How Keeping a Personal Journal Can Deeply Enrich Your Tapping
Written by Nick Ortner
Do you sometimes find yourself at a loss for words when tapping?
Whether you’re new to tapping (also called EFT) or have been tapping for some time, you’ve probably studied tapping routines from some amazing EFT practitioners and made a great deal of progress on any personal issues that have been bothering you.
When you start getting more in touch with the roots of your personal issues, you’ll probably want to start creating tapping routines of your own. Something I frequently hear from people who are looking to get more out of their EFT practice is that they don’t know what to say while tapping.
Thankfully, there’s a simple secret weapon that can solve that problem: a personal journal.
Transform a Personal Journal into a Tapping Manual
The first thing you might be thinking is, do I really have to write in this thing every day?
For many, the idea of keeping a personal journal is something best left for teenagers, but that’s not true at all. Over the course of a single day, your brain zips through millions of thoughts that contain insights into the personal issues you’re facing, whatever they are, and those thoughts and feelings are your doorways into whatever you’ve been struggling with.
They’re tremendous assets, but they often sail away in our stream of consciousness before we can make any use of them.
That’s where a personal journal comes in handy.
Try to think of it less as a diary containing dramatic chapters of your every day life, and more like a private, personal record of stray thoughts that can help you unlock a mystery. It’s an incredible tool that’s more powerful than you might realize.
Write Down Any-and-Everything
The key here is not to judge what you’re writing. Nobody’s ever going to read it but you. You don’t even have to use full sentences!
Here are a few examples of how it might work.
If you’re driving home from work and you find yourself thinking about a situation that made you angry earlier that day, take a moment when you get home to jot down just a few words about it.
You can write:
“It really upsets me when the bosses lavish Sandy with so much praise.
She doesn’t work half as hard as I do.”
When you’re tapping later, an EFT setup phrase can become:
- “Even though I resent Sandy so much, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
If you find yourself feeling guilty every time you eat those ridiculously delicious double-chocolate macadamia muffins from the coffee shop near your house, write it down:
“I can’t resist those muffins… but I always eat way too many!”
That thought becomes this setup phrase:
- “Even though I can’t stop eating the double-chocolate macadamia muffins, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
Furthermore, you can also use those insights when you’re tapping on any of the other meridian points. The important thing is that you use these recollections to really tune into the feelings they provoke.
You don’t need a fancy, leather-bound personal journal from the bookstore either; a simple notepad that fits in your handbag or pants pocket will do. You can get one at the supermarket. Think of yourself as an investigative reporter, and you’re the big story you’re hoping to crack!
You’ll be surprised at just how much insight you’ll be able to gain into your emotional rhythms, and you’ll super-charge your tapping as well. Give it a try!
Have you ever kept a journal before? If not, what stopped you? Share your experiences with us in the comments below!
I wonder the applications for EFT. The Cliche ” Try it on everything” is perfectly fitting.
I am haveing a very hard time keeping a journal and writing my papers for school which is a very importatant part of my masters program. When I was a teenager I wrote in journals all the time, helping me in a bad family situation. When I was put in foster care my mom found all the journals and stories I wrote and read them. I felt very violated and feel this is the reason I am having a hard time writeing. I really need to overcome this quicky. Any suggestist to accelerate the tapping and writing process to help? My school program is really important to me and this writng problem is a huge hang up for me.
Hi Tammy. I use the program Mac-journal on my Mac which allows you to lock it. If you have a pc, see if you can find a way to protect your files with a password. I used this method to overcome my fears of someone reading it, and now I actually crave writing in a paper journal again without those same fears. I still journal “securely” most days, but I have developed more trust.
Hi Tammy – I’d recommend that you get in the habit of tapping periodically while writing your papers for school anytime that you feel blocked by a disturbing thought or feeling. It has become natural for me to tap throughout the day about anything I notice bothering me. You don’t always have to stop and do a formal, complete round of tapping if you don’t have the time. Sometimes it’s helpful to just tap on a few points as you hold the troubling thought or feeling in mind and then go on with your activity as soon as you can. Later, you can do a more thorough treatment on the issue.
Tammy,
I would tap specifically on those feelings of violation, using a check-in statement such as, “Even though I feel offended and hurt that my mom violated my privacy, I deeply and completely accept myself.” As you tap, reassure yourself verbally that you are safe and that it is safe to write now.
When I am having trouble getting school work done, I tap on the issue of procrastination and have had good results.
Have you read the Tapping Solution book? If not, get it and read it ASAP!
I used to write a journal all the time, I was also keeping a gratitude journal…I stopped why I do not know, no reason in particular, got busy doing other things….but thanks for the reminder, I am starting my 2 journal tonight…thank you you really are an inspiration!
Tammy you could try an online journal which would maintain your privacy with a password to help get past that violated feeling. I’ve used Penzu for over a year, and really like it. It’s made it easier to not worry about carrying my journal with me and still keep consistency in writing.
Tammy, I find it hard to journal too. I wouldn’t want anyone to see what I write sometimes. Since the act of physically writing accesses some part of our brain that would not ordinarily be accesses, I want to write. So one day I wrote a lot and soon destroyed it. That way, I got the benifit of writing, without having to keep it sitting around taking up space, and it cannot be seen.I want to write journal more, so I am going to try tapping on that. Best wishes from a fellow tapping learner.
Tammy, The phrase ‘even though Ifelt violated when mum read my diaries, I completley love and accept myself…. comes to mind, the answer is in your question… xx
Thanks for this brilliant idea, I jot notes down all day long but I don’t do anything with them, I will certainly be trying this..
A password-locked computer program is a good idea. There was a time when I was trying to sort out a difficult situation and did a lot of “freewritings” on the subject. That’s where you set a. Timer for 30 minutes and just write whatever comes to mind during that time, no stopping or censoring. At the time, the thought of anyone seeing what I said bothered me so much that I typed these on my computer and then, immediately closed the file without saving it.
The freewriting method can also help you with writing your papers. Just write every thought you have on the subject for 30 minutes. It doesn’t have to make sense. It can be only tangentially related. Then, you go back later and pick out the good ideas and sort them out. Writing with Power by Peter Elbow can tell you more about that.
Hi Tammy, I t have also had my journals gone through, but in my case they were used in a custody case many years after they were written. I believe in the benefit of journaling but I am now well aware of the negative downside. Journal and burn, that way you get the benefit and leave nothing for anyone to use against you. In love and light. Namaste
Hi
my name is mona . I have some informations about EFT and I really need it and also I did it for many times but I don’t know why it isn’t usefull . would you please send me a mail that suows me how to do EFT .
All the best
Mona
When I was young I kept a diary, til I was 16, then I came back home from my mothers one weekend and found my father and step-mother reading my dairy. I stopped writing right away.
I didn’t keep a journal/diary for 12 years. I started journaling again when I was 28, then kept a journal until a boyfriend read my journal, hacked into my email account and read everything and rifled through my garbage for ripped up emails or letters. So u stopped writing again.
I am now 38, I would LOVE to journal again, but the fear and mistrust I have of people to respect my privacy and NOT read my journal/diary have stopped me from starting up again. and when I do write it is not written in the same way I used to right when I expressed all my thoughts. I sensor my entries – JUST IN CASE someone finds it and reads it. I miss it, and have been using tapping to work with the mistrust I have had from a young age about NOT feeling safe to write my thoughts and feelings on paper.
I have journaled off and on for years. I am not consistent even with my journal now. Is that a problem. I feel bad if I don’t do it everyday.