Afformations Vs Affirmations

While I was browsing through some truly inspirational articles on the international “Heal Your Life” website I came across an article written by Noah St. John that caught my eye. It was titled, Turn Your Life Around with These Afformations. At first I thought that the last word was a misspelling, but when I clicked through to the webpage and began to read the article I was quickly rid of such a notion.  Afformations are something altogether different from affirmations.

What’s the difference?

We all know that an affirmation is a positive statement about what you wish to achieve in life. It could be something as simple as “Only the best comes to me!” or something as well defined as “In this moment I choose to belive that I deserve a wonderful life. I lovingly notice any limiting thoughts and gently weed them from my inner garden. I choose positive, nurturing thought patterns for myself.” This is the affirmation from the end of the first chapter in the book Ordering From the Cosmic Kitchen written by Dr Patricia J Crane, International Heal Your Life Trainer.

When Noah St. John began working with affirmations he was not too sure that he could expect them to come true. There was a shadow of doubt so strong that it was counterproductive to making his affirmations come true. So he turned his affirmations into affirmations. Now what does an afformation mean? It simply transforms an affirmation into a question and our mind is wired to seek answers to questions. For instance instead of using the affirmation “Only the best comes to me” and doubting if it ever will, you use the afformation “Why do I attract all good things today?”

How does it work?

Now suddenly you’ve gone from being doubtful about your affirmation working, to finding reasons for your afformation to be true! There are any number of reasons why you will attract all good things to yourself and now your brain is busy thinking of them. This eliminates doubts and makes the abundance flow right into your life. In this manner you can use an afformation to block out any doubts that arise when you create an affirmation. Your mind is what makes the biggest difference in accepting that you can change things in your life.

Every situation you find yourself in is just a situation, but it is the way you think that makes it a good situation or a bad one.  If you miss your regular bus in the morning, you could think it was a terrible thing as you will be reaching late. This would make it a bad situation. Or else you could think, now that you are a few minutes late you will be traveling in a bus that is not as crowded and this could make it a good situation. Your opinion and attitude is what makes a situation good or bad, and using affirmations forces you to confront potential problems and solve them in a beneficial manner. 

So go ahead and form your own afformations in a private Heal Your Life Workshop. Here are some that can get you started, “Why am I delighted with everything around me?” or “How do I know that I am safe to follow my life purpose?”

Words Matter : Make Yours Healing Ones

Those familiar with the philosophy of Louise Hay as described in her Heal Your Life workshops are well aware that what words run through your mind and come out of your mouth have a profound effect on your physical body and your life. A set of angry words spoken to you harshly will give rise to turbulent thoughts in your mind. The body also gets agitated and feels a sense of misplaced purpose. Mismatched coordination of limbs may also be a side effect of the distraction you face due to this. A negative word does a lot of harm and that is why even when we frame our affirmations we ensure that we avoid words with negative connotations.

Why are Words Important?

We communicate our thoughts, desires, decisions and feelings using words. The words we use in a situation may change given the mood or state of mind we are in. The ability of words to affect our moods is extremely strong. Words act as magnets to attract whatever they denote into our life. When we hear someone saying “I love you” pleasant hormones race through our mind and body and give us pleasure. The reverse is also true for us when someone criticizes us for our behavior, or appearance. Each word we say is like an arrow shot from the bow that we can never take back. This makes it important to always aim true with the words that we use.

Doctors Agree About the Power of Words

What we have known through instinct and self awareness is now also being documented diligently by the scientific community. Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman write in their book Words Can Change Your Brain “a single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress.” Positive words, such as “peace” and “love,” can alter the expression of genes, strengthening areas in our frontal lobes and promoting the brain’s cognitive functioning. They propel the motivational centers of the brain into action, according to the authors, and build resiliency. Now that we have medical evidence about the power of words, we must strive to keep our words positive and healing.

Making Healing Words a Part of Your Life

It is not difficult to ensure that you always speak encouraging and positive words. The habit of always thinking before you speak will help you catch and eliminate any words that may cause a catastrophic effect on your immediate world. Speak as you would be spoken to and ensure that all conversation comes from a loving heart. This is not to say that you can never criticize anyone or point out glaring faults. If someone is doing harm to themselves or other by using negative words, you must point it out to them. Just do it from a loving heart space and the best words to explain the problem to the person will automatically come to you.

