Affirmations
Affirmations are one of the most important elements of creative visualization. To affirm means “to make firm.” An affirmation is strong, positive statement that something is already so. It is a way of “making firm” that which you are imaging.
Most of us are aware of the fact that we have a nearly continuous inner “dialogue” going on in our minds. The mind is busy “talking” to itself, keeping up and endless commentary about life, the world, our feelings, our problems, and other people.
The words and ideas that run through our minds are very important. Most of the time we aren’t consciously aware of this stream of thoughts, and yet what we are “telling ourselves” in our minds is the basic on which we form our experience of reality. Our mental commentary influences and colors our feelings and perceptions about what’s going on in our lives and it is these thought forms that ultimately attract and create everything that happens to us.
Anyone who has practiced meditation knows how difficult it can be to quiet this inner “mind talk,” in order to connect with our deeper, wiser intuitive mind. One traditional meditation practice involves simply observing the inner dialogue as objectively as possible.
This is a very valuable experience, as it allows you to become consciously aware of the content of your thoughts. Many of these thoughts are like tape recording of old patterns we’ve had all our lives. They are old “programming” we picked up long ago, which is still influencing what’s happening to us today. For example, we might find that we habitually think self-defeating thoughts such as, “I’m not going to be able to do this,” or “This is never going to work out right.”
The practice of engaging in affirmations allows us to begin replacing some of our stale, worn out, or negative mind chatter with more positive ideas and concepts. It is a powerful technique, one which can in a short time transform many of our attitudes and expectations about life, and thereby help to change what we create for ourselves.
Affirmations can be done silently, spoken aloud, written down, or even sung or chanted. Even ten minutes a day of repeating effective affirmations can counterbalance years of old mental habits. If you become aware that you are repeating habitual negative thought patterns or attitudes, try saying an affirmation to your self a few times right then and there.
For example, if you find yourself thinking, “Oh, what’s the use, I’ll never get what I want,” you might say to yourself, “I have the ability to create what I want in my life” or “I deserve to be happy and fulfilled.”
An affirmation can be any positive statement. It can be very general or very specific. There are an infinite number of possible affirmation; here are a few just to give you some ideas:
Every day in every way I’m getting better and better,
Everything I need is coming to me easily and effortlessly.
My life is blossoming to total perfection.
I have everything I need to enjoy my here and now.
I am the master of my life.
Everything I need is already within me.
Perfect wisdom is in my heart.
I am whole and complete in myself.
I love and appreciate myself just as I am.
I accept all my feelings as part of me.
I love to love and be loved.
The more I love myself, the more love I have to give others.
I now give and receive love freely.
I am now attracting loving, satisfying relationships into my life.
My relationship with __________is growing
Happier and more fulfilling everyday.
I now have a satisfying, well – paying job.
I love doing my work, and I am richly rewarded, creatively and financially.
I am an open channel of creative energy.
I am dynamically self expressive.
I enjoy relaxing and having fun.
I communicate clearly and effectively.
I no have enough time, energy, wisdom, and money to accomplish all my desires.
I am always in the right place at the right time,
Successfully engaged in the right activity.
It’s okay for me to have everything I want!
This is an abundant universe and there’s plenty for all of us.
Abundance is my natural state of being.
Every day I am growing more financially prosperous.
The more I have, the more I have to give.
The more I give, the more I receive, and the happier I feel.
It’s okay for me to have fun and enjoy myself, and I do!
I am relaxed and centered. I have plenty of time
For everything.
I am now enjoying everything I do.
I feel happy just being alive.
I am healthy and beautiful!
I am open to receiving all the blessings
Of the abundant universe!
____________is coming to me, easily and effortlessly.
I have a wonderful job with wonderful pay.
I do a wonderful service in a wonderful way.
The light within me is creating miracles in my life here and now
All thins are now working together for good in my life.
I am now attuned to my higher purpose in life.
I now recognize, accept, and follow the divine plan of my life
As it is revealed to me step by step.
I give thanks now for my life of health, happiness, and self expression.
Here are some important things to remember about affirmations:
- Always phrase affirmations in the present tense, not in the future. It’s important to create your desire as if it already exists. Don’t say, “I will get a wonderful new job,” but rather, “I now have a wonderful new job.” This is not lying to your self; it is acknowledging the fact everything is created first on the inner plane, before it can manifest in external reality.
- Always phrase affirmations in the most positive way you can. Affirm what you do want, now what you don’t want. Don’t say, “I no longer oversleep in the mornig” but rather, “I now wake up on time and full of energy in the morning.” This ensures that you are creating the most positive mental image.
At certain times you can find it helpful to phrase affirmations, especially when you are working on clearing out specific emotional blocks or bad habits, such as, “I don’t need to get tense in order to get things accomplished.” If so, you should always follow this type of affirmation with a positive one, which describes that which you desire to create, such as, “I now stay deeply relaxed and centered, and everything is accomplished easily and effortlessly.”
- In general, the shorter and simple the affirmations, the more effective. An affirmation should be a clear statement that conveys a strong feeling; the more feeling it conveys, the stronger impression it makes on your mind. Affirmations that are long, wordy, and theoretical lose their emotional impact and become too mental.
- Always choose affirmations that feel totally right for you. What works for one person may not work at all for another. An affirmation should feel positive, expansive, freeing, and/ or supportive. If it doesn’t, find another one, or try changing the words until it feels right.
Of course, you may feel emotional resistance to any affirmation when you first use it, especially one which is really powerful for you and is going to make a real change in your consciousness. That is simply our natural fear for change and growth.
- Always remember that you are creating something new and fresh. You are not trying to redo or change what already exists. To do so would be to resist what is, which creates conflict and struggle. Take the attitude that you are accepting and handling whatever already exists in your life, and at the same time taking every moment as a new opportunity to begin creating exactly what you desire and will make you happiest.
- Affirmations are not meant to contradict or change your feelings or emotions. It is important to accept and experience all your feelings, including so called “negative” ones, without attempting to change them. At the same time, affirmations can help you create a new point of view about life that will enable you to have more and more satisfying experiences from now on.
- Try as much as possible to create a feeling of belief, and experience that your affirmation can be true. Temporarily (at least for a few minutes)suspend your doubts and hesitations, and put your full mental and emotional energy into them
If doubts, resistance, or negative thoughts are getting in the way of doing your affirmations, do one of the clearing processes or the writing affirmations process given.
Rather than saying affirmations by rote, try to get the feeling that you really have the power to create that reality(which in fact you do!). This will make a big difference in how effective they are.
Affirmations can be used alone, or in combinations with visualizations or imaging. It’s very effective to include affirmations as of your regular creative visualization meditation periods. Later I give you ideas for many other way to use affirmations.
For many people, affirmations are most powerful and inspiring when they include references to a spiritual source. Mention of God, the Goddess, the Universe, a higher power, spirit, the Earth Mother, divine love, or whatever phrase you prefer adds spiritual energy to your affirmation and acknowledges the universal source of all thins.
Here are some examples:
I have the infinite creative power of the Goddess within me.
Divine love is working through me here and now to create this.
The Christ within me is creating miracle in my life here and now
I am one with the Great Spirit.
My higher self is guiding me in everything that I do.
God lives within me and manifests in the world though me.
I give thanks to Mother Earth for nurturing and sustaining me every day.
The light of God surrounds me, the love of God enfolds me, the power of God flows though me. Wherever I am, God is, and all is well.