Positive affirmations can be powerful tools when we are trying to change our habits or raise our personal vibrations. Keep reading to find out exactly what an affirmation is, how they work, and how to use them.
What is an affirmation?
According to the Oxford Dictionary, an affirmation is (1) the action or process of affirming something or being affirmed or (2) emotional support or encouragement.
For our purposes today, an affirmation is a declaration, stated regularly for an extended period of time in positive, present tense terms, in order to align one’s state of being with a desired outcome. Affirmations are absorbed by the mind, both consciously and unconsciously, and can transform mental and emotional states and false and limiting beliefs.
Science behind affirmations and energy healing…
One reason that affirmations are effective has to do with the nature of energy. Everything in existence is a form of matter, which is made of energy. As the energy takes on different forms all of the objects and beings we think of as separate from each other emerge. Everything is made up of electrons, each vibrating on their own and reacting in different ways to different stimuli. Electrons are affected by the negative or positive vibrations they are exposed to and will vibrate in alignment with them. Exposing electrons to the various forms of energy healing, including affirmations, raises the vibration of the electrons and can stimulate positive change. The law of attraction states that like attracts like. Therefore, negative thoughts will put out negative vibrations and attract negative outcomes and positive thoughts will put out positive vibrations and attract positive outcomes.
Another reason that affirmations work come from the way our brains store and categorize information. The thoughts we have regularly become part of our belief system. When we are constantly having limiting thoughts, they become beliefs. We then send out vibrations in accordance to these beliefs and attract obstacles that will hold true to those limits. Practicing positive affirmations regularly and often helps us change our thought process and rewire our belief systems to reflect the limitless possibilities in life. We are then able to send out vibrations that the good things we believe are coming to us.
Using Affirmations
1. Believe in your ability to change your thought processes and the effect that will have on your healing. If you do not believe in the mind body connection and the ability to heal yourself, you will not be able to. You create your reality, so whether you believe you can or that you cannot, you are right.
2. Be clear on what you want to achieve. Decide on a goal and your intentions with your affirmations.
3. Think about what you want to change and what the core reasons for the issue are. Determine what limiting thoughts may be holding you back. Write these down.
4. Turn your limiting thoughts around and use them to create your affirmations. For instance, if your intent is to learn self-love and a limiting though you have is that you are not worthy of love, you can turn that thought around and restate it as, “I am worthy of love,” and use that as an affirmation. Create a three to five affirmations to start with keeping your intent clear.
5. Be consistent. Commit to integrating an affirmation practice into your daily life. Set aside a specific time to say your affirmations out loud and before a mirror each day. Say each affirmation several times. Keep the affirmations with you throughout the day. You may want to write them down and keep them where you will see them regularly. Whenever a limiting though comes to your mind that goes against what you are trying to accomplish, replace it with your affirmations.
6. Visualize the reality you want. See it in your mind’s eye. Feel it as if it is already a reality. This creates the vibration of that reality and sets manifestation in motion.
7. Flow with your emotions. Change is not always easy or comfortable. Sometimes we have to face painful or unpleasant emotions and we need to work our way through them in our efforts to create change. Don’t resist these emotions. To learn what they have to teach you and move on, you have to fully experience them first.
Challenge yourself to set a goal and write at least 3 affirmations to support its manifestation. Practice the affirmations for 40 days to effectively rewire your thought process and belief system. Take notes throughout the process and keep track of progress. See how much change you can implement in just over a month. I would love to hear how it goes!
372 Affirmations
Affirmations for 12 Areas of Life