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The Implications of Revolutionary Brain Research Discoveries For Health, Wellness and Performance
Author: admin
The Implications of Revolutionary Brain Research Discoveries For Health, Wellness and Performance
By Dr. Faiez Kirsten
Today’s revolutionary advances in neuroscience will rival the discoveries of Copernicus, Galileo and Darwin. – Paul Churchland
There’s a revolution going on. The current era in neuroscience is comparable to the time when Louis Pasteur first discovered that germs cause disease. – Candice Pert
In the past decade or two brain scientists have made a number of truly amazing and far-reaching discoveries about the workings of the human brain and mind. Many of these discoveries have turned long-held beliefs about them on their head so to speak, revealing characteristics which were not known about previously and uncovering abilities which were once not thought possible. And, significantly, the implications of these findings with respect to individual and corporate health, wellness and performance are equally profound and far-reaching.
What has made many of these remarkable findings possible? Not surprisingly, it has been the equally remarkable advances in brain imaging technology which have enabled scientists to view the structure and function of our brain in ways only dreamed of before – or perhaps seen only in sci-fi movies or read about in such books. Modern brain imaging techniques such as CAT (computerized axial tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans now provide extremely detailed information about normal and abnormal brain structures and have made the diagnosis of conditions such as strokes and brain tumors relatively easy compared to the previous era. But even more amazing advances in brain imaging technology has also made it possible to see the brain in action i.e. to analyze the functioning of the brain “as these functions are taking place” or in “real time” as it were.
Brain processes such as thinking, generation of emotions, facilitation of action or movement and making of decisions for example can now actually be seen as they happen thanks to functional imaging machines such as the fMRI (functional MRI), PET (positron emission tomography) and SPECT (single positron emission computed tomography) scanners. In fact brain imaging technology and the discoveries emanating there from has already greatly enhanced (and will no doubt continue to enhance) our understanding of the human brain and mind. It is therefore not surprising to see the term “revolutionary” frequently used by neuroscientists and others familiar with the field of brain science when talking about these advances and their implications. Certainly this new comprehension of the human brain and mind is already having a major and significant impact, in many instances, on how people think about themselves and others and how they interact with each other.
For example we now live in a world where assessments of our very thinking and behavioral characteristics are commonplace and even compulsory in many instances, where neurotechnology is an inherent part of marketing and advertising campaigns assisting marketers to target their markets more effectively and so forth. But perhaps a more promising and positive consequence that this greatly renewed understanding of the human brain and mind will have (and indeed has already started to have) is that of the maximization of our potential as human beings, including a significant enhancement in our health, wellness and performance levels. These revolutionary brain research findings can empower us all significantly – but only if we understand them fully and use them correctly.
One of the more profound of these discoveries is neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to remold or reshape itself. This finding has nullified the decades old thinking (and teaching) of brain scientists that the brain was unchangeable. The human brain is a highly complex organ which consists of about 100 billion neurons or nerve cells in addition to an even greater number of glial or supporting cells. These nerve cells each have up to 100 000 dendrites and an axon through which they are connected to other neurons (via connections known as synapses). At any given moment there are trillions of connections between these billions of neurons. Neurons that are connected to each other form ‘neural networks’ or ‘neural pathways’. And the brain is capable of processing up to 400 billion bits of information per second through its neural networks. The brain is in fact a ‘neural network factory’, constantly producing new connections (and discarding old ones) between neurons in the production of new neural pathways. And believe-it-or-not, the brain actually produces about one million new connections every second. A staggering feat. Although at any given moment there are several hundred trillion connections between the brain’s vast number of neurons, fascinatingly the potential number of new connections that can be made between them is in fact infinite. And equally fascinating is the fact that the potential number of ways that these neurons can connect to each other can for all intents and purposes also be regarded as limitless. So neuroplasticity then is this ability of the brain to form new synapses or connections and to discard old ones, thereby constantly changing its neural networks or forming new ones and thus remolding and reshaping itself.
Brain researchers have found that stimulation of the brain in the form of acquisition of new knowledge or having new experiences for example regardless of age, causes new connections to be formed between brain cells via their synapses. This is in fact how learning occurs – through the formation of new synaptic connections and new neural networks. In fact all our thoughts (conscious and subconscious), our beliefs (true or false), our memories (short-term and long-term), our skills, abilities, attributes and attitudes are ‘held’ in these vast, intensely complex and intricately – connected neural networks which are spread out in a multitude of 3-dimensional patterns throughout different parts of the brain. And as we think, process new ideas and engage in decision-making for example, we create new connections and new neural pathways in our brains. Thus each new thought we generate, each new experience we have and each new thing we learn causes our brain to change – physically.
