What is Mindfulness?

The concept of mindfulness has actually been around for thousands of years. Its origins can be found in the earliest Buddhist teachings (2500 years ago). It has been used over the centuries in traditional eastern contemplative practices like Hatha Yoga and other meditation practices. Zen masters taught mindfulness to enlightened monks in the ultimate acceptance of their own existence.

However, the way we use the term here, Mindfulness should not be confused with inward focused mysticism or spirituality. Today Mindfulness not only refers to the acceptance of one’s reality but what one does with that reality. As we use it, Mindfulness is the skill of living in the moment and relating to the world in a nonjudgmental and reflexive as oppose to reactive fashion.

In recent years, science and westernization have adapted Mindfulness so that it can be cultivated daily, used without years of practice, and be compatible and useful within almost any modern human activity. Mindfulness is simply an introspective method for grounding your thoughts, emotions and behaviors in the reality you are currently experiencing, so you can stand back, observe, understand yourself more fully and take care of your needs.

The act of Mindfulness is the ability to focus your attention on your inner thoughts while letting go of past or future worries. It will take some practice to witness your thoughts popping up and then going away without self-criticism, but it can be achieved by most people without extensive training, just daily practice. For instance, just watching your breathing can have a calming effect on your mind and slowly restore your sense of well-being. When you quiet your thoughts about what you have to do and your feelings dictating what you want to do, your intuitive mind takes over. Here you gently move from dwelling on the past or future to being focused on what you are doing right at this moment. Being in this state of Mindfulness allows you to listen to your gut and discover what you truly need. Mindfulness allows you to acknowledge your feelings, witness your thoughts and redirect yourself away from distraction.

We live in era of constant upheaval and change. Actually, most of us get through life on autopilot. Our brain gets filled with restless ideas and memories that are hard to keep track of especially when we become stressed. We tend to “tune out” and just “try to get through the day.”

Everyone’s mind naturally wanders, but when you practice Mindfulness you are aware of your mind wandering and can gradually redirect it back to the present. Mindfulness allows you to gently quiet all the noise in your head. Paying attention to your breathing, tracking your thoughts, or scanning your body for tension are just few of the many ways to reduce mental chatter. With Mindful practice, you can learn to remove the tendency to jump to conclusions, make assumptions and idle judgments, and recognize that your negative or positive feelings are coming from you and not the external world around you.

Dr Marsha Linehan, founder of Evidence Based Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) says we need to adopt a “Reflexive Mind” in order to cope with distress and change. Here, your mind is trained to act like Teflon, nothing sticks to it long enough to attach. Mindfulness has been shown to bring calmness and patience to those who embrace the practice. People who practice daily Mindfulness are processing life rather than analyzing its content. The ultimate state of Mindfulness is mental resiliency.

In fact Mindfulness can also help you stay focused and aware even when you are engaged in mundane activities such as driving, eating, and walking. Research has shown its positive effects on boosting the immune system, managing pain, reducing stress and cultivating personal awareness.

A beginning Mindful sequence may involve:

- Sitting in a quiet and comfortable location

- Thinking about where you are and what you are doing at this very moment

- Closing your eyes

- Allowing thoughts about what already or will happen move in an out of your consciousness with your non-judging mind and gentle persuasion

- Focusing on the sensations of breathing each breath and noticing what that does to your belly, nostrils and lungs

- Making note of every thought and feeling that comes up and then returning to your breathing to further anchor your attention

- Observing your mind but, not getting stuck on any one particular thought or feeling as your breathing becomes more natural, full and steady

- Opening your eyes and looking at something you have seen before with a fresh perspective.

What are Affirmations?

Affirmations are declarative statements about something you now know, did, or intend to do. When you use an Affirmation you are not only being aware of your thoughts, but you are taking conscious control of them. When you say, write, read or even think of an Affirmation, you are, in effect, taking steps to acknowledge what is worthwhile about you.

Studies have shown that most of our daily thoughts are negative. Working with Affirmations makes you aware of how self-defeating thoughts chip away at your creativity. Affirmations help you create a new reality and visualize what you essentially want out of life.

Negativity can threaten your health and happiness. In fact, when you are not paying attention to your thinking, you are more liable to pessimistic and not realistic or optimistic. The more you are aware of what you are actually telling yourself, the more upbeat you will sound. Using command based phraseology, keeping the Affirmation in the present tense and making it reality based offers you more reinforcement. Repeatedly telling yourself that you are, or will be, deserving, healthy, and successful, the more your positive determination will flow. You’re more likely to see a bounce in your step and a lift in your life by using daily Affirmations.

What are Mindful Affirmations?

Mindful Affirmations ” are not just inspirational sayings. We use the term as thought provoking phrases that loosely derive from Mindfulness ideas of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who founded the medical and meditative models of Mindfulness. He came up with Eight Stations of Mindful Meditation:

- Smile

- Breathe

- Arrive

- Attend

- Find the essence

- Slow down

- Listen

- See things with a new perspective

Mindful Affirmations incorporate one or more of these active stations into each passage in order to support the Mindful notion of keeping an “open mind,” where possibilities have no limits. They are not meditations as used by Dr Zinn and others. Mindful Affirmations take ordinary Affirmations like “Your self-confidence will carry you on,” and make them more reality based so the reader can gradually acknowledge and accept the truth about their life. An example of expanding the above Affirmation into a Mindful Affirmation would be “I barely thought of my own self-worth until I saw myself going backwards in life. Letting myself go and losing all I had gained made me feel stuck and dependent. I now see how harnessing my self-esteem can help me not only find my way but, carry me through life.”

This phraseology helps to evoke not only the reader’s subconscious mind, but keeps the reader focused on the key of Mindfulness, just being in the moment.

