For those of you following along, we've been working on The Tapping Solution to reduce pain and anxiety in our lives.  I have been faithfully tapping daily and noticing subtle changes in my life.

I've mentioned previously about the app called The Tapping Solution that is FREE to download.  ​There are several FREE meditations to utilize once you sign up.  If you are sold on the concept, you can purchase a monthly subscription for $11.99 or a reduced rate yearly fee.  I have not gotten to that point yet as I am in route of a thorough investigation first. Then I will consider full purchase. 

My first few meditations have centered on, "Releasing Anxiety".  Anxiety seems to play a crucial role in pain tolerance.  If I am stressed and out-of-sorts, I can bet that pain will soon follow.  I've decided to use this first meditation daily in the morning to set my sights on greener, calmer pastures.  It's working.  My anxiety level has plummeted to a "2" on the scale that I must assess pre and post meditative.  I'm going to keep that up each day.

Yesterday afternoon, I felt like perusing the FREE meditations and came upon "Quiet My Racing Mind."  Well, there's one that I experience throughout the day.  Anytime a new task is embarked upon, I can feel my mind begin to race.  Add a few more "normal" routines in there and my body begins to border on high alert.  I am still uncertain as to why this happens, but once I begin my day, it is a never-ending barrage of "Gosh, more to do, I just can't handle this!" 

So I decided to take the plunge.  As I began to relax into the mediation I felt the rapid-fire thought process begin to slow.  And then Nick said something interesting, "You racing mind is your body's protection mechanism so that negativity can't take hold and hurt you."  That hit the spot!  I am always concerned that I will not do things correctly, or I'll find myself off guard and blindsided.  I speculated that my mind was against me previously  because I was unable to quiet it most days.  Then I'd get angry!  "Why, Mind, are you doing this to me all the time?" I'd lament.  I had never thought of it as a protection process, that my mind did have my back!

Little thoughts like this change you're view of thinking.  It changes how you internalize your daily flow of life. And, it can make a big difference for those of us who suffer from chronic pain by quieting that central nervous system that causes pain.  

So, at this point taking in all this amazing information, you may be asking, "How long has then been around? Why haven't I heard of this before?"  ​It began in 1980, with a psychologist by the name of Roger Callahan, and a patient with an extreme phobia towards water. Mary’s fear of water controlled her life and kept her from performing many otherwise normal daily activities. She was unable to take her children to the beach, and found it impossible to drive near the ocean. She grew fearful when it rained, and could not even stand the sight of water on TV. She even had vivid nightmares involving water. 

Dr. Callahan and Mary had been working on this problem together for over a year. Finally, Mary worked up the courage to sit within sight of the pool at Dr. Callahan’s house. Even doing this caused Mary extreme distress, and though she found ways to cope with the intense fear and emotional pain, she had not yet overcome her phobia. 

Her fear of being near the water caused Mary to have stomach pains – a common “gut reaction.” Dr. Callahan had recently been studying traditional Chinese medicine, which included learning about the meridians and how they worked. Suddenly he had an inspiration. Remembering that there was an acupuncture point for the stomach meridian on the cheekbone, he asked her to tap there, thinking it might help with her stomach pains. 

Mary tapped her cheekbone as directed, and this little action changed medicinal history! The response seemed miraculous, to both Mary and Dr. Callahan. Her stomach pains disappeared. But even more amazingly, her fear of water disappeared too! She ran down to the pool and began splashing herself with water, rejoicing in her newfound freedom from her phobia. 

Based on this discovery, Dr. Callahan began a series of investigations to develop and refine this technique, which he termed “Thought Field Therapy.” It was fairly complex, and required a trained practitioner to use specific algorithms and techniques to determine which meridian points to stimulate to obtain the desired results. 

Gary Craig, an engineer in California, trained under Dr. Callahan’s tutelage in the 1990’s, learning the procedures for TFT. As time passed, he began to improve the process by creating a simpler tapping sequence that could be easily learned and repeated, even by the patient him/herself. 

The result was the development of a new type of therapy that Gary named EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). But perhaps even more importantly, he created a community around EFT, allowing the technique to be learned, applied, and shared freely. Because of this, hundreds of thousands of people all over the world have used Tapping to resolve emotional problems and physical conditions.

