Imagine visiting
a therapist and coming away completely relieved of the trauma,
depression, anxiety, or whatever your malady may have been.
Imagine if that could be accomplished within a few minutes,
one or a very few sessions at most. Wouldn't that efficiency
be more to the liking of most people?
Over the
past several years, I have found that most of the time we
can achieve this ideal. People enter my office with a psychological
problem and leave without it. While a certain amount of talking
is involved, the curative aspect of the therapy is not simply
in the talking, but rather through the activation or correction
of an increasingly coming-to-be-known bodily energy system.
This is the same system that brought you acupuncture and that
makes regeneration and healing possible. But more on that
later. First a couple of brief case examples.
The
Case of Barbara
In 1992, I had the opportunity to see
Barbara, a 33-year-old patient whom I had treated many years
previously. While the earlier treatment was of benefit to
her, there was an event that occurred in her childhood for
which I was not able to help. That event was a rape. She was
13 at the time and an 18 or 19 year old boyfriend forced himself
on her. She never told her parents about it but suffered silently.
She would frequently experience nightmares, turned to drugs
and alcohol, and in most ways was highly depressed. She believed
that she was not worthwhile and, as perplexing as it may seem,
she even blamed herself for the rape.
When Barbara
returned to see me, she was upset about some recent altercations
with her mother. This was causing her to recall a number of
distressing memories concerning their relationship. After
listening to her concerns, I explained that I had been doing
a new form of therapy that involved having patients tap on
specific points on their bodies to relieve their problems.
I suggested that we do this for her, and she was agreeable.
Within a matter of a few minutes she was feeling much calmer,
not distressed in the least about her mother. She felt more
positive and hopeful about their relationship.
Next I
broached the subject of the rape, asking if it still bothered
her. Immediately Barbara began to cry. She was obviously still
distressed about the rape and made many statements about it
being her fault, about the fact that she never listened to
her mother, and so on. Barbara's behavior at that moment created
the impression that she re-entered the 13-year-old girl who
was traumatized 20 years previously.
With her
permission, I guided her to tap at various points on her body:
between her eyebrows, under her eyes, beneath her collarbones,
on edges of certain fingernails, and the like. Within a few
minutes of this treatment, I observed a miraculous transformation
in Barbara. All signs of distress were erased from her face.
There was now calmness, serenity. She reached over to my desk
and took a Kleenex and dried the tears from her face. Then
she sat calmly, looking at me with a relaxed, peaceful expression.
It is an understatement to say that I was amazed at what I
was witnessing. I asked Barbara, not very successfully concealing
my amazement, "How do you feel?" Her response was
a simple, "Fine." As if to say, 'What makes you
ask?'
"What
about what happened to you?" I asked.
"It's
just something that happened to me when I was a kid,"
she said calmly.
"You
were raped!" I exclaimed. "Doesn't that bother you
now?"
Barbara
shook her head and simply said, "No it doesn't."
I
wanted to test the stability of this apparent transformation,
so I asked her
again, "Do you still think you
were to blame?"
"No,"
she said congruently. "I wasn't to blame. If anything,
he was. But that's all over with now."
I was totally and utterly amazed! Dumbfounded!
Blown away! I had never seen such a remarkable change occur
in such a short period of time. Practically immediately! I
saw Barbara several times after that and also phoned her in
follow-up for several years. That trauma has never bothered
her since. All the talking we had done previously, all the
visualizations, all the attempts at getting her to think more
"rationally" about the rape, all of the previous
emoting, etc. None of it did anything compared to a few minutes
of tapping, which quickly changed how she felt and thought
about the rape and herself.
The
Fireman
Another horribly traumatic event: A
firefighter came to see me about a problem he had with anger.