Pain is about growth and is inevitable. Unfortunately, too many of us have become addicted to suffering… but suffering is optional! Mindful Affirmations make our conscious and subconscious minds look at our pain and release our fears about the unknown. Our inner subconscious mind has the desire for change but doesn’t know just what to change or how to do it. Our outer conscious mind desires to be relaxed, in balance and accept our state of affairs. When working in concert our two minds remove expectations/accusations and allow us to gently examine our feelings, thoughts and behaviors about the past without dwelling or being judgmental.

When Mindful Affirmations are written in the first person they can help the reader not only empathize with the writer, but slowly begin to accept and validate their own pain, saying inside themselves, “I guess I am not alone.” Mindful Affirmations not only break down the reader’s self-imposed isolation but offer them options for change such as in the passage, “I now see that responding rather than reacting will build a healthy interpersonal world for myself.”

It has been my clinical experience that each time I ask a patient to read a Mindful Affirmation, they mention to me that they now see their old problem in a different way. One of the core values of Mindfulness is to be able to see yourself and the world around you with a “new set of eyes.”

The focus is on accepting, commitment and learning (refers to “ACT” therapy) a new way of living or looking at life. Mindful Affirmations help the reader’s mind stay engaged while supporting the surrender of old baggage and unfulfilled expectations.

Mindful Affirmations use positive assertions like “I feel happy,” but allow our present awareness to reinforce our declaration giving us clarity of thought to see our options. It is a coping strategy. For example, the statement “When I am stressed I make myself sit and take notice of my surroundings,” supports your inner desire to stay calm and centered rather than be overwhelmed and scattered.

The book takes Affirmations to the next level by first talking about how “I” (the reader) arrived at the state of not being able to take control, what resulted, and how “I” plan to take command of my life in the future.

Using these three components to the Affirmation not only supports the drive to do better, but plants the seed more firmly that “I” will make progress and “I” can learn from my past. Mindful Affirmations are cyclical in nature. Each time a negative feeling comes up the reader has a choice to make good or bad decisions. The truth is that we are more likely to accomplish what we set out to do, if we are keenly aware of how the past made us feel and what consequences may lie ahead.

Mindful Affirmations help you not only face reality, but look beyond it by challenging your old mental dialogue with a new perspective. Mindful Affirmations allow you to step back from life enough to examine regrets and embrace new options. Mindful Affirmations help you discover that who you really are is what keeps you alive, vital and present.

Dr Unger’s new book “Presence of Mind – Mindful Affirmations” is available at the website Store.

Real Psych Solutions ( http://www.realpsychsolutions.com ) provides Real Psychology Solutions: Practical Self-Help Materials for Mental Health and Living Well and is physically located at The Center for Empowerment in Dana Point, CA, but has a global online following. It was founded by Arlene Unger, PhD (PSY) and Stefan Unger, PhD in 2009.

Real Psych Solutions aims to provide useful and practical self-help materials based on the work of licensed mental health and medical professionals, certified lifestyle and wellness coaches and other recognized experts. We have lots of Free Materials and Resources from many Authors, as well as an online Store with valuable and insightful, but economically priced, items.

? 2010 Arlene Unger, PhD. All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced “as is”, i.e. without change or fees.

“One comes to believe whatever one repeats to oneself sufficiently often, whether the statement be true or false. It comes to be dominating thought in one’s mind.”

– Robert Collier

Repetition of words creates repetition of thoughts.

Repetition of thoughts creates reality.

By intentionally choosing the words that wallpaper your mind, you change the tone of the room in which you live and you change the life you are living.

******* The Power of Words *******

We typically dilute our words by drawing them from vague and conflicted states of mind. We present a muddy impression on the creative medium in which we live and our reality mirrors our dull efforts. This is so easy to remedy that you may actually shock yourself with your radical improvement in results as you become more intentional with your affirmations.

Words are not just signposts that point to meaning. When we use them to simply report what we observe it’s like using a racecar to deliver newspapers.

Words are powerful instruments of manifestation. When given an open road they will perform extraordinary feats.

******* Eliminate These Words *******

We use certain words habitually and somewhat unconsciously. By eliminating them from your affirmations, you will automatically begin implementing 2 of the 3 ways to supercharge your affirmations, without even yet knowing what these 3 ways are.

Here are the words to eliminate:

no, not, don’t, doesn’t, never, won’t, can’t, stop, quit, will, am going to, should, want to, plan to, hope to.

Every time you create an affirmation, check for these words. If you find them, reword your affirmation without them.

******* 3 Superchargers for Your Affirmations *******

Supercharger #1

==>Always Affirm in the Present Tense

When you are creating an affirmation, you are like an artist creating a painting. Whatever you affirm with your paintbrush becomes the reality on the canvas. As an affirmation artist, you do not have colors on your palette. Your words are your paint. You are pulling potential realities from the formless realm into the manifest realm through the narrow birth canal of your carefully chosen words.

Choose your words in the present tense so that the reality you choose becomes experienced now. Now is the only time that has the mystical power to pour forth a manifestation. If you word your affirmations in the future by saying, “I will…,” you keep that carrot dangling in the fictitious future and you pull the plug on the power of your affirmations. A surefire way to begin an affirmation is with the sacred words, “I am…”

Supercharger #2

==> Always Affirm in the Positive

You are bothering to create an affirmation because you are living something unwanted and you desire a change. It is only natural that you would understand your desire as not wanting what you’ve got. But if you point your affirmation toward getting rid of a habit or condition, if you say what you will not do, or if you affirm that something will go away, you are actually chaining yourself to it.

It simply does not work.

In fact you’d be better off not to affirm at all because this sort of negative affirmation is like affirming the opposite of what you want. Remember, to affirm means to make firm. It is the process of bringing things into form. Remember also that the universe does not hear the word “no.” So whatever you are talking about, whether you are affirming or denying it, you are in effect, affirming it.

