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EFT for Sleep Issues
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New Way to Use EFT for Getting to Sleep
A New Way to Use EFT for Getting to Sleep
By Dr. Patricia Carrington
From time
to time I have written about ways in which EFT can be very helpful when we
want to get to sleep and can’t seem to. Recently, I have
discovered an additional way to do this which I find extremely useful.
You may want to try a variation of it at those moments when you want to get
to sleep quickly.
Before any
of us fall to sleep, as I well remember from my studies during the years when
I was engaged in research on sleep and dreams, we enter a period known as the
“hypnagogic state”. That short period of time that occurs
before sleep proper begins, and is identifiable on electroencephalographic
recordings as having a very different type of brain waves from the fully
awake state. There is a distinct shift in the electrical patterns of
the brain at this time, and when we are in this pre-sleep state our mental
associations are loosened and our mind seems to drift from one thought or
image to another in a much freer manner. Our thoughts now have an
involuntary aspect to them and we glide with these thoughts and images until
we are suddenly, without realizing it, asleep.
The main
characteristic of this hypnagogic state which we all experience every night,
is a sense of “drifting”, almost as though we were being carried
on a gentle stream that was wafting us along. Because this “drifting
sensation” is the most distinguishing characteristic of the pre-sleep
state, I have found that one of the most effective things that we can do if
we're not particularly sleepy when we lie down, is to do EFT in the following
way.
Without
using your hands to tap –– because to move your body at this time
would be to bring yourself back to the waking state –– you can
use EFT to create and intensify the drifting feeling. Once you recreate
the hypnagogic state, sleep almost inevitably follows simply and naturally.
You
don’t want to repeat the EFT phrases out loud for the same reason, but
simply think them in your mind, imagining each tapping point in turn.
You may find that you only get halfway through a round of imaginary tapping
before you are no longer able to concentrate on the process because the
pre-sleep state has taken over and your logical mind no longer focuses.
This is a sign that a restful sleep is around the corner!
Here is
how you go about bringing on sleep using EFT this way in this manner:
Begin with
the inner eyebrow point (you could also begin with the karate chop spot or
the sore spot if you prefer) and do a round of mental tapping by saying to
yourself in your mind (but not out loud):
“That
drifting ness… That drifting ness...” at each EFT spot.
Or you may
want to say, “Drifting thoughts… drifting thoughts…
drifting thoughts...” at each spot.
Or,
“That drifting feeling… that drifting feeling… that
drifting feeling…” at each spot.
Use
whatever phrase works best for you. The point to remember is that the
concept of “drifting” is central. It brings back the memory
of the pre-sleep state and that is all you need in order to shift your
physiology in such a way that sleep is usually inevitable. As I said
before, you may often drift off to sleep even before you are finished with
your first round of EFT.
I suggest
you try this simple tactic the next time you have trouble falling asleep.
EFT
Master, Dr. Patricia Carrington
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