Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

'Tis the season to be joyful. Hopefully. If you get terribly caught up in the commercialism, it can be just the opposite. Unless you like that kind of thing. True joy of course, can never be found in material possessions. But, most people do use the Christmas season to ponder the simpler, more beautiful things of life. Most people do set aside a part of their thought to think of others. And right on the heels of Christmas is another time for life reflection.

There is a part of me this year that wants to rebel and make no New Year's resolutions. I guess I should tap on that. :-) But, I am sure like millions of people every year, I will choose a list and then try not to forget that I was attempting to better myself. But seriously, EFT is a wonderful tool in helping us make changes at a level that we can't with just our will power. Let's start with the most popular New Year's Resolution. Losing weight. I am going to cover this topic from several angles over the next few posts. I will try to stay on one tip for each post and see where we go with it. Enjoy.

Lets deal with food on the physical level, shall we? Its actually a hard thing to do. After all, if we are stuffing our tummies, are we really trying to fill an emotional emptiness? Do we need more because we feel less? Or is it just, I like sugar. I like chips. I find most of the time if I am after a snack or treat, I am being driven for it. I want the crunchy feel of chips, crackers, popcorn, etc. Or I really want the chocolate (OK not any more for me, my chocolate cravings are GONE) ice cream, soda, sweetness, etc. I like being in control. And I do not like being controlled. But I have found at different times in my life, my food controls me. I am addicted. How is this different than smoking or drinking? In the short run, not very. It just does not have the more serious obvious consequences of the other addictions. Long term, health results and consequences on others may really be different. But the misuse of food can often have very heavy (no pun intended) consequences for our health. So, lets take back the control.

You want to replace bad habits with good ones. I know you will know a lot of these things, but if we can work on one thing at a time, then we make progress. More fruits and veggies. It is an obvious one. When you want a sweet, how about a juicy orange? Or banana, maybe with pnut butter. A handful of raisins or dried cranberries, or other dried fruit. Dont eat too much dried fruit at once because the sugar is concentrated. The benefit of fruit over table sugar is all the fiber that goes along to slow the fructose down as opposed to white sugar that just gets right in the blood stream. But, how do you get to where fruit sugar satisfies? EFT can help with that.

It brings us right to cravings:

Setup:
Even though I crave sugar (or sweets or chocolate, etc) I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I want to eat sweets...
Even though I want the whole plate of cookies...
Even though I could live on sugar, in fact lets just inject it intravenously...
Even though I want life to be sweet and it isnt...
Even though I need sugar...
Even though I crave more sweetness in my life...

After several rounds of these kinds of statements, you can use different words at each point, like:

EB: I need these sweets
SE I crave these sweets
UE I cant live without sweets
UN How can anyone live without sweets
CH Maybe some people can, but I cant
CB Theres a small chance I could
UA Or not
TH Why do I really have to give up sweets anyway?

EB I think I can live without these sweets
SE I am open to choosing a healthy alternative
UE I like a lot of different fruits
UN I know they are good for me
CH I choose to make better food choices
CB I want to be healthy and vibrant
UA I know I can give up sweets easily
TH Letting this sugar craving go

It is very beneficial if you have not sighed during the round, to take a deep cleansing breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. Another setup comes to mind and that is addressing it before it addresses you. If you know you will be going to a function and there are going to be things you cant or dont want to refuse. Just tap before you go. Even though all those desserts are going to be there...Even though I am going to want to take out the teens and eat it all...Even though I have this insatiable craving for sugar...I know I can resist. I know I dont need it. I know I can do without and not feel empty. I know that I can define my food choices and overcome the cravings. I know I can be successful in outlining a healthy diet. I know I can conquer my addiction/craving.

Let me know if this outline is helpful. My suggestion is to tap three times a day for three days and then we can move on. Please share your experiences with me. It is a good idea between rounds to ask yourself questions. Am I feeling any emotions? Does this remind me of something in my life? Are there any new thoughts? If an emotion, memory, or thought comes up, you can tap on that and it will help get to the bottom or core issue that is fueling the craving or addiction. Let me know if I can help any more.

Blessngs, Dawn

Happy Birthday

Last Friday I turned 40. When I turned 30, which I loved, I thought 40 was going to be tough. I loved 30, because I really felt like a grown up. I have finally arrived! Well, I have found over the last 10 years, that even though I was grown up, I still had a lot to learn. So, except for the grey hair that is moving in, and I now officially will stop doing anything about it (like plucking them out, who wants to be bald?), I just feel a little more grown up.

