Reprogramming Your Subconscious Mind with Affirmations

by mindfulness

Article by frank tibss

Reprogramming Your Subconscious Mind with Affirmations

You might already be familiar with the power of affirmations. They're short, positive statements that you can read, repeat to yourself, or listen to from recordings. With affirmations, you can reprogram your subconscious mind to help you think more positively about yourself.

An example of an affirmation is "I am calm and relaxed." It doesn't matter what your current state actually is, you can still achieve this state by repeating and believing the affirmation. Your subconscious mind will pick up on the statement and bring forth the new feelings.

Affirmations Can Change Your Life

When it comes to the world of affirmations, the only requirement is to approach it with an open mind. After that, you simply allow the statements to wash over you and you can change your life all by yourself.

It's may seem difficult at first, but the key is to get the affirmation into your subconscious mind. This is easiest when you're just waking up or when you're drifting off to sleep. These are moments when your conscious mind is less likely to interfere.

If you use the "I am calm and relaxed" example without an open mind, of course your conscious mind will say "Hey! I'm not calm and relaxed." Don't get frustrated if your conscious mind likes to jump in a lot; eventually the messages will make it to your subconscious mind.

How Affirmations Work

If you pay close attention to how your mind really works, you'd be surprised at how often your mind slips into negativity about yourself and other situations. Using affirmations will allow you to communicate with your subconscious mind and change those thoughts.

Affirmations have the power to recode your mind in the same manner that a computer program can be written. You actively spend time saying and concentrating on these short positive statements and, eventually, your subconscious mind picks up on them.

It may take some time and practice for affirmations to ! work for you. Some people report that they see results from their efforts right away, while others find that it takes longer for them to reach the subconscious.

How To Use Affirmations

There are a few ways that you can choose to use your affirmations. First, concentrate on the things in your life that you want to change. Try to keep it simple by focusing on one at a time.

Common topics are usually health, wealth and relationships. You might use affirmations such as "I feel energized" or "I enjoy my job." Write a few different ones that pertain to the same subject.

Then choose a time to repeat the sayings to yourself every day. You can even make a recording of yourself repeating the affirmations with soothing music in the background. This is especially helpful for using affirmations in the morning and at night when you have a stronger link to your subconscious.

Tips for writing your own affirmations:

* Write them in the present tense, because that's the only way to improve your life in the present moment. * Be short and concise to keep things simple.* Read and write your affirmations when you're calm and away from distractions.* Remember to stay positive.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

Make sure you keep up with your affirmations. If you don't see results right away, try sticking with it for a while longer. Before you know it, you'll realize that these short simple sentences have improved your outlook, one thought at a time!

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This is an interview with Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., Foundation Professor of Psychology at the University of Nevada. He is an author of 34 books and 475 scientific articles, and has received a number of awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. His self-help book Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life for a time was the best selling self-help book in the country. The discussion is lead by Dennis Tirch, Ph.D., is the Founder and Director of The Center for Mindfulness and Compassion Focused Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy. He is a New York State licensed psychologist, Diplomat and Fellow of The Academy of Cognitive Therapy, and the Associate Director of the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy (AICT) in Manhattan. Steve and Dennis discuss the current cutting edge changes that are taking place in the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) community, and implications for practicing therapists. We intend this to be the first in a series of short videos to people with an avid interest in ACT. Over the next year, Steve will be giving several workshops around the country, where people who'd like to spend a couple of days with him will be able to practice these and many other fascinating ideas and interventions that are changing the face of modern therapy.

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