Belief – The Affirmation Spot Blog

#Rayquote for Monday November 7, 2022

Good evening, my friends!

You may remember the old story about the two wolves. Possibility and impossibility are two more versions of the wolves in that story. We either believe things are possible for stay stuck on their impossibility.

Every day, new things become possible that were once deemed impossible. When impossibilities become reality, magic happens.

This quote reminds you to focus on the right wolf.

Ray

The Power of Self-Affirmation

THE POWER OF SELF-AFFIRMATION

People often ask whether affirmations really work. Some question whether it’s just woo-woo and not scientific. There have been numerous studies dating back to at least the 1920s demonstrating the efficacy thinking more positively in general and specifically self-affirmation.

Consistently, research has shown, to one extent or another, that our thoughts have a significant impact on the way we feel, our experience of life, and our personal outcomes.

One famous version of this phenomenon is the placebo effect. It’s the first hurdle any new drug in development must overcome. While the industry likes to keep this under wraps, about 22 percent of patients with a demonstrated condition are healed of that condition simply on the belief that the medicine they’re taking is going to heal them.

In recent decades, this percentage has been rising. Any nee drug most show efficacy beyond the placebo hurdle to be considered efficacious.

“Think positive” has become something of a mantra in our society to the point that some are annoyed by its vagueness and seeming ineffectiveness in the face of struggle.

I understand the frustration. It’s like extolling someone to eat healthier without giving them healthier recipes.

Affirmations are an effective methodology for delivering targeted positive thinking into your brain through the power of repetition and belief.

While rote learning can be boring, there’s a reason little kids practice their math tables over and over. Repetition has been known for thousands of years to be an effective means of memorably placing information in the human brain.

When you combine belief (the placebo effect) with the power of rote repetition, it becomes easy to see why self-affirmation works.

I am, I can, I make, I choose and other such phrases common in affirmations are among the most powerful words in our language. Put them to use in the pursuit of your goals, your dreams, your health, pretty much anything you want to improve in your life.

Just in case no one else has reminded you today, you are awesome!

Ray

It’s ALL OK – Day 314 of 365 Days to a Better You

Whatever you’re facing and wherever life has taken you, it’s ALL OK. I promise. You get going a thousand miles an hour and the stress grows and grows. You get caught up in these roles and the narrative of this one life lasting but a few decades.

Soon you forget who you are…who you really are. You are a timeless child of the universe as worthy and sacred as anyone or anything else in existence. You’re here accumulating lessons on a journey without beginning or end. You’re a part of a cosmic consciousness eager to explore this realty from every possible perspective. You’re a soul with purposes and missions sometimes lost to you in the confusion of time and space.

Yet, in the big picture, the whole journey makes perfect sense. I promise. The nicks and the scars, the joys and triumphs are choices…every one…meant to contribute to the perfect unfolding of the universe.

Whatever today brings, know there’s a meaning and a purpose and a plan that’s sometimes only visible to the whole and not the parts. Nonetheless, know you’re indispensable. The outcome of the entire universe depends on you being the best you possible.

In case no one else has reminded you today, you’re awesome!

Ray

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How to Write Affirmations That Change Your Life – Day 203 of 365 Days to a Better You

Thought for the Day:

Affirmations without action are just glorified wishful thinking. Affirmations are “mental armor” supporting empowered action, not a substitute for it.

Over the past several years, I’ve written many articles about affirmations -how affirmations work, types of affirmations, ways to use affirmations, etc., etc., etc. Some of those articles are linked to in this article.

However, I’ve never just written an article on how to write an effective affirmation. Today I had a request from a follower on Twitter to provide a “how to” and decided it was a good time to write that article. Let me begin by saying that there are many gurus out there with many ideas on how to correctly write affirmations. There are also some dogmas around the process. I’m not big on dogmas of any kind. So some of this might be unorthodox. Feel free to use what resonates for you.

