Freeway-CER - curious about learning for personal use
I've been doing EFT for a week and am getting some good results from it. I like what I've read about Freeway not requiring one to dredge up their past events. I'm thinking of ordering their book and am wondering if it is as easy to learn as EFT.
Answers:
It's just as easy as EFT, if not simpler, if you're familiar with EFT protocols you should pick up Freeway basics pretty quickly. What is even easier still, is if you were to visit a practitioner and have a session and then you'd be au fait with the routines and how to construct affirmations as they are quite different to those you would use in EFT. I have to admit I've done only Freeway with clients since I did the course, seems to do the trick and you can work from most recent backwards to get the clearance and not have to look at the first time, unless of course you feel that is appropriate.If you have any specific questions let me know.. need to pop out just now. Night night.
Answers:
Thank you for the response. I'm on the other side of the pond so visiting a practitioner would be rather involved. :)
Answers:
I got the book and I find it a lot harder to read than the EFT book. Has anyone here learned Freeway from the book?
Answers:
I've got several of the books from going on the courses. What the exact title of the one you are reading?
Answers:
It is called 'Advanced Manual with Covers'. I asked Tom why he sent that one instead of the basic book and he said "the advanced manual gives you most of what is in the book plus a little extra so you have gained".
Answers:
I would probably agree that the advanced manual is very similar to the basic one.. there's just a touch more in the advanced. I wouldn't worry about not having the basic.
The basic routines pretty easy to learn, much quicker than the EFT one and still hits all the meridians. If you need any help constructing a couple of sample affirmations please let one of us know and we'll be able to talk you through. If what you're working on is private, and you would like an example then by all means give us a dummy setup or problem and we can show you how the affirmation protocol would work fo maximum benefit.
Just think of it this way - think of the most recent event and go from there..
Answers:
There is so little in the book about the Freeway-CER procedure that it is difficult for me to believe it is complete. There are one and a half pages on locating the points and how to use them. Then there are two pages on yawning. Then the one and a half pages on locating the points and how to use them are repeated verbatim. Then there is a quarter page onRARP. Then there are a few pages on the tapping sequence, a summary and that's it.
The first thing I want to work on is my social phobia. There is no associated event because I don't socialize.
Answers:
One part of the book says "touch the next rib above the lower rib and tap". Another part of the book says " tap the centre of the bottom left rib". Is it the bottom rib or the rib above the bottom rib?
Answers:
You'll find that the manuals are this way because the procedure itself is (whilst complete in its own right) just a small component of the entire Freeway package. In a nutshell, you just tap through the points to make a full round and use your RARP statement if you find things are not shifting - you'll find in the round following a RARP things will plummet.
Social phobia - that can be quite a varied thing..
Is the social phobia with regards to mixing with people in general or with being out in the open or crowds? You probably need to focus on the last times you've been social and the feelings during those events.
Answers:
I naively thought that Freeway would not require me to figure out what my social phobia is all about. It looks like I will need to see a therapist about this.
Answers:
About ten years ago I spent a lot of money on a variety of NLP therapists for my condition. I did not get any results and my condition worsened.
I have not be able to work for several years and now I have used up all my savings. So now I am sceptical about therapy and I also can't afford it. I would charge the therapy on my credit card if I thought it would get me working again, but I'm doubtful about that. I guess that is something I can tap on.
Answers:
With respect to ribs, you kinda bunch your fingers together so they are in a little circle at the tips and tap the rib, it hits both to be honest.
Not naive - you just need to think when did I last feel this, maybe you were meant to go out and didn't want to / feel able to and this would be what you would need to work on, you don't need to dig to the deepest levels unless that's something you want.
Freeway is effective, but as with all therapies, EFT included you need to cite occasions which have caused you upset in order to drill down and remove the trauma associated with other events. The problem is though - you may find the things you don't want to work on will bring most relief if you're using the EFT route, sometimes tapping on 'even though I don't want to work on this, don't want to think about this' helps.. It's scary to let go of things which have plagued us for a long while, it can be earthshattering, but it is worth it.
