-
Deepak Chopra, MD
"EFT offers great healing benefits."
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques®) Where emotional relief brings physical health
Self help method often works where nothing else will No Drugs Involved ~ High Success Rate
EFT Resources
Tutorial--Aspects
(For more info see our Frequently Asked Questions section)
Return to the Tutorial Main Menu
On many occasions, you need only apply one or two rounds of EFT to a specific event in order for its emotional intensity to vanish forever. These are our "one minute wonders" and, fortunately, they occur with delightful frequency. Many lives have been instantly shifted in positive directions because of this feature.
Sometimes, however, even after you have made professional efforts to tap on specific events, the client still reports the problem as "no better." Why would this be? Why does the process work so easily in most cases but appear to bog down in others? There are a few possibilities here (the others will be covered later) but one of the most common causes is that the client, without realizing it, is "shifting to different aspects."
Some issues, it turns out, have many pieces--or aspects--to them. These are actually separate issues. However, clients don't usually make this distinction unless you point it out to them. Suppose, for example, a client wants help with their frightful memories regarding an automobile accident. You can apply EFT, of course, to "this accident" and you are likely to make good progress. If you don't, however, you can ask for more specifics (aspects) with a question like...
"What about the accident bothers you the most?"
Let's suppose the client says, "Oh, the headlights, the headlights, I can still see them coming at me!"You can then tap on "the headlights" or "my fear of the headlights" or any other verbiage that seems to fit. After the client's reaction to the headlights has been EFT'd to zero, you can then ask...
"What else about the accident bothers you?"
At this point the client may bring up other aspects such as, "The screams in the car" or "My anger at the other driver" or "My anger at the doctors," etc. The list can be quite long. Usually, though, it contains only one or two aspects. Tap on these other aspects until the client can no longer find anything bothersome about the accident.
As a test, ask them to "run the movie" of the accident in their mind in vivid detail. This will bring up any trailing aspects for tapping. Eventually, the client should have no charge on the accident. It will just be an unfortunate event in their life--and that's all.
One mistake that is often made along the way, however, is to tap on "the headlights" and then ask a much too global question such as, "How do you feel about the accident now?" That question doesn't ask for any new aspects. It just asks for an overall feeling. In fact, if there are any other aspects (such as "the screams in the car") the client will report "no progress" because they still have intensity. Remember, the client doesn't distinguish between the aspects. To them, it's all one big problem. You have to make the distinction by first trecognizing that aspects exist (that's just simply experience) and, second, asking the right questions to bring them to the surface.
Aspects can happen with almost any emotional issue--examples might be....
- A war trauma can have aspects such as the sight of blood, the look in a comrade's eyes before they die, the sound of a hand grenade, etc.
- A rape experience can have aspects such as the smell of the assailant's breath, the impact of a fist, the penetration, etc.
- A fear of public speaking can have aspects such as the sight of a microphone, the onlooking eyes of the audience, a memory of being ridiculed as a child, etc.
Another thing to recognize is that an aspect can also be an emotion. Thus, some clients report that the anger they had regarding a given event has shifted to sadness. Pick up on these clues. These different emotional aspects are taking you deeper into the problem. They are opportunities for greater healing and present you with great possibilities for mastering your craft.
Our DVD sets are loaded with live examples of aspects which you can replay over and over again. I don't think you will find better examples anywhere of how to address this important subject. Pay particular attention to Dave and his fear of water in The EFT Course. This hour long, very thorough session, is a classic example of aspects and how to address them.
Hugs, Gary