I'm a firm believer that anything you can do self-help towards pain reduction must always be traced back to anxiety.  Have you ever noticed when you are calm and serene the pain seems to dissipate? But, our systems have rewired themselves allowing for consistent concern and worry throughout the day targeting situations that others may recognize as trivial, but to us they are monumental. 

Not only that, but we squash these feelings not allowing any identifiable traits because most of those traits seem ludicrous to begin with.  Top that off with the fact that we really don't want to know!  Let's just slip another component of this illness under the rug because that just makes it easier to deal with, and allows us the ability to keep sane.  

But my last two weeks of daily tapping has shifted my views on this a bit.  I'm noticing that if I accept and validate this anxiety, regardless of where it stems from, I am enabling my body to view it and let go.  It doesn't matter if it seems ridiculous to begin with, apparently my mind is giving it more worth than I've been these last seven years.  And maybe, just maybe it is subtly trying to tell me something.  That is one of the layers I haven't unfolded yet.  But that first layer tells me to understand and appreciate my symptoms.  It is prompting me to adjust and accept.  That hasn't been easy.  But, I am noticing a shift of acceptance for my general well-being.  More importantly the symptoms are not lasting as long.  Something is happening.  

Why are we so quick to pitch our connection with our own self every time it lets us down?  Rather than accept and move on, we have a tendency to sweep all the things we don't like about ourselves under the rug.  Overweight? Let's just look at the positive side of all that, "I'm being my own person.  I've accepted myself."  That personal view is hard to retain when you're smacked with a recent blood test that shows your acceptance of yourself is now a health hazard.  

Why have we disconnected so much from ourselves?  Are we too busy?  Have we become a society of enablers?  Tapping has a long history.  This history stems from non acceptance of our own innate mechanisms that keep us alive and healthy.  

Like many healing arts that draw upon ancient wisdom, Tapping has been met with a fair share of skepticism. Some doctors and psychologists have been quick to dismiss it as “woo woo,” despite the heaping anecdotal evidence from the results of clinical trials, practitioner reports, individual case studies, and those who have used EFT Tapping on their own. 

In recent years, however, there’s been a growing pool of undeniable research proving that Tapping produces real, lasting breakthroughs. It significantly improves, and can even even eliminate, conditions that hospital treatments, medications, and years of psychotherapy often fail to adequately resolve. 

Studies performed around the world, including the prestigious Harvard Medical School, continue to verify these assertions. We’ve collected a quite a few of these research studies for you to review yourself. 

The scientific basis for Tapping therapy revolves around the functions of a specific almond-shaped part of your brain called the amygdala. It is part of the body’s limbic system, the source of emotions and long-term memory. The amygdala is known as the brain’s fear center, from which the “flight or fight” response originates, alerting other parts of the brain that it senses danger. This, in turn, initiates the firing of other brain receptors and the release of specific hormones that allow the body to respond to the perceived danger. 

This process is highly useful when faced with a real survival situation or an actual threat, but can be detrimental when developed into an “irrational fear” such as public speaking or a fear of rejection. 

Tapping has been shown to literally “turn off” the amygdala, disrupting the stress response and allowing the brain synapses to be rewired for a more appropriate emotional response to a given situation.

Every day I think about how I can help more people by connecting them with the incredible power of EFT Tapping.

And now, harnessing the power of technology, we’ve created something that will bring Tapping into the palm everyone’s hand – literally.

It’s The Tapping Solution App! And it’s now available on all mobile devices.

This, in my mind, is the greatest thing The Tapping Solution has ever created and I’m SO excited to share it with you! - Nick Ortner

The Tapping Solution App Categories

Inside The Tapping Solution App, you’ll find guided Tapping Meditations for:
Stress Relief • Motivation • Confidence • Emotional Freedom • Sleep Support • Relationships• Healing Your Body • Weight Loss & Body Confidence • Releasing Fears • Wealth & Abundance • Productivity • Pregnancy & Early Motherhood • Active Military and Veteran Support • Teacher Support

The Tapping Solution App Features

Not only will The Tapping Solution App be filled with incredible content, but we’ve also packed in a ton of useful features as well. Such as:

• Your Personal Dashboard with Daily Inspirational, Motivational, and Insightful Quotes
• Personalized Progress Tracker for each Tapping Meditation you’ve listened to
• Mark Your Favorite Tapping Meditations to quickly return to later
• Built-In Intensity Rating Scale at the beginning and end of each Tapping Meditation
• Independent Voice and Background Music Volume Control
• Visual Tapping Point Graphics to keep you on track during each Tapping Meditation
• Download Option for when you’re not connected to WiFi or the Internet
• And more!

