Spiritual Counseling: Types of Affirmations
 
 
Negative Affirmations/Negative self-scripts

With negative affirmations, you will constantly self-sabotage your own aspirations. Do not let yourself fall into a pattern where you are paralyzed by all the negativity and confusion in your life, because that is when you will become chronically depressed.

When you are constantly thinking negative thoughts such as, "This isn't worth it," "I can't do this," or, my least favorite, "I'm not smart enough for this."

What Are Negative Self-Scripts?
  • Negative feelings you have about yourself on a daily basis
  • Negative statements and comments made about yourself to others in a casual, everyday manner
  • Negative stereotypes or descriptions given to you by your family or peers, given to you when you were a lot younger, that still affect you today
  • Negative feedback you receive from your family, spouse, friends, or boss, which you apply to yourself and your beliefs
  • Negative self-images of yourself that include misconceptions about your body, looks, face, weight, hair, color, feet, or any other part of your physical being that you feel influences others' opinions of you negatively
  • Negative predictions about the future - yourself, your family, your relationships, your health. These will be your daily battles, where you struggle to simply "win" each day.
  • Denial of rewards for your goodness, hard work, and caring by not taking the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor before moving on, or being afraid to relax and have fun because of fear of failure to achieve your goal
  • Negative assessments you or others have made about you, your skills, your intelligence, your ability, creativity, or common sense.
Consequences of Negative Affirmations

1. Excessive need for the approval of others

2. Lack of self-esteem

3. Immobilization

4. Negativity

5. Pessimism

6. Self-Pity

7. Cynicism

8. Depression

Positive Affirmations

A positive affirmation can be defined as a positive statement that is repeated many times, in order to influence you at a subconscious level. When your subconscious mind absorbs an idea, it leaks out positive actions, and you begin to see real-time results. For an affirmation to make a positive impression on your subconscious mind, the affirmation must be high-energy and said - or mentally said - with interest, conviction, certainty, and attention. There must be an obvious desire for the words to ring true for it to have a profound impact on the subconscious mind.

If you have any questions regarding the nature or effectiveness of positive affirmations, imagine yourself in the following situation: You and your friends are trying out a new game and no one is doing very well. Everyone laughs it off, but you decide that you should seriously attempt to do well at the game. You say to yourself, "I can do this, I can do this," and perhaps some other phrases to get yourself feeling positive about the experience. The effect on your performance is therefore positive.

What are the main purposes of practicing daily positive affirmations?

 
  • It counters negative self-script and negates the effect.
  • You will free yourself of being dependent on others' feelings, opinions, or attitudes about you for your own happiness.
  • It allows you to visualize a new order and sense in your life.
  • You are responsible for your own emotions and your own situation.
  • You let yourself change and move on to a better life.
  • You can let go of emotional baggage that is keeping you from achieving your goals.

Why and How Positive Affirmations Work

By thinking of positive affirmations as true, and by saying them out loud with conviction and energy, you are sending the message to your subconscious mind that what you are saying is, in fact, true. If your subconscious mind is deeply ingrained with an opposing message, there will be resistance. If there is little resistance and the subconscious mind is vulnerable to the message, then the affirmation will stick and take effect more naturally.

With continual, daily practice with positive affirmations, you can chip away even the toughest resistance. Once you have broken through all resistance, your subconscious will be forced to re-examine the core belief and the patterns you've been attempting to implement. This can be a pleasant surprise when the subconscious finally identifies the faulty belief and replaces it with positive inner truth.

Which Affirmations Will Work? How Long Will It Take?

There are ways to predict which affirmations will stick more easily. You can actually tell by your initial reaction to saying the affirmation. If you feel good saying it, and a positive energy is generated, then it will probably manifest more or less immediately. If you are immediately overwhelmed with a sense of doubt, or you feel strongly that you are lying to yourself, then that belief will probably take a little more persistence to correct.

As for how long the process will take, it depends mostly on you and your willingness and readiness to change. If you are prepared to fully embrace change and heal your old wounds and start on a new life, the process can be instantaneous and the results can be magnificent. If you are more reluctant, however, you may find you have a long journey ahead of you. Whatever the case, remember that you can get through anything as long as you keep your thinking positive and your reliance upon your own shoulders.