While we were successfully treating this issue, he came in
one day reporting inability to sleep for several days and
a general feeling of depression related to a traumatic event
that he witnessed the previous week. He had reported to the
scene of an automobile accident in which many people were
badly injured and a young girl was killed. He assisted in
removing the body of the young girl. The memory was plaguing
him. Understandably he could not get this off his mind. After
discussing the appropriateness of being relieved of this painful
memory, I again applied a tapping routine similar to what
had been done to help Barbara. It only took about two or three
minutes. The memory no longer bothered him. We were both able
to recognize that the event was a sad and tragic one, but
my client was no longer devastated by it. In a follow-up visit
two weeks later he reported that the fire station had a "trauma
session" for the firefighters who were present at the
scene of this accident. They were supposed to talk about the
event, let it all hang out and come to a healthy acceptance
and understanding. My client informed me that although he
could understand the possible value of the group session,
he had already arrived at acceptance and understanding. He
felt that the session at the fire station was not really necessary
for him. He was certainly cured of this painful memory. Again
follow-up over the course of several months revealed no recurrence
of emotional distress when reviewing this memory.
The
Body's Energy System
The therapy
I provided to Barbara and the Fireman, as well as to about
a thousand other individuals over the past several years is
based on the fact that the body has an energy system that
follows pathways referred to as meridians. These meridians
interact with a number of more concentrated energy centers
called chakras, as well as with detectable energy fields around
the body. And if energy really does pervasively saturate every
cubic centimeter of space throughout the universe, as physicists
David Bohm and William Tiller inform us, then the meridians
are part and parcel of our connection with each other, as
well as to everything else for that matter. But that's another
story. Before explaining the basis of this Bioenergy Therapy
more fully, let us consider some facts about acupuncture.
Acupuncture
and Meridians
Five thousand years ago, give or take
a century or two, an anonymous person or persons in China
discovered that the body has an energy system that follows
specific pathways that are referred to as meridians. Predating
the Chinese findings by a couple thousand years the same bioenergy
system was elucidated in India. There is also evidence that
similar knowledge sprung up ages ago in other parts of the
world, including Egypt, Arabia, Brazil, among the Bantu Tribes
of Africa and the Eskimos.
The Chinese
system elaborated twelve primary bilateral meridians, each
of which pass through a specific organ of the body, including
the lungs, heart and stomach; in addition to collector meridians
which intersect the front and back of the body and enter the
brain. Additionally there are a number of lesser-known collateral's
that interconnect with the primary meridians. The entire system
is interconnected such that the flow of energy, referred to
by the Chinese as Qi or Chi, (pronounced chee) travels from
one meridian to the next, circulating throughout the body.
How the
meridians were discovered remains a mystery. Besides the likelihood
of trial and error, it has been proposed that this system
was discovered by observing the effects of injuries to soldiers
in battle. The locations of the assaults were recorded and
correlated with various effects. If a soldier were injured
at a specific location at the shoulder, for instance, the
vicinity of a significant point related to the Lung Meridian,
possibly a respiratory condition that he had been struggling
with for years would miraculously vanish. Many events of this
nature could have led to an understanding of an interconnection
between the shoulders as well as other bodily locations and
the lungs. Similarly other organs were correlated with various
locations on the body.
Another
perhaps rather comical theory is that the energy system was
discovered by tailors who accidentally inflicted injuries
upon themselves and their patrons. Possibly in time the precise
locations of such injuries were compared among members of
the garment industry and this information eventually migrated
into the medical establishment.
Still
another theory is that the people who discovered the bioenergy
system possessed higher sensory abilities such that they could
see or palpate the flow within the meridians, and were thus
able to precisely delineate the meridian geography. Today
while many acupuncturists employ specific recipes for needle
placement, other more highly skilled practitioners of the
art are reported to detect the stagnant or over active flow
of Qi via palpation of twelve specific pulses on the patient's
wrists.
Regardless
of how the discoveries came about, an extensive compilation
eventually appeared in the twenty-four volume Nei Ching,
the oldest writing on acupuncture, attributed to Huang Ti,
the "Yellow Emperor," who, although it is debated,
reportedly ruled China for a hundred years from about 2697
BC to 2597 BC. Modern day acupuncture has deviated little
from this text, suggesting that the system was developed and
refined over the course of many preceding centuries.
