Persistence, hemorrhoids & Uncle Bugs

By Gary Craig

"Henry" phoned me two nights ago in major pain. Shaking. Tears. He reported that he had had what appeared to be hemorrhoids for the past two weeks and they just kept getting worse. Now there appeared to be a fissure and he was bleeding. This was scary. Having a bowel movement was so excruciatingly painful that he was afraid of passing out. He was using medication of various kinds and nothing was helping. He had a doctor's appointment for the next day but was fearful of an impending examination and a possible surgical operation. His pain was a 10 as he was talking to me. That's where it had been all day. Things were "backing up" and the problem was destined to get worse if he didn't undergo the unbearable pain of a bowel movement. He was in an awful place. He was damned if he did (have a bowel movement) and dammed up if he didn't.

Two rounds of shortcut EFT brought the pain from a 10 to an 8. But he plateaued there for awhile. Subsequent tapping brought it to a 6 a couple of times but then it went right back up to an 8. We tapped on the tears and the shaking as well. Some headway. The relief was noticeable but not as robust as we often get.

Newcomers to EFT often give up here. They try a few times, figure it "isn't working" and close the session thinking that is the best they can do. This is usually a mistake because relief is frequently achievable with EFT even when logic tells you otherwise. In Henry's case, the cause appeared quite physical. After all, he had hemorrhoids and a fissure. He was bleeding. He had sensitive nerves impinging on a certain to come bowel movement. There was no way out. At least so it might seem.

Persistence turned out to be important here. The EFT Course persistently persists that we use persistence. That's not just idle talk because persistence is frequently rewarded. It is a major lesson for all EFT'ers to learn. Just keep at it. Come at it from different angles. Eventually, even the seemingly impossible often happens. Once you make progress a few times using persistence, you will consider it a trusted friend.

So I continued. I probed for possible emotional causes. As it turns out, Henry had spent the last several weeks taking care of his "Uncle Bugs," who was in failing health and both critical and ungrateful towards Henry. He felt trapped. It was as though he was in prison. There was no one else to do what had to be done. His self talk included the thought that he wished Uncle Bugs would die. He didn't want to admit that, but it was true. So we tapped on this and related Uncle Bugs issues. We used phraseology such as....

Even though I have Uncle Bugs up my butt...(a metaphor for Uncle Bugs being an emotional cause of the problem)

Even though Uncle Bugs is a pain in the ass...

Even though I resent being on Uncle Bugs' leash...

Even though I hate myself for my thoughts...

Even though I feel like I'm in prison and Uncle Bugs has the key...

Even though my poisonous thoughts are showing up as poison in my body...

I don't remember every bit of the phraseology because much of it was done intuitively. However, I do remember the following reminder phrase...

There goes Uncle Bugs (referring to a bowel movement).

There was also some substantial discussions on forgiveness for himself as well as for Uncle Bugs. This is important because lack of forgiveness (i.e. holding a grudge or grievance) is often the true cause of what appears to be our physical ailments.

We did this for 15 or 20 minutes and, while we kept focusing on the severity of the pain, the tears and shaking subsided. The pain then went from an 8 to a 5 to a 2 and then, a few minutes later, went to zero.

I mean zero. Nothing.

There was an awareness of the problem but that was all. He went to sleep and woke up the next morning and called me with the pain level back to 5. Interestingly, though, when he went to have a bowel movement, the pain fell to zero. It was a 5 off the toilet but a zero on the toilet. Go figure. A little tapping and the pain off the toilet fell to zero again. He then went to the doctor who performed an examination and discovered that it wasn't really hemorrhoids. It was an abscess. The examination was painful but nothing like what it might have been. The doctor said it was unlikely that the abscess would drain by itself. Thus, a surgical operation was likely. Henry and I discussed this and tapped for allowing the abscess to drain.

This morning I awoke to a phone call from Henry telling me that the problem was gone. About an hour after we tapped for the drainage, he noticed a "mucus plug" in the toilet. More "mucus plugs" occurred during subsequent bowel movements and by this morning, the drainage was complete.

Some morals to this story. First, if we had given up when we seem to have plateaued we would not have made the complete progress that occurred. Second, we went for the emotional contributors to a physical problem. This often does job. Third, Henry and I live over 1,000 miles apart and so THE WHOLE THING WAS DONE OVER THE PHONE. The accumulative phone time was about an hour and a half in length. For those who question the value of doing this work over the phone, think again.

Persistence, persistence, persistence. With it you can have many "moving" experiences (excuse the pun).

Love, Gary

P.S. I wouldn't want anyone to think that just because we have dramatic healings with an abscess (and countless other physical ailments--see articles on pain and physical symptoms for many actual case histories), that it's possible to give relief to cancer, fibromyalgia, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, etc. Surely persistence and aiming at emotional causes won't work THERE.

But then again, maybe I'm wrong. Might be worth a try (grin).