So, now I am wondering about 50. And I think I might like that because then I may actually have some wisdom. And I should have grandchildren by then. We'll see. Either way, I love celebrating my birthday at Christmas. It has always been just far enough away and BEFORE Christmas, that my family has recognized me. And I love thinking about my blessings, the baby Jesus, the beautiful music, and the season of giving and serving.

But birthdays and Christmas aren't so wonderful for everyone. Some people take their lives at Christmas. Some people are alone. Some people don't like getting older. What does one do? Yes, EFT to the rescue.

Even though I am 50 and that means....I deeply and completely accept myself. Tap all points.
Even though I am alone and depressed at Christmas...
Even though I have no one to love, I choose to know God loves me...
Even though I am getting old and aged...

Another idea is that we can always look outside ourselves to find others in a worse condition. And then we might be able to serve that someone. Service always makes us feel better. When we change the negative energy and then look outside ourselves to lift another we can truly give ourselves the gift of joy. It is a natural side benefit of serving. Of course, the greatest gift was the little baby born so long ago in a stable. His gift of life eternal enables us to enjoy all the blessing of life. Happy Birthday to us!

Blessings, Dawn

In Whom do we place our faith?

I recently read an intriguing article in Gary Craig's EFT Insights newsletter. It was written by a woman who worked in medical transcription for six years. Her job was to transcribe the doctor's notes from recordings to paper to retain in each patients file. The interesting thing was that the typical profile was, patient coming in with complaint, drug prescribed, patient returning in 3-6 weeks. Typically patient is still having trouble, new drug prescribed, return in 3-6 weeks. This cycle continued unless and until the patient was found to be at an acceptable level of pain or illness. She typically transcribed for neurology doctors and admitted she didn't always get to see final results, but she felt that the cure rate was 0%!!! Our family rarely goes to the doctor unless we come up against something we can't control ourselves, but even I was astonished at this person's observations.

It might surprise some to know that Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and other early church leaders were openly anti-medical/doctor and preferred the use of natural remedies and priesthood power. See this link http://www.pshm.org/mormonmedicine.shtml for an interesting book on Joseph Smith and Herbal Medicine. Joseph's probable bias against doctors of the day was that Alvin died at the hands of doctors with an overdose of calomel. Calomel is mercury and used to be used as a purgative. But, in Alvin's case, it stuck in his stomach and he died in agony. I know some of you may be thinking, "but this wouldn't happen today. Our doctors know more." And yet, the combination of doctors, drugs, pharmacists, and hospitals is the third leading cause of death in America. Many drugs are pushed through the approval process quickly or used in ways they were not tested. Every year there are drugs pulled from the market because they have injured or killed people. And our doctors are only trained in how the body works and which drugs to apply to which diseases in schools sponsored by drug companies.

Hippocrates said, "let food be your medicine and medicine be your food." What do the scriptures say about the matter?

James 5: 14-15

14 Is any ^asick among you? let him call for the ^belders of the church; and let them ^cpray over him, ^danointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

15 And the ^aprayer of ^bfaith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be ^cforgiven him.

D&C 42:43-44

43 And whosoever among you are ^asick, and have not faith to be healed, but believe, shall be ^bnourished with all tenderness, with herbs and mild ^cfood, and that not by the hand of an enemy.

44 And the elders of the church, two or more, shall be called, and shall pray for and ^alay their ^bhands upon them in my name; and if they ^cdie they shall ^ddie unto me, and if they live they shall live unto me.

Alma 46:40

40 And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land, but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many ^aplants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of ^bdiseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate...

Don't get me wrong. There *IS* a place for medicine in our lives, but too often a fever of 102 sends a young mother into a tailspin. Sniffles mean a trip to the doctor, and an ear ache ends up with a visit to the Emergency Room. None of these symptoms in isolation warrant full medical intervention. Simple remedies and EFT give surprising results. Having said that, there are plenty of natural medicine charlatans as well. That is why we need to study and try things out; and to be prayerful while doing it. We also remember that the Lord has created our magnificent bodies to heal.

I had the opportunity to hear Elder Russel M. Nelson speak on the Magnificence of Man at BYU in 1987. It was a wonderful reminder that God has created us to the most minute cellular level to heal and be healthy. Yes, things go wrong. There are viruses and accidents and consequences to living a mortal life. But we can rely in faith in our bodies' ability to heal. We can have faith in the simple direction our Heavenly Father has given us regarding diet and herbs and emotional balancing. We can have faith in the elders of the Church and in prayer. And when necessary, we can rely on the medical advances of our day. It is important to study and be informed in all cases, relying wholly on our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ.

