(This is Part 3 of a series. Go back to Part 2.)
One of the essential aspects of using affirmations is to "catch" ourselves when we're thinking a negative thought and turn it into one that contradicts it.
If we find that our experience of life is unrewarding, or if some area of our life feels deficient, almost invariably we'll find that we're thinking a series of negative thoughts.
This thinking of negative thoughts can be so habitual that we don't even notice it. Yet it has profound effects.
To "catch" these negative thoughts, to become aware of them, is the first step in a powerful process that leads to much greater happiness and efffectiveness.
For instance, suppose we habitually think the thought that "People shouldn't lie." Because we often think a thought like this without really being aware of it, it's a fruitful step to catch ourselves having this thought, that is, to become aware that we're thinking it.
The next step is to become aware that this thought is not "the truth," but simply a thought. Do we really know what's for the highest good of this universe? Doubtful. Do we really know, with our little 3-pound brain, how this universe should be? Very doubtful.
How do we know that it should be raining today? Because it is. How do we know that we should have this much money right now? Because we do. How do we know that people should lie sometimes? Because they do.
The bottom-line to all of this is the realization that the nature of reality is exactly how it's supposed to be. There is nothing "wrong" with it. Reality is itself the ultimate arbiter of how it ought to be.
Tomorrow reality will be different in some ways. It goes from one perfection to the next, from the perfection of today to the perfection of tomorrow, but perfect each step of the way. To truly see this is to trust existence, even if it means that "you" or "I" die this evening.
The next step is to create a thought that contradicts our story about reality. "People shouldn't lie" becomes "People should lie whenever they do"—because they do sometimes. How do we know that people should lie sometimes? Because they do. That's reality.
But if we think that it's a good philosophy that "People shouldn't lie," then fine, let us do it. "I shouldn't lie." If we think it's so easy to tell the truth all the time, terrific,
then let us show how to do it by example. We may find that it's not as easy as we thought.
In the meantime, by letting go of our death-grip on the belief that "People shouldn't lie" we cease our quarrel with reality, we come into alignment with reality-as-it-is. People do lie sometimes; it's neither right nor wrong. It just is what it is, like the raindrops falling on the ground.
This process becomes especially useful when creating our list of affirmations. If we catch ourselves thinking "I'm not good enough" we can consciously stop and create the direct contradiction to that thought: "I am good enough." Then that joins our list of affirmations.
In the same way, "I'm a failure" becomes "My life is a wonderful success." "I'm too old" becomes "I'm the perfect age to do whatever I'd like to do." "My life has been a series of mistakes" becomes "My life is unfolding exactly as it is supposed to"—which is the literal truth.
"Catching" our negative thoughts in this way and devising thoughts that contradict them will prove of tremendous assistance in coming up with a list of affirmations that is powerful, expansive and life-enhancing.
(This is the end of Part 3. Go to Part 4.)
—jim sloman, 6.8.04 for Sept 29
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