---

Sitting on a porcupine

Hi Everyone,

Almost two weeks ago I posted "Persistence, Hemorrhoids & Uncle Bugs" In that case, as you recall, I employed the persistent use of EFT in behalf of "Henry's" excruciatingly painful hemorrhoids (later discovered to be an abscess). The pain went from a constant 10 to a zero and, after a subsequent session, the abscess began to drain.

Success!! However, it did not turn out to be quite the Cinderella story that we might like. If it had worked ideally, the abscess would have continued to drain, the whole thing would have dried up in 3 or 4 days and Henry would be back to normal. While this kind of magical result DOES happen, it didn't happen for Henry. The pain is still substantially relieved but there remains some bleeding and the abscess did not continue to drain. Henry has a "bulge in his bottom" about the size of a ping pong ball that is most annoying and uncomfortable. It inhibits his movements and ability to sit. Bowel movements, however, are still "reasonable" and are without the extreme pain that we originally addressed. Nonetheless, the abscess is still there.

Skeptics to these procedures would ignore the obvious benefit that was obtained and quickly point out this apparent "failure." That would be shortsighted indeed because it would close the door on a first class learning opportunity. We don't have perfection here. We don't get 100% success across the board. Nothing does. However, because our success ratio is so high, we are best served by exploring "why not" whenever we fall short of perfection. What blocked progress in this case? What can we learn here that will help us next time? While I am certainly not the last word on any of this, I wish to share my thoughts on it.

First, one of the obvious features of the EFT procedures is the link that shows up between one's emotions and their physical counterparts. Clients consistently report that tapping on emotional issues gives relief to their stomach upset, headaches, asthma, back pain and an endless list of other physical ailments. Conversely, tapping on physical issues also provides relief for emotional problems. This link is often portrayed in the videotapes and audiotapes contained in both the EFT Course and our advanced tapes, "Steps toward becoming The Ultimate Therapist."

I have had so much experience along these lines that whenever I am presented with a severe physical problem I usually head for the underlying emotional cause. It often takes a bit of detective work but the result is worth it. I have found many rewards traveling down this path. In Henry's case, we dealt with the many destructive emotions he had with having to take care of his ever critical Uncle Bugs (who is in failing health). These emotions included anger, frustration and a wish that Uncle Bugs would die. Tapping on these issues contributed to the rather dramatic partial relief previously discussed.

Since then, however, Henry has been "sitting on a porcupine." That's a metaphor, of course, and what it means is that Henry has an imposing list of emotional concerns that are stinging him all at once. Uncle Bugs is only part of the problem. There are financial difficulties too. There is also a major behavioral problem with his daughter. There are other concerns as well. It's as though Henry is sitting on a porcupine. It's an consistent intrusion in his life. He is constantly aware of it and, until the porcupine disappears, Henry is going to have an ongoing preoccupation with these emotional stings. This is natural. We all do this. The everyday concerns of life can sometimes develop into emotional porcupines which require our ever present attention. Because they require us to focus on the negative, they are likely to manifest themselves as ailments in our physical bodies. The poison within our thinking thus shows up as poison (an abscess?) within our bodies.

We can tap on them, of course, and I highly recommend that we do. We don't always have to be specific in what we tap for. Tapping throughout the day on such general issues as, "Even though I have all these problems...." can generate impressive rewards. In my experience, such tapping can take the edge off some of the symptoms--it can ease the situation so that the client becomes emotionally stronger and makes better decisions. It will not, however, change the facts. If someone's husband is an abusive alcoholic, for example, the tapping can help the wife better deal with these facts. But it will NOT change the facts themselves. The husband will still drink and swing his fists--AND--his wife will still have normal fear, anger and other concerns. Tapping can serve to eliminate the unnecessarily intense part of these emotions and assist her ability to cope and make constructive decisions.

By contrast, EFT rather routinely handles emotional problems that are encapsulated in the past (such as a war memory or an accident). These issues are not current. They are memories. The facts do not repeat themselves daily. We can make this type of porcupine disappear, usually rapidly, so that it no longer interferes with our emotional peace. But when the facts are current and ever present, it is like sitting on a real life porcupine that is not a fiction from our past. It is an everyday event that persistently jabs us with its quills. I think this distinction between past trauma and current trauma is worth our attention. It points to the need for different perspectives if we are to give them relief

I will spend some more time with Henry. I'm a great believer in persistence. Seemingly stubborn issues like this open the door to many opportunities. Maybe we will be successful in getting rid of that abscess. Maybe we won't. Maybe it is a physical manifestation of a multitude of emotional issues which we are only beginning to address. If so....

...what an opportunity!

It provides a convenient measuring stick to let us know how we are doing. Perhaps we will find other angles on this. Who knows? We can, for sure, use it as an opportunity to fish for core issues. We can use it as an opportunity to learn. We can use it as an opportunity to let more love in the door. Opportunity, opportunity, opportunity.

No telling what might happen if we look for opportunities.

Sitting on a porcupine can be a "woe is me" experience. It can also by a doorway into The Palace of Possibilities. It depends on where one is coming from, I guess.

Love, Gary