Using Dreamwork to Guide Your Tapping Process

Larry Burk, MD, CEHP • July 3, 2023

Dreams can provide powerful insights, and EFT can provide powerful healing. You can get great results when you combine the two, using dreamwork to guide your tapping process. Sigmund Freud called dreams “the royal road to the unconscious.” Carl Jung took “dreams as diagnostically valuable facts.” Edgar Cayce said that “any condition becoming reality is first dreamed.” For these reasons and more, I encourage my clients to keep a dream diary to provide guidance for the other healing techniques we use. These include EFT, expressive writing, and self-hypnosis. I have kept a personal dream diary since 1987 and have received many valuable insights into my own healing journey including numerous precognitive dreams that later came true. 

Dreams can save your life.

My interest in health dreams expanded considerably in 2013 when I did a survey of 18 women around the world who reported having warning dreams about breast cancer prior to any physical symptoms or imaging studies. The study was published in Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing in 2015 which led to a TEDx talk in 2016 that was subsequently censored for being too far outside the TED box. In 2018, I published a book, Dreams that Can Save Your Life, co-authored with one of the breast cancer dreamers, Kat O’Keefe-Kanavos, which includes additional types of cancer and other illnesses.


My Certified Energy Health Practitioner training from ACEP in 2010 included muscle testing, but despite success in learning it I must confess that I have not continued to use that skill in my coaching practice. Instead, I rely on the intersection of my intuition with the intuition of the client, and dream analysis often plays a key role in that process.


My approach to physical illnesses is that symptoms are metaphors. We need to address them as sacred messengers from the subconscious about imbalances in our lives. If the conscious mind denies the message, it may bypass that filter and come through dreams.


Using dreamwork with chakra symbolism

The chakras are one of the symbolic energy systems that I find useful in working with symptoms. The themes of dream content may reflect the underlying shadow emotions in these chakras including self-defense in the first, violent anger in the second, sugary sweetness in the third and after-death communication in the fourth. Corresponding affirmations such as “I am safe,” “I am free,” “I am enough,” and “I am grateful” may trigger these tailenders in the form of dreams. You can use dreamwork to help guide your healing when you understand the symbolism of the chakras.


Root chakra

Autoimmune diseases are often related to first chakra imbalances, as the immune system reacts in a fearful way, attacking perceived invaders and damaging normal tissues by mistake. One of my clients with obesity, psoriatic arthritis and painful Achilles tendinitis had a series of related dreams. “I was killing a man in self-defense and burying him, then digging the dead man back up. Later a gigantic female was trying to kill me, and I was physically holding her down with all my strength.” She tapped on “A big part of me is afraid of moving forward” and had a healing breakthrough.


Sacral chakra

Chronic pain is often related to second chakra imbalances as a metaphor for repressed anger stuck in the body. One of my clients, an executive director of a non-profit company, had a frozen shoulder for three months related to an unexpectedly large fundraising burden. The burden triggered these dreams. “I was driving while lecturing a family member when I was pulled over by police. I had a conflict with a board member who resigned.” Her EFT phrase of “My left shoulder resents carrying this heavy burden” led to resolution of her shoulder pain, coinciding with landing a couple major financial donations.


Solar plexus chakra

Eating disorders of all kinds are often related to third chakra imbalances including Type 2 diabetes that may manifest as a metaphor for life not being sweet enough. One of the dreamers in my book with prediabetes had foreshadowing sugary dreams prior to her diagnosis. “I look for munchies in the kitchen cupboard and find a stash of flavored rice crackers. They turn into candy.” I never did EFT with her, but interestingly she did have a precognitive dream about me a few years earlier. “A white male doctor approaches me seeking information about diseases and their symbolic relationships.”


Heart chakra

Sinus problems and postnasal drip are often related to fourth chakra imbalances representing inner crying as a sign of unresolved grief. One of my clients had unrelenting sinusitis and bronchitis for 9 months after her husband’s death despite antibiotics. She shared a vivid visitation dream of him that had features of an after-death communication (ADC). “His presence was in the air, a refined essence. I felt wonder, awe, and magic.” Her grief resolved quickly, and she canceled her scheduled sinus surgery with the aid of tapping on feeling “like Persephone journeying through the underworld of grief.”


And more

Dreams are one of the most reported forms of ADC, which is one of the four abbreviations composing the Spiritual Alphabet Soup of Death and Dying. The most well-known of these phenomena is the Near-Death Experience (NDE) which is like a waking dream, but more real and transformative. Dreams also feature prominently in Nearing-Death Awareness (NDA) and the Shared-Death Experience (SDE). Learning about these liminal states can decrease grief and the fear of death.


