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After my first two years of studying and practicing N.O.T. on my patients, I found that occasionally I would perform a correction and the muscle test would still show a weakness. I would retry the correction but no matter what physical technique I employed, the circuit would not return to normal strength.

There is a saying that "when the pupil is ready, the teacher arrives" and so it was with me. My next teacher was Dr. Scott Walker, a chiropractor from Encinitas, California,  and the founder of Neuro Emotional Technique (N.E.T.®). I began to study his techniques, incorporated them into my practice in 1993 and continued taking his seminars for the next two to three years.

Research has demonstrated that certain chemical messengers, called neuropeptides, are created in the brain and travel throughout the body whenever we experience an emotion. The power and influence of neuropeptides can be witnessed when a person is frightened by a snake, for example. The body may freeze, a wave of nausea may flood the stomach, or beads of sweat may start to trickle down the person's back. Even the sound of a snake's rattle or the picture of a snake can elicit a physical response in some subjects. Very often people dismiss such reactions as phobias and accept that nothing can be done to change it. They carry on with their lives, but are forever fretful and fearful of snakes whenever outdoors.

The exciting news is that this doesn't have to happen. It is now possible to change the body's response patterns and clear such negative reflexes quickly and easily. That is precisely what N.E.T.® is all about. By resetting the body's "emotional" computer we can unblock old sabotages, fears, and response patterns that chain us to the past. This is very important since the fear of suffering can often be worse than the suffering itself.

There are currently a number of different techniques that address the neuro-emotional component of human well being. They each have their own strategy for locating old response patterns and resetting the body to allow for new and more desirable ones. It is important to understand the basic theory.

When experiencing an emotion for the first time, a mother's kiss for instance, the body secretes neurochemicals via the nervous system and the result of this chemical reaction is that we "feel good". A positive stimulus-response pattern is created. In the future whenever that individual thinks about being kissed or sees an image of a woman kissing a child, the brain checks its "filing cabinet ", finds the previous favorable file in the nervous system, and the brain-body response is to "feel good", loved, accepted etc.

Conversely, when a father explodes at his three-year old son for hitting a baby sister the result can be a defensive response, much like that discussed in the previous chapter. If the experience is highly emotional and physically stressful the body may not be able to reset or let go of the emotional charge related to the event. The youngster will then forge a stimulus-response reaction between mind and body that Dr. Walker has termed a Neuro-emotional complex or NEC. In this example the NEC created will relate to how the youngster will respond to anger or criticism from a male. From then on, whenever a male becomes angry or critical of them, they respond as previously programmed: defensively. Of course this can manifest itself in many different ways: as feeling combative, crushed, closed down, frightened, anxious or a wide variety of other emotions depending on the person's personality. This can also result in physical contractions such as tightened shoulders, clenched jaw and clenched fists. Even though an individual may not consciously understand it, every time a male directs anger at them - it may now be a teacher or employer - the brain sends a message to the body saying: "I don't like this, it doesn't feel good, it brings up old bad feelings, it is a threat to me." The body moves into defence based on a program that was created in a past situation where defence may have been necessary at that time. We must remember that the reason why these emotions are stored in the subconscious and eventually into the body is so that the person could get through the trauma. It is a survival response. The event is painful or frightening or ugly, so the response is to hide the feeling deep inside and get on with life.

Such primitive stimulus-response patterns have likely existed in human beings throughout evolution, but modern science is now proving what the Chinese observed thousands of years ago: The "chi" or energy (the neurochemicals) of certain emotions connects with and is stored in certain organs, pathways or meridians of the body.

Anger, for example, is believed to be stored in the liver meridian, and the liver is an organ that has a multitude of physical functions in the human body. Largely responsible for filtering impurities out of the blood, it helps keep the immune system strong and, along with the pancreas, is a regulator of blood sugar levels. When the liver is weak it can cause blood sugar imbalances (hypoglycemia) which lead to ill health if a person doesn't eat over a short period of time. It can cause weakness in the immune system and result in recurrent colds and infections as well as a feeling of being generally run down. It can also refer pain to the mid-back and right shoulder, as these areas of the body specifically relate to the liver.

I treated a 40-year-old man who had experienced pain in his right shoulder for some years and no amount of physical therapy gave him any relief. His body was indicating that the cause of the pain was emotionally related so I approached the case from the emotional standpoint, in order to properly correct the condition. The body revealed that the original stimulus-response pattern that was referring to his shoulder originated from an event at 14 years of age. He remembered a significant event that had happened to him at 14 years of age. We performed N.E.T and it cleared within 10 minutes of the treatment. The shoulder dramatically increased in range of motion and the pain never returned.

