regarding the thymus, from the perception of META-Health, all organs have a biological function that can be related to thought patterns and beliefs etc. In the case of the thymus, the theme is around individuality, self-esteem, acceptance, need to develop resilience & skills on all levels.