Ep. 49 | In this fast-paced dialogue, Dr. Dawson Church, best-selling author, scientist, EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) coach, and Energy Psychology Journal editor, explains what an incredibly effective treatment meridian tapping is in the healing of veterans and others suffering from PTSD. “Tapping while remembering” creates a cognitive shift to where something intensely traumatic can be transformed into something positive. And EFT is not only for individuals suffering from trauma. Dawson reveals how unconditional self-love is crucial in creating space for personal growth and together with exposure therapy—all part of energy psychology and emotional freedom techniques—is an amazing tool for transforming our lives so we can experience the sheer joy of living to our full potential. “Why do we shut down our laughter, our joy, our creativity, and tell ourselves all these stories about our limitations? They’re lies! Self-perpetuating loops in our head. It’s time to dump them,” says Dawson. Dawson packs the conversation with fascinating research statistics that are very convincing as to the enormous healing and transformative potential of EFT and other body based therapies. His passion for making these new energetic, psychotherapeutic, and contemplative tools known and available to people is palpable, and he is a vibrant example of someone who has indeed transformed his life into one of positive energy, service, and joy. Recorded on August 31, 2022.“Meditate, tap, shift yourself—love yourself enough to apply these techniques in your life.”(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)Topics & Time StampsIntroducing Dawson Church and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) (01:37)Our quest for answers and the intersection of science, Western psychotherapeutic techniques, and contemplative spirituality (03:51)The old Vedanta theory that we can clean our “dirty cistern” (mind/body/trauma) with infusions of “pure water” and transcend our trauma is not true (06:57)A quarter of the soldiers fighting the war in Iraq developed PTSD – what was different about them? (08:47)Unresolved childhood trauma is the key reason some develop PTSD and others do not (09:39)Why we need EFT and other body-based therapies (10:29) What is EFT exactly? Stimulation of acupressure meridians to shift consciousness, awareness, and PTSD symptoms in 10 individual sessions (11:39)Working in groups, the importance of social support, and “borrowing benefits” (12:14)The surprising emergence of techniques/therapies that can effectively treat PTSD (14:06)Positive emotional contagion, transferred or acquired PTSD, and the amazing effectiveness of group work with veterans and their spouses (15:43)EFT is not a magic wand: the work is done with people “memory by memory” (17:24)EFT removes the emotional tags: in one study, the gene expression of veterans changed over the course of 10 sessions to where microRNA molecules associated with traumatic stress literally popped off the genome (19:49)EFT borrows from exposure therapy: reliving the experience intensely and lighting up and de-conditioning the neuro-bundles in the brain (20:30), andCognitive acceptance, or self-acceptance, learning to love yourself...