Author: Sister Bridget Corfield

  • New! Card of the Week!

    OK , Gang!

    So Sister Candelaria and I  have been wracking our brains really hard on how to help clients have a bit more of a positive outlook on things. I know being positive can be difficult at times , but more and more I feel like some folks take the path of least resistance right into negativity. Its so hard to watch, because we care so much about each ane every one of you! Soooooo, this is what I came up with. Every Sunday I will get out one of my decks and ask for a card that will offer guidance to clients for the upcoming week. I will post that card here, and my interpretation. As you go thru your week, think about the card and the advice or lesson or awareness that has been presented and how you might apply it to your life. Any situation or aspect of your life is fair game…. it does not have to just relate to your case. Remember, you are *not* your case!  You are soooo much more! 

    As your week goes by, as you see how the advice in the card has helped you or has applied to your life, and how the knowledge from the card may have helped you, please post a comment here on the blog. (see the small link at the bottom of this post that says "comment’) The client who posts the most insightful comment  by the following Sunday will get a free 5 card tarot reading! The winner of the free reading will be posted when I post the next Card of the Week.

    So, lets get started!

    Card of the Week for March 8th:

    The deck I chose was the Wisdom for Healing Cards by Carolyn Myss. You can see these cards listed in my amazon.com store if you havent seen them before. They are quite beautiful and have many wonderful insights!

    Well, um, for the first card its clearly not an easy one. But remember, your conscious effort could pay off in a free reading!

    The card’s name is Relinquish Control.

    The back of the card says: Todays Lesson: Identify one person you feel the need to control, and think about why that power is so essential to you. What do you fear if your hold is released? Your goal: to recognise how much stress is generated in your body through the need to control someone else.

    Wow. I trust there is a reason that this card has come up first for us, and I look forward to your commencts about how this card and its goal effects you in the coming week.

    Light and love,

    Sister Bridget

  • Facing Fears

    This article is all about the saying you frequently hear Spellmaker staff saying….that "the only way out is through". Sometimes, when we are faced with unpleasantness, processing, the dark night of the soul, we just want to throw up our hands and give up, when the very thing we need to do is just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Hopefully, this article will help shed some light on why we need to do this šŸ˜‰ Light and Love, Sister Bridget

    Facing Fears by T. Dorsey

    What value is there in facing your fears?  What is there to gain in reliving painful experiences?  Does it change anything to acknowledge you have been hurt?

    The point of facing your fears is that it allows you to eventually move through it.  But before you move through it, you have to acknowledge the pain.  You have to allow yourself to feel what you are feeling.  You have to allow yourself to feel all the emotions that come up for you as you face your fears. No matter what those feelings may be. Usually there are a myriad of emotions to deal with when you confront your fears, especially if you have avoided dealing with them for years. You may have feelings of anger, resentment, frustration, helplessness, vulnerability and rage.  It may be helpful to remember this phrase,

    ā€œ If it is coming up, then it is on its way out.ā€

    So how do you begin to face your fears?  You do it by to telling your story.  Write it out.  Chronicle exactly what happened. At first you may think you are unable to recall all the details, especially if it happened a long time ago.  However, as you write, you may recall memories long forgotten.  It is also important to describe how you feel or felt about what happened.  Describe in detail what emotions come up for you. Once you allow yourself to feel what you are feeling, you can get to the other side. 

    The story I had to tell to face my fears was about my dad.  After he passed away I came to realize that I still struggled with facets of our relationship.  Initially, I really did not see the point in relieving all the ways my dad disappointed me. He was dead now.  What was the point?  What could be the benefit in reliving those painful memories?  Despite these objections, I began to write my story.

    I recounted the countless times my dad did not show through, as promised.  It was a hard story to tell even to myself.  At times I wept uncontrollably.  At other times my rage was so intense it was palatable.  It was incredible to me how many different emotions I felt and how real they all were, as if the events I was retelling had just happened moments ago instead of over a decade ago. 

    What was the point in that painful exercise?  I did indeed move through those feelings and came out on the other side. 

    On that other side I had some new insights. One insight I discovered was how stuffing those feelings about my dad, over time, impacted my personality, my choices and my relationships.  By retelling that story I also gained an entirely new perspective on that painful experience.  Eventually, after allowing myself to feel all those emotions I had been stuffing for so many years, I began to feel lighter like a weight had been lifted.

