Tapping Tuesday prayer on doubt

24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came (on Easter). 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” --John 20

I can’t believe it!

Show me the money!

I doubt it.

Never in a million years.

We’ve all said it. We’ve all felt it. Something is so unbelievable, so beyond what our imaginations can comprehend, that we demand proof. You may have even had that experience around tapping prayer!
We chant with Thomas, “Unless I see it, and feel it, I will not believe it.” Sometimes our doubt is warranted, but since I began prayer tapping, I wonder if there are at least as many (if not more) times when our doubt is either an excuse, or a declaration of our own limited vision.

What if our doubt was really based in a limiting belief about God’s involvement in our life? What if the Holy really did want to help us lose weight, or get that job we wanted, or mend that fence that had been broken for so many years? Could it be that Jesus’ spirit might even make it possible for us to draw closer to God, despite the nasty way we had treated the Divine? That seems to be what John is saying. Even though Thomas had his doubts about Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus comes to Thomas and takes him by the hand. He puts Tom’s fingers on the answer to his doubts, to his limited beliefs about what is possible with God on the case. There is no chastising. There is only healing. Healing for Tom. Healing for us.

What are you doubtful of today? Your ability to find happiness? Your capacity to pay your bills? Your potential to feel less pain?

Imagine that Jesus has just walked into the room, and he is guiding your hands toward the tapping points on your body. He wants to heal your doubt. He wants to share his peace.

After identifying a doubt or a limiting belief, check out that belief’s SUD. (If this is your first time trying tapping prayer, click this link to learn the basic recipe) On a scale of 0-10 how much does this doubt upset you? Frustrate you? Keep you from feeling peace? Write that number down.

Now, try and think of the first time you had this doubt? Where did you learn about it? Who taught you to have doubt around this issue? If you can’t remember, no worry. I’ll take care of that in the prayer.

When you are ready, please take responsibility for your participation in tapping prayer, and let’s pray:

Thomas is my mentor, God. I doubt all kinds of things. I doubt the veracity of stories I hear from my friends. I doubt my ability to execute particular tasks. I doubt the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. Like Thomas, unless I see it, or feel it, I cannot believe it. Unfortunately, some of my doubts are getting in the way of my happiness. They are limiting my peace. They are making a statement about you, that I am uncomfortable with. Help my disbelief today, God. Heal this particular doubt that I am bringing before you. Help me feel your peace, so that I will take chances to heal from other doubts in my life. Hear me as I pray.

Karate Chop: Even though I have this doubt, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. Even though I can’t believe this issue I am thinking about, God loves me unconditionally. Even though I have this limiting belief about the this issue that has a SUD of …...., I am deeply loved and completely accepted by you.

Top of head: This doubt.

Eyebrow: This limiting belief.

Outer eye: It could never be true.

Under eye: It couldn’t happen.

Under nose: I have this doubt.

Under lip: I have this inability to believe this...

Collarbone: I’ve gotta see it to believe it.

Underarm: I need evidence.

Wrists: I have evidence that my disbelief is holding me back.

Top of head: I have evidence that I am not as peaceful as I’d like to be.

Eyebrow: I have this limiting belief.

Outer eye: Maybe I know where it came from.

Under eye: Maybe it is connected to fear.

Under nose: Maybe it is connected to sadness.

Under lip: Maybe it is limiting me like it limited the people who taught it to me.

Collarbone: I have this doubt.

Underarm: I didn’t ask for it.

Wrists: I wonder if I need it?

Top of head: What would happen if I let it go?

Eyebrow: I wonder what would change if I let go of this limiting belief?

Outer eye: I might have to think about the world in new ways.

Under eye: I might disappoint whoever gave me this doubt.

Under nose: I hate letting people down.

Under lip: I’m not thrilled with how holding onto this disbelief makes me feel, either.

