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Admin | December 14, 2011 | Comments Off

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I believe in affirmations!

I have done them at times in my life and, looking back, I see that they made all the difference.

At the time that I was doing them, I was like, “This is hokey. Is this really supposed to help?” But then every few times that I would read/say a particular affirmation (one of my big ones was: “I am good enough”) it would, like, go in. I can’t describe it but, like, every 1 in 10 times that I would say the affirmation to myself, it was different. Powerful. It was as if I was beginning to believe it, as if it was becoming a part of my reality, and at that moment that hurt part of me (I call it the hole in my heart) was sort of being healed (being filled in, to go with the hole metaphor, which is how it felt, like a little stone had been thrown in so there was a little less space that could be filled with that burning, dark pain). And also, on those times that the affirmation would “go in”, it felt like it was a higher truth, like the affirmation was True with a capital “T”, and also like I had been given that affirmation from a parent or a loved one. Like it came from a powerful source outside me. And at those times a little, tiny bit of love & nurturing & validation & good stuff was being injected into me. I know, sounds crazy, right? But it worked. It really did. Because now, 7 years later, I look back & see that those affirmations were seeds I planted. And now the seeds have become trees, and my life is much richer, much more lovely and sweet. (& I am healthier emotionally, which for me is key.)

So here’s what worked for me (the recipe):
(a) I bought little, tiny flash cards (like, 1″ x 3″) held together by a notebook ring (I used to buy them at the UCSD bookstore)–(those little flash cards are so incredibly cute you Can’t Wait to write on them!!);

(b) I wrote a whole bunch of affirmations–things I wanted to believe, things I wanted to be true. Some affirmation book told me that affirmations had to be positive and simple. Some of mine were: “I can make $200,000 a year”, because being financially self-reliant and OK was a big worry/fear of mine; “I am safe” because I was really scared of everything & I rarely felt safe; “I can be happy” because I feared I would never be happy; “I am beautiful” because when I looked in the mirror I never saw anything pretty about me (which was weird because other people thought I was pretty, men thought I was pretty, which was super confusing to me.); “I am lovable” because I felt no one loved me; “I am pretty enough. I am smart enough. I am educated enough. I am the right age” (because in all those areas I felt not good enough–I guess you can tell that I grew up with a whole lotta criticism…it was meant well but it still did some damage :/ ). By doing these–by listing out and individually addressing all the ways in which I felt not good enough–it gave some more oomph to the grand-daddy affirmation “I’m good enough”.

Anyway, back to the recipe: (c) I would walk every day around my neighborhood for 20-30 minutes and read my affirmations to myself over and over (I lived at home back then and so taking a walk was the only way I could get the privacy and the quiet and the me-space I needed for this process; it’s like I had to physically escape that negativity and that fear-/scarcity-based stuff in order to create a new possibility for myself).

(d) I would read them over & over for the whole time I walked. Even if I wanted to quit reading them so I could day-dream or beat myself up (I was very good at that) or get into worry-mode (I was very good at that, too), I wouldn’t. I just kept reading them. And, like I said, sometimes they would go in.

Another way to do affirmations is this: have a list of affirmations on a piece of paper. Read them every night before bed. I did this for a while, too, about 3 years ago. And it really helped.

Affirmations are a way to, like, re-orient yourself. Not just change direction but change magnetic north. Affirmations can change everything.

What this video reminded me is: how great to bring exuberance and joy and joyous movement into the process! (Thank you for putting the video on the website–going to YouTube is sometimes a little overwhelming/overstimulating for me, so it was nice to have it right there, no clicking or being re-directed or having to wait, nice!!)

And what the video and my writing this thingee remind me is: I need to start doing daily affirmations again!!!! Because why not plant seeds now for the future?! Why not keep moving forward?!! Why not open my mind to the possibility of being happier, healthier?! Why not play and dream and let my mind and the universe work on making fun, great stuff happen?

Yahoo! So…hmmm (affirmation-brain kicking into gear)…I will get started. (UCSD bookstore here I come–yay!!)

Happy Affirming!!!