How Do Affirmations Work? Affirmations & Your Subconscious Mind
The first step to making positive changes in your life is to overcome your negative thoughts and limiting belief systems and the best way to change these patterns is to reprogram the mental energy you are sending out into the universe though positive affirmations; targeted towards your desired results. While this process cannot bring about instant change (for most), it can accelerate your being in alignment with the progress you wish to make because writing your intent and affirming it brings you more in alignment with those energies required to achieve your life goals, personal development and spiritual growth.
So, how do affirmations work scientifically? At first, you may think that it is just some weird idea of planting seeds in your mind. However, affirmations are actually backed by neural science. While affirmations cannot substitute the effect of medical treatment (officially), they can still affect your overall mental and physical health in positive ways. When affirmations are practiced regularly and deliberately, they can slowly reinforce brain pathways and strengthen the connection between two neurons. This increases the likelihood of conducting the same message you want your brain to process, thus, releasing negative thoughts and beliefs that are no longer serving you.
Try to imagine a chunk of dry land. When rain pours, water will not have a place to go until it finally cuts a certain path through the soil. As more and more water runs through that same path, it can cut a deeper indentation. The deeper the dent, the more water will start running through it. Positive affirmations work exactly like that. In neurology, you can sum up this idea in one phrase – neurons that are capable of firing together can wire together. The brain also eliminates synapses that it rarely uses.
On the other hand, neurons that are regularly used can create patterns that add strength to the bond between them. As they wire together, they build a complex network that will automatically respond every time you encounter certain triggers in your daily life. Every word you say and every thought you think can turn into a grand stream of affirmations. Since childhood, you acquire beliefs and develop thought patterns that may either work well for you or work against you. Some of them may also be dysfunctional, jeopardizing your chances of achieving exactly what you want.
Every word that you say or think actually reflects your set of beliefs or inner truths. Most of these inner truths may not be true for now. In fact, they may be based on inappropriate or inaccurate impressions that you were able to form when you were still a child. Once you reach adulthood and examine those convictions, you can start identifying whether they are appropriate or not. To understand how affirmation works, you should also be familiar with how your subconscious helps you respond to certain events in your life.
Your subconscious mind automatically uses the behavioral patterns you have learned as you respond to daily events in your life. This process is essential to your survival because it allows you to respond quickly to the events around you, which would otherwise be impossible if you have to examine every aspect of the simplest things that happen. All the thought patterns and responses you have learned allow you to respond to circumstances in a timely manner. However, some of the beliefs you have formed from a baseless perspective may get in your way of responding to difficult circumstances in an appropriate manner.
When problems arise, you have the option to use positive affirmations in order to challenge the negative beliefs and thought patterns you have acquired. These positive statements aim to replace negative thinking patterns with positive, self-nurturing beliefs. The way positive affirmations are constructed can either strengthen or weaken their effects. As you continue reading this e-Book, you will learn how to construct your own set of affirmations. With these positive statements, you can finally focus on achieving your inner goals while consciously shaping the thoughts and words that reflect your self-nurturing beliefs.
Breaking Through The Strongest Resistance
The more determined you are to make changes in the way you think, the more prepared you can be when it comes to accepting change and letting go of your old belief systems. Once you have chosen to believe the affirmations you have created, you can force your subconscious into two opposite reactions – reappraisal or avoidance. The bigger the issue you face, the bigger the gap between inner truth and positive affirmations will be. This may cause you to experience resistance, a process wherein the subconscious mind chooses to stick to perceived inner truths and prevent you from examining the issue at hand.
This strong reaction is usually marked by an overwhelming negative feeling that you experience as you try stating positive affirmations. On the other hand, reappraisal happens when you experience a sense of wellbeing and joy. This forces your mind to respond according to its set of beliefs in an instinctive manner. This thrilling sensation is a good indication that the affirmations you made are finally working. By constantly repeating affirmations with passion and conviction, you can start chipping away even the strongest resistance you may experience. You can even use additional techniques that can magnify the effectiveness of your affirmations.
Once you finally break the resistance, your subconscious will automatically re-examine its core beliefs and thought patterns. When your dysfunctional beliefs are identified and replaced by a new set of inner truths, things will change quickly before your eyes. Depending on how deep these beliefs lay in your consciousness, every other thought you learned based on your original inner truth will slowly become unfounded. Your subconscious mind re-examines all of them and walks you through a period of deep introspection. However, you may need professional support if you are currently experiencing a strong resistance.
Positive affirmations actually work by reprogramming your thought patterns, changing the way you feel about certain circumstances, and replacing dysfunctional beliefs with a new set of inner truths. These effects will eventually lead to a positive change that comes naturally and easily. The strong effects of your affirmations will start reflecting in your external life as you experience seismic changes that will improve many aspects of your life. Remember, affirmations are more than just positive statements. They can be used to create or destroy so they can either bring you failure or success.
How Do Affirmations Affect Your Life?
Now that you already know how affirmations work, it will be best to understand how these positive statements can serve as catalysts of change. Positive affirmations are actually so powerful that they can change every area of your life. You can use them for something as simple as changing your eating habits to something as perplex as experiencing prosperity and contentment. While negative affirmations act as mental plaque that sticks to the walls of your mind, positive affirmations can blow away those negative thinking patterns and build solid, strong, and effective thought habits.
Negative affirmations leave you ineffective, keep you trapped, and rob you of the personal success you deserve. Affirming statements work against these statements and take you to places you may have never thought possible. From day one, they will bring about certain changes that you will notice almost immediately. However, their effects vary from one person to another. Other people might feel extremely negative and experience a strong resistance that can make it harder to replace your negative thoughts with self-nurturing beliefs. Affirmations will work depending on how determined you are to changing certain aspects of your life.
Affirmations are great for anyone who wants to take control of his or her life. Why should you let other people determine your character? You will hold the power to take control of your life and shape your future once you have learned the proper use of affirmations. Encouraging thoughts that make good sense will turn into auto-suggestions that can reach the deepest and most hidden areas of your mind. As they fly into those hidden recesses, they will embed themselves in your mind until you decide to root them out. Whether you want to break bad habits or excel in your chosen career path, affirming statements will always serve your best interests.
So, will affirmations really help you? Yes, auto-suggestions have the power to make you feel better about yourself and achieve the radical success you deserve. When used correctly, they can actually manifest huge changes in your life. They can change the way you think and replace negative beliefs that have been jeopardizing your chances to improve every aspect of your life. They are powerful enough to give you the kind of life that you have always wanted for yourself. If you are not quite sure about how you can create your own set of affirmations, you will certainly find the next four chapters helpful.
As a Psychic Medium with over a decade of experience in sacred studies, I’ve nurtured my curiosity through advanced studies in Esoteric Studies, Metaphysics, Mediumship, Angelology, Reiki, World Religions, and Ordination. Alongside my extensive education, I offer a diverse range of spiritual and healing services, including Psychic and Mediumship Readings, Tarot Card Readings, and more at my studio in Traverse City, Michigan. Additionally, I extend my services to small groups and events throughout Northern Michigan and the United States via phone.