Besides
providing information about the pathways themselves, the Nei
Ching text details information as to specific acupoints.
For example, along each meridian there is a tonification point,
which, when stimulated, increase the availability of energy
within the meridian. Sedation points, on the other hand, reduce
overactive energy. A number of other important points are
also discussed in this text
Acupoint Stimulation and Applied
Kinesiology
It is common to think of acupuncture
as being performed with needles, since the meridian acupoints
can be stimulated with needles. However, the term acu-puncture
(which means to puncture with needles) is a misnomer in many
respects. It is perhaps better to refer to this treatment
as Meridian Therapy, since there are many forms of stimulation
that can be applied to effect the Qi within and between meridians.
These means include pressure, rubbing, running one's hands
in the direction of the meridian flow, suction cups, herbs,
vitamins, minerals, glandular extracts, specialized exercises,
manipulation of specific muscles, burning moxa (moxibustion),
etc.
Chiropractor
George Goodheart, founder of Applied Kinesiology, explored
the effectiveness of tapping or percussing at specific acupoints
to alleviate physical pain. To determine where the tapping
has to be applied, Goodheart employs an elaborate muscle testing
procedure and what he refers to as Therapy Localization. This
method involves having the patient touch specific locations
on his or her body while the doctor tests the strength in
an indicator muscle, which can be any isolated muscle.
In a related
manner, psychologist Roger Callahan and psychiatrist John
Diamond have found that tapping on acupoints is beneficial
toward eliminating negative emotions such as anxieties, phobias,
depression, anger, and so forth. This is similar to the ways
in which I successfully treated Barbara and the Fireman. Those
of us who conduct psychological therapy via the bioenergy
system have found that by having patients tap on specific
acupoints, while focusing on the psychological problem, makes
it possible for many intractable problems to be easily alleviated.
Needless
to say, this approach to therapy does not fit neatly into
our ordinary ways of thinking about change. We have come to
believe that the only way psychological-emotional change can
occur is through adjustments in the environment and the circumstances
in which we live, alterations in the ways in which we think,
or by the wonders of modern chemistry. There is no obviously
convincing basis for believing that tapping at different locations
of the body while thinking about a psychological problem can
cause a dramatic change to occur. Many people would tend to
think that something like that could only work by way of distraction
or placebo, even though distraction commonly results in only
temporary relief and placebo is effective only about a third
of the time.
While
it is possible to achieve psychological change by environmental,
cognitive, and chemical means, generally such approaches do
not produce rapid, profound changes. They work over time and
frequently result in noteworthy amelioration but not total
elimination of the problem. I believe that this is due to
the fact that these approaches do not specifically address
the energy system that governs emotional responses. That is,
when a negative emotion occurs it is initially triggered by
a change in the energy system, the initial domino that sets
the whole emotional process in motion. It is not that circumstances,
thoughts and chemistry are irrelevant. They are also intricately
involved in the production of negative emotions. While producing
adjustments at these levels is a useful and often necessary
aspect of the overall treatment package, when treating specifically
at the energy level we are essentially turning off the switch
that turns on the negative emotion.
Proof
of Qi and Meridians
If we could prove that the bodily energy system or Qi exists,
perhaps this therapy would be more readily accepted to our
Western minds. In an effort to investigate Qi, some researchers
have reportedly photographed the meridians by using radioactive
isotopes, although others have searched similarly in vein.
But another line of investigation has proven more fruitful.
Orthopedic
surgeon and researcher, Robert O. Becker has conducted extensive
research supportive of the existence of a primitive bodily
energy system responsible for regeneration and that also accounts
for the effects of acupuncture. With regard to regeneration,
he provides convincing evidence that the current of injury
that is evident at injury sites is not merely a byproduct
of injury to cells but is rather consistent with a primitive
energy-control system that guides regeneration. In this respect
he has found that the direct current at the site of injury
on frogs, which are not highly regenerative, is positively
charged; whereas, the current of injury on salamanders, for
which regenerative capacities are paramount, is negatively
charged.
