Question: Are there ways a person can unknowingly cancel the positive affirmation that they’re using?

Answer: There are many ways you can cancel out a positive affirmation. One of the most basic is not having faith that it will manifest. If you’re afraid that the affirmation won’t create what you want, this will sap power from the statement, and you’ll manifest what you fear.

Having unconscious conflicts or blocks to the result will also restrict the manifestation. These could be from past experiences, childhood programming, other people’s conditioning, or any number of things.

The best thing to do is to examine what you really *feel* about the outcome. Listen to any negating statements you might tell yourself, and track them down to where they came from. Address them with an affirmation that counters them.

One of the most common ways to negate an affirmation is stating the affirmation, then during the day, stating its opposite. For example, affirming “I’m prosperous” then saying, “I don’t have enough money for….”

One other way that comes to mind is giving power to someone else to negate the affirmation. For example, if there are negative people in your life, and they belittle you when you say something positive. They can’t actually take any power away from you that you don’t give them. But, in this case, the most prudent thing to do is to keep your positive goals to yourself.

Copyright 2002, 2011 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

affirmation · believe · positive thinking · self-talk

Question: “What can I do when I get concerned about my finances?”

Answer: When I get into that state (as I sometimes do), I immerse myself in books on prosperity. This not only helps my peace of mind, but keeps my thoughts more positive.

See if your local library has any prosperity books, especially by Catherine Ponder or Joseph Murphy. One of my standby’s is “The Abundance Book,” by John Randolph Price. There are also a bunch written recently by other authors. Even books on general mind principles by Emmet Fox are great for this.

Your library is probably connected to a library system, so if they don’t have the book you want, another in the system probably does and you can order it.

Copyright 2011 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

abundance · beliefs · believe · prosperity · success

Question: I have been trying to develop my “psychic gifts” for many years now, without success. What can I do to get past it?

Answer: Many people are in a similar situation to you. They would like to develop an ability or talent more, but feel that it’s being blocked somehow. Sometimes, its cause is in a past life, and is re-stimulated in the present life. I’d recommend you read my article, “Past Lives: 101, Part 1-3″ especially part 3, (go to my Article Index page and scroll down near the bottom) to get some deeper understanding of how this works. And many times, it’s something that has happened in the current life that has shut it down.

As to how to get past it, begin telling yourself that it’s safe now to experience those gifts. The subconscious is just trying to keep you protected and safe. If some trauma happened in a past life that made it dangerous to express them, then letting the subconscious/soul know that the fear is a response to a time long ago, and not relevant now, is key. Inner reassurance that it isn’t dangerous for you any more, that this is a different situation, can help to reduce the subconscious’ attempt to protect you.

Generally, as with any block, a past life issue was then re-triggered in the present life. If you can track back to what might have been said or done that shut you down as a child, that can be very helpful. An adult might have disbelieved you or was afraid of how you could sense things. Unfortunately, this happens a lot.

To handle it, you follow the same process as dealing with a past life issue. Reassurance, encouragement, specifically addressing what was said or done, will help the subconscious realize that it’s okay now.

Then start practicing your psychic gift in a small way, in one area. For instance, sense where you should go for the best parking place. Or, when the phone rings, sense who it might be. You could get the pack of “psychic cards,” that have different shapes on them, choose one at a time, and practice predicting which one has been selected. Pick one exercise, and do that and only that one for a while.

This is to help begin expanding the availability of your gift, as well as showing the subconscious that nothing bad is happening from it.

Take it slow, one step at a time. This builds your confidence that can expand into other areas, and it builds the subconscious’ feeling of safety. I know you want to make faster progress, but it could be counter-productive. If you try to go too fast, it might be too much for your subconscious to handle, and it’ll shut down again. Take it slow and steady.

Copyright 2011 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

beliefs · believe · empowerment · intuition · personal development · personal growth · self-talk

Question: If one person is affirming something positive for a friend, while someone else is speaking negatively to that friend, will that affect the first person’s affirmation?

Answer: If one person is affirming something for someone else, the receiver may or may not accept the blessing of the affirmation. For instance, a person can affirm health for a loved one, but the loved one has to accept the idea of health for the affirmation to be fulfilled. They have free choice as to whether to experience it or not. Why would someone not want to have a better life? There are many reasons for that.

And if someone else is affirming something negative, the receiver will accept whatever they identify with the most. Their dominant attitude will lean them in the direction of the most familiar. For example, suppose you give a compliment to someone. If they have a good self-image, they’ll just say “Thank you.” However, if they lack self-esteem, most likely they’ll negate whatever the compliment was.

What a person can do to help is to include a statement in their affirmation to give the person the free will to accept the substance of the affirmation and protect them from negativity. Something like “If any part of them is in agreement with this affirmation, then they accept it, and every level of their being is protected from outer negative influences.”

Copyright 2002, 2011 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

affirmation · attitude · beliefs · personal development · positive thinking · self-improvement

Question: Can someone put a curse on another and manipulate them through the power of their thoughts or words?

Answer: Someone can only manipulate another through curses if the person being cursed believes it or is open to it. Someone who knows that they are Divinely protected cannot be harmed through any “magical” means. The power of thought and prayer pervades us all, and we’re all affected by this power. If it’s a negative thought from someone else, if we’re not solid in the belief of being protected, then it can influence us or our life.