    What happened next was really unexpected.  I found that I had transformed into a higher version of myself, a more authentic version of who I really am.  This new insight even made me feel grateful for that painful experience because I liked who I grew to be because of it.

    Facing your fears enables you to rid yourself of buried emotions.  By coming to face-to-face with what you are afraid of, you are able to free yourself.  You also offer yourself an opportunity to grow from the experience.  In the end, you may discover you like YOU not in spite of what happened to you but because of what happened to you.

    T. Dorsey is an author, performing and teaching artist who uses stories, poetry and songs to inspire and heal others. After many years in corporate America working as a training consultant, she followed her heart and stepped out on faith. 

  • Affirmations for Stress Relief

    I CAN SEE STRESSFUL SITUATIONS AS CHALLENGES

    CHALLENGES BRING OPPORTUNITIES

    I CAN CHOOSE A POSITIVE FRAME OF MIND

    I CAN HANDLE WHATEVER COMES

    TODAY HAS LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES

    I CAN FIND BALANCE IN MY LIFE

    I CAN FIND LOVE AND SUPPORT

    I CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING

    I CAN HANDLE WHATEVER COMES

    I CAN CREATE INNER PEACE

    MY INTENTION IS FOR PEACE

    I AM STRONG

    PEACE IS POWER

    THIS TOO SHALL PASS

    MY INTENTIONS CREATE MY REALITY

    STRESS IS LEAVING MY BODY

    TODAY I CHOOSE JOY

    I CAN MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES

    I AM DOING MY BEST

    I BREATHE IN PEACE

    TODAY MY INTENTION IS FOR PEACE

    I AM IN CHARGE OF MY LIFE

    I HAVE MANY OPTIONS

    I CAN CREATE POSITIVE CHANGE

    I AM WISE

    MY HAPPINESS COMES FROM WITHIN

    I CAN START HEALTHY HABITS

    EACH MOMENT BRINGS CHOICE

    I CAN STAY CALM UNDER PRESSURE

    I CHOOSE HAPPINESS

    I CHOOSE HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS

  • Various Affirmations

    Here we are in the home stretch!  I would really like to see some comments about how you are doing šŸ˜‰ (hint hint…) Light and Love, Sister Bridget

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Our thoughts create our reality. Here are some Affirmations which create a more positive, happier more fulfilling reality.

    A. About Ability and Security

    1. Anxiety solves no problems ā€“ actions do.

    2. Some problems are problems only because I believe them to be.

    3. I have the inner power and strength to deal with whatever life brings me.

    4. I am capable of handling any possible difficulties which might occur.

    5. I feel safe and secure in every situation.

    6. While making my own sincere effort, I entrust my life, my family and the results of all my efforts into Godā€™s (the Universes) wise and just judgment.

    7. Life gives me in each moment exactly what I need in every situation in order to be happy, perform my life and purpose and grow spiritually.

    8. I am intelligent and capable enough to succeed in any endeavor which is important to me.

    B. About Self-Worth

    1. My self-worth is a function of my inner being (0f who I am) and not what others think of me or how much I accomplish.

    2. The results of my efforts depend on many different factors including also my efforts.

    3. My self worth is totally independent of any external factors such as: intelligence, wealth, my home, appearance, talents, professional success, my childrenā€™s success, being attractive to the opposite sex, making friends, disciplines, "spiritual" activities.

    4. I am worthy of love and respect even when I am not perfect in what I do and even when I make mistakes.

    5. My self-worth is totally independent of whether others agree with me or are satisfied with me.

    6. My self-worth is totally independent of how people behave towards me.

    7. My self-worth is totally independent of how much others work or how they work or what they believe about me.

    8. My self-worth is a reflection of my divine nature and not my gender, religion, social class etc.

    9. I am a good person, a worthy person.

    C. Freedom and Love

    1. I respect and love all persons (especially my parents and family) without feeling any need whatsoever to live my life according to their beliefs or values. I live my life in harmony with my inner values and beliefs.