As indicated a commonly held belief by scientists until fairly recently was that the brain was unchangeable – that we were all born with a fixed a fixed number of neurons which were wired together in a fixed way. As we aged so the connections between our neurons grew weaker and eventually disintegrated while our neurons grew fewer in number as a result of them dying off. But this has been found not to be the case at all. In reality throughout the life of an individual a massive amount of new connections are constantly created in the brain in response to new learning and experiences. Reading a book or newspaper, having a discussion, eating, thinking a thought, learning to ride a bike or exercising for example produces a mind-boggling number of new connections in the brain. Our brain rewires itself every second of every minute of every hour of every day in response to everything it thinks, learns and experiences, be these everyday occurrences or serious life-changing or life-threatening ones alike. But it has also been discovered that not only is the brain capable of producing new connections between its nerve cells, it also has the ability to generate entirely new neurons. This ability, known as neurogenesis, has been a hugely surprising finding to scientists who for long believed that this was impossible. It is obvious then that the brain is built to produce new connections and nerve pathways. It is built and designed to change. It is a synapse and neuron-producing machine. Indeed its very functioning is dependent on these abilities because this function involves the linking and associating of pieces of information which are held in various neural networks located in various areas throughout the brain. Thus every thought or experience we have or behavior we display for example involves a complex formation of connections between a multitude of neural pathways holding various bits of information relating to the thought, the experience or the behavior. Our brain is in fact a pattern-recognizing machine, always comparing information coming into it with information already held in its long-term memory stores in an attempt to determine whether the information is familiar or not.
Since the brain has the potential to form an unlimited number of new connections between its neurons it consequently has an infinite number of ways that it can code and store information relating to what it has learnt or what it has experienced. And despite the fact that from a macroscopic perspective human brains generally all look the same, each individual human being has their own unique pattern of neural connections making our neural pathways largely unique to each of us and making our brains work differently, with respect to learning, decision-making, leading etc. But not only that. We have mentioned that for decades scientists thought (and taught) that the brain was unchangeable. It was a commonly held belief that we were all born with certain predispositions, habits and characteristic traits based on the patterns and combinations of neural connections we inherited from our parents. Thus it was accepted as fact that humans were totally at the mercy of their genetic makeup with respect to who they were as a person. However with the discovery of neuroplasticity it is now realized that we, with respect to our character, personality and temperament for example are not as unchangeable as was once previously believed. We in fact do have the ability to change in this respect.
It is accepted that thoughts make up a large proportion of our brain processes. We think thousand of thoughts a day. But what exactly is a thought? Have you ever thought about that? On a more serious note scientists have discovered that our thoughts are ‘real things’ in that they are electrochemical impulses which travel in neural networks. They can be observed and measured. And it has also been discovered that our thoughts directly affect our bodies, our behavior and our very lives. Every thought we have results in a biochemical reaction in the brain. Chemicals are consequently released by the brain (which is in essence also an electro-chemical factory) and they in turn are transmitted to the body. These chemicals are in fact messengers of the thought, instructing the body to feel the same way as the thought i.e. the thoughts we have are matched by the same feelings in our bodies due to the chemical messengers produced by the thoughts. Now the amazing thing about this discovery is that it has been found that thinking happy or positive thoughts produces chemicals which make us feel happy while thinking negative thoughts produces chemicals which make us feel that way. For example thinking that you are angry with, or hateful of, someone produces chemicals which make you feel that way i.e. angry or hateful. A feedback loop is then set up whereby the body sends a similar message back to the brain causing the brain to think similar thoughts in turn. We now begin to think the way we are feeling!
Thus thoughts create feelings and feelings create thoughts. This cycle of thought and feeling then determines how we generally feel and behave (or what we say and do) – our state of being. Thus our thoughts control our lives through ultimately determining our state of being and controlling our actions and behavior. And this has profound implications for our health, wellness, performance and levels of achievement.
Yet another significant discovery is the fact that the brain constantly attempts to drive its processes and operations from conscious awareness into its subconscious realm. Compared to those of which we are consciously aware, brain processes which take place at the subconscious level occur at a significantly faster rate and much greater level of efficiency. This is as a result of the ‘hard wiring” and consequent automation of these processes in the subconscious realm. Conscious brain processes are in fact slow, wasteful of energy and prone to mistakes. When brain processes such as thinking, processing of information, attention etc are hard-wired in the subconscious mind and become automatic their speed of execution is several hundred times greater than their conscious counterparts. For example it has been found that our decision-making processes only involve our conscious attention about 5% of the time. Most of our decisions are made subconsciously and significantly more rapidly than those made consciously. It turns out that the brain can only hold a limited amount of information in its working memory (conscious mind) at any one time and that by driving information and processes into the subconscious realm the brain not only frees up conscious resources for more pressing current matters but also operates more efficiently and effectively this way. Thus any processes which are deemed important by the brain – such as actions or thoughts which are repeated over and over again and experiences which are associated with intense emotions for example – are hardwired in the subconscious mind and become automatic. And it is a physiological characteristic of nerve conduction in the brain’s neural networks which enables such hard wiring of processes in the subconscious mind to take place. This characteristic is that the more a message i.e. an electrochemical impulse, is sent down a neural network in the form of a thought or action for example the easier it is for that message or impulse to go down that neural network again – until the thought or action is driven into the subconscious and becomes automatic. Conscious brain processes are controlled, logical and sequential but significantly slower than automatic subconscious processes.