Louis
Langeman, in his research of gynecological conditions has
also observed variations of electrical charges. To summarize,
in a sample of 123 women with cervical malignant conditions,
between the ages of 21 and 61 plus, Langeman found that 5
evidenced a positive DC charge in the cervix, whereas 118
were found to have a negative charge. Thus 96 percent of the
sample revealed a negative DC electrical charge as compared
to 4 percent evidencing a positive charge. A sample of 78
females with no gynecological conditions (ages 10 to 61 plus)
evidenced the reverse pattern: 95 percent positive charge
versus 5 percent negative.
Becker
also conducted research that offers support for the specificity
of acupoints and for the existence of meridians. In the early
1970's research into acupuncture was encouraged by the National
Institute of Health after Nixon's visit to China serendipitously
brought acupuncture into research vogue after Western journalist,
James Reston, was effectively treated in China for postoperative
pain with acupuncture.
Many of
the initial investigators thought that acupuncture worked
as a result of a placebo effect and that needle placement
would prove irrelevant. In The Body Electric he wrote, "Thus,
much of our earliest research merely disproved this fallacy,
which the Chinese...had done long ago." Becker approached
the problem differently. He figured that the meridians were
electrical conductors that carried messages back and forth
between the brain and the injury site, promoting healing while
producing a pain message at the same time. He suggested that
the purpose of the acupoints were to serve as boosters to
keep the current up to snuff. If this were in fact the case,
then a difference in electrical resistance would be detectable
at the points as compared to the surrounding skin. And this
proved to be the case. He also found that variations on the
surfaces of the skin in the locations of meridians were distinct
as compared to non-meridian skin. Thus the meridian are real.
Self
Treatment
In closing, I'd like to offer the reader
an example of a Bioenergy Self-Treatment that may prove of
some benefit and also promote an experiential understanding
of what has been covered in this article. I can't guarantee
that this technique will prove helpful to everyone, since
often the assistance of a Bioenergy Psychotherapist is needed
in order to get the full benefit. However, there is nothing
about this technique that is harmful, so it will either help
or do nothing at all. You have nothing to loose except the
negative feelings, so it's worth a try.
1. Begin
by thinking about something that causes a mild level of emotional
discomfort, say a 5 on a 0-10 scale. This might be a painful
memory or the thought of doing something that produces some
discomfort (e.g., a disturbing memory of something a friend
did, giving a speech, etc.). After you learn how to do this
process, you can use this for more intense emotional reactions
later.
2. Next
tap firmly with two fingers on your forehead directly between
your eyebrows, at what is called the Third Eye point
while continuing to think about the memory or activity. You
may find it difficult to keep the thought in mind. But constantly
tap until it is impossible or difficult to get in touch with
the negative feeling. (With a more intense emotional memory,
after briefly bringing it to mind, is not necessary to think
about it while doing this technique.)
3. Other
treatment points to consider are the following: under
your nose, under your bottom lip, and at the
center of the chest (on the upper section of your sternum).
You can use these points in addition to the third eye point.
4. At
this point stop tapping and notice how you feel while thinking
about the issue. If you are able to detect any present discomfort,
resume tapping. One or a few rounds of this simple treatment
often eliminates the negative feelings associated with the
issue. If the discomfort returns at a future time, a few more
self-treatments may be needed to permanently eliminate the
problem.
So there
you have it: A simple way to balance the bioenergy system
and erase a negative emotion. Emotional CPR, if you will.
Sounds too simple, doesn't it? But often it is that easy.
Use it in good health.
Recommended
Reading
Gallo,
F. P. (1998, 2005). Energy Psychology.
Gallo,
F. P., & H. Vincenzi. (2000). Energy Tapping.
Gallo,
F. P. (2007). Energy Tapping for Trauma.
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