I believe these programs are implanted as primitive fight/flight response mechanisms. The body thinks: "This is too much too deal with right now and I have other things that must be dealt with, so I will store this energy somewhere and get on with life." I also believe that such early responses are stored because parents fail to talk to their children or apologize after an emotional upset. By talking things through and learning to forgive and forget, we learn how to heal and let things go. Without early training in how to release anger and other stressful feelings, emotional upsets start piling up year after year until we are carrying a large cargo of negative baggage around.

Kinesiologists can use muscle testing to find out if the body is retaining emotional angst. We can access these subconscious thought patterns and beliefs, and reset the body's response so these patterns stop holding people back from living the lives they want to lead.

One way to access the "program" is to have a patient think of the pain and see if a muscle goes weak. If it does, they are then asked to touch two energy points located on the front of the forehead, which are related to the emotional circuitry. If a weak muscle becomes strong while the person is contacting the points and thinking of the pain (i.e. a change has occurred), it indicates a neuro-emotional component. If the muscle stays weak this indicates no emotional component at the time and the practitioner can continue looking for either a physical or a chemical cause. It eliminates guesswork for both doctor and  patient, saves unnecessary treatments, time, and money - and employs the natural wisdom of the body.

Once an emotional component is identified, how does a healer unravel what the issue is and proceed to clear it? A  verbal process, developed by N.E.T.®, is played between the doctor and the patient's subconscious using the muscle response testing. The body answers a verbal question with a "non-congruent" or "congruent" response that is provided via a muscle staying strong or going weak. This may cause some readers to raise their eyebrows but the process must be experienced in order to be truly understood.

An experienced practitioner develops the art of asking the right questions, narrowing down the field of possibilities, zeroing in on the problem and helping the patient interpret the answers. It is important to note that when this technique is used the patient is always fully conscious and assisting the practitioner, not in any kind of hypnotic state. The patient is not consciously answering any questions, however, he is letting his body speak for him through muscle response testing.

Here is the kind of dialogue that might take place when I am practicing this technique, using our previous example of the father who exploded with anger at his three-year-old son. The test child, now a grown man, is complaining about problems with his right shoulder. I believe it might have an emotional component so am working in that "program": Remember, I am talking out loud to his body and he is focusing on keeping the muscle strong rather than listening to the question and assuming the answer.

The technique resembles a game of 20 questions, or one that many of us played as children called Animal, Vegetable, Mineral where we deduced the answer by constantly narrowing the range of options. This process is played on a profound level, however, where the practitioner is literally communicating with the subconscious and does not assume anything. The reasoning mind is bypassed and the body is giving the answers as to what it holds a negative or positive charge to. At this point in our example we have located what Dr. Walker refers to as a "snapshot" of what the body has stored, and when. The man's body indicates the pain in his right shoulder has a neuro-emotional component tied to an incident that occurred when he was 3 to 4 years of age involving him and his father.

At this point the doctor does not know what the involved emotion might be. Chinese medicine, Chiropractic and Applied Kinesiology have found that there are reflex points specific to each organ of the body and they can indicate involvement with particular snapshots. So continuing with the same example, the liver point might show involvement when tested while the other organ points would not. Since we know that the liver meridian holds the emotions of anger and resentment, the doctor would pose the supposition as follows:

At this point the doctor may ask the patient if he recalls any situation where his father may have been angry with him at 3 to 4 years of age. Sometimes the patient will know of an event or have a vague idea. It is the responsibility of both the doctor and patient to assume nothing, and let the body reveal what it is holding onto. The body never lies and it remembers everything. If the patient says, "It's probably because I spilled my milk at the dinner table," then we must do a muscle test while they hold that thought. If the circuit tests strong then that event is not a stressor and is not the event we are looking for. If it weakens, however, we know we have hit the target and that this thought is still having a weakening effect on the body. Even if the patient has no recollection of an event, we can still clear the block because the body simply reveals its secrets by going weak (losing energy) whenever it is holding onto a negative charge.

We need to survive in the jungle and if something stresses us too abruptly, too harshly, or for too long, we stuff it away and move on to the next event. Over and over, these emotional upsets are stored in our subconscious minds and bodies until one day they overload the computer circuitry. That's when we have an unexplained emotional or physical breakdown.

As we grow out of childhood and start to gain a better understanding of this world, we all have certain idiosyncrasies that seem to hold us back from becoming who we truly want to be. Many people see psychiatrists or psychologists in an effort to recognize and change patterns. Such talk therapy is often important and empowering because it enables individuals, through trained professionals, to understand themselves and achieve solutions. The drawback is that while the emotions may be intellectually cleared, the stresses often remain locked in the body at a primitive level and the patient still has negative gut reactions related to their issues.

