Energy Psychology as a Method for Creating Personal Change
Energy psychology (EP) is a relatively new method for creating change in your life. If you want to improve motivation, relieve depression, alleviate anxiety, or remove blocks to your potential, EP can help. EP is typically faster and more effective in creating change than traditional methods such as cognitive, behavioral or talk therapies. There are a number of different energy psychology methods, which use one or more of the following: pressure or tapping on acupressure points, tapping on alternative sides of the body (bilateral stimulation and EMDR), charkas, hands on healing, visualization, and muscle testing (or kinesiology).
How We Develop Blocking Beliefs
These unique techniques eliminate blocks that negatively influence behavior, thoughts, and feelings. Blocks are formed from one or more events that have occurred in the past. When we experience negative events (such as watching our parents fight or being told that we are no good), we don’t like what we feel or think, and we tense up to block out or avoid our painful emotions. Avoidance of feelings actually insures that the event will get stuck in the body because the incident is never fully processed. What we resist persists. Energy psychology changes the chemistry of the brain to inhibit the alarm response and release the stuck issue. It helps relieve depression, anxiety and phobias, and it helps free individuals from blocks that impact their ability to move forward in life.
What Energy Psychology is and How it Works
The particular method that I use is called CLEAR®, which integrates a number of energy psychology methods. It uses acupressure point therapy, bilateral stimulation, somatic experiencing, clearing of blocking beliefs and muscle testing. I will explain each of these, except for muscle testing which is not used in the simplified version described below. For more on muscle testing, you can visit: http://www.changeworksinc.com/muscletest.html
There are fourteen acupressure points on the body that correspond to various emotions (see the table below). With CLEAR, light pressure is applied to each point successively while putting one’s attention on the topic that is being addressed (some energy psychology methods such as EFT and TFT tap on the acupressure point—I find light pressure is sufficient).
Bilateral stimulation originated in Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) and was systematically developed by Francine Shapiro and called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). It involves tapping alternately on right and left sides of the body while thinking of the issue being worked on. The theory here is that the trauma is “frozen in time” and is energetically stuck on one side of the body or the other and alternatively tapping on the body while thinking of the issue frees it up.
Somatic Experiencing, developed by Peter Levine, is a practice I use with both the acupressure point technique and bilateral stimulation. Levine developed Somatic Experiencing after watching animals in the wild experience trauma. He noticed that animals, when they can’t fight or flee, go into immobility (which, he speculates, dulls the senses so they don’t feel the pain if they are eaten). And if something scares away the animal that put them into this state, and they are not badly injured, they will lie there, presumably processing the trauma as the body twitches and eyes roll. They then get up and walk away.
Levine surmised that because humans think, we avoid this processing. We don’t want to experience the feelings and sensations that usually accompany a trauma because they are unpleasant and they don’t feel good. We think, “I don’t want to feel that; I don’t like that feeling. It is unpleasant and I won’t be happy if I feel that. I want to get away from that feeling.” Our resistance to feeling is what gets trauma stuck because what we resist feeling cannot be fully processed by the body. Using somatic experiencing, we are present in the body and allow feelings and sensations to surface to our awareness so that the trauma can be reprocessed and thus be freed.
Beliefs define who we are—what we think, how we behave and the actions we take. Blocking Beliefs are thoughts that prevent us from being who we want to be. We make decisions about ourselves and life when bad things happen to us as children. For example, if I experienced parents who were not present much in my life, I might decide that, “I don’t deserve attention, I am not good enough to get attention,” and “they don’t love me or they would pay more attention to me.” And perhaps I believe that “something is wrong with me” to explain why they didn’t spend time with me. If I was hurt emotionally or physically, I may decide, “I am not safe,” or “I can’t trust people.” These beliefs, like the traumas, also get stuck in the system. Untreated, they will impact much of what occurs in life. For how can I have a healthy relationship if I feel unworthy or unsafe around people? But CLEAR frees these beliefs so we can actualize our dreams.
If you want to try clearing some of your own limiting beliefs, you can follow the simplified process below. (NOTE to editor: the article could be stopped here and readers could be referred to the author’s website to do the exercise) In this version, muscle testing is not used. Because muscle testing isolates the particular points necessary to clear a particular issue, the simplified process below will clear beliefs, use bilateral stimulation and all of the acupressure points. Yes, the process might look a bit strange, but try it, it really works!