Before we begin, let me make a few quick points. Affirmations are a tool to reshape and refocus your thoughts. By themselves, they don’t “make” anything happen. However, as you replace negative thoughts with negative vibrations with positive thoughts and positive vibrations, you do begin to attract better things into your life. Affirmations without action are just wishful thinking. The idea is that as you raise the vibration of your thoughts, you become more inspired to take action to manifest those thoughts as reality in the world. See the thought of the day at the top of the article.

I recommend reading my two part series on Affirmations: Repetition and Belief along with using this list to create your affirmations. Following is 7-step process for creating your own affirmations. This is my way. It has worked for me over the past 20 years. Others might have another way that works for them.

Start with a goal – you must have a goal in mind. The clearer the goal, the better the affirmation and the better chance for success. A cloudy goal leads to an unclear affirmation, and poor results.
Affirm what you can believe – affirmations are not a tool for persuading you to believe something you don’t believe. They are a tool to help you create and multiply thoughts that support the action necessary to achieve the things you believe you can achieve. However, you can use what I call “aspirational affirmations” to help manifest a distant goal. You just need to be able to believe you can achieve that goal one day. (Read more Incremental Affirmations and Unrealistic Affirmations)
Use clear language – the language of your affirmation should be clear and powerful for you. It’s OK to use phrases and terms that are very personal to you as long as the language resonates and feels empowering when you say it. Be as specific as possible.
Present Tense – in most cases, it is more effective to use the present tense when writing, speaking, or listening to affirmations. In other words, state your affirmation as “I am…” rather than “I will..” or “I should”. The lone exception would be those discussed in the Incremental Affirmations article.
First, second, and third person – most affirmation gurus will tell you to always put your affirmations in the first person, such as I am a magnificent dancer, rather than the second person you are a magnificent dancer. I agree that first person is the best if you are only going to choose one. Why stop with first person, though? An affirmation can be very powerful in the second person and using your name. I recommend using all three. I am a great writer. You are a great writer. Ray is a great writer. This holographic language creates a more powerful and holistic affirmation. (Read more Adding the Power of You to Your Affirmations)
Use them, use them, use them – once you have written an empowering affirmation, use it. Like so many other motivational tools, affirmations are created and then cast aside after a day or two. Read them aloud, read them into the mirror, post them places where you can see them throughout your day, record them and listen to them passively (Listening Passively to Affirmations) or actively over and over until they infuse your mind. The goal for an affirmation is to have it replace the negative or disempowering thoughts and become thoroughly embedded in your thought process so that it becomes the automatic response (How Do You Know Your Affirmations are Working?) to your negative thoughts.
Take action – affirmations without action is just wishful thinking. You must think and then act, if you are to achieve.

Follow your bliss! Experience your bliss! Become your bliss!

Ray

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Question: What Does God Look Like?

Today’s Affirmation:

“God’s love flows through my entire being each and every moment all day long.”
(Click the affirmation to add to your mp3 player)

Here’s a question for you. What does God look like?

From a very early age, I had two images of what God looks like in my mind. When I would close my eyes and imagine God I always saw either a dark “angel-shaped” cloud surrounded by incredibly bright light…like the sun shining behind a dark cloud.

The other image, as I would discover much later in life, was an image of the Buddha walking along a path. This was strange because I didn’t even know who the Buddha was when I had this image at three or four years old.

So, I’m curious. Leave your answer as a comment below.

When you close your eyes and imagine God; what does God look like?

Look forward to your interesting answers.

Follow your bliss. Experience your bliss. Become your bliss.

Ray Davis is the Founder of The Affirmation Spot and focuses on empowering minds to think positively, achieve goals, and live dreams. He is the author or the ebook The Power to Be You: Game-Changing Posidigms for Daily Life – a book of 416 original empowering quotes, thoughts, and affirmations.

Do you like to listen to affirmations? Audio affirmations infuse your mind with positive thoughts passively or consciously. Choose from 100s at The Affirmation Spot.

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