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EFT for Learning Challenges Page 2

Martin commenced his EFT session with an Intensity Rating (on a 0 to 10 scale) of "6" with regard to his feeling of fogginess in the class and his need to escape from that room.  After one round of the Choices Trio (for a detailed description of this strategy see Chapter 3 of my Choices Manual) he had come down to a "3" on his Intensity Rating. He commented that while he was tapping, he had been thinking of how he really wanted to learn this, yet at the same time he could feel himself wanting to lean back and simply go to sleep.

I asked him to try to remember the class in as much detail as possible and he commented that he had been pretty excited about the class prior to arriving, but at one point the teacher began to go much faster because the material was familiar to some of the students. At that point, he had felt "kind of lost." 

We were preparing to tap on that "lost feeling", when something else came to Martin's mind that supplied a clue to the real difficulty underlying his reaction of sleepiness.  Martin casually mentioned that his sleepiness began when he was asked to type an example given in class (each student works with a computer in front of them) and work on it by HIMSELF.  Up to that point the teacher had been demonstrating to the class, but at this point the instructor turned to the class and said, "Now you're on your own."  It was then that Martin's sleepiness occurred.

Something rang a bell in my own mind when he told me this.  When Martin had been forced to switch schools as a boy (his family had moved to the new city), this event had been extremely difficult for him because in his former school the classes had been very small and he received a great deal of attention and encouragement from the nuns who were teaching him.  But in the new public school into which he had suddenly been thrust, he found himself in a class of 60 children where there was virtually no possibility of individual attention.  From that point on, Martin's attitude toward school radically changed and his grades, plunged.  His reaction became one of discouragement and dislike of school.

Could it be that it was the computer teacher's comment, "Now you're on your own", which had triggered Martin's adverse reaction of intense sleepiness?  As soon as I asked him about this, Martin felt in touch with this concept. 

Still, however, I wasn't sure we were on the right track until I had tested him by saying to him loudly, "Now you're on your own!" and saw his immediate reaction of high anxiety and a sense of helplessness. 

Aha!  Now we had a clear-cut issue to work on.   Martin and I formulated the following set-up phrase:

"Even though the teacher said "You're on your own", I choose to see how strikingly different this new class is from that public school class."

I wanted Martin to make a clear distinction between the past and present, which is why I suggested he include the word "new".  One of the most important reasons that a problem may linger from the past and affect the present is that the unconscious mind has no sense of time.  To this part of the mind, if it happened before, it is happening NOW.  It is therefore extremely helpful when making an EFT Choice to word it in such a way that the difference between the past and the present is clarified.  This can free a person from the tyranny of the past, can let bygones be bygones.

After one more round of the Choices Trio, tapping on this new phrase, Martin spontaneously commented that it was now clear to him that the words, "You're on your own," had been a trigger phrase for him.  So, I decided to test Martin again by saying to him, "You're on your own!" Very forcefully this time. He reported that although his intensity level was now reduced somewhat to a "5", he could feel his heart beginning to race when I said that. 

For the next round, therefore, Martin created a new set-up phrase which went as follows:

"Even though my teacher said "You're on your own." I choose to know that he's always there to help me."

He explained that, in fact, his computer teacher was very responsive to the class (which was a small one) and that the structure of the class allowed the teacher to circulate among the students, each of whom was working on their own computer, and help them whenever they raised their hand.  This was quite different from the public school class of his childhood!  

Martin did one more round of the Choices Trio using this set-up phrase. He was down to "1." This time, when I called out, "You're on your own!" it simply didn't bother Martin anymore. 

"I'm feeling better about the whole thing" he said, "And now I'm remembering that what perked me up during the class was when my teacher made a couple of mistakes himself — and HE'S a Ph.D. in computer science!"

He was now at the end of his hour, and clearly there was another issue to handle with regard to Martin's ability to be imperfect, but he was already on the way to handling this.  He took home a Choices card with his last setup phrase on it and enthusiastically declared that he would be tapping on this issue at home. 

When he returned two weeks later, he told me that at the next class he had that "groggy feeling" again, but that he tapped in his head, doing mental EFT (an excellent option that works for many, but not all people) and then felt fine.

"The course is actually making sense to me — I'm actually enjoying it." he said, adding that he is planning to take a more advanced course in the same subject next semester.  What a change!

Since Martin is diligent about doing his EFT homework, I have no doubt that overcoming this latest challenge has represented another turnaround for him. I am certain that it will lead to a new level of competence in his computer training.  It will certainly be intriguing to watch!

EFT Master, Dr. Patricia Carrington

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