Instead of saying, “I will quit smoking,” which is both in the future and negative, say something like:

All my actions are healthy and intentional. I choose my actions and I enjoy all my choices. I am in charge of my actions. I have healthy life affirming habits. I love being in charge of my life.

Supercharger #3

==> Feel as if it’s Already True

Once you have a well-chosen phrase to affirm, one that is positive, in the present tense, and feels good when you consider it, enter into its world. Step into the affirmation as if it were already your reality. When you say it, imagine that it is already true. Feel how you would feel if it were already manifest. Steps 1 and 2 build a powerful rocket. Step 3 lights the fuse and sends it off with a blast.

Affirmations can literally change your life. They are free. Everyone has equal access to them, and they work day and night, always ready and willing to bring your good to you. Use these 3 superchargers every time you do an affirmation process and watch your life transform before our eyes.

Find out more about the power of affirmations at the Affirmative Contemplation website at http://www.AffirmativeContemplation.com . You can receive Dr. Rebbie Straubing’s Free e-Course, 7 Secrets for Manifesting Your Heart’s Desire, at http://www.yofa.net/7secret.html . Dr. Rebbie Straubing is a workshop leader, Abraham Coach, and inspirational writer.

7 Acne Creams That Actually Work

7 Acne Creams That Actually Work

People who have acne would give anything to get rid of it; no wonder acne control products are so popular. But how would you determine which products work and which don’t? What is the difference between them all? The truth is that the difference is mostly packaging and marketing strategy to promote a particular product. Majority of acne creams have similar ingredients, some stronger some milder. Here we list 7 acne creams that actually work.

1. DDF BP Gel also includes Tea Tree Oil

DDF BP Gel contains 5 percent benzoyl peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide works well to treat acne, and 5 percent is a mild but effective concentration. This cream also contains tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is generally beneficial for your skin, and it fights acne as well. It has antibacterial properties that help prevent acne breakouts. Most people who use this cream notice that their skin feels better after a week of applying the cream. It is effective to cure acne and it doesn’t dry your skin out.

2. Acne Solutions Emergency Gel Lotion by Clinique

This product has many positive customer reviews. It really helps to fight acne that keeps reappearing. It unclogs pores filled with bacteria and controls oil production on your skin. You will see reduced redness and inflammation in just a few days. Clinique Acne Solutions is a strong cream with high concentration of benzoyl peroxide. One disadvantage – it is more expensive than other acne control products.

3. Persa Gel by Johnson and Johnson

Works very effectively to treat present acne spots and to prevent feature breakouts of blackheads and whiteheads. This product also contains benzoyl peroxide; the concentration of it is 10 percent. This is the highest concentration allowed for non prescription acne medicine. Persa Gel is water based, so it works for all skin types. This is a very popular acne cream; you can find it in any chemist shop.

4. Blemish Double Agent Treatment from Biore

This cream is not benzoyl peroxide based; instead it protects your skin from acne by sealing in salicylic acid. It also keeps out the dirt to prevent farther inflammation. The manufacturer claims that you will see blemishes reduced after one application, most people report seeing results in 3 – 5 days. It is gentle and doesn’t dry your skin.

5. Oxy 10 Balance Emergency Spot Treatment

This is a very strong acne cream that will cure the worst of acne. However, use it with care; it only should be used to cure existing acne, not as a preventive method. It also might irritate sensitive skin, so if you applied Oxy 10 and your skin feels irritated, this product is not for you.

6. Clinique Acne Solutions Concealing Cream

This cream belongs to the same line of Acne Solutions by Clinique as the gel mentioned before. This is not a medicine as such, but a make up item. Everybody who has acne knows that finding the right make up to hide it is a problem. Most foundations and concealers only make your acne worse. In contrast Acne Solutions Consealing Cream is specifically formulated for acne affected skin. It heals acne as well as hides it. If you use make up for acne, this cream works very well to conseal blemishes. But like all Clinique products it is not cheap.

7. Natural hearbal acne creams

You would be surprized but you can make some effective natural acne creams at home. One effective treatment is a mix of banana, avocado and vitamin E ointment. You can buy vitamin E concentrated cream in a chemist or order it online. To make the cream take half a tea spoon of vitamin E ointment, one small avocado and half a banana and blend them in a blender. Apply this acne remedy to your face and keep for several minutes.

Natural acne remedies work very well for some people. The only disadvantage is that you can not store them like you would do with a bought cream. For example banana and avocado cream can stay in your fredge for a day, but not much longer.

A word of caution

Acne creams are effective in getting rid of acne, but most of them have the same drawback. It makes your skin very sensative to sunlight. So when you use an acne control cream, use a good sunblock cream as well.

Try some of the acne creams we mentioned. They work effectively for most people. You don’t have to live with acne on your face. With so many effective acne treatments, you surely can find acne treatment that would actually work for you.

7 Acne Creams That Actually Work

7 Acne Creams That Actually Work

Tanya Turner is an editor of Acne Treatments and Products Guide This is your comprehensive guide to treating acne. We provide reviews of acne creams and cleansers, and prescription acne medication.

Content About : 7 Acne Creams That Actually Work Article

One of the most important pieces of gaining permanent weight loss has nothing to do with the foods you eat or the exercises you do. It has to do with your mindset. Some people are able to lose weight effectively, and then gain it all back, while others, those who have made the proper changes to their lives to lose weight, can stay thin for the rest of their lives. The major difference between these two people is in that one person is achieving weight loss through affirmations, often without even realizing it, while the other is not. One of the most powerful tools for losing weight could en up being weight loss through affirmations.

Affirmations are a thought or a statement that we say to ourselves which has a profound effect on how we act or feel. Depending on its positive or negative nature, the mind then acts accordingly which can lead to either positive or negative impact on our lives. Thus, if you want to achieve weight loss through affirmations, you need to know how to utilize these techniques to give you the mindset of a skinny person. Weight loss through affirmations is an underused and understudied technique, but the effects can be profound.

