What results have you experienced, in your role as a healer?

Tumours have vanished

I am often amazed at the quick paced shift in consciousness.  Some of the examples in the previous article clearly indicate that.  I think that is one of the most significant features of Tapping.

There have been instances where tumors have vanished. But I cannot say it was only because of Tapping. My clients were using a combination of various mainstream and complementary approaches. Tapping was one of them.

Uncover emotional stressors

Another feature that I find really amazing is that Tapping gently unfolds “layer-after-layer” that clients can work through and simultaneously uncover life-supporting insights.

Several diligent healers and observers have shown us that guilt and repressed anger are the core emotional factors in cancer. I have seen that is perhaps true.

Reduces stress

However, it is far easier and more natural to start by reducing the stress that is in the present moment and go with what unfolds during the process. At the onset, these underlying feelings may not be accessible. Over time, the deep-rooted feelings unfold naturally and effortlessly … so do the insights … it is an amazing thing to witness.

We are fortunate to be in an age and time where there are many gentle methods to help you through.

Reflection

Here are few things that cancer patients and survivors can reflect during their cancer journey:

• Cancer is an opportunity to heal, reconnect with yourself in ways that may not have been possible before.
  How can you respect the cancer as a gift?
• When people come together to support each other, the energy of the collective is hugely beneficial for each individual. When you are in your heart, and not just your mind, the collective energy uplifts the human spirit and makes the journey a magical experience. What can you do to find and connect with a support community where you can express your feelings and offer emotional support to others going through similar experiences?
• If you are feeling angry, frustrated and upset, don’t force gratitude and healthy thoughts. It will just add to the stress. Only when you acknowledge their existence can you release them and feel a natural sense of appreciation and gratitude. It will be easier then to gradually and consciously adopt healthier, life supporting thoughts and ways of life. How can you address those feelings of frustration honestly? What steps can you take to bring in appreciation, gratitude and healthy thoughts into your life?
• How can you involve your family in your cancer journey? Is there anything you can do to allow them to express and heal their fears and anxieties?
• If you become aware of getting too caught in ‘mistakes’ or ‘regrets’ of the past or how wonderful life used to be in comparison with the present condition. What can you do to gently bring yourself to the present moment?
• Don’t judge yourself too harshly if you slip back in self-care and compassion. Just bring yourself back to it and move on. It becomes easier and effortless when you begin to see the helpfulness. How can you be  gentle with yourself?
• Try and set a good sleep routine.  If possible and after checking with your doctor, adopt a comfortable, simple exercise routine (like walking). What can you do to switch to a healthier, more peaceful lifestyle?

Additional support resources

• EFT- Founder Gary Craig has retired. Useful articles and research information that were on his website are now available at http://emofree.com
• Dr. Patricia Carrington – https://patcarrington.com/how-to-do-eft-a-step-by-step-guide/
• Videos to tap along on Brad Yate’s website – http://bradyates.net
• Emotional Freedom Techniques by Sangeeta Bhagwat
• Free to be Happy by Robert Najemy
• You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay 
• Louise Hay’s affirmation cards – available on http://louisehay.com

Author

Jasmine Bharathan is a student of Transpersonal Psychology and has 14 years experience as a facilitator in the field. She shares EFT and TAT as intervention tools, and meditation and mindfulness practice to deepen awareness. EFT is often referred to as ‘Tapping’. She uses her own version of the procedure. In this article, Jasmine shares her experiences and insights on dealing with cancer. For more information, please browse her website: http://heal-empower.com. For more articles on EFT on Cancer Awakens, click here. To visit the official EFT website, click here.

More from this series

How else can Tapping be used for cancer?

After the early diagnosis, Tapping can also be used during treatment, for pain management, for emotional and energetic self-regulation on a day-to-day basis. It is helpful because it often results in feeling “in-charge” of one’s health considerations and one’s quality of life. A feeling of being reconnected to our vitality and inner strength is experienced. It can even be used during the last (palliative) stage when a dying person needs to reconcile and come to terms with himself / herself and make peace all around.

