EFT: The Choices Protocol
How to do it
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How to formulate your Choices statement
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First, form a Setup statement (see the main EFT page for full instructions in the basics of EFT).
Keep the first part (Even though + problem) and instead of the second part (I deeply and completely accept myself) formulate a phrase using “I choose”. For example, “Even though I feel sick with nerves about this interview, I choose to be completely calm and confident.” |
Pat Carrington has a number of guidelines about how to come up with an effective Choices statement:
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Apply the Choices setup statement with tapping as follows:
First, tap on the Karate Chop point using the whole statement, just as you would for a regular EFT setup statement. Say it three times while tapping: “Even though I feel sick with nerves about this interview, I choose to be completely calm and confident.” Next, tap once around all the points while saying the NEGATIVE part, stating your problem or issue. For our example, you would say “I feel sick with nerves about this interview” while tapping the eyebrow point, say it again while tapping the side of the eye point, say it again while tapping under the eye, etc. Next, tap once around all the points while saying the POSITIVE part, stating your choice or intention. For example, say “I choose to be completely calm and confident.” while tapping the eyebrow point, and then say it again while tapping the side of the eye point, and carry on in this way round all the points. Finally, tap once round all the points while ALTERNATING the negative and positive parts. For example, say “I feel sick with nerves about this interview” while tapping the eyebrow point, then “I choose to be completely calm and confident” while tapping the side of the eye point, then back to “I feel sick with nerves about this interview” while tapping the under the eye point, and so on. Make sure you finish with the positive statement of your choice. It can be helpful to repeat this process several times over the course of a day or week in order to see the greatest effects. |
When can we use the Choices Protocol?
There are a number of points about the Choices Protocol that make it ideal for certain situations.
Please visit Pat Carrington's website to find out more about her methods!
- It is fast. It takes only a couple of minutes to tap three times around the points. This makes it ideal for a ‘quick fix’ when you do not have the privacy or time to fully exploring your problem. Of course, it is better to come back later and thoroughly investigate the initial problem in detail, but this quick method can act as a sticking plaster to help you through something, and starts off the healing process.
- It provides a positive spin without falling into the trap of pasting a happy affirmation over the top of your bad feelings and hoping that they will just go away. Instead of making a classic affirmation like “I feel calm and confident” while your mind is screaming at a conscious and subconscious level “NO! I feel horribly nervous!!!”, this method acknowledges the problem and allows you to state an intention of what you would like to choose instead. This allows your subconscious mind to go about finding a way to achieve your intention instead of getting caught up in frustrating denial.
- I find it very helpful to use the Choices Protocol to end a longer session of tapping. It seems to ‘seal in’ the work done, and provide the subconscious mind with a route to keep working on how to achieve my intention in the direction that I choose.
Please visit Pat Carrington's website to find out more about her methods!
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