I can appreciate your apprehension about using a therapist, it's costly, I'd say something like Freeway or EFT are good cause they do remove the negative associations quickly and painlessly. A good practitioner should bring you a lot of relief in just one session, although you may need further sessions to clean other bits up. It all depends on how deeply ingrained it is. I recall Des had a client with agoraphobia (correct me if I'm wrong) cleared it in one shot, client got their life back - that's worth it's weight in gold. All you can do is try.. and trying may well be all you need..
Answers:
As Justine mentioned, FREEWAY is a whole system of things, not just a tapping procedure. There are many beneficial healing sounds, energising sounds, meditations, calm routine etc. which all go alongside to provide a beneficial therapy to yourself (and your clients if you are a practitioner of it).
The tapping part, which is the most commonly used bit with clients is referred to as the CER procedure, although in general we always tend to just call it FREEWAY-CER, so it's clear that it's part of FREEWAY.
Like you say, in the manual the tapping points are covered as well as a description of the RARP and TP and the procedure and order in which things should be done. Any of the manuals/books that describe the CER procedure tend to firstly go over the points and what they are and then describe the procedure going over the points again and some manuals/books will show the procedure being done with pictures. Repetition in different styles is a good means of ensuring that you understand what it is.
For the lower ribs points (left or right) if you bunch up your fingers and thumbs and aim for the area around the lower rib, directly below the nipple, you'll be in the right area. Don't worry too much if you're not hitting the exact spot because a) the flow of everyones meridian system can vary based on several factors and b) the vibration caused by tapping in one spot will be felt by the correct location.
Now, as for you social phobia, you don't necessarily have to work out the root cause of what it is about. If you know that or have a good idea then fine, you can work on that, but if you don't just think of the most recent time when you felt the social phobia. Think about what the specific feelings were that you were having at that time and which of the feelings was the strongest. Be specific about what you are tapping on, so if e.g. it was at a party and you were afraid to go up and speak to somebody and it made you feel sick in your stomach, and the party was on that friday night last month, then make your focus phrase something like "Sick stomach feelings at the party that friday last month". You want to make sure that the phrase you use focuses you specifically on that one event, and if it doesn't then change it so that it's more specific and does focus you on it.
Well there's a starter, so see how you get on.
Love and Reiki Hugs
Answers:
I dunno about Des (Dez?), but I treated someone with a Shark phobia andDeep Blue Water phobiajust the other week (causing nightmares and insomnia for the client to the extent he has been on prescribed meds), After the first session (about 1 1/2 hrs) he made big improvements and was curious as to whether the session focussing on sharks would bring forth the nightmares he so dreads (but it didn't) and then the second session (45 mins) was just clearing up a couple of loose ends and putting it to the test. I had him happily browsing through a book of the deep blue ocean with pictures of sharks etc. in it. All he could say was "they're ugly beasts aren't they". To the best of my knowledge, since then, he hasn't had any problems with the Phobias any more.
Every client is different and this is just an example of how successful these therapies can be. Some clients and issues may take longer to resolve depending on the number of aspects involved, some may just take one or two rounds of tapping.
Love and Reiki Hugs
Answers:
I have structured my life so that my social phobia is not triggered. I only go out to buy food and that does not trigger my phobia.
Answers:
so you can go out and get food without triggering your phobia, good. so my question is what do you have to do to trigger our phobia????
that is what you need to know then you can apply FREEWAY-CER to the trigger/s , you dont have to actually do the trigger, just thinking about the triggers may kick in the feelings, ifit does then that is a starting point.
your phobia has held you bcak in life so there must be many times in the past where it has been a problem for you.
pick a few of the memories when the problem has been an issue for you and get the MILS for 4-5 times from the past ( recent or older ones ) score each one and get applying the technique on them.
buying a book and doing it your self is no substitute for seeing a suitably trained therapist however you can learn and apply the tehnique to get things going.