Case Study: Madan (Prostate Cancer)

Madan was unable to resolve the grief of losing his mother 23 years after her passing. He was burdened by guilt and resentment as his wife did not get along with his mother while she was alive.

When he was diagnosed with Prostate cancer, he believed it was a punishment for not having looked after her during her old age. He did not want to get treated.  He tried Tapping only when the pain in his hip and legs became unbearable.

The resolution of the emotions he had carried for so long – grief, guilt and resentment – helped him immensely to ease his relationship with his wife of 30 years. Their new-found closeness and trust motivated him to go for surgery. At 65, he now lives an active life.

When we last met, he said,

“In a strange way, I feel a deeper connection with myself and Existence. Every moment I am experiencing God’s presence”.

Case Study: Meenakshi (Breast Cancer)

Meenakshi was not surprised when a routine mammogram revealed a lump in her breast.  She “knew” this would happen, since her school days.  Twice divorced and with no family, she was known as the “angry old woman” at work.

She liked that because it kept people away. But the thought of losing her breast was scary and it touched a deep core in her as a woman, a feeling that she had alienated herself from after her first divorce. While waiting for the biopsy results, she explored EFT.

As she tapped for the anxiety, she had an insight.

“I think my problems are related to couples and pairs.”

Incidentally, she was not aware of the theory from Traditional Chinese Medicine that an illness of a paired organ (like breasts, lungs, ovaries, kidneys, etc.) is often related to unresolved conflicts in one’s close relationships.

After some more Tapping sessions, Meenakshi was able to bring up some unhealthy beliefs that she had learned during her early years. She went on to reframe and then reinforce some healthy beliefs. Her attitude began to change and she could relate to herself with compassion.

The lump turned out to be benign. However, she was convinced that it was a wakeup call for her to get emotionally healthy. She changed two jobs thereafter. Fell in love with a wonderful man. They got married 2 years later. It has been 8 years since.

Case Study: Rohan (Leukemia)

Baby Rohan (3 years of age) was diagnosed with leukemia. His family simply could not come to terms with the “God’s cruelty”. As they began Tapping their feelings of hurt and betrayal, each parent’s perspective began to change.

They began to see and feel that little Rohan had come to help them grow spiritually. During the process of care-giving, some of them were able to resolve conflicts they had with each other and found ways in which they could come together for the larger good.

Case Study: Asha (Uterine Cancer)

Asha did not want to disclose her recent diagnosis of uterine cancer with anyone other than close family. When she began Tapping, she realised it would be beneficial for her to reach out to a support group that meets regularly.

Studies have shown that care and compassion release neurochemicals that help balance and restore our system. This insight occurred naturally for Asha during the process.

Reflection

• What guilt are you carrying, for things you did or didn’t do? How does it affect your state of mind or your relationship with others?
• When do you find yourself putting up walls and shutting yourself to love? What emotional wounds might be driving this?
• How open are you to talking openly about your illness instead of hiding it? What are your reasons … the pros and cons?

Author

Jasmine Bharathan is a student of Transpersonal Psychology and has 14 years experience as a facilitator in the field. She shares EFT and TAT as intervention tools, and meditation and mindfulness practice to deepen awareness. EFT is often referred to as ‘Tapping’. She uses her own version of the procedure. In this article, Jasmine shares her experiences and insights on dealing with cancer. For more information, please browse her website: http://heal-empower.com. For more articles on EFT on Cancer Awakens, click here. To visit the official EFT website, click here.

More from this series

What is EFT^®?

EFT^® (Emotional Freedom Technique) was developed from Dr. Roger Callahan’s TFT (Thought Field Therapy) by Gary Craig, who simplified and popularized EFT as a ‘Do-it-yourself’ method. EFT works on the understanding that emotional trauma contributes greatly to disease.

Scientific studies are now showing that EFT is able to rapidly reduce the emotional impact of memories and incidents that trigger emotional distress. Once the distress is reduced or removed, the body can often re-balance itself, and accelerate healing.

