part 3, The Power of Affirmations

Today I want to talk about the power affirmations had in my life. So lets define the word first, Affirmation: a declaration that something is true, the practice of positive think and self empowerment; fostering a belief, a positive mental attitude; a carefully formatted sentence or statement that should be repeated to one’s self and written down. Wow, it seems that I gave away all the secrets in the definition. Truly there was more to it than just this.

Honestly the word affirmation and all the concept around affirmations were an alien concept to me. I’d never known anyone who practiced this principle or who would have explained what it meant, until I met M. M began by give me some very simple yet important statements. The very first was, “I release myself from anger and I let the past go.” Little did I know how much emotional garbage this simple set of words (affirmation) would bring up to the surface. Every emotion and feeling needed to be dealt with as quickly and lovingly as possible and disposed of, never to hinder me again. Well it did happen so quickly, the purge of the garbage, but eventually I was released. These few words had the power to remove the chains of my past. They were, every affirmation, changing my language and reinforcing a new way of projecting who I am and how I desired to see myself.

The work was transforming myself from the inside outward. The spirit had to be renewed along with the body. (I’ll talk about the work on the physical body in another blog.) M inspired me to do the work I needed to do, for myself. I couldn’t do it to please anyone nor for others to finally love, except and understand who I was. It had to be as personal as breathing was to me. And as M began to share her story, how she came to learn and practice these principles, than I understood. I understood how she seemed to see through to my soul. I understood that these weren’t just principles but a way of life. She wasn’t just teaching me some words to recite and memorize, l was rewriting my very essence. I was transforming my conscious and subconscious mind.

What I discovered on my journey was this: although no two stories are exactly the same there can be enough similar aspects in the individual stories that help a person to relate in a more understanding and compassionate way. M guided me through these principles with the grace and compassion of the spirit within her.  Not only because she loved me but because she knew first hand that learning and practicing these principles helped her become who she was.

Learning the principle of affirmation was the piece that bonded all the other principles I was learning together. The first changing my language and the second meditation: Learning to quiet my mind and go within. So, practicing positive affirmations brought everything together in a harmonious approach to freeing myself.

I would like to share a couple of affirmations that I learned as far back as the early 80’s.

Affirmation: “I know that God is my unlimited Source and I open myself to my good, remembering that what I can receive depends upon what I can believe.  Thank you, God, for the wonderful gifts of abundance in my life.”

” Love is free from condemnation, even as It is free from fear.”

“I release myself from anger and I let go the past.”

Lastly, I’m sure having a bit of my back story may help my readers understand what happened in my life and at some point I may add a blog that gives a more detailed account of my history. But for now I’m feeling that the how’s and why’s aren’t that important and would simply muddy the waters of my “Finding my way home”. Besides, for me, giving credit to the negative and unloving behavior of others isn’t productive and simply doesn’t promote positive healthy living. The fact is, as weird as it may sound, I thank each one of them for showing me exactly who I didn’t want to be. They each gave me something that make me so excited that I got to experience my life so that I could become the person I was meant to be.