When the Technique Is Not Enough: Sharon's Journey from EFT to a Deeper Experience with FasterEFT

Sometimes we discover a method that helps us, yet after a while we begin to feel that something is still missing. That does not necessarily mean the method has stopped working. Perhaps we have changed, reached deeper issues, or simply started looking for an approach that better reflects the way we experience our emotions, our bodies, and our lives. Sharon Thompson describes a similar journey after working with traditional EFT for several years before discovering FasterEFT.

Sharon was therefore not starting from scratch. She was familiar with tapping, understood the basic principles of EFT, and had approximately three years of personal experience with the method. Over time, however, she began to feel that change in certain areas was taking longer than she expected, and she started looking for a different approach. That was when she discovered Robert Gene Smith's FasterEFT. What attracted her was not only the technique itself, but also the way Robert spoke about emotions, physical responses, past experiences, and our relationship with ourselves and other people.

EFT and FasterEFT Are Not Exactly the Same

The name FasterEFT can easily create the impression that it is simply a faster version of traditional EFT. Although the two approaches are historically related, they are not identical. Traditional EFT was developed by Gary Craig and includes tapping on selected points while focusing on a specific problem and using particular verbal statements. Robert Gene Smith gradually developed his own FasterEFT system from these and other principles, placing strong emphasis on the way a person internally represents a problem through memories, images, internal dialogue, physical sensations, and personal meanings.

For someone who has already practiced EFT for several years, the biggest difference may therefore not be the tapping itself. More interesting questions begin to emerge: What exactly am I focusing on while tapping? Why does a particular memory create tension? What am I imagining when I think about the problem? What words do I hear internally? And why does one issue seem to change relatively easily while another keeps returning? This way of exploring internal connections was one of the things that attracted Sharon to FasterEFT.

Emotions and the Body Are Not Two Separate Worlds

One important theme in Sharon's story is the connection between emotional experience and physical stress. We already know this connection well from everyday life. Fear can tighten the stomach and increase the heart rate. Long-term stress may be accompanied by tension in the shoulders or changes in breathing. Sometimes simply recalling an upsetting event can produce a physical response even though the event itself happened many years ago.

Working with FasterEFT therefore does not focus only on what a person consciously thinks. Attention can also be given to the physical sensation that appears alongside a particular memory or mental image, as well as the internal references that may be connected with it. The purpose is not to deny physical causes of health problems or replace medical care. It is about working with the emotional and stress response that may form part of our overall experience.

The Past Remains the Past, but Our Response Can Change

When Sharon talks about deeper healing, we do not have to interpret this as erasing the past. What happened cannot be changed, and some experiences will remain part of our story forever. What can change is what happens inside us when we remember them. If a particular memory once immediately triggered fear, shame, anger, or intense physical tension, working with the emotional response may change the way we experience that memory today.

A memory does not have to disappear in order to lose some of its power. We can still know exactly what happened without our nervous system responding every time as though the same event were happening again in the present. This distinction can be far more meaningful than trying to forget or convince ourselves that a painful experience did not matter.

The Spiritual Dimension and the Idea of "One Family"

Sharon was drawn to more than FasterEFT's approach to memories and emotions. The spiritual dimension of Robert's philosophy also became an important part of her experience. Within the FasterEFT community, we can encounter the idea of "One Family" – one human family – and Sharon sees this as a reminder that our personal journey is not completely separate from the lives of others. The way we work with our own emotions and past wounds can also influence the way we treat our partners, children, friends, and even people we barely know.

For Sharon, this perspective also carries a deeper spiritual meaning, and she connects it with a sense of broader connection between people. However, experiences like this do not need to be interpreted as evidence of a measurable "collective energy" or shared consciousness. For some people, spirituality can be an important part of personal growth, while others may approach FasterEFT in an entirely practical way as a method for exploring emotions, memories, and automatic responses. Both perspectives can exist alongside one another as long as we distinguish personal experience from claims about how the method objectively works.

Perhaps It Is Not Only About Getting Rid of an Uncomfortable Feeling

When we first begin working on ourselves, our goals are often very specific. We want to stop being afraid, get rid of anger, stop thinking about the past, or finally experience greater peace. These are completely understandable goals. Over time, however, the question itself may begin to change. Instead of asking, "How do I get rid of this feeling?" we may start asking, "What is this feeling showing me? What did I learn from this experience? How does it affect the way I see myself and other people today?"

An even more interesting question may be: "Who will I be if this old story no longer determines my reactions?" If we have spent many years seeing ourselves as someone who is wounded, rejected, anxious, or constantly needs to protect themselves, changing an old emotional pattern may also affect the way we understand our own identity. Personal growth then becomes more than simply removing problems. It can also mean discovering possibilities that our automatic responses previously prevented us from seeing.

Healing Does Not Have to Mean Returning to Who We Used to Be

The word healing can sometimes suggest a return to an original state, as though we are supposed to become the person we were before a painful experience happened. But some experiences genuinely change us, and returning to the past may be neither possible nor desirable. We may have learned something from what happened, developed different boundaries, gained a better understanding of ourselves, or begun thinking differently about what we want from life.

Perhaps the goal is not to return at all. Perhaps it is to integrate the past so that it no longer has to control the present. To keep the experience without carrying the same pain. To remember without having to relive it. To know what happened without automatically using it as evidence of what must happen again.

Sharon's Experience Is, Above All, Her Own

One of the valuable things about personal stories from the FasterEFT community is that they do not describe one universal path. Sharon came to FasterEFT after several years of experience with EFT, and she was drawn to its combination of emotional work, physical responses, and the spiritual perspective she found in Robert's approach. Someone else may discover the same method for entirely different reasons, and the spiritual aspect may have little or no importance to them.

Likewise, one personal story cannot demonstrate that FasterEFT treats anxiety disorders, depression, PTSD, or other health conditions. Appropriate professional care remains important for serious or persistent psychological difficulties. Tapping techniques may serve as a complementary tool for some people when working with stress and emotions, but they may not be suitable or sufficient for everyone.

Deeper Change May Begin with a Different Question

Sharon's story can be meaningful even for someone who has never tried FasterEFT. It reminds us of something broader: sometimes, while working on ourselves, we reach a point where simply removing an unpleasant symptom is no longer enough. We become interested in what creates our response, where we know it from, and what meaning we have given our experiences throughout our lives.

Perhaps deeper change does not begin with the question, "How can I get rid of this as quickly as possible?" but with, "What is really happening inside me, and what do I no longer need to carry in the same way?" For Sharon, FasterEFT became one of the tools on that journey. Not as a way to erase the past, but as an opportunity to change her relationship with what she continued carrying from the past into the present.

And perhaps this is one of the most interesting forms of personal growth. Not becoming an entirely different person, but gradually discovering who we are when yesterday's pain no longer has to make today's decisions for us.

If you would like to explore emotional healing, personal growth, and the principles of FasterEFT more deeply, you can find additional resources and eBooks that may support your journey enter my store.