Unfortunately, some patients endure years of probing that fail to find the answers. So where does a person turn when they cannot remember the original event that caused their negative belief pattern or permanent defensive stance? Muscle response testing holds the key to unlocking these past responses because it provides immediate, accurate feedback.

Once identified there are many different ways of deleting or disconnecting a negative mind-body response. Some therapists do spinal adjustments or rub acupuncture points, some use breathing techniques or have patients do certain eye movements. My experience in defusing such responses is to urge patients to hold onto the particular feeling at the moment of correction. Even if they don't remember the event, they can hold the emotion in their mind while the experience is being "cleared." Those who are computer literate know that hitting the "delete" key is easy, the important thing is to have the correct information up on the screen.

When using this technique it is important to emphasize that we don't erase memories or brainwash people. We simply disarm or halt the negative brain-to-body response that was based on a previously learned event so that the person can respond to new events in a fresh, open way, not only mentally but physically too. They can live in the now, and physically start responding to events based on the present moment, not something in the past.

Once the correction is made, the doctor can test the area of pain again and see if there is still a weak muscle response. If there is, and the emotional points on the forehead confirm this, then another emotional event is present and must be dealt with. If the muscle test stays weak it indicates that there is not another emotional event but possibly a factor on the other two sides of the triad of health, namely the physical or chemical factors.

Understand that once an N.E.C is cleared it does not mean you will never have an emotionally challenging lesson or experience ever again, or will be pain free forever. It means that you can deal with events and situations in present time knowing that you are at full strength energetically in mind and body, while one is living through the event or stressful life situation. If you are not congruent neurologically in your body with some part of the situation that is occurring, you can do all the affirmations and prayers but the stronger "charge" (the physically engrained negative body response) will take precedence and thus manifest.

I feel that this is often why people feel so apathetic and docile in their life choices. Inside they know they are good, deserve to be loved, want to have material security to enjoy a fair and decent quality of life, and to have a career that they are passionate about. They just don't realize that they are filled with old and incorrect programs that are ruling their lives.

Many of the people who come to my office do not complain about any particular pain or symptom, but of just feeling "stuck" in life. They have difficulties in relationships, or obstacles to dieting, quitting smoking, etc., or they suffer from phobias. With these people we can access the program by having them make verbal statements and then seeing if their bodies stays strong during the statement.

For example, one could be asked to state: " I am okay with quitting smoking" but when I test a muscle while they say it, the muscle goes weak, indicating that they are not congruent with this statement. If a contact over the emotional centers makes it strong, I then begin the same procedure as described earlier. Using the right words is important when accessing brain / body files. "I'm okay with quitting smoking" is a different concept from, "It's good for me to quit smoking." The former could lead back to past issues dealing with a lack of self-worth/self respect, and the person's desire to care for themselves. The latter may deal with issues related to morality and public perception (i.e. smoking is bad). Since this is the faulty brain-to-body program - in other words "I don't value my body or myself" - any conscious attempt to value it through quitting smoking, exercising or dieting is going to fail because it contradicts what the subconscious brain-to-body response is programmed to do.

The body will always follow the mind's programming. This may help explain why some people actually follow the right diet or sign up for the best quit smoking program in the world, but the problem gets worse. We call this "emotional sabotage."

If the issue is properly and permanently cleared then the muscle response will stay strong, indicating they are now congruent with the thought not only in mind, but also in body. Dr. Walker calls this "emotional congruence." This does not necessarily mean a person will quit smoking immediately after a treatment, but an important psychological hurdle will have been cleared. The body is now able to support that new thought pattern.

The goal of this technique is to help people become emotionally congruent with every possible aspect of their existence, be it physically, materially, romantically or spiritually. I encourage everyone to seek the services of a qualified practitioner in this field because all of us have had emotional "upsets" in our lives and are probably holding onto some negative, damaging energy somewhere in our bodies. We must also let go of the feeling that if we have a problem we are weak or imperfect.

As the saying goes, "stuff happens." But people now have a choice. They don't have to carry that "stuff" around anymore because there are powerful techniques that can clear it away. I emphasize that people should not wait for a problem to surface, nor be paranoid that every little crisis will be creating stress and problems for them. Visit a practitioner for preventative care from time to time, and get on with living life the best you can.

For further information, please contact:
Neuro Emotional Technique Dr. Scott Walker nd 500 2 Street Encinitas, California 92024 Phone: 619-944-1030
Website: netmindbody.com

 

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