Collarbone. Even though I have this doubt, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Underarm: I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Wrists: Even if I choose to let go of this doubt I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Top of head: I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Take a deep breath...I thank you, God for taking my hands and putting them in holy places so that I could begin to experience your caring around my disbelief. Help me to be attuned to how your spirit has been working to heal me in this prayer. In your holy name I pray. Amen.

Check your SUD around the doubt you began with. Is it higher or lower or just the same. Remember that the more specific your language is the more focused God’s healing will be around a particular doubt or disbelief. If you have anxiety about not knowing what to do if you let go of your doubt, try prayer tapping on that anxiety.

Jesus didn’t chastise Thomas for his doubts. Instead, Jesus set about to help Thomas heal. Hopefully this prayer has brought you some healing. If it was helpful, please feel free to let me know, or try it on some other doubts. Perhaps there are more possibilities for us than we have been able to imagine before now.

Peace,

todd

Easter tapping on feeling overwhelmed

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”  Matthew 28: 1-10

Violent earthquakes. Rolling stones. Empty tomb. Folded clothes. Sadness. Fear. Excitement. Bewilderment. Joy. There were a lot of feelings pulsing through the veins of Jesus’ followers on that first Easter morning. Probably more feelings than the average kid experiences upon opening his or her Easter basket and spying a year’s worth of candy compressed into a single morning! It was certainly enough to overwhelm those early disciples. I imagine that their wiring was maxed out.

Intense experiences can leave us feeling overwhelmed. Unable to speak. Unable to respond. We might take flight. Or fight. Or freeze when we are impacted like the Easter morning disciples...and that makes it difficult to process what is actually going on, let alone respond to the moment. Can you think of a time when you were feeling overwhelmed? When you think about that experience, does it still make you feel that sense of disorientation? If that’s the case, it is quite possible that when you are in a similar situation, those same feelings will flood your brain.

God’s spirit can bring us peace when we are feeling overwhelmed liked the early followers of Jesus. Because God has witnessed all of the moments of our life the Holy can bring peace to lingering feelings of being overwhelmed.

This Easter day, choose an event that still leaves you feeling overwhelmed when you think of it. Give that specific event a SUD of 0-10. If you are new to tapping prayer, you can learn the basic recipe here. After noting your SUD, please take responsibility for your prayer tapping, and let’s pray:

Alleluia! Christ the Lord is risen today! We are so grateful for the gift of new life and new opportunities and forgiveness and grace and mercy and hope...and we are a bit overwhelmed by what it all means. We are overwhelmed by a lot of things that have happened in our lives, and like the early disciples, that sense of disorientation can keep us from feeling the true peace that Jesus sought to fill us with. We ask that you would help us feel a bit of that peace today, God, as we call on you to relieve us of a particular incident of being overwhelmed. Hear me as I pray,

Karate Chop: Even though I feel overwhelmed, and that overwhelm has a SUD of …..., I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. Even though the incident I am thinking about completely frazzles me, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. Even though the chemicals in my brain are keeping me from experiencing peace on this Easter Sunday, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Top of head: This overwhelming incident.

Eyebrow: I can’t believe it happened.

Outer eye: It caught me off guard.

Under eye: I lost my breath.

Under nose: I might have felt a little dizzy.

Under lip: I might have felt afraid.

Collarbone: I feel so overwhelmed.

Underarm: I can’t get my bearings around this incident.

Wrists: I am so overwhelmed.

Top of head: It’s hard to concentrate.

Eyebrow: It’s difficult to make a decision.

Outer eye: I wonder if I could think about just one aspect of this incident at a time?

Under eye: I’ll never feel peace.

Under nose: Jesus has peace for me.

Under lip: I’ve been overwhelmed for so long, I don’t know what I would do if I felt peace.

Collarbone: Maybe I could take some of the peace Jesus has for me.

Wrists: I feel so overwhelmed.

Top of head: Even though I feel overwhelmed, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

I thank you for offering your peace to me today, God. It is a great way to celebrate Easter.

