Nick Ortner's Blog, page 55

Do it Differently

Let’s talk about CHANGE. Something most of us want, in some aspects of our life or other, yet struggle so much to make it happen.

You’ve probably heard of the statement regarding the brain that, “Neurons that fire together…wire together…” Attributed to Donald Hebb, a neuropsychologist, it means that every experience we have, and its associated feelings, emotions, physical experiences and so forth, become embedded in our brains, and the more an action is repeated, the stronger the connection between these “neurons” or brain cells.

Thus a professional golfer who has swung a golf club tens if not hundreds of thousands of times can do it without thinking, whereas if you’ve never played golf, your first couple (or thousand!) swings might be a little…uh… “interesting”.

The same patterns apply to our daily experiences. We establish patterns and routines, some simple like brushing our teeth and others more “complex” (yet still simple in many ways!), like how we interact with people in our lives, how we react in certain situations, the emotional states we tend to live in, etc.

The tapping processes are designed to interrupt these old patterns, release the stagnant emotional memories, energy and brain patterns and establish new ones. Today’s exercise is designed to do the same thing!

So here’s what you’re going to do, pick a single day where you’re going to “practice” this approach. The day before, identify the things you want to do the next day, but you think… “If past experience tells me anything, it tells me I’m going to “want” to do these things, but I’ll probably put them off” for example, items on this list might include:

Exercising
Meditating
Being more focused at work
Skipping Facebook for a day
Spending more time with your kids
Working on your creative passions
Being more patient with “X”

We’re looking for the things that at the end of day, on many nights, you say to yourself… “Shoot, another day when I didn’t do… “X”! Another day I said I was going to exercise and I didn’t! Another day I said I was going to be more patient and I wasn’t!” (And take a look at what you do every night as you review your day, you reinforce these patterns of “NOT” doing stuff! More brain neurons firing and wiring together, making the experience more likely to happen again).

OK, so you have your list (and you don’t have to be “perfect” – you can just pick one or two items), and your day begins. Your job for today, just this one day is to practice this, is to INTERRUPT old patterns, using tapping, and put new patterns in place.

Let me give you an example of how I used this the other day. I’ve wanted to meditate in the morning more often, even for just 10 minutes, to set a clear intention for my day and start it off right. And I’ve really been wanting to change the pattern of the way I’ve been waking up, which is checking my email right away, sometimes even just minutes after waking up! Things have been so busy and there’s always so many exciting things going on that I’ve gotten into this pattern of checking emails.

So what I did last night is set the intention to change this pattern and then when I woke up this morning…here’s what happened… (And it’s likely going to happen to you, so pay attention to the details of the experience)!

I had the mental pattern in place to check emails as soon as I woke up…it had become routine…so when I felt that pull (it’s weird, if you pay close attention to it, it almost feels like a craving!), to check my email, I stopped and did just a few minutes of tapping.

Here’s an example:

Karate Chop: Even though I want to check my email right now… I deeply and completely love and accept myself…

Karate Chop: Even though I have this old pattern of checking email… I choose to behave differently right now…

Karate Chop: Even though part of me wants to check email, it’s just what I do, it’s who I am, I choose to change this pattern and meditate now…

Eyebrow: Part of me wants to check email…

Side of the Eye: I’ve got this old pattern…

Under the Eye: That wants to keep running…

Under the Nose: This old pattern…

Under the Mouth: Of checking email…

Collarbone: And I choose to let it go now…

Under the Arm: It’s safe to make a different choice…

Top of the Head: And meditate now…

That’s it, nice and simple! You can obviously do more rounds, but sometimes just one round can be enough to take the “edge” off the old pattern and establish a new one. So play with this, use it throughout the day. Catch your brain when it’s looking to run the same patterns, and give it a different option.

And for me this morning, it worked! I sat down and meditated for ten minutes and it really helped propel me forward into a more productive and focused day. As evidence by my writing this email for you. LOL!

Try it today, and comment on your experience or any questions on the blog here.

Until next time…

Keep Tapping!

Nick Ortner

The post Do it Differently appeared first on The Tapping Solution.

Painful Words

Today I’d like to share a video that was released during our last Tapping World Summit, and got an incredible response. If you missed it then, you’re going to want to catch it now, and if you’ve already seen it, it might be a good refresher about the power of your mind, body and spirit.

Here’s what I shared a few months ago:

“I wish you’d never been born!” Those were the words that Bobbie heard from her father at her 5th birthday party, in front of her closest friends.

They were just a few of the terribly painful words she had to endure from her father…for years. This particular event, as you can imagine, was incredibly traumatic and continued to cause her pain decades later.

If you want to see what Tapping can do for you, then you’re going to love seeing this video from a recent 3-day event that I ran. You’ll get to see Bobbie go through a powerful emotional and physical transformation right before your eyes.

It will likely change the way you view yourself, your past and your future. Trust me when I tell you that you’re going to be glued to this video!

Just watch the first few minutes and you’ll see what I mean:

First Name



Email

All of us have dealt with childhood traumas, little or big events where we felt hurt, upset, scared, angry or any other painful emotion.

