Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Affirmations Rule!


I find I simply MUST say daily affirmations, to counteract the negativity in my mind. If I skip even one day, my negative thinking snowballs into a self-destructive avalanche. If you pay attention to your own thoughts and beliefs, you may discover there’s a lot of negativity within your mind, too. Beliefs such as “I’m not good enough” or “sh*t happens” can wreak havoc in our lives, since our beliefs directly create our reality. By saying daily affirmations, we can learn to reprogram our own minds, and reclaim our ability to think and act freely and positively.

I learned to create affirmations from three classic books I read in the mid-1990s:
Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain
You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
These powerful books are enormously helpful for anyone on the path towards health, happiness, and transformation, or for anyone who wants to be. There are many other, newer affirmations guides on the market now too, so pick one that intuitively feels right for you!

The mind is a powerful tool that can be used constructively or destructively. Listen to the self-talk that runs in the background of your mind, as you work, play, and interact with others. If your self-talk includes words like “should,” “can’t,” or “bad,” you know you need affirmations to counteract your negative thinking. For example, if you say “I can’t afford that” enough times, you’ll find yourself struggling financially for a long, long time.

Sometimes self-talk is subconscious, and thus more tenacious and difficult to counteract. Journal-writing can help unearth the hidden messages we tell ourselves, and bring them into the light of awareness for transformation. For example, spilling out my thoughts in my daily journal helped me realize that deep down, I still believe I’m a bad person who doesn’t deserve good things. Therefore, subconsciously, I create drama and despair, to sabotage anything positive that I don’t believe I deserve. Daily affirmations are helping to reprogram my brain and gradually unseat such longstanding negativity.

Every day now, I say aloud, “I am a good person. I release any and all need for drama, self-punishment, or pain. I deserve the Good, health, peace, and joy.” Often, such positive words are hard to say – I almost choke on them at first, as my internal resistance blocks their vocalization. So I let go and release the resistance (which may mean “feeling my feelings” as I grieve and release the past), and keep saying the affirmations, every day, no matter what. Eventually, they do come true.

Words have power. “In the beginning was the word,” so they say. All words, spoken or unspoken, are magical incantations with the potential to transform your life. Create affirmations that are customized to counteract your own internal negativity, using positive, present-tense I-statements, and watch your health and life transform from the inside out.

Abracadabra! I am well.
More on affirmations to come soon….

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