Talking Tapping (EFT) with Krista Jane.

I love finding new ways to heal and grow. Several months ago, I stumbled upon a youtube video on EFT, or Emotional Freedom Technique (You can view it here). I’d heard about it from a few different people, but I didn’t know a lot about how it worked. I watched the video, which mentioned about the use of EFT for pain management, and gave it a little try while I watched. A couple of weeks later, I experienced a really bad headache. I was scheduled for minor surgery a couple of days later, so I was unable to take pain killers. As I cried with pain late that night, I remembered the technique from the video and gave it a try. I was completely surprised at the results.

The next day I emailed Krista Jane, the effervescent empowerment coach, who created the video to find out more about the technique and how else it could be used. She graciously agreed to the interview, and I’m excited to share it with you below.

Krista Jane Smith, aka KJ, spends her days inspiring, kicking butt and (gently) pushing people into lives of passion and purpose. She is highly intuitive and has got a sneaky little way of highlighting your limiting beliefs and shifting them. KJ co-founded ‘The Power of You’ fundraisers and runs her own global retreats: ‘Passion + Power + Purpose’, ‘Boom Boom Pow’ and ‘All About Me’ (Both of which are running again in beautiful Bali very soon!) And if that hasn’t blown you away so far, she also offers one-on-one, change-your-life power hours called ‘Soul Sessions.’ These are 60 minutes devoted to intuition, inspiration and expanding to fill your powerful potential!

Hi KJ. Thanks for taking the time for this interview. What exactly is EFT or Tapping and how does it work?

EFT – stands for Emotional Freedom Technique, it’s fairly hot off the press and is starting to gain huge momentum in both alternative and mainstream healing due to it’s rapid and lasting results on a huge range of issues from physical problems to mental and emotional blocks. It is a bit East meets West, working with both the mind and body connection. It takes the Eastern philosophy of the meridian (lines of energy through the body) system and the mind connection (thoughts both conscious and deep sub conscious), while talking about an issue a set sequence of meridian points are tapped on the body. Think needless acupuncture with a bunch of talking about how you really feel.

Tapping is like taking a plunger to a blocked toilet, you create pressure or send in a pulse of energy or air in a toilets case and it moves along the pipe until it meets resistance where it starts to break down the blockage. In the bodies case the energy build up starts to ease, the emotions don’t respond in the same way as when you started and the neural pathways of the mind start to open up to a new ways of thinking. Simply put EFT clears the blockages stored in the energy system that are being triggered by the mind. When we change the build up of energy in the body, the feeling changes and the mind opens up.

How did you first get into using this technique?

Actually my husband saw someone to help him with career direction, she turned out to be a great counsellor who dropped her university obtained credentials to use primarily EFT due to it being so effective. My husband changed so much that I jumped on the wagon. The results for me were so awesome I started to use it in my intuitive readings, prior to that I was telling people their currently blocks and some details about the future, it felt so powerless when I know full well that anyone can create the future they want. So I studied, became a practitioner and trainer in EFT because it’s the results blew my mind, I gave up telling the future and now I focus 100% on helping people create the life they want. I’m so lucky I have the sparky intuition, it helps me get to the source of a problem really quickly.

What can it be used to treat?

EFT is incredibly versatile, the creator of EFT Gary Craig has been quoted saying ‘use it on everything’. I use EFT with my clients on anything from depression, anxiety, physical issues, relationship issues, money blocks, self confidence, trauma like abuse and so much more. My focus is always to get people to a place where they are living a life that makes them feel inspired, full, healthy and happy – Passion + Purpose

Can anyone use it?

Yes, I truly believe anyone can use it. I’ve seen young, old and everything in between.

What is your best piece of advice for living a joyful life?

Listen to your heart, it knows exactly what to do right now to bring it to you. It’s just most of us have given the mind/ego precedence over intuition. Be cautious of chasing things, achievements or people that you think will bring you joy in the future, instead focus on the joy right now, do what lights you up right now and you’ll spend much more of your life feeling full! Ask yourself what do I truly desire right now?

One more thing to add… If you are an adult I want you to remember 1 thing…

You are the map maker, you are the one writing your life, we do it with every thought and feeling we have. Every single thought you have is contributing to your current and future experience, take full responsibility for all your thoughts, conscious and most importantly the deep sub conscious. The more self aware you are the more freedom you’ll have. Don’t let life just happen to you, go out and happen to life! You’re on the planet at this time for a reason, you’ve got a purpose and your time is NOW!

Thanks so much Krista Jane for sharing your experience and knowledge. Have you worked with tapping or EFT before? How has it benefited you? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments below.

