The Power Of Affirmations – And How To Use Them

You’ve probably heard about the power of affirmations and how they can bring about positive events and circumstances but have you ever tried using them?

Those who repeat affirmations regularly attest to their benefits but how exactly do they work?

How Do Affirmations Work?

An affirmation is a statement of positive intent. Affirmations are used to help focus the mind and to bring about the positive situation or thing that is affirmed. The power behind affirmations is the ability to program the subconscious mind to believe this positive statement is fact, even if it is not yet realised. Repeated often enough, the subconscious begins to relate to this new way of thinking and helps to bring about the circumstances and situations, which are being affirmed.

It is not enough however to just repeat an affirmation over and over, it must be believed, and we believe in what we feel. Our thoughts and feelings are forms of energy and if our feelings are not in line with our thoughts, then the affirmations will not have the same power. Get the energy of your feelings to match the affirmation and you’re onto a winner! After all, the universe isn’t listening to our words but the energy behind them. This energy is then reflected back to us manifold.

You can’t fake it, the universe is always listening and knows what your feeling from moment to moment! So keep those positive vibrations high. 

What Makes A Strong Affirmation?

The phrasing of the affirmation is all-important. It must always be positive, stated in the present tense and be believable. If you are affirming that you are now a millionaire but you really are not feeling or believing it, no amount of repetitions will make you a millionaire! Rather, affirm “I always have plenty, money comes to me in unexpected and wonderful ways.”

This opens you up to being grateful for what you already have and believing that money will come to you in ways you can’t even imagine. It is also said that an affirmation that has two parts to it is more powerful than just one element. If the above affirmation was simply “I always have plenty” it would still be strong but it is corroborated with the adjunct of “money comes to me in unexpected and wonderful ways”. This opens you up to the unexpected and quite possibly something greater than you had imagined for yourself.

We’re often our own worst enemies, believing that we don’t deserve great things or that they simply are not possible.

When we lay down our expectations and open up to embracing whatever comes, we open up to a world of possibility.

Here Are Some Examples, But You Can Make Up Anything That Feels Right For You.

• I love and approve of myself exactly as I am (we have Louise Hay to thank for that one!).
• Wonderful things are unfolding for me.
• I think with love, and love returns to me multiplied.
• Everything is working out for the highest good.
• I am a money magnet.
• I am at peace with myself and all others.
• I am and I feel equal to everyone.
• I release resistance and go with the flow – this is where I am meant to go.
• My words are colours, I’m creating rainbows when I speak.
• I am a love magnet.
• I am a being of light – only light can touch me.
• My power is in my thoughts – I am choosing to think with love.
• Positive abundance is flowing to me now kissing each area of my life in turn.
• My future begins NOW.
• It’s All In The Mind!

Louise Hay was instrumental in making affirmations popular. In her book You Can Heal Your Life, she states “Each one of us creates our experiences by our thoughts and our feelings. The thoughts we think and the words we speak create our experiences.” This being true, we should therefore choose to think and speak in a positive way.

Of course, many of us are not accustomed to thinking and speaking positively. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. We complained about everything from the weather to the person on the bus who took your seat and everything in between.
We are not accustomed to viewing everything from a positive lens and therefore we must retrain our minds.

So how do we train our minds? Practice and repetition. Begin by first becoming aware of your thoughts and words. What’s the overriding theme behind your thoughts? You’ll know this from your emotions. If you’re feeling stressed and anxious, your thoughts are fear based. If on the other hand you’re feeling relaxed and peaceful, your thoughts are loving.

Don’t chastise yourself if your thoughts are fearful; just simply observe what’s going on without judgment.

How To Retrain Your Mind.

Make a list of all the things that are contributing to you feeling anxious or upset. Now write out the positive opposite of each item. For example, if you wrote, “I hate my job” the positive opposite would be “I receive great satisfaction from my work, I delight in being able to do the work that I love.” Begin repeating this positive affirmation each day on a regular basis, particularly if you find yourself giving out about your job or feeling bad about it. But not only repeat it, visualise yourself being satisfied in your current job, even if it’s not ultimately what you want to do.

If you can be happy with where you are at now, despite circumstances, you’ll attract what you want into your life far quicker. Feeling unhappy only attracts more unhappiness.

At the end of each day make a list of all the things you were grateful for that day. Review the list and even make some of the things you were grateful for into positive affirmations to use to attract more of the same! Before long, you’ll have a long list of affirmations covering various areas of your life from career to finances and relationships and so forth.

Doreen Virtue advises using different affirmations on different days of the week. So Monday could be the day for relationship affirmations while Tuesday is the day to focus on financial affirmations. This way you’re benefiting from focus and not spending hours getting through your affirmations. You want the practice to be an enjoyable affair and not something you dread!

It is said that a new habit is formed if repeated for 28 days, so try using affirmations each day for at least 28 days and notice how your life changes. The changes may be subtle at first but before long you will notice wonderful things.

As they say, don’t stop before the miracle is about to appear!