To achieve weight loss through affirmations we must first overcome our negative thoughts because it is a major contributor to our general mindset. We must let go of these thoughts as these thoughts are major resistance to our weight loss through affirmation treatment. Instead of thinking ‘I am fat’ or ‘I will never be slim again’ try thinking ‘Today I have succeeded in losing some of excess fats’ or ‘I look thinner’. These kinds of statements leads to a positive and fruitful results.

For a positive result of weight loss through affirmations, the affirmations need to be repeated many times. Write down any positive thought you get maybe in a diary, on a piece of card or whichever way is convenient to you. Review them daily to get your mind to completely accept these thoughts and think of them as nothing but true. Preferably review them twice a day. Initially along with positive thoughts, you will eventually run across negative thoughts that continually occur to you. Note down these thoughts as well and at the end of the day review them and try replacing them with something more positive. For example if you have a thought such as ‘this isn’t working’ or ‘I don’t see any change’ try replacing it with ‘I feel lighter’ or ‘I feel thinner’ or ‘It really is working’. You should say your weight loss affirmations out loud, and try to use them in the way that you think, and you should be much better off.

Weight loss through affirmations depends on thoughts and in particular the words that one uses to attain weight loss through affirmations. Proper terminology varies from person to person, but the right words are needed for this weight loss technique to actually work. Try to us simple and direct sentences which your mind can easily get used to without causing any negative effect. This is important as even positive words can have negative effects.

One example of the power of affirmations is noted by Barbara Doberman Levine, author of “Your Body Believes Every Word You say” talked about one man who read about hypnosis and began to affirm to himself, “I am not hungry.” Instead he actually gained weight. Whenever he told himself he was not hungry his mind focused its attention to see if he was hungry. He repeated this affirm so many times that his subconscious actually put energy into making him hungry. So he felt more hungry through this affirm rather than before adopting it. Barbara Levine also says, “Telling yourself not to do something, you focus attention on the very thing you are avoiding, making it harder to avoid”.

Thus, you can not expect to achieve weight loss through affirmation using phrases like ‘I will not eat chocolate’ because this brings to mind the thought of eating chocolate, which in turn will make you desire it more. Instead, say something like ‘I eat healthy foods’ because this is vague enough to avoid problems, but focuses specifically on the idea of controlling what you eat. The words ‘no’ and ‘not’ should never appear in your weight loss affirmations.

Weight loss through affirmations is not only about having the right thoughts but is also about expressing your thoughts using right words. If weight loss affirmations are rightly utilized with proper and correct technique it can result in actual weight loss and a prefect body as we desire. When considering trying to achieve weight loss through affirmations, build up a large list of weight loss affirmations, and run through them daily or twice daily. In time, you should notice that you achieving weight loss through affirmations.

Robert Watson is a certified hypnotherapist with the ABH and the NGH, and has worked with affirmations and subliminal messages for over ten years. Visit his Subliminal Messages [http://subliminal.green-machine.info] website for more information about using affirmations and subliminal messages to help you lose weight, quit smoking, have a more positive outlook and more.

Prosperity’s 12 Affirmations are 12 powerful affirmations of prosperity and well-being drawn from the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) and the book Prosperity’s 10 Commandments by Georgiana Tree West. The 11th and 12th affrimations are inspired by Jesus’ 2 great commandments found in Matthew 22:37-39. Prosperity’s first 4 affirmations help to internalize ideas that contribute to establishing a prospering relationship with the Fundamental Creative Energy of the Universe – God. In this article we will look at four affirmations, which will help you internalize ideas that aid in creating prospering relationships with other people. As you use these affirmations to create your abundant life, you will begin to establish habits of language and action that will enable you to create mutually prospering relationships with other people. Affirm these affirmations daily and you make these powerful prosperity principles a basic part of your life experience.

Four Affirmations for Prospering Relationships with Others

“I maintain my highest integrity when connecting with God and interacting with God’s agents of my wealth”. Perhaps this affirmation should be “I am faithful to God and respectful of people”. The key to success with this affirmation is to stay conscious of our relationship to God, our only Source of supply. Then we will remember that others are also connected to the God-Source. In this consciousness we create the possibility for everyone with whom we interact to bless us in some way. However, we must be open and receptive to the blessing. When we maintain our integrity and treat people with respect, we empower them and they are likely to empower us, quite possibly in unexpected ways.

“I keep my wealth circulating and creating blessings for others and for me”. The Commandment upon which this affirmation is based is “Thou Shalt Not Murder”. Habitual thoughts of poverty and limitation are murderers of prosperity. We affirm this affirmation in language and in action through our generosity, tithing and giving. In using this affirmation we are creating our experience of the unimpeded circulation of wealth and abundance.

“I only use my wealth for creative, uplifting, enlightening, joyful and life affirming purposes”. This affirmation helps us to keep our motives and uses for money pure and unadulterated. We remind ourselves that money is Love in action and we focus on the positive uses of our money as a pure expression of love. With this affirmation we exercise the power of intention. When we create a field of clear intention we take advantage of the natural processes of creation to yield the object or service for which we expended a portion of our wealth but we have the added benefit of spiritual and emotional satisfaction because others are blessed and benefited by our intentions and actions.

“I always give generous and fair compensation for value received”. This affirmation helps us practice the Law of Compensation which reminds us that when we are attempting to get something for nothing, we are actually trying to steal. However, when we are willing to give fair compensation for everything we receive, we stay in the continuous flow of prosperity.

Next Steps Take action by repeating these affirmations until they feel natural to you. You may want to craft your own version of these affirmations to really make them yours. The time and energy you invest in working with the affirmations will pay large dividends in your experience of prosperity and abundance.