Personal Beliefs and Values
Your values are psychological objects, not physical objects. It is true that we are unable to see and hear our psychological objects, but they are still just as real and have a solid, physical effect on your life. Or, perhaps they value time more than other people, and do not wish to disrespect someone by keeping them waiting. Whatever your values are, if you identify and implement them into every corner of your life, you will feel as if something magical has happened and certain things have just fallen into place. You will feel a lot less confusion when considering your values and a choice you are making. However, if you do something that goes against one of your strongest values, you will most likely feel some sort of guilt or other negative emotional affects.

Our values are factors that help us determine our decisions and guide our lives. They decide and align our goals, relationships, hopes, dreams, and ideals. For example, if a person values goodness over all other values in existence, then that person would find themselves unable to do something that they know is wrong. A person who values honesty above all will have difficulty bringing themselves to lie. A person who values individuality will often be repulsed by the idea of following a crowd. A person who values rebellion highly will get a rush from doing something that goes against the norm, or an authoritative figure.

Your beliefs and morals should belong to you, and you alone. You should not let anything other than your own personal growth and reflection affect your belief system. For example, if society tells you that something is wrong, and you don't believe that it truly is, then you will have difficulty abiding by those beliefs. The clearer your beliefs are to you, the more balanced a lifestyle you will live. You will probably also notice an increase in your happiness and personal productivity.

What exactly are beliefs?

Beliefs are the assumptions and deductions we have made about the world around us, and its people. They define your hopes, dreams, expectations, and first impressions. Beliefs are how we see the world, what we know is true, and what consequences will come from behaviors that we engage in.

Values

Values are expressions of emotional truths that, when activated, bring light and energy to whatever they manifest, enabling maximum energy and therefore maximum productivity.

Values are how we expect other people to behave, and which traits they should and should not possess. Some universally important values are:

1. Kindness

2. Openness

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3. Honesty

4. Integrity

5. Love

6. Respect

7. Quality

8. Innovation

9. Creativity

10. Empathy

11. Passion

12.Entrepreneurship

13. Profitability

14. Change

15. Challenge

16. Progress

17. Wealth

18. Prosperity

19. Leadership

20. Helpfulness

21. Stability

22. Strength

23. Tolerance

24.Trust

25. Wisdom

26. Fairness

27.Faith

28. Knowledge

29. Honor

30. Justice

 

What You Believe About Yourself

Things you believe about yourself have real-world consequences and bonuses. If you believe you are capable of being successful, then you will be successful eventually. If you believe you can't do it, or some major roadblock that is impossible to pass will appear, then so it shall appear. Even the most observant, thoughtful people cannot completely recognize the power of their own thoughts, or how exactly those thoughts manifest. But, most people know that self-confidence has everything to do with success. See the connection? Your self-doubts and self-imposed fear are the very things holding you back from achieving what you desire, and so you should rid yourselves of as many of these as possible.

Defining Your Values

Your values serve a crucial purpose in your reality, or the universe, if you prefer. Your values are what guide you when life is directionless, when you seem to have no purpose, and is of great importance if you wish to live an uplifting, meaningful existence.

Having a clear mental outline, and a written list and ranking of your values, can help you make decisions more easily with practice. Let's say that you value challenge, cooperation, and friendship. Say that you have an overwhelming to-do list. Let's say you have to clean your house, cook dinner, wash your car, finish a project, and write an essay. Why not invite a friend over for dinner, and have them help you cook? If you cook a meal with your friend, you are indulging your friendship and cooperation values and getting your task completed. You can also challenge yourself by trying to make an extremely tasty meal so that your friend and you can enjoy dinner more.

Personal Sin

Personal sins aren't the kind of sins you might find in the Bible or written anywhere. Personal sins are not what society tries to make you believe, nor should they be drawn from any source except inside of yourself. Your personal sins are things that you find morally offensive, or even repulsive. Your sins, or a list of values you find morally or psychologically offensive are the darker side of your values. The things you find offensive can often be pegged down as a single value, and then you can further question yourself as to why that is so offensive to you. You will often discover something new about yourself, and it will change your perspective on something you may have once thought inconceivable.

