Affirmations and Meditation

Much has been written about affirmations and their powerful effect upon yourself and the world around you.
People who dismiss the impact of affirmations are usually people who do not use positive affirmations. Instead, they use negative reinforcement without even realizing it with comments such as "That will never work," or "Why bother. You're too old/young/not qualified enough."

You may have heard phrases like that and unfortunately if you are exposed to these types of comments on a regular basis then they have an insidious way of sticking.

Conversely, statements that reaffirm who you are and your perspective of the world around you, will also stay with you, spurring you upward and onward to greater success professionally and in your relationships.

This is more than seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. Sad events do happen. However, it is how we view the world and ourselves that enables us to recover from unhappy occasions, to seek ways to comfort others, and to ultimately be a force for change and goodness.

What you believe about yourself and your life does eventually become true, and depending on which train of thought you follow and adhere to, will ultimately impact your life with either a positive or negative outcome.

Louise Hay is one of the best known writers of affirmations and a good resource should you wish to seek out further information. However, like most things in life, developing the art of positive thinking comes through practice, awareness, and catching yourself mid-thought and replacing a negative thought with a positive one.

Here are 12 Affirmations by Louise Hay to get you started:

• My thoughts flow freely and easily.
• I move through ideas with ease.
• I decide to be me. I approve of myself as I am.
• I am at home in the Universe. I am safe and secure and understood.
• I love and approve of myself I am at peace. I am calm. All is well.
• I create a joyful, peaceful world to live in.
• I increase my consciousness of good and good is what I now attract.
• I am the very center of Life and I am totally connected in Love.
• I love every part of my body; I am healthy, happy and whole.
• My loving thoughts connect with like-minded and together we bless the world.
• I relax completely for I now know I am safe.
• I trust Life and I trust myself. 

Yoga, pranayama, and meditation are three powerful tools that help you take control of your mind and actions, helps you monitor your thoughts, and become aware enough to actually choose what you think and actively replace negative thinking with positive affirmations.

Through meditation you gain introspection without the guilt. You can identify areas where you may have unconsciously harbored feelings of separation and the belief that the world was not a good and wonderful place but rather one that was troubled and dangerous.
Seeing the world as a dark place is further reinforced when you repeatedly see or hear information that fits the landscape that you have painted for yourself.

Sad events do occur. They are real. But good things occur daily too and by maintaining a positive frame of mind and outlook on the world YOU can be the change that the world needs. You can shine YOUR light upon those you are suffering. YOU can make a difference.

Whatever you focus on, your mind forms thoughts, emotions, and actions around a particular stream of thinking. Meditation is the simplest method I know that helps to break the old mold and create a healthier, more beneficial way of living.

Meditation is a free and easy tool that we each have access to.
With regular practice it will help you release obstacles to peace and restore balance and harmony to your world.

While affirmations are different from mantras (see previous articles on the blog site related to mantras) they are a useful addition to helping you create the life that you desire for yourself.

You have the ability to learn the gift (which is how I view it) of meditation and receive the wonderful benefits which are your birthright.

Begin today. It's never too late to start.

Use affirmations to help create the correct mind-set.
Practice meditation, and there are plenty of guided meditations on this blog site for you to use.

Continue to affirm, love, and help those who need you by practicing compassion.  Reach out to those in need. Be the Light that they need.

Changing any habit is fraught with challenge, and thought patterns are also a habit and YOU have the ability to change your thoughts.

If everyone thought in terms of doom and gloom there would be no hope, no recovery.

Be the person you would like to help you, when you are in need.
Inspire, support, and most of all Love


You CAN do it.

Peace, Love, Light.

Successful You

Are you seeing the Light and reaching your goals?

How are your New Year Resolutions progressing?

Are they going or have they gone?

Meditation helps maintain the mindset that all is well and helps you to flow with what life puts in your way. It also helps you to overcome perceived problems and see solutions to difficulties. True, no one actually knows for certain what the future holds for any one of us, but unseen obstacles need not be a deterrent or permanently hold us back.

Positive people believe that there are no "problems", only "situations". Your perspective alters when you view the world from a positive view-point rather than seeing walls and closed doors that appear in your way as insurmountable.