there are plenty of people here who can adise you so give us all some information to work with and we can go from there.
social phbia means nothing, so tapping on that will do nothing, its to general , we need examples of times when this as been a problem for you.get specific.
dez
Answers:
[/align][align=left]Can you give me some idea of how the affirmations are different than those in EFT? The Freeway book says to use a focus word or phrase to keep your mind on the issue you are dealing with. Thatsounds about the same as EFT to me.[/align]
Answers:
Heya again
My heart does go out to you, I used to suffer from panic attacks when I left the house, I didn't know about meridian therapies so had to slowly reindtroduce myself to the real world, I now realise there are much more appealing ways to get over these anxieties, you just need to say to yourself you're ready to do whatever it takes NOW to get your life back - and give you the choices to say I'm staying in just now, but later today I'm going out and having fun, and just doing it. Believe me.. it's the best feeling in the world when you take back your freedom.
You asked about the affirmation.. and I think Giles example is as good as you can get.
In short, think of an event, maybe an emotion, and your thoughts of it, describe it to yourself, when was it, then try and make a short affirmation which is meaningful to you which gives you some sort of emotional intensity, it is at this point that you would give it a MIL, and see how you feel.
If I use an affirmation I might have used previously I might be thinking of a time I went to the supermarket (Sainsburys) and had an attack and left the trolley there cause I needed to get out, I'd think of the time period and assign an affirmation perhaps like this 'Friday afternoon Sainsburys trolley panic'. The affirmations do sound clunky in comparison to what you might choose for EFT, however they do work, very well indeed.
As Dez (Sorry I can't type for toffee) has explained, nothing beats a therapist to move you along, even if it's just one session to really kick start things. The beauty of these techniques is that they can be done over the phone, so if noone is local, you can always contact someone and have a telephone session, and the benefit is you're in the comfort of your own home for that session - and you'll find you'll have lost much of those negative feelings and desire to avoid triggers to the phobia.
Go with the advice of Dez and Giles, it's sound, seriously.. see how you go, you're ready to let this go, you must be, you're asking us how to free yourself of this phobia, time to let go and move on.
Answers:
It's just as easy as EFT, if not simpler, if you're familiar with EFT protocols you should pick up Freeway basics pretty quickly. What is even easier still, is if you were to visit a practitioner and have a session and then you'd be au fait with the routines and how to construct affirmations as they are quite different to those you would use in EFT. I have to admit I've done only Freeway with clients since I did the course, seems to do the trick and you can work from most recent backwards to get the clearance and not have to look at the first time, unless of course you feel that is appropriate.If you have any specific questions let me know.. need to pop out just now. Night night.
Answers:
Thank you for the response. I'm on the other side of the pond so visiting a practitioner would be rather involved. :)
Answers:
I got the book and I find it a lot harder to read than the EFT book. Has anyone here learned Freeway from the book?
Answers:
I've got several of the books from going on the courses. What the exact title of the one you are reading?
Answers:
It is called 'Advanced Manual with Covers'. I asked Tom why he sent that one instead of the basic book and he said "the advanced manual gives you most of what is in the book plus a little extra so you have gained".
Answers:
I would probably agree that the advanced manual is very similar to the basic one.. there's just a touch more in the advanced. I wouldn't worry about not having the basic.
The basic routines pretty easy to learn, much quicker than the EFT one and still hits all the meridians. If you need any help constructing a couple of sample affirmations please let one of us know and we'll be able to talk you through. If what you're working on is private, and you would like an example then by all means give us a dummy setup or problem and we can show you how the affirmation protocol would work fo maximum benefit.
Just think of it this way - think of the most recent event and go from there..
Answers:
There is so little in the book about the Freeway-CER procedure that it is difficult for me to believe it is complete. There are one and a half pages on locating the points and how to use them. Then there are two pages on yawning. Then the one and a half pages on locating the points and how to use them are repeated verbatim. Then there is a quarter page onRARP. Then there are a few pages on the tapping sequence, a summary and that's it.
