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The Sound of the Struggle
Sometimes a new strategy appears in the tapping field that makes us sit up and take notice because it is not just a run-of-the-mill variation of tapping, however pleasant some of these may be, but something truly new and provocative. Jade Barbee, one of the editors of the important e-newsletter www.eftFree.net, has graciously permitted me to reprint (below) a description of a new tapping technique he has been using with a great deal of success. I do this with excitement because I think the new use of tapping that he suggests may be very valuable for you. I am copying Jade's article in its entirety and linking directly to his accompanying audio (see below). In addition, I have added some comments of my own following Jade's article in which I give my observations about the method and suggestions with regard to some other possible additional uses of it. To make this dialogue even more complete, Jade has added his comments following my comments. This makes for a real exchange of ideas which hopefully can be of much benefit to you and give you other ideas on how to apply this new approach.
Jade's Article The Sound of the StrugglePurpose: The Sound of the Struggle is a simple tapping exercise for letting go of resistance to feeling our feelings. It can quiet the mind and allow us to naturally feel better. Do it whenever you are feeling bad to help you reconnect with feeling better. 1. Find a Quiet, Private Place: Go where you can express yourself as uninhibitedly as possible. Whether it is your attic, car or a restroom, find a place where you probably won't be disturbed for at least 5 minutes. 2. How to Focus: Bring your attention to the feeling of struggle, stuckness or "trying" that you are experiencing. No need to focus on any specific problem right now. Let any need for that go. If you get distracted along the way, bring your attention back to the general feeling of struggle, relax your jaw, your eyes, and make the sound... 3. Tone and Tap: Make the sound "Ohhhhhhhh" or "Uuuuughhhh," "Mmmmmm," or any other variation that expresses your struggle now, while tapping on each point in the 9-Point EFT Sequence, beginning with the Eyebrow Point. Extend each tone as long as possible, for a full exhale of the breath. Repeat as necessary.
Comments by Dr. Pat Carrington I have always been interested in new uses of Meridian tapping. There are ways to use this amazing method that not only rid us of our distress -- this is vital of course -- but can also enhance our lives, help us to reach positive goals, and expand our inner horizons. Using tapping for this purpose is the obvious next step that the tapping techniques will take. In fact, I am presently working to develop a new Meridian tapping approach (it's almost completed now -- and I am excited about this) that will expand the potential of tapping in a way that has not been done before in this area - you will hear about it soon. The "Sound of the Struggle" Jade Barbee refers to his method as, "a simple tapping exercise for letting go of resistance to feeling our feelings". This is certainly an accurate description of one of the things it can do, and I would encourage you to use it first in the simple and direct form that Jade presents. However, I hope you will realize that you need not stop there� While I was experimenting with this method, I found that it does some surprising things which, while Jade is undoubtedly aware of some of them, he does not cover in this article. I would like to tell you about my personal experiences using the technique, and to suggest some variations of it that you can use to expand its potential. But first, let me tell you a story. When I was a teenager, I read what was referred to by its author as a "romance of the tropical forest". This was a fantasy in the form of a novel that did not have a very compelling plot I must admit, but I have never forgotten this book. It was, Green Mansions, by W. H. Hudson, and it's main character was a beautiful treetop-dweller by the name of Reba who fascinated me. The book described Reba as having grown up in the wild unattended by parents (apparently she had been somehow deposited there in infancy) and she had developed a language of her own. Reba communicated with beasts of the forest in a strange way that was not our usual human way of talking but was amazingly expressive. She "spoke" only in strange, high, and beautiful sounds, not at all in words. Her emotions were expressed in this remarkably compelling "language" of sound. When I read the book, I could literally hear the beautiful sounds that were being produced by this forest creature -- very high and long notes, ones of incredible beauty. I can remember almost nothing else about the novel except this extraordinary language and how magically