And many of these events, whether we realize it or not, continue to affect us today, in our beliefs, our level of confidence, the emotions we feel and so much more.

Take a second to think back on your childhood. What event or events come to mind where you felt hurt, upset, scared, angry or any other negative emotion? When you think back on these events, how do you think they’ve affected you today?

This video will show you just how easily and quickly you can take the negative charge off of those memories and how you can release the conscious and unconscious holds that they have on you.

One thing that you might find interesting about this video is that it was filmed during a live event that is focused on the connection between our emotions and physical pain. During the video, you’ll actually get to see Bobbie get rid of the pain in her knees, something that she hadn’t had happen in 25 years!

Until next time…

Keep Tapping!

Nick Ortner

The post Painful Words appeared first on The Tapping Solution.

Related posts:
Feel it, even it if it hurts…

Feel like you’ve hit rock bottom? This video will help you become unsinkable!

Have you ever had a moment in your life, maybe for just a few minutes, where you felt completely overwhelmed emotionally? So much so that it brought you a level of deep, gut wrenching pain?

Maybe it was finding out that you or a family member was sick, or maybe it was a really tough breakup, or perhaps it was a moment where you were just taken over by the stress of a really tough financial situation…

Sometimes those moments can make you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom, and as painful as they can be, the reality is that those moments can very healing for us and can allow us to move forward in a positive way.

My sister Jessica recently sat down in front of the camera and had a talk with Sonia Ricotti, author of the book “Unsinkable,” where Sonia discussed what to do when you hit these overwhelming moments and feel like you’ve hit rock bottom.

Sonia is known for her insights on how to bounce back stronger than ever from seemingly insurmountable situations, and in this video she discusses exactly that.

Just press play below to watch this video now:

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Sonia talks on this subject because she’s been through tough situations herself. She shares one of those difficult moments where she found herself in tears at around 5 minutes.

I hope this video helps you to know that no matter how low you may feel, you can always bounce back.

Until next time…

Keep Tapping!

Nick Ortner

What was your “Aha” moment? Comment below to have a chance to win a free copy of Sonia’s book!

The post Feel like you’ve hit rock bottom? This video will help you become unsinkable! appeared first on The Tapping Solution.

Finding Your Voice

Sometimes it’s hard to say hard things. Sometimes it’s hard to say easy things.

Sometimes we struggle to speak up, to say what we need to say, be heard, to be understood, to shine.

To be ourselves, truly and authentically.

To share those deepest parts of who we are with loved ones, with the world, with those that need to hear it.

But when we finally do it…when we SPEAK… when we SHARE….when we OPEN…

Ahhhh….the beauty in that moment.

Watch one of those beautiful moments, caught on camera, and see if it inspires you to speak up just a little bit more.

If the brave young man in this video found his voice…you can too.

Watch this wonderful video and below it I’ve also shared some great tapping tips on overcoming the fear of public speaking.

They apply not only to speaking in public, but also to finding your voice in all aspects of your life!

An excerpt from the NY Times bestselling book “The Tapping Solution”

The Tapping Solution

Two Fears Handled in One Hour

Meggan is a dynamic writer, lecturer and coach to thousands of women around the world. She was scheduled to speak at an important conference and reached out to me for some help.Meggan had often taken the stage before, with extremely positive feedback from her audiences. But up until that point, she always read her speeches from behind a podium. She never felt fully comfortable with the experience, either. For the upcoming event, she wouldn’t have a podium. She was also planning on speaking without a set script. The prospect terrified her, so she reached out to me, having heard how effective EFT could be when it came to public speaking phobias.

When we began our session, I asked her to visualize being onstage, without the podium or her written speech, and to tell me what she experienced. Particularly, I wanted to know what she felt in her body. I find that focusing on physical sensations is a great way to get started addressing fears, because it helps us connect more fully to the feelings and determine what’s really going on.

She shared with me that she felt a constriction in her chest and throat when she thought about the event; not a surprising location for a fear of public speaking! I asked her to give the constriction a number, and she said it was a 7 on a 0-to-10 scale. We began tapping with some very simple statements:

Even though I have this constriction in my chest and throat, I deeply and completely accept myself.

Even though something feels stuck in my throat, I deeply and completely accept myself.

Even though I have this anxiety in my chest and throat, I choose to relax now.

We kept tapping through various statements and the points, until she could no longer feel the constriction in her chest and throat. I then had her go back to the image of herself speaking up onstage at the event. What did she feel? What did she see? She shared that she felt better, and saw the speech going well, but only once she got started. “I think getting started is going to be tough,” she said.

We’d cleared out the stuck energy in her chest and throat, and now the next aspect of her phobia had arisen. So we tapped on the issue of getting started, until it cleared and she felt confident enough to continue.

I continued to ask her to visualize the event and to look for anything that didn’t feel right. I even added to the potential pressure, on purpose, in order to make sure everything was clear. For example, I had her visualize the audience not smiling when she first came out, to see if that would bring up any anxiety. Audiences are generally very receptive and welcoming to the speakers, but I wanted to push her buttons a little bit, to make sure we handled all the different aspects of her phobia.