The Steps for using CLEAR®
- Write down blocking beliefs you think may be impacting the issue. For example, the beliefs might be something like: “I am not safe in this world. If I am around people, I won’t be safe. Others will leave me.” Clear those beliefs by rubbing the sore spots (see the table below) while saying, “Even though (say blocking beliefs here), I love and accept myself, and I am present in my body.”
- Think about the situation (i.e., your fear of not being safe, or thoughts about others leaving you, or any fear you can’t get out of your head). Bring up any feelings you have and check-in regarding how your body feels (e.g., are you tense anywhere, do you have butterflies, feel nauseated, have pain anywhere?). Just allow the sensations in your body (this is somatic experiencing). Cross your arms over one another and while continuing to think about the feelings or situation alternately tap on your biceps with your hands—right, left, right left, continuing until you feel done. If crossing one arm over the other doesn’t feel comfortable or is too constricting, rest your left hand on your left leg and your right hand on your right leg and alternately tap on your thighs, tap right, tap left, tap right, tap left, until you feel done.
- Go to the inner eye point (see “acupressure points” table below) and put your attention again on the issue. See what comes up, and put your attention on whatever thoughts, feelings or physical sensations arise. Stay with the thought, feeling, or sensation until you feel a shift. When you feel done with this point, go on to the next point.
- Repeat step 3 for the under eye, outer eye, nose, chin, collar bone, rib, and underarm points.
- If you still feel emotional or blocked about the issue after going through the points in step 4, do step 3 on each of the following: the thumb, index finger, middle finger, little finger, side of hand and gamut point as described in the table below.
- As a final step, go back to the inner eye point, and do the “healed version” of the issue. Put your attention on what it feels like to be relaxed and calm while thinking of the original problem. It may help to envision interacting with others, and feeling calm while in the presence of something that in the past might have caused stress.
ACUPRESSURE POINTS
Point Location Emotion
|
Inner eye |
Place the thumb and ring finger in the pit of the eye and the middle finger in the middle of the forehead at the location of the third eye. Then lightly squeeze the bridge of the nose. |
Trauma, frustration, fear, impatience, restlessness |
|
Under eye |
Directly under the iris on the edge of the bone, find the little “divot” or dent there. |
Anxiety,
fear, deprivation, disgust, bitterness, disappointment |
|
Outer eye |
Place the finger on the bone on the outside corner of the eye, so that the finger is almost pokes the eyeball. |
Rage, loss of power |
|
Under nose |
Place two fingers just under the nose above the upper lip. |
Powerlessness, embarrassment |
|
Chin |
Place two fingers under the lip on the chin. |
Shame, defectiveness, undeserving |
|
Collarbone |
Place index fingers directly below each point of the collar bone in the indentation on each side. |
Indecision, anxiety, cowardice, wanting to punish
|
|
Rib |
In a straight line about 2 ½ inches down from the nipple, under the breast on the rib. |
Anger, unhappiness, resentment |
|
Underarm |
About 4 inches below the armpit, or where the bra strap would be for women. |
Future anxiety, worry |
|
Thumb |
Inner side of the thumb (when the hand is palm down and the thumb is pointing toward the body). The finger pressing on the point presses against the side and bottom of the thumbnail. |
Grief, intolerance, scorn, prejudice |
|
Index finger |
Inner side of the index finger (when the hand is palm down and the thumb is pointed toward the body). The finger pressing on the point presses on the side and bottom of the index finger nail. |
Forgiveness, guilt, unable to let negatives go |
|
Middle finger |
Inner side of the finger on the side and bottom of the nail. |
Jealousy, regret, sexual tension, stubbornness |
|
Baby/little finger |
Inner side of the finger on the side and bottom of the nail. |
Anger (specific) |
|
Side of hand |
Make a fist and find the crease along the side (you need not have your hand in a fist when you press on the point). |
Vulnerable, sadness, sorrow |
|
Gamut point |
On the hand in between the little finger tendon and the ring finger tendon, place three fingers of the other hand. |
Depression, sadness, hopeless, muddled, grief, despair, loneliness, unhappiness |
|
Sore spots |
On the chest above the pectoral muscles and below the collarbone directly above the breasts. |
Used to clear blocking beliefs |
About the Author
Julie Roberts, PhD, developed CLEAR. She teaches CLEAR and leadership courses. She sees private clients, and has written a book describing CLEAR (Change Works with CLEAR, Clearing Limits Energetically with Acupressure Release). Julie is certified by the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology. To contact Dr. Roberts or purchase her book: www.changeworksinc.com