One of the things you can do to accelerate your progress is to engage in conversations based on these four affirmations with family, friends and acquaintances. I invite you to visit Prosperity’s 12 Affirmations Blog, http://www.prosperingtimes.com/blog and if you wish to powerfully accelerate the potency of this affirmative process, accept our invitation to subscribe to the complimentary e-course “Introduction to Prosperity’s 12 Affirmations at http://www.prosperingtimes.com/Intro2P12Registration.html

Affirmations are simply positive, or affirmative, statements of truth. The tricky part is that the truth of the affirmation need not be a “present reality;” it can be a future reality you truly wish to create. By declaring this future reality in positive, definite terms, you are tasking your conscious and unconscious mind with finding this new reality. It is important to consider that, when your prayer is answered, it will be now; so, the proper way to “declare a thing” and make it so is to offer thanks NOW – in this moment – for your desired reality as if it had already happened. Your emotional guidance system will seek to recreate the experience of being happy for having achieved this particular goal; and it is likely to do it by bringing that goal to fruition.

Life is a continuous series of changing circumstances. Our thoughts help us make sense of this ever-changing landscape; and they help guide us from one event to another along this path to future “now’s.” Along the way to your future, you are continuously asked to offer thought as a way of generating your future realities. Change happens with or without your input; but you can create affirmative change with affirmative thought. Consider the following words from two great teachers of this path of positive thought and affirmative action:

“Be the change you seek to create in the world.” – Gandhi

“Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.” – Jesus

“Declare a thing and it is so.” – Jesus

“As a man thinketh, so is he.” – Jesus

“Our thoughts become our words as they become our beliefs; our beliefs become our actions as they become our habits. Our habits become our values as our values become our destiny.” – Gandhi

“Whatsoever you desire, when you stand in prayer – believing – will be given unto you.” – Jesus

Believing in a thing is affirming it – it makes it firm, or physical. As you think about a thing which has sparked your interest or curiosity, or which has become desirable to you, your thoughts will naturally want to return there. As you think of a new thing, you will begin to notice that new thing in your world where you haven’t noticed it before. You will also begin to look in new places, read new books and magazines, and perhaps begin doing research or study in this new area of thought. As you give more attention and thought-energy to these ideas, you will develop mental imagery and additional ideas.

The imagery and new ideas you experience, while giving thought to your new desire, will make you feel a certain way. If the feelings are positive, your desire will grow; if your feelings are negative the desire may also grow, but it will likely grow into that which you are afraid of. If your thoughts are positive, and they excite you, you will probably begin speaking about them, as we think and talk about those things which most interest us. These thoughts and words will then stimulate actions and behaviors. Affirmative thoughts inspire affirmative action. Inspired action seems to be effortless and always creates positive change and new realities.

Just imagine that you are programming a computer; you wouldn’t tell the computer all the things you don’t want it to do. You simply tell the computer – in a language it understands – what you want it to do; and then you tell it to do it. Your mind and body operate in much the same way; so, your self-talk – which is actually a type of self-programming – should always be affirmations of what you want to happen. Your programs should always be positive, affirmative, direct, and specific; but you should keep in mind that this is a process – and part of the process is exercising patience and a peaceful countenance. You may not master this immediately; so relax, and be of good cheer.

By thinking and speaking affirmative words, we can generate an affirmative mood, or disposition; an affirmative disposition is one which is free from stress. This state of mind and body is a healing state. Positive thoughts do not stress us out; that’s because they do not cause or stimulate the release of the harmful stress hormones which we experience as “bad feelings.” The way we phrase our words and intentions has a lot to do with the way our subconscious hears, interprets, and acts on those thoughts we hold so important that we took the time and energy to turn them into words. When you turn a desire into words, it is one step closer to becoming a physical reality.

Imagine that you are ordering dinner and you tell the waitress what NOT to bring you. Do you know what you will get for dinner? Some people say that affirmations are not useful or effective because they affirm the lack of the thing you are affirming. In these cases, semantics are everything; re-framing your negative desires into positive affirmations may take some time and thought, but it is worth it. A declaration of what you do not want is really a “negation,” and not an “affirmation.”

By saying, “I don’t want to be sick,” or “God, please take away my illness,” you are focusing on the fact that you are sick, or have an illness; and you are trying to negate it by thinking about it. This does not work. Though you may heal; it will be through natural processes that you could have sped up with an affirmation instead of slowing down with a negation. “Thank you, God, for giving me this wonderful health and strength so I can go for a walk!” is a much better prayer for restoring health and wellness than those listed above.

To create health, wellness, happiness, success, and prosperity, in all areas of your life, begin thinking positively and affirmatively. Think creatively and optimistically if you wish to create a new reality. Express gratitude in your affirmations; and try to feel the feeling of gratitude in your heart as you imagine the happy, new reality you wish to create. Continue to affirm only those things you wish to experience in your life, body, and experience. Below are a few examples of affirmative prayers for health, prosperity, etc; they will give you an idea of how effective thinkers effectively create using effective, affirmative thought. Affirmations need only contain gratitude, joy, and a positive intention.

Try generating a new attitude in the areas where you have problems or suffering. Consider re-framing your focus on the most positive statement you could make about the conditions you wish to experience. “A man must first assume those characteristics he wishes to possess.” Some people say, “Fake it until you make it;” but repeating affirmations will help you choose a more positive track for your thoughts. Try some of the following affirmative thoughts and see how they feel to you; say them out loud and hear how they make you feel:

If you are ill and thinking, “God I feel miserable!” try thinking:

Health – “Thank you, God, for giving me health and strength so that I might live fully and be a model of health and joy to others. Thank you for giving me the strength, courage, and willingness, to do the things that enrich and empower me…”

If you are in turmoil and chaos and thinking, “I’m going to kill someone if these people don’t get off my back!” or “I don’t know what to do! I’m so afraid and worried…” try thinking:

Peace – “Thank you, God, for giving me peace. Thank you for giving me faith and trust and for quieting my mind so that I might rest and hear more clearly your will…”

If you are experiencing relationship problems, instead of thinking, “God I am married to such a _________!!! I can’t stand this anymore!” try thinking:

Relationships – “Thank you, God, for giving me the love and wisdom to see you in all your creation and to love all creation and all living things unconditionally. Love and harmony are alive and well in all my relationships.”