 
How to Get The Tapping Solution App
The Tapping Solution App is now available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Download The Tapping Solution App here! 

The Tapping Solution App is FREE to download, with multiple upgrade options to unlock all of the available Tapping Meditations and Features.

This is a very exciting time for Tapping, and more importantly, for YOUR health, wealth, and well-being! Never before has it been this simple to learn and to make a daily habit of Tapping.

I’m so excited for you and for your future!

I came along something again to share quite by accident.  I was loading an app on my phone to upgrade when something caught my eye "Tapping Solution".  It was green icon which seemed to speak my colors lately of serenity and peace.  "What the heck?" I asked myself and downloaded it.  It couldn't hurt!

I don't know about you, but most days my nerves are haywire.  Oh, and it doesn't take much to turn on the switch.  From the moment my feet hit the floor upon rising from my bed that circuit is alive in 30 minutes, thoughts traveling the rate of the speed of light.  You'd think that highway would get jammed and bump a few off on the nearby exits.  Not a chance!  Every little thing that is viewed produces mounds of unwanted needs and expectations. 

So, I was well versed on how anxiety produces more pain.  And pain is a facet of life these days.  The trick is to reduce that steady amount of pain.  Doesn't it make sense if we can rewire, or coat those existing wires with a little more insulation, they don't get frazzled?  This is where my talents falter.  I have never been able to reduce that initial anxiety I feel that revs me up all day long.   

But this new technique promised a complete rewiring.  And all you had to do is tap away.  

I tried the tapping.  I felt relief.  So, of course, I needed more information!  Let me give you a bit of the story:

​Tapping, also known as EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), is a powerful holistic healing technique that has been proven to effectively resolve a range of issues, including stress, anxiety, phobias, emotional disorders, chronic pain, addiction, weight control, and limiting beliefs, just to name a few. 

Tapping therapy is based on the combined principles of ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology. Tapping with the fingertips on specific meridian endpoints of the body, while focusing on negative emotions or physical sensations, helps to calm the nervous system, rewire the brain to respond in healthier ways, and restore the body’s balance of energy.

Tapping makes full use of the mind-body connection, acknowledging and integrating the concepts that physical pain, disease, and mental well being are intricately connected to our emotional states. 

The body is equipped with an energy system that travels along pathways known as meridians. Tapping on these meridian endpoints helps to stimulate this system, and when verbally or mentally addressing the root causes of distress, the areas of blocked energy are able to release and flow naturally. 

The basic Tapping technique requires you to focus on the negative emotion at hand - a fear, a worry, a bad memory, an unresolved problem, or anything that’s bothering you. While maintaining your mental focus on this issue, you use your fingertips to tap 5-7 times on each of the 9 specific meridian points of the body. 

Tapping on these meridian points in sequence while concentrating on the negative emotions engages both the brain’s limbic system and the body’s energy system, encouraging a sense of safety and resolution. And as the scientific field of epigenetics is proving, when you change your internal environment - your emotions and beliefs - external changes in your mental & physical health will follow. 

In some ways, Tapping is similar to acupuncture. Like Tapping, acupuncture achieves healing through stimulating the body’s meridians and energy flow. However, unlike Tapping, acupuncture involves needles! “No needles” is definitely one of the advantages of Tapping! 

Tapping is simple and painless. It can be learned by anyone, and you can apply it to yourself whenever you want, wherever you are. It can be used with a specific emotional intent towards your own unique life challenges and experiences. Most importantly, Tapping gives you the power to heal yourself, putting control over your destiny back into your own hands.

