This newly released book takes a fairly thorough look at EFT in the context of the emerging field of energy psychology. It includes a description of how to do EFT, case histories as examples, and thoughts on various different energy systems in our bodies. One of the authors, Donna Eden, is a natural healer who has an ability to "see" energy. David Feinstein, a clinical psychologist (and Eden's husband), writes with engaging charm about his profound initial resistance to, and skepticism of, the idea of "subtle energy." His tone is clear, simple and rational.
He was ultimately persuaded — as many of us have been with EFT — to open his mind (and switch his professional focus) by repeatedly witnessing the remarkably positive results of energy work.
This is a clearly written and informative book which provides interesting background on EFT, and contains an interesting Appendix showing the research evidence to date.

I find it interesting how many of us have blocks to making more money or to even to the very idea of abundance. This book has definitely shifted my perspective (though I still like to think I'm not "greedy"!). To quote from the back of the book: "If you are tired of not having enough money, time, love, or success, this exciting new book is for you. It combines the simplicity of EFT, the fun of Abundance Games, and the power of the Law of Attraction to help you increase your financial abundance and magnetize success into your life." An endorsement from Cheryl Richards (New York Times Bestseller author) reads as follows: "Attracting Abundance with EFT provides you with superb practical tools that will show you fun, easy ways to shift your limiting beliefs (and your energy) so you can create more success in all areas of your life!"

This is a delightful little book that many years ago changed my thinking in the right direction. Kaufman— who has been through more than his share of trials and tribulations— makes a clear and convincing case for the fact that it is always how we react to what happens to us that determines our level of happiness, not the events themselves. I found Kaufman's ideas convincing—at least in theory—and his real-life examples of people reacting calmly, positively even, in the face of calamities, moving and inspiring.
While I was persuaded by him that happiness is, indeed, a choice (as opposed to a matter of luck, or of having the right genes), I was frustrated at the time I read it by my personal inability to make the choice to be happy. It was only when I discovered EFT that I was able to integrate this helpful philosophy into my life and truly figure out how to be happy.

This book gives both the protocol for, and detailed results from, a very interesting eight-week eyesight experiment (with some 120 participants) that Carol Look ran in 2005. (The results in a nutshell: "Nearly 75% of participants indicated that an improvement occurred in their vision during and by the end of the study.")
As mentioned above, this is a ready-to-go self-help programme that provides exact scripts for tapping (a few minutes each day) on particular emotions and beliefs. I enjoyed following the programme, and was excited by some startling (albeit fleeting), changes in my vision, such as suddenly being to watch TV (and even read subtitles) without my glasses. Try it out for yourself?

A fascinating, well-documented and highly readable study of how we are persuaded, often unconsciously, to comply with requests we later wish we'd simply said "no" to. The book covers the strategies used by salesmen, how the police extract confessions, how cults work, and explores why we humans sometimes act like sheep. It effectively teaches one how to avoid getting conned (in the wrong hands, it could also serve as a rather thorough how-to manual for conning people!). It also contains invaluable (potentially life-saving) advice on how to get help from passersby in an emergency.

This book made me redefine my view of what it means to feel happy; it's one I often lend to friends and clients. Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced Chick-sent-me-high) basically suggests that the pursuit of what he calls flow is a more meaningful (and achievable) goal than the pursuit of happiness. Flow comes from being thoroughly absorbed in a task that is a) challenging, b) requires concentration, c) stretches one's limits, and d) offers immediate feedback; in this state, one is essentially too engaged and focused to analyse whether or not one is happy per se—hence one is, effectively, happy. (Examples of flow activities would be: playing chess, skiing a new piste, simultaneous translating. Watching TV does not meet the criteria, in that it is largely passive and generally does not require one's brain to be firing away on all cylinders. Csikszentmihalyi notes that, sadly, for many adults, a brief trip in the car can provide the only source of flow on a given day.) I found a pie chart in the book particular food for thought; mentally dividing your day up into blocks of time and seeing how many of those blocks include flow-producing activities is a salutary exercise. And I've realised that one of the reasons that I love doing EFT with clients so much is that it is highly likely, if not guaranteed, to put us both in a state of flow.

This last item does not strictly have anything to do with EFT (except possibly by association, since I wrote it). It's a collection of short (humorous/philosophical) personal essays, many of them broadcast on NPR's All Things Considered, on a variety of topics (including a rather comical meeting I had with Mr T. when I worked on the Larry King Show, and a piece I'm oddly fond of called called Bert, Ernie and Kierkegaard).

A couple of the more serious pieces in the book deal with helping a friend dying of AIDS, and a dilemma about whether, and how, to intervene in a public situation where a mother was abusing her child.