    2. I am in no way responsible for others peopleā€™s reality but only for my own motives and behavior towards them.

    3. No one else is responsible for my reality. I am totally responsible for what I feel and experience in life.

    4. I am responsible for my purity of my motives and quality of my efforts and not for the results of my efforts or their affect on others.

    5. All beings deserve my love and respect, including myself

    6. I understand the fears behind each personā€™s negative actions.

    7. I am free in each moment to be myself.

    8. No one can limit my freedom unless I need something from them.

    9. Real freedom is freedom from fears, needs and false limiting beliefs.

    10. Real freedom is the ability to do what ever is in my best interest as a soul in the process of evolution.

    11. Real freedom is the freedom to experience peace, love and happiness regardless of what happens or othersā€™ behavior.

  • 50 Affirmations to Raise Your Self-Esteem

    How are you all doing with your affirmations? Leave a comment and share your progress!

    Light and Love, Sister Bridget

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    50 Affirmations to Raise Your Self-Esteem by Helene Rothschild

    Are you ready to feel good about yourself? That is the key to health, happiness, fulfilling relationships, and success.

    Negative thoughts hurt your self-esteem and positive thoughts help you feel good. To raise your self-esteem, say, sing, or write the following 50 affirmations (positive thoughts) until they become part of your automatic thinking. It is even more powerful if you add your name.

    1. I, your name, am okay even when I am scared.

    2. I, ____________, am a worthwhile person.

    3. I, ____________, am important.

    4. I, ____________, am good enough.

    5. I, ____________, am okay.

    6. I, ____________, am lovable.

    7. I, ____________, am attractive.

    8. I, ____________, am intelligent.

    9. I, ____________, am creative and intuitive.

    10. I, ____________, am competent and talented.

    11. I, ____________, am a good person.

    12. I, ____________, am wanted and I belong.

    13. I, ____________, trust my decisions.

    14. I, ____________, accept all my feelings.

    15. I, ____________, am expressing my feelings in healthy ways.

    16. I, ____________, am releasing my anger into a pillow and others and I are safe.

    17. I, ____________, forgive myself for all my mistakes.

    18. I, ____________, am forgiving others for all their mistakes.

    19. I, ____________, am saying "no" and I am okay.

    20. I, ____________, am self-caring and I am there for others.

    21. I, ____________, am capable of taking care of myself.

    22. I, ____________, am taking control of my life and seeing all of my choices.

    23. I, ____________, am taking responsibility for my happiness.

    24. I, ____________, am communicating honestly and clearly what I want and need.

    25. I, ____________, am listening to what others want and creating win-win solutions.

    26. I, ____________, am courageously facing the unknown, even though I am scared.

    27. I, ____________, am allowing myself an abundance of love and prosperity.

    28. I, ____________, see myself attractive, happy, and healthy.

    29. I, ____________, am slim and in control of what I eat and drink.

    30. I, ____________, am visualizing myself in a successful career.

    31. I, ____________, am successful and people are very happy for me.

    32. I, ____________, am modeling success for many people and I’m loved and safe.

    33. I, ____________, am successful in my career and in my relationships.

    34. I, ____________, am more successful than my parents and they love me.

    35. I, ____________, am successful, because I want to be.

    36. I, ____________, am prosperous and I am a good, honest person.

    37. I, ____________, have an abundance of money and people want to be with me because they like me.

    38. I, ____________, am successful and I have enough time for my loved ones and myself.

    39. I, ____________, am allowing others to support and care about me.

    40. I, ____________, am in a loving relationship and I am free to be me.

    41. I, ____________, am in a lasting, fulfilling relationship.

    42. I, ____________, am taking time to relax and play and I am productive.

    43. I, ____________, am doing things effortlessly.

    44. I, ____________, am taking total responsibility for my life and I am having fun.

    45. I, ____________, am only responsible for my thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

    46. I, ____________, like myself.

    47. I, ____________, love myself.

    48. I, ____________, feel peacefully powerful.

    49. I, ____________, am creating what I want in my life.

    50. I, ____________, believe that I deserve it all.

    You sure do! Go for it!

