In the history of belief management, one of the primary tools taught and used has been the simple affirmation. For those who aren't familiar with this term, an affirmation is a statement of what you'd like to experience, stated as though it were already true. An affirmative prayer is a series of affirmations involving a Divine Being. In some respects, using affirmations is pretending on a purely mental level.
In actual fact, everyone uses affirmations whether we realize it or not. Any time we make a statement, we are 'affirming' it'struth. In most cases, this is not pretending, but merely expressing a current belief. As mentioned earlier, we can listento what we say during a day to find out much of what we nowbelieve. Because what we say generally matches what we believe, our minds grow to associate one with the other. We can use this established relationship in reverse to reshape our beliefs. It's like how you can feel more energized and confident by standing upstraight and pulling your shoulders back. Normally, your postureresponds to your feelings, but you can change how you feel bychanging your posture. Your mind associates feelings and postureso that either one can control the other. The same is true with speech and beliefs. Your mind associates what you say with whatyou believe.You've probably heard the joke about the guy who told a lie so often he started to believe it himself. This demonstrates howour minds work. We learn by repetition. When we hear an idea expressed often enough, even one we initially know is false, we eventually reach a point of acceptance and start to wonder if the idea could be true.
When the idea is expressed further, we nolonger wonder if it might be true because we genuinely believe itto be true.The common practice of using affirmations starts by creating a statement of the desired results. Many of those who teach this technique will suggest that the affirmation must be stated inpresent tense and be phrased positively, as in "I will" ratherthan "I won't." The reasoning for this is based on scientific studies proving that our inner (subconscious) mind interpretseverything in present tense and reacts to everything stated,including those things preceded by the word 'not'. (As in "DoNOT think of a pink elephant wearing a lacy tutu.")While these guidelines do help, they are not absolutely necessary. I have seen many people successfully use affirmationssuch as "I won't get that job." and "I bet it's going to rain onour picnic tomorrow." Unfortunately, these affirmations are about experiences we'd rather avoid than attract. Either way, the reinforced beliefs produce results just as reliably as any other type of affirmation.
For those readers who have not come across this idea before, here are some examples of how affirmations should be phrased formaximum effectiveness:
* - I do well on tests. My mind relaxes and recalls easily the answers to all questions. I am proud of my results.
* - Money comes easily to me. I am a fountain of great ideas that produce abundant wealth. I am able to gain the cooperation of others where needed because they enjoy helping me succeed.
* - I am a NON-smoker. I breathe clean, fresh air. I am able to calm my nerves simply by setting an intention to do so. Like all non-smokers, I am more attractive than those who put disgusting cigarettes into their mouths.
As you can see, good affirmations state positive beliefs about what is desired, as if it is a current reality. The best affirmations state the desired result as if it happens on it's own without effort or attention. Emotion adds extra power. Once an affirmation is created, your job is to repeat it often toyourself, out loud if possible. The more you repeat your affirmation, the more you get used to the idea, and the more familiar an idea is, the easier it is to believe. Speaking your affirmation out loud adds the experience of hearing the words, giving the overall experience more dimension and greater substance. Writing the words on paper adds two extra dimensions- sight and physical movement. Each dimension added increases the affirmation's effect on your beliefs. Measure the strength of your belief before you begin with aquestion such as "Do I believe that I will _________?" (fillingin the blank with your current goal), and then ask the same question again after repeating your affirmation several times.You'll notice the strength of your belief will shift and change.
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