I wanted to share with you an EFT session I had today. I was the client so it is ok to share the content. Even though I have been doing EFT for 5 years and a practitioner for over 3 years, when faced with a big block of my own I prefer to work with someone to get through it. I find having someone focus on my agenda and asking the right questions really helps get through those big blocks. When I’m working on my own it can be much easier to avoid going anywhere uncomfortable or scary.
The reason that I’m writing this is that the session did not go the way either of us expected it to. Half way through I experienced a very powerful metaphor for my problem and it became a very beautiful and powerful session. The metaphor wasn’t just something I ‘made up’, I really could feel the energy there during the session. I didn’t even understand it being there until Mary asked me the question about Timelines. This shows how important it is to go with what the client is saying and experiencing in the moment because that can be where the breakthrough happens. When metaphors show up in a session it can be very helpful because the conscious mind is bypassed so that you aren’t worried about the reasons a block is there, you just deal with the block directly by working with the metaphor.
I should also add that it all took place over the telephone in an hour and I have never met my coach (Mary) in real life although I had several sessions with her a couple of years ago so we know each other quite well.
The issue I took to the session was that I was having trouble moving forward with my goal of helping couples have a relaxed and easy birth. I had done the training, passed the course, designed and hosted my website, created my brochures, but something inside me was resisting moving on any further and advertising my services. This had been going on for sometime, so I was aware it was a real block not just me having a rest for a bit!
We started off discussing the problem and the issues centred on my fears of lack of experience, that I might be perceived as unprofessional or lack credibility. Mary asked me to think about how I felt about advertising and I said I felt judged by others. (I started laughing as I realised that it was only the imaginary people inside my head that were judging me!) This judging feeling was accompanied with a sensation of pressure across my chest and stomach and I rated it 6 out of 10 for intensity.
We did a round of tapping about feeling judged, “Even though I’m feeling judged, I deeply and completely accept myself,” and the intensity came down to a 2. Mary asked what the remaining 2 was and I realised it had changed slightly into a fear of saying something wrong.
Here she asked an insightful question. “Have you ever run a session before?”
Yes and I had messed up one of the hypnosis scripts so that the couple I was working with burst out laughing. I hadn’t thought much of it at the time as it was only a practice session but it had obviously stuck with me as when I thought about the embarrassment I felt it was 8 out of 10! The sensation was a tightening across my chest and feeling flushed. It took 4 rounds to get the 8 to a 0. (8 to 2 to 1 to 0)
Mary then asked me to imagine running a session in the future and asked me how that felt in my body. I was having trouble picturing it at this point. I had no sensation in my body, but I did have the sensation of a wall of mist 2 feet in front of me. This was a physical sensation not just my imagination.
If I had been working on my own I expect I would have probably stopped here. This is where having someone really helps. Mary asked me if I had heard of Timeline, where you think about how you perceive time. Some people perceive it as running left to right, however I perceive it as having the past behind me and the future in front of me! Well guess what, in my immediate future all I can see is mist and confusion! No wonder I’m having trouble stepping forward.
The 1st round we did was about the mist being there. “Even though there is this mist, I deeply accept myself.” By end of first round, rather than having the mist in front of me I was inside the mist. We just naturally stopped doing ratings at this point because the progress with metaphor of the mist was guiding us so the ratings were no long necessary. Although I could not see through the mist I felt quite safe at this point.
The second round we tapped on being inside the mist and all of a sudden I felt very emotional and started crying and it was hard to repeat the words. Mary added in lots of reminder phases about being safe and choosing to step forward when I was ready.
At the end of the 2nd round we had a discussion about how when I hit something big I get tears and I'm ok with that. In fact I am pleased when I get emotional because I know it means I am about to make a significant breakthrough. Mary suggested working on taking the intensity down at this point but I wanted to carry on because I was confident that the tears would go in a couple of rounds.
The 3rd and 4th rounds I was still inside the mist, however by the end of the 4th round I was nearly at the edge of it. I could see a stately garden in front of me. Fountain, peacocks, well cut lawns. It looked like a beautiful place to be.
Mary suggested I step forward into the garden, which I did and the wall of fog was behind me. This felt very uncomfortable and unpleasant to me and I wanted to get rid of that feeling quickly! We discussed what I thought might be causing that feeling and it was because I felt cut off from my past and all the learning I have had from my previous experiences.
We tapped on keeping a link to the past and being able to access to those memories if I needed them. Although stepping forward into the future, I could still keep the memories with me.
I was now in my future and I couldn't see the garden clearly anymore! However I did feel very calm and peaceful, it was a good place to be. For some reason I was still getting flashes of peacocks coming into my mind. I didn’t know of any particular symbolism of peacocks so it didn’t really make sense to me at the time but it was a very clear and strong image.
We did another round to consolidate the session and included lots of positive phrases about creating my future and being the person to choose what I want to include in my new space and keeping those positive feelings. We ended the session and I felt much better about the situation and looking forward to taking some action on my goal.
My homework was to.
1. Find out what peacocks represent.
2. Prepare to run a training session and note any blocks that come up.
The first part of the homework I did straight away:
from:
Dream Dictionary/Birds - 18DAO Reference Wiki - En.18dao.net “To see a peacock in your dream, represents spring, birth, and new growth. It is a good omen, signalling prestige, much success and contentment with your career. It may also be telling of your confidence and even arrogance over your success.”
Well how beautiful and amazing is that!
I hope you find this useful in understanding how an EFT session can work for someone. Obviously the issues, phrases and metaphors will be unique to each person, but I wanted to show how gentle yet powerful it can be. It might seem with all the stuff about peacocks and mist to be a bit airy-fairy, but all I can say is that this session has really worked wonders for me