The first thing I want to work on is my social phobia. There is no associated event because I don't socialize.
Answers:
One part of the book says "touch the next rib above the lower rib and tap". Another part of the book says " tap the centre of the bottom left rib". Is it the bottom rib or the rib above the bottom rib?
Answers:
You'll find that the manuals are this way because the procedure itself is (whilst complete in its own right) just a small component of the entire Freeway package. In a nutshell, you just tap through the points to make a full round and use your RARP statement if you find things are not shifting - you'll find in the round following a RARP things will plummet.
Social phobia - that can be quite a varied thing..
Is the social phobia with regards to mixing with people in general or with being out in the open or crowds? You probably need to focus on the last times you've been social and the feelings during those events.
Answers:
I naively thought that Freeway would not require me to figure out what my social phobia is all about. It looks like I will need to see a therapist about this.
Answers:
About ten years ago I spent a lot of money on a variety of NLP therapists for my condition. I did not get any results and my condition worsened.
I have not be able to work for several years and now I have used up all my savings. So now I am sceptical about therapy and I also can't afford it. I would charge the therapy on my credit card if I thought it would get me working again, but I'm doubtful about that. I guess that is something I can tap on.
Answers:
With respect to ribs, you kinda bunch your fingers together so they are in a little circle at the tips and tap the rib, it hits both to be honest.
Not naive - you just need to think when did I last feel this, maybe you were meant to go out and didn't want to / feel able to and this would be what you would need to work on, you don't need to dig to the deepest levels unless that's something you want.
Freeway is effective, but as with all therapies, EFT included you need to cite occasions which have caused you upset in order to drill down and remove the trauma associated with other events. The problem is though - you may find the things you don't want to work on will bring most relief if you're using the EFT route, sometimes tapping on 'even though I don't want to work on this, don't want to think about this' helps.. It's scary to let go of things which have plagued us for a long while, it can be earthshattering, but it is worth it.
I can appreciate your apprehension about using a therapist, it's costly, I'd say something like Freeway or EFT are good cause they do remove the negative associations quickly and painlessly. A good practitioner should bring you a lot of relief in just one session, although you may need further sessions to clean other bits up. It all depends on how deeply ingrained it is. I recall Des had a client with agoraphobia (correct me if I'm wrong) cleared it in one shot, client got their life back - that's worth it's weight in gold. All you can do is try.. and trying may well be all you need..
Answers:
As Justine mentioned, FREEWAY is a whole system of things, not just a tapping procedure. There are many beneficial healing sounds, energising sounds, meditations, calm routine etc. which all go alongside to provide a beneficial therapy to yourself (and your clients if you are a practitioner of it).
The tapping part, which is the most commonly used bit with clients is referred to as the CER procedure, although in general we always tend to just call it FREEWAY-CER, so it's clear that it's part of FREEWAY.
Like you say, in the manual the tapping points are covered as well as a description of the RARP and TP and the procedure and order in which things should be done. Any of the manuals/books that describe the CER procedure tend to firstly go over the points and what they are and then describe the procedure going over the points again and some manuals/books will show the procedure being done with pictures. Repetition in different styles is a good means of ensuring that you understand what it is.
For the lower ribs points (left or right) if you bunch up your fingers and thumbs and aim for the area around the lower rib, directly below the nipple, you'll be in the right area. Don't worry too much if you're not hitting the exact spot because a) the flow of everyones meridian system can vary based on several factors and b) the vibration caused by tapping in one spot will be felt by the correct location.
Now, as for you social phobia, you don't necessarily have to work out the root cause of what it is about. If you know that or have a good idea then fine, you can work on that, but if you don't just think of the most recent time when you felt the social phobia. Think about what the specific feelings were that you were having at that time and which of the feelings was the strongest. Be specific about what you are tapping on, so if e.g. it was at a party and you were afraid to go up and speak to somebody and it made you feel sick in your stomach, and the party was on that friday night last month, then make your focus phrase something like "Sick stomach feelings at the party that friday last month". You want to make sure that the phrase you use focuses you specifically on that one event, and if it doesn't then change it so that it's more specific and does focus you on it.