I had a friend who had a former boyfriend who tried to manipulate her life through “psychic” means. At the time, this friend was learning not to let others take advantage of her. As she became stronger in saying “no” to others demeaning her, the former boyfriend’s influence became weaker and weaker. That’s what I meant by a person has to be open to it. She was open to being manipulated and belittled, so the former boyfriend’s thought was able to affect her. When she became stronger in her own worth, his thought no longer could harm her.

If someone says something with great emotion to a person he wishes to curse, the emotion will impress the subconscious mind of the person. Think of how it feels when someone says something nasty to you. Generally, you’ll feel bad. Words have power to hurt. But the stated curse can be reversed, because it’s all within the person’s own subconscious. It has very little to do with the person doing the cursing.

Copyright 2002, 2011 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

attitude · beliefs · believe · empowerment · personal development · personal growth · self-help · self-improvement

Question: Can I listen to a self-hypnosis audio or CD in the car while I’m driving?

Answer: My answer is an unequivocal, absolute “Please, no!” Not even with headphones. Not even if you aren’t driving. Self-hypnosis audios and CDs (whether mine or someone else’s) lead you to focus your attention inwardly, to the extent that everything in your outer world fades away.

When you’re driving, you need to be alert and aware. Even if you fast forward past the beginning part, the induction, the voice on the tape is going to be soothing and gentle. That alone will lull you into a relaxed, more inwardly directed state. Think of how it feels when you’re driving and listening to elevator music or music that bores you.

Once upon a time, I told a client not to listen to her individualized audiotape while driving. I wasn’t specific enough. At one point, her son was driving her to an appointment in a nearby city. She figured, “I’m not driving,” so popped her audiotape into the tape player in the car, and sat back to listen to it.

Soon, she became aware that the tires sounded funny. She opened her eyes and discovered that her son had succumbed to the relaxation on the tape and the car had drifted into the emergency lane. So I’m much more specific now when I warn people not to listen to their hypnosis recording in a moving vehicle.

Copyright 2002, 2011 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

self-hypnosis

Question: Will the subconscious mind accept negative or false suggestions during hypnosis?

Answer: Your subconscious will accept anything that you tell it and believe to be true. There are many documented cases in which a person with an allergy to a rose, for instance, is hypnotized and told that a plastic flower is a rose. They experience the same allergic symptoms to that plastic flower as they would to a real rose.

However, your subconscious won’t accept suggestions that go against a strong principle or belief for survival. For instance, if you have an imprinted belief that success will harm you in some way, your subconscious will reject any suggestions for success.

In hypnosis, you suggest ideas that currently aren’t so, to create a new reality for yourself. Your subconscious can’t distinguish between what is positive or negative, so be sure to phrase things positively and know what it is you really want.

Copyright 2011 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

beliefs · change · goals · self-hypnosis · success

Question: While I am in hypnosis, can I use one or more affirmations?

Answer: You can use more than one affirmation in a session, as long as the affirmation still focuses on one particular subject. If you try to deal with too many areas of change at one time, it overwhelms the subconscious and you won’t get anywhere.

In my newsletter, each article I write has an accompanying affirmation that is several sentences long. As long as the phrase isn’t so long that you forget what is says, or don’t understand it, it’s great to use an affirmation with more than a single sentence. This helps to build up expectation and address other areas within that one main topic that you want to change.

Copyright 2011 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

affirmation · attitude · beliefs · believe · expectation · self-hypnosis

Question: Why is it that, as I begin to change, more blocks begin to surface?

Answer: It’s not unusual that more stuff (blocks) rise to the surface as you begin to change. You’re loosening up the stuff that’s been stuck for a long time. There are a couple of reasons why that could be happening.

First, your subconscious could be uncomfortable with your changes and may be trying to get you back into your old patterns. It may feel unsafe with what you’re doing. In this case, persistence and reassurance are called for. Persistence in the direction you’re going, and reassurance to your subconscious that it’s safe for you to do so.

Secondly, your changes could simply be stirring up old stuff that’s been dormant deep within. It’s called ‘chemicalization.’ My teacher explained it as “Imagine a glass half-filled with water (all that is good and positive) with a layer of mud (negativity) on the bottom of the glass.

When you pour in more good (positive), it stirs up the mud (negative) so that the clear water is now mixed with the mud. Eventually, when you pour enough clear water in, the mud settles back down, and you have a greater proportion of clear water than mud.” Again, persistence is the key. Things will begin to settle down. Eventually.

Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

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Question: How can one know that an affirmation has taken root and what outward signs show that the seed is growing?

Answer: It’s hard to know when the seed has begun to sprout. When you forget about the concern, and have a solid faith that it’s being taken care of, you know that it’s begun to germinate.

Sometimes, you’ll get some mis-messages or dead ends as the affirmation is beginning to manifest. It’s as if your creative mind is trying out different situations as it works to manifest what you want.

Other times, it’ll manifest all at once with no warning. The main thing is not to dig up the seed to see if it’s sprouted. When you do this, you’re not letting it germinate, any more than if you dig up a seed to see if it’s sprouted when you’re gardening.

You have to have as much faith that your word is taking root as you have that a seed knows how to germinate and sprout in your garden. As long as you release the concern, knowing that God and your creative mind are working on the means, it
will come to you in Divine Time.

Copyright 2002, 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

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