tba substantially ready
CONTENTS
I already know this! Really????
Why do we do affirmations? Really?
The criteria for effective affirmations
The checklist for what an effective affirmation is
The measure of completion of the affirmations process
And we must do things to support them
Examples at the various levels of effectiveness
Notes to Barbara on why to send me copies
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I ALREADY KNOW THIS! REALLY????
Many people will say "I already know 'this'". Yet the results do not show up.
Affirmations are like anything else we do - we do it to get results. If we don't get the results we want, then we've got to go back and do something more effective, learn more, revise, go deeper - until the evidence of completion shows up: results!
Results are the only proof of being at cause. "Trying" and/or not completing are indicated by "not having the result", per the Law Of Cause And Effect.
Knowing part of what it takes is not knowing it. One must engage in Authentic Learning, to go all the way to what is wanted. I repeat: this is a must, if you truly are willing to do what it takes to be happy, rather than just "wanting" it. "Wanting" has very little power, but "willing" is massively powerful.
WHY DO WE DO AFFIRMATIONS? REALLY?
To feel good, be strong, overcome obstacle, achieve goals, etc. All of those are true, but they also miss the essential ingredient that creates the effectiveness one wants.
It is to install new true, useful beliefs such that they are actually believed and fully in effect, fully recorded on the neuronal pathways, easily retrievable and very usable. It is to become vastly more effective and/or happier in life. Anything short of that is not being true to the affirmations process.
Installed completely and correctly, these new beliefs become who you are (in a broad sense) and become the determiners of a new, much higher quality of life.
Yes, the test of whether we are doing it is whether we get the results we want in life, but we must have some measures while we are getting to our new levels of who we are and of what we do in life.
See if these criteria would be good measures for affirmations and any empowering self-talk.
THE CRITERIA FOR EFFECTIVE AFFIRMATIONS
"Airy fairy affirmations beget airy fairy results."
The BuddhaKahuna
The standard ones are:
___ Present tense
___ Positive (A "going towards" goal, not an "away from" goal)
___ Emotion in it (imprints better in memory)
___ Short and simple (we vary here by having a short and simple one for the complex
overall group of statements)
___ Realistic
___ "I" statements
They're "ok" in general, but if you want to upgrade them, me thinkest thou should consider the following:
The dimensions and levels are:
Levels of truth and soundness - Did you create a new belief that is sound and powerful? Is it true (or reasonably possibly true)? Do you understand it thoroughly and why it is true? Does it pass The Truth Test? (You can't affirm an untruth!)
Levels of completion and definiteness, clarity, completeness (stamp out the opposition) - Declarations of what is untrue, why you don't want the opposite results and why you want these results add to the definiteness. Even using stronger language like "I absolutely am..." can make a difference. Or adding an exclamation mark can be helpful. Supporting items to make these more clear and more defined are recommended: from collages or "treasure maps" (aka vision boards), writing out how the future results will feel plus experiencing it as if you were in it right now, laying out all your dreams and desires - all of these are in From Visualization To Vision Boards
Levels of importance, impact
Are the items you're affirming leading to what you want the most, what will make the most difference in your life?
Firming up the identity one wants
A good affirmation/declaration/committment solidifies the foundation for the identity one wants - the identity that powerfully serves one to get that which he/she truly wants. You'll find that putting together the Reminders Notebook, per the table of contents suggested, will go along way toward creating a great foundation.
THE CHECKLIST FOR WHAT AN EFFECTIVE AFFIRMATION IS
An effective affirmation is:
___ True (or reasonably true in prospective terms), Strongly feasible
___ Emphatic, strong (strongly declarative)
___ Understood and accepted, completely
___ Specific
___ Impactful
___ Supports a desired overall identity
___ Meets the standard criteria, above, except that it can also have a longer version
THE MEASURE OF COMPLETION OF THE AFFIRMATIONS PROCESS
AND WE MUST DO THINGS TO SUPPORT THEM
We must do more than merely repeat the more important ones. We must support them in every way we can. What we're really supporting is our getting to the goal behind why we have the affirmation and how it can best support us!
