The set up phrase is something that I use for almost every round of tapping that I do. In the early EFT Training that I attended with Gary Craig himself, he definitely emphasized the use of the setup phrase when you first start addressing an issue. He said that using the Setup was kind of like setting up the bowling pins so you could knock them down. The setup is certainly one important aspect that helps you do effective EFT Tapping.

Using the Setup Phrase helps you focus on the issue so you can do effective EFT Tapping and knock down the issue

I also remember from Gary’s DVD training series hat he said that using the setup phrase was not always necessary as a prerequisite to doing effective EFT Tapping, and that it’s only needed maybe something like 40% of the time.  So it’s OK to jump right into the tapping without doing the setup phrase, especially if you are “sitting in the middle of the issue” and need to take the edge off of it fast. But what I do remember clearly was his encouragement to do the setup in the traditional way if for some reason you aren’t getting the resulting shift in SUDS that you are expecting.

The Setup Phrase aligns your focus with the issue at hand leading you to do effective EFT Tapping easily.

Basically Gary was reminding us to go back to the fundamentals whenever things aren’t going as expected.  Using the original recipe for EFT Tapping has always been effective.  The “newer” versions of the EFT Tapping recipes are simply enhancements to the original version. But regardless of which version of the EFT recipe you use, there are many other fundamental aspects of EFT Tapping that need to be incorporated into your tapping. This series will cover many of them.  And you can always revisit the EFT Quick Start Video Learning System that I created and use it as a refresher.

Having learned the original EFT recipe from Gary, I think that the biggest change for me was dropping the finger points and the 9-gamut step, while incorporating the top of the head point.  It certainly is easier to teach now, without the 9-gamut step and the extra time that took. Plus, it’s much easier to get some one to tap on various points on their body, than it is to do the humming, counting, and eye rolling.  And since we are getting results that are every bit as good, why not.

Regardless of which EFT recipe you use, what I have found personally is that I have a more effective EFT Tapping session when I use the setup phrase – if for no other reason than it allows me to really focus on the issue at hand so that I’m very clear about what I am tapping on. While I know that there are many people who get great results, without doing the set up phrase, by just tapping through the issue at hand.  I find for me that it’s not only more comfortable but more effective for me to go ahead and do say the setup phrase out loud while tapping on the karate chop spot.

The free EFT Tapping Points Cheat Sheet includes the traditional phrase uses for the EFT Tapping Setup Phrase which you can customize by filling in the blank as you say it.