gaman
Jedi Master
Detailed Question:
Are the EFT techniques a valid method complimentary to the Eiriu-Eolas (E-E) program for self improvement, or should they be avoided? If they are useful, is there some specific guidance you would provide regarding its usage and applicability to different types of problems?
Description:
From the main web site _http://www.emofree.com/
Reason(s) for asking the question:
1) One of the applications of this approach seems to be healing emotional wounds and issues and if it works it could be a beneficial supplement to other techniques we learn.
2) There are many positive results reported by individuals in forums, by practitioners, and then of course there are the “official” testimonials listed on sites pushing the technique. This leads me to think that there is something helpful in this.
3) It would be helpful to know if we should avoid them, sort of like knowing that there is bad Reiki and good Reiki. This is especially helpful for those of us who aren't very familiar with the world of "alternative" therapies.
4) The claims of fraud that I have found don't seem to be backed up with anything substantial in the way of facts, although this doesn't necessarily discount them. There are, however, some arguments that seem to be good common sense when strong skepticism, but some of them are along unfounded FUD (Fear,Uncertainty,Doubt) lines.
5) I have a strong negative introject that I haven't overcome so I tend to believe to many things like this because I don't trust my own judgment. When it gets into the “alternative” realm where things like energy blockages, meridians, etc. are concerned I particularly don't have any understanding upon which to base a judgment even if I had the self-confidence. I disclose that I feel selfish for asking this question -- maybe because it is something I got excited about and wanted an answer to when there doesn't seem to be any interest noted in these forums on the topic and I can't seem to discern for myself.
6) The instructions are free and there are numerous on-line videos as well (although you can buy training DVD's etc. of course) so it doesn't seem to be an obvious bait-and-switch thing.
Background/Research:
I have searched for studies done on EFT, as well as reports of fraud, bad or no results, etc. and have found that there are people that report deriving no benefit, that there seems to be many more people reporting benefit, and there are the detractors most of which blast in a quackwatch style or worse. I also searched the forms for the keyword “EFT” and found both endorsement and an accusation of pseudoscience. I won't reproduce the forums links here unless requested because they come up easily in the search function.
First of all, here is a site that summarizes some current research done on EFT:
_http://www.thrivingnow.com/for/Health/summary-of-eft-research/
The above site generally gives a positive impression of the results of EFT research. I found the full text of one of the studies referenced (Assessment of the Emotional Freedom Technique: An Alternative Treatment for Fear) online at _http://www.srmhp.org/0201/emotional-freedom-technique.html and went through it in detail to find that the thrivingnow.com summary page slightly biases the “positiveness” of the results from that research in that it doesn't report that the people conducting the study think that tapping on the meridians vs tapping anywhere makes any difference.
As a side note, the author of the thrivingnow.com article states that it is a summary of the content of _http://www.eftupdate.com/ResearchonEFT.html but the wierdness comes that I can access other pages on the eftupdate site just fine, but when I try to pull that particular page it just repeatedly times out.
Also the following page also lists some research done on EFT in which the results appear positive:
_http://www.energypsych.com/Content/readings-num7.htm
Now on the opposing side of the argument, it seems very suspicious that it reports to help alleviate so many different types of issues from emotional to physical maladies. This page holds a discussion asking the question of whether or not it is a scam, and the overall interaction and loyalties seem to represent what I've seen on a couple of other sites with the same question:
_http://eftcommunity.emofree.com/forums/t/2351.aspx
On this page (_http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AoiM2sVsmd714LngjXBmI19IzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20071006051951AAZpcmf) there is a strong skeptic posting which I'll reproduce here because it does make clear points about why this seems like another new agey gimick of fancy words and juju energy:
Finally, the following site, in the spirit of quackwatch, also makes a decent case against:
_http://www.skepdic.com/eft.html
I wasn't sure if I should post the contents of the pages above or just the links so I opted for links unless requested otherwise. If it would be better if I post the content along with the links, then I will be happy to edit this post and do so.
Thanks.