Now as you read this article you are developing certain perceptions about it viz. perceptions about the writer and the subject matter itself for example. You are mentally interpreting the information herein in a way that is unique to yourself or at least different to that of other readers of this very same article. And this perception that you have of this information is automatic and directly influenced by your hard-wired processes and beliefs that you may hold about the writer, the subject matter etc. This then is another of the astounding research findings made by brain scientists about how the human brain and mind works. Although it has always been suspected for millennia that human beings see and interpret the world according to how they are and not according to the way the world actually is, it is only recently that scientists have been able to confirm that this is truly the case and provide an explanation of how this actually occurs. Thus the fact that doctors see people in terms of the various illnesses which afflict them or that the masses of people accept destructive financial and economic systems as good for them, often defending such systems with their very lives or that those responsible for recruitment of staff see people over the age of forty as ‘over the hill’ and unable to provide value to their organizations for example, is now perfectly understandable given the way information is processed and stored in the brain. Of course providing a detailed explanation is beyond the scope of this article save to say that we interpret information and experiences based on our expectations of them rather than their actual content, which of course explains why we may often not be as right as what we think we are.
We have indicated previously that thoughts lead to feelings which in turn lead to behavior (what we say and do).Our hard-wired neural network-residing beliefs (thoughts which are taken to be the truth) are in fact the filters through which we perceive the world and thereby cause us to create our own reality. Believing is seeing i.e. we see what we believe which then in turn makes us believe what we see. The external world that we perceive is in fact just a reflection of what is going on inside of us.
Most of us are familiar with the statement ‘Use it or lose it’. However with respect to the brain a more appropriate description would be ‘Use it and grow and strengthen it’. We have mentioned that neuroplasticity is the ability of our brain to form new connections between its neurons and to discard old, unused one’s in response to our learning, our experiences and changes in our behavior. However it has also been discovered that the connections or synapses in those neural pathways which are used frequently (i.e. through which electrochemical impulses pass repeatedly) increase in quantity and quality, becoming stronger and longer lasting and often-times remaining permanently. In this way we develop ingrained, often difficult-to-change habits, thoughts, beliefs, skills and attitudes. However this does not mean that these unchangeable aspects about ourselves cannot be replaced by more desirable ones should we feel it necessary for some or other reason – such as enhancement of our health, wellness and performance for example. But there is a specific way to achieve this. Attempting to get rid of problems such as undesirable habits, thoughts, attitudes etc in the “usual” way by focusing on them only serves to make them worse or more ingrained. The answer is in fact to create new pathways by focusing on solutions rather than on the problems.
Neuroplasticity and neurogenesis have also been found to be the reason why the brain is able to build a ‘Brain Reserve” which prevents the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in later life. Alzheimer’s is a devastating dementing condition characterized by loss of memory, confusion, irritability, aggression and terminating in a general decline of the senses, loss of bodily function and ultimate death. Lifelong brain – stimulating experiences such as reading, getting an education, mentally-satisfying occupations, physical exercise and leisure activities have a major influence on how we age and specifically on whether we will develop Alzheimers or not. These stimulating experiences cause the brain to build up a reserve of neurons and synapses which protect against the development of the clinical effects of this distressing condition. And it has been found that these mentally-stimulating activities contribute to the building of a brain reserve and the prevention of Alzheimer’s in an independent and synergistic way and have a cumulative effect. So the more of these activities one engages in and the earlier one starts to do so the better – although it is never too late in life to start. In fact leading a mentally-stimulating life reduces the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease by a significant 35% – 40%. And the interesting thing is that even though the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease may develop in the brain, many individuals who lead such mentally stimulating lives remain symptom-free despite this occurrence. Of these brain-stimulating activities the exciting recent finding has been that physical exercise also causes both the production of new neurons or neurogenesis thereby contributing to brain reserve and enhancing our cognitive abilities, making us mentally sharper. Thus physical exercise is good for the development of both brain and body. However for optimal brain health and brain fitness the quadrad of good nutrition, proper stress management, physical exercise and challenging, variable mental exercise are non-negotiable.