Well there's a starter, so see how you get on.
Love and Reiki Hugs
Answers:
I dunno about Des (Dez?), but I treated someone with a Shark phobia andDeep Blue Water phobiajust the other week (causing nightmares and insomnia for the client to the extent he has been on prescribed meds), After the first session (about 1 1/2 hrs) he made big improvements and was curious as to whether the session focussing on sharks would bring forth the nightmares he so dreads (but it didn't) and then the second session (45 mins) was just clearing up a couple of loose ends and putting it to the test. I had him happily browsing through a book of the deep blue ocean with pictures of sharks etc. in it. All he could say was "they're ugly beasts aren't they". To the best of my knowledge, since then, he hasn't had any problems with the Phobias any more.
Every client is different and this is just an example of how successful these therapies can be. Some clients and issues may take longer to resolve depending on the number of aspects involved, some may just take one or two rounds of tapping.
Love and Reiki Hugs
Answers:
I have structured my life so that my social phobia is not triggered. I only go out to buy food and that does not trigger my phobia.
Answers:
so you can go out and get food without triggering your phobia, good. so my question is what do you have to do to trigger our phobia????
that is what you need to know then you can apply FREEWAY-CER to the trigger/s , you dont have to actually do the trigger, just thinking about the triggers may kick in the feelings, ifit does then that is a starting point.
your phobia has held you bcak in life so there must be many times in the past where it has been a problem for you.
pick a few of the memories when the problem has been an issue for you and get the MILS for 4-5 times from the past ( recent or older ones ) score each one and get applying the technique on them.
buying a book and doing it your self is no substitute for seeing a suitably trained therapist however you can learn and apply the tehnique to get things going.
there are plenty of people here who can adise you so give us all some information to work with and we can go from there.
social phbia means nothing, so tapping on that will do nothing, its to general , we need examples of times when this as been a problem for you.get specific.
dez
Answers:
[/align][align=left]Can you give me some idea of how the affirmations are different than those in EFT? The Freeway book says to use a focus word or phrase to keep your mind on the issue you are dealing with. Thatsounds about the same as EFT to me.[/align]
Answers:
Heya again
My heart does go out to you, I used to suffer from panic attacks when I left the house, I didn't know about meridian therapies so had to slowly reindtroduce myself to the real world, I now realise there are much more appealing ways to get over these anxieties, you just need to say to yourself you're ready to do whatever it takes NOW to get your life back - and give you the choices to say I'm staying in just now, but later today I'm going out and having fun, and just doing it. Believe me.. it's the best feeling in the world when you take back your freedom.
You asked about the affirmation.. and I think Giles example is as good as you can get.
In short, think of an event, maybe an emotion, and your thoughts of it, describe it to yourself, when was it, then try and make a short affirmation which is meaningful to you which gives you some sort of emotional intensity, it is at this point that you would give it a MIL, and see how you feel.
If I use an affirmation I might have used previously I might be thinking of a time I went to the supermarket (Sainsburys) and had an attack and left the trolley there cause I needed to get out, I'd think of the time period and assign an affirmation perhaps like this 'Friday afternoon Sainsburys trolley panic'. The affirmations do sound clunky in comparison to what you might choose for EFT, however they do work, very well indeed.
As Dez (Sorry I can't type for toffee) has explained, nothing beats a therapist to move you along, even if it's just one session to really kick start things. The beauty of these techniques is that they can be done over the phone, so if noone is local, you can always contact someone and have a telephone session, and the benefit is you're in the comfort of your own home for that session - and you'll find you'll have lost much of those negative feelings and desire to avoid triggers to the phobia.
Go with the advice of Dez and Giles, it's sound, seriously.. see how you go, you're ready to let this go, you must be, you're asking us how to free yourself of this phobia, time to let go and move on.