This process continued, with more tapping, digging deeper and deeper, until she could no longer find any anxiety, stress, or worry about the speech. Instead, she reported that, “I’m actually excited for this and starting to think about what I want to discuss. I could never go there before, because I was too terrified of the whole experience!”

I’ve mentioned it several times but it bears repeating because it’s so crucial. The way to get lasting results with fears or phobias is to dig deep and address all the aspects of the issue. This is a time when it’s good to look for what’s wrong, to identify problems, to push within yourself and see how it feels!

Meggan was delighted with how she felt, and we were about to sign off from the call when she shared with me that she was excited to use EFT on her other fear: flying. She was going to have to fly to the event, after all! The fear of public speaking had only taken 30 minutes to address, so I offered to continue helping her with the fear of flying right then, and she agreed.

She shared with me that 15 years earlier, she and her sister had flown together on a small airplane, and the flight was the worst experience of her life. From the start, the turbulence was unlike any she had ever experienced, with the small plane dropping several feet at once, again and again.

She had been sure she was going to die. The pilot didn’t say a word to reassure the passengers, and the muted cries and screams of the people around her made everything worse. They finally landed safely, but to Meggan’s mind and body, the trauma of the experience never left. She had worked on healing and had made progress, but at the deepest level, the trauma was still there—affecting her life in all sorts of ways.

This wasn’t just a fear of flying that we were working on together, it was a deep-seated fear about life—about safety, about who she was in the world and about not having to be on alert at all times. That one experience had taught Meggan that she needed to be vigilant, that the world was inherently unsafe and that her body wasn’t safe, either.

Ask Yourself . . . Fears and Phobias

What fears or phobias do you have, and how might they be affecting other parts of your life?

What beliefs do you have about yourself and the world because of these fears?

I used the “movie technique” technique with Meggan, asking her to recount to me what happened while tapping at the same time. I could tell from Meggan’s body language and tone that just talking about the issue brought her some anxiety, so I was careful to move slowly. I told her that if she ever felt the emotional intensity was too high, or if she didn’t feel safe, we could back away from the experience. This is one of the great things about working with people on video Skype or in person rather than by telephone: the visual cues give you invaluable information.

Meggan recounted the story of the plane flight from start to finish. I focused on helping her feel safe, guiding her with questions that brought her deeper into the experience when needed and pulled her further out when things seemed to get too intense. She told me what happened, step by step, and tapped the whole time. Her first recounting of it was very emotional, but I could see her calming down as she tapped. I then had her tell me the story again, and again, and again, until there was no emotional intensity to any element of it.

In the end, when she thought of the traumatic flight, she broke down in tears of joy because she was no longer experiencing the fear and pain that just 30 minutes earlier was paralyzing to her.

I’ll let an e-mail that I received from Meggan the next day give you a fuller idea of the results she experienced:

I’ve been sleeping like a teen since our call. If it weren’t for my toddler, I might still be in bed. It’s not fatigue; it feels more like make-up sleep. The part of me that was terrorized into hypervigilance during that flight 15 years ago, to stay awake, to keep watch, to be ever on the lookout for my safety finally took a bow and stepped down. Not trusting life takes a lot of energy. I have this visceral knowing that when the make-up sleep has run its course; I’m going to have crazy amazing energy.

I’m so fascinated, and semi-perplexed, at the session’s effectiveness. I keep trying to conjure the fear I once had for flying, and also the naked, exposed feeling I had about speaking without a script in public, and I just can’t access it. It’s not there. I remember who I am, or who I was before these fears made a home for themselves within me. I don’t get how tapping works, and I don’t need to—it just does.

Tapping accessed the actual wound and just lifted it. Poof. Tapping returned to me the actual feeling of calm and safety in my body that the trauma of that flight has been blocking ever since. Like a magician pulling the white tablecloth out from under a dining set, tapping revealed that my trust in the world, in my life, has always been there—as my ground of being—and that the fear was simply obscuring its permanent presence within me.

I’m a convert. A smacked-on-the-forehead, true believer convert. My gratitude is endless.

Tapping Tip: Addressing the Fear of Flying

If you or someone you know is scared of flying, here’s how you can use EFT to help:

1. Practice beforehand. Tap before you’re going to fly, trying to re-create the flying experience in your mind. Envision yourself going to the airport, checking in, waiting for the plane, boarding the plane, sitting down, hearing the engines turn on, feeling the plane start to move, feeling the plane take off, being in flight, feeling the plane descend, and feeling the plane land.

As you go through each element of the flight, notice which ones get to you. Where is the anxiety? Where is the fear? Is it when the engines turn on? Is it when you’re flying and there’s turbulence? Tap on each of these elements.

The most effective thing you can do if you’re not actually flying is to do your best to relive the memory in your mind and body. The same thing goes for all fears and phobias. The real test, of course, is when you’re actually confronted with the situation! But in the meantime, you’d be surprised how effective it can be to simply relive the memory.

2. Tap during the flight. I’m always delighted when I see people tapping on a plane (more often than you’d think!). It’s a great way to bring down anxiety, fear, and stress. I’ve even tapped myself during really bad turbulence that pushed my own comfort zone! Don’t be worried about other people noticing; they rarely do. Most of the time they’re concerned with their own issues. If they do notice, you can easily share this powerful tool with them.

