EFT & Sin and its Emotional Impact

Recently, a friend of mine phoned to discuss Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT).  Brenda (name changed) is a devout Christian woman, as I am, but she had concerns about an audio she had, at my request, listened to recently.

She outlined that concern in one statement, “It sounds like to me that we are healing ourselves” when using EFT.

That statement is the second most common Christian response to EFT.  I sadly hear it much too often.

Is this concept of healing ourselves the underlying dichotomy between humanism and Christianity?  Are humans taking credit, proudly, for what God performs, denying the Creator His due?

I think so. Humanism has been around since the Garden of Eden days. Man trying to replace God with anything that comes to mind, eliminating from us humans any responsibility for acting morally and uprightly, doing what in our minds is correct, or relativistic. Man makes the rules, not God.

George Gaylord Simpson, the late paleontologist of Harvard, wrote:

“Man stands alone in the universe, a unique product of a long, unconscious, impersonal, material process with unique understanding and potentialities. These he owes to no one but himself, and it is to himself that he is responsible. He is not the creature of uncontrollable and undeterminable forces, but is his own master. He can and must decide and manage his own destiny” (1953, p. 155).

However, Scripture says in Romans 1:28: “Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done”.

And again in Romans 1:25:  “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator”.

St. Paul said it well in these 2 Scripture verses. Man rejects God and His eternal teachings, creating his own warped, misguided, immoral mind and misconstrued behavior, tainting everything around him with these untruths.

Humanists have set forth their creed in Humanist Manifesto I (1933) and again in the Humanist Manifesto II (1973), stressing a belief system that man’s ideas are the most important, and denouncing anyone who has faith in a personal God and Savior as out of touch with reality. They write:   “We believe, however, that traditional or dogmatic or authoritarian religions that place revelation, God, ritual, or creed above human needs and experience do a disservice to the human species. Any account of nature should pass the tests of scientific evidence; in our judgment, the dogmas and myths of traditional religions do not do so.… We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a supernatural; it is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of the survival and fulfillment of the human race.… Promises of salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful. They distract humans from present concerns, from self-actualization, and from rectifying social injustices. Modern science discredits such historic concepts as the “ghost in the machine” and the “separable soul.” Rather, science affirms that the human species is an emergence from natural evolutionary forces. As far as we know, the total personality is a function of the biological organism transacting in a social and cultural context. There is no credible evidence that life survives the death of the body” (1973, pp. 15-17).

Note the comment of “pass the tests of scientific evidence”.  Once again, humanists hearken back to the philosophy of 16^th century Rene Descartes, who dismantled the centuries old theology of an integrated human, one that was physical and spiritual. We are not God or gods, as new age thinking suggests, but we are spiritual beings that also possess a physical body. Humanists believe no God exists, nor does man have need of Him.  Reason and intelligence will rule the day. Ethics are situational. Relativism reigns supreme. What any individual feels or thinks to be right and good is then right and good for that person, no matter how it affects or impacts anyone else around the person.

This relativism opens big cans of worms, such as any behavior should be tolerated because what God says about that behavior is irrelevant. One of the biggest impacts is in the area of sexuality. Humanism allows every sexual sin. In fact, they actually encourage the expression.  Nothing is harmful. It opens the door to homosexuality, abortion, incest, free divorce, etc. Everything is permissible; nothing barred.

What happens to a Christian’s moral base when, in a momentary lapse, (s)he falls for the relativism of the humanist? Sin is committed against the Creator. Eventually, when the sinner repents of that sin and knows Jesus’ forgiveness, there are occasions when the guilt or remorse still seems overwhelming. Those emotions are so disturbing that they interfere with the believer’s worship and prayer life.

Don’t panic!  We don’t heal ourselves, but God does, as He has implanted in you a method for dealing with those emotions & their possible physical effects, finally and for all, laying them at the foot of the Cross, where they belonged all along, because Jesus has already paid the price. That method is EFT.

 We give God the glory and praise for healing us. God put the tapping mechanism in us for healing & we simply do the EFT process. God heals!

