Life and EFT Insights by Brad Yates
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| Credit: Brad Yates |
Brad, Welcome to Authors By Sasha! At what point in your life were you introduced to Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)? What were your initial thoughts of EFT?
After moving to Northern California in 2000, having shifted from a career in acting to a practice as a clinical hypnotherapist, I was introduced to the field of Energy Psychology, and was encouraged to attend a conference where I could learn EFT from it’s founder, Gary Craig. While many people are put off at first by the, shall we say, strangeness of tapping on one’s face, it wasn’t that weird for me, given that I had attended Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. I found it interesting. When we tapped on chocolate cravings, and my desire for a piece of chocolate went from an 8 out of 10 to a zero in a matter of minutes, I knew there was something to this technique.
Is there such a thing as emotional freedom since humans are constantly swimming within their emotions?
I suppose that the most practiced Zen master might approach a level of total emotional freedom, but the rest of us are on a spectrum from total freedom to no freedom at all. It is certainly possible to move up that scale to greater levels of freedom than most people experience. Emotional freedom is the freedom to make better choices, so the more we are able to break free from the control emotions may have had over us in the past, the more we can improve our lives.
You're an EFT professional whose career history anchors back to acting. What acting skills have transferred into your EFT career?
Where I’ve had my greatest success is with my videos on YouTube. My time as an actor definitely prepared me for this platform, as I’m very comfortable performing in front of the camera. My years of stage performing also made it much easier to present in front of a live audience. People find this work much more accessible when it is entertaining.
What are the top three reasons why people seek EFT healing services?
There’s an expression in EFT: “Try it on everything!” People around the world are using EFT to facilitate change in numerous areas of life – personal, professional, financial, physical. Based on which of my videos are getting the most views, the number one issue that people turn to EFT for is anxiety. The next would be other emotional pain, such as dealing with a break-up or other upsetting circumstances. The other subject that is always somewhere at the top of the list is clearing the blocks to having more money, and greater success in general. At its most basic, tapping reduces stress, which either causes or at least worsens most if not all of the issues that trouble us. Tapping through the stress allows us to feel better, which allows us to do better, which allows us to live better.
Brad, often in your videos you touch upon the words 'resistance', 'healing', and 'acceptance'. How do you define these words?
Resistance – Resistance is that force that stops us from making the positive choices and taking the positive actions that we know would lead to the circumstances we desire. It’s self-sabotage, but it comes from a loving intention to protect us from something we have been led to believe would be harmful to us in some way, even though that may seem illogical. This programming is most often based on misunderstandings – ours or someone else’s – but the longer we’ve bought into it, the stronger the resistance is likely to be. For example, if we’ve been taught that “money is the root of all evil,” our subconscious mind will resist opportunities to make more money, because it is protecting us from being evil. We will sabotage possible relationships if we’ve learned that people tend to hurt us, and we understandably want to resist that.
Healing – This is the process of letting go what no longer serves us so that we experience greater freedom and well-being, physically as well as emotionally. It is a return to who we really are – this unique expression of light and love.
Acceptance – Many people find acceptance a challenging concept, because we often mistake it for approval. Acceptance isn’t saying that things which cause us pain in our life are okay. But rather an acknowledgment that they are there. Too often we fight the idea of what is there, which makes it difficult if not impossible to resolve issues. If your dog poops on your carpet, you need to accept the truth that it is there in order to clean it up.
How has EFT nurtured your self-development? What aspect of your emotional & physical growth has EFT had a monumental effect?
Even though I was an actor, and it seems illogical, I believe I had a big fear of being seen – at least at a certain level. So I stopped myself from doing things that could have led to greater success, because that felt dangerous. I wasn’t consciously aware of this fear – I was sure I wanted to be wildly successful. But my actions – or more often lack of action – would contradict that. As I’ve tapped over the years, I’ve cleared away more and more of this fear, and allowed myself greater levels of success. I’ve also become much more comfortable in my skin, and experience much more self-love, which allows me to be more loving towards others.
What inspires you to create EFT scripts to nurture your YouTube channel that hosts at least 172,000 subscribers?
I get my inspiration from all kinds of places. Sometimes it’s from hearing what people are going through. Sometimes it’s from listening to a podcast, reading a book or hearing an inspirational presentation, and having the thought, “That concept would make a great tapping round! People could benefit from this idea, and tapping will help them have the freedom to hear it more profoundly!” And a lot of my videos come from things I know I could benefit from tapping on.
While EFT is inspired by Chinese therapies, can EFT modalities be applied on pets?
There are a number of practitioners who actually specialize in working with pets. It can be a little trickier doing the tapping on animals – and many do it in a surrogate way. But there are plenty of people who swear by energy work with their pets.
Healing is a unique process for each individual. What is the common time frame for people to start experiencing shifts in their reality?
While big shifts can often occur quickly with EFT, it is hard to predict specific outcomes. It would be like asking what is the common time frame for people to reach their goal weight. It depends on a number of factors, including where they are starting from. But we generally see at least some reduction in distress pretty quickly with tapping – a certain amount of relaxation that happens after even a short round.
What is the most valuable lesson EFT has taught you in your life?
I’ve learned how amazing people are. I’ve always loved the work of Michelangelo – especially the David. Michelangelo said that the statues were already there, perfectly whole and complete, and he just needed to chip away what didn’t belong in order to reveal the masterpiece inside. I’ve found that’s the case with humans – and we are just tapping away what no longer belongs.
You're also an author who has written The Wizard's Wish and The Key to Success. What inspired you to write The Wizard's Wish?
When I was being filmed for the documentary “The Tapping Solution,” the conversation turned to children, and I spoke of how there’s greatness in each child, and if we could use EFT with them to clear misunderstandings and upsets early on they would have greater freedom to live better lives. Nearly all of the blocks my clients are facing stem from some childhood incident. So I wanted to find a fun storybook way to introduce EFT to kids. A friend had called me “the EFT Wizard,” and I love wizard things – I have a collection of Harry Potter wands. It seemed a perfect way to share this idea with kids and the adults who love them.
Brad, when you're not educating and healing other people, how do you entertain and nourish your inner child?
Actually, tapping with people is what most nourishes me, and it’s where I have the most fun. But I also love movies, traveling, and playing the saxophone. (Not well, mind you, but well enough to garner some enjoyment from it.)
What life curiosity are you trying to decipher in the recent years? Is there anything that keeps you up at night?
How to make a tapping video go viral…! I know how amazingly valuable this work can be, but there’s still a lot of resistance to it out there. I’m always hoping I’ll be struck with an idea that will make this work even more accessible, such that it spreads like wildfire.
Please share with audiences where they can support your work.
The best place to start is at
www.tapwithbrad.com. There they will find more information about EFT/Tapping as well as links to the various resources I have to offer.
