When Gary Craig first introduced the world to Emotional Freedom Techniques he used something he called the setup phrase.
You would tap on the side of your hand or rub the sore spot and say, “Even though I have [insert issue] I completely love and accept myself.”
As time has passed and EFT has evolved most teachers of tapping fall into one of two camps. They are either insistent that you do this every time or they never do it at all.
There are enough tapping teachers who are still sharing the setup phrase that about once every 10 days I receive an email asking “Do I really have to say the setup phrase?”
I think there is a middle ground. There are times when it is really useful and there are also times when it can slow the tapping process.
In this podcast we explore when to use the setup phrase. We will also look at why most people are avoiding it, which has nothing to do with its usefulness.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the setup phrase in the comments below.
Your podcasts are great, the quality is great! Thanks!
Hi Gene! This podcast WAS helpful. I think you’ve hit it right on the head. I love your style of speaking and teaching. I’m going to check out the P200 and send you another email. Thanks for everything. Have a blessed December!
Hi Gene, thanks for raising this issue – I do usually follow the Gary Craig routine of loving and accepting myself but I consider I have matured/moved on/ or whatever people want to say I have done!
I now accept that when I say that phrase, I am being aware that I really would rather not be feeling that craving or an emotion to the extent that it was compromising my well being, but at the very least accept the fact that I have recognised that and wish to move on. This for me is a step closer to my goal of not letting that particular emotion/craving control me. Which is something to celebrate for now.
What I am doing is fully accepting the me that wishes to move and, through EFT am actually willing to take action to help that happen, rather than passively waiting for it to happen. I am accepting being human with my imperfections.
On the chocolate craving front, I have managed to control that in public situations through ‘stealth’ finger tip tapping. And sometimes I don’t manage to control that craving, but because more often than not I do, I am happy to accept myself and my imperfections. However, I do accept in all of this that my current approach would need to be questioned if I was stuffing that much chocolate that it compromised my health. And so the cycle of self acceptance that I am not happy about everything I do or feel goes on: such is the excitement of being a human being and being on this never ending path of spiritual self development.
Love Amer x