Empowering Your Mind

Question: Why are we told to say an affirmation in the present tense instead of the future tense?

Answer: The subconscious is very literal. When you state an affirmation in the future tense, you’re telling the subconscious to keep it in the future. Therefore, you’ll never get to experience it in the here and now. I know it seems odd, because you know you don’t have your goal in the present.

You may feel like you’re fooling yourself when you state your affirmation as if you already have it. But that gives direction to your subconscious. Also, remember that you already have your desire in Mind, because you wouldn’t have been able to conceive of it if the Universe hadn’t already given it to you.

Copyright 2001, 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Question: Although I’ve been getting results from affirmations, I don’t feel or act any differently, and the results fade away. What’s going on?

Answer: If you’ve been getting results, then something is going right. However, if you’re not feeling or acting any differently, maybe that’s where you should start focusing. Affirmations are powered by emotions and feelings. Affirmations help to reprogram the subconscious to accept the change.

However, if you’re not feeling any differently about the situation, then you are going to return to your original condition. The subconscious acts on the dominant thought. If you are, on average, fairly pessimistic or critical, then the subconscious is going to act on that, rather than the positive statement you’re using.

How can you begin to raise your overall state of consciousness? What can you do to act or feel differently that would be in alignment with your goal? You have to participate and ground the affirmation in your actions and willingness to change.

Also, once you begin to get results, you can’t stop your efforts and coast. It would be like rowing a boat. Once you stop rowing, the boat drifts in that direction for awhile, then is stationary.

I know it can be frustrating and discouraging sometimes. You may want to use an affirmation that asks for direction and the next step to be revealed. A question one teacher of prosperity suggests we ask, when things aren’t changing, is, “What or where do I need to change to manifest my goal?” And be open to any answer that comes.

Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

inspiration

Question: Does saying an affirmation have to be constant?

Answer: Consider this, you’ve been stating untruths to yourself consistently for a very long time. Those falsehoods have taken root and grown into a fairly nice sized weed patch. If you were gardening, and wanted to make the plot ready for planting, what would you do? You’d pull put the weeds, turn the soil, plant seeds, and water. You wouldn’t then ignore it, assuming that everything was done. You’d still have to water several times a week, de-pest however you choose, and keep pulling out any weeds that would pop up.

The same is true of saying affirmations. Not only do you have to counteract the false statements you’ve been saying to yourself for years, you have to make sure none sprout up again from seeds planted long ago. So your new declaration has to be made constantly and consistently so that it can become your new reality. You are brainwashing yourself of what it is you want, now. To do so, you have to be persistent and determined. That’s the only way to impress your subconscious mind with your commitment.

Copyright 2001, 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Question: What is the best way to go about trying to manifest a past love back into one’s life?

Answer: You’re not the first person to ask me this question. I’m afraid I have bad news for you. It’s not a good thing to try to affirm or manifest a particular person into your life.

I know this is hard to accept. If you decide that you want a particular person, you’d be interfering with that other person’s choices and maybe even his karma. Interfering with another’s free choice, or their karma, isn’t pretty. If that happens, and you take someone’s choice away from them, you’ll reap the consequences eventually.

My suggestion is a hard one. I’d suggest you begin affirming for the “Divine right person to come into my life. A person who harmonizes with me.” It may or may not be the person you’re in love with now. You can affirm that if it’s right for both of you, somehow you and he connect again. But realize that there may be a much better person waiting for you to let the Universe take over your romantic life.

There’s an old saying that goes something like (I can’t remember the exact phrasing) “Let love go free. If it flies away, it was never meant to be yours. If it returns, it belongs to you.”

Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

self improvement, self help, personal growth, personal development

Question: When focusing on a particular goal, is it better to use a single sentence affirmation or several (four to six) sentences?

Answer: There are conflicting opinions on whether it is better to use a one sentence affirmation or several sentences. My experience is that the best way is to have a several sentence affirmation that you say a couple of times a day, along with a single sentence affirmation that reinforces the long affirmation. You can use the single sentence as a type of mantra during the day.

For myself, if I’m working on a particularly difficult issue, I’ll write a long affirmation that might be up to two pages long. It will include all of the issues around the difficulty, and include a single sentence that really impresses me as incorporating the essence of the affirmation. I’ll read the long affirmation out loud a couple of times a day, and then repeat a shorter version several times a day. I’ve made some incredible breakthroughs with this technique, which derives from my experience as a hypnotherapist.

Copyright 2001, 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

self improvement, self help, personal growth, personal development

Question: Is it safe to do meditation and self-hypnosis at the same time?

Answer: You can do self-hypnosis at the same time that you do meditation, mindfulness of the breath, or guided imagery. You’re accessing the same mental state with them all. I find that doing relaxation and a countdown gets me into a deeper state at the beginning of my meditation. After the self-hypnotic “induction” I then go on with whatever meditation I’m practicing that day.

You could start with the induction (progressive relaxation), spend some time on meditation (mindfulness of breath), and some time at the end with any imagery/affirmation/positive suggestion/prayer that you want. I do that all the time, and it’s very effective. Or you could flip the meditation and directed consciousness (positive suggestion, etc.) parts. There is no right or wrong way to go about this. It all depends on what works for you. Some people call the directed consciousness part “dynamic meditation” because you’re more goal oriented during your inner time.

Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

inspiration

Question: What’s the difference between Creative Visualization and Guided Imagery?

Answer: There’s not a lot of difference. First, I want to address the terms Visualization and Imagery. They’re the same thing, though some people have gotten the impression that Visualization means simply picturing an image, as if it’s on  a  mental screen. This isn’t the case. In every book I’ve read that mentions Visualization, (and I’ve read a lot of them, some forty and fifty years old) the author states that you should include all the senses when you visualize. To imagine what you’d sense, feel, hear, smell in that situation. Some people are more visual, some sense or feel the imagery, some hear words. We all have a combination of these, but one or two seems to be stronger. With practice, you can strengthen the senses that aren’t as obvious. Recently, many books have used the term Imagery, because it seems to escape some of the misconceptions associated with the word Visualization.

The difference between Creative Visualization and Guided Imagery lies in the words Creative and Guided. Creative Visualization is a deliberate mental imagining, meant to change your mind, thereby affecting your life. Such as, visualizing yourself as more slender, noticing how you feel, what actions you’d take, etc. You’re building the picture as you go. Since the mind can’t tell the difference between and image and reality, you’d eventually begin to act on that mental image. You’re picturing the desired end result.

Guided Imagery is when you or someone else guides you through a series of visualizations. Again, the goal is to effect some sort of change in your life. But this time, there’s a beginning, middle and an end. An example would be to imagine a white light flowing into your body, melting away any excess fat, and your body getting slimmer.

But these terms are so closely related that it’s difficult to separate them. I wouldn’t get too concerned about which means what, as long as you recognize that your life is created by the mental images you focus on. You have the power to change them.

Copyright 2001, 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Question: How can empathy make people overlook the consequences of the actions of another person?

Answer: When we’re empathetic, we feel another’s pain. Because it hurts us, we want to fix it (their pain) and make it go away so it stops hurting us. Many times, this means that we excuse an offender, let them get away with inappropriate behavior, so that they feel better/feel better about themselves (so we think), and our pain eases. The problem with that is that they don’t learn from their mistake. We take away the motivation for them to learn from it, by excusing them. In so doing, we make ourselves part of the problem.

It’s not easy to let someone take the consequences of their actions, when we’re sensing their inner pain. But the only way many people learn is to be in enough pain to finally decide to change. In 12- Step programs, this is called “hitting bottom.” Sometimes, an intervention can help to make the alcohol/drug abuser uncomfortable enough to accept help. But during an intervention, the consequences of not accepting help have to be severe enough, and decided enough, to make them realize that they’re not going to be allowed to continue taking advantage of others.

When do we nurture and when do we let them fall flat on their face? Unfortunately, most people only learn to treat others well by experiencing some discomfort.

Copyright 2009 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Question: What is the difference between meditation and hypnosis?

Answer: Hypnosis works in the same way meditation does because you are in the same mental state with both of them. It’s just that with traditional hypnosis, you have a goal in mind. But many guided meditations also have a goal, of understanding oneself better, or inner exploration. And when a person uses affirmations in meditation, it’s the same as using suggestions in hypnosis. An hypnotherapist doesn’t control a subject’s mind anymore than someone leading a guided meditation does.

With hypnosis, a person is opening up to greater possibilities, and empowering oneself to achieve greater potentials than before. They’re accessing a deeper level of soul than when they are being analytical. Creativity and intuition can be tapped into, just as when a person meditates.

There really isn’t much difference between meditation and hypnosis, except that with meditation, a person listens to the still small voice a tiny bit more than with hypnosis. The aim is slightly different. The awareness is similar.

Copyright 2001, 2009 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Question: Why is it so hard to accept myself?

Answer: From childhood, you’ve been told that who you are isn’t acceptable to the people around you. You were taught to reject parts of yourself to conform to others’ rules and regulations. “Don’t be so enthusiastic,” “Stop acting like a child,” “Don’t be so serious,” “Don’t ask so many questions,” “Don’t be mad,” “You don’t really feel/think that,” and on and on. You did your best to conform to what the people close to you wanted. If you acted in a way that they didn’t like, you were punished. You accepted their judgement of you, that somehow parts of you were “bad.” Now, when you try to accept yourself, you feel like you’ll be punished, criticized, or rejected. So you correct yourself first, before anyone else can, to try to keep yourself safe.

When I began to accept myself, I felt very threatened, as if my world was going to collapse. But with time, I found that the world I knew transformed into something much better. However, transformation means that some old thought forms must dissolve to make room for new ones. Your attitudes, like the world is a dangerous place, or you have to give pieces of yourself away to be loved, may be dear to your heart, but you must let them go. It’s difficult to do this, because your life has been built around them, but you must to allow new ones to be created. Again, it’s scary to transform them, because you don’t know what will fill their place. But the Universe created you whole. When you accept the wholeness of yourself, the Universe will support you in it.

Copyright 2001, 2009 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

self improvement, self help, personal growth, personal development