Releasing The Resistance To Change For Increased Health & Happiness

We all know that "the only constant is change," yet inevitably some (if not many) people resist anything new or different. Before we explore some tools for managing change in response to the inevitable resistance produced by it please understand that we are constantly sabotaging our health, happiness and success unintentionally due to our unresolved thinking, beliefs and attitudes. Yet even when we know a thought, belief or attitude is not serving us, most of us find it very difficult to change it or let it go.

The reason for this problem is very simple: our emotions color, create, and lock these limitations in place, making the limitations supposedly "real". It is our emotions that either put us into action or prevent us from acting.

There are several "releasing" methods available for dealing with these issues. "The Sedona Method" and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) are two very popular, effective and well researched alternatives that can quickly and easily eliminate these energetic blocks. The Sedona Method will show you how to master your emotions, thereby mastering how you think and act.

THE SEDONA METHOD
The Sedona Method is a unique, simple, powerful, easy-to-learn and duplicate technique that shows you how to uncover your natural ability to let go of any painful or unwanted feeling in the moment. It consists of a series of questions you ask yourself that lead your awareness to what you are feeling in the moment and gently guide you into the experience of letting go.

A Simple Exercise: Let me explain by asking you to participate in a simple exercise. Pick up a pen, a pencil, or some small object that you would be willing to drop without giving it a second thought. Now, hold it in front of you and really grip it tightly. Pretend this is one of your limiting feelings and that your hand represents your gut or your consciousness.

If you held the object long enough, this would start to feel uncomfortable yet familiar. Now, open your hand and roll the object around in it. Notice that you are the one holding on to it; it is not attached to your hand. The same is true with your feelings, too. Your feelings are as attached to you as this object is attached to your hand. We hold on to our feelings and forget that we are holding on to them. It's even in our language. When we feel angry or sad, we don't usually say, "I feel angry," or "I feel sad". We say, "I am angry," or "I am sad". Without realizing it, we are misidentifying that we are the feeling.

Often, we believe a feeling is holding on to us. This is not true…we are always in control and just don't know it. Now, let the object go. What happened? You let go of the object, and it dropped to the floor. That's what we mean when we say "let go". You can do the same thing with any emotion: choose to let it go. That's exactly what happens when you dive into the core of a feeling.

Releasing will help you to free yourself from all of your unwanted patterns of behavior, thought, and feeling. All that is required from you is being as open as you can be to the process. Releasing will free you to access clearer thinking, yet it is not a thinking process.

So Let's Give It a Try
Make yourself comfortable and focus inwardly. Your eyes may be open or closed.

Step 1: Focus on an issue that you would like to feel better about, and then allow yourself to feel whatever you are feeling in this moment. Just welcome the feeling and allow it to be as fully or as best you can.

This instruction may seem simplistic, but it needs to be. Most of us live in our thoughts, pictures, and stories about the past and the future, rather than being aware of how we actually feel in this moment. The only time that we can actually do anything about the way we feel is NOW.

Step 2: Ask yourself one of the following three questions:

• Could I let this feeling go?
  
• Could I allow this feeling to be here?
  
• Could I welcome this feeling?

These questions are merely asking you if it is possible to take this action. "Yes" or "no" are both acceptable answers. You will often let go even if you say "no". As best you can, answer the question that you choose with a minimum of thought, staying away from second-guessing yourself or getting into an internal debate about the merits of that action or its consequences. Go on to Step 3 no matter how you answered the first question.

Step 3: No matter which question you started with, ask yourself this simple question: Would I? In other words: Am I willing to let go? Again, stay away from debate as best you can. Also remember that you are always doing this process for yourself-for the purpose of gaining your own freedom and clarity. It doesn't matter whether the feeling is justified, long-standing, or right. If the answer is "no", or if you are not sure, ask yourself: "Would I rather have this feeling, or would I rather be free"? Even if the answer is still "no", go on to Step 4.

Step 4: Ask yourself this simpler question: When? This is an invitation to just let it go NOW. You may find yourself easily letting go. Remember that letting go is a decision you can make any time you choose.

Step 5: Repeat the preceding four steps as often as needed until you feel free of that particular feeling. You will probably find yourself letting go a little more on each step of the process. The results at first may be quite subtle. Very quickly, if you are persistent, the results will get more and more noticeable. You may find that you have layers of feelings about a particular topic. However, what you let go of is gone for good.

EFT - THE EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE
EFT is based on the discovery that imbalances in the body's energy system have profound effects on one's personal psychology. Correcting these imbalances, which is done by tapping on certain body locations, often leads to rapid remedies. Most of the problems vanish in minutes! This is especially so when you reduce the problems to specific negative events in your life.

As you are probably aware, our bodies have a profound electrical nature. Our electrical systems are vital to our physical health. What could be more obvious? When the energy stops flowing, we die.

About 5,000 years ago, the Chinese discovered a complex system of energy circuits that run throughout the body. These energy circuits or meridians as they are called, are the centerpiece of Eastern health practices and form the basis for modern day acupuncture, acupressure and a wide variety of other healing techniques. This energy courses through the body and is invisible to the eye. It cannot be seen without high tech equipment. By analogy, you do not see the energy flowing through a TV set either. You know it is there, however, by its effects. The sounds and pictures are your ever present evidence that the energy flow exists.

In the same way, EFT gives you striking evidence that energy flows within your body because it provides the effects that let you know it is there. By simply tapping near the end points of your energy meridians in a specific sequence you can experience some profound changes in your emotional and physical health. The Sequence is very simple in concept. It involves tapping on the end points of the major energy meridians in the body while repeating a series of affirmations.

The two main ingredients of this process are the setup and the sequence. During the setup you'll be tapping on the part of your hand you would use to deliver a karate chop while repeating an affirmation statement three times.

During the sequence you'll be tapping a series of other points on the body while verbalizing additional affirmations associated with the problem you're attempting to resolve.

"Clearing" accurately describes what this process is all about by removing the years and layers of negative, clouded thinking that you viewed as normal. Getting clear will give you numerous paths to live with a new, positive energy and the ability to seek out and find greater opportunities for attracting an incredible life."

You can use this and other techniques to deliberately create the specific thoughts associated with your intended outcome and maintain sustained focus (belief) on that outcome until it becomes a part of your physical reality. Since this mechanism is fundamental to causing what you are experiencing now, it only serves to reason that by altering the input - you can change the outcome.

By Dr. Richard A. DiCenso