A New Way to Express Gratitude with EFT

Hi Everyone,

EFT Master Pat Carrington gives us yet another useful approach for EFT.

Hugs, Gary

By Patricia Carrington, Ph.D.,  EFT Master

Some of you will remember how I recently wrote about ways in which you can use EFT to express appreciation to yourself for the little things you do for yourselves, and many people seem to have found this technique very useful.  Also, in another article I wrote about a way in which you can thank the universe, in advance, for bringing you what you want to create in your own life.  Today I am going to tell you about another way of experiencing appreciation for your own self that I find unusually effective ... even profound. I have been using this method more and more with my clients and myself.  It is deceptively simple. 

The method can be used in two ways.  It can be used in the traditional EFT fashion -- by starting the EFT statement with the words “Even though” followed by a description of your problem, and then by giving of thanks (in the positive portion of your statement) for the “gift” of your own self.  The traditional approach is particularly useful when you are experiencing a strong negative emotion that must “processed out” before the positive statement can take effect.

 However, you can also use this phrase all by itself, without preceding it with any negative statement.  To do this you simply "tap in" a sense of gratitude. The positive phrase you use is a very simple one.  It goes like this:

“I thank the Universe for giving me, ME."

When I first started using this phrase I was astonished at the effect it had on me.  I didn’t realize beforehand what is now obvious to me, which is that most of us don’t look at ourselves as the gift that we really are – we almost never do this in fact.  Even if we do appreciate certain things about ourselves, and even if others tell us many good things about ourselves, and even if we know we have certain fine traits, the amazingness of our own selves escapes us most of the time.  I am tempted to say it escapes us all of the time, but I never speak in absolutes because there are always exceptions to them.

In order to understand what I’m talking about here, I would like you to do a simple experiment.  Right this very moment, please stop whatever you are doing, which right now is reading this article.  Instead, commencing with the inner eyebrow spot, do one full round of EFT repeating to yourself at each tapping spot “I thank the Universe for giving me, ME."

What did you experience when you did this?  Did you see your own self in a different perspective than before as you made this statement?  Or was it difficult or confusing for you?

If you found, as some people do, that reasons came to your mind about why you do not consider yourself a gift, then that is rich territory to mine.  You can now create EFT statements that target those tail enders, and then move on later to the positive statement itself.

For example, one woman to whom I made this suggestion found herself saying in her mind, "I wish I hadn't been given this “self”.  I wish I hadn't. "  This woman happened to be suffering from a considerable amount of depression accompanied by self deprecation.  She could not, at first, accept the concept of her own self being in any way a “gift” to her.

I therefore suggested that she use the following phrase for her EFT statement, "Even though I wish I hadn't been given this self, I thank the Universe for giving me the real me underneath it all.”

I added the qualifying words, “the real me underneath it all” because this exercise is not designed to give thanks for what you are on the surface, or how you act, or how you seem to the world, or what you think you are.  It asks you to give thanks for what, way down deep, in the depths of your being, you really are.

This woman found that the modified phrase helped her a great deal when she tapped on it because it differentiated between what she didn't like about herself and what she really knew to be of value in herself.  And the negative did not win out.  Finally, interestingly, she was able to use the phrase all by itself.  When she did, thanking the universe for having given her her own real self, was an eye opener for her.

Many people, when they “tap in” this phrase, discover that the negative thoughts they have about themselves seem to fade into unimportance  Recently I used this phrase with a client who was feeling deeply hurt by a friend’s seeming betrayal.  This was deeply saddening to her, but when she began to thank the Universe for giving her “herself” she suddenly sensed the enormity of that gift, the incredible value of it.  She saw that it was, in fact, the most compelling part of her life.  No one else's opinion of her, no one else's support, no one else's vote of confidence, could compare to what in her heart she suddenly realized about herself.

The fact is that we have all been living with our own selves for many years, and that person who has been "us" is an amazing experience, even in its down moments.  It is immense.

I suggest that you try tapping on this phrase when another person's behavior has disturbed you, or a situation is impinging upon your peace of mind.  Simply stop and tap in your gratefulness for having been given this amazing self that you are.  When you do this, other considerations may just fall by the wayside.

I would appreciate it if some of you could let me know your experiences with this technique.  I am extremely impressed by its depth and power and would welcome feedback about it.

Pat Carrington, PhD