    Ā©2007 Helene Rothschild, MS, MA, MFT, is a Marriage, Family Therapist, intuitive counselor, speaker, and author. The article is excerpts from her new book, "ALL YOU NEED IS HART!ā€ She offers phone sessions, teleclasses, books, e-books, MP3 audios, tapes, posters, independent studies, and a free newsletter. http://www.lovetopeace.com 

  • How To Make Your Own Affirmations by Steve Gillman

    How To Make Your Own Affirmations by Steve Gillman

    You may have used affirmations before, writing positive statements on cards and repeating them every day. Hopefully you stuck it out and got the results that you wanted. More often, we find it hard to take the time to read them every day, and without that constant repetition, we don’t get the effect intended. That is why affirmation CDs and audios have become so popular.

    The idea makes sense to anyone who has noted how depressed they get when they repeat certain thoughts or say certain things over and over. If repeating negative thoughts and beliefs "works" to produce a negative state, why wouldn’t positive affirmations work as well? And with a CD, it doesn’t even take time as with written affirmations. Just push that play button and go about your business while constant repetitions reprogram your mind for success.

    But what if you don’t like the affirmations that you hear on the popular CDs? What if you don’t want to spend the money to buy eight different ones for eight issues you are working on? Why not make your own? Use a tape player, or get a microphone for your computer and make a CD. Then follow the guideline below.

    Rules For Making Affirmations

    There are a couple "rules" for making good affirmations that are likely to affect your mind. The first is to keep statements in the positive form. Say, "I don’t bite my nails," and your unconscious mind – which has a hard time with negatively stated instructions – may take it as "bite my nails." Instead you would say something like, "I take care of my nails with a nail clipper and nail file."

    The second rule for making affirmations that work is to use repetition. This means not only listening to your CD as often as you can (and at least once per day for three weeks), but also repeating the statements several times each on the recording. A little trick to make them even more powerful, is to use inflection with each repetition to create a slightly different meaning. For example:

    I create my future with the actions I take now.
    (The basic belief you want to program in your mind.)

    I CREATE my future with the actions I take now.
    (Emphasizing that your future is created, and doesn’t just happen.)

    I create MY future with the actions I take now.
    (Emphasizing that it is your future.)

    I create my future with the ACTIONS I take now.
    (Emphasizing that your actions are what matter in creating your future.)

    A final "rule:" Stick to one area at a time. Don’t try to work on losing weight, motivation, quitting smoking and making money all at once. Start with a clear goal, such as "Improving my relationships," and make a CD for that purpose. Listen to that for several weeks before starting the second one.

    Make positive statements. Repeat them several times. Use inflection to "squeeze" the most meaning out of each statement. Finally, listen to them often and consistently. That is how to make and use your own affirmations.

    Copyright Steve Gillman. For more on Better Life Through Better Brainpower, and to get the Brain Power Newsletter and other free gifts, visit: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com

  • Consciously Choosing A Positive Attitude

    Consciously Choosing A Positive Attitude by Wendy Betterini

    Do you consciously choose your attitude each day? If you’re like most people, probably not. Most of us tend to let our circumstances choose our attitude for us. We’re in a good mood as long as we get up on time, the kids cooperate and get to school on time, the car starts without a problem, we don’t encounter any traffic jams on the way to work, the boss doesn’t yell, our workload is manageable, etc. This system can work fine as long as everything runs smoothly in our lives.

    But that’s not always the case, is it? Situations don’t always adhere to our expectations. Accidents happen. Delays happen. Spouses and bosses can be difficult to please. Vehicles break down. Kids may resist our efforts to keep the schedule running smoothly. What happens to our attitude then? If we don’t make the effort to consciously choose a positive attitude, we run the risk of developing a negative one at random.

    How would our lives change if we consciously chose a positive attitude each day? For starters, we’d feel much happier about our lives. We’d feel more motivated about pursuing our dreams because we’d believe in the possibilities for making them a reality. We’d be able to enjoy the time spent with our friends and families more, because we’d want to share our joy with others. We’d feel strong and empowered in our ability to do anything we set our minds to. We’d be able to overcome challenges with ease because we’d have a strong belief in our own skills and abilities. We’d be able to love deeply and completely without fear of rejection or betrayal. We would pause to enjoy the smaller, more precious moments in life, without feeling pressured to do more, be more, or prove our worthiness.