If you are experiencing weight issues and you hate what you see in the mirror, try thinking:

Weight Loss – “I am happy and peaceful here and now. I am safe and loved and create my own peace, security, and nourishment from the power from within me. I am free; and I release the past and others to be free now.”

If you are having financial difficulties, instead of thinking about debt, or a pile of bills, try thinking:

Prosperity – “My good returns to me now in an avalanche of abundance; thank you, God, for prospering me in all my ways. Only good comes to me; and there is always more than enough to share.”

If you can’t seem to make things work out, and you’re thinking, “Why can’t I ever catch a break?” try thinking:

Success – “Thank you, God, for growing my good thoughts now. I give thanks for the wonderful insights and ideas which I have been given and are now coming to light. Thank you for all things going my way, favoring me with your blessings, and for benefiting all as your grace now benefits me. “

“It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”

– Muhammad Ali

Pete Koerner, author of The Belief Formula

http://www.ExploreExpandEvolve.com

Affirmations can be used to improve practically any area of your life. It does not matter if the situation is a simple one or if it is absolutely critical, affirmations can be of great use. However many people who have used affirmations do not get the full benefit from them and even go as far as to claim they do not work. This is simply because they have not learned how powerful affirmations really are, how to use them to their fullest and why creating your own affirmations is so important.

What are affirmations used for?

Affirmations can be used in many areas of your life, for instance if you are going to an interview and you are feeling nervous you can use an affirmation like “I can do this, I will be a hit, I am a winner or I will succeed” to help you calm down and boost your moral and confidence. Affirmations can also be used to change your beliefs about something. Lets say you have the belief that there are no good men around anymore, you could use an affirmation like “I am open to the idea that there is a good man out there for me.” This will help you to change your belief about men. There are countless ways for you to use affirmations in your life.

Why write your own affirmations?

There are literally thousands of websites online offering you lists of affirmations that are supposed to change your life and although the affirmations are often powerful in of themselves, they often do not help the user for one simple reason. They are not specific to the users situation and beliefs. Here’s an example, suppose you are not happy about your body any you want to change the way you think about your body. So you choose an affirmation from a pre-written list that says, “I am beautiful and I love my body.”

Although this may be a good affirmation it is likely to be useless for anyone who is truly unhappy with his or her body. This is because if you have a negative belief and you try to change it by stating the direct opposite the first thing your mind will do is resist the positive statement as it is simply to big a jump from one end of the spectrum to the other. This is why it is so important to learn how to write affirmations that are specific and fully directed towards your needs.

Instead of trying to convince your mind of a fact that is directly opposite to what you believe, instead you would write an affirmation that is hopeful, positive and opens your mind to accepting a new belief. The affirmation could be something like, “I am making healthy choices to improve my body” or “little by little I am changing the way I look” or “I am open to the idea of reaching my perfect weight.”

When you soften your affirmations you receive less resistance and therefore stand a much greater chance of actually changing your beliefs and improving the negative self-talk. Then as your self-image improves you can make your affirmations even more powerful. The most important thing to remember when using affirmations is to focus on how the affirmation you are using makes you feel. If when you state the affirmation you feel tension or resistance to the words then the affirmation is too far away from your present belief and needs to be softened. Also when you do this you should include hopeful words and statements like “I intent to, I am moving towards, I am reaching for, and I am open to.”

Following these simple tips will help you to write powerful focused affirmations that will change your life and you will also be more in-tune with your feelings which will in turn help you to recognize when an affirmation is right for you and when it is not.

Want to know more?

Visit Carol King at Missing Ingredient Coaching and grab a copy of the highly acclaimed ebook How to Write Powerful Affirmations. This guide will teach you every thing you need to know about affirmations including step-by-step instructions on how to create focused affirmations that are specific to your needs and how to use them in your daily life. Go Now!

Affirmations are probably the easiest and most effective method – compared to the effort involved – known to influence the conscious mind. Many of the world’s most intelligent experts and philosophers have used, and are using this technique, which has been handed down over thousands of years, in various guises such as mantras and prayers. The difference today, because of the now more wide spread knowledge of this technique, is that people from all walks of life are using them to meet people, win tournaments, heal disease and close business deals.

Affirmations are quite simple by their very nature, as all they really are is simple statements repeated regularly to yourself, whether silently or aloud, and practical to you at the time. You can do them anywhere, you decide upon a statement that represents what you want to have happen to you, and then you simply repeat it to yourself over and over again.

As an example, let’s say you find yourself in a familiar situation which normally upsets you and leaves you worn out and stressed, when actually you would prefer to be relaxed and unworried by it, this would be the exact time when using a positive affirmation would be beneficial to you, and in this situation a good example of an affirmation you would repeat to yourself to help change the situation could be ” I feel calm and relaxed, I feel calm and relaxed, I feel calm and relaxed”. Now at this point it is important that you don’t try to force yourself to feel calm and relaxed, just make sure that you keep repeating the affirmation to yourself for approx 5 minutes. Another quick example of a positive use of affirmations would be prior to attending an important business meeting that you would like to go well; this time you would begin affirming to yourself a few minutes beforehand with something like this “It’s going to be a great meeting, It’s going to be a great meeting.”

So Exactly What are You Doing When You do Affirmations?