If our affirmation is "I am succeeding in my new business", you'll probably not have much impact if you don't have the right supporting actions. You would have to follow the rules and steps for success in order to get there: The Steps To Successfully Achieving A Result - In Detail.
EXAMPLES AT THE VARIOUS LEVELS OF EFFECTIVENESS
Level 1. Some shifting impact, not strong foundationally
I am peaceful.
I am strong. fairly ineffective by itself.
Level 2. More strongly intentional and committed.
I am committed to being peaceful and doing all it takes to make that happen.
I am strong. fairly ineffective. I am becoming stronger and stronger. It is my commitment and my full intention to become stronger and stronger. I am more powerful evey day!
Level 3. Strongly declarative, definite, some reasoning may be included
These are longer, so they can't be done fully in the moment, so abbreviated reminders can be used, but you've got to imprint the whole belief structure, not just part of it:
It is absolutely not true that I am dependent on others. It is not up to others to provide to me; it is only up to me. I am in truth capable of being self-sufficient, providing all I need to be happy. This is how I shall live my life.
I see that I need not be dependent on circumstances, other people, or getting approval. I am totally capable of creating my own happiness - and the rest is just a possible bonus.
I am no longer a child and I need not play that persona. I am a full blown adult, fully capable of creating plenty to survive on and of creating my thriving in my life. I choose to be fully responsible for all creation!
I will not tolerate negativity in my life. I have survived many times and I shall be ok in the now. I will not tolerate negative stories and talk. I am committed for the rest of my life to do whatever it takes to provide the positive and reduce or eliminate the negative so that I live the 5 to 1 Positivity Ratio. I choose happiness - and accordingly I will do what it takes to create that. That is my decision. That is how I will live. Now and forever.
Level 4. The complete facts and the reasoning and logic
This replaces the entire path of the original erroneous sequential "facts" and "reasoning". It is a recreation of what would have occurred had the process gone correctly in the first place, with the right facts and the right reasoning and logic.
People who do this well and completely will often use pieces of this to back up their reasoning and facts for their philosophy of life, which you might call a Level 5, in that it ties together alot of correct conclusions into a coherent whole.
Level 5. Tying it all together into a whole
As mentioned above, this is tying one's life viewpoint into a coherent, valid whole. The product of doing one's full written philosophy of life is a pervasive feeling of peace and happiness, with a full guidance system to run one's life by.
SOME FURTHER DISTINCTIONS OF WHAT WORKS AND DOESN'T
Another example of what might not work is "I am strong," especially if you don't believe it. Denial of what you believe doesn't work; you've got to change the belief and derive the support for it, sufficiently to overcome the selective evidence that you've gathered for the untrue belief.
Nor can we seek to "overcome" a belief by saying the opposite, as that is papering over the problem, which is the retention of the false belief.
It would be more true to say "I am becoming stronger and stronger every day" or "I am creating myself being stronger."
NOTE TO BARBARA ON WHY TO SEND ME COPIES
The idea of having you send me copies of your affirmations is not just for "tweaking" but for the possibility of completely changing some and for upgrading the process for greater results. As we get greater results from your new beliefs, then the fatigue and other body suppressive reactions will diminish, as you'll not be "in emergency" as much (eventually you'll almost never be in emergency or hypervigilance or hypersensitivity - and the only emergency responses will be actual emergencies that cavemen would have had to react to)
Miscellaneous notes for integration
resisting
Supporting factors, and their levels
Levels of effectiveness
Overcoming
general
airy fairy $250,000 in the next three months." (Read the comments about magical thinking instead of using the "steps to success" laid out in the Success section.)
One affirms what is true or possibly true
Affirms, intentions, the secret, and magical thinking
Becoming or aiming, realistically, works, too