​"Over 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. Lower back pain alone accounts for more than $50 billion of lost work time and worker's compensation claims annually. And let's consider the fact that there are 600,000 knee replacement surgeries performed each year in the United States, and sadly, 20 percent of those patients end up with chronic pain after surgery. The normal "solutions" we've been taught involve seeking out more doctors, surgeries, injections, and medications, all of which have a place in healing. But when it comes to chronic pain, conventional medicine isn't getting the job done. So what can we do? In The Tapping Solution for Pain Relief, which builds on the information contained in the New York Times bestseller The Tapping Solution, Nick Ortner presents a startling alternative. He lays out a step-by-step plan that teaches people how to use tapping, or EFT (emotional freedom techniques), to reduce or eliminate chronic pain. Looking at the scientific research surrounding pain, stress, and tapping, he opens readers eyes to just how powerful tapping can be, and then outlines tips and techniques to address pain in both the short and long term. Nick guides readers on a journey that begins on the surface--tapping to address the pain itself--and moves to the deeper issues that often affect pain. With easy-to-follow tapping scripts and exercises to guide readers into their pasts, Nick helps them heal the emotional pain and underlying beliefs that often keep people stuck. He also addresses topics that many people don't know are associated with chronic pain, such as: Releasing the past Creating personal boundaries Dealing with toxic relationships Clearing resistance to change Understanding the power of a diagnosis Working through anger There are many different ways the brain and body can create, increase, and prolong pain. In these pages, Nick helps readers understand what is causing their pain and provides them with the tools to achieve complete and lasting pain relief. But it's about more than just pain relief; it's about empowering readers to take back their bodies, so they can live the life they most desire."--

​Are you getting enough vitamin D? According to recent studies, there’s a good chance you aren’t. In 2009, researchers reported levels of vitamin D in the U.S. population had dropped between the years of 1988 and 1994, and then again between 2001 and 2004. Not only had average levels dropped, more than 75 percent of the people studied had inadequate levels of vitamin D in their blood.

Vitamin D deficiency is linked with an increased risk for serious diseases. Reduced levels of the vitamin are associated with cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, and autoimmune disorders. Deficiency is also linked with multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, depression, fibromyalgia and more. That’s why it’s so import to get enough vitamin D. But identifying vitamin D deficiency can be tricky.
Our bodies don’t make vitamin D, so we have to get it from our environment. The primary source of vitamin D is the sun, but we can also get it from some foods. Lifestyle, race, age, and other factors can put you at risk for vitamin D deficiency

The truth is that it’s extremely difficult to tell whether you have a vitamin D deficiency. The only way to be absolutely sure is to take a blood test. Most people with a vitamin D deficiency won’t be aware of it. It doesn’t usually produce noticeable symptoms. However, symptoms are possible. If you are vitamin D deficient, you may experience:

• muscle/joint pain and weakness
• bone pain
• tiredness or fatigue
• depression

​Your body is designed to get the vitamin D it needs by producing it when your bare skin is exposed to sunlight. The part of the sun’s rays that is important is ultraviolet B (UVB). This is the most natural way to get vitamin D.

​Large amounts of vitamin D3 are made in your skin when you expose all of your body to summer sun. This happens very quickly; around half the time it takes for your skin to turn pink and begin to burn. This could be just 15 minutes for a very fair skinned person, yet a couple of hours or more for a dark skinned person.
You don’t need to tan or to burn your skin in order to get the vitamin D you need. Exposing your skin for a short time will make all the vitamin D your body can produce in one day. In fact, your body can produce 10,000 to 25,000 IU of vitamin D in just a little under the time it takes for your skin to turn pink. You make the most vitamin D when you expose a large area of your skin, such as your back, rather than a small area such as your face or arms.

The assumption that vitamin D supplements will protect you against diseases associated with low vitamin D levels is incorrect, according to Australian researchers. The report found that vitamin D supplements are immunosuppressive and may actually make diseases worse. 

Vitamin D Nuclear Receptor (VDR) influences the expression of over 1,000 genes, including those associated with diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. According to the new study, supplemental vitamin D actually blocks VDR activation, which is the opposite effect to that of sunshine. Instead of positively impacting gene expression, vitamin D supplements appear to suppress your immune system.

Vitamin D has a remarkable role to play in your health, influencing nearly 3,000 of your 25,000 genes, and playing a critical role in your immune response. Vitamin D could rightly be described as a “miracle nutrient” for your immune system, as it enables your body to produce well over 200 antimicrobial peptides, which are indispensable in fighting off a wide range of infections.