These brain research findings, and perhaps the reason why they are referred to as revolutionary, have shown that the human brain and mind are capable of far more than was originally believed. With respect to intelligence for example, it is the brain’s neuroplastic ability which makes it possible to increase both our levels of intellectual and emotional intelligence. Intellectual intelligence encompasses our cognitive skills or abilities such as logic and reasoning, attention, reading, analyzing, decision-making and problem-solving while emotional intelligence encompasses a range of emotional and social skills which are vital for leadership, both of self and of others. These include competencies such as empathy, emotional self-control, trustworthiness, emotional self-awareness and adaptability amongst many others. Although both levels of intelligence are important for success in the workplace it has been found that for higher level jobs emotional intelligence is much more important. Unfortunately our education system is designed to focus largely on development of the intellectual mind, producing armies of learners with effective intellectual abilities but sadly sending them out into the workplace battlefield with ‘functional holes’ in their brains with respect to their emotional and social development. It is therefore not surprising to frequently witness highly-paid corporate or organizational leaders causing tragic destruction of their people’s lives and their entities on a regular basis across the world as a result of these ‘functional holes.’ A lack of, or weakness in empathy, emotional self-control (such as greed for example) and trustworthiness is directly responsible for the significant levels of white collar crime in many countries across the globe for example. And the short-coming of our education system with respect to development of learner’s social / emotional minds is evident in the widespread problems caused by the consequent lack of social and emotional intelligence evident in our schools. Unintelligent, anti-social behavior such as substance abuse and bullying and fighting are commonplace and such and other related incidences are reported almost daily in our media. Emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression are equally common. But brain science research has shown that training students in social and emotional skills development helps them in every way. For example students who have received such training displayed less anti-social behavior, liked and attended school more often and also performed much better academically than those who did not. Students learn better when they are more self-aware or able to manage their distressing emotions well.
So thanks to these revolutionary discoveries it is now understood why and how leadership skills can be acquired. Thus those not blessed with a congenital propensity for leadership (such a propensity being extremely rare in any case) but who have an interest, duty or obligation to lead already posses the tools and materials to satisfy this need. All they need do is use them in the correct way. Leaders then, thank goodness, can be made if they are not born. And leadership whose goal is to improve performance of others lead based on how the human mind functions from within the perspective of these revolutionary brain research findings.
We have said that these revolutionary discoveries also have profound implications for personal and organizational health and wellness. For example it is now a disturbing fact that 85 to 90% of patients seen in a doctor’s rooms, hospital clinic or emergency unit suffer from one or other stress-related emotional or physical disorder. Stress is an extremely destructive phenomenon which makes people ill and disrupts their lives – besides putting them at risk of ageing and dying prematurely. For example stress destroys neurons in certain areas of the brain resulting in a loss of memory and decrease in attention and concentration. Amongst the most vulnerable of these areas are the hippocampi, two areas in the midbrain consisting of densely-packed neurons whose extensions (dendrites and axons) spread to and connect with neurons in all parts of the brain. Neurogenesis is particularly active in each hippocampus whose functions include management of emotions and consolidation of new memories. Death and destruction of hippocampal neurons and their connections by chemicals released during the stress response shrinks these areas of the brain and wreaks havoc on stress-sufferers’ lives. A marked deterioration in cognitive ability, including the retention of new information and adapting to new situations are common experiences of such afflicted people. However, thanks to the brain’s neuroplastic and neurogenensis abilities these negative consequences of stress can be stopped and reversed once the cause of the stress is removed. Thus stress management techniques such as thought control, visualization, meditation, brainwave entrainment and EFT (emotional freedom techniques) which stimulate neuroplastcity and neurogenesis are all highly-effective in reversing the brain-damaging effects of stress. A life free of the effects of chronic stress is entirely possible with proper stress-management training and coaching.
Now on the subject of coaching we have said that the brain is a synapse-producing machine, making millions of connections in response to everything we think, say or do. In essence our brain changes physically in response to every single experience we have. Changing and creating new connections and neural pathways is a constant task of the brain and is something it does with the utmost of ease. However forming new connections and pathways is one thing. Maintaining them is another. If these connections and pathways are not hardwired in the brain by constant activity through them (such as thinking a thought recurrently, writing it down or acting on it or hearing a message over and over again for example) then the consequence is that the connections in the pathways holding that information become weaker and eventually disintegrate. Automatic thoughts, beliefs and habits are hardwired into our brains through constant repetition which results in the neural networks relating to them making widespread, strong and long-lasting connections across the brain.
However it has been found that what is also needed for neural networks to become hardwired are positive emotions or positive feedback which causes the production of chemicals called neural growth factors which facilitate such hardwiring. Now we may very well be eager to hardwire our brains voluntarily for various reasons, such as programming beliefs into our subconscious mind with respect to certain goals we would like to achieve for example. The problem though associated with creating new hardwiring in our brains is usually remembering to do what is necessary to achieve such hardwiring in the first place. If we would like to lose weight, manage our stress better, increase our levels of health and wellness or perform better then we need to engage in frequent thinking and behavior relating to these goals. But because we live in a world of information and work overload, prioritizing or allocating time for such “activities” is much easier said than done. And this is where the benefit of a coach or a coaching leadership style can assist people to bring about the necessary change they seek with respect to their goals. A health and wellness coach for example whose role involves reminding his clients about and focusing their attention on their goals and providing them with reassurance that someone is dedicated to their developing new thinking, behavior and habits will dramatically increase their chances of attaining optimal health and wellness. Similarly organizational leaders whose repertoire includes the coaching style or who lead in ways that help their people identify thinking and behavior which require hardwiring often have a significantly positive impact on their performance levels.
