Social media is a reality of modern life. In itself it isn't good or bad, it is simply a tool we can use. On one hand, social media channels can help us to find useful information, stay connected to loved ones, and connect with like-minded people we wouldn't otherwise have met. On the other hand, social media can create an overwhelming flood of information. Every time we check in we can see how others are doing so much better than we are, which can create feelings of shame and a bad case of ...
If I were to sum up all of my own personal development work for the last decade I would say it has been a process of becoming more "comfortable inside of my own skin". For me that phrase describes not only being OK with myself, but being in a place where I recognize my own worth and feeling comfortable in acknowledging that worth. When I operate from that mindset I find that my daily life is easier and I make better choices. When author Gala Darling talks about the same concept she uses the ...
There is an interesting phenomena that crops up when using EFT. Sometimes you can be using tapping successfully for a while, but then it stops working. There are two main reasons why this happens. In this week’s podcast we are going to explore both of these reasons and what you can do to make your tapping effective again. ...
If you are wondering if you have emotional blocks to taking action, I have a very simple way for you to tell. If you know what you want to do, know how to do it, have everything you need to take action, and still don't do it, then you have emotional blocks to taking that action. This week I interview EFT Universe's Dawson Church about what happens on a neurological level when emotions get in the way of action and how we can tap to find relief AND take action. During the interview I refer to a ...
When I was in my twenties it felt as if I was going to live forever. I gave little thought to how I ate, when I went to bed, or how I treated my body in general. Now that I am in my forties there are mornings when I can tell exactly what I ate or drank the night before just by how my body feels. I'm not exactly sure when it happened. One day I felt like I was immortal, the next day not so much. In today's interview I talk with Gregg Levoy about the aging process, the emotions that accompany ...
Good morning, I was having dinner with a friend I’ll call "Sally" at a place that serves the most amazing chicken and waffles. As we were enjoying dinner she explained that she was having a really hard time. She was in the middle of a move. Her job was stressing her out. She was thinking of changing careers. AND she had been sick for weeks. I was listening closely as caring friend. She stopped. Looked me dead in the eye and said, "I know you like to ...
I am constantly amazed at how willing parents are to put their children first. It’s common for parents to make sure their child's needs are met before they do anything for themselves. As well meaning as this is, it can cause problems in the long term. By always putting their family first and not taking care of themselves parents can find themselves unable to be the best parent they could be. One of the most important ways that parents can take care of their children is to make sure they also ...
There is a very primitive part of our nature that knows we are safest when we belong. This instinct was a key to survival for our nomadic ancient ancestors who sought safety in numbers at times of danger. While we no longer have to worry about being attacked by large animals, humans still have a strong instinct that tells us belonging means safety. This is one of the reasons it can feel so devastating when we let someone else down. In addition to not living up to our work or their ...
Good morning, As you may know, for two years I was lucky enough to teach tapping as part of an advanced anger management class in a county jail. Yes! I had guys in prison jumpsuits tapping along with me and really liking it. I quickly realized that a number of inmates would never make it to my classes because of other obligations, such as studying for their high school diploma or working through a rehab program. So I wrote a book containing all the tools I taught in class to make ...
We all know that the more specific we can be when tapping, the more effective it will be. As a concept this is easy to understand, but in practice it is much harder to implement. Humans are complicated creatures. We can talk about the difference between our mind, body, and spirit, but the lines between these three are blurry. As a simple example, the thoughts in my mind can impact my physical body. To help manage the complicated system that we are, employing a healing framework as a lens to ...
Here in the United States it already feels as if the Presidential election campaign has been going on for way too long. And we still have eight more months to go. The lead story (and often the first five stories) on the nightly news is invariably about the election. One of the most difficult parts of the election season is hearing most of the candidates talking about how bad everything is. They focus on negativity so that they can talk about how great they are and how they are the key to a ...
One of the reasons that we love tapping so much is its versatility. Because we can use tapping in so many different settings it can often be confusing to know exactly how to tap in a given moment. For example, there is a huge difference between tapping with someone who is emotional in a public setting versus working with a client one-on-one in the safety of a practitioner's private office. Our primary goal when tapping with someone in a public setting or when we have limited time to deal ...
Not all physical pain is the same. Pain can have many different root causes, ranging from physical wounds to emotional issues. Some pain passes as the body heals, while other pain is chronic. In this week's podcast I talk to Dan Cleary who damaged his arm in a serious motorcycle accident decades ago. To this day he continues to experience considerable nerve pain as a result of the accident. Because of this experience he is dedicated to working with people experiencing pain. In this interview ...
Good communication is hard. It is easy to be misunderstood because we all understand specific words in different ways. I can say one thing and yet you may understand something completely different. More than likely when you think of allergies you imagine a runny nose because of flower pollen, or someone having a dangerous reaction to eating nuts or shellfish. For this week's podcast we are using a much broader definition of allergy. In this context we are talking about how when we encounter ...
In podcast #204 I showed you a straightforward technique that you can use to tune into the emotional states that you would like to have as you move through the day. This week’s podcast is something I use to help me to tune into the type of person I would like to be. The script I have used is very personal and is inspired by my Catholic faith so I don't expect it to be helpful for everyone. If it works for you, great! If changing the language makes it work for you, great! If it doesn't work ...
Good morning, In addition to this newsletter, I also have a mailing list which teaches people how to run and grow small businesses. A few weeks ago I sent an email with the subject line "Why I Love January 5th!" The email went on to explain that, as a person who helps people reach their goals, one of the reasons I love January 5th is because that is the day when most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions. I don't love the fact that people ...
The Center For Nonviolent Communication created one of my favorite tools, the feelings inventory, which I used a great deal when working with the incarcerated. I found that the men I had the opportunity to work with lacked vocabulary when it came to describing emotions. Even though their emotional experience was highly nuanced, they had only a very limited way of talking about it. Talking about and creating change is difficult with a limited emotional vocabulary because our experience can only ...
A few weeks ago I was tapping with one of my clients for a deep ache she was feeling in her heart. The situation: she was in the process of filling up one of her programs and was having lots of conversations with prospective clients who would be perfect for it. They would commit to the program, get really excited...and then back out at the last minute. My client said, "It's not that I am worried about the loss of the sale but my heart aches over the fact that they are so close ...
In my own life I have found that my level of confidence has less to do with how good I am at something and much more to do with how comfortable I am with myself at a given moment. I think it is a mistake to believe that all we need to do is get better at something to be more confident. In reality confidence is all about who we allow to be the judge our success. No matter how good we are we will not feel confident if we judge success based on what others think. This week we tap to shift ...
The Cost Of Looking Fear In The Eye Last year I spent some time trying to figure out what my next venture would be. Working on a new project that calls on my creativity feeds my soul. The project I was considering was a new podcast called "Facing Fear". My plan was to record a weekly podcast where I would explore one of my deepest, darkest fears. I’m talking about the kind of fears that would have me tossing and turning for hours in the middle of the night. Fears like: There is ...