expressive it was, but that specific memory has always remained. I often think that we humans are really "Rebas", who have forgotten our own amazingly beautiful and expressive voice and language. We try to communicate in words and do the best we can in this medium, but human language is at best rather clumsy. Animals and babies do not use words, they communicate in sounds, and anyone who has ever listened to their messages knows that these can come across extremely clearly despite the lack of what we refer to as "language". Animals and babies speak entirely through sounds, and they are in a sense much closer to themselves and their own true feelings than we are after we have entered the abstract world of words. In spite of the fact that I come from a family of writers, and love words and have since I was a child, the beautiful sounds produced by the "Reba's" of this world seem to me, regrettably, to be a lost art. That is why I was so impressed with Jade's suggestion that we combine the mysterious primitive language of our emotions, with tapping. I will now take the liberty of making some more detailed comments on what he wrote. The first and most important thing that I want to say is that Jade's method can be used both in the way that he describes, to switch our own inner struggle to a sense of calm and ease, and it can also be put to use in a different way. What we are doing when we tap on each spot while making a sound that expresses more than words can say, is to communicate to our own selves what we are really feeling inside. This expression need not be confined to the long drawn out sounds of toning -- it can even take the form of quick growls or snarl's -- after all there is a primitive brain within us and a primitive heritage -- or it may take the form of howls or semi-sobs. Whatever, this inner language is incredibly expressive, and as we use it we can talk to ourselves in an entirely new fashion. A Few Cautions I would suggest that you may want to reduce the volume of the sounds you are making if you find yourself becoming more anxious rather than less so when you do this exercise. Your own voice expressing strong and hitherto hidden emotions can sound extraordinarily loud in your ears and at times might be alarming to you because the sounds are expressing such strong negative emotion. Please be sensitive to your own needs and if you need to make this sound less loudly at a certain point, don't hesitate to tone it down. My other caution has to do with the inadvertent use of what are known as "bija mantras"." These powerful sounds are known in the ancient Sanskrit texts of India to have special effects upon the human psyche. With all due respect to the many yoga centers throughout the world which use the syllable "Om" for chanting purposes, it is known in the traditions of ancient India that the sound "Om" is not to be used lightly because it is it is the most powerful of the bija mantras. While it may be safe for most people, occasionally it has been known to cause distress and even mental symptoms in some people. I advise the general public not to use that particular sound except under the guidance of a sound-sensitive practitioner, or else to avoid it entirely and use your own simple self-generated sounds instead. I write about the wisdom of these ancient traditions with respect to the use of certain sounds in my book The Book of Meditation. The remainder of Jade's advice can be easily put to use. You may however want to listen to his audio recording to experience this method first-hand and there is a link to it below. There is a modest cost involved in purchasing it, but I consider it well worth owning the audio if you seriously want to try the method. I personally was able to understand much more fully how the system worked by listening to the audio, but Jade has given you all the basic instructions (see above) so you can begin trying it immediately. To help us out, although Jade regularly sells this audio on his website for $14.95, he is graciously making it available to all of you who read this newsletter - for the next five days only (until midnight of March 19th) - for only $9.97, a one-third reduction. If you listen to it you will notice that he extends each sound for a long time on each tapping point. This is a beautiful idea and has a great deal of power, but I suggest that the sounds do not need to be prolonged if you don't feel that that's where you want to go at the moment. I have been experimenting with this method by using it both ways - with Jade's method of prolonged tones at each tapping point, and also by using sharp growling or snapping sounds that are relatively rapid. I suggest that you find your own way of doing what feels truly best to you at a certain time. Do what you feel drawn to do on a particular day, and just let it come out as it will.
