THURSDAY THUMP: What do you get when the Holy heals your hurt?

(Note: Due to time constraints this week I am unable to produce an original tapping prayer re: pain...apparently my blog on "not enough time to do everything" relaxed me a LOT! 

Pain is a big issue and I want to do it justice, so please hang in there until Tuesday. I promise. It will be there for you. This is an earlier article I wrote about how the Holy attends to our pain. I hope it is provides you with some good food for thought
--todd)

What do you get when the Holy heals your hurt? 

That's a very good question. It's a question I do not know the answer to, because the healing that comes from tapping prayer is so intimate and personal, that only you and God will really understand what the healing means. It may open a door to a further discovery...something terrifying and big and up til now, hidden from your awareness. It may allow you to breathe a little easier. It may give you the first good night's sleep you've had in a very long time. It may make you laugh...or cry...or wonder out loud, "What was that???"

My experience with tapping prayer has elicited all of the above, and more. It has given me a vehicle for exploring where I hurt, in a safe and sacred way. 

It's safe, because the way tapping prayer unfolds is somewhat controlled...not by me, but by the client who decides which issue they want to pray about. I won't go where you do not lead. I may nudge edges to try and make something more specific, but those are just guesses and you are free to say, "nope, that doesn't work" and we'll move on. It's safe because it is about healing, not wishing. Wishing sets up expectations that may not be possible. Wishing projects a specific outcome into the future. Maybe that outcome will occur. Maybe it won't. There is a defined end to a wish (it's either fulfilled or not), and when that end comes, the growth of the individual tends to cease.
Healing is about hope. It is about a process. It attends to the issue at hand. It is not certain of the outcome...yet it trusts that the efforts of everyone involved is focused on seeing the client comfortable, more at peace, more centered and more whole. Maybe not "wholly whole" (my theology leaves that up to the time beyond this time when the Holy makes all things new...) but better than before. That making "better" may involve dissolving an issue that once kept us from feeling peace; it may involve lifting up an issue so that we can better understand what needs to happen to experience the peace we've been seeking; healing is a journey that keeps choogling on down the tracks. It has dynamic movement associated with it. It is an adventure that keeps on challenging us to find "one more thing" to fix. Like love, it never ends...and that's what makes it sacred.

The process of tapping prayer is surrounded by love. It believes that the Holy truly loves you; truly desires to see you whole; truly has your best interests in heart and will work like crazy to be in a deeper relationship with you. That sacred relationship makes the adventure of healing less frightening and more of a celebration of discovery. We get to focus on or discover where we've been hurt in the past, and how God/the Holy is attending to those hurts in our present. We get to witness and experience a taste of things to come as issue after issue is targeted and attended to by the Holy Spirit. Trust me, She does good work. She does the kind of work that we can read about in the Bible; bringing peace and comfort to the afflicted (which I believe is pretty much all of us!), allowing God's spirit to flow freely through our bodies and our communities. This free flow state gives us the space to make clear decisions about ever changing choices in our condition. We are no longer stuck with fight, flight, or freeze. We are liberated. We are loved.

What do you get when the Holy heals your hurt?

TUESDAY TAP: Prayer tapping on not enough time to do everything

There is a time for everything,

   and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,

   a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3     a time to kill and a time to heal,

   a time to tear down and a time to build,

4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,

   a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6     a time to search and a time to give up,

   a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7     a time to tear and a time to mend,

   a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8     a time to love and a time to hate,

   a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do workers gain from their toil?--Ecclesiastes 3

Ecclesiastes (aka: The Preacher) did not believe that time was on his side. Nor did he have the feel good vibe of The Byrds hit, Turn, Turn, Turn echoing through his soul. For Ecclesiastes, TIME was at the whim of God (folks in E’s day believed that everything was at the whim of God!) for better or for worse. The differing times and seasons were going to happen no matter what we did, no matter how hard we toiled, so we might as well just hang on and enjoy the ride...well, the parts of the ride that went in our favor. For every other time, there was endurance and complaint.

Still, we try and manage time. We set our watches. Check our calendars. We note the changing seasons and try to get a handle on this elusive fact of life. Often, we are frustrated by our inability to keep up with it. We fall behind and worry that we are running out of time. We fret that there is not enough of it in a day to get everything done that needs to be done...to what end, I am not sure...but that’s what I read on facebook (the Ecclesiastes of our time).

