Friday, March 29, 2013

Good Friday tapping on the death of a loved one


50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” --Matthew 27: 50-54


I have been with many people as they died. Sometimes the passing from this life into a next is peaceful. Sometimes it’s restless. Sometimes (as in Jesus’ case) traumatic. When death comes, the person is still. They are at peace. The family and friends who gather by their side at that moment, have lots of other responses ranging from sadness, to disbelief, to anger, to regret, to relief, to confusion. People might even cry out something unusual, like, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

All of these emotions can leave the survivor feeling less than peaceful. God hopes for us to have peace, even in the midst of our grief. Today’s tapping prayer is targeted at the grief we experience after the death of a loved one.


Before we begin to pray, please take a moment to identify a loss in your life. Take an inventory of the feelings you have associated with that loss, and give those feelings a SUD. If you are new to tapping prayer, you can learn the basic recipe by clicking here. After you choose one feeling (there will be time to attend to other feelings around your loss after we pray for this first issue), please take responsibility for your tapping prayer, and let’s pray:


Surely you know the pain of loss, God. You watched Jesus die a terrible death. You were there with his family and friends as he drew his last breath. You gathered Jesus up into your arms and brought him into new life, even though those by his side could only think about the days that they had already spent with him. We have experienced such a loss in our life. We have deep feelings associated with that loss, and we are bringing those feelings to you today, in prayerful hope that you can heal us, and bring us peace.

Hear us as we pray,
Karate Chop: Even though I have this loss, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. Even though my loved one has died, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. Even though I have this heavy feeling associated with my loved one’s death, God is loving me and accepting me completely.
Top of Head: I have this loss.
Eyebrow: I miss my loved one a lot.
Outer eye: I have this deep feeling about my loved one’s death.
Under eye: I have this deep feeling about God concerning my loved one’s death.
Under nose: I have this death I am dealing with.
Under lip: This death that is keeping me from feeling peaceful.
Collarbone: I am distracted by this feeling I have.
Underarm: I can’t feel peace with this feeling pulsing through my soul.
Wrists: I have this death of a beloved person in my life.

Top of Head: Even though my loved one has died, and I have this disruptive feeling, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.
Eyebrow: Even though I feel angry at God I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.
Outer eye: Even though I can’t believe in God, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.
Under eye: My loved one is deeply loved and completely accepted by God.
Under nose: I accept that I am feeling this loss.
Under lip: I do not accept that I am feeling this loss.
Collarbone: I hate this feeling...but here it is. I feel this way about the death of my loved one.
Underarm: I can’t understand how this happened...
Wrists: ...But it happened, and now I have this uncomfortable feeling.
Top of Head: Even though I have this uncomfortable feeling about my loved one’s death, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Take a deep breath, and note your SUD concerning the feeling you were praying for relief from. If the number has gone down, but not to a 0-2, try to identify what about the feeling is keeping you at a higher number. Try to remember when you experienced that issue around a different event in your life. Ask God to follow that path for healing, and pray with that focus. When you are now feeling peaceful about the original feeling you were praying about, check back on your SUD regarding the death of your beloved. Where else could God’s spirit attend to you? If you are too disappointed in God for allowing the death of your beloved, try using the words, “I can consider being deeply loved and completely accepted by God.”

May the peace that transcends our deepest sorrow be yours today.
--todd
ps. next post will be on Easter Sunday re: feeling overwhelmed.

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