It means that anything is possible; all of your dreams, your aspirations, your successes.

Situations that are less than ideal can be overcome. If you can change a situation by correct action then keep on moving and act, however if a situation is unfortunately beyond the control of human ability then we can only accept what has happened and move graciously from it.

All that you desire can come true.

Starting today, resolve to be more positive! Look at what you have achieved, not what you have not accomplished, yet. No matter how small the success, focus on what is working, give thanks, and look at your next goal and determine a time when you will achieve it.

Revise your strengths, knowledge and goals. Closely examine what you are doing right and what is helping to empower you to achieve what YOU desire.
Decide what you need. You don’t have to have everything in place in order to start making your way towards your goals for 2010.
Add dates that you will begin/achieve each step toward achieving your goal.

Spend time in the presence of positive, successful people either in person, in books, or online. Let them know what you are doing. Share your plans with those whom you now trust and can confide in at this point in your life’s journey. They will be constructive and supportive. Eliminate naysayers from hearing about your aspirations.

Review your plans and desires frequently, and especially every 6 months, because circumstances will evolve, you will grow, and people will enter and leave your environment.

As your goals become clearer and you begin to realize them, you will be spurred on to reach higher and higher.

Carry affirmations with you. Memorize them. They really do block out unwanted and pessimistic thoughts.

Meditate daily. Find the time. Make the time. Prioritize your time in order to meditate. It is during your daily meditation practice that you will recognize and subsequently address self-limiting patterns of behavior and take the first steps that will release them.

Concentrate on what you want to achieve and be inspired by your own achievements, both the small and the large. The more you recognize and appreciate success, in yourself and others, the more success will follow!
Meditation is your own tool that will help empower you toward maintaining a forward momentum to living the life you want. It costs you nothing except time and the benefits are amazing.

So believe in yourself.

You CAN do it.

GUIDED MEDITATION

TRAIN THE MIND TO MEDITATE BY FOCUSING ON A SINGLE OBJECT

Steps for Concentration for Meditation
• Find a pleasing object that holds your interest such as a flower, a lit candle, a rock.
• Sit in a comfortable seated position that you can stay in without fidgeting.
• Gaze at the object without any eye strain. Notice how beautiful it is. Marvel at it's creation.
• After a few minutes, close your eyes and hold the memory of the object in your mind's eye.
• If it disappears, gaze at your object again for a little while longer then close your eyes and concentrate on your chosen image.
• With practice, you will be able to close your eyes and bring the object to mind instantly.
• Now you can focus on more subtle objects such as the breath, inner light, healing sound such as OM.
Benefits of Concentration
Whatever you focus on, your mind forms thoughts, emotions, and actions around a particular stream of thinking.
For example, if you focus on a strawberry, notice the colors and the perfume of the fruit, your mouth waters in memory of how sweet and juicy the fruit tastes and so you decide that you must have one.

During Meditation, when you are able to focus not on physical objects but on pure objects such as love or God, you become like the essence of what you are concentrating on.

You Can Do It
Meditation takes practice, but it is easily doable. Many people struggle because they try it once or twice by attempting to empty the mind, but that is too challenging because the mind is not under control. It keeps on leaping around.

The simple steps above will help you to achieve concentration and take control of the mind.

In turn, you will find that you progress very quickly from holding an external image in your mind to one where you enter into meditation and find the peace, bliss, and determination of purpose that emerges as a result of meditation.

Positive Steps

I've learned that no matter what happens or how bad it seems today, life goes on and it will be better tomorrow ~Maya Angelou

Life doesn’t always go smoothly and there are times when we experience, either personally or through a close friend, issues such as illness, loss, and sadly death.

Meditation is like a flotation device that we can use in the cyclical ebb and flow of the vast ocean of life. Life has its stormy moments as well as the sunshine and it is through the practice of meditation that we can remain in touch not only with the peace that lies within but with our intuition in order to discern options, courses of action, and make correct choices.

If you have been practicing meditation for a while, you will have developed the ability to notice when you are stressed and how to counteract the symptoms and consequent actions that you may take. You will know to slow the breath down and use smooth deep breaths. You will remember how to unclench your fist, jaw and relax your muscles by remaining ever present and connected to the source of peace.

