It is true that once upon a time a client of mine, Lily, considered herself less than terrific. Hating and not respecting herself was truly a suffering. However she became determined to become happy. Her definition of ‘happy’ began with respecting and loving herself.

Fortunately she was interested in saying affirmations. We’d talked about how affirmations were about making a space inside ourselves for some quality we didn’t have yet, but wanted. Thus she would sit quietly and repeat in a relaxed way, positive statements about herself. She did this sincerely, saying them as if they were true. They were in the present tense and positive in nature as in, “Every day I like myself more and more.” And she felt a glimmer of hope.

When she stated them out loud, she’d feel a hint of a smile. She said she got this good feeling in her gut and would feel lighter. I said I thought this was probably because in the moment of saying the affirmation, she was imagining what it would be like if what she was affirming was true. Light bulb moment! This was the perfect way of letting her imagination magnify the affirmation’s effect.

Lily’s energy field lit up and expanded when she spoke positively about herself! At first the result lasted for a few moments, she told me. Big deal! You say. Actually, yes… because the effects were cumulative. Affirmations were among the main tools she used to get herself out of a dark hole of many years and into the light where she finally saw possibility in herself. Even better she can say now that she does like and love who she is and is exceedingly grateful for her life. Affirmations can be a prayer if you like. And depending on how you say them, they can be powerful. Lily has come a long, long way.

In this way of saying affirmations, these things are important:

• saying the affirmation with feeling and in the present tense, even if the statement is not true yet.
• hearing oneself say these words that are positive and encouraging in nature.
• picturing and imagining oneself experiencing the affirmation as already true. Remember the old 12 step phrase “fake it till you make it”?
• saying it repeatedly, especially when waking or going to sleep, helps it to become part of you.
• experiencing the new and different feeling the affirmation produces.
• knowing that through affirmations, one is able to change the subtle experience of one’s energy.