EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) or tapping, as people call it, is a method for healing emotions that started in 1990s. EFT helps us deal with:

• Anxiety

• Anger

• Depression

• Stress

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• Etc

I learned EFT in Brazil with André Lima. I took his online classes and he showed many different ways of using that technique. It is similar to acupuncture, but without needles. Instead of putting needles in certain parts of our body, the goal is to tap with our fingers in those same places. We have options when doing EFT:

1. We can start by taping the side of our hand, the karate chop (small intestine meridian for the Chinese medicine) saying: Even though, _________ happened to me, I love and accept myself completely just as I am. Then, we can start tapping the other points in our body: a) Tap on the top, centre of your head. b) Tap on the inside edge of one eyebrow. c) Tap next to the outside edge of one eye. d) Tap on the bone underneath one eye. e) Tap between your nose and your upper lip. f) Tap between your lower lip and your chin. g) Tap beneath one collarbone (find the notch beneath the inside edge of the collarbone). h) Tap under one armpit (about 10 centimeters (4 inches) below the armpit).

2. We can just tap the points in the body repeating the sentence in number 1, or we can tell a story about what happened to us, or we can also elaborate on what we're feeling. For example, whenever something happens in my life and I feel extremely sad or shocked, I do EFT telling myself my version of everything that happened to me, and I end the story saying: even though ______ happened, I love myself deeply and accept myself completely. I prefer to tell the story because to me it feels like I am solving the problem. My brain likes when I explain things.

We can also say: I feel anxiety when ______ happens to me, anxiety makes me feel I am not worthy/etc, but I know God is a loving father and I am loved and accepted just as I am. So, even though ________ happened, I love myself deeply and accept myself completely just as I am. We can create our own version of the healing sentence above, just don't forget to tap while talking. Everybody has a different experience with EFT, I sneeze and yawn a lot and then when I am finishing my story I usually cry (I am an emotional person). The good thing is that once I feel that my heart is at peace, I can stop and it's like nothing happened, I feel fine after the process, and I can keep going without any other problems.

I did a lot of EFT in the past whenever I was trying to understand my traumas, nowadays I only do it when something traumatic happens. I know EFT helps us a lot, and I can attest to the many times I did it with my children because of a fight, lack of money, emotional distress or feeling alone, misunderstood, sad, etc. This website shows the picture and has information about it in case you want to find out more: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/emotional-freedom-technique-eft\

As always, I finish with one of my poems to see if you get inspired to find ways of helping yourself. Remember: I am sorry, please forgive me, I love you, thank you.

I LOVE YOU #WhyMeAndWhyNotMe

What if all crayons were blue?

Sinélia Peixoto

What happens when we grow up surrounded by the same people?

We have the same minds, we want the same lives.

We dress the same clothes, we think alike.

What if I want to paint my life with a different crayon?

What crayon is your life painted with?

Are you willing to dance, to change, to have a mixed world?

Are you willing to improve, to decorate, to accept and tolerate other languages, other races and other people?

Are you willing to get out of your comfort zone and see the world and its beauty?

Do you want to keep yourself in only one box?

The world needs what only YOU can give.

The world needs you.

You are who you are. I am who I am and we're perfect this way.

I am a Multilingual, a woman, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a teacher, a writer…

I am Brazilian and I am a doctor who loves languages, but I am much more than that!

Labels, all labels!

Society has labeled us, has standardized us…

But we are human beings, we make our own choices.

Change the labels, change who you are.

My heart is my own and only treasure.

I want to be able to paint my life with different colors.

I want to be able to speak different languages.

I want to be able to see the world, to know other cultures, and to decide my own future.

I want choices.

I want love.

I want peace.

And I want to see beauty around me.

Colors are there to make the world a beautiful place.

Languages are there to keep you going and motivated to learn more.

The world needs “out”!

Out of the box, out of expectations, out of comfort zones,

Out of being rigid, strict or standardized.

Get out, open your eyes!

See the world!

We all need to see the world.

We all need different people, different colors and different mindsets.

We all need different doors being open for us.

Do you want paint your world with one crayon?

It’s up to you, but please, leave me out of that box.

Because I have more than 100 crayons with me.

And I can choose what color my world will be.

I want a colorful world.

I want my voice to be heard.

I want acceptance and tolerance.

Because I have a choice.

And I choose to paint my life with all the colors,

Languages, culture, music, and opportunities that I can find.

I choose to be part of a better world.

A world in which we are equals, we love, include and accept one another just as they are.

I want my world to be filled with diversity and laughter

Because peoples, complexity, cultures, and differences teach us to be resilient

And that make us better, more accepting, tolerant and wiser.

Please, paint your world with many colors

And then tell me later, how that changed your life.

Let’s play with crayons and make the world a better place.

What color is your world?