When you use affirmations you are influencing, directly, the very thoughts that are occurring at any one specific time in your mind. As your mind can only hold one thought at a time, an affirmation works by cramming your mind and filling it with thoughts that support your goal. It’s quite clever really; in a simple way the words are suggesting to your mind what it should be thinking, so if you are affirming ” It’s going to be a great meeting ” then your mind naturally begins thinking related thoughts about it being a great meeting. It really is quite simple really, but the technique can be remarkably effective in helping you achieve the results you are looking for.

How do You Know if You are Doing it Right?

Well it’s all in the words you choose, they must be POSITIVE not negative, and, as gratitude forms part of the whole attraction process, you should include words that also convey this. For example, I use the following terminology to start all of my affirmations, taught by a great mentor of mine, Bob Proctor (from The Secret, Movie) no matter what I am affirming ” I am so Happy and Grateful now”. These words you will notice also use another important aspect of affirmations, they must always be in the present tense, as if you already have whatever it is happen. So if for example you have a money affirmation to bring more financial abundance into your life you could say ” I am so Happy and Grateful Now That Money is Attracted to me and I am attracted to money” or, for more opportunities to appear to you, you could say ” I am so Happy and Grateful Now That New Opportunities are Presented to me From Multiple Sources on a Continuous Basis”

You actually don’t even need to believe what you are affirming! This mistake can have a counter effect and nullify the effects. I know of many people who have used affirmations unsuccessfully mainly because they were trying to force themselves to believe. By the way, don’t get me wrong, if you DO believe what you are affirming, this will only serve to enhance, but if you don’t, then that’s OK too. You don’t have to force anything; by the process of repetition your mind will pick up the content of your affirmations and will therefore allow the correct thoughts into your consciousness.

You must also keep your affirmations reasonably short and to the point, easy to say and easy to repeat over and over again. I try to keep my affirmations to a maximum of 25 words, sometimes a lot less. Even 2 or 3 words can sometimes be an effective affirmation, short statements like ” I have tremendous success always” or ” I achieve record sales ” I have seen affirmations that were a full page long. There’s absolutely no chance that you can repeat an affirmation of that length in an effective manner, and I have found with people who have affirmations which are too long, soon tire of the repetition and the affirmation soon fizzles out. So the lesson here is, make it short and make it easy to say and repeat.

Also be very careful that you do not use your affirmations in a careless way that means they may work against you, for example statements like ” I’ll never get it done” I’ll never do it” I always lose” are all affirmations that you can easily find yourself repeating to yourself without even realizing it, so watch out for these.

So remember that anybody can create affirmations and use them effectively throughout the day to help accomplish the things that they want. They can be said anywhere, in the doctor’s waiting room, in a traffic jam, they don’t need to be believed, all you have to do is repeat them. I repeat my affirmations 5 times per day, however this is my personal preference which works well for me, but if I was to recommend a minimum I would say 3 times per day, first thing when you get out of bed in the morning – this sets the tone for the rest of the day – secondly, at lunch time – this helps to re-motivate you when typically you might be flagging – and thirdly just before you go to sleep – this is when your subconscious mind is in its most receptive state. Two or three minutes is all you need, start doing this now and commit to repeating every day and you will be amazed at how quickly you will begin to produce a noticeable affect.

Jon Leuty is a successful internet marketer who is dedicated to helping others succeed online. To find out more about Jon and to grab some awesome FREE training go to: http://whoisjonleuty.com

As people begin to realize the importance and value of our thoughts in creating the life we desire (or the life we have, but would like to change), affirmations can be instrumental in re-training ourselves in how to think. Before we begin thinking, we start out a relatively clean slate. 

As we pick up beliefs and ways of thinking throughout life we begin to think that who we think we are is who we actually are.  This is not the absolute truth.  In actuality, we are much more than we could ever imagine and the negative stuff we have picked up along the way is something we can part with, because it’s not our true essence.

The purpose of affirmations is to affirm the truth and desires about ourselves and our circumstances. What can happen as we begin to focus on what we want and actually verbalize those desires in the form of affirmations, is the stuff that gets in our way will let itself be known.  This is the stuff that life has caused us to believe is really us. 

Are affirmations a way to circumvent reality?  Some people use them that way, but clearly intentional use will yield the truth every time: affirmations only affirm what is really inside.  It just needs some affirmation to be fully realized, inside and out.

When people view an affirmation as a band-aid to a problem, the problem they are referring to is the stuff that has stopped you from feeling that the affirmation is true, through and through. Affirmations are most useful when put into practice as a tool to help one get to know him or herself better through clarifying wants and determining unhelpful thoughts and patterns so they can be released.  That ensures the affirmation is healing the cause and not being used as a band-aid.

Your True Self knows you are totally lovable and loving, that you have every resource available to you (even if it is in a different form than you may expect), and that you can make your life into what you want it to be. However, your ego or inner critic, will tell you otherwise.

Practicing affirmations deserves your full attention.  It is of great value to bring affirmations into your life to invite the stuff blocking your way to come up and show you where you can let go and let your True Self shine through. All you need to do is make a simple commitment to yourself: I will be open to be with what is coming up.

You do not always need to know exactly what the issue is that is presenting itself, or the root cause. If it does show itself to you, that is fine. If not, the feeling can still be tended to.

When uncomfortable feelings or thought patterns rise to the surface, much like bubbles coming up from an underwater spring, allow yourself to be with them. Take a few deep breaths and refrain from giving them names (if they don’t have a script running already) or getting involved in the story that goes with them. Ask your feeling or thought what they are about if you desire. Know that acknowledging the uncomfortable feeling will help it dissolve. Do not push against it for that is what has kept it with you to this point. 

If you find yourself resisting feeling negative emotion simply remember that it is okay to feel what you feel!  Dealing with painful or stressful emotions or thoughts can be well handled through first allowing yourself to feel them by deeply breathing and following your breath into your body while imagining it cleansing and honoring the emotion, and second, seeking out some techniques to assist if they persist. Working through emotions can be achieved through a coaching session as well.