Affirm to yourself – “I always speak loving and healing words.”

Appreciating the Abundance that Exists

The universe is like a favourite aunt who loves being appreciated for all the joy she spreads. The more appreciative you are of what you already have, the more you will receive to be appreciative about. Now sit back and think when was the last time you individually pointed out your many blessings to yourself and were thankful for them?  If you have been doing regular affirmations and include a general appreciation statement thanking the universe, you would have already felt the difference in your life. However, has it been a while since you offered up your appreciation? Why don’t we take a five minute break from the rest of the things we need to accomplish today and start being appreciative right now?!

If you are reading this article give thanks to the fact that you received an education which allows you to make sense of the letters on this webpage. Thank the universe for the abundance that had blessed your parents’ life allowing them to give you a good upbringing which included an English based education. Now move ahead in time and be appreciative of what all you have in life today. Give thanks for the fact that you have a computer and internet access that allows you to read about what interests you online. Be appreciative of the world of information available at your finger tips. Also appreciate the comfortable chair that you are sitting in, the room and the house that you are able to peacefully live in.

Was that the doorbell that interrupted you? Instead of getting irritated that you were unable to read the article in one go, give thanks that there are people who wish to speak with you. Was it a friend who dropped in unannounced? Be thankful that people seek out your company and care about what you do.  A good support system is essential for a peaceful life. If it was the maid, be appreciative that you have enough abundance to hire a helper. Be thankful for all the chores that she takes care of so that you do not have to work that hard at looking after your home and family. Let her know that you are appreciative of the little extra effort she puts in on some days to make your home a bit brighter.

Be appreciative of the work that you need to do in the home for that means that you have a family that you need to care for. Give thanks for the love that you receive from each individual member of your family, both immediate and extended. Each family has its share of squabbles, but blood is thicker than water and in times of trouble it is nearly always the family that has your back. Give them all your love and appreciation for always being there for you. When you are appreciative of all that you already have, the universe, like that favourite aunt, will feel spurred to give you more things to be appreciative about. 

Affirm to yourself – “I am appreciative of all I have and all that I receive!”

Are You the Master of Your Day?

Ask anyone how they are these days and chances are they will say that they have been busy. Almost everyone is running a race where each day a new obstacle gets added and the finish line always lies tantalizingly ahead. There are so many things to do every morning, some are urgent, others are important. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of tasks that keep coming your way. 

Unfortunately most of the day is filled with “busy work” or things that keep you busy without providing you with any real meaning in life. People are hard pressed to take out time for “life work” or things that relate to your actual life purpose, the reason for your soul’s birth on the planet.

Master Your Day to Master Your Destiny

When we merely go through the motions each day, we are wasting our time here on Earth. Each day we do not follow our life purpose is another day when we relegate our happiness to the back burner. There are a million ready excuses you can use for not focusing on your life purpose. You are not sure what you are supposed to do, or you know what you should be doing but there is always someone else from the family who needs your help, or you are simply too confused as to where to begin so you just let everything roll the way it is.

The trick here is to make sure that each day you spend at least some dedicated time towards your life purpose. Even if it is just ten minutes in the beginning, set it up in such a manner that you can accomplish at least one task in that ten minutes that takes you that much closer to achieving your life purpose. If you take the time to master at least a part of your day, you will be able to master your destiny and achieve what you have set out to do.

Tend the Dream Sowed in Your Soul

You are the only one who sets your Life Agenda. In fact your soul had a very clear life purpose when it chose this body to come to the planet, but the whole process of living in the world is such an assault on all our senses that we tend to get distracted from it. The clarity of purpose gets muddied in the myriad distractions that we get involved in. The choice between undertaking busy work or life work becomes more and more difficult to make.

 We get distanced from our sphere of purpose and so we are discontent. The happiest people are those who are regularly involved with their life purpose, those who are striving each day to ensure that they meet at least some points of their life agenda each day. It does not take much to get back on track. Just make a firm commitment to working towards your life purpose and affirm, “I am here to serve a purpose. I am living my highest purpose.” Attend a Heal Your Life workshop based on the philosophy of Louise Hay to understand how you can indeed master your day and your destiny.