April 22, 2021 by
(by Aviva Chansky Guttmann, LMSW) With spring’s arrival this year, we may experience an array of contradictory emotions about the immediate future. Global hopes about the efficacy of COVID vaccines bring the tentative yet welcome promise of more freedom to gather with loved ones and celebrate life. Under non-pandemic reality, spring is associated with the colloquial “spring fever.” We are suddenly ebullient from the long-awaited contrast to winter, basking in the sunshine on our faces and relishing warm days where we can take off those extra layers of clothing and smell the scent of blossoming flowers.
In our new post-COVID-social-isolation world, spring fever could actually feel risky and dangerous, as we are understandably tentative and confused about our reality and surroundings. We may struggle with mixed emotions and our energy system may be equally confused as it constantly scans our environment for safety. When signs of safety are ambiguous, we second-guess ourselves. A virus and its ability to affect us are invisible and so much of how we determine safety now requires a leap of faith and trust in the information we receive from our leadership and scientific communities. Our senses are not necessarily finding the reassurance we need. Our energy is not finding its alignment.
Energy is the foundational component of life. The Law of Conservation states that energy can be converted in form, but not created or destroyed. Energy moves continually from one form to another and much of it is intangible and invisible. We see the results of energy transmission in our electronics and machinery that depend on it, but in many situations we must imagine, envision, and trust that the ever-constant exchange from one energetic state to another exists.
When we discuss EFT/ tapping, for example, we are asked to imagine a blockage in the energy pathways obstructing freely flowing Chi (life force) and understand the intention of EFT is to unblock these obstructions through administering tapping sequences along the meridian points (energy center pathways) exiting our bodies.
We can think of emotions, also invisible, as energy in motion. Just as energy transmutes, so do emotions ― and they often do so without our conscious intention. Within minutes, we can experience joy or delight, fear or aversion, sadness or grief, and any other nuanced shades of feeling along the continuum. As we envision our post-isolation lives, we struggle for energetic alignment as our senses are not necessarily finding the reassurance we need.
As practitioners of energy psychology, we can approach this lack of clarity through practicing mindfulness and keeping our intention for healing and wholeness in awareness. “Where intention goes energy flows,” as author James Redfield states. Similarly, if using EFT, we may consider a setup statement akin to “Even though I am confused and anxious about the new reality and the safety of venturing out post-COVID, and although I’ve had my vaccines, I deeply and completely accept myself and hope to feel more secure in the safety of the world.” How would we rate the SUDS on this? We can start wherever we are and work with our energy systems to address ambiguity.
Feeling uncertain in uncertain times is normal and adaptive. The world continues to go through rapid and overwhelming changes. Emerging from enforced social isolation and safety precautions and the emotional adjustments of doing so has been a strain. We must restore and refresh ourselves at whatever pace we can manage. Fortunately, we have many energy psychology tools available to us.
Want to expand your toolkit with some simple, self-help videos that you and your clients can use to create calm and resilience? Visit ACEP’s free Resources for Resilience.
Author
Aviva Chansky Guttmann, LMSW, is an advanced Certified Imago Relationship Therapist with over 25 years experience counseling couples, individuals and families who experience challenges ranging from marital conflict, sexual and emotional intimacy, chronic and terminal illness, caregiver stress, special needs, parenting concerns, adoptees’ identity concerns, and other areas of suffering and difficulty. Aviva has trained in Emotional Freedom Techniques and Comprehensive Energy Psychology with ACEP. An ACEP member, she is based in the Hudson Valley in New York State
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