Affirmations are not self-help slogans or internet memes. While the idea of changing your world with the power of the...
Affirmations are not self-help slogans or internet memes. While the idea of changing your world with the power of the spoken word is not new, it’s becoming an every day tool that nobody can ignore anymore.
They are powerful tools of intent, and when done correctly, they can completely change mindsets, boost confidence, and help change emotional patterns.
Spiritual practitioner Anne-Marie Viviers of Heavenly Healing in Benoni works with clients seeking clarity, healing, and personal growth. She uses tools like Reiki, past-life regression, and the power of the tongue.
She said affirmations are far more than words when applied by design.
“Affirmations need to be personal and spoken with conviction,” she said. “They are declarations of change, and when they come from a place of sincerity, they carry real weight.”
WATCH: Learn about affirmations
Before saying anything, she said, the first step is to be honest about what needs changing in your life.
“You cannot just copy something off the internet and hope for the best. Whether it is self-doubt, fear, money stress or heartbreak, the affirmation must speak to that exact thing.”
She said that although people often Google affirmations or pick them out of books, she encourages clients to build their own.
“Together we create wording that matches where they are and where they want to be. It must feel true to them. If it sounds forced, it will not land in the body.”
Write down affirmations
Viviers also recommends writing affirmations by hand.
“There is a neurological impact when you write something down. Your body remembers the motion. You are not just saying it. Instead, you are embedding it.”
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Believe it or not, apart from writing down affirmations, getting a message across to your mind and body should be done naked, in front of the mirror, she suggested.
It’s a growing trend, and Viviers encouraged it as a form of no-holds-barred self-confrontation, gently.
“Standing unclothed in front of a mirror strips away image and ego. There is nowhere to hide. And when you speak words of power and kindness to yourself in that state, it changes you. It builds self-respect.”
She said the time of day when you do affirm ideas to yourself matters less than the intention.
“Say it in the morning if you need to face a difficult boss or colleague. Repeat it throughout the day if it is about anxiety or fear. The more often, the better, but always with presence of mind.”
Affirmations can be done almost anywhere, not just in your birthday suit before a mirror. Public spaces, such as a park, in the car, or even while shopping, are ideal. You can whisper them to yourself, say it out loud in traffic.
“Even saying it quietly in or thinking it in a meeting still sends the signal. It is the intention that counts.”
Listening to a recording of your own voice repeating affirmations also helps reinforce notions.
“Your subconscious responds best to your own voice. It trusts it,” she said.
You trust your own voice
Affirmations are not magical words that can be used like a wand to make anything manifest.
“If it is not part of your life path or truth, no amount of repeating it will make it happen. Wanting to win the lottery is not going to manifest because you chanted it.
“Affirmations work when they are aligned with who you are.”
Viviers reiterated that affirmations are most effective when they come from a place of clarity and honesty, and knowing bits about yourself.
“This is not about wishful thinking,” she said. “It is about intention. And when intention meets repetition, that is when the real change in the universe and your own orbit happens.”
Five affirmations to test drive:
- I am open to the abundance of the universe.
- I am beautiful, sexy, and a limitless sensual being.
- Nothing can stop me from (insert goal) if it is right for me.
- (Insert problem or challenge) no longer haunts me, because I emerge in joy.
- I love myself, and therefore I can love others.
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