A knowledge of brain science will provide one of the major foundations of the new age to come. – GERALD EDELMAN
Dr. Faiez Kirsten is a medical doctor who qualified at the, now, Nelson Mandela School of Medicine (MB ChB from the University of Natal Medical School). He spent two years as a medical officer in the public health sector and more than twelve years as a private medical practitioner both locally in his own practice and also abroad. Dr. Kirsten also holds a post-graduate degree in business administration (MBA from the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business), having had his research thesis accepted with distinction. In addition he holds a certificate of completion in EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), a discipline of energy psychology which is used to heal both physical and emotional disorders and which is based on the principles of quantum physics.
Furthermore Faiez served both as a trustee for two years to Bioventures, South Africa’s first biotechnology Private Equity Fund and on the executive committee of an Independent Practitioner Association for several years. In addition he spent two years in the corporate environment managing a primary health care project and has also consulted to business organizations. He is also the founder and director of the Brain Science Academy, a learning institution which utilizes brain research findings to enhance personal and organizational health, wellness and performance. The Academy’s offerings are packaged in various modules, including the Neuroscience of Leadership, the Neuroscience of Stress Management, Organizational Culture assessment and development, Wellness Coaching, Brain Fitness and Training and the Neuroscience of Personal Goal Achievement amongst others.
Dr. Kirsten thus has extensive experience in the medical, health care and business environments and is also a member of the South African Medical Association and the Health Professions Council of South Africa.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Faiez_Kirsten
EFT helps adult learners overcome school and math anxiety
Author: admin
By Nancy Hopp, EFT-ADV
I am an educator who works with students that have dropped out of school and now wish to return to school and complete their education. They are studying to earn a State of Florida High School Diploma via the GED examination.
Most of my students have an unbearable fear of math. They tell me how they hate math, have never been good at math, can’t learn math, etc. EFT has become a blessing for many of them. It has reduced or eliminated their math phobias and they have begun to incorporate it into other aspects of their lives. Let me tell you about EFT’s latest success in the classroom.
Marcia (alias) was raised in an abusive family where her stepfather consistently told her that she was stupid. Her mother was verbally abusive as well. She struggled in her schoolwork and rarely received any positive assistance with homework. As she progressed through school, her resistance to and fear of math became her greatest obstacle.
Her fifth grader teacher, Mr. Tony embarrassed her in class by reinforcing the fact that she didn’t know her multiplication tables. At each turn in school, she felt defeated because she couldn’t learn math. She began to hate school and all that it represented. She got a job where she was successful and believed that this was her correct path. She went on to be a store manager for a drug store. She made very good money and was happy. However, there was regret that she had never earned her high school diploma.
When Marcia started taking GED classes, she took an entrance exam. Her reading score was good; however her math score was very low. At intake, we discussed her scores and she expressed a hatred for math and said that she had tried many times before to learn it … but was never successful.
I asked her if she would be willing to try something a little unusual in order to learn math. She said that she would try anything. I said that we would give her time to get used to the class and me before trying this new method.
I gave her a few weeks to get familiar with the classroom, the books and materials, and me. Then we began to use EFT. Over the next few days we used several setups and reminders. The following are some of the phrases that we used. Her level of intensity about math was 10 on a scale of 0 to 10 when we started.
Even though I hate math and it hates me, I love and accept myself; I choose to learn to make math fun.
Even though I never got any help at home, I choose to take control of my life and learn math.
Even though my step-father told me that I am stupid, I love and accept myself; math is becoming fun and I am learning to like it.
Even though Mr. Tony embarrassed me because I didn’t know my math facts, I choose to love myself as I am; I forgive him for hurting me; I understand that he couldn’t be perfect, just as I am not prefect; I am learning to like math and am successful in math.
Marcia’s intensity about math came down to 2 out of 10, and her ability to remember math facts and solve problems went from a 2 to 8 out of 10. She was finally learning math.
I have two quotes in my classroom that I repeat on a regular basis to my students and I believe that they helped her as well. “Your consistent thoughts become your reality.” and “Remember the KISS Principle … Keep it simple sister / son.”
Today, she came to me for help in math and said that she really likes math and it is fun to learn. In addition, her scores have improved to the point that she is ready to sit for her GED exam and she should pass it. EFT has made a real difference in her life.