Using dreamwork can deepen your awareness

Keeping your own dream diary may be beneficial for both you and your clients. One of my acupuncture colleagues routinely dreams about her new patients before she sees them for the first time, with amazing precognitive results. I once dreamed about a volcano erupting in the Pacific Northwest, and my client the next day turned out to be dealing with explosive anger toward his mother. During the imagery part of our EFT session, he spontaneously went to Mount St. Helens, his favorite vacation spot. We were able to tap through his anger and prevent future emotional eruptions.


Dreams often have multiple layers of meaning resulting in different interpretations, all of which may be true depending on our projections. In 1996, I had a series of precognitive dreams about tornadoes. The next day, real tornadoes landed nearby. I was so stunned with them coming true that I forgot to look deeper into the symbolism. Years later in a dream workshop it was pointed out that tornado dreams may reflect major life upheavals, and I realized I had those dreams when my radiology career was being upended by my passion for holistic medicine, which led me to EFT.


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Author

Larry Burk, MD, CEHP, is a retired holistic radiologist currently working as an on-line Let Magic Happen dream tapping coach. He is the author of Let Magic Happen: Adventures in Healing with a Holistic Radiologist and Dreams that Can Save Your Life: Early Warning Signs for Cancer and Other Diseases. He was co-founder of Duke Integrative Medicine.

By Ted Blickwedel, LICSW, MSW, MEd April 9, 2025
After retiring from the military, I conducted individual and group therapy with combat veterans as a clinical social worker for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at the VET Center in Warwick, RI. In my work, I've had many experiences showing the power of energy psychology to help heal trauma . One of these amazing stories occurred during my tenure at the VA. Veteran suffers from PTSD A 70-year old Vietnam Veteran suffered for 45 years from chronic PTSD as a result of life-threatening events he endured and injuries he sustained during combat. Let's call him Joe (not his real name). His symptoms included nightmares and waking up profusely sweating every night since he returned from the war 45 years ago. Joe also had insomnia and anger issues. Conventional therapies and medication were not able to alleviate the adverse impact of his trauma. Unfortunately, Joe's experience is common among a vast number of Veterans receiving treatment for PTSD at the VA. Energy psychology resolves trauma-related symptoms In the first energy psychology session, I introduced Joe to Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and explained the process and its efficacy. During the next 6 sessions, he tapped on the EFT meridian points for 2-3 rounds on each combat trauma we addressed. While he tapped, I guided him to verbally release related negative emotions. We did this until he no longer experienced any disturbance associated with these challenging events, as determined by muscle testing. The results were inspiring. At the end of six 50-minute sessions, Joe reported that his nightmares and night sweats completely stopped, and he felt more rested, peaceful, and significantly less anxious. Joe was even able to stop taking most of his anxiety and depression medication. His wife said she noticed a huge positive shift in his demeanor. Lasting results Over the next 3 years, Joe used EFT on his own to clear other developmental traumas and negative core beliefs. During this time, he only had four nightmares during one two-week period, which were triggered by watching a war movie. Afterwards, he did not have any recurrence of PTSD symptoms. Joe felt joy that he did not experience previously, and he was more emotionally open and affectionate with his wife. This heart-warming story shows the power of EFT to heal rapidly and effectively, with results that last. It's why I love using it. Going forward What a difference could be made with Veterans and their families if the VA and Department of Defense (DOD) used energy psychology techniques like these! They would be free of the devastating impact of PTSD, have better relationships and an improved quality of life. Many ACEP members have stories of hope and healing. Let’s share them! When we tell our stories, we can help inspire practitioners to adopt energy psychology methods that are powerfully grounded in effective healingwith long-lasting outcomes. Get trained and make a difference Are you a teacher or school employee? If so, get trained to bring powerful energy psychology techniques to your school by enrolling in ACEP’s free Mind Body Tools for Children training. If you are a clinician or stakeholder wanting to offer energy psychology to your community, enroll in ACEP’s free Emotional First Aid training . If you would like to get trained in using Emotional Freedom Techniques with clients, sign up for ACEP’s online training that begins with EFT Professional Skills 1 . Author Ted Blickwedel, LICSW, MSW, MEd, is an ACEP member and recipient of ACEP's 2021 Special Recognition Award. He is a retired Marine, combat veteran, former VA VET Center counselor, VA whistleblower, and author of Broken Promises: Marine Combat Veteran Turns Whistleblower Exposing Compromised Mental Health Care at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Photo by RDNE Stock Project
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