Everything about Affirmations and Affirming
Another way to influence our thoughts, our self-image, health, and confidence is the use of affirmations. An affirmation is just positive self-suggestion. Have you ever stood in front of a mirror and called out: "you can do it, I am beautiful, strong and healthy, I am happy, I am extremely attractive."? By means of affirmations, you can influence or re-program the subconscious. If you have done this kind of thing, you are already familiar with affirming.
Thoughts cause feelings. If you succeed in changing your thoughts, your feelings will change as well. A healthy mind goes hand in hand with a healthy body. Everything you suggest to yourself or what other people suggest to you when you are completely relaxed sinks deep into your mind and can have its effects for a very long time. If you choose a positive affirmation, it is important to choose an affirmation in the present tense. "I am healthy" is better than "I want to get healthy" because the universe or the subconscious takes everything literally and if we say "I want to get healthy", we will continue our whole life to want to be healthy instead of just being healthy.
Do not formulate the affirmation too literally and too tightly to avoid an adverse effect. Think of the well-known affirmation "It's getting better all the time" of the Beatles' album "Getting better". This sentence is directly derived from the founder of the affirmation theory, also called auto-suggestion, Emile Coue. His explanation of the working of affirmations is that without discussion, we can influence our self-image. When we consciously strive after change, we tend to ask ourselves irritating questions like: Does it really work? Is it really true? Am I making progress?
To give you a few ideas, we have put together some examples:
- Starting from today, everything will get better every day.
- I am healthy, in good shape, and full of vitality.
- I live in peace and harmony.
- I accept myself as I am.
- I forgive myself/someone who hurt me.
- Riches will come to me in all sorts of shapes.
- Everything I do is a success.
- I do not sabotage myself.
- I deserve to be healthy.
- I am grateful to the universe for my health, my life, and my happiness.
Affirmation works best when we are completely relaxed
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An EEC records brain waves in patterns that scientists have classified into four types. Beta waves have the highest frequency and are connected with actively thinking and doing. When we are observing things in a relaxed way, the brain sends out the slower and more rhythmic alpha waves. We can observe alpha waves when someone is completely relaxed and is therefore extremely sensitive for signals from outside. Theta waves are produced when the relaxation becomes even deeper. The theta consciousness level is often accompanied by dreams and they appear to excite our creative imagination. Theta waves occur when we are in a state of deep sleep. The alpha level is considered the same as our subconscious in which we observe, record and keep all experiences and events. This level is a level of consciousness where there is no doubt, where all positive and negative experiences are stored and where a person's real self is to be found. No wonder that at this level our feeling is considered the touchstone of the subconscious. In an alpha state or a theta state we are most open to words, images, and suggestions. A mixture of an alpha state of consciousness and a theta state of consciousness is often associated with the ideal climate to visualize and to affirm.
Scientific research has demonstrated that during activities like Tai chi and Meditation alpha brain waves and theta brain waves are extremely active. This is remarkable because we are awake, focused, and active during these activities and yet we activate a state of rest for our body and our mind. This means that meditating helps us to create the ideal climate for the best possible use of the possibilities of affirmations.
If you want to use an affirmation, you should do this both at the beginning and at the end of your Meditation. Keep it simple and state your affirmation in the present tense and with conviction. Good luck!
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