Take a deep breath...and then check your SUD regarding feeling overwhelmed. Are you able to think more clearly about the issue you were praying? Do you feel a shift in your spirit? Perhaps the incident has become “just something that happened” without a lot of emotional charge to it. If you are still feeling more than a 0-2 of “overwhelm” try to identify a single aspect of the “overwhelm” and pray for God’s peace on that issue until it comes down to a 0-2. Then, work your way through any other elements of the incident until you can think about the thing that was overwhelming you, and just feel peace.

Easter Peace be with you.

--todd

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.

Palm Sunday: Tapping on preparing to do something difficult

Jesus headed straight up to Jerusalem. When he got near Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called Olives, he sent off two of the disciples with instructions: “Go to the village across from you. As soon as you enter, you’ll find a colt tethered, one that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says anything, asks, ‘What are you doing?’ say, ‘His Master needs him.’”--Luke 19: 28-31

Jesus had a lot on his mind. The authorities were pressing in on him. The people’s expectations were high. Jesus had a decision to make: head into Jerusalem and face the chaos of all those conflicting pressures, or run; turn around and head the other way.

Whenever we are preparing to do something difficult we have choices. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like a choice, but the reality is, we could choose to not do the thing we think we have to do. The temptation to run away is often high. We might feel overwhelmed with the possibilities of what is ahead: a doctor's appointment, a long overdue conversation with an estranged family member, writing a resume for a new job. That “overwhelm” feeling we experience when we have a tough journey ahead can keep us from thinking clearly about how we will proceed.

Do you have a big “something” ahead of you this week? Maybe at work...or home...or a problem that has been bugging you for a long time and needs to be resolved? Jesus gets it. His Spirit is ready to help you find peace around that difficult thing you have to do.

If you haven’t tried tapping prayer before, go to this link and read up on the basic recipe. Once you feel comfortable with the basics, figure out what your SUD is and then try this prayer for the difficult thing ahead. Please take responsibility for your participation in tapping prayer.

Dear God, I am in over my head. I have this difficult thing coming up this week, and I don’t know what to do. I am feeling overwhelmed, and maybe a little trapped by having to make a decision about this difficult thing. I am having trouble concentrating because the specter of this difficult thing has got my wires frazzled. Thankfully, you know just which wires need healing today, and so I’m going to focus my prayer so that you can attend to where I need the healing the most.

Karate Chop: Even though I have this difficult thing coming up this week, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. Even though I have this thing that it looks like I HAVE to do, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. Even though this thing that I have to do has go me worked up to a SUD of ….., I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Top of head: This difficult thing

Eyebrow: This thing that I HAVE TO DO.

Outer eye: This something that I dread.

Under eye: This thing that is bugging me.

Under nose: This difficult thing

Under lip: This thing that will take me out of my comfort zone.

Collarbone: This difficult thing that is scheduled to happen this week.

Under arm: I have this thing to do.

Wrists: I have this thing that is driving me to derision.

Top of head: Even though I have this difficult thing to do, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God

Eyebrow: I feel trapped

Outer eye; I am deeply loved

Under eye: This difficult thing I have to do might have a pleasant surprise for me.

Under nose: I am completely accepted by God

Collarbone: It might not be as bad as I imagine it to be

Underarm: It might be worse than I imagine it to be.

Wrists: Whether it’s better or worse, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Top of Head: Even though I have this difficult thing to do, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Take a deep breath...and check your SUD.

As Jesus prepared to enter Jerusalem, he had specific issues on his mind. The needs of the people. The anger of the religious leaders. His own sense of serving God.

The more specific you are with your language, the more specifically God can attend to your dread of doing this difficult thing. Keep prayer tapping until you can think about the thing you have to do this week and your SUD is at a 0-2.

May "Hosanna!" peace be yours,,

--todd
ps. Next blog will be posted on Maundy Thursday re. Betrayal.