    Wow, it sounds awesome, doesn’t it? Is it really possible to feel that way all the time? Yes, but probably not in the way you’re imagining it. Just because we choose a positive attitude doesn’t mean that our lives will transform into smoothly-flowing works of art and stay that way forever. Choosing a positive attitude is a process. We don’t just choose it once and expect everything to be perfect from that moment on. We will still experience setbacks, delays, accidents, frustrations, arguments, fatigue, and fear. The secret is how we choose to react to these experiences. Do we want to let them ruin our day, or do we choose to pick ourselves up and look hopefully to the future again? We do have the power to choose.

    You may be asking what the point of a positive attitude is. If we’ll still experience negative circumstances, why bother with choosing a positive attitude? Ah, that’s the true beauty of the creative process. What we choose to focus on the most, we create in our lives.

    By choosing a positive attitude each day, we are actually attracting more positive experiences, and reducing the likelihood of negative experiences. You may have noticed that each experience often determines the quality of the next experience, causing a chain reaction in our lives. If one little thing goes wrong, it can throw off our plans for the rest of the day. In this context, it’s easy to see how a positive attitude would be powerful. Rather than allowing one little thing to ruin our day, we would be able to shrug it off and continue on without a hitch.

    Over time, this resiliency begins to strengthen and empower us, which will show through in our demeanor. We begin attracting people and experiences that more closely match our attitude, and our lives eventually transform into more positive, fulfilling expressions of joy.

    And it all begins with a little thing called attitude! Again, this is a process, so go easy on yourself if you’re trying to adopt a more positive attitude. Simply focus on developing a stronger awareness of your attitude moment to moment in your daily experiences, and begin choosing a more positive one more often. It takes time to realize the full benefits of this type of mindset, but it is time well-spent.

    Before you know it, you’ll be one of those people you used to admire for their tenacity and strength, and your life will transform in amazing ways.

    Wendy Betterini is a freelance writer who strives to motivate, uplift, and inspire you to make your dreams a reality. Visit her website, http://www.WingsForTheHeart.com for more positive thoughts to help you on your journey.

  • Five Types of Affirmations for Empowerment

    This is a really great article about the different types of affirmations! Enjoy! Sister Bridget

    Five Types of Affirmations for Empowerment by Jeanie Marshall

    Five categories of affirmations support you in manifesting powerful change. These five categories or types of affirmations have emerged from my consulting work with clients and workshop participants. You may work with affirmations in every category concurrently, or you may focus on a different category each day or each week. It is important that affirmations you select resonate with you, that is, that they feel natural and appropriate. In order to experience this resonance, you may need to change words in the ones listed here as examples, or let these inspire you to create ones you prefer, or develop your own from scratch.

    Popular Affirmations

    Many popular affirmations are beautiful, indeed, they are quite extraordinary! However, if you do not believe them, they are useless or even counterproductive. If you say an affirmation you do not believe, saying it repeatedly will not make you believe it. Actually, the repetition can build up greater resistance to believing it. Consider this example: Sam feels powerless. He has had many experiences that he can point to that justify his feelings and his belief in his own powerlessness and unworthiness. Saying "I am powerful" is less likely to erase his feelings of powerlessness than to prompt an emphatic reaction, such as, "Oh, no, I’m not!" If Sam does not deal with the resistance, he carries it with him as he lives his life.

    An empowering process emerges by using these five categories of affirmations in a systematic way to assist you in embracing an affirmation that you desire to believe but do not. If you have an intention and a desire to say and believe "I am powerful," start by releasing powerlessness, open to the possibility of being powerful, affirm an intention and readiness to live in your power, claim your power, and let the idea of powerfulness integrate into your life.

    Following are the five categories of affirmations described briefly with a few examples of each type.

    Releasing/Cleansing Affirmations

    The purpose of Releasing and/or Cleansing Affirmations is to let go of unwanted and unneeded stuff. Especially, they help you let go of resistance. They allow you to purify your system. These affirmations stimulate the release of toxins such as negative thought forms, repressed or suppressed emotions, old memories, negative bonds with others, karma, dark consensus reality, illusions of all types.

    Examples:

        * I give myself permission to release toxicity from every level of my energy field.
        * I rescind outdated vows of poverty, celibacy, struggle, silence, and unworthiness.
        * I release resistance.
        * I let go of old programs that keep me stuck in old patterns.
        * I let go of everything I do not want or need for my highest good.

