A Picture Paints A Thousand Words

Lately I have been working more and more with the imagery of the subconscious mind. I love working this way! For those of you who are more visual this is perfect. If you are more auditory or kinaesthetic then you can focus more on the sounds or feelings.

You can try working this way yourself. Bring to mind an issue you’d like to work on. Rate your issue in the usual way (o – 10 intensity). Now close your eyes and tune it to the issue and ask yourself if there is an image that represents this issue. Or you could ask what would that issue look like? Just let the image come to you. It probably won’t make much logical sense. That doesn’t matter – your subconscious mind works directly with these images.

If it is a physical pain or feeling you are working on you could ask what colour is that pain? What size or shape is it? Build up the picture as much as you can. Then you can either use this image directly in your tapping or tap on the issue itself and check how the picture changes as you progress. Typically what happens is that the picture changes as you clear out the emotions.

For example, a recent image I had was a hard red plastic wall stuck in front of me. I could just about see through it. I tapped on:

  • Even though I have this hard red plastic wall stuck in front of me, I still love and accept myself anyway
  • Even though this fear is like a hard red plastic wall in front of me, I know that right now, I’m ok
  • Even though I feel all this fear and I can see it stuck in front of me like a hard red plastic wall, I completely accept all of my feelings about this

I tapped through the points interchanging the imagery words with the feelings. At the end of my session my image had changed quite significantly. The hard red plastic wall had changed into a soft red sheet which was further away from and blowing gently in the breeze. I also felt the fear had gone and there were some other emotions left for me to work on.

You can also use the imagery less directly too. A client of mine felt her problems were like this really tall tower that she wanted to climb but didn’t know how to. It had vertical sides which were slippery and it seemed impossible to climb. We didn’t work with this image directly but at the end of each session we check in with her tower to see how it is changing. The sides became less slippery, footholds appeared and she was now equipped with climbing gear. Gradually her tower is changing and she can now see a way to the top.

Impossible Tower

This is a such a wonderful way to work where you can see the changes happening right before your eyes!

Hope you have fun with this!

Keep tapping
Louise
07866 013 637
louise@freeflowingenergy.co.uk

3 Ways to Enhance Your Sports Performance

Here are 3 ways to Enhance Your Sports Performance:

  1. Release the negatives
  2. Tap in the positives
  3. Aid your recovery

1. Release the Negatives

We all know that what we think about our performance, affects our performance. So you’ve got to get into your thinking and discover what it is that you are thinking before your event.

Do you visualise yourself winning or succeeding?

If not – then why not? What are you visualising instead?

Do you picture yourself failing? Do you think I didn’t do too well last time? Do you dwell on your mistakes or failures? If so, you are setting yourself up for more of the same!

I’d like to show you a way of using EFT or Emotional Freedom Techniques to really empower yourself for winning and success.

Firstly, address your negative thoughts, self doubts, mistakes etc. Now this stage could take some time – so don’t rush it. Try writing down all of the things you think, feel and picture and work on them one by one. Here are some examples to get you started.

  • Even though I always focus on what I did wrong during my last race, I’m open to accepting myself anyway
  • Even though that last game I played, I didn’t do my best, I accept myself anyway
  • Even though I keep playing over that last race in my mind and everything I did wrong, I’m open to releasing this and focussing on what I did right

Ok, I hope you get the idea. Tap on all the negatives until you have cleared them all. It really is a good idea to write a list down and work your way through it to ensure you get everything.

2. Tap in the Positives

Now, focus on creating a positive visualisation of you in the future. Visualise your race, event, game etc going the best it possibly could. Turn up the colours and make them bright and vivid. Increase the sounds around you if they are important (e.g. cheering from the audience). Turn up the feelings in your body. Make them intense so you really feel good.

Now come up with a summary of your positive visualisation e.g. My perfect race, my game going just as I planned etc. You can now use EFT to tap in the positive visualisation. Repeat the tapping starting at the eyebrow and finishing on top of your head:

Eyebrow: My perfect race
Side of Eye: My perfect race
Under Eye: My perfect race
Etc

My Perfect Race

Use this visualisation and tapping routine often!