I don’t agree with blaming God for our time issues. It seems to me that there are choices we make and choices others make that cause life to feel frantic.

• The dog runs out of the house as you’re leaving for a meeting.
• Your child announces that she has to use the potty just before you leave for work.
• A classmate has an accident on his way to pick you up for school.
• Somebody get’s a cold and can’t make the performance.

BOOM! You are late. Behind. Trying to catch up with your day. I can’t imagine the Divine watching over us with a stopwatch and shouting, “Mark, Set, GO!” and then taking pleasure as we fail.

So what do we do with our feelings of not being able to get everything done? If we can’t blame God perhaps we can call on God to help us feel better about the time we are living in, no matter how unmanageable it may feel.

Try saying, “I don’t have enough time to get everything done today.” On a scale of 0-10, how true is that statement? Write that number down. It is a Subjective Unit of Distress (SUD) and you can use it after you pray to help identify how God’s spirit has been working through your concern. If you are new to prayer tapping, read this article about the basic recipe for tapping prayer.

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

Karate Chop: I don’t have time for this prayer, God. You know it. I know it. I’m already late and starting to freak out. My SUD is at a …... and there is no way that this is going to help things. I’ll just get farther behind in my schedule. And I KNOW that Todd says, “it’s not God’s fault” but let me tell you, I’m not too sure about that tapper guy right about now. Alas, here goes (just so I can check it off my list of things to do today...)

Even though I don’t have enough time to get everything done today, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. Even though this prayer is taking up my precious time, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God. Even though I’ll never get everything done today, God completely loves me and accepts me.

Top of head: I don’t have enough time.

Eyebrow: I have so much to do.

Outer eye: The clock just keeps ticking.

Under eye: I’ll never get it all done.

Under nose: I just don’t have enough time

Under lip: tick tick tick tick

Collarbone: I can’t keep up with my schedule today.

Underarms: I’m feeling overwhelmed because I don’t have enough time in my day.

Wrists: I have SOOOOO much to do and SOOOOO little time to do it in.

Top of head: Even though I may not get it all done today, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Eyebrow: Maybe I could do some of the things on my list.

Outer eye: Maybe I can’t do anything on my list.

Under eye: I wonder which things are most important to do.

Under nose: I have so little time to do the things I need to do.

Under lip: I wonder what would happen if I did less?

Collarbone: The things I have to do are important.

Underarms: God took a day off.

Wrists: The things I have to do must be more important than what God has going on, and I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Top of head: I have so much to do and I am deeply and totally cared for by God.

Eyebrow: I wonder if I could say “no” to some things today, and save them for tomorrow?

Outer eye: Even if I don’t do everything on my list today, I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Under eye: I could use some of my time to take care of myself and the people I love and I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Under nose: I could go shopping for tweezers and I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Under lip: I can choose to let some things go for today and I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Collarbone: I may disappoint someone with my choices, and I am deeply loved and completely accepted by God.

Underarm: Maybe I can forgive myself for the choices I make. Maybe I can forgive those who will be disappointed with my choices.

Wrists: I don’t have enough to time to get everything done today.

Top of head: Even though I don’t have enough time to get everything done today, I am completely loved and deeply accepted by God.

Take a deep breath....and, "thank you God for taking your time to be with me today."

Check your SUD on “I don’t have enough to time to get everything done today.” How true is that statement? Has the number gone up? down? stayed the same? If it is not down to a 0-2, try and identify the issues that are keeping it at a higher number. Write those issues down, and then try and identify a person or event that each issue reminds you of. Give that person or event a SUD, and resume prayer tapping until you experience deep peace around, “I don’t have enough to time to get everything done today.” Chances are, you’ll have just enough time to do this.

Ecclesiastes didn’t take into account the random nature of living. Despite his wisdom, he missed the fact that sometimes life throws us curve balls that are not at all in keeping with God’s desires for us. The great thing is that with God’s help, we can discover time that goes beyond our perception of time, and in the process, experience a Holy peace for ourselves and others around us.

Peace,

todd

ps. Check out Thursday’s Thump when I address “ fear of change” with tapping prayer.

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.