One of the keys to success

in EFT is to be specific because the more one is connected to his/her issue, the

more efficient the tapping. So we should always try to find the right words, the

ones that are closest to our feelings. But, for various reasons, it is not

always that easy to describe an emotion with words.

A year and a half ago, one

of my clients could not describe an aspect of the issue we were treating during

that session, other than by saying "This tick in my head"… so we tapped for

"This tick in my head", which soon turned into only "This tick.." . After two

rounds "This tick" was cleared, we were then able to completely clear his

issue.
Since that day (end of 2006) my husband and I have added onomatopoeias

to our EFT techniques -- and all we can say is that everytime we've used them,

it's been… WOW!

Wikipedia -- Onomatopoeia is a

word or a grouping of words that imitates the sound it is describing, suggesting

its source object, such as "click," "clang," "buzz," or animal noises such as

"oink", "quack", "flap", "slurp", or "meow".

Here is the story of

Nina, 8 year old.
Her mother brought Nina to me for a pathological

shyness.  At the beginning of our first session Nina was silent - she would

speak through her eyes - they were wide open.  While I was explaining to

her a little bit of what we would be doing for the following hour, it was

obvious that Nina wasn't going to open up easily to me because she didn't know

me.

So I pulled out my list of

different onomatopoeias, and asked her to pick one that would correspond best to

what she was feeling just then.  She was surprised of course, and, with a

faked indifference, she pointed out at one which said "hmmpff".  I asked

her to tap on all the points with me, and made the setup with *Even though

hmmpff, I'm a wonderful girl".
While we tapped for "hmmpff", I started to

emphasize "hmmpff" more and more. Her eyes were getting bigger and bigger and

she looked incredulous.  After only one round of EFT she was already more

relaxed.  I asked if the "hmmpff" was any better, she nodded.  We did

one more round, and the "hmmpff" wasn't there anymore.  Now she pointed at

"Grrrrr", so we tapped for "Grrrrr", and then she burst out laughing.  From

that point on it became easier for Nina to talk to me - she had started to

accept me.

She came in for two

sessions.  During the second session we worked to clear her core issues

which were about her older brother.  She still used a few onomatopoeias -

this time not because she was too shy to express herself, but simply because she

found they were easy and fun to use.

EFT'ers who use

metaphors know how helpful and pleasant they are to work with.  Metaphors

are also a precious tool for surrogate EFT - because the sub-conscious mind

often works through images.  Onomatopoeias work in a similar way; in fact

we could say that they are tiny, abstract metaphors.  Yet they are very

powerful.  In essence, they are a condensed sound PLUS a lively emotion - I

believe this is why they are so effective - they do seem to have the capacity to

amplify the release of negative emotions.
 

Advantages in using

onomotopoeias with EFT :

• To be specific when

  expressing a negative emotion by using almost no words

• Because an onomatopoeia can

  be a wonderful shortcut to long sentences such as "Even though

  I-walked-out-of-the-room-slamming-the-door-with-rage, I deeply and completely…."

  . It is easy to say instead : "Even though  WHAM !, I deeply and

  completely…", and then to just tap "WHAM!" putting rage (or any other emotion)

  in it.

• They condense emotions in a

  gentle but very strong way -- thus reducing often the number of EFT rounds

  needed to clear an issue.

• They are easier to shout

  out because they are short, somewhat playful, and also ecause they are a little

  unpersonal (just like metaphors).

• By expressing an

  onomatopoeia, one tends to "get into it" more. So far, we have never met anyone

  capable of saying "Ouch !", "Ping!", "Argh!", "Wham", "Grrrr!", "Wishhhhh….",

  etc. in a monotone without any emotion...

• There is something quite

  out of line about them, which tends to favour positive cognitve

  shifts. 

• Great with kids and

  teenagers -- they love it !

The number of

enthusiatic e-mails I have received following the posting of this article in

Gary Craig's Newsletter (28.01.2008) clearly indicate that onomatopoeias appeal

to many EFT'ers, whether they are newbies or experts.  And, since almost

everybody has asked me for them, I am enclosing here the two generic lists (one

with "noises", the other one with "human sounds") of onomatopoeias that I have

created and currently use. You will find them ready to print in PDF

files. href="http://www.schoolmademucheasier.com/public/264.cfm">color=#0000ff>Onomatopoeia PDF Files

For your information, please

note that I have purposely created these lists in colours with a playful

writing, like in comic strips because in our experience, this reinforces the

"letting go"...  Also I chose to make them quite complete because reading a

greater number of onomatopoeias also helps to disconnect better from the

rational mind -- sometimes it will even help you or your client find your

(his/her) own "sound", which obviously, is even better !
Remember that we

are aiming at here, is a real "getting into it".

NOTE : As I'm French

mother tongue I would be very interested in any additional onomatopoeia you find

effective. I would also love to receive your feedbacks and hear about your

successes. Please e-mail to : href="mailto:diane@aequus-libra.ch">size=3>diane@aequus-libra.chsize=3>. Thank you !

size=2> Diane von der

Weid
face=Verdana>Personal Performance Consultant
EFT-ADV, CHT

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