Digging deeper into this fascinating process that George Duisman introduced me to with CTT, I felt the need to nerd-out, to dig deeper and research how the simple act of tapping on alternate sides of the body can move stuck energy so effectively. This led me to EMDR, which is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing;
“It was discovered accidentally by Francine Shapiro Phd as she was walking in a park in the late 1980’s. As she was walking… she noticed that some distressing feelings she was having about a particular situation suddenly ceased. When she reflected back on what happened, she remembered that she had experienced some spontaneous saccadic eye movements (kind of rapid blinking). This led her to experiment further and the discovery that when a person deliberately focuses on a distressing memory, and then concentrates on bilateral stimulation, their distress is reduced. ”*
Further research by EMDR practitioners discovered that it wasn’t only eye movements that brought about these shifts:
“Bilateral stimulation is stimuli (visual, auditory or tactile) which occur in a rhythmic left-right pattern. For example, visual bilateral stimulation could involve watching a hand or moving light alternating from left to right and back again. Auditory bilateral stimulation could involve listening to tones that alternate between the left and right sides of the head.”*
So the focus shifted from eye movements to any stimuli which occurred in a rhythmic left-right pattern. This resulted in a number of products ranging from audio recordings of tones which shifted from left to right channels, to devices looking like twin wrist watches that deliver a vibration to alternating wrists. The effects are similar to what has been shown with EFT tapping:
“These effects are experienced as a ‘bottom-up’ cascade of changes meaning that they are experienced in the lower areas of the brain first, as a physiological response (ie; decreased tension) then travel ‘up’ the brain leading to mental changes (eg; decreased worry). Because this order works with how the brain normally processes information, the effects are often experienced more quickly and easily than with say top-down strategies such as insight and conscious introspection.”*
Which brings us to what George Duisman explored with CTT (Consciousness Transformation Technique). Using EFT as a jumping off point, Duisman started from a cross-armed position, tapping with alternating hands on the upper arms. I have found this to be surprisingly effective. I will be going forward on a dual track: I am using Duisman’s bi-lateral alternating tapping form on my clients who are not familiar with EFT. But as many of my clients already know the EFT procedure and the tapping points, that is more comfortable for them and doesn’t require further explanation. I am in the process of getting my certification in EFT to deepen and enhance my use of this amazing healing technology. I believe that the combination of EFT tapping with the Swygards’ Awareness Techniques is a major breakthrough in moving energy and processing traumas. Try it, it works!
* (https://anxietyreleaseapp.com/what-is-bilateral-stimulation/