EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)

EFT just has to be in this list! And especially Gary Craig's metaphorical concept of a Palace of Possibilities. For those who still have little available time, I'll write an abbreviated version here, but I encourage you to read the full article or buy the DVDs. (one person who buys can make 100 copies to give away)

"We live in a Palace of Possibilities.

It is an ever expanding structure and is filled with awesome rooms
and annexes that are loaded with achievements and joy. These rooms are
open to everyone, although most of us only visit a few of them. It's
not that we are barred from any of the rooms. No indeed!! They are our
birthright. Rather, it's that we choose to dwell only in those rooms
within which we are comfortable. Somehow, we don't "belong" in those
other, more expansive rooms. They are for others. They are for richer
people and more privileged people and people with more talent than us.
We stay within the familiar (our comfort zones) and don't venture
beyond the walls (limits) of the rooms we have chosen. Why? Because our
cans and can'ts are written on those walls and we obey those dictates
as though they were real. Our incomes reflect those limits. So does our
self image. In fact, there is scarcely any part of our makeup that is
not affected by what's written on those walls.

The words on our walls are metaphors for our self talk, of course.
They represent the attitudes, opinions & beliefs that we have
accumulated over the years. Many of them are hand-me-downs from our
parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, religion, peers, books, TV
and an endless list of other "authorities" in our lives. Upon
inspection (which we will do in this series) many of them are
laughable. Nonetheless, they still seem to have a hold on our progress.

We all have different words on our walls. That's why we appear to
have different limits. Your limits are different from mine because the
"truths" written on your walls are different from the "truths" written
on mine. However, they are not really "truths" at all. They are just
the guidelines we have adopted for getting through life--AND--many of
them are fictions. They are hand-me-down beliefs that were written on
our walls by others and we have been dutifully obeying them ever since.
This need not be.

This brings me to a foundational concept upon which The Palace of
Possibilities is built. It is of critical importance and underlies just
about every idea we are going to explore in this series. It should be
tattooed on the insides of our eyelids so that we see it every time we
blink. Its truth is undeniable, yet it is so subtle that we tend to
ignore it. Here it is:

"We constantly consult the writing on our walls."

That writing is our most prominent advisor and we consult it all day
long. And why not? It represents every experience we have ever had. It
contains all of our "how to's". It contains our cans & can'ts as
well as our shoulds & should nots. It contains our musts & must
nots as well as our sense of fair play. It contains our version of
proper behavior as well as what is right or wrong in this world. It
contains our judgments, our successes and our failures. It's all
there--everything we hold to be true--written on our walls.

For example, we eat soup with a spoon instead of a fork because our
knowledge base (the writing on our walls) advises us to do so. This is
subtle, I know, but it's as if we ask the question, "How do I eat this soup?" and the writing on our walls says, "Use a spoon." This is why we wear jeans on some occasions and black tie or evening
gowns on others. We constantly consult the writing on our walls for
what to do. Those words represent the "truth" as we have learned it.

We consult those walls for just about everything. Those words tell
us about our opportunities as well as our limits. Often they conflict
with each other." (Gary Craig The Palace of Possibilities)

So how do we develop and go off exploring those wonderful rooms within our own palace?

First we need an intention to do so and a direction. So we start with an affirmation.

"Affirmations are among the most powerful tools we can use for
personal transformation. They are highly reliable, easy to use and are
based on impeccable logic."

It could be "I easily and consistently earn $40,000 per annum" (use whatever figure is a little way above what you currently earn, but not too high or you will have to wait longer and overcome more negative beliefs before you see any results). Or "I easily and joyfully share more love in my relationships" or "My normal weight is 160 pounds and that's what I weigh."

However, what we notice as soon as we start to affirm these things to ourselves, is that objections pop up all over the place. All the "Yeah but's" and the "What ifs" come out of the closet. These are called 'tail enders'.

"They are not spoken or articulated, of course, but are subtle (and
powerful) reflections of the existing obstacles. Can
they be eventually overridden by the persistent use of the affirmation?
Probably. However, it's a rare person who will keep up this
persistence. Why? Because first, they are not seeing any immediate
results and, second, they feel uncomfortable with the emotional discord
that goes on between the stated affirmation and the competing tail
enders. They often conclude that they are lying to themselves and just
give up. As you can see, the affirmation process usually needs help. It
needs EFT to erase those existing tail enders."

"EFT serves as a highly effective eraser for all the negative emotions
& beliefs that serve as competing tail enders. With the skillful
use of EFT, each and every block to personal performance can be
eliminated, thereby providing a clean wall on which to write our new
consistent thoughts. Erase and replace. Erase and replace. Once the
competition is gone, the affirmation will have clear sailing. This is
exciting. It is transformational. This combination of EFT and
affirmations allows us to completely re-engineer our systems. It allows
us to erase our blocks and install our dreams. Finances can flourish.
Friendships can flower. And personal peace can proliferate.

Up until now EFT has been a stand-alone eraser without any means to
install dreams. Affirmations, on the other hand, have been a
stand-alone tool for installing dreams but without an eraser for the
competing tail enders. Now we can blend both tools together and take
ourselves & our clients into the more glorious rooms of the Palace
of Possibilities. I love people who pursue their possibilities. I love
people with dreams. They make things happen. They lead by example.
Doesn't that make your juices run?" (Gary Craig The Palace of Possibilities)

Step 1 - create a good affirmation. This is one that is believable and gets your creative and imaginative juices running. Don't rush off way out of your comfort zone lest you get discouraged when there are no results for a long time. You can always make another one later anyway, so go easy and take small steps to begin with. Just like a good baby learning to walk! I like to start everything with "I easily, consistently and joyfully ............" or "I safely and easily ........."

Step 2 - note the tail enders. This involves focus and awareness. This is also where a coach is incredibly useful, because they don't see the writing on your walls as being so believable as you do, and can help you challenge more beliefs. Tail enders can be thoughts or feelings, or sometimes just an uncomfortable bodily sensation with no identification.

Step 3 - use the basic EFT techniques for eliminating or transforming those beliefs. This may involve healing past traumas or events, self-forgiveness, or just realising the ridiculousness of a particular belief when you come to tap on it. e.g. "it's going to take forever to get to the end of my tail enders - there must be so many of them" - and why must that be true? Ha Ha!

Step 4 - install the the affirmation as a new belief by tapping the EFT points, and maybe holding the feelings it inspires in you longer and longer each time you do so.

Step 5 - Live the life of your dreams. No explanation needed.

I hope this is useful. It is my dream that we have enough people who learn to do this that they can then become guides for those who follow. Teach 10 who then teach 10 ....... and keep dreaming!