There was a time when I thought Affirmations were kind of "fluffy" ideas about things we want. "Wishful ideas" about how we want our life to be. I understood them to be simply a kind of "positive thinking" brainwashing technique that could "trick" us that life is grand, WE are grand and everything is all rainbows and lollipops.
Before I truly understood the power and influence of the subconscious, versus conscious, minds on our daily lives and experiences, I had no way of understanding what Affirmations really were, how I was already affirming things all day, everyday and how to EFFECTIVELY begin to create a healthier headspace that would powerfully affect my daily reality.
Stop now for a moment. What are the thoughts running through your mind right now? What are the thoughts that run through your mind regularly in fact? Day in, day out?
Perhaps you have never given them much notice. Perhaps you believe that you "think nothing much at all".
I would beg to differ with you if that is the case, and I would also like to challenge you to pay special attention to the nearly continuous inner dialogue running through your mind every waking moment.
I guess one vivid moment in which I truly became aware of my inner dialogue and the incessant ideas it was generating about myself, life, the world, others, and just about anything else you could care to have an opinion on, was really quite recently.
It is a little embarrassing to share this deeply insightful experience with you, however, being the openly expressive, innocent, light and goofy being I truly am, I will not let that stop me from sharing with you one of my most profound learnings.
I was lying on the bed in my room trying to calm myself down. I had worked myself into a tiz packing frantically, and last minute, for a trip to Melbourne. I had an overwhelming feeling of dread, my throat was tight, my heart pounding and I could not think clearly. My partner, Brad, looked at me confused and asked, "Babe, what's wrong?"
At that very moment I became aware of all the insane, relentless and bullying ideas running through my mind, "You always overpack"; "You are hopeless"; "People are going to think you are mental"; "Why can't you ever pack sensibly?"; "For goodness sakes, you really are terrible".
I was aghast. Never did I imagine or realise my attitude to myself could be quite so horrible. It gave me a truly shifting insight into how I had been creating the entire struggle that my life was actually being at that time (not just at that moment).
I started to laugh. "Oh my goodness, Brad! You will have NO idea what is going through my mind right now! I had NO idea! No wonder I feel so terrible and am having such a tough time!"
Immediately I felt relaxed. Mental clarity completely restored and I suddenly became composed. I even began to feel light, excited and positive about my impending trip.
I also noticed the immediate accompanying change in my mental thoughts.
"So what if you have overpacked?"; "What's the big deal?"; "Everyone knows what you are like and they think it is funny; SO typical of Bridget!"; "It is not a bad thing to be as 'unique' as I am, that is ME, and those who know and love me, love and accept me for being exactly who I am".
Wow! The relief! The humour. How quickly my experience had changed. How immediate the shift in my physiology been.
I simply could not believe the power of what was going on in my mind and how REAL and SERIOUS it had made everything seem.
You do hear about it all the time though, don't you?
"You become and create what you think about most"
"Thoughts become things"
Many of us may think, "Yeah...yeah...whatever..."
We may think its fluff, "weirdo stuff" or only for the deeply spiritual and universally aware beings....
Let me say though, firstly, we ARE all spiritual and universally connected beings, although our awareness of this fact may be at various levels, AND secondly, you ARE already affirming things in your mind OVER and OVER anyway, so you may as well check in with them to see if they are what you want to be creating in your life, or not.
This is NOT about simply thinking positive and living in some la la land where all your dreams, desires and fantasies reside....
It IS however about getting REAL with yourself about the true power you have in creating your life and experience in every moment.
Most of us unconsciously have an attitude towards ourselves that quite frankly, SUCKS!
We would NEVER dream of talking to our best friend in the way in which we dialogue with ourselves ALL DAY LONG, and we would realise that if we wanted to positively encourage a young child to get a handle on something new (like walking for instance) we would NEVER CONTEMPLATE standing over them and chanting jives such as, "Look at you! You are hopeless! You fell! That means you will NEVER walk! You will NEVER do anything positive! You are so useless, worthless and shameful!"
YET, PEOPLE, WE OFTEN DO THIS TO OURSELVES ALL DAY LONG!!!
