Affirmations

When looking over the list of possible topics for this first post in the Pagan Blog Project, the word, “affirmation” jumped out for me. I have been working with affirmations on a regular basis for the last year and it has made a huge difference in my daily outlook on life and how I handle difficult situations, so naturally I wanted to share this with the world and especially those of you participating in this group.

Okay, now, where do I start? This blank computer screen is screaming at me to be filled. My minds is racing with sentence fragments and oh, wait, now there is a traffic jam up there and I can’t even form a complete sentence!  

After a few deep breaths, I realize that there may be some of you that haven’t seen or worked with affirmations, so let’s start by defining the word. Simply typing the word in the Google search bar yields hundreds of sites, with thousands of possibilities, but I want to start at Dictionary.com for a clearing understanding of the word. Here we find that the word in derived from the Latin affirmation (with several accent markings with make it sound way more Latin) which stems from affirmation and is first know to have been used in the early to mid 1500’s. In further defining the term, Dictionary.com states, “the assertion that something exists or is true, the action or an instance of affirming”.

Good, so now we know that an affirmation is a positive statement or thought about something’s (a trait, habit, environment) existence. For instance, repeating to yourself, “I am beautiful” or “I have everything I need”.

When I first started my practice, I found it difficult to wake up every morning and think of something positive to say about myself or my life situation, and I even scoffed at any benefit that might truly be derived from doing so on a regular basis. It was important for me to make some changes, so I started by simply reading the affirmations posted daily on Facebook by others. Gradually, my attitude started to change. As my attitude changed, my life changed. Then the ego jumped in and whispered, “okay, your good to go, you don’t need to do this anymore”, and I listened. Crash!

I don’t want to turn this into a long tale with me as the central character. What I want to say is that this is a practice; it takes daily involvement, mindfulness and intention if you will, in order to see results. It is the Magic of words that give us the power to heal ourselves and others. That’s right. Affirmations don’t just have to be personal statements; they can include others and be as simple as Blessed Be.