By seeing, thinking, and focusing on what is good, you not only raise your internal energy levels but you become less irritated by your current circumstances or other people.

When it is especially hard to see the good in a situation, try instead to be grateful for some small blessing rather than focus on the situation at hand that may be less than ideal. This is challenging but with a regular meditation practice you know with certainty that peace lies within and you can return there for respite and strength.

Positive Steps
I’ve mentioned before in previous posting the importance of remembering that you are ultimately in charge of your choices, right down to if you believe you will succeed in your current tasks or the positive outcome of a situation. This brings with it the freedom to pursue your goals or the assurance that you will overcome adversity by upholding a positive mind-set.
Fear is your number one enemy.

So, who or what exists in your life and makes a difference by making you feel wonderful?

Write to or email people that are a positive influence in your life. In my experience, most, if not all will respond with gladness and ongoing support.

Write down all that you are grateful for. Seeing on paper what you are grateful for helps to reinforce the affirmation and it’s one less negative stream of energy flowing through you. Carry the affirmation with you and refer to it when you catch yourself slipping into a negative frame of mind.

Using the list of topics at the side of the blog, choose a guided meditation or affirmation that you would like to use.

Before you enter your meditation, you may like to identify an area of concern and ask for healing, peace, guidance or an answer to a problem.
During your meditation, remain connected to the source of all peace. Let any lingering concerns and anxiety drift by.
Know with certainty that your concerns have been heard and that solutions to questions will present themselves.
Give thanks that in the stillness of your meditation you will find the peace that you need.


Affirmations
I am grateful for knowing that the storm clouds have passed and the Light remains
I am grateful that the Light never left
I am grateful for the good people in my life

Self-Generated Power

See, Speak and Hear no Evil.

The connection between the mind and the body is enhanced through the use of sound and by chants. The mind quickly becomes attuned to the vibration of the sound and aligns itself to its energy.

When spoken aloud, the words help you to focus on what you discern as your own body’s needs, thereby promoting healing and resilience to the pull of negativity.

Thinking unhealthy, sad, unhopeful thoughts really does affect the cells of the body detrimentally; while thoughts filled with hope, kindness, and love promote health and well-being.
NOTE: Previous postings highlight the research associated with this amazing connection between the mind and the body.  See the blog for more details.

You can self-generate power by using positive thoughts and vibrations.
Speak a word such as “Love,” or a phrase such as “I am Healed,” or the universal sound of AUM pronounced OM.

“I am filling each cell with the positive energy of sound and

creating a new body with the vibration of each breath.”

Positive Thinking

Fruits and vegetables are a source of energy.

Do mind-body techniques such as yoga, meditation or repetitive prayer affect the way your body deals with stress?

Numerous studies, including one by Boston’s MGH MBI and the Genomics Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center shows that after an 8 week period of meditation, the people who were participating in the research were positively affected even at the level of their genes, demonstrating that thoughts can and do affect the body at a cellular level.

Meditation was able to actively suppress the activation or repression of genes which can result in cellular damage and consequently disease.

While food and drink contain energy that can work with or against your body, optimum health does not only come from what you consume or apply topically, as you can see from the above study. It also arises from the internal, in what you think and do, and who you surround yourself with.

What habits do you keep repeating?
What feelings and fears keep intruding?

Your mind makes mental movies of both actual and imagined situations as though the brain is witnessing it for real: laughter, arguments, sad life events.
These images affect the whole self, thereby creating a reality that you choose, whether you are conscious of it or not.

However, a diet of positive thoughts detoxifies the mind and improves your quality of life.
In other words, you are what you think.

Make a movie within your mind. See yourself surrounded by the things that make you happy. See yourself helping other people as you shine your positive light on them.

Affirmations
Affirmations are powerful statements about what you want to create in your life.
Balance your actions with awareness of thoughts and clarity of vision.
Envisage a clear and positive outline for your future by retaining only that which is positive and beneficial to you.

