One of the challenges EFT has always faced is that it violates common assumptions. Some of those assumptions are:
- It takes a long time to heal physical and emotional wounds.
- Once emotional trauma is encoded in your brain, it’s there forever.
- Bad childhood experiences that affect your present life cannot be escaped.
- Acupressure points on the body are just imaginary, not real physical places.
- Other people and external events are causing all your stress.
- You can’t see energy flowing in the body, so it doesn’t exist.
- Whether or not you get certain diseases is programmed into your genes.
Research shows that people can heal very quickly, from both physical and emotional wounds, when their stress levels go down. There’s even a whole body of research on genes, showing that hundreds of genes are turned on or off by emotional states. When you’re calm and relaxed, genes that code for cellular processes like aging, immunity, and metabolism are positively affected. EFT is one of the fastest methods of stress reduction ever tested. Research has even shown that it reduces stress hormones like cortisol. That’s why there are so many stories on this web site of people who experience dramatic recovery from physical disease after trying EFT.
The best way to convince a skeptic is to have them try EFT. Even the first time they apply it to a troubling event or memory, they’re likely to feel better. There’s an old Hermetic saying: “To him who has not had the experience, no explanation is possible. To him who has had the experience, no explanation is necessary.” The faster you can have a skeptic actually try EFT, the quicker the person is likely to believe that it works.
How do you explain EFT in such a way that a newcomer might take that first important step of trying it out? Here are some common phrases you can use:
- EFT is a quick method of stress reduction.
- EFT is a scientifically proven way to reduce anxiety, depression, and similar problems.
- EFT is like acupuncture for the emotions.
- EFT adds a stress-reduction component to [whatever they already use, like chiropractic, psychotherapy, Reiki, massage, etc.]
- EFT can help you feel better about the problems in your life.
- I used EFT for [their problem] and it was amazing.
- EFT reduces stress hormones like cortisol, in just a few minutes.
- Let’s take five minutes, and see if we can help with [their problem].
You can also give them copies of the free materials on this site, like the EFT Mini-Manual, or hand them a copy of the print version of The EFT Manual. If they’re dealing with a specific problem like obesity or trauma, you can give them a copy of our excellent specialized books like EFT for Weight Loss, EFT for PTSD, LINK EFT for Procrastination, or one of the other books in our bookstore. If they’re scientifically inclined, a book like The Genie in Your Genes is likely to demonstrate for them that EFT is founded on sound scientific principles.
Keep experimenting with different ways of explaining EFT till you have one that rolls of your tongue effortlessly. If you believe strongly in something, your conviction will carry weight with others and they will be more likely to try it.
