By Anne Ryan
Separation of Pigs — A Healing Moment
I was walking by the river at a local community farm — a place where the path winds through the gentle rhythms of daily farm life. It’s an organic, biodynamic farm, held with many of the less intensive practices of earlier times. A few weeks before, one of the pigs had given birth to a lively litter of piglets. Each time I’d visited, I’d watched them grow from tiny babies into sturdy, curious youngsters.
On this particular day, though, something was different. The mother pig and another adult pig were in one field, while the piglets were in the field beside them. It was the first time I had seen them separated. The mother and one of the piglets were running frantically up and down along either side of the fence — clearly distressed and trying desperately to be together.
My five-year-old son was with me, and he said, with the directness only a child has,
“Why did they take the baby from its mother? That is really mean.”
I felt compelled to stop. I simply couldn’t walk away and leave them in that acute distress. So, I began to tap. I used only two phrases, repeating them gently and steadily:
“They separated us. We want to be together.”
For about ten minutes I tapped without changing a word. It felt like the truest expression of their experience.
I have seen the magic of EFT many times, but witnessing what unfolded in those moments touched me deeply. After just a minute or two, their frantic running slowed. Then, almost in harmony, the piglet — and shortly after the mother — moved several metres away from the fence. A few minutes later they wandered even further, each drifting toward the centre of their fields and rooting calmly in the soil, as pigs do when their nervous systems begin to settle.
I turned my attention back to my son, still tapping softly as I moved to where he was playing nearby. Eventually, the intensity in the phrase eased, and it felt right to stop.
About half an hour later, we passed the fields again. The piglet who had been so distressed was now resting in an open shelter with the other piglets. The mother lay peacefully in her own shelter with the other adult pig. When the farm workers arrived with food, the piglets raced out excitedly. The two adults came toward the fence, perhaps drawn by the smell or simply by the movement. And the once-distressed piglet? It ate with the others and then wandered off, not even glancing toward the mother who stood nearby — and she did the same. The distress of earlier was simply gone.
It was beautiful to witness how EFT eased the suffering of both mother and baby.
That evening, I received a powerful gift in return. My son had a wave of fear at bedtime — something that arises now and then, and which I believe traces back to an early separation from me after his birth. I tapped gently on his points to help him settle. At first, I tapped silently. Then the phrase from earlier returned, softly changed:
“They separated us, and I really want to be with my mum.”
It felt absolutely true — intuitive, deep, and connected. Within about ten minutes, he was peacefully asleep.
Once again, I was reminded how profoundly connected we are to our animals, and how the healing we witness in them often mirrors our own.
Thank you for taking the time to read my sharing. Many times, as I work with EFT and watch intensities melt away, I think, Yes, this is what EFT does.
And then there are days like this — moments of such simple, powerful grace — when I am left thinking, Wow. This tool is extraordinary. And I am humbled and amazed all over again.
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Phone: +353 85 1264884
Anne Ryan EFT 