The Six Tendencies of Humans

Behavioral scientists believe there are six core human motivations:

1. The quest for more knowledge

2. The desire to save or spend currency

3. The desire to express your unique talents, expertise, and abilities

4. The need for love

5. The desire for power

6. An organized system: People tend to like rules, plans, and policies in their lives.

I will not say that these values should or will apply to everyone. Each person has an individual code of existence, and they shouldn't be denied because of anything in this book or read elsewhere.
Conference of the Spirits
First of all, do not let the title of this section throw you off.. By conference of the spirits, I refer to retreating to a mental sanctuary and meeting room. The "spirits" are simply mental images of your friends, family, enemies, or even people you haven't met yet! In this room are all the things you need to put your life together and sort everything out. You have goal charts, calculators, all the time in the world, and most importantly, a group of your friends and family to help you through all of your life's problems. The specific purpose of this room is to talk about you, your goals, and each person's part in your life. This is the place where you work out all the issues with every person in your life. You can stay here as long as you can, and these people are always available for you. You can meet new people, too! If you feel you don't have a relationship worth the energy, then simply create a new one. Create an unspecific person, nameless and faceless, but with all the qualities you adore in a person. Imagine the two of you laughing and talking about things you have in common. You can even branch outside of this room and venture into a different place entirely, your friend with you. It is like an imaginary friend, except that this friend will one day manifest in your life when the time is right for you.

Here is the place where you can work out all those old emotional scars that relate to each person. If you two have ever argued about anything, or there is something on your mind that involves that person, then make a point to meet them here in this room. The two of you can talk in front of everyone, or alone in a room if you want privacy.

Effects On Relationships

Just like in real life, any conversations or issues to resolve carry over into your subconscious mind and could change your attitude about a certain relationship. If you envision positive interaction, then your subconscious mind will absorb that information and you will eventually project that positivity onto your relationship.

Resolving Old Issues

Sometimes, when we have been severely emotionally damaged, we should revisit these old wounds, especially if they involve someone specific. Think about a person who has specifically made it harder for you to function for one reason or another. Maybe this person frequently puts you down or doesn't give you any of the support you seek from him or her. If this is the case, summon that person into your mind and sit down at a coffee table and have a long mental chat about everything that has ever bothered you. Imagine this person's response in a way that you would believe, but in a way that would make you very happy. For example, imagine that this person understands exactly where you are coming from. The two of you make a plan to improve you relationship, and you feel much better after the fact. The experience gives you a positive outlook on the relationship, and therefore it will improve with some time and energy.

Creating New Relationships

Let's say that you are lonely and you want some new friends, or maybe something more. If you already have someone in mind, then great! Try out the same techniques mentioned above. Of course, you'll have to alter it a bit depending on what exactly you want out of the relationship. If you aren't sure where to start, try starting with telling the person how you feel, what you'd like out of your relationship, or that you really like spending time with that person. Whatever it is that you'd like to tell this person, feel free.

However, if you don't know anyone who you'd like to be friends (or more) with, maybe you would like to attract someone into your life. Imagine yourself in a room full of all sorts of interesting people. These people can hold a great conversation, there are a lot of laughs, and you guys have the time of your lives. Imagine these people are all people you will meet in your future at some point. Appearance probably won't be accurate, but many of the same traits you put into your ideal friend or partner will manifest if you specifically interact with that part of their character in your conference.

Benefits of Experiencing "Conference of the Spirits"

· Improved relationships

· New, exciting relationships

· Good people seem to just pop out of nowhere, just when you need them most

· Emotional healing

· A more positive attitude

· Increased capacity for forgiveness

Visualization's Place in Conference of the Spirits
These two concepts seem similar because practicing the above techniques really is just specific visualization.

As with visualization, the keys to successfully manifesting what you want with intention manifestation is simple a matter of focusing completely on what you actually want, and letting all of the emotional energy, passion, and desire pour into the intention. After trying out the technique just a couple of times, you can change your entire view of how the world works. I dare you to try, but without letting your suspicions sabotage your progress.