Exercise: Overcoming a Fear or Phobia

Overcoming a fear or phobia can be a massive personal victory, leading to even greater success in other areas of our lives, such as relationships, finances, and even personal health. And the reason is that these fears and phobias inherently signal to the rest of our consciousness that we don’t have full control over our lives.

If Meggan has to worry about anxiety and panic taking over at any point, can she really feel safe?

Knowing we have the power and resources to control these fears—rational or irrational—strengthens what we can create and accomplish in all aspects of our lives.

So pick a fear or phobia right now and tap through it yourself. It doesn’t have to be a massive phobia or a lifelong fear. If you can’t find anything (I know you can, but if you really can’t . . .), then help someone you know overcome his or her fears. Here are some common fears and phobias. See if you relate to any of them:

Animals
Bridges/Tunnels
Bugs/Spiders
Death
The Dentist (or Other Medical Fears)
Flying
Elevators
Enclosed Spaces
Heights
Needles
Physical Pain
Public Speaking
Riding in Cars
Selling/Cold Calls
Social Phobias/Anxiety
Water

Keep Tapping! (and speaking YOUR truth!)

Nick Ortner

Nicolas Ortner – NY Times Best-Selling author of “The Tapping Solution” and Executive Producer of the documentary film by the same name.

“The Tapping Solution” is a ground-breaking book and film exploring EFT, a combination of Ancient Chinese Acupressure and Modern Psychology that provides startling results.

View the trailer at http://www.thetappingsolution.com

What was your experience with the video above? What fears and phobias can you clear away?

The post Finding Your Voice appeared first on The Tapping Solution.

Related posts:
Using EFT for the Fear of Public Speaking and the Fear of Flying (and how a life can turn around in just one session)

Lazy Days Of Summer

I hope you had a fantastic July 4th weekend (and if you’re reading this from somewhere around the world, a great weekend even if it wasn’t a holiday!). This summer has been quite different for me than summers past, and I wanted to share a few thoughts about what summer really is, what it means to relax and let go, what to do when you can’t, and how all this is so important to your health, wellbeing and life!

After a very busy winter and spring, with our 6th annual Tapping World Summit, finishing up my book on Pain Relief (due out in April of 2015), and then launching Jessica’s new book (which if you hadn’t heard hit #4 on the NY Times bestseller list!), I felt like I needed a bit of a break.

So with the World Cup around the corner, (I’m a huge soccer fan-especially since I was born in Argentina!), I said to myself: “I’m going to slow down a bit this summer”

Now these things are easier said than done… I think many of us know that perhaps it would serve to slow down a little bit, but it feels so hard to do. It’s like something is tugging at us inside that goes, “GO! GO! GO!” But is it really something that’s tugging us inside… or is it something external, some other factor pushing us to be non-stop?

So I started paying attention to this, to determine the parts of my life that were just running a little too fast and here’s what I started noticing:

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Brain Overload – The Overstimulation of Modern Culture

1. Our brains, nervous systems, mind, body, spirit, whatever you want to call it, is just simply too amped up. The stimulus we receive, in the form of texts, Facebook, TV, emails, demands on our time and more are something we have NEVER experienced in the history of mankind.

Let me repeat that: Never have we experienced such constant stimulus from so many directions. Ever. We haven’t even come close. Never have we had so much information at our fingertips. Never had we had so many choices to make – micro decisions that might seem small, but add up in dramatic ways. Part of the reason your mind is racing at night, part of the reason you feel overwhelm, part of the reason it’s hard to take a deep breath is there is simply too much going on in your brain!

I started noticing that for myself, that there were too many things to check on my phone, too many emails to respond to, and too many decisions to make. I run a business with about 15 employees, and just about every project runs through me in some way shape or form. On top of that, we have outside business relationships, partners, experts I talk to and so forth, and I just became very aware of how much it all was and the energy it was taking to keep up with all of it.

There is also SO much opportunity right now to grow and share this message, and I have such a deep and abiding passion for it, that it was becoming all too easy to say, “YES” to a million things. From speaking engagements to new social media platforms, it sometimes feels like it ALL needs to be done.

But guess what? It doesn’t.

The world will continue spinning if you don’t check Facebook today.

Your life will be fantastic even if you’re not on Pinterest.

Your business will be just fine even though you skip the next great thing.

And people will be OK if you say, “No thank you” to them.

We don’t have to do it all, we don’t have to do it NOW.

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Simplifying to De-stress and De-clutter

So I’ve made a choice, and it’s one I’m still working on, to simplify. To do the things I love. To leverage my time. To cut down and cut out distractions. To clean up my email box and unsubscribe from things I wasn’t reading, from communications that were cluttering my world.

It’s a new thing, computer clutter, and communication clutter. It used to just be about the messy extra bedroom, now our clutter has gone virtual!

So today, take a look around and ask, what can I clean up in my life? What can I say no to, gracefully? What better choice can I make for my own personal wellbeing? And you don’t have to do it all at once? But just start.