She is not the only student that has been impacted by EFT. Most people with school issues suffered an insult by a teacher in the early years – usually fourth grade. Many have parents or other relatives that told them that they (the parent) couldn’t do math or another subject either, so it was expected for them to fail. Testing has also increased the ranks of school haters. EFT can end years of suffering and bring back a sound educational setting for many.
I have a final note to other teachers offering EFT to their students. School issues are open areas for teachers to use EFT while other more personal issues need the privacy of a therapist or counselor’s office. Do not go where the school board has reservations. Please, also inform your principal that you will be using EFT in the classroom.
Nancy Hopp, EFT CC / Adv.
taken from www.emofree.com
Pet grief, school (math) performance & cursing/anger.
Author: admin
Dear Gary:
1. I have a wonderful example of EFT with my granddaughter, Miah, who is 9-3/4 years. She will be ten in February. Miah’s father, my son, bought Miah a thoroughbred, Golden Retriever pup, 7 weeks old. On Tuesday night, just before Thanksgiving, they went together to pick up the dog. Miah has had between eight and ten dogs in her life time.
Each dog, the parents let something happen to it, either the dog “ran” away or they had to give them up for some reason. Miah lives with her Mom and at her house, she cannot have a dog of her own. So my son gives her a dog knowing he actually had no real place to keep it.
On Thanksgiving morning, my son called and said the dog was ill and in the hospital with some disease that pups get. Miah was traumatized, crying and feeling very sad. Her upset was very upsetting to me as well. I hugged her up and told her I was sorry and watched her cry. Then I thought about, EFT. I asked her how she was feeling, she said “just very afraid, my dog might die.” I asked her how afraid did she think she was feeling on a scale from one to ten. After explaining that, she said a ten. I explained EFT to her and asked if she wanted to do it to lessen her upset and fear about her dog dying. Her answer was yes. So the tapping began.
We tapped for: “Even though I have fear about my dog dying, I deeply and completely accept myself.” She started at a ten. The first round bought her to a five, second round to a two and at this point her tears had stopped and she said, “Grandma, I am not so afraid anymore.” I asked her if she wanted to be afraid at all. She said no, so we tapped another round. This time she got to a zero. She said, “Grandma, I am not afraid anymore.”
Although I do this with client, I still had surprise that again, EFT had worked so thoroughly with Miah. This is such an incredible tool.
2. I am also working with an eleven year old who cuts my grass. He was having problems doing math and had received an F in that class. He said he was angry because the kids called him names and made fun of him. He thought he knew how to do it, he said he felt afraid and scared. His school is down the street from me.
He started out at a ten with “Even though I feel angry about math, I deeply and completely accept myself.” He went to a three and then to a zero. I added some BSFF to this case and he choose a “secret word” Fearless. So we decided that every time he rounded the corner and saw my house, he would start saying his “cue” word, fearless. When he saw the school, he would say fearless and when he saw the kids at school who teased him. Definitely when it was time to do math and of course when he went to the board in front of the class.
His mother called me and told me that whatever I had “done to him” keep doing it because his entire attitude had changed and he was coming home doing his homework all by himself. When he came over, he also told me he was doing much better.
Yesterday, his mother came by my house and told me she had just left his teacher. The teacher told her, her son was doing so much better in class. She was wondering what had happened to him. His attitude was different and everyday, when it is time to do math, he starts doing something with his fingers. He told her he was working with “this lady” and this was helping him do better in math. The teacher then told him he needed to see his mother. It was good news.
His mother says she will bring his progress report by for me to see. After I see it on paper that he is improving, I am going to see his teacher and then the Principal at the school to start a small group of boys (4 to 6 boys) and see if this can happen on a larger scale. There is no telling where this will lead.
Thanks again. His mother even thanks you.
3. The third child, I worked EFT with was an unknown boy in the park who was cursing like a sailor to all the other children. I thought he had Tourettes Syndrome. Every sentence he spoke had a curse word in it although they were only playing. I waited until he was ready to leave when I call him and asked his name. He told me and I told him I noticed something very interesting about him. He asked what. I told him that I noticed that he was really a “good” curser. That he was the best curser I had ever heard before for a child his age. I told him that although I was impressed, I was also a little concerned because “usually” cursing meant that someone was a little angry.
I asked if he was angry. He told me YEA, he was angry with everybody. He said all the people. When I questioned him further about this, he said that people “hit” him. Now I knew I only had a few minutes with him and I did not question who hit him. I asked if he liked the way he felt when he felt so angry. He said no, not all the time. I asked if he would like to learn how to only be angry when he wanted to and not all the time. He said yes.
