Sunday, November 27, 2011

Pay It Forward for Yourself