    Receiving/Accepting Affirmations

    The purpose of Receiving and/or Accepting Affirmations is to open to allow something to be. They allow us to receive goodness from the Universe. They neutralize the misqualification of energy; that is, they can reverse illness or other density. In addition, they help us shift the attention from disempowering actions such as, "getting" or "taking" to more freeing concepts such as, "receiving" and "allowing" and "accepting."

    Examples:

        * I open to the gifts of the Universe.
        * I allow abundance to flow through me.
        * I accept support when I need it.
        * Dear God, please let me know what to do in a way that I can understand.
        * I accept peace and joy in all aspects of my life.

    Being/Intending Affirmations

    The purpose of Being and/or Intending Affirmations is to ground your purpose, especially your higher purpose. These affirmations enhance conscious awareness of your intention about something or about your mission in life. In addition, these affirmations can deepen your understanding of your reason for being and/or acting generally or in a specific situation. They can be used to enhance any and all actions that follow.

    Examples:

        * I know that this is for the highest good of all concerned.
        * I deepen my awareness of the consciousness from which actions spring.
        * I live my mission.
        * My intention is to live free from struggle, fear, and hopelessness.
        * I remember.

    Acting/Claiming Affirmations

    The purpose of Acting and/or Claiming Affirmations is to bring something into manifestation or to direct the energy of your intention to appropriate manifestation. These affirmations bring into the physical experience those ideas that you hold in your mind and/or heart. In addition, these affirmations help you to claim your power and establish boundaries in relationships.

    Examples:

        * I act with high intention and purposeful awareness.
        * I step into the world to live my mission in every word and action.
        * I demand my good right now.
        * I make every act an act of love (or freedom or mastery or hope, etc.).
          I am powerful. I am worthy. I am loveable. I am free.

    Integrating/Embodying Affirmations

    The purpose of Integrating and/or Embodying Affirmations is to allow the energy and meaning of the affirmations to merge with your consciousness. Affirmations and ideas that do not resonate, drop away. Integrating/Embodying Affirmations support us in knowing more deeply — integrating — what we have learned rather than introducing new information.

    Examples:

        * I integrate trust into every aspect of my life.
        * I breathe love into my job, my body, my relationships.
        * Yes to Life!
        * Today is an opportunity for peace.
        * I breathe in abundance, letting my whole body feel its energy.

    Affirmations as Lifestyle

    As you work more and more with intentional affirmations — written, spoken, read, chanted, meditated upon — you will make them part of your lifestyle. Affirmations are already working for (or against!) you. It is your job to select the ones you want to live by. Remember, you are already using affirmations every time you think or speak! If your current affirmations are disempowering, you can intentionally change them to ones that you choose to live by.

    Copyright Ā© 1994-2005 Marshall House. All rights reserved. You may save this article, send it to a friend, or reprint it in your online publications, provided the article remains complete and this information is attached.  DailyAffirm  http://www.dailyaffirm.com

  • How to Overcome Negative Thinking

    How to Overcome Negative Thinking 

    The Snowball Effect
    Oh my God, Itā€™s four Pm!!
    I should arrive there within a maximum of 10 minutes
    But what if I didnā€™t arrive on time!
    I may miss a part of the exam, thatā€™s really terrible I canā€™t afford to lose any more marks
    And if I didnā€™t do well in this exam my mood will get a blow
    Now with bad grade in one more subject I could fail this year!!
    And if I didnā€™t graduate earlier I may not find a job!! After all there seems to be a recession on doors.

    HEY HEY STOP!!!!! You are only late for 10 minutes and now you are thinking about failing and a recession !! Donā€™t laugh at this story because we all do exactly the same thing but without noticing, it all starts by a small seed, the unwanted event, then negative thinking turns the samll seed to a big tree and sometimes a forest!!

    Why do you think your mood suddenly swings without an apparent reason? Itā€™s the snowball effect, a tiny event may have happened but your self talk kept expanding it until it became a catastrophe. Although the above example may be a little exaggerated, if you just watched your self talk you will discover that you even create larger snow balls out of nothing!! Whatā€™s really funny is that, in most cases, the event that happened will have no bad impact on your life at all and even if it did, it would be a minimal impact compared to your imagined huge snowball.