As a Christian EFT practitioner, I have assisted many of my brothers and sisters through this & other clearing processes. Emotions resulting from earlier abortions, divorce, incest, sexual abuse, rape, etc. can many times be ameliorated through tapping. I would be honored to tap with you and teach you this process for moving out some spiritual blockages in your life.

For more information, go to  www.eftforchristians.com

To schedule a free 15 minute consultation to see if EFT is right for you, email me at EFTforChristians@gmail.com

Always remember to take complete responsibility for your own health and well-being.  Contact a medical professional, if necessary.

Sherrie Rice Smith, R.N. (Retired)
Certified EFT Practitioner
Author of EFT for Christians
EFTforChristians.com

Guilt from an Abortion 30 Years Ago Gone with Christian EFT

Recently, I had an EFT session request from an out of state relative with whom I’ve had a few email/phone exchanges about the subject. Annette had downloaded the EFTUniverse.com mini-manual & tapping site sheet & she had done a bit of tapping on her own on a few personal issues, such as a headache & anxiety with good success. What she wanted to discuss was bigger than she figured she could handle on her own. We made a noon appointment to do EFT over the phone. When she answered the phone, I made sure she had the tapping site sheet available, along with a class of water. I had texted her earlier in the morning to remind her to find the tapping paper. Once again, I made sure Annette understood that I would tell her where I wanted her to tap and how I needed her to repeat what I said. If she didn’t feel connected to my words to please change them in any manner she felt appropriate, as this was her session, not mine. I was simply guiding her. A word of explanation to the tapping community here – I’m a Christian EFT coach which means that if I have a Christian client, I will pray with the client before we begin a session, asking the Holy Spirit’s guidance. I will also use Christian-based tapping phrases. I have used this in multiple cases and it works just as well, if not better, than the standard EFT phrases. My clients connect with these phrases better, as do I. Annette indicated to me that she had a fairly high anxiety & stress level, pre-anticipatory grief over the soon to happen death of her father, who is quite ill. Her SUDS was a 7, on a scale of 0 - 10. The set-up: Even though I have all this stress because I know Dad is going to die soon, I know God loves me. Even though my anxiety level is through the roof, I know Jesus loves me. Even though I’m already worrying about how I’m going to handle all the hassles of the estate with my brothers and sisters after Dad passes, I know God loves me very much. TH: I can’t stand all this stress about Dad. EB: I’m nearly beside myself worrying about all the stuff I will have to handle. SE: I know the other kids are going to give me all kinds of grief about the house. BE: I can’t live here forever; the house is too big. UL: I won’t have anywhere to go when Dad dies. CH: I can’t imagine I will be able to handle all this. CB: All this work that is going to fall on me when Dad dies, so I try to keep him alive as long as possible. UA: DAD’S dying and I can deal with that, as he is old, it’s all the after stuff that is so hard to think about. We did a couple rounds of tapping around these issues with Annette changing a few words here & there to match what she was feeling. At this point I stopped her & had her drink some water, deep breathe, and tell me where she was with her SUDS & what she was now thinking. SUDS had come down to a 3 or 4, but a new aspect had arisen. “I talked to Jimmy about this, but I think I deserve all this hassle & I shouldn’t be complaining at all about it because I had that abortion in high school.” Annette went on and on for a good 15 minutes about this issue, so I let her talk, as I had time, but I told her to keep tapping while she “ranted”. By this time her SUDS went back up to a 6. We tapped: TH: I deserve all this hassle. EB: It’s all my own fault that I have to deal with this. SE: I know God has forgiven me, but I still feel guilty. UE: When I don’t feel guilty, I feel guilty because I don’t feel guilty, and I think I should be feeling guilty. UL: I worry about what other people are thinking. They think I should have more remorse than I’m showing. CH: How can I face that child in heaven? I killed that baby. CB: I deserve what I get taking care of Dad. I caused it all. UA: This is my punishment for what I did. Someone has to make up for killing that baby. We stopped after 2 rounds, reevaluated, drank some water, and tested. The SUDS was down to a 2. Annette brought out another aspect that popped up. “I have no self control with food. I have all these weight issues which are punishment, too, for what I did”. Hesitantly, she went on about lack of