To find out more about Krista Jane and her services, check out her website: www.kristajane.com. KJ’s life changing Bali retreats, “Boom, Boom, Pow” and “All About Me” are also scheduled for early June and there are only a couple of places left! If you want to find out more and book your spot, head over to her website now and let her know you found out about the retreats here. You can also get a daily dose of inspiration on her wonderful Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/KristaJaneEmpoweringU

Are you fighting fear or flowing with faith?

Life flows when we allow it to.

There are going to be times where we will have to sit with pain or fear, and have faith that we have everything we need within us to overcome whatever we are facing.

Instead of sending out demands to the the universe or to those around us to desperately change the situation, this is a chance to turn within and seek the strength we need within ourselves. It is a chance to acknowledge that our power does not come from aggressiveness, but from surrender, acceptance and grace. We may have to keep reminding ourselves that this is the case, but ultimately the result of embracing faith is far greater than any short term changes we may initially desperately wish for.

Through faith and surrender we recognise we are worthy, We recognise that we are stronger than we think and more capable than we imagine. This shift in our thinking and perception leaves us permanently and beautifully altered, and never again do we need to fear this fight.

Beginnings

Earlier this year, an email newsletter from the seriously sassy Nikki Groom landed in my inbox. The piece she had written was all about beginnings and her first few lines really hit home. Immediately, I emailed her and asked if she would mind if I made them into a graphic. While clearing out my emails today, I found that her lovely reply had landed in the wrong folder in my inbox. So I am sharing them today, because I think a reminder that beginner fears are universal is pretty comforting.

As is the reminder that those feelings pass and that each time we begin a journey that aligns our lives more completely with who we truly are the rewards far, far outweigh the short period we spend feeling uncomfortable as we start.

You can read Nikki’s full post The Beginning Of Anything here.

To exciting new beginnings,

Be Your Own Inspiration.

It’s funny how easy it can be to forget how far you have come when things go a little pear shaped. In stressful situations our focus is often on just getting through it. We don’t really connect with how much we have achieved at the time. As a result, when we are faced with another challenging situation we may not easily recall what we are truly capable of.

For the past year I have been my mother’s sole carer, and throughout that time I’ve found myself longing to start my own business again. All my life I have had a passion for business. I started my first one with a friend at around age 7, and up until a few years ago was in partnership in an event business with my sister. Business and marketing is something I passionately adore.

This burning desire to start my own business has been a source of anguish. I was having trouble getting clear on my offering, I felt deterred by a lack of finances and I had to figure out how to accommodate certain requirements due to my personal situation. I had gotten into a space of frustration and disappointment, and we all know that solutions are unlikely to come from that place.

Recently, a series of conversations lead me to looking back at some of my previous business incarnations. Each had been started on a shoe string budget, but it was the story of the launch of the venture with my sister that was the inspiration goldmine for me.

In my late teens, my parents separated, we lost the family home and were homeless for a while. Once we rented a place, my sister and I sat and brainstormed business ideas. My mum had just become ill and at this point, creating a business was out of necessity. The idea for our venture struck like lightning and I clearly remember my sister and I getting all excited at the prospect. We didn’t have a computer nor did we have a lot of cash, but as I mentioned above, in survival situations you find a way. And we did. Our business launched with a cost of less than a dollar and we had our first client within a week.

Even I can’t believe it was possible, but it was. In truly remembering and feeling that moment, I got back in touch with that resilience, entrepreneurial spirit and creativity inside myself. I looked at where I was now with fresh eyes, and realised I had a whole hell of a lot more to work with these days. I was pumped to get started again and the ideas started flowing (you will see them here very soon!).

Each of us have our own inspiration goldmine within ourselves. Other people’s stories show us what is possible, but your experience tells you what YOU are capable of (and chances are it is much more than you think!).

Why not take some time to look back at your life and acknowledge and celebrate your achievements? Look at how you can apply what you’re learned and experienced to where you are now. Allow your own story to be your inspiration.

Is something you’re holding onto holding you back?

Earlier this week, I had my first coaching session with the fabulous Susana Frioni (If you’ve been on my social media pages for a while, you may have seen me mention her Enneagram sessions before). I went into the session hoping to clear up some directional issues I’ve been having and to gain support to keep me motivated on the path to what I want to create in my life. Alas, this wasn’t to be. Instead, I had a big lesson to learn and it’s one I really want to share.

