Tap, Tap, Tap . . .

Darling Lisa over at Life in the Grateful House has been touting the healing possible for our kiddos using the EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), or Tapping, for a few years.  J has been doing Tapping for some time and has had great success.  Lisa began Tapping a while ago for herself and has found that it has helped her deal with many things in her own life.  This year in Orlando, she shared the technique with a bunch of moms.  These mamas went home, began tapping with their kiddos and for themselves.  They have seen great changes in their kids and in themselves.  I was still not moved.  Lisa organized a teleconference with Tapping-Guru Brad Yates and I was not one to pass up on free, so I decided I would give it a whirl and listen, maybe.

I am a bit oppositional when it comes to things people think I should be doing.  The posts on our Orlando forum were not helping me.  I was thrilled these mamas were having success, but I was not having it.  I would not be convinced.  Until the other day. . .

I decided to Tap last Friday.  I figured what could it hurt right?  I was in a bad mood.  Dustin has been horrific.  We are dealing with some money issues.  Work was crazy.  I was not feeling well.  I did not want my mood to carry over into my evening at home and make the kids bonkers.  I was determined that my weekend would start off on a good foot.  I did it.  I tapped for the first time.  It totally calmed me down and turned my mood around.  As we all know, if mama is happy, everything goes much more smoothly.   I was an immediate believer.  I posted about it on our forum and Lisa refrained from hitting me with a big ol' TOLD YOU SO.  She is gracious like that!

Yesterday I Tapped before coming home.  Dustin has been very off lately.  He yells and screams all the time.  He is angry, foul tempered, and nasty.  He is either screaming, whining or crying.  He is argumentative and picks fights with everyone.  I did not want to come home.  I came home and Robert was fed up with Dustin. We began to bicker with one another.  I was calm, but I could tell I was getting fired up. I ran to the store for a couple items and to catch my breath.  I decided to Tap on the way home while at a  stoplight and I look over and see the occupants of the car next to me staring.  It was hysterical.  I knew then I was hooked! 

This brings us to tonight.  I introduced my kids to tapping tonight.  The littles Tapped on the ride home.  We focused on them being kind, respectful and obedient.   My thought was that they would be better able to deal with Dustin is they were in a calm frame of mind.  I tapped with Dustin when I got home.  He thought I was crazy, but he did it.  I kept his script pretty simple, we talked about being calm, obedient and peaceful.

Here is the kicker.  Tonight was AMAZING!  He did not raise his voice once.  He did not scream or cry.  He took direction.  If he asked for something and I said "No" he said, "Ok".   That never happens.  I swear. This stuff is the real deal.

If you want to understand more about Tapping and the science and history behind it, you can watch this short video.  It is not voodoo.  It is not religious.  It is not new-age.  It is based on acupuncture points.  It is amazing. 

If you want to figure out how to make your script, you can go here for the "recipe". 

If you want to see some tapping videos you can search for Brad Yates on YouTube, or visit Lisa's blog.   

Really, what can it hurt?  Give it a chance. I promise you will not be sorry.

A part . . .

This weekend I was blessed to have my best friend come a spend the weekend with me. I have not seen her since Orlando at the beginning of last month. We didn't have any plans or anything to do so we just hung out and shared life. It was nice, no pressure to entertain her, we just enjoyed each other.

Yesterday we were in an out of the house, running errands and doing some projects I wanted to finish. We hit the farm market, Goodwill, did laundry, fixed some clothes that needed mending, did a sewing project for her camera lenses, made a wonderful lunch, picked up some items from a resale I was participating in, ran more errands and just generally laughed and had fun. It was 3:00 am before I headed upstairs and tried to turn off my mind. I went to sleep thinking about how very blessed I was.

It has only been 9 months since we were introduced through an email, and I cannot fathom my life with her in it. She knows me inside and out and she still considers me a friend. She knows the good, the bad, and the so very ugly. I know I can share anything with her and she will listen and not judge. She gave me some good advice this weekend on dealing with my kids and I am thankful for her wisdom. I am a better person with her in my life. She is kind, funny, wise and compassionate. My kids love her. My husband enjoys her wit and the fact she appreciates his sarcasm. I love her to pieces and I am thrilled she is a part of my life, my family and my heart.

How do you know that you enjoyed a busy weekend laughing with your best friend? When the both of you are photographers and have both cameras in the house and you cannot remember to take a picture of yourselves together! :)