EFT involves tapping with our finger tips on certain acupuncture points on our body and saying some statements, while being tuned into a physical/ mental/ emotional discomfort. I use my version of it.

Gary Craig explains the principle behind EFT: “The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system.”

How and why does it really work?

I experience tapping as a circuit-breaker where old energetic patterns seem to get short-fused, allowing for new connections to emerge. One can witness a shift in consciousness, if I may say so.

How can EFT be used in cancer therapy?

Many of us use tapping not as an alternative, but as a complementary tool. There are several ways in which it can be used.

For example, when someone has been newly diagnosed with cancer, it is experienced as a crisis. The stress tolerance level becomes low from the initial shock and emotional pain.

At times the shock is so intense that the system shuts off and we become numb to feelings. Tapping can be used to help clear the shock-overload on the nervous system.

Case Study: Shreya

Shreya (name changed), a cheerful, bright chartered accountant and mother of two college-going teenagers had lost considerable weight recently, was generally feeling exhausted and had intermittent pressure in her abdomen, which she attributed to work schedule and erratic eating habits.

But on the insistence of her mother-in-law and to please her family, she saw her doctor who ordered some tests.

“You have ovarian cancer …”  The rest faded into the background as Shreya’s head began to pound with all sorts of questions.

“How can that be? I have always looked after myself. It is just these past couple of months that have been crazy.. There is no history in my family.. I have to help Nikhil with his GMAT in a couple of years.. How will they manage without me?

Shreya coped with the shock by becoming very pragmatic and matter-of-fact. She collected herself, consoled her husband, discussed the line of action with the doctor, and drove home pausing briefly to buy some vegetables. After dinner she told her mother-in-law and children, in a very matter-of-fact manner the course of action suggested by the doctor.

“It is not a big deal. I plan to continue working; I’ll just take a couple of days off during the chemotherapy sessions. Everything will be just fine.”

The next few days were hectic; organizing things around the house, giving instructions to maids and colleagues at work, meeting doctors. “You’ve got to focus on your studies”, she told her daughter who couldn’t stop crying.

During her first EFT session she said,

“I am a pragmatic person. I have had a wonderful childhood. I don’t have any emotional baggage. I am here only because my husband asked me to try this thing”.

After a few rounds of tapping, recounting the day she was diagnosed, she sat in silence for a while, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“You know, I didn’t realize how afraid I am”.

After some tapping on the fear and anxiety, her thoughts went to her family. She realized that she had not really communicated with them. She was afraid to face their emotions, and her own. Through the tapping process, one after another, her feelings unfolded – guilt, sorrow, helplessness – until her face softened.

She said at the end,

“I feel more real now”

How tapping helped

After the tapping process, she was able to look at her situation with more clarity. She began to have honest communication with her children addressing their fears and sadness, which was immensely helpful for all of them. She involved a few close friends, took some time off from work and made informed decisions on the way forward.

She went on to make several changes in her beliefs and life that were previously unhealthy. She was now able to handle the situation in a more real way. There was a genuine acknowledgment and acceptance of the situation that gave her the courage and confidence to honestly engage with every aspect of what this diagnosis meant to her and her family.

Reflection

Life may seem fine on the surface …

• What if your routine lifestyle is actually harming you physically or emotionally … how will you change it for the better?
• Consider the emotional baggage you carry – related to your childhood, youth, relationships, work or anything else. How can you release and let it go?
• What activities give you an emotional high … how much time are you making for them?

Author

Jasmine Bharathan is a student of Transpersonal Psychology and has 14 years experience as a facilitator in the field. She shares EFT and TAT as intervention tools, and meditation and mindfulness practice to deepen awareness. EFT is often referred to as ‘Tapping’. She uses her own version of the procedure. In this article, Jasmine shares her experiences and insights on dealing with cancer. For more information, please browse her website: http://heal-empower.com. For more articles on EFT on Cancer Awakens, click here. To visit the official EFT website, click here.

More from this series