    What Negative Thinking Can Do
    Lots of people ask me whether negative thinking is the cause for lack of self confidence or not, in fact, negative thinking is not the cause for lack of self confidence but negative thinking is the direct agent that interacts with your beliefs and so itā€™s whatā€™s responsible for changing your idea about yourself. For example, if negative thinking was used to reinforce a false belief about your looks then most probably the result will be lack of self confidence.

    In other words, negative thinking is the tool used by your mind to eat out your self confidence, to swing your mood and to even depress you. One other dangerous thing about negative thinking is that your emotions does not change except after a few phrases of self talk are played in your mind, so any unwanted emotional change that happens to you is caused by negative thinking or negative self talk.

    How to Overcome Negative Thinking
    Life is full of annoying events and if each event left you with a negative snow ball then you will stay down forever. If you want to avoid this then you should follow some of these practices in order to minimize your negative thinking:

    * Donā€™t create snow balls: Sometimes we cant hold ourselves from having negative thoughts, if thatā€™s the case, then donā€™t grow these negative thoughts bigger and just focus on how to deal with the new situation
       
    * Accept the Change: When an unexpected event happens we usually go through some stages before we return back to our previous mental state. The last one of these steps is acceptance and the one just before it is bargaining. In bargaining the person usually keeps thinking of the reasons that caused the bad event and of the bad consequences that will follow, usually this is the stage where negative thinking is at its peak, if you want to move away faster from this stage then you must learn how to accept the new events. Acceptance may sound like an intuitive advice but its not, if you want to be able to accept new and unexpected events then you should know about the psychology of acceptance, this article will explain to you everything about acceptance and it will give you the Know-how of acceptance.
       
    * Have Faith: In the middle of the darkness there is usually no room for positive thinking, after all, why have a positive attitude while there is no possible way out? And here comes faith into play, faith is the only thing that can withstand the worst unexpected life events yet keep you optimistic. I donā€™t like the idea of believing in God just because we need a God and thatā€™s why I am not asking you to do so, but i am only asking you to seek your answers, if you donā€™t believe in God then search for him in order to know whether you are on the right track or whether you should belief in him.

     

  • What is positive affirmation?

    On to a new topic! There has been lots and lots of talk lately about affirmations, what are they, how can we use them, what do they do? In the next couple of weeks we will talk about that, practice writing some and using them to help our mental and emotional outlook. So lets get started!

    What is positive affirmation? 

    Positive affirmations are those encouraging words you tell yourself when you want to boost your morale or you simply want to energize yourself into doing something you desire. That little voice you talk to when you want to do something and you debate with when you doubt that you are capable of doing something is all part of positive affirmation.

    Every word you say to boost your performance and thoughts are actually positive affirmation. Your positive affirmation reflects the thoughts and beliefs you may have obtained or formed when you were a child. However, they may no longer be appropriate for you now.

    An example would be a failure experienced when you were still young. You cannot let this experience sabotage your success now because such thought and experience may no longer be appropriate for you considering a lot of factors that has influenced your life from that timeline.

    By using words of encouragement or positive affirmations to modify your views on failure you are able to instill in the subconscious mind the necessary positive changes that you need to overcome fear of failure. And by barraging the subconscious mind into believing that you can do it you are slowly washing away that old negative mindset and paving the way for a new outlook.

    Positive affirmations can come in the form of positive statements, usually short, and which aims to challenge the negative beliefs you have about yourself. These daily affirmations are meant to replace the negative beliefs that undermine your belief in yourself.

    Every person encounters negative thoughts everyday; some negative thoughts are mild and do not really produce serious effects. However, there are negative thoughts that prevent you from achieving your dreams and even from living a good life. Some negative thoughts can even affect your performance at work and even the way you deal with your relationships.

    Positive affirmations lead your subconscious mind into believing the opposite of the negative thoughts that pervade your mind. It is just like brainwashing only this time, you can choose which perception to change.

    Negative thoughts are the most common source of emotional baggage that causes bitterness and discontent. By using positive affirmation to change these thoughts you increase your chances of becoming successful and of leading a happy life.

    With positive affirmation to bolster your self-image, nothing can hold you back into becoming what you want to become and what you hope to achieve.

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