With each inhalation I breathe in ….. (what you need)
With each exhalation I release …..(what you don’t need)
I am filling each cell with light and creating a new body
I envisage only that which is for my highest good
I shine my light on the world

Every day I make a loving environment for everyone around me, including myself.

Affirmations

Be grateful every day.

Negative feelings hinder and prevent you from achieving positive change. Have you unconsciously given permission to downbeat thoughts and allowed them to influence your behavior?

Even when you are faced with challenges in life that threaten to overwhelm you, such as health problems, focusing on the positive things in your life means that you can alter your perspective on all aspects of your life. This has the effect of making you more constructive every day, while others are glad to see you because of your enthusiasm and affirmative action.

See yourself feeling strengthened and invigorated as you awaken in the morning. Smile and embrace the start of this new day. Hear yourself welcoming the potential that this glorious day will bring. See yourself succeeding in whatever tasks you need to fulfill.

Negative thoughts draw more negative energy to you; however it is possible to create new thoughts that have far-reaching consequences.

Positive thoughts vibrate at a higher frequency than negative thoughts, just as light vibrates at a higher frequency than what we perceive as darkness. Realize the power behind your intentions by being consciously aware of self-defeating actions and directing your thoughts in constructive and healing ways.

Thoughts have their own unique energy. Use the power of your words to create only that which is positive for you.

Carry an affirmative thought with you every day to remind you to stay optimistic.

I choose to be grateful
I choose to be kind
I choose to give love
I choose to feel joy
I choose to see the good within
I choose to be happy

“I am successful in all that I do.”

Positive thoughts directed to myself and others help me stay focused on what really matters.

Health and Happiness

As a teacher of yoga, with my own studio in Massachusetts, my students are acutely aware of the connection between the breath, the mind, and the body.
They know that a disturbed breath disturbs the mind and a mind that wanders hinders the creation of new and beneficial mental thought-patterns, or neural pathways, as well as the flow of positive energy.  They experience that when they are practicing asanas, pranayama, or entering into meditation.

There are two classic reasons for an unsettled mind to occur; desires and thoughts.
Desires are produced by an actual lack of control of emotions as well as the latent impressions of feelings.
Thoughts that impede positive growth are usually thoughts that occur without any awareness or are pessimistic in nature.

Negative thoughts are like weeds and prevent happy thoughts from flourishing.

Awareness in all of your activities, behavior, and choice of thoughts and emotions actually helps you to take control of your life and only create situations which are of benefit to you.

For example:
When you laugh or watch a comedy program, your body produces endorphins, which are a natural painkiller and also produces more of the cells required to both ward off and fight infection. 

It is estimated that children laugh up to 400 times per day

while adults only manage up to 15 daily laughs.

You are what you think
In the seventies, a Harvard University study discovered a special group of receptors on the immune cells distributed throughout the body. This was a major breakthrough and shone new light upon what we know about the immune system. The research demonstrated that the immune system is not an independent self-directed system; rather it has an actual connection with the conscious mind and the effect of thoughts upon the body.

Learning coping mechanisms and maintaining a positive frame of mind clinically promotes a healthy state of being. However, how we respond to our varying circumstances is based upon earlier data that is stored as a memory and used to create a response, regardless of the consequences.

Connection to the world
Our moods, health, state of mind all influence the decision-making process and subsequent outcome of a reaction to stimuli. It is only when we consider the detrimental effects upon our heart, emotions, or the effects of our actions upon other people or our environment that we begin to see the need to be aware first of how we respond and secondly to the connection between ourselves and the world around us.

So, smile and laugh often if you want to improve your chances of staying happy and healthy.

Visualize what you love

Mini Meditation
See yourself in a tranquil location surrounded by people and animals that bring you joy.
Delight in the warm loving embrace of their presence.
You are free of disease and sadness in this environment.
Peace and bliss envelop you.

Carry this image within you and use it whenever you need to return to a happy state.

Free Yourself From Limitations

Our thoughts can cause events to keep repeating themselves

At various points in our lives there are situations that are sad or even down-right unpleasant. We may try our best to cope with these experiences but without our knowledge, the feelings and emotions associated with these events embed themselves deep within our mind and even the cells of our bodies.

