EFT, September 11, and letting go of fears

I chose to observe this solemn tenth anniversary of September 11 by letting go of my fears, using EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique. By fears I don't mean reasonable caution like looking both ways before crossing the street. Nor do I mean the voice of instinct which points out some tangible threat to be avoided. I mean the kind of irrational fears that lead to making avoidable mistakes. False Evidence Appearing Real. Those kind of fears.

Well, I had lots of them. They were holding me back both as an artist and a human being. And I could think of no more fitting way to honor those killed or injured by that attack ten years ago than by getting rid of these fears once and for all, so I could lead a better life, be a better person, a better artist, a better American.

EFT combines the ancient art of acupuncture with modern psychology. Instead of using needles, one uses one's fingers to tap on various acupuncture points and saying a statement, which releases blocked emotions. It may sound crazy, but it works for me. Plus the above website has free instructions, so I dove right in. Once I learned it, I invested in a couple books on it, and those have stood me in good stead. I'm a do it yourself-er at heart, which is why EFT appeals to me so much. EFT can also be done with a trained therapist, and I probably could have had faster results that way, but I felt good about practicing it on my own.