POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS

Although much of our body is built from the foods we eat, much of our mind is built from the experiences we have.

But the brain, our ‘miracle machine’, has a bias toward negativity. This is not a bad thing, it is part of evolution and survival but as a result it can tilt towards a negative direction even when we have positive experiences in our everyday lives.

 “I like to think we are miracles; the gift of life is a miracle and we create miracles.”

Although much of our body is built from the foods we eat, much of our mind is built from the experiences we have.

But, the brain, our ‘miracle machine’, has a bias toward negativity. This is not a bad thing, it is part of evolution and survival but as a result it can tilt towards a negative direction even when we have positive experiences in our everyday lives.

However, you’ll be pleased to hear that we can remedy this to help shift perspective. We can encourage our brain to fire off neurons for positive thoughts, memories, vibrations through a more contemplative practice and the use of positive affirmations. Every time you take in the good, you build a little bit of neural structure. ‘Neurons that fire together wire together’.

This will gradually change your brain, and how you feel and react with the rest of the world. As Ralph Waldo Emerson puts it:

‘Once you make a decision the universe conspires to make it happen’

Using positive affirmations daily and repeatedly, change your neurons to default to a positive thought. Over time these repeated words can overwrite a previously negative script with a positive one, becoming the natural place the subconscious will go to, eventually changing your view of the world. This is why positive affirmations are such powerful tools for transforming your life.

WHY ITS GOOD TO TAKE IN THE GOOD

Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Lopez to name a few, are said to be big believers in this mindset, specifically that nothing is going to happen or change without a thought or intention behind it. However, I found this quote from Martha Washington really touching because it reminded me that my natural state is sunny and that this needs to stay alive and take priority through the thick and the thin:

‘I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances’

There are many ways to build this transformational habit into your miracle machine and into your life.

If you practice yoga, you’ll find many yoga teachers, like me, will weave affirmations or at least encourage students to consider a positive intention throughout their practice. This way you are dedicating time to create, contemplate and absorb the power and energy of the word. We need more of this in our lives if we are to transform ourselves for the better.

One of my favourite mantras at the moment is ‘So hum’, not only does it resonate with the sound of our breath hearing the sound ‘So’ as you breathe in, and the sound ‘hum’ as you breathe out. In fact, stop reading this now and notice the soft sound of your breath, repeating the words ‘So hum’ silently thinking ‘So’ on the inhale and ‘hum’ on the exhale…

Now that you’ve focused on your breath you might even feel a little more grounded and present. ‘So hum’ also means ‘I am that’, and it reminds me that wherever I am in my life is both temporary and exactly where I am supposed to be. Even while I am writing this blog, I am excited that it may bring a little hope and positivity into just one person’s life, who really needs this loving reminder that we are all moving through life together trying to find equanimity and peace along the way. Equanimity is the subconscious happy place, where the nervous system becomes balanced, immunity is strong and our over all well-being has space to heal.

Another wonderful tool is using a mala necklace. I have been making and designing these beautiful tools for a long time now and I love the process from start to finish because a mala necklace is much more than pretty stones and bohemian colours, it is in fact one of the greatest tools for meditative repetition of a mantra/positive affirmation. Each mala comes with a mantra and positive affirmation born from the qualities and wisdom of the stones. It becomes something you can wear as a reminder to manifest your intentions and endorse a positive affirmation deep into your soul that you can carry with you throughout the journey of your life.

‘Please sign up here if you would like exclusivity to the launch of my next mala collection which will be available at Freya Branwyn.”

I have also recently loved using gratitude or mantra apps on my phone, each day reminding me of a mantra that I can use to empower the day ahead. This simple quote is a great reminder of how lucky we are to wake up every day and start again.

‘When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.’  Marcus Aurelius 

We tend to believe that whatever one repeats to oneself sufficiently and often, whether it is true or false, is the perfect explanation of the subconscious mind and the reason why daily affirmations bring positive changes to your internal belief system and therefore our external interaction with the world. 

You can use positive affirmations to create energies, to transmit energies, to create a life that is kind and loving and fulfilled and apply this to all areas of your life: health, love, work, relationships, capabilities… it is endless!

We have even infused some of these positive words on to our new organic T-shirt collection which will be available next month too.

AFFIRM YOUR PATH

Set your affirmation in the positive by completing the one sentence that speaks to you:

I am…

I have…

I trust…

I accept…

I honour…

If you get stuck, connect to the soft hum of your breath and remember, that you are simply enough.

Today’s affirmation: ‘I am enough, I have enough, What I do is enough.’

And that’s enough from me xoxox