The Power of Affirmations

The Power of affirmations:
How to make them effective

BY MICHAEL ROSENBAUM

“Affirmations are statements of Truth that are repeated over and over – aloud or mentally, with deep concentration – until one actually experiences that truth through realization.”  Paramahamsa Yogananda

Let us consider: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, ………. Through him all things were made. …”  story of creation John 1:1-18.

What a tribute to the power of the word. When spoken, words are sounds carrying a vibration. All vibrations are energy pulsations.  Quantum physics tells us that all physical matter is really composed of energy waves moving at different rates of speed—therefore all words carry a vibration that interacts with matter. How powerful then, to use affirmations which are a collection of interrelated, intentional words capable of interacting with matter.

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Everything comes from thoughts

Of course, all words are generated from thoughts—one must have a thought before speaking words.  And so, your thoughts also carry a certain energy vibration.  In addition, emotions are often attached to those thoughts, influencing the quality of the vibration.

The energy that words carry is the power to influence matter. 

If God, or the universal intelligence, is what is behind the creation of all matter, then it would stand to reason that the more you are in tune with the vibration of the universal intelligence, the more powerful and effective your words will be.  When you are in harmony with it, you and your words easily become a part of that powerful vibration at the center of all creation.

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So how do you make your affirmations powerful?

Here are a few steps that will help you get the most out of your affirmations:

1. Prior to saying an affirmation, align yourself with your soul or Higher Self, which connects you to the universal intelligence behind all form.  I find a good time to say an affirmation is after I meditate and am infused with that Higher vibration.
2.  Affirmation reaches the deeper levels of your higher consciousness—the superconscious mind—where they are free of all uncertainties and doubts. Therefore, craft your affirmation carefully in a way you can fully embrace.  If doubts continue to arise, consider doing some healing work with yourself, to transform the doubt to certainty.
3. to increase its strength, stating it aloud the first few times and then silently.

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Paramahamsa Yogananda, an Indian saint who came to the US, had a very powerful technique for saying affirmations. 

Here is a summary:

·       The repetition of affirmations ought to be firm and continuous; the strength of the will or reason or emotion be sufficient to stimulate the inactive life energy and to redirect it into normal channels. One should never minimize the importance of repeated, ever deeper efforts.

·       Before starting to affirm, always free the mind from worries and restlessness. Choose your affirmation and repeat all of it, first loudly, then softly and more slowly, until your voice becomes a whisper. Then gradually affirm it mentally only, without moving the tongue or the lips, until you feel that you have attained deep, unbroken concentration—not unconsciousness, but a profound continuity of uninterrupted thought.

·       As you continue with your mental affirmation, and go still deeper, you will feel a sense of increasing joy and peace. During the state of deep concentration, your affirmation will merge with the subconscious stream, to come back later reinforced with power to influence your conscious mind through the law of habit.

·       During the time that you experience ever increasing peace, your affirmation goes deeper, into the superconscious realm, to return later laden with unlimited power to influence your conscious mind and also to fulfill your desires. Doubt not and you shall witness the miracle of this scientific faith.
Yogananda, Paramahansa. Scientific Healing Affirmations (p. 40).

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One of my favorite spiritual affirmations from Yogananda is...

“I am submerged in eternal light….. it permeates every particle of my being…. I am living in that light….. the divine Spirit fills me within and without.”

So use your words powerfully. You create your own reality, so make it the one your soul wants!