To purchase Jade's audio at special price of $9.97 go to http://www.emotionalengine.com/special-sound-of-the-struggle
Still Another Way of Using Tapping with Tones While I was experimenting with this method I discovered several things. One was that when I reduced some of the negative charge on an issue and felt calmer, quite spontaneously, and without any conscious effort on my part, the sounds I was uttering would often become more harmonious and frequently seemed to approximate recognizable notes on the musical scale -- although sometimes these were not of the Western scale, apparently the musical notes of some other cultures crept in there! In general, the sounds became more pleasant and uplifting as I went along. If you find that the sounds are leading you to a more positive and harmonious place rather than just expressing the negative, then this is to be respected and you should simply follow your needs. In addition to the recovery that you may experience as you move through the negative and come out at the other end of whatever it was you were feeling -- there is another way of using these kinds of sounds on each tapping point, and that is at those times when you may not be upset to begin with at all but feel particularly good. If you do this, you will be starting from a place of inner strength and in effect increasing your own good mood. Here is how that worked for me: What I have noticed when I used this method and simply allowed whatever sounds I wanted to emerge - when I was ALREADY in a positive state of mind and did not need to reduce a negative state � was that the most incredibly beautiful sounds have emerged. I cannot imagine where they have come from because I have no training as a singer and have often been told that I sing off key. Despite this, however, some of the beauty that comes through in my own voice in these spontaneously created very high tones (somewhat like Reba in Green Mansions?) is incredible, and brings me a sense of exaltation. The sounds that come from this positive place within seem to be coming from our higher self be a true gift. If this suggestion of using the spontaneous tapping sounds to increase an already positive state of mind draws you and you want to try this, it can be very powerful. Using it, you are tapping-in the positive, something I have always believed to be as important as tapping-out the negative. It is the basis, after all, for my well-known Choices Method and the other variations of tapping that I have introduced. In closing, I want to thank Jade for bringing expressive toning into the tapping family so that it can be blended with the power of the acupressure points - a remarkable combination... � --- P.C. Jade's Response to Pat's Comments I want to thank Pat for sharing her thoughts and experience of Sound of the Struggle. I think its great how she's connected with it and taken it for a ride in her own way. I trust my brief description will help people find their own way to it, and that their personal experiences will allow them to decide what is so unique and surprising about it - just as her's has. I do consider the practice to be helpful for releasing resistance to "feeling our feelings", but what this means to me is that ultimately it helps us be absolutely present to ourselves, so that we are not resisting or judging or hiding from our present negative experience in any way. This is why I think a nice long tone or sound helps us fully "be with" the energy of our struggle. I believe being with our struggle while tapping helps our predominant present energy disturbance naturally "evolve away," so that we can more fully connect and vibrate with the truth of who we really are - which is love, wellbeing and filled with naturally positive focus and feeling. I see this as our emotional guidance system in action. When we are feeling bad (and stuck thinking thoughts that feel bad), we are in some ways quite "out of sync" with who we are. When we are feeling better (and thinking better-feeling thoughts as well), we are moving more into alignment with who we really are. The reason I encourage people to tone for a full exhale of the breath is partly so that we suspend (for as long as possible) any thinking that currently has us resisting our struggle or getting stuck in the meaning we have attached to our struggle. Toning is, in fact, similar to meditation in this way, although this technique brings in tapping, which, as you are well aware, is a proactive and intentional engagement with the body's subtle energy system. I trust each person will come to her or his own conclusions about the exercise - just as Pat has, and there are certainly many variations to try, as she has so aptly offered. What I love most about Sound of the Struggle is its ability to help us get out of our "fixing" mind and into our body's self-expression. In my experience, many people who have had a hard time tapping on their own find this practice quite empowering. In other words, when doing EFT consistently has been it's own struggle, toning while tapping can bring similarly surprising "a-ha" moments and relief. I personally find extraordinary benefit to doing this when I am feeling off or overwhelmed in any way. It gets me out of my head and not only strengthens my ability to know that I can get myself feeling better, but also my faith that "feeling better" is something to value and strive for, regardless of what is going on in my environment. Indeed, sometimes words just cannot express how we are feeling. Jade Barbee, EmotionalEngine.com To purchase Jade's audio at special price of $9.97 go to http://www.emotionalengine.com/special-sound-of-the-struggle _____________________________________________________________________ To learn about "The EFT Choices Manual", Dr. Carrington's definitive book about the EFT choices method, or go to: To learn about Dr. Carrington's classic book on the modern forms of meditation, or go to:
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03/14/12 |
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