If you know about the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) then I am willing to bet you know about the EFT World Summit led by brother and sister team, Nick and Jessica who made the EFT documentary Try It On Everything have the excellent EFT podcasttry it on everything (formerly eft-revealed.com).
Sadly though there are a few ruffled feather in the camp. EFT founder, Gary Craig, is not a part of the EFT Summit.
Mr Craig gives his reasons in his blog accusing the EFT World of misleading advertising, because it is not an event sanctioned via his organisation. Gary Craig points out that " The mere title gives the impression that this event is somehow sanctioned by EFT” “pirating” EFT’s popularity into a “questionable event” that “works against the EFT Community and not with it.”
I understand that as EFT is a trademarked there is an issue with the name. However, I think that the EFT World Summit will do EFT a lot of good. I have enjoyed most of the speakers and found the free material very informative.
EFT is a very easily learned technique and is in Gary Craig’s own words “a forgiving modality’ hence it can work with a lot of variation. However, some of these new approaches, although very effective, have resulted in changes to the accreditation process for practitioners.
I respect Gary Craig’s ability to systematized distill the EFT process from its original Thought Field Therapy origins under Roger Callahan. Gary has done a mammoth job in promoting his work and has helped revolutionize healing. You can download a free manual and in minutes be using the method in a basic form and have access to superb information. Nevertheless, I feel that perhaps Gary is too close to the situation. EFT is his baby after all, his not being invited is in a way a slap in his face and yes there are legal issues. The situation reminds me of my involvement with Bowen Therapy. You have Bowtec, an organization that took the technique of therapist Tom Bowen and widely spread it, that claims it is the original as if others are somehow an apostasy. Having seen the manuals for differing approaches in the Bowen Therapy field, the tribalism is not warranted. In the EFT world its important not to fall into that trap. There have been similar fusses over other issues in the past - the movie “The Secret” for example … and ..and …
Given time to settle the fuss usually was not worth the effort.
Now Gary Craig has generally had an open hand policy, and he deserves credit for this. However, some of Gary’s criticism is wrong. He criticizes the EFT world Summit for saying its free and complains ‘It's free ONLY if you listen at prescribed times. Otherwise, you must pay up to $197 to get this package.“
I am sure Gary is sincere, however he is partly wrong – you have a whole 24 hours before the next day’s offerings. If you have an email link the original offerings are still available. I listened for free and learned a lot. True some presenters are better than other, however I don’t accept the criticism that it is a “classic bait & switch type of marketing subterfuge” and an “insulting marketing tactic’. No one has to pay the money. If they want they can. Yes you can get extra’s for cash, so what’s the crime? It does not, in my opinion make EFT “look schlocky” as Gary Craig claims. Why is it wrong for a practitioner like Carol Look, for example, to publicize their material? Gary claims you “won’t see this sort of selling on the EFT Website because cheesy marketing like this is waaaay outside our ethical boundaries.’ What about Brad Yates or Carol Look or … … the list goes on of EFT practitioner who uses the net to publicize and offer webinars for people who join a mailing list. Then there are others who have also promted EFT in the Ortners EFT documentary- Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor, Joe Vitale, Dr. Norm Shealy
Bruce Liption to name a few. The fact is bright lights and fancy gimmicks do get attention.
I think perhaps the “crime” is the use of the name EFT. There is a trademark issue here, however, criticizing the names “EFT World Summit” as wrong because 88% of the speakers are in the USA is like complaining that the U.S. baseball world series must be renamed because it’s not in Australia.
There is one part of Gary Craig response that I consider very fair. “Only 5 of the 17 are EFT Certified. Thus 70% have no official EFT credentials.” He claims that three of them have twisted the technique and he considers 2 of the ‘expert’s’ beginners. Ok a fair concern, however, the technique is so simple is it essential to have a certificate to be effective? I recognise the need for quality control among pratitioners, however, it would be better for Gary to listen to the ‘experts’ on these free sessions that he criticizes and explain why their technique if it is faulty on an individual basis. People will respond if they are shown why Gary’s approach is right. Saying I’m Gary, founder of EFT and so I know they are wrong is not a complete argument. If it were science would never have progressed. Nothing would be improved upon. Showing how something can be done better is a far more positive and uplifting response.
Actually, I think the EFT World Summit will ultimately be good for EFT.
I love history and one thing I have seen repeated is that the more a person complains about an innovation, a philosophy, a new religion etc, the more publicity it gets! The EFT world Summit has publicized EFT and added some excitement back in the field. Complaints against it by Gary Craig’s organization will only encourage more to check the Summit out, not hinder it.
My suggestion is if someone does not like the EFT World Summit then do a better job at making regular EFT events. Competition can have the effect of exciting innovation.
Speaker John DeMartini pointed out that there is no such thing as a one sided magnet. There is a positive and a negative. For every disaster there is an opportunity.
Now, Gary will probably never see this blog, however, I ask him anyway: Look at what the EFT World Summit did right, grab hold of that, improve expand and grow on it and make the EFT Community even better.
Please tap away your frustrations Gary and return the focus to the EFT technique. EFT is a great tool and the more who use it the better.
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