Removing Blocks To Abundance: The Value of Group Work, Part 2

Find Part I 

In Part I of this article, I shared the structure and form of creating a three-month long Removing Blocks to Abundance program with a group of seven. We used EFT precepts and tapping, met weekly, and had a pre-program assessment of where each member was on six measures of life satisfaction. The early portion of the program, roughly third of meetings, was used to introduce the group to EFT, encourage their regular use of it, explore progress at the meetings, and begin to recognize writing on our walls. I framed this section as Being the Change.

Note from the author: As I share individual results and comments below, I’ve opted to replace singular gender pronouns with “they” to help maintain the confidentiality of the group.

Next: Seeing the Change

The middle section of the process was devoted to “seeing” the change, conversations and exercises devoted to recognizing the many ways in the process was helping us be more abundant: not always through increased goods or income. We also worked on being able to recognize the somatic (in the body) elements of how we express our emotions into our bodies or evoke certain emotions through body positions. We explored intention setting. At this stage people were reporting instances more income, job opportunities, or helpful people coming into their lives. but equally importantly they were experiencing more satisfaction in life circumstances, in problem-solving and meeting challenges.

One participant has lived for years with a difficult family caretaking responsibility. About this time in the group, this person began to experience increased relaxation, capacity to solve problems and an improved relationship with their family member. Although material circumstances did not change much, this participant’s life satisfaction changed substantially. Joy and compassion began to replace anger. A particularly sweet moment was when they described using tapping to help their family member prepare for an emotionally challenging doctor’s appointment. The appointment went smoothly, and the family member’s blood pressure was in the normal range too.

During this stage one of the most fun unexpected moments of the class occurred when we had to make a last-second change of venue for our meeting. The only options nearby were public spaces and I took a chance that the group could handle tapping in public. We quickly reconvened at a grocery store that has tables in one section where customers can eat on the premises. It didn’t take long for our initial feelings of awkwardness to die down and we tapped and talked with gusto . Talk about feeling safe! The group was energized by the setting and suggested we try it again in the future.

Final Third: Keeping the Change

The final stage of the program focused on “keeping” the change. My goal was that the group should by this time have made effective attitude and behavior change, be recognizing the changes and be using their tapping more robustly. One of the participants had a few weeks earlier shared feeling anxious that EFT would eventually “stop working” even though at that point it was working well for them. By the final weeks, they compared it to their spiritual practice and had begun to regard it as a life practice instead of as a tactical device. What a great example of successfully integrating EFT!

Another participant had begun the class by describing themselves as very logical, cerebral and tending to get stuck in their head. Of the group, they were the least familiar with energy work but were feeling called to explore it. This person is in a job that doesn’t use their full capacity, in a frustrating and unsupportive work environment. At the same time, they felt stuck, fearful of not being able to change jobs. At first they had trouble remembering to tap every day when they became triggered. As the program progressed they began regularly tapping, using it at work, and finding that the things that used to trigger them rolled off much more easily. They also began to take steps to make themselves more employable, and felt more optimistic about changing jobs.

At the beginning of the final class I had the group repeat the life satisfaction measurement, then returned their pre-program assessment forms for comparison. Every participant improved on at least some of their measures. The highest jump on any individual measure was 83%. Averaging all responses across the class, the average percentage of improvement on all measures was 33%.

By measurement category, average percentage of improvement was:
Financial 52%
Leisure time 31%
Health 26%
Social life 23%
Professional/work life 20%
Significant relationships 19%

Some measurements went down. One participant gave an interesting perspective on that by explaining that their satisfaction went down on one scale because they were now more determined to improve rather than accept the situation.

When I asked the participants how the group did or did not meet their expectations, one person said they expected we were going to spend a lot of time tapping for prosperity, money, success, etc. Instead, they found that by using the format of tapping to remove blocks, although they did not experience a large increase in income or business, they found themselves less inclined to remain a workaholic. They began to take time to relax and enjoy themselves, something they had previously not been able to do. Since they are paid according to the hours they work, this was a big shift, and best of all they began to meet their financial goals more easily even when occasionally taking time off.

Naturally, I gained as much as the participants, particularly in my respect for how powerful EFT and group support are when combined. The group chose to continue to meet every two weeks, finding the oasis of time and supportive group work beneficial. I look forward to continuing to meet with these wonderful people and re-test in three months to see if the benefits continue to accrue.

Ange Dickson Finn is an EFT International Accredited Certified EFT Advanced Practitioner. She is based in Houston, Texas, USA, and works with clients over the phone and via Skype. Ange has helped clients with issues including physical pain, health and well-being, work-related stress, equestrian sports and relationships. Visit her on the web at www.TapIntoYourself.com or www.RideWithoutFear.com.

From the EFTfree Archives, which are now a part of EFT International .
Originally published on August 25, 2012.