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The Challenge of De-stressing in an “Amped Up” World

2. When we are used to running in this “amped” up state, it can be too much of a jump to go from there, to the meditative, peaceful bliss that we might be longing for. Here’s what I see happen often: Someone comes to me with a challenge, physical, emotional, spiritual, they’re stressed out, overwhelmed, and running way too fast and when they begin looking for solutions to the problem, they’re doing it from that place.

And here’s the problem: The state of being, the psychology, the way of thinking, the actions that got you where you are today…you can’t use that same state of being, same psychology, same way of thinking to get out of it!

If you’re a perfectionist, you can’t change your perfectionism by approaching it with perfectionism! (Wrap that loop around your head!). Being stressed out and Type A about relaxing isn’t going to do the job. Being overwhelmed about having to tap more is not going to get you there.

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Making a Leap in Consciousness

You need to make a LEAP, a leap in consciousness but you have to make sure it’s not TOO big.

Let me explain. If you’re running a million miles a minute, and then you STOP, and say, “Time to meditate!” what happens? You either don’t, because you can’t stop, it’s too big of a change in your state of being, you try and “fail” because you just can’t sit still for the 30 minutes you said you would for, and then you get up and are disappointed at yourself all over again for “failing” at this task.

The alternative? Baby steps. Yup, just like one of my favorite movies that I’ve written about before, “What About Bob?” – it’s all about baby steps.

Don’t set yourself up for failure by saying, “I’m going to meditate for 30 minutes today!” – set yourself up for success by saying you’re going to do it for 5 minutes, or even 60 seconds. Start with these baby steps, start with these little victories so you can gain confidence in yourself, so you can make smaller, more manageable leaps, so your body, mind and spirit can take the time it needs to catch up to this new way of being.

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A Tapping Script to Begin to Calm the Nervous System…

To get you started, here’s a very short tapping script, should only take a few minutes to complete, that can begin to calm the nervous system, and bring more peace and clarity into your life.

If you’re not familiar with how to tap, learn more here:

http://www.thetappingsolution.com/what-is-eft-tapping/

To get started, close your eyes and take a deep breath (after reading the rest of the instructions of course!). Tune in to your body, tune in to your breath, feel your feet grounded on the floor and notice any tension or stress you might be holding in your body. Tune in to one specific part that is speaking to you right now, your shoulders, your neck, your stomach, your brain, some part that feels tension and stress. And then ask yourself, “What’s this all about? What’s the emotion here? What’s the specific event that is in my body? What’s the fear or limiting belief I’m holding there?”

And when you have an answer, rate its intensity on a scale of 0-10, 10 being the most intensive.

And let’s do some tapping!

Karate Chop: Even though I’m holding on to all this tension in my body….I love, accept and forgive myself…

Karate Chop: Even though I have so much stress and tension in my ______ and it has to do with_________, I choose to relax and feel safe now….

Karate Chop: Even though it’s so hard to slow down, to let go, to release this stress and tension from my body, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.

Tapping through the points now:

Eyebrow: All this stress and tension

Side of Eye: That I’ve been holding on to

Under Eye: And that seems too hard to let go

Under Nose: I wonder what it’s all about

Under Mouth: And I wonder why I’m holding on

Collarbone: Feeling this tension in my body

Under Arm: About this stressful issue

Top of Head: About this belief…this event…this emotion

Eyebrow: All this tension

Side of Eye: And this inability to relax

Under eye: What if I could relax?

Under Nose: What if could let this go?

Under Mouth: What would it mean to slow down?

Collarbone: What if it was safe to relax?

Under Arm: Feeling safe in my body

Top of Head: And relaxing and letting go

Eyebrow: It’s time to relax

Side of Eye: I’ve been holding on to this issue for so long

Under eye: And it’s time to let it go

Under Nose: It’s safe to relax

Under Mouth: It’s safe to feel safe in my body

Collarbone: And let go of all this stress and anxiety

Under Arm: Especially around this specific issue

Top of Head: Letting it all go

Eyebrow: I wonder what my life would be like if I relaxed some more

Side of Eye: I wonder what ideas and inspirations might come to me

Under eye: I wonder how much better I might feel

Under Nose: How much healthier my body would be

Under Mouth: If I just relaxed and let go

Collarbone: If I trusted my guidance and intuition

Under Arm: And began to relax and let go

Top of Head: Right now

Take a deep breath in… and let it go… tune back in to your original issue and see how it’s shifted. What’s the number now? What else came up? Any other specific events/emotions/beliefs? Tap on those until this issue is cleared and you feel your body relaxing and letting go more. As always, this is just a very general tapping script to get you started so continue on your own if you’d like to go deeper.

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Back to my lazy summer

So all that being said, I’ve had a fantastic summer so far (and it’s just getting started!). The World Cup has been absolutely magical to watch (though I must admit that my stress levels during several Argentina and USA games have been…ahem…less than ideal. I think I need to do some tapping on that…).

I’ve made it a point to get outside more, to spend time with friends and family, to cut down on distractions and be more present with myself and those around me. I’ve got another two months to keep practicing, so I’ll let you know what happens and please do the same! Comment below and share any thoughts, insights or ideas, on how the tapping was for you, on what helps you slow down and relax, on some new choices you might be making.