interest in sexual matters and my body is “tired and not holding up well”. She was frustrated with herself, “doctors, insurance, and hospitals”. She discussed for a short time the Catholic Church teachings on sexuality now that the subject was opened up. Her SUDS went back up to a 10. No setup done again. We went right back to tapping. TH: I’m disgusted with myself. EB: I have no self-control. I just keep stuffing food in my mouth. SE: I’ve gained all this weight & I can’t keep up in life. UE: I’ve lost all interest in sex and Jimmy just keeps going. UL: I’m just so tired keeping up with Dad and the kids. CH: I’m frustrated with myself that I can’t seem to be able to do this job. CB: I’m tired of all the doctors, insurance and hospitals. They wear me out, too. UA: I’m so very disgusted with myself, but I know God still loves me. After 3 rounds with the above reminder phrases, we again stopped to check where she was. Some deep breaths, a drink of water, and a short break told me she was still at a 7. Because this was a phone session and I was listening extremely intently to any changes in her voice, I knew she was starting to break down, as her voice was cracking. I knew she was near to tears. Asking how she was, Annette told me this all brought back an incident from when she was aged 12. I had at one of the previous breaks quickly explained to her that EFT was particularly effective, if one could link the present emotion to a childhood event. Annette had just come up with a childhood event. I told her to keep tapping while she told me this story: While playing around an old building with some friends, playing hide & seek, a man ran up to her and grabbed her across the chest on “my boobs”, then ran off. None of her friends witnessed it, but she told them about it when they returned. Her girlfriends asked why she hadn’t screamed. “I tried, but nothing came out”, was her answer. Of course, none of them believed her, so one of her friends asked, “Did you enjoy it?” Her answer was an emphatic “no”, but she had realized she had a bit of sexual arousal around the event, so in set the guilt & conflict over not being able to scream and the “nice” feelings. “I was a coward for not standing up for myself. I was too weak to scream. I was too weak to say no to the abortion. I was too scared to make a decision about anything. And now I can’t make any decisions about much of anything either,” all came streaming out without a break. I quickly asked for a SUDS which I suspected was pretty high because the tears were really beginning to flow. Again, no set-up, as she was definitely in the moment & her SUDS was an 8 & she was in tune with her intense feelings. I asked if she had Kleenex. She did. I could hear her blowing her nose…a lot! TH: I’m a coward. EB: I don’t know how to stand up for myself. SE: I was too weak to say no to the abortion. UE: I’m too scared to make any decisions about anything. UL: I tried to scream. Nothing came out. CH: I’m such a coward. CB: I’m weak. UA: I don’t know how to stand up for myself. Crying had slowed a bit, so I continued. TH: I was alone when that man came. EB: I told my girlfriends what had happened. SE: They asked why I didn’t scream. UE: I did scream, but nothing came out of my mouth UL: He grabbed my boobs. CH: I was so surprised and embarrassed. CB: Did you enjoy it? UA: Did you enjoy it? Crying began again, so I continued. I knew I was hitting a really sore spot with Annette and I wanted to disarm it quickly and thoroughly. TH: Did you enjoy it? EB: I couldn’t scream. SE: He grabbed my boobs. UE: Did you enjoy it? UL: No one believed me. He ran off. CH: I feel guilty because it aroused me. CB: I feel that guilt, but I know God has forgiven me. UA: God forgave me, as I was only 12 and it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t ask for it. Crying slowed again, but I did another round on the hand points on the last 4 phrases as above to make sure the issue was gone. We reevaluated again, along with getting another glass of water for both of us, and taking some deep breaths. Annette said she felt much better and had a SUDS of 2. Another aspect change showed up, as Annette’s voice softened and I knew she was thinking about something else now. “That progression of growing up with so much immorality. All that feminity. I allowed guys to walk all over me. I was so promiscuous. I never told Jimmy too much of it because I feared it would damage our relationship. He didn’t want to know he said. I was taught right and wrong. I feel so guilty. I remember feeling like trash. I was always heavy and bigger than my older sisters, but everyone told me I wasn’t heavy, I was just big boned. I was told I looked like Dad, and Dad always had weight issues until recently, so I figured I would be fat, too”. “What am I going to say to that baby when we meet in heaven?” I assured her that the baby is in heaven and I suspect the baby will run to her, wrapping her arms around Annette, saying, “Hi, Mom!”