What are affirmations and how can they help with our inner work?
I am inspired by things happening all around me.
I am grateful for the people I have in my life.
I grow every day.
I am able to learn from all situations.
I am kind and help inspire others to be kind.
My life is full of potential.
I give myself permission to be myself.
I have the power to change.
I am courageous.
I am capable of standing up for myself.
I love myself fully.
I am enough.
My needs and desires are important.
I choose to celebrate my good qualities.
I am good enough.
I am empowered to take my own path.
I give myself permission to do what is right for me.
I am open to opportunities.
I trust myself.
Positive affirmations are personal statements made in the present tense, encouraging us to live as we wish to live right here, right now.
I used to think affirmations were all a bit too positive and saccharin for me. It didn’t feel at all comfortable making statements to myself about myself that didn’t originate from my inner critic. I would happily assert that I was ‘slow’, ‘fearful’ or ‘over sensitive’, thinking that was more honest and that to tell the Universe about all my strengths would just be pandering to my ego. But in reality, my ego loved my dramatic slowness, anxiety and sensitivity. I had put on a cloak labeled ‘invisibility’ many years ago and that’s what my ego was used to.
Over time, many great teachers have shown me the possibility of affirmations. They are not selfish or self-indulgent and shining a light on our strengths doesn’t banish the shadows and pretend they don’t exist.
A Buddhist Rinpoche taught me that affirmations begin with gratitude and appreciation. An author I have worked with for years introduced me to vision boards while an acupuncturist spoke to me of energy and vibration, how we can clear away old stagnant energy and allow good energy to flow.
I now realise that affirmations offer an opportunity to get up and close and personal with ourselves and with the gifts we have to bring to the world. They can help to reframe what we feel we are worthy of and release old limiting stories we believed about ourselves. They ask us to choose how we want to live, express our desires and have the courage to follow our inner compass.
And they help us explore the answers to the biggest question of all:
Who Am I?
