Tomorrow I’m going to the dentist for a filling and scale and polish. I don’t mind the filling too much it’s the scaling I don’t like. Most of the dentists I’ve been too like to dig away like frustrated navvies while I lie there wondering whether they are going to pull my teeth out.

As I think about it my level of discomfort at the prospect is at a seven. In keeping with the advice that I give to my clients about using EFT to prepare for future challenges I decide to take a dose of my own medicine. I just tap on the EFT points with my fingertips whilst letting my mind dwell on tomorrow’s appointment. I don’t use any fancy setup phrases, I just tap and imagine lying back on that chair whilst a charming young lady in a white coat chips away with a chisel.

After a few rounds of tapping my discomfort level is down to between two and three. I decide to up the ante and imagine the proceedure as vividly as I can whilst tapping.

In the waiting room feeling apprehensive (tap, tap, tap), climbing the stairs to the surgery and siting in the chair presents no bad feeling. Once there the image of the descaling implement come to mind - a sharp hook on a handle, bright metallic and menacing hovers in my field of vision (… tap, tap, tap). I tap through several rounds whilst thinking of this instrument of torture. Now in my imagination she’s digging into my gums (tap, tap, tap) and it’s uncomfortable (tap, tap, tap), it’s going to hurt (tap, tap, tap).

Friday 11am

It went quite well. I was fairly comfortable throughout and I didn’t break into a sweat like last time. Things have moved on since my last scale and polish, instead of manually chipping away at my tartar the dentist inserted what felt like a small rotivator and mechanically gouged away at the back of my teeth. A bit disconcerting but not as bad as the manual method. I only needed to remind myself to relax my hands a couple of times.

If reading this has made you a little uncomfortable it might be worth visiting your local EFT or NLP therapist so that going the dentist might be a little more comfortable.

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Beginner’s EFT

This simple three hour introduction to Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). This workshop is a fund raiser for St Oswald’s Hospice costs £15, all proceeds will go to the hospice.

The next Beginner’s EFT will be on Thursday 18th September at 6pm.

EFT Level 1 Training

The next 1 day EFT Level 1 training will be on Saturday 20th September. This training will give you all the tools you need to use EFT for yourself and family and friends.

EFT Cafe

The EFT Cafe is a practice group for anyone with an interest in EFT who wants to learn new skills and practice with people who don’t think you’re crazy to be tapping.

The next EFT Cafe will be on Tuesday 9th September at 7pm.

NLP Practitioner Training

IntegrityNLP are running their third NLP Practitioner training starting in September. To find out about how NLP can be useful to you download a free report (which includes a £50 discount).

NLP Cafe

The NLP Cafe is an NLP Practice group for anyone interested in practicing their NLP skills. You need to have a little experience or a lot of interest to attend.

The next NLP Cafe is on Tuesday 16th September at 7pm

That’s probably enough for now. Enjoy your summer.

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BBC NEWS | Tapping therapy ‘cures’ woman

It’s a nice summary with the obligatory cautious remark from a spokesperson for the ME Society.

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I was impressed with how steady my hands were and said to myself “Not bad for a 49 year old … nearly at my half-century … it’s all downhill from here”. I caught myself in the unhelpful thought and lifted my head in time to read the warning sign on the low beam I had ducked earlier.

“Please mind your head”

It would have been better if it had said:

“Please mind the inside of your head”

Which seems to me to be much more useful advice. How often are you minding the inside of your head for unhelpful thoughts and predictions.

Years ago I listened to a program early one Sunday morning on Radio 4. The interviewer was talking to a bee farmer who was reminisicing about her various experiences. She was now in her eighties and had enjoyed a very full life. The presenter looked around her sitting room at the various souveniers of holidays she had had. His eye came to rest on a photograph on the mantlepiece, a photo of the woman waterskiing on Lake Windermere. He asked about it.

“Oh, yes!”, she said, “that was my 80th birthday present”.

“Wow” replied the presenter, “you’ve done all these amazing things what is the best thing you have ever done in your life?”.

“Oh, I don’t think like that” she said “as far as I’m concerned the best is always ahead of me!”

After a stunned silence the presenter said: “That is the single most optimistic think I have heard in my life”

It’s certainly a lot better than “it’s all downhill from here …”

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Having been a horticulturist in my “past life”, I would like to include some leafy and flowery thoughts to contribute to your happiness and well-being. It is well known that gardening can be therapeutic - but no tips on digging or pruning in this article, you may be pleased to know! Instead, I will try to share my ideas on how to get the most enjoyment and pleasure from your own (or someone else’s, for that matter) garden.

(more…)

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I think they were right that I had a lot of blessings to count. Now that I’m older and more aware of what’s going on in the world I can see that my ‘cup runneth over’ in ways that would boggle the mind of some people in the developing world.

Now I think they missed a golden opportunity. “Count your blessings” was good advice, at least it tells you what to do. Unfortunately it wasn’t very specific about how I should count my blessings.

If they had said “You should count your blessings, and here’s how …” then shown me a simple way to do that then they would have set me up for life. At the time I never thought at the time to ask “How exactly do I do that?”

Reflecting on the good things in our lives or cultivating a sense of gratitude is advice as old as the hills and the sages who lived in them. There is now good evidence that cultivating gratitude has a large number of mental (and physical) health benefits.

In a study by Martin Seligman* more than 400 volunteers took part in the following exercise:

Three good things in life: Participants were asked to write down three things that went well that day and their causes every night for a week. In addition they were asked to provide a causal explanation for each thing.

After just one week of doing these exercises they were followed up for six months. Those who ‘counted their blessings’ in this way for just one week became happier and less depressed and stayed that way for at least six-months after the experiment.

Not surprisingly they found that those participants who enjoyed the gratitude exercise and continued with it past the official time period were the ones that felt the happiest

What would it be like if you integrated this process into your daily routine?

One way of looking at this is that you are training your brain to look out for the good things in your experience. To become the person who sees the glass being half full rather than half empty. People who habitually ’sort for good’ tend to be happier, healthier and more resilient.

Unfortunately for us our culture and media are strongly encouraging us to ’sort for bad’, to notice what is wrong and unsatisfactory. Often so they can sell us something to make you feel better. By being more grateful and cheerful you may be going a little against the tide. There might not be as many people swimming in that direction but the company is good.

Here are the instructions again.

Every evening make a written list of at least three enjoyable or satisfying experiences you had during the day. They don’t have to be extraordinary events something as simple as enjoying the first cup of tea of the day would do. Write this down and write a sentence explaining why you are grateful for this. That’s it. Nothing complicated. Do this regularly and notice what you notice.

*Positive Psychology Progress, Seligman, Steen, Park & Peterson, American Psychologist, July-August 2005

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It’s a hands-on training with lots of supervised practice, you’ll soon be using EFT for yourself, and you may be surprised at just how quick, effective and painless it can be for a wide variety of issues.

This full days training costs just £60. Email andy@practicalwellbeing.co.uk for an application form.

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Jacob A. Riis

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