As promised, here’s one of my favorite pictures ever, which I think really encapsulates what summer and relaxing used to be, and can still be. It’s my wife Brenna with the two-year-old daughter of a close friend, having a leisurely chat by the pool. Now that’s summer.

“I almost wish we were butterflies and lived but three summer days – three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.”

— John Keats,

Keep Tapping,

Nick Ortner

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What did this article bring up for you?  What have your stress levels been like this summer?  What did the Tapping bring up for you?  Comment below and let me know!  :)

The post Lazy Days Of Summer appeared first on The Tapping Solution.

Feel it, even it if it hurts…

How often in life do you stuff down negative emotions or feelings about something going on in your present life or about something that has happened in the past?

It’s a common human pattern to stuff things down.  We do it to protect ourselves.  You’ve done it, I’ve done it, people do it on a daily basis.

The challenge is…

As we continue to stuff things down in our lives, it accumulates and causes more and more problems for us.  

We continue to have money problems because we don’t want to address the issues and beliefs we had about money growing up or the fears we have about pushing outside of our comfort zones…

We continue to have weight issues because we push down the feelings we have about ourselves and our bodies…

We continue to suffer from physical pain because of not addressing traumatic events or from deep-seated issues from our childhood…

But while pushing down these emotions down may be less painful in the short term, the long term pain can be overwhelming.

Emotions need to be released.  Emotion, or energy in motion, needs to flow through us.

I’m not gonna lie… to truly feel and release these emotions takes guts.  But the very fact that you’re reading this email, the fact that you’re exploring EFT Tapping, shows me that you have courage far beyond the average person.

When it comes to Tapping, the importance of feeling and really connecting to what’s going on is critically important.

It’s all too easy to do “rote” tapping, just going through the motions and saying the words, and while you can certainly benefit from that since just the physical tapping itself calms the body and nervous system, if you take the time to really feel what you’re saying, to focus, to be centered and grounded, your results are going to be that much better.

Try it now, even just for a minute or two.  Pick a challenge you’re facing.  Pick an emotion you’re feeling.  Pick an event that you keep thinking about that you can’t seem to let go of.  Pick something that’s stressing you out.  Get specific on it, on what you feel exactly, on what happened exactly.

And when you tap and say, “I love, accept and forgive myself” tune in to what that really feels like.

What does it mean to love yourself? 

What does it mean to accept yourself? 

What does it mean to forgive yourself? 

Especially in light of the problem/challenge/emotion/event that you’re focusing on.

Take a deep breath or two…feel your feet grounded into the earth…And then let’s do some tapping.

Tapping on the Karate Chop: Even though (fill in the blank with the problem/issue/event/emotion), I love, accept and forgive myself… (Now FEEL it when you say that… try it again, really focusing on the feeling.)

Still on the karate chop: Even though… I’m angry… I have this pain in my back… I can’t stop thinking about what she said to me… I’m so worried about the upcoming deadline…. I love, accept and forgive myself.

Feel it even more. What do these words actually mean? What’s the feeling in your body when you say them?

One more time on the karate chop point: Even though __________, I love, accept and forgive myself…

Now, with that feeling, with that focus, with that emotion, tap through the points, simply stating what the issue is:

(these are just examples on every point, fill it in with your own language)

Eyebrow: This issue

Side of the Eye: This anger

Under the Eye: This anxiety

Under Nose: This event that I can’t let go of

Under Mouth: This stressful issue

Collarbone: Feeling it in my body

Under the Arm: Feeling safe to feel it

Top of the Head: And letting it go

Keep tapping until you find the relief you’re looking for, and continue to pay attention to your emotional experience. We’re a “head-centric” society, trying to think our way out of our challenges, our fears, our stress – when we bring the body in, through this physical tapping process, when we take the time to FEEL the emotions, that’s when we can see dramatic change!

Until next time…

Keep Tapping!

Nick

If you had a shift or breakthrough in doing this process, large or small, share it below!

 .

The post Feel it, even it if it hurts… appeared first on The Tapping Solution.

Related posts:
Tapping Script – “I Refuse to Forgive”

Can You Actually FEEL It?

You might be familiar with the basic EFT Tapping setup statement: “Even though _____ (fill in the blank with the problem), I love, accept and forgive myself” (Or some variation of the ending, such as “I deeply and completely love and accept myself”)

It’s such a powerful part of the process, for many reasons that I won’t go into here, but there is one key element to getting the results with this statement and tapping (as well as with tapping through the points) and that is that it’s not about just saying the words as if they were magic words, it’s about FEELING the FEELING.

When you tap and say, “I love, accept and forgive myself” tune in to what that really feels like.

What does it mean to love yourself?

What does it mean to accept yourself?

What does it mean to forgive yourself?

Especially in light of the problem/challenge/emotion/event that you’re focusing on.

It’s all too easy to do “rote” tapping, just going through the motions and saying the words, and while you can certainly benefit from that since just the physical tapping itself calms the body and nervous system, if you take the time to really feel what you’re saying, to focus, to be centered and grounded, your results are going to be that much better.