So to make this quick, I told him to tell me just how angry he was on a scale from one to ten. He said he was a ten (in a loud voice). I told him what we were going to do and asked again if he would like to do this. He said yes. So we began to tap for: “Even though I feel real angry, I deeply and completely accept myself.” He went from a ten to a five and to a two. I asked him if he would to not be angry at all and he told me he wanted to be angry “a little.” He then looked up and saw his bus coming. He told me he had to leave and catch his bus. From this angry kid that I didn’t even know, I got some smiles at what a great curser he was. He did talk to me briefly about having a “bunch” of names and he didn’t really know his last name or he never really said it. He said his father had a lot of names too. A parent in the park told me that she was afraid to say anything to the kids (he was eleven) and thought that I was out of my mind for doing so.
I know that had I had the time to work with this child, more couldn’t have happened. I generally never think I want to work with children, however, EFT is fun and I really enjoy teaching them how to do it.
Thanks again and again.
Linda Compton
taken from www.emofree.com
School counselor uses EFT to improve math abilities
Author: admin
School Counselor uses EFT to improve Math abilities
Dear Gary,
I am an elementary school guidance counselor on a PK-6th grade campus. In Texas our public schools must give state standardized tests, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), in core subjects. Students must pass these tests in order to advance to the next grade. As you can imagine, as test time approaches, both teachers and students are highly stressed.
Last spring the 6th grade math tutor was expressing concern about the students she was tutoring. With the TAKS test only two weeks away, the students just didn’t seem to be making the progress they needed to make. I decided to try EFT! I invited all 16 of the 6th grade students in her tutoring groups to participate in an after school “TAKS Stress Reliever and Math Phobia Busting Academy,” and sent home permission letters to their parents.
Of the 16 students, 10 chose to participate. This group committed to meet after school for an hour each day. Due to Easter Break, we only had 8 meetings. In our sessions, we used EFT for issues relating to math and test-taking phobias, math difficulties and stress and anxiety. I gave the students the freedom to be honest with me, and allowed them to tell me what they thought their problems with math were without censorship. Examples of some of the current and past problems included…
I don’t like my math teacher!
My teacher scared me!
I can’t multiply!
I get confused!
I can’t remember how to do it!
The teacher gets mad if I ask a question!
Math is too hard!
One of the girls said her problems with math began when she went to kindergarten where she was confronted with numbers for the first time. The other children seemed to know what numbers were and how to use them, and she didn’t. She felt embarrassed, ashamed and dumb … a feeling that persisted with her all the way through school.
After identifying each student’s particular current and past problems surrounding math, we identified the 0-10 intensity for each concern, and selected a student to tap on. The rest of the students were to Borrow Benefits, tapping on themselves along with the student “on stage.” The students were amazed that their own intensity levels kept falling even though they weren’t the student being tapped on!
After a couple of rounds of the Basic Recipe, we also incorporated Dr. Carrington’s Choice Method, for example:
Even though math is hard, I choose to let it be easy,
Even though taking the TAKS test scares me, I choose to feel calm and relaxed,
Even though I’m just too lazy sometimes to use my math strategies, I choose to use my math strategies.
The students were enthusiastic participants and loved being the volunteer who was tapped on and being the volunteer who sometimes did the tapping on someone else. Students were given “tapping” homework each night.
The day before the TAKS test, at our “graduation” meeting and pizza party, I had each student complete a TAKS Pre-Test evaluating the effectiveness of our TAKS Academy. I had the students rate the effectiveness of each activity we did, and asked, “Do you feel the TAKS Stress Reliever and Math Phobia Buster Academy helped you? If so, how?”
I was delighted that all 10 of the students who participated (8 girls and 2 boys) answered that they felt, “Yes, it had helped.” They answered the “How?” part of the question in basically one, two and/or three of the following ways:
I’m not afraid to take the test now,
I’m more confident, and/or
math is easier now.
I was excited about those results, but not surprised. I had seen the students grow in confidence for the last 8 school days. What I really wanted to know was whether these results would hold up as they actually took the TAKS test! In order to find out, I gave the students a TAKS Post-Test at the end of the testing day.
I asked three questions:
After taking the Math TAKS Test…
1. Do you feel the TAKS Stress Reliever and Math Phobia Buster Academy helped you with the TAKS test? If so, in what way?” Again, a resounding “Yes,” with the following reasons given: “The test wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be…” I felt calm and relaxed…I tapped when I got stuck…I used my strategies…”
2. “If it helped, which exercises do you think helped the most? Check all that apply.”
EFT was a big winner here, with all students checking that tapping on current and previous problems with math, resistances to using their strategies and fear were big helps.
3. “Do you think you will use the strategies and tools you learned in the Academy in the future? Explain.”
As a counselor, I was particularly interested in the answers to this last question. Again, all 10 students said they would be using what they learned in the future.
“Lisa” mentioned that using EFT had already helped her in her softball games.
“Carrie,” who has a particularly challenging home life, said she now had something that could help her deal with her family problems.