Neuroscience shows that past experiences, thoughts, and actions are imprinted on the neurons of your brain. Without awareness of what you are thinking or your conduct at any given moment, you will unconsciously keep reacting in a specific manner, choosing habit over healthy behavior, and reaction rather than conscious thought.

Wiser Choices
Meditation allows you to release yourself from worrying thoughts or off-the-cuff remarks and actions that you might regret, and opt instead for happier, courteous, and wiser choices.

Your present thoughts and actions alter when you first become aware of, then choose to change, your previous thought patterns and consciously act differently.

We share our lives with others via family and friends, online, and through professional relationships. Life might seem simpler if we lived in isolation on a desert island, but the truth is, our thoughts are always with us.

Looking beyond the personality we see the human self within. Forgiveness, of yourself and others, is a large part in helping you to move beyond past events and actually experience the present while planning for a future that you actually want. Meditation uplifts you, resulting in relationships that are strong and appreciative. You start to gain clarity into situations that have upset you and actually learn to release them in order to become stronger by freeing yourself from ties that are binding you to the past.

Life is a wonderful gift and meditation helps to sweep away confusion and reveal a clear path free from obstacles. It provides each one of us with an effective tool for dealing with inner conflicts and mental challenges while bringing real feelings of love into all of our most challenging situations. It imparts an appreciation for our relationships and turns previous ides on their head.

As people enter our lives, we also enter theirs. They can bring much to us, and it may surprise us to know how much we mean to them.

Releasing Limitations
During meditation, memories and thoughts that you no longer need can rise to the surface as you cease to impose limitations on yourself, your relationships, and on your opportunities.

Symbolically breathing away what you no longer want allows you to discover the person you would like to be. In addition, you discover the passion that lies within your heart and is waiting for a chance to be revealed and put to use.
However, like most things in life, knowing what to keep or what to release doesn’t happen all at once. This information usually reveals itself in drips rather than a flood.

Celebrate
You have lots of reasons to celebrate.
Celebrate because you are moving away from all of the old limitations and expectations that you once knew and held onto, and into a brighter future.
Feel secure and at peace in knowing who you are.

How well do you know yourself?
Meditation is your key to unlocking the biggest surprise of all; that which you keep hidden away.
We all like to think that we have a good understanding of our deepest needs and motivations, yet we are often surprised by some of the things we find ourselves doing or saying.

Let your spirit be bigger than anything that comes your way today.

Guided Meditation

Surroundings
As always before you begin your meditation practice, ensure that you find a quiet place with no distractions such as the telephone and that your clothes are comfortable. Your chosen place for meditation can be either indoors or outdoors but ensure that the temperature is not too hot or cold.
Try to develop a habit of meditating in the same place. Then once you are ane to enter into meditation with ease, you will find that you gravitate to meditation easily and oblivious to potential disruptions.

Sit as comfortably as you can, with the spine lengthened.
Close your eyes, and use the power of the breath to relax the body and mind
Follow the breath from the tip of the nose to the base of the lung
Follow the breath all the way out again.
Don’t rush this process
Continue following the breath until you feel completely relaxed

Allow the exhalation to become twice as deep as the inhalation.
Continue to notice the rate and rhythm of the breath.
Maintain attention only on your steady and even breath

With each breath, release your thoughts. Do not follow them or struggle with them.
Acknowledge they are there and allow them to drift by.
If you are visual, you can see the thoughts as images of clouds and let them drift away against the backdrop of a blue sky.

Return to the flow of the breath

With the breath gentle and flowing, notice the stillness within you. Focus on the space between each breath.
Thoughts lessen.
Stay with the deep, rhythmic breath
Enter into the space between each breath

NOTE: Even if this stillness lasts for a few seconds, you have been meditating and with practice the stillness lasts longer. When you come aware that you are experiencing stillness, it occurs with a thought such as “I am experiencing stillness.” Release that thought and return to the breath and then the stillness.

Feel the expansive abundance of the stillness
Feel the oneness with peace

When you are complete, allow the eyes to slowly open.
Notice how you feel and the state of your mind.

Know that you can return to this state of mind, simply by returning to observing the rhythmic flow of the breath.