EFT is my emotional release technique of choice, mostly because I am a do-it-yourselfer kind of girl. It's easy, inexpensive, and fast. But every once in awhile I can't seem to make the progress I want. Either I can't figure out the root of the emotion, I just plain "don't want to go there", or I need the joint effort of another person to move it along. When that happens, I call my good friend Cristi who is a talented RET technician. Rapid Eye Therapy is another way to release negative emotions and physical symtptoms. Today I asked Cristi to write a guest article about joy in the holidays. Enjoy. Blessings, Dawn


Call me naive, but I take the scripture, "Men are that they might have joy," (2 Ne. 2:25) literally. I think the Lord meant exactly what He said there. I interpret it to mean that there is joy to be found if we are willing to open our eyes and hearts to new thinking and let go of old beliefs and patterns that keep us stuck. And, I believe there is much joy to be felt during the holiday season, even if there's a popular belief that it must be stressful.

Stress is really just a response to an emotion or emotions, and it is felt in accordance to our perceptions, which we interpret and then respond to. We really can choose not to be stressed! I know this to be true because of the journey I've been on myself, and by changing my perceptions, I have changed my stress level immensely. My circumstances haven't necessarily changed, but I have.

I like to remind myself that I have choices, and I have them all the time. I get to choose which traditions to include this time of year, I get to choose which events to attend, I get to choose whether I want to put up just a few decorations or to drag out the whole 15 boxes. As long as I perceive it to be my choice, then I always have the power to choose again. And knowing I can always choose again really helps me relax and calm down, and feel open to emotions of a higher vibration.

I like it, too, that I have tools to help myself and my family when things get to be a little less manageable. I use Rapid Eye Technology as well as EFT, and I try to use them before the negative emotions have been excessively energized. That way we can avoid energizing old patterns and we're more open to the Spirit and feelings of joy and peace.

So this holiday season, I'm choosing joy. And it feels terrific! '

Cristi Fitzgerald
Choose Joy Now!

What if I don't have much to be thankful for?

If you were willing to admit that to anyone, you likely would get some kind of supportive statement, or an inquiry as to what is wrong with your life that leads you to feel that way. Admittedly there ARE many times in life when it is difficult to feel grateful. And there are terrible circumstances that can seem to rob us of our joy. Certainly abuse by others, the loss of a child, financial catastrophe are all things that can help us feel justified in ingratitude. And yet, if we had a way, a tool, to minimize these feeling that we identify as overwhelm, sorrow or grief, depression, etc. then our spirits are free to lift and we can begin to focus again on the good in life.

It is easy to say to someone when they are in the depths of despair, "well, at least you're alive, at least you have your health." I know from experience that some people are not grateful for their life, and choose to take it. Some people really don't value their health. Some people can't even get out of bed to face the day because their problems seem insurmountable.

It is hard to grasp how effective this little "relaxation technique" (EFT) can be, unless you have used it on a daily basis as I have. My suggestion is to write the equivalent of a journal entry about the negativity in life. Take as long as you like and be as true in your thought as possible as you write. Writing in and of itself is therapeutic. Just getting it out on paper has a beneficial effect. Then look at your writing and start pulling out the statements that can be used for setups as tapping. I am going to demonstrate this just by using my statements from this piece.

Even though my husband (brother, sister, co worker) is abusing me, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though my child (mother, father, brother) died, I love and accept myself.
Even though our finances are overwhelming us, I deeply and completely accept myself without judgement.
Even though I don't feel thankful...
Even though I can't focus on any good in life...
Even though I am not even thankful to be alive, it's just too painful...
Even though I can't even get out of bed...

These are all rather global statements to be used on very large problems. It then becomes necessary to begin addressing specific emotions, feelings in the body, and experiences in the present or past, to collapse the emotional charge.

In addition to using EFT to lift your spirits, a suggestion by Elder Eyring in Nov, 1989 General Conference.

You could have an experience with the gift of the Holy Ghost today. You could begin a private prayer with thanks. You could start to count your blessings, and then pause for a moment. If you exercise faith, and with the gift of the Holy Ghost, you will find that memories of other blessings will flood into your mind. If you begin to express gratitude for each of them, your prayer may take a little longer than usual. Remembrance will come. And so will gratitude.

Find one thing to be grateful for. Maybe it is that the sun is out; that you have a baby sleeping in the next room; you have a friend or relative that cares. Find one thing, and pray and express gratitude. Then wait. And let the Spirit bring to mind other things to be thankful for. I have attempted this many times, and always have been blessed by the experience.

Your tapping statements can be followed up with affirmations.

I am blessed. I am grateful. I am joyful. Even if you do not feel this way, focusing on it, will in the end bring it to you. Life can test us at times, but we are created to rise above it and experience gratitude and true joy. Men are that they might have joy. It's a fact. We have the ability to choose it, by being grateful.

Blessings, Dawn