Through our words and the
thoughts behind them, we are continually giving our bodies operating
instructions. By being observant, we can become aware of this process.
As we have seen, everything, before it is created
on the physical plane, is at first a spiritual impulse, then a thought, then a
feeling. Before we can build a house, there must be a blueprint for it, a
design, an idea. Words are creative ideas spoken, made manifest into the world.
Vedanta (Hinduism) explains this process as VASANAS
VASANAS are subtle impressions which the
individual soul will carry with when the soul separates itself from the
physical body upon the death of a person. To understand this term VASANA, first
think of ice, which is gross. It is solid and it can be touched or felt and can
be cut into different shapes. Water is subtler than ice. Water cannot be cut
into shape, although it will assume the shape of its container. Water is liquid
and not solid like ice. Steam is subtler than water. We cannot hold steam in
our hand as we can hold water. Steam is visible for a while and then it becomes
invisible. Humidity in the air is subtler than steam. The presence of humidity
in the air cannot be seen .The vasanas are like the humidity in the air,
subtlest of all. The vasanas undergo transformation at the level of the
intellect into thoughts. The thoughts in turn undergo transformation at the
level of the mind into desires; and the desires undergo transformation at the
level of the physical body into actions.
How to Do Affirmations
Every thought and every word – positive or
negative – is an affirmation, and is creating the reality of the affirmation.
The simplest way to do affirmation consciously is just to say them to yourself,
either out loud or silently, whenever you feel like it. Especially say them to
counteract any negative thoughts or words you find yourself thinking or saying.
This is not a tool for repression – allow yourself to have any thoughts and
feelings you have – don’t reject them – and yet, give yourself the time and
energy to affirm a more desirable reality after you have experienced and
explored your so-called ‘negative’ feelings.
For example, if you find yourself thinking, ‘This
job is making me sick,’ look at what you are thinking, and see if that’s
something you really want to create for yourself. If it isn’t, affirm to
yourself, out loud or silently, and with emotion, ‘I am strong and healthy,
when I do my work,’ or ‘I am eternally strong, healthy, and young,’ or
something which feels good to you. Say it repeatedly, if necessary, and say it
with emotion, until it feels like it has sunk in. By just becoming more aware
of what you are saying and what you are thinking, you will find that you have
plenty of material to deal with. Notice the things that aren’t working in your
life, and find affirmations to correct the situations.
Of course, your feelings about your job may be a
very valid reason for you to find another, healthier job. But if you choose for
the present to remain in the same situation, create the most positive thoughts
you can about it.
Make the affirmations in the present tense – even
if it seems unrealistic. Don’t affirm, ‘I am going to create abundance in my
life,’ because the results will always be waiting to happen in the future.
Instead, suspend your current beliefs for a moment, and affirm, ‘I now have
abundance in my life!’ – and you’ll soon find that it is true. How soon your
abundance will come depends on how strongly your affirmation is repeated, and
whether or not you are affirming the opposite on deeper levels of your
consciousness (your subconscious negative beliefs).
Many people are unconscious of this – and they are
so often saying things like, ‘This is really making me sick,’ or ‘This job is
killing me,’ or ‘He is a pain in the neck,’ or ‘This is driving me crazy,’ or
‘I can’t do it.’ These words are affirmations, just like any other words. No
wonder these people are getting sick, dying too young at jobs they hate,
getting headaches, going crazy, and failing in life.
Look at your life – clearly and honestly. You will
see what you have been affirming to yourself. Most of us have created a lot of
things that we would prefer to do without. It is time to affirm, to create
something better for yourself.
We have been giving ourselves affirmations all our
lives. And others have been giving us affirmations all our lives. The only
problem has been that we have not been consciously aware of the process and
power of affirmations, and so we have affirmed a lot of things, which we could
do better without.
Anything you say or think to yourself is an
affirmation. Anything anyone else says to you is an affirmation, if you accept
it. Our subconscious minds accept it all – whether for better or worse. Many of
us grew up in environments, which may not have been totally supportive. Most of
us had parents, families, friends, and other peers who may have given us a lot
of terrible affirmations, which were destructive to out self-image. Children
often tell each other that they are stupid or ugly or unable to do something. Brothers
or sisters often say unflattering things to each other. These are unfortunate,
negative affirmations.
Most people are still carrying with them, in their
basic core beliefs, the non-supportive things, which their parents, teachers,
friends, and families told them when they were so young that they didn’t have
the awareness to question or ignore. And these affirmations have an especially
powerful effect when there is a strong emotion behind them- those moments when
Mommy is deeply upset, and yells: “You never do anything for me!” give the
child a deep affirmation of his or her own selfishness and worthlessness.
It’s no wonder that people have affirmed
themselves into neurosis, poverty, selfishness, unattractiveness, sickness,
weak and limited self-images, etc. Fortunately, affirmations are so powerful
that a few minutes of conscious, deep, positive ones repeated daily for a few
weeks could do years of unconscious, deep, negative ones. This is especially
true because the positive affirmations have the greatest power in the universe
behind them: the power of truth. Because the truth is that you are a free
being. You are not limited or restricted. And your life is worthwhile. And you
are good person –not a bad one. And you are really loving – even though that love
may be buried under years of unexpressed anger and guilt and frustration.
Therefore, we emphasize again:
Affirm what you know to be true in your heart, and
you will create that reality. Affirm that you are free, and strong, and
attractive, and prosperous, and loving – and you will find, often in a
remarkably short time, that your outer world will begin to change as a
reflection of your changing inner consciousness.
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