Brain Rewiring: Bird Songs and Tapping

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Brain Rewiring: Bird Songs and Tapping, on the Be Free Respect Podcast

Disclaimer: I am not a brain or brain rewiring expert. I am simply sharing my personal journey and my personal understanding as it makes sense to me.

Brain Rewiring Tools

I’m going to share a little about a couple tools in my personal brain retraining toolbox. Before I talk about tapping and bird songs, however, I need to share a morning laugh with you.

A Morning Laugh

I have started this post a couple times. I get side-tracked, however. Let’s just blame it on the time of the year, haha.

I felt a big tug to write the other morning, but allowed myself to get reeled into some social media stuff. It’s easy to do, isn’t it. But then I closed those tabs on my computer, refilled my cup of coffee and sat back down in my favorite writing space (in my kitchen, next to my bay window).

And as I looked out the window, I just had to laugh.

My plan was to share two things: One, my discovery of tapping, and two, the simple shift I experience just listening to the sound of birds singing.

As I was sipping on my coffee, gazing out my window before starting the click-clack on my keyboard, I just had to laugh. A couple dozen birds were pecking away in my yard.

“OK,” I said out loud to the universe. “I get the message. Yes, I will write this post.”

And then, a couple more dozen birds flew in, landing in my yard just to be sure I understood that this is the post I am to write. And I laughed even louder.

“I get the message! Got it. Loud and clear.” It was just too funny.

But then I got side tracked again, with this post only partially written.

So now, a few days later, let’s continue.

Bird Songs

So, how the heck do birds fit into my brain retraining?

Mood.

It’s as simple as that.

A simple shift in mood. That’s it.

I find the sound of birds singing to be so peaceful. So joyful.

I sit on my back porch in the spring and just listen and let my body relax and fill with joy. I enjoy a summer evening walk, listening to their sounds as they bring in the close of another day. And in the winter or on any day when the birds are quiet, I simply tell Alexa, “Play bird sounds.”

I incorporate bird songs into visualizations. Waking in the morning to bird songs out my window. Sitting by my tent during a camping trip, drinking coffee, watching a red cardinal as it hops along the ground, gathering its breakfast, as I listen to the joyous sounds of bird songs. When it comes to visualizations, there are no limits. And to enhance these visualizations, I often reach out to Alexa and simply say, “Play bird sounds.” It works. For me, anyway.

I use this tool often. Just listening to the sounds of birds is effective in transitioning me into a state of peace–sometimes. Sometimes it just means taking the edge off of an unwanted emotion.

I know that sounds simplistic. But shifting mood to a more peaceful one can be that easy. The peace and joy this simple tool brings me can be pretty dang powerful at times. And it is helping me to change the notion that ‘change takes hard work.’

What sounds work for you? Maybe ocean waves. A waterfall. Rain. A fan.

Tapping

First, please remember. This is my journey I am sharing. Just because something works for me, doesn’t mean it is something that you will find beneficial at this point in your journey.

Always, always, always respect individual differences. This may be great for you now or it may resurface at a later time in your life. As you’ll see below, this is what happened for me. I was introduced to tapping (also called EFT) long before I started making it a part of my daily routine.

Stay Grounded in Your Program

When starting any brain retraining program, let me emphasize what your instructions probably include: to keep your retraining focus to that program. Our brains want to take us here and there. What about this? What about that? Maybe we should include some meditation. Oh, what about that vagus nerve thing? What is ‘somatics?’ Should I be tapping?

It’s like talking about a new product and all of a sudden you see it advertised every time you get on the internet. Once starting this journey and becoming involved in related social media groups, coaching sessions, etc, more and more information will start surfacing and you’ll wonder, ‘Should I try that?‘

Don’t let it take you down side roads you aren’t ready for. Keep your focus and your training on your program when you start.

I simply tell my brain, “Shhhhhhh.” And I let my gut (and coaching) lead me. When I branch out, I know if something suits me or not. And I know to keep changes small and focused.

Back to Tapping

I heard of tapping last year or so. Tapping, or EFT: Emotional Freedom Technique. It was interesting. I watched some YouTube videos. I felt it made sense. But I wasn’t ready to move beyond my training. So I put tapping aside and continued with the routine and the tools I had been using.

But this fall, a year and a half into my brain retraining journey, I discovered a video that resonated for me personally. And it’s been lovely. I haven’t missed a day of tapping since.

But even with this addition, I am keeping changes small and within my personal limits.

What Led Me to Tapping

Well, honestly, I’m working on letting my inner GPS guide me. The addition of meditation this past several months (not daily–but working on it) has been leading to increased inner peace and guidance. (Thank you Esther Hicks and Abraham). I feel it’s led to the inspiration for the gratitude journal series I created this summer. And I feel it has led me to a particular tapping video this fall.

I was on YouTube and I saw: The Only Tapping Video You’ll Ever Need, by Brad Yates. I played it. I tapped along with it. And I loved it. This tapping session simply resonated with me. Loudly!

That was some time mid November. I focused on that one video for two weeks. Daily.

It was so easy to just turn that video on each day and tap for 8 to 10 minutes. I looked forward to it. It’s been approximately a month (give or take) and I haven’t missed a day of tapping since. Although, I do now add in another video of his here and there.

Keeping My Focus

Brad has 100’s of videos on his channel but I know me and I know how important it is for me to keep within my training zone. While I’ve enjoyed each of the tapping sessions I’ve tried so far, I’m keeping my circle small. I currently have three of his videos in my playlist, and I tap each day, using one of those three or another random video of his that I might find. I might tap first thing in the morning. Maybe midday at the park, between a visit to the gym and the store. Or in the evening. I simply look forward to those sessions that always result in increased inner peace.

I soon found I was smiling more. I feel lighter. I feel I’m more pleasant to be around again. I’ll be honest. I was going through a somethin-somethin during the time I first discovered that tapping video last month. I wasn’t fun to live with. I knew this. But knowing something and changing it are two different things.

I like when I like myself. And I currently like myself again. Thank you Brad!