. I asked Annette if she had confessed her sin to Jesus. “A hundred times, but I still feel so guilty”, she answered. I had her tapping while she talked. Usually, I would ask a client where they physically felt all these issues, but Annette had no problems articulating what she was feeling, nor did she have any problems getting into the moment of the issues. She was such an easy client to work with even though this was all being done over the phone! She was once again beginning to cry. I asked her to give me 2 different SUD levels – one on the “immorality” and another on the weight issue. Both were 10s. I decided to do one at a time, rather than confuse the issues. This would enable me to know where the SUDS level was on 2 different issues, and make sure I disarmed both of them adequately. We began again without a setup, as she was sniffling quite a bit, with me tapping using her own words: TH: All that growing up. EB: So much immorality. SE: I allowed guys to walk all over me. UE: I never told Jimmy much of this. UL: I felt like trash. CH: I’m ashamed of myself. CB: I went to all those clubs and drank like a fish night after night. UA: All this guilt over that behavior. Next round continued as I could hear the crying subsiding, but not completely: TH: All this immorality. EB: I didn’t feel too feminine, so I let the men walk all over me. SE: Those men used me & I let them. UE: I knew right from wrong. I was taught better than this. UL: I feel so guilty. CH: If I tell Jimmy, it might damage my marriage. CB: I felt like trash. UA: I still feel like trash. Again, the crying was nearly finished, so I went one more round: TH: I feel like trash & I killed that baby, but I know God loves me. EB: I feel so ashamed, but I know Jesus died on the Cross for me & this shame. SE: I feel so guilty because I killed my baby, but I know Jesus loves me very much. UE: I let men use me because I wouldn’t stand up for myself, like I didn’t stand up for myself when I was 12. UL: I think I can let myself forgive me because God loves me & forgives me. CH: I think I can forgive myself because Jesus forgives me. CB: I do forgive myself. UA: I do forgive myself because Jesus has forgiven me & has tossed those sins as far as the east is from the west. Annette was down to a 2 on the sexual immorality guilt & shame and she wanted to leave just a little to remind her of how she had behaved in her younger years & to keep her from never taking for granted all the forgiveness God and other people have given her for these issues. That was her choice and I honored that, as I know that at times that the SUDS of 2 might well drop lower as the calm & peace of the EFT effects set in. We next tackled the 10 SUDS issue of weight: TH: I was bigger than my older sisters by the time I was 8. EB: I’m not heavy, I’m big-boned everyone told me. SE: I’m so ashamed of my size. UE: I look like Dad & he always had weight issues. UL: I figured I would always be fat like Dad since I looked like him. CH: I was bigger than Sis and that made me feel fat. CB: I think I can forgive myself for my weight. UA: I know I can forgive myself for my weight. We did a 2nd round on this with the second round emphasizing the forgiveness part a bit more and this weight issue dropped like a rock to a big fat 0! Pun intended! Annette was elated on how wonderfully relieved she felt and wanted to leave the session right there. Her following comment emphasis revolved around the Christian aspect of forgiveness and “how much God does love me”, which she says, “I needed to hear, so thank you.” I gave her instructions to keep tapping daily, but not to neglect her prayers, confessing her sins daily, particularly making sure she went over her day with the kids mentally and tapping away any problems or issues, so they didn’t build up into some larger emotional issue. She is to call me to set up another appointment when she is ready, or email me if she gets stuck, allowing me to help her frame out the wording, etc. It was a classic EFT session, Christian style. I checked on her via email the next day and Annette was thrilled because “I feel so calm today and I don’t know why!” I giggled and told her, it is the EFT. That’s the way it works! 8/12/13 Another text arrived from Annette thanking me again for taking time to tap with her. “I’ve never had this much peace in my life. Many of my fears and anxieties are gone. I’ve lived with those for years. God is so good. I’m grateful He sent me to you. I’m sorry Bill died, but what a benefit to me that he did. I reconnected with you.” For more information, go to www.eftforchristians.com To schedule a free 15 minute EFT consultation session, email me at eftforchristians@gmail.com Always remember to take complete responsibility for your own health and well-being. Contact a medical professional, if necessary.