Are the EFT techniques a valid method complimentary to the Eiriu-Eolas (E-E) program for self improvement, or should they be avoided? If they are useful, is there some specific guidance you would provide regarding its usage and applicability to different types of problems?
Description:
From the main web site _http://www.emofree.com/
Reason(s) for asking the question:
1) One of the applications of this approach seems to be healing emotional wounds and issues and if it works it could be a beneficial supplement to other techniques we learn.
2) There are many positive results reported by individuals in forums, by practitioners, and then of course there are the “official” testimonials listed on sites pushing the technique. This leads me to think that there is something helpful in this.
3) It would be helpful to know if we should avoid them, sort of like knowing that there is bad Reiki and good Reiki. This is especially helpful for those of us who aren't very familiar with the world of "alternative" therapies.
4) The claims of fraud that I have found don't seem to be backed up with anything substantial in the way of facts, although this doesn't necessarily discount them. There are, however, some arguments that seem to be good common sense when strong skepticism, but some of them are along unfounded FUD (Fear,Uncertainty,Doubt) lines.
5) I have a strong negative introject that I haven't overcome so I tend to believe to many things like this because I don't trust my own judgment. When it gets into the “alternative” realm where things like energy blockages, meridians, etc. are concerned I particularly don't have any understanding upon which to base a judgment even if I had the self-confidence. I disclose that I feel selfish for asking this question -- maybe because it is something I got excited about and wanted an answer to when there doesn't seem to be any interest noted in these forums on the topic and I can't seem to discern for myself.
6) The instructions are free and there are numerous on-line videos as well (although you can buy training DVD's etc. of course) so it doesn't seem to be an obvious bait-and-switch thing.
Background/Research:
I have searched for studies done on EFT, as well as reports of fraud, bad or no results, etc. and have found that there are people that report deriving no benefit, that there seems to be many more people reporting benefit, and there are the detractors most of which blast in a quackwatch style or worse. I also searched the forms for the keyword “EFT” and found both endorsement and an accusation of pseudoscience. I won't reproduce the forums links here unless requested because they come up easily in the search function.
First of all, here is a site that summarizes some current research done on EFT:
_http://www.thrivingnow.com/for/Health/summary-of-eft-research/
The above site generally gives a positive impression of the results of EFT research. I found the full text of one of the studies referenced (Assessment of the Emotional Freedom Technique: An Alternative Treatment for Fear) online at _http://www.srmhp.org/0201/emotional-freedom-technique.html and went through it in detail to find that the thrivingnow.com summary page slightly biases the “positiveness” of the results from that research in that it doesn't report that the people conducting the study think that tapping on the meridians vs tapping anywhere makes any difference.
As a side note, the author of the thrivingnow.com article states that it is a summary of the content of _http://www.eftupdate.com/ResearchonEFT.html but the wierdness comes that I can access other pages on the eftupdate site just fine, but when I try to pull that particular page it just repeatedly times out.
Also the following page also lists some research done on EFT in which the results appear positive:
_http://www.energypsych.com/Content/readings-num7.htm
Now on the opposing side of the argument, it seems very suspicious that it reports to help alleviate so many different types of issues from emotional to physical maladies. This page holds a discussion asking the question of whether or not it is a scam, and the overall interaction and loyalties seem to represent what I've seen on a couple of other sites with the same question:
_http://eftcommunity.emofree.com/forums/t/2351.aspx
On this page (_http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AoiM2sVsmd714LngjXBmI19IzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20071006051951AAZpcmf) there is a strong skeptic posting which I'll reproduce here because it does make clear points about why this seems like another new agey gimick of fancy words and juju energy:
Finally, the following site, in the spirit of quackwatch, also makes a decent case against:
_http://www.skepdic.com/eft.html
I wasn't sure if I should post the contents of the pages above or just the links so I opted for links unless requested otherwise. If it would be better if I post the content along with the links, then I will be happy to edit this post and do so.
Thanks.
I am really enjoying the EE and the benefits for me have been immediate. Now I know I'm on the right path.