For a while now, I have been dying to get this blog and new business off the ground, but I’ve hit several stumbling blocks along the way. This was why I turned to Susana. We began the session going through what I desired for myself, where I was now and what I could do in this moment to start creating what I wanted. As we talked, I began to feel tension rising in my chest. I’m generally pretty aware with my body’s intuitive responses, and I have worked with them for a while but this particular tension had been with me on some level for a long while. I had become so accustomed to it (or perhaps subconsciously avoided it), that I didn’t register its signals. Susana asked me to explore that further. Within minutes I was struggling to hold back tears and our focus shifted to a deep breathing exercise.

Staying with this experience longer than I normally would, my real motivations for wanting so much to create this avenue became clearer. I wasn’t running towards a dream, I was running away from some really deep thoughts and feelings that I didn’t want to experience. As I continued to breathe and simply feel all that was there, the answers to the issues with my momentum began to unravel. I hadn’t moved forward because I was denying a certain aspect of myself and therefore was not completely present in the here and now. Without a strong and present foundation, moving forward was almost impossible. It’s just like the old analogy about building a house on sand. Yeah, that’s not really going to work.

My big lesson for the week was to find an increased level of peace with where I am now. To accept that my value is not tied to outside circumstances and that it was ok to let myself off the hook a little more. It was also a great reminder to continue to pay more conscious attention to my body, check in with any tension, connect with it and be gentle with myself. Since then, I have felt more at ease and experienced a release in the physical sensation in my chest. I’ve also made more steady progress both personally and professionally.

A couple of days after my coaching session, a Facebook friend of mine – Shane Richards of Holistic Foundations - shared this video on pain between your shoulders, in your chest and the link to a broken heart. While it is based on issues with weight lifting, the truth of it is universal. I highly recommend checking it out. (Just a little warning – there is some swearing at one point.)

Is this something you can relate to? Is something you are holding onto holding you back and is your body trying to tell you what that something is? I’d love to hear your experiences listening to your body wisdom in the comments below.

Hi and welcome!

Welcome to this new little space and my new adventure. Wondering what this is all about?

It’s all about creating calm and rocking a life of joy!

More specifically, it is a space for stressed out, savvy souls who want more from their life. It’s for those who want to wake up in the morning feeling alive, creative, sexy and excited to get out of bed. I want to inspire you to live abundantly, healthily and openly. I want to help you find your core, tap into your intuition and create a sense of calmness and space in your life. I want to help you create a life you love to live.

If you can relate to desiring any of those things described above, we have a lot in common! For most of my life, I was very goal oriented, slightly demanding and motivated. That was until an emotional breakdown in my early twenties left me with severe social anxiety, panic attacks and a non-existent sense of self. I felt frightened, desperately sad and lost. I tried to regain my composure in the same way that I had always operated. I set goals and pushed hard to achieve them. But, the results were not the same. I would often fall into an emotional heap long before I reached my target, and then I would spend a long time beating myself up for seemingly failing. It was a vicious circle. One that only lead to me losing more and more momentum and faith in myself.

I became increasingly embarrassed around other people. I avoided certain situations and I could be a little aggressive when I felt like I was being attacked – even though in a lot of cases it was my fear leading me to believe that this was happening, rather than what was actually going on.

It became obvious that I had some foundation work that needed to be done first. I had been successful throughout school and senior high because I had known exactly what I wanted, I knew what I valued and I was confident in my abilities. Without those things, forward movement had become stressful, heartbreaking and ultimately, impossible. The only way to regain them was to stop struggling, accept where I was then and there and allow my natural equilibrium to return. Not quite as easy as it sounds.

For the past few years, I have focused almost exclusively on regaining my sense of self. I’ve read countless books, done workshops, webinars, meditated, experimented and stretched myself. I’ve found the courage to be gentler with myself and the results have been amazing. I am now able to manage my anxiety and talk to people with ease. Everyday, I make progress in the direction of my dreams and I feel truly blessed to have an understanding of my purpose. I am happier than I have been in a long time and I actually have an optimistic attitude. (Trust me, that has not always been there!)

What I have learnt is that all of your answers to living a successful, joyful, creative life of purpose lie within you. They are all there just waiting for you to uncover them and allow them to be your guide. It’s amazing what happens when you do! And I really, really want to share that experience with you. I’ve watched too many other people struggling and feel so strongly that my work in this world is to share my experience in the hope that it will stop someone else suffering.

That is what this space will be all about – sharing ways you can discover the answers within you, find your purpose and live a more joyful abundant life. You only get one life to live and I truly believe that we all deserve to live happy lives filled with love. I’ll be updating regularly and if you want to know when wonderful new tips and goodies are posted, you can sign up to my newsletter here.

It is totally possible to live a joyful life, no matter where you are now. And, you are not alone on this journey.