By Shelley Hawkins-Clark, EFT-ADV

© 2007, By Shelley Hawkins-Clark, EFT-ADV, Cadence Healing, "Helping people heal from the soul, outward."
 

Much has been made in recent years of the need for emotional intelligence to be successful in all areas of life. Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive and honor your own and others emotions as well as take responsibility for your emotions. Statements are often made about what women and men are, or are not, in regard to emotions. Stereotypes aside, emotions serve a vital place in a life truly lived. They are our teachers, helping us, for example, understand and experience compassion for ourselves and others, telling us when we are in danger or safety, when someone is not being truthful, what/who enervates us and what increases our joy and energy.
 
At the same time, we are to be in charge of our emotions so as not to be blown and tossed with the winds of changing feelings. It is a delicate balance to traverse the openness that inspires true compassion and vulnerability while making wise decisions in what we share, who we share it with and what we learn from our emotions. Children often start out better at this than adults, yet the hurts of life can add up over the years and they find themselves shutting down, angry or not sure how to understand or what to do with their feelings and emotions, let alone honor them. So how can we increase their emotional intelligence and foster more freedom, rather than less, as they grow older?
 
When I was in high school, I remember hearing a statistic that kids receive at least 15 put-downs and criticisms per day, just at school. That's a lot of negative input, even with a "thick skin." What is taking place today, especially when newscasts, sibling battles and other interactions are added in? Children are also sponges for the energy around them. They soak up the tension between parents and others, even when they aren't consciously aware of what is taking place. The earlier children learn to work effectively with swirling negative energies and emotions, the more joyful, healthy and successful their lives will be.
 
Where does all this emotion go? Some of it gets released, slides off into the ether without another thought. Some of it also gets stuck and takes up residence in the energy systems and cells of our bodies and the bodies of children--even when we think we're "over it." This is important because the "molecules of emotion," as Candace Pert puts it, that lodge in our systems are not harmless, but the beginning of what ails us.
 
They may take such form as "minor" hurts, fears and phobias, learning struggles, low self-esteem, and move on to depression, confusion, rage, obsessive or compulsiveness, behavioral problems, criminal behavior, physical ailments of every sort, eating disorders, recurring nightmares, and relationship difficulties, to name a few.
 
Putting EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and other energy tools into the hands of children, teenagers and parents (and teachers and anyone else who works with children) is an incredibly transformative opportunity. EFT works quickly at the subtle levels of the energy system, where emotions can be released, by tapping on acupuncture endpoints while focusing on a problem.
 
These tools give children an opportunity to listen to their emotions and take charge of them in the moment, to release their own hurts, fears, anger and frustration instead of taking it out on others, release the "daily stuff," test and performance anxieties, not fitting in and free themselves from sadness and bitterness that can build up. The progressive outcomes are innumerable, but include increased confidence, better relationships, balanced moods, improved sleeping, improved learning capabilities, healthier immune systems and happier children.
 
EFT empowers parents with an effective tool to help their children AND themselves to experience freedom from stuck anger, confusion, doubt and other feelings while also improving their empathy and relationship with their children. Make growing up more of a joy for both of you!

"EFT is easy, effective, and produces amazing results.
I think it should be taught in elementary school."
- Donna Eden, Energy Healer, Co-author of The Promise of Energy Psychology

 

 

About the Author:
  Shelley Hawkins-Clark, EFT-ADV is an energy therapist, teacher, author, natural health consultant and owner of Cadence Healing in Emmett, Idaho. She focuses with her clients on the healing of physical and emotional issues, the transformation that takes place through that process and the manifestation of abundance. She provides private sessions in her office and by phone worldwide; Provides Approved EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques™) training workshops Level 1 & 2 for professionals and individuals as well as specific uses of EFT for personal transformation and health. Join her complimentary monthly e-zine, "…To the Beat of Your Own Drum" at cadencehealing.com. To learn more, go to www.cadencehealing.com, shelley@cadencehealing.com or call 208-398-8920.