I am not saying for certain that we ALL do it- yes there are many of you out there who have become aware of your inner dialogue and realised the power it has in your life. Many of you have even been able to completely change this inner voice to be a more caring, compassionate, encouraging and supportive one.
I would vie though for the most of us that we sit somewhere on the scale from "completely unaware" to "consciously observing the 2 competing voices and trying to shift the power to the more supportive one"...
I know for me, the latter end of the scale is currently true for me.
I am completely aware- on the most part- of the wicked, bratty, evil little voice in my head and how often it tries to convince me of things that if I thought RATIONALLY and with CLARITY about, I would KNOW are not true, however, it is still a daily, ongoing journey that requires much CONSCIOUS practice to retrain myself to give the power to the "other voice".
I can say with true joy however that I DO now have- or rather are now simply more AWARE of- the positive, supportive, caring and rational voice.
The part of me that says, "Thats ok Bridget, you are doing your best"; "You are a beautiful person with good intentions, you love life and people and have nothing to fear"; "You are safe to be who you really are and to express your truth in the world".
It IS such a relief to now often hear that reassuring part of me. That part that needs no external validation, no outer provided joys, no exterior comforts, escapes or medicating distractions.
That part of me that sees all, knows all and can navigate life with clarity, truth, confidence and joy.
That part of me that dreams, fantasises and helps me bring to life the outward expression of who I truly am on the inside.
The part of me that lets me write, speak and express freely without fear of ridicule, judgement or exposure.
That part that simply allows me to be ME!
What a truly incredible shift and what a truly invaluable gift....!
Give this to yourself too....
In a very quick nutshell, here is how I foster the life and flourish-ment of my lovely inner voice and let go of entertaining and feeding the bratty, evil and contorting inner dialogue.
1) I have learnt to RELAX- not just superficially, whilst still thinking of what I have to do next, where I should be, who I have to talk to, call, follow up, email, etc etc!
I have learnt to DEEPLY relax, eliciting the deep, slow, regenerative and restorative alpha brain wave patterns that are so healing to our bodies and minds. I cannot go into detail here, but lets just say that when you TRULY relax and immerse yourself in a peaceful state, you create POWERFUL physiological changes within your body that actually heal and create good health.
Let me also add, this was a GRADUAL process which I learnt to do OVER TIME with PRACTICE and CONSISTENCY. I started with a minimum of 5 minutes of daily meditation- which I had NO idea how to do! There are MANY ways...simply find a technique that resonates with you....
2) I REFUSE to be busy- yes we may have lots to do in a day and we may feel pressured to get it all done, however I have learnt that it is VITAL to have boundaries, to learn to say NO and that I do NOT have to be everywhere and taking up EVERY opportunity that comes my way. I have learnt to TRUST that my path is MINE alone and I am free to navigate it how I wish...
3) I make time to CONSCIOUSLY ENJOY my life everyday! Once upon a time I had no inclination or interest to smell the roses. I thought wind and rain were an inconvenience and that everyone should get out of my way so I could get where I needed to be! (yes, true! How facetious!)
These days I have a very "Come what may" attitude to life. I receive and enjoy the beauty and wonder of life NOW in THIS MOMENT and I now honestly feel that if I were to die tomorrow, I would have NO regrets!
Sure, I may not have written an International Best Seller. I may not have been on Oprah and changed millions of lives pioneering a Worldwide Wellness Movement, but you know what?
I TRULY LOVED the beauty and simplicity of life and felt TRULY connected to an ALL ONE energy and force that needs no tangible expression. I'm not sure if you will get what I mean here, but this view and experience of life is one I believe is truly invaluable, humbling and blissfully fulfilling....
It is also one that took me a while to "wake up" to consciously. I would also add, it is one that requires ongoing, daily, moment to moment nurturing and fostering....
Oh....! I have so much more to say......!
And therein lies the reason I MUST WRITE! :)
So....as long as I can keep the brat at bay....expect to hear MUCH more on how to live your GREATEST LIFE! :)
Lots of LOVE to you!
BridgetJane
Food, Body, Lifestyle Guru
If you want insight into just what really goes on on your head, take a look at your life right now......
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