3. Aid Your Recovery

If you have an injury then you can use Emotional Freedom Techniques to help your body recover. If there are any negative emotions associated with your injury then work on those. You can also work on your physical injury using EFT being as specific as possible. So if you have strained your gluteal muscle then tap on that. E.g.

  • Even though I have strained this gluteal muscle and it’s causing me pain, I accept myself anyway
  • Even though I have this strained gluteal muscle, I deeply and completely accept myself anyway
  • Even though this right gluteal muscle is hurting like hell, I accept myself anyway

You can also address any frustrations that you have about your injury. E.g.

  • Even though this strained gluteal muscle is frustrating me because I can’t train and I really want to get back to my program, I accept all of me anyway
  • Even though this gluteal muscle is taking way to long to heal, I accept my body is trying it’s best

Keep on tapping until you have fully recovered. Please be sensible and allow yourself to recover from your injuries rather than trying to use EFT to dull the pain and doing it anyway.

Enjoy your enhanced sports performance!

Happy tapping!
Louise

Making Time For Meditation

I used to meditate every day. Then I kind of “fell off the wagon” and never really got back on properly. I would do it again sporadically. Sometimes I’d get into a good groove and do it for months, other times I’d not do it for months.

I recently changed that though. I started again and I noticed how easy it was! I just slid right into my groove – like never before. No struggling to “get into the zone”.

I had two amazing meditations recently, that I want to share.

Sense Garden

I stood before a wooden gate, so I turned the handle and went through it. I found myself in a beautiful garden. It seemed to simulate all of my senses. As I walked through the garden, I could feel the sunshine on my skin. There was a beautiful scent in the air as I walked in further. There was a herb garden with rosemary, basil, coriander and mint. Then there were climbing plants with wonderful scents like honeysuckle and clematis.

My eyes were treated to an amazing array of flowers of all colours, like sunflowers, gerberas, red hot pokers and irises. There were also lots of different coloured shrubs, bushes and ferns. As I walked along a path, I realised that the path was made of gravel and I could hear it crunching under my feet. I came upon a water feature with a mini waterfall and I stood listening to the calming sound of running water. The energy around the waterfall felt incredible. As I moved on, I heard birds and bees and noticed a wind chime, gently chiming in the light breeze. I found myself wanting to sit down and noticed a wooden seat. The texture of the seat was smooth and I felt comforted as I sat there. I also noticed other textures up ahead, where there was a stone statue. I ran my hands over the curves and straight lines and felt all the different textures. This contrasted with a metal sculpture which was cold and silky smooth to touch. 

I continued to walk ahead and came across a hammock. I picked a clementine from a nearby tree and laid myself down on the hammock. The clementine was sweet and juicy and smelt really zesty. My body felt relaxed and comfortable as I swayed gently in the breeze.  At the end of my meditation, I felt really relaxed and like I had been treated to a sense treat. 

Native American Sweat lodge

This meditation immediately started with me walking towards a sweat lodge. I walked through a path through some trees, where wind chimes were hanging. We were cleansed with sage outside the sweat lodge, then we entered one by one and sat cross-legged in a circle. The medicine man began in leading our prayers and offered up chants. We each passed around the peace pipe before the stones were brought in and the water poured on. I could feel the heat rise in my body as the steam filled up the lodge. During the ceremony, 4 animal spirits came to me. They were the eagle, the beaver, the wolf and the turtle.

After the ceremony I walked up a mountain, with several other people. At the top of the mountain was a medicine wheel. The medicine man again offered prayers and we all joined him in chanting. After this ceremony, I again saw the great eagle, though this time he was soaring on the thermals above the mountain. I felt very light and clear after this meditation.

These meditations both just “came” to me. I did not (consciously anyway) intend to have these experiences. There are many ways of meditating and some days nothing spectacular happens – it’s just me quieting my mind chatter, watching my breath, come and go. I feel especially blessed when I experience meditations like these two and equally satisfied to just “be”.

I’d love to hear about other people’s experiences.