Try it now, even just for a minute or two. Pick a challenge you’re facing. Pick an emotion you’re feeling. Pick an event that you keep thinking about that you can’t seem to let go of. Pick something that’s stressing you out. Get specific on it, on what you feel exactly, on what happened exactly.

Take a deep breath or two…feel your feet grounded into the earth…And then let’s do some tapping.

Tapping on the Karate Chop: Even though (fill in the blank with the problem/issue/event/emotion), I love, accept and forgive myself… (Now FEEL it when you say that… try it again, really focusing on the feeling.

Still on the karate chop: Even though… I’m angry… I have this pain in my back… I can’t stop thinking about what she said to me… I’m so worried about the upcoming deadline…. I love, accept and forgive myself.

Feel it even more. What do these words actually mean? What’s the feeling in your body when you say them?

One more time on the karate chop point: Even though __________, I love, accept and forgive myself…

Now, with that feeling, with that focus, with that emotion, tap through the points, simply stating what the issue is:

(these are just examples on every point, fill it in with your own language)

Eyebrow: This issue

Side of the Eye: This anger

Under the Eye: This anxiety

Under Nose: This event that I can’t let go of

Under Mouth: This stressful issue

Collarbone: Feeling it in my body

Under the Arm: Feeling safe to feel it

Top of the Head: And letting it go

Keep tapping until you find the relief you’re looking for, and continue to pay attention to your emotional experience. We’re a “head-centric” society, trying to think our way out of our challenges, our fears, our stress – when we bring the body in, through this physical tapping process, when we take the time to FEEL the emotions, that’s when we can see dramatic change!

Until next time…

Keep Tapping!

Nick

If you had a shift or breakthrough in doing this process, large or small, share it below!

 .

The post Can You Actually FEEL It? appeared first on The Tapping Solution.

Related posts:
Tapping Script – “I Refuse to Forgive”
Let’s Talk Mom and Dad

Let’s Talk Mom and Dad

In “The Tapping Solution” book, I stressed the importance of dealing with childhood traumas to help the mind, body and spirit heal.

These formative experiences are often still affecting our daily lives, and when we process them/heal them/let them go, everything can change.

Today, I want to explore this topic, but with a specific focus on the relationship between you and your parents.

Whether your parents are still with us or not, this exercise will still work. Just because they’ve passed doesn’t mean that relationship and its surrounding energy isn’t affecting you today.

So here’s what we’re going to do…

Go ahead and take a deep breath, and get really centered. I’m going to ask you to close your eyes in a minute, but obviously you need to read what to do first.

So you’re going to close your eyes, get grounded and centered, and imagine your mother or father (pick one to start with), walking into the room where you are right now.

I want you to sense how you feel when they walk in. Do you tense up? Are you sad? Are you angry? What memories, ideas and images come to mind when they’re in your presence? Just sit with it for a few minutes, and as things come up, feel free to write them down so you can tap on them later.

What you’re searching for here is your current emotional response to them, and how it brings up old memories. For example, you might say, “When my Dad walks into the room, I instantly get angry and start thinking about how he was never around when we were growing up.” Or, “I’m so mad at him for leaving my mother,” or whatever else comes to you.

Go for that initial gut reaction, pick that as your “target”, identify where you feel it in your body and how strong it is (0-10) and then let’s do some tapping on it.

As always, this is VERY general language because I don’t know what’s going on for you. Amend as you see fit, use your own language, or do the tapping by yourself, without the script.

Karate Chop: Even though I have “this feeling” towards my ______, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.

Karate Chop: Even though I have “this feeling” towards my ______, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.

Karate Chop: Even though I have “this feeling” towards my ______, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.

Eyebrow: This feeling…

Side of the Eye: This memory…

Under the Eye: When I see my _______…

Under the Nose: I feel _____ in my body…

Under the Mouth: And it’s so hard to let it go…

Collarbone: I’ve been holding on to this for so long…

Under the Arm: And I don’t want to let it go…

Top of the Head: This feeling….

Repeat several times, checking in on the intensity each time, getting clear on the feeling in your body, and working through the memories as they come up.

Do this process several times, with each parent, until you find a sense of peace when they’re in your “presence”.

Now, I understand this might not happen after 15 minutes of tapping. If you had an abusive childhood, it might take more work to forgive, let go of the past and heal, but each time you do this is a step in the right direction.

Go back to this exercise a couple of times a day over the next couple of days and you’ll be surprised with what comes up AND how much better you feel after you’ve done the tapping. These relationships are primary to our existence, and healing them can affect so many different parts of our lives.

Pay attention, as you heal these relationships, how other parts of your life change. Are you more patient or loving with your partner? Do you finally attract the person you’ve been dreaming of, not the one who was put in front of you to try to heal this old stuff? Do your financial patterns change? Does your body heal?

A lot can happen! But you have to do the work, do the exercise several times, and do the tapping.

I hope this has been helpful. Please share with me your results with this exercise or any questions you may have – just comment below.

There may be no more powerful step in our journey of personal development and growth than to forgive our parents. Forgive them for what they did and what they didn’t do. Let go. Understand. Have compassion. Know that they were doing the best they could with the resources they had. Heal these wounds, small and large, and everything can change for you. Start today.

