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A brief history of Gatherings
I am absolutely delighted that EFT Gatherings are growing and spreading around the world. Gatherings are community events for us all to learn and share from each other. They are quite different from the International Masterclass, which features experienced and international presenters (see www.EFTMasterclass.com for this year’s event in London). Gatherings are open to all to apply to present and are intended to be friendly, supportive and fun. Let me share with you the history...
by Gwyneth Moss
A couple of years ago I presented at the EFT Master Showcase in Denver with Carol Look and six of my fellow EFT Masters. Before the event I took the opportunity to explore and hike with my American hiking buddy Nancy in northern Colorado and Wyoming and on our travels we happened upon a Cowboy Gathering in the tiny town of Encampment, Wyoming. Well, it was quite something, there were cowboy stories and poetry and songs around a campfire, there was dancing and homemade music and all sorts of good homemade food and drink. All this went on for several friendly days and the cowboy community welcomed Nancy and myself as if we’d been in cattle country all of our days. Sitting around the campfire hey told us the principle of their events: everybody contributes and nobody gets paid. That way they keep costs down, build community and support everyone to share their knowhow and creativity.
Returning home I woke from a strange dream one morning with the word Gathering in my mind and decided that our tapping world needed community events like the cowboys. So I set to work and the first EFT Gathering happened in January 2009 at Craiglands in Ilkley. I started from the principle that this would be a friendly first stage for EFT practitioners and trainers to share from their practices, that everyone would contribute and no one (including me) would get paid. It worked. We had such good fun (including a salsa party) and learned so much. So we did it again in 2010. And again we learned and shared and partied together. Lasting connections, friendships and business partnerships were formed. Photos and feedback are here www.eftevents.com/gathering2010.htm
After running around like a blue arsed fly the first year, this time I delegated more and Sue Ashton Green was our event manager on the day, Roy Martin our stage manager (and an inspiring presenter) and Mary Hunt managed the money and registrations. With so much done by volunteers, and a very supportive deal from Craiglands, we were able to price the whole weekend at £99 including lunches and we still raised £2,000 for the AAMET and £2,000 for EFT Research.
EFT Master Rue Hass back in Colorado was so inspired by our event here that she organised the first US Gathering last year and I hear there has since been a second in New Mexico, plus Canada is soon to follow. As our Ilkley event in January concluded, Roy Martin undertook to manage the 2011 UK Gathering in the Midlands. Well done Roy. However I then had calls and emails from northerners and Scots who are reluctant to travel that far and Andy Eckley volunteered to manage a Gathering at Craiglands again for northerners. So in 2011 we will have two!
Gary Craig once told me that he considered our small (by American standards) island to be the greatest concentration of tappers on the globe and I agree with him. This means that we have enough of an enthusiastic commuity to fill two Gatherings and so I encourage Roy and Andy both to go ahead. Andy will run the Northern Gathering at Craiglands in January and Roy will run the Midlands Gathering in June. Of course all tappers will be welcome at either or both of them.
Now that Gatherings are spreading far and wide I would like to take this opportunity, as the one who started the ball rolling, to give my view of what an EFT Gathering is:
- an EFT Gathering is run at low cost and is not for profit so everyone pays the registration fee and everyone helps out however they can, even if its just by spreading the word
- an EFT Gathering is a friendly and supportive first stage for practitioners and trainers to share from their experiences and any can apply to present without previous experience
- an EFT Gathering is a community event, open to all tappers and designed to encourage connections, friendships and networking
Several of our Gathering presenters have been launched in their tapping careers by presenting at the Gatherings and several were then invited to present at last year’s Masterclass in Manchester.
So let’s watch the Gatherings grow and spread and I look forward to seeing many of you again soon.
Gwyneth Moss
EFT Master