“Cindy,” who could barely participate in her classes because of shyness before we started meeting, blossomed. She not only was now participating in her math class, she chose “Goddess” as her nickname in our group! The other Academy students were delighted, and said, “She sure isn’t shy anymore!” “Cindy” wrote that now she could be successful and planned to use EFT all the way through college.
“Maria” reported that she now felt much more self-confident, and wanted to continue using EFT for other things. Several of the students reported that they would continue to use EFT for stress and anxiety, and “Dillon” noted that EFT was helping him with his anger problem (not even something we had been working on!).
Final results? Nine of the ten students who participated in the TAKS Academy passed the TAKS, and the tenth made significant improvement, although not enough to pass the test. Of the 6 students who chose not to participate, 4 passed and 2 failed. I think that’s significant. Beyond that, though, the students who learned and used EFT developed a new self-confidence and self-empowerment. All of them said that they would continue to use EFT in the future.
After 10 years of being a school counselor and feeling like I was putting band-aids on major wounds, I finally, with EFT, have something to offer these children that will not only help in the “here and now,” but will be something they can use for the rest of their lives to create the lives they deserve. These 10 students learned that they have the power to shape their own lives.
I am also using EFT with faculty and staff members, and even some parents. This year I will enlarge the TAKS Academy and offer it to students at all TAKS grade levels. One of my goals is to expand the use of EFT in the schools throughout the district and the state.
With love and gratitude,
Syandra Ingram
Counselor, EFT-ADV
Article taken from www.emofree.com
Teacher Displays Many EFT Benefits Achieved by His Students
Author: TappyBear
Over the past 5 years of being an Advanced EFT practitioner and a guitar instructor I’ve seen so many emotional and physical issues relieved with EFT it just amazes me. Here are some of them:
1) Students who complain of finger pain get instant relief by simply tapping the fingers of the opposite hand that hurts. Typically the left hand fingers hurt the most from pressing on the strings. The youngsters I teach they are amazed when there pain is gone in two to three rounds of simple finger tapping.
2) A 15 year old student who continually beat herself up for not playing the right notes got relief in one session. This turned out to be a global OCD issue which affected her in all areas of her academic life. She felt the need to do everything perfectly the first time. The OCD started when her second grade teacher scolded her for not drawing a good picture and promptly crumbled up her picture and threw it in the garbage. From then on she would obsess over doing everything perfectly related to schoolwork and learning. She feared being reprimanded for not doing perfect work. All this was gone with 30 minutes of EFT.
3) A 50 year old student complained of hearing loss and tinnitus in his left ear. This was the result of a surgery for an abscess in his ear 10 years prior that left him with 50% hearing loss and tinnitus. We tapped for less than 10 minutes, focusing on just the tinnitus in his left ear. His hearing returned and his tinnitus reduced to almost zero! He said that he could hear in “3D” for the first time in years. He was simply shocked and astounded.
4) Students often come in to their first lesson with anxiety about learning music, new teacher, performance anxiety etc. Since it is their first lesson I use mental or remote EFT, just imagining the meridian points lighting up red. Usually in 5 minutes all of them are relaxed and ready to learn. I can do this while I’m teaching.
5) On many occasions I’ve had students who were squinting to see the notes. I ask them if they are having trouble seeing. If they say yes I ask if they would like to try a simple technique that may help them to see better. This has never failed me. Every student that has had blurry vision had it clear up with about 5 minutes of EFT. All of them were younger students from 5-15 years old.
6) Students with physical complaints of headaches, neck pain, back pain, leg pain, wrist pain (carpal tunnel), and foot pain all get relief with less than 10 minutes of EFT. There are also many one minute wonders.
7) Students with allergies, runny noses, coughing, itchy eyes, get a good degree of relief within minutes of applying EFT.
Students who come in with anger or depression issues from home or school get quick relief and can then focus easily on their lesson.
9) Students with ADD/ADHD often need more EFT than I can give them in a 30 minute lesson. Ten minutes of EFT seems to calm them down enough to be able to focus for the duration of the lesson. I often use remote EFT as the physical tapping takes too much time away from the lesson.
10) This one is probably the greatest asset to any teacher who struggles with a rowdy group of students and it is EFT at its best. Can you imagine a classroom full of rowdy kids and all of them with EFT points lighting up at the same time? I’ve tried it and actually have seen them calm down within about 5 minutes. It is possible to do this but requires very good visualization. If you are a teacher familiar with remote or distance EFT try it sometime. If you can’t visualize the whole classroom of kids just try a few of the loudest troublemakers first. You may be very surprised by what is possible just using your imagination and EFT!
As you can see EFT has been a Godsend for my students and myself. EFT has allowed me to teach music much more effectively. The results I see with so many different types of issues are close to 100%. In my humble opinion EFT should be a standard therapy every teacher should know.
Many Blessings
Steve Levine
SCL555@netzero.com
http://www.freewebs.com/stevelevine/