Until next time, Keep Tapping!

Nick Ortner

The post Let’s Talk Mom and Dad appeared first on The Tapping Solution.

Related posts:
Tapping Script – “I Refuse to Forgive”
The ONE most important thing I’ve learned…
That Annoying Person…

What I’m Most Proud Of…

You might have heard me mention that Jessica is donating 100% of her royalties for the first 5,000 copies of her book to The Tapping Solution Foundation.  

In case you’re not aware of what the Foundation does, I thought I’d share a moving audio interview from our 6th annual Tapping World Summit, with the director of the Foundation, Dr. Lori Leyden .

You can hear it here:  

http://2014-tws-audios.s3.amazonaws.com/final/download/lori-leyden-disaster-trauma-tapping-LQ.mp3

Right Click and “Save” Here to Download this Audio

Or for a quick version, watch the 5-minute video about the Foundation below: 

And if you’d like to pick up a copy of Jessica’s new book (the celebration bonuses go away THIS Friday, June 13th), you can do so here:

http://thetappingsolution.com/weight-loss-book/new/

Until next time…

Keep Tapping! (and changing the world)

Nick Ortner

 

 

P.S.  A few months back my brother Alex shared a short story with me while we were chatting on Skype, and I kept it because it made my heart swell.  

Here’s the conversation (Malakai is Alex’s 5-year-old son.)  

[2/26/14, 8:36:37 PM] Alex Ortner: I said to Malakai today in the car…

[2/26/14, 8:36:55 PM] Alex Ortner: “I’m really proud that Ms. Carroll said that you’re really good at helping other kids.”

[2/26/14, 8:36:59 PM] Alex Ortner: And he said…

[2/26/14, 8:37:07 PM] Alex Ortner: “Like The Tapping Solution?”

Don’t you love it?!?  :) 

P.P.S.  I asked Dr. Leyden for the most recent breakthroughs that are taking place in the Foundation; here’s what she shared with me:

Newtown:

Thanks to our amazing volunteers, our commitment to provide community-based trauma relief and resiliency services here in Newtown continues in a variety of ways, although there is still much work to be done.  As is often the case, people who’ve experienced small and large life traumas (haven’t we all?) prior and subsequent to the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy are finding it more and more difficult to cope.

Many who have not sought somatic relief therapies such as EFT/Tapping are now experiencing Complex PTSD. We are seeing a number of educators, students and parents who are being treated for anxiety and depression, while their PTSD goes undiagnosed.

Meanwhile, in just one to two sessions we are able to provide a level of relief that people have been unable to experience with traditional therapy.

As evidence of our growing acceptance in the community, we have just received a significant grant from the Newtown Sandy Hook Community Foundation which will allow us to educate the public and professionals about the effects of PTSD and appropriate treatments, as well as mentor licensed mental health professionals in EFT/Tapping for Trauma Mastery. 

Other Foundation activities:

- One of our most exciting projects is our “EFT in the Classroom” program – see the video here:

http://tappingsolutionfoundation.org/tapping-teachers-students/

You’ll be hearing more about this project in the coming weeks. If you are interested in bringing EFT/Tapping to schools in your community stay-tuned for our supporting materials.

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- Dr. Leyden is currently mentoring a number of people using EFT in disaster relief around the world, including those in her home town responding to the University of Santa Barbara shooting tragedy.

- Dr. Leyden was also privileged to address physicians at the UC Davis “Integrative Health for Pain Management” Conference this past April, marking an important step forward in bringing EFT/Tapping into mainstream medicine.

- The Foundation is currently developing a pilot program with HealthCorps, Dr. Oz’s health and wellness initiative that has reached 66,000 high school students across the country.

- Huge thanks and gratitude to Margaret Lynch and her Ignite conference attendees who raised $34,000 for the Foundation. 

The post What I’m Most Proud Of… appeared first on The Tapping Solution.

See Me Almost Cry

Those that know me personally know I can be a bit of a softie, especially when it comes to my family, to amazing achievements, to feeling proud, to feeling love…

So when my sister Jessica asked me to introduce her at her book launch party in New York city last Thursday, I knew I was in trouble.

Watch what happened next, see the star of the evening shine, and get ready to laugh at some hysterical pictures.

The best part of the book launch party was probably the photo booth! See why below.

Don’t let Jessica’s face fool you. She’s just as crazy as us.

From left to right, Dad, Nick, Jessica, Alex and Mom.

My wife and Jessica’s childhood best friend, Brenna, fits right in!

SHAPE.com Wellness expert Heidi Kristoffer and “The Earth Diet” Author Leiana Werner-Gray are excited about the new book!

Some people couldn’t wait to start reading!

One of these 6 people is not an Ortner. I know, it’s a hard guess. ☺ That’s New York Times Best Selling Author Dr. Mark Hyman joining in on the fun!

Author & Super Size Me producer Alex Jamieson says “Action!” with host of “Got Zen?” Rebekah Borucki and James Maskell of Revive Primary Care

The post See Me Almost Cry appeared first on The Tapping Solution.