I know that Michael's eating issues have an emotional component. We have had some knock-down fights over it, and I know I haven't always handled things like I should (okay, not really "knock-down fights," just power/control fights that often resulted in screaming).

One thing that really interests me is something called NET (Neuro-Emotional Technique, I think). We went back to Burke the next day, and this is what he did. He basically followed the same procedure as the day before, using me as a proxy to test for weakness. Except this time, instead of testing by holding different substances above his head, he would push on various organs or pressure points of Michael's body. As he did, he had Michael repeat a phrase about eating (I can't remember now if it was "I like to eat texture" or what - it was something like that). When he reached an organ that tested weak, he referred to a chart.

His chart told him which organs correspond with which emotions. In Michael's case, he tested weak in the spleen, which corresponds to the emotion "frightfully overjoyed." I know, right? What the heck does that mean? Basically, it means that at some point, he was so happy that he lost control, and that frightened him. The next step is to try to pinpoint when that occurred. This is done by the same process, except instead of touching various pressure points, Burke would ask questions. Was it between conception and birth? No. Between birth and five? Yes. (Obviously, since Michael is only four). Birth to one? And so on to narrow it down. Turns out, something that happened when Michael was about six months old caused him to feel this emotion, and it has affected his eating.

So then Burke did a particular adjustment to "clear" the emotion. He just kind of tapped at a certain vertebrae a couple of times.

Then he tested him again, going through the process from the beginning and testing the organs again. This time, Michael showed weakness in the heart, which corresponds to the emotion of "sorry." That just about made me cry. Something that happened at about two years old, make Michael feel sorry, and that has affected his eating.

I can tell you that while I don't know the particular event that made him feel sorry, I do know that at about two years is when we were having our biggest, fiercest power struggles. At the time, I think I was so frustrated that I wasn't even thinking straight. I tried everything I could think of to make him eat - I bribed, I got angry, I stuck food in his mouth, I screamed, and I even hit him.

It takes a lot for me to admit that. I'm crying right now as I think of it. I cried when I did it, too. It wasn't a slap across the face or anything. It was more of a glancing pop on the top of his head with my open hand. But I still feel terrible. And of course, it didn't help him eat. It only made him cry, me feel like a bad mom, and Jeff get angry. As it should.

And really, how could I think that it would make him eat? Take a bite or I'm going to hit you. It doesn't deal with the problem of WHY he was having a hard time taking bites.

Anyway, back to the story of NET. So Burke went through the process of "clearing" that emotion also, and then tested again. No weakness came up the third time, so we were finished. Burke then did a full adjustment on Michael, and we were done.