The Belief Flip: A Unique Way of Using EFT

The Belief Flip is a simple process I use with EFT for neutralising many types of limiting beliefs quickly and easily.

One such limiting belief might be: “I will always be poor.”

In standard EFT you could use several approaches to soften or neutralise this belief:

• Persistent tapping on the belief statement to reduce the charge over time.
• Investigate the events that led up to the formation of this belief, neutralising each memory with the movie technique until the belief has collapsed.
• Use some clever reframing in your tapping to verbally loosen the belief’s hold.

The Belief Flip is a simple reframing pattern that you can use on many types of belief. It will typically neutralise the belief with just one or two rounds of tapping. It might take a little bit of effort to fully "get" the pattern at first, but it is worth it.

This process works by stretching the limiting belief so far out of shape during the tapping that it can not come back into its original form. It works well with beliefs that involve permissions and black and white thinking. These beliefs often start with:

• I always or I never. For example, “I am always late”
• I can or I can’t. For example, “I can’t control my eating”
• I am or I am not. For example, “I am not allowed to be happy”
• I must or I must not. For example, “I must be in control”
• Nobody or Everybody. For example, “Nobody loves me”

The Belief Flip works by taking the belief statement, splitting it into two pieces, flipping the meaning of both pieces to create a set of four phrases that are tapped on, in sequence, to neutralise the original belief.

For example: each of these beliefs can be split into two parts

• Part 1: I am always... Part 2: late
• Part 1: I can’t... Part 2: control my eating
• Part 1: I am not allowed... Part 2: to be happy
• Part 1: I must... Part 2: be in control
• Part 1: Nobody... Part 2: loves me

Both parts of the belief will have an opposite: a "flip-side."

For example, “I am always” flips to “I am never”, “late” flips to “on time”

Or in the case of “Nobody loves me,” the word “nobody” flips to “everybody” and “loves me”, might flip to “hates me.”

Or in “I am not allowed to be happy,” the flip-side of “I am not allowed” is “I am allowed,” and the flip-side of “to be happy” might be “to be serious.”

The full Belief Flip process for the belief “I will always be poor” might go something like this:

In this example below, I split the belief “I will always be poor” into its parts, flip them, then recombine the pieces to get a tapping sequence. Tap on each of the acupressure points using these statements:

B: I will always be poor
SE: I will never be rich
UE: I will never be poor
UN: I will always be rich

Keep repeating the process with the other remaining points:

CH: I will always be poor
CB: I will never be rich
UA: I will never be poor
TH: I will always be rich

Keep in Mind:

The first flip is usually straightforward, however the second flip needs to be the opposite meaning *the client* gives to that part of the belief.

For example:

“I must be in control”

“I must” flips to “I must not”

Depending on the client’s point of view the flip-side or opposite of “in control” could be:

• relaxed
• flexible
• balanced
• ...

It’s up to the client to choose *their* flip-side of the original meaning. This will make the process much more powerful

Belief Flip Instructions:

1. Identify the belief. For example, “I must be in control”. Say it out loud to get a sense of how true it is on a 0-10 scale.

2. Split the belief into its two parts and ask the client what the opposite of the second part of the belief is for them.

Remember: the opposite needs to be their opposite not yours. The client decides how to flip that part. In this example, they have chosen “be relaxed” as their flip-side to “be in control.”

Build the list of the four reminder phrases (do this on paper at first, because it can be a bit confusing until you get used to the pattern).

[1st - The original limiting belief] I must... be in control

[2nd - Flip both parts of the original belief] I must not... be relaxed

[3rd - Keep the flipped first part of the belief and add the second half of the original belief] I must not... be in control

[4th - The original belief with the second half flipped] I must... be relaxed.

3. Tap while speaking the four statements on the first four acupressure points (starting with the Eyebrow (EB) point). Repeat the four statements while tapping on the next four points. In other words, use eight points to make a full round. (There is no Setup statement required).

EB: I must be in control
SE: I must not be relaxed
UE: I must not be in control
UN: I must be relaxed

CH: I must be in control
CB: I must not be relaxed
UA: I must not be in control
TH: I must be relaxed

4. Check the intensity of the original belief. If there is still a charge on it, rinse and repeat. It may be that the tapping brings up some other issues that need to be worked on.

Note: It's possible that one or more of the statements will have a charge on them, or get a charge on them, when you start tapping. If that happens, tap out the excess charge on that particular statement and start the Belief Flip again.

You may find after the Belief Flip that the "flipped belief" hasn’t been taken on - that’s fine. The Belief Flip is intended to neutralise the limiting belief rather than install an alternative.

Here are some more examples of Belief Flips:

I am not allowed to be happy
I am allowed to be miserable
I am not allowed to be miserable
I am allowed to be happy

or

Nobody loves me
Everybody hates me
Nobody hates me
Everybody loves me

Please Remember:

If your belief is the result of traumatic, or multiple incidents of trauma or abuse this process probably won’t be enough to undo the belief. You may need extensive work with EFT or other modalities to take care of those experiences before you can use the Belief Flip on your beliefs.

Andy Hunt is an EFT International Accredited Certified EFT Master Trainer & Advanced Practitioner living in the North East of England. He is also an NLP Trainer and Practitioner. He works with people who give themselves a hard time and get in their own way. He is the author of the book “Getting Out Of Your Own Way – Finding and Releasing Unconscious Blocks with EFT” and the creator of the free e-class “The Tapping Habit”. Visit him online at www.practicalwellbeing.co.uk.

From the EFTfree Archives, which are now a part of EFT International .
Originally published on June 5, 2011.