By Christine Wheeler, MA

People who are familiar with Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) are equally familiar with the phrase "try it on everything." 

EFT is a modern form of acupuncture without needles. Stimulating acupuncture points with the fingertips instead of using needles has been shown to balance the body's subtle energy system. 

When your energy system is balanced, many symptoms of physical and emotional illness and disease undeniably dissipate, usually quickly and often permanently.

EFT is one of the few healing protocols that can be learned and used by health professionals as well as the layperson. It was developed to put a safe, gentle and effective healing tool into the hands of as many people as possible. The basics of EFT can be learned by anyone and can be self-applied (usually in minutes). While EFT does not claim to be a "cure-all," this simple procedure has proven to be effective 80 percent of the time.

Three examples

Following are three stories from the EFT Web site that illustrate the vast range of EFT applications. As EFT users continue to share their successes applying EFT to diverse problems, we continue to say "try it on everything." The article may be read in its entirety here.

Balance Problem

Rick Saruna shared a story of working with a 23-year-old woman who had a severe balance problem brought on by an inner ear infection. She was on steroids and "rocking like a boat in the wind and having great difficulty trying to stabilize herself." They performed the EFT protocol several times but her symptoms didn't seem to budge. Rick asked whether she thought there was anything emotional that could be contributing to her problem. 

His client indicated that her symptoms appeared just after she visited her father with whom she had some serious issues. They continued to do EFT for about 45 minutes but she continued to feel out of balance. Rick followed up a few days later to find out that her symptoms were almost gone the next morning and were completely cleared the following day. 

In five days she was doing cardio boxing. In most cases, relief from the issue is evident immediately. It is extremely important to be persistent with applying EFT as the benefits may take some time to become obvious. 

Corns

"I forgot you can tap on anything -- even a corn!!!!!"

Lisa Dembrosky was about to go to her podiatrist appointment, as she had a very painful corn. She realized that she had not tried EFT for the corn and proceeded to do so. Immediately the pain left and as she entered the doctor's office, Lisa was sure that the bump had gone down. The doctor told her that she would have to return in a few months as the corn would grow back. Lisa knew that she would never have to go back. 

Autism

Linda Johnson uses EFT a lot with her family for physical symptoms like headaches, food cravings and neck pain. She helped her chemically sensitive daughter dilute her emotional meltdown after being surrounded by perfumes at school. 

One evening she did EFT for her autistic son on the issues of "focus and attention," "hearing what people are saying," "better social connection" and "neurological symptoms." Linda reported that the next morning was "an absolute first," as her son did two things at the same time -- dressing while watching television. 

The effect didn't hold until the following day but Linda was impressed. If Linda persistently applied EFT with her autistic son, she would likely continue to notice impressive results.

More on EFT

Please note that in addition to dealing with pain, balance and autism, EFT has been a consistently effective healing tool for hundreds of other physical, mental and emotional ailments. For more information, you can explore the EFT Web site and its numerous success stories regarding fears, phobias, emotional traumas and physical ailments. 

While a complete description of EFT is beyond the scope of this article, you can learn all the basics from the free EFT Get Started Package, including a free download of the 79-page EFT Manual. Those wishing to save time and dive right in can get the affordable five-star training DVDs.

Please consult qualified health professionals before putting EFT into practice for yourself or others.