To get started with affirmations, it is as easy as bringing to mind some statements that on some level you know to be true or you would like to feel the truth of such as: I love me. I am perfect, whole, and worth of goodness. I am financially free. Begin by saying and writing these statements to yourself at least 5 times per day, 10-20 will have a more profound effect. This is the power of changing your thoughts with deliberate action.

As you progress, remember the importance of allowing whatever is standing in your way to come up and dissolve. It may also be helpful to ask yourself questions about your affirmations such as

How would it be possible for me to be financially free?

Why do I love myself?

What about me is perfect and whole?

It is initially natural to question one’s self so use your mind to your advantage in this manner!

Affirmations are not a band-aid.  They are an affirmation of who you truly are and what you can truly do with your life when you learn to believe them.  To believe something you must think it over and over again.

Using affirmations is helpful along any journey to self-love and conscious creation of your life.  It is important to realize that creating affirmations with clear intention is a learned skill.  Start with affirmations that are just out of your belief, but you think may be true. For instance, if saying I love me to yourself feels funny, but sort of true you can stretch it to include other affirmatve statements like I love me and I am fun to be around or I am open to loving myself and I am learning to like myself.

To help yourself get out of your own way, be gentle with yourself as you change and grow and modify your affirmations as necessary.  If an affirmation does not feel good, change it!  Use affirmations daily and often for as long as you desire and know that many people use them for months to feel and notice a substantial change.  We create our thought patterns that are not helpful and use them for decades.  To re-train ourselves it takes some time as well.  Perseverance pays off!

When saying an affirmation to yourself get centered first, take a deep breath, and connect with the feeling of your affirmation, believing it to be true.  In combination with becoming aware of what stands in your way and a commitment to unite with your true self, affirmations are a great tool to discover the true you!

Amy offers tools to assist you in awakening to the true you… Awareness, coaching, and healing through exercises, energy healing, phone/email appointments, classes, and workshops. http://www.innatewholeness.com

Helping Your Baby, Toddler Cope on Holiday’s – So You Actually Have a Holiday!

Helping Your Baby, Toddler Cope on Holiday’s – So You Actually Have a Holiday!

As we approach Christmas and the holiday season in Australia some of us smile and relish the sun, parties and wonderful Christmas food and some of us want to move South to Tasmania so our brain doesn’t melt from the heat and our babies can happily sleep wrapped! Sometimes the ‘frontlog’ of what you need to do in order to go on holidays is worse that the ‘back log’ of what you need to do when you get back home! Are you sure you want to go??

When you know life is going to be busy and you may not be able to follow your normal routine, it is a good idea to plan as well as possible to avoid disaster. Simple things like:

*making sure baby can feed and sleep when they are due to.

*Planning meals, snacks, entertainment and sleep times for your toddler.

*If you are going to be very brave and very social this summer it helps to make sure your baby and toddler are sticking to their normal sleeping and feeding routine as much as possible. Some occasions will clash with sleep times but you will want to go. Just remember that your baby and toddler may appear to cope on one occasion, but the missed or disjointed sleeps will add up and leave you with an overtired baby/toddler and it won’t feel worth it. Try and plan to have visitors over at your place rather than going out as often, at least you can be social and your children can sleep in their own beds.

*For those parents who will have their baby sleeping in other places over Christmas or are going on holidays it is a great idea to ask questions about the window coverings where your baby will be staying. (preferably ask a parent not a teenager, who will have no idea!) From experience, your friends places (especially those who don’t have little ones) and holiday accommodation never have dark enough coverings on the windows. This may be the last thing on your mind now, but will be the first thing on your mind at 5 am when your little darlings are awake with the birds because the sun is pouring into the bedroom and prevents day sleeps for the same reason! Purchase and pack a king size black sheet (or 2!) some thumb tacks, pegs and creative genius for creating dark bedrooms, or you will never call it a ‘holiday’ again!

*The other consideration at holiday time is where everyone will sleep! You may have no choice or may decide to save some money by sharing a room with your children in the holidays. This is the next best ‘holiday killer’ to the sun coming in and is the reason for a lot of my consultations. Contemplate the reason for the travel and remind yourself that you are supposed to be enjoying your self! If you can afford to, get separate rooms. If you can’t do this you will need to try and create a visual barrier between yourself and the baby over 3 months of age. When your baby/toddler knows you are right there next to them they have a reason for waking in the night to see you! Then especially when you are at the relatives house and you don’t want to disturb them, most parents resort to feeding their baby to keep them quiet (even if they don’t need it) and start a new habit in one night!

*When planning to travel, plan the best time of day for your baby/toddler’s sleep. Make sure you all have regular breaks for feeding and massaging square , numb bottoms and allow the toddlers to wear themselves out. Plan activities and music for the car and shade for the sun coming in the windows. It might take you longer to get there but it’s better not to have a frazzled family at the end of the trip.

Tip: Plan for everything. Sleeping, feeding, playing, (refusing to sleep, feed, play), extra clothing and unexpected delays!! Most of all be flexible and make sure your baby/toddler’s needs are met or you won’t enjoy the season. There is a reason that lots of families don’t go on holidays you know!

(C) Natalie Ebrill. 2008 All Rights Reserved Worldwide

Helping Your Baby, Toddler Cope on Holiday’s – So You Actually Have a Holiday!

Helping Your Baby, Toddler Cope on Holiday's - So You Actually Have a Holiday!

Natalie Ebrill

http://www.sleepandsettle.com.au

Baby Sleep Consultant 0-5 years, mother of three.

I understand you want to find a gentle solution to your baby’s sleeping problem that allows you to respond to your baby and start it today. But you’ve tried so many other strategies and read all of the books and you don’t know who or what to believe anymore. You just want feel confident about your baby’s routine and reduce the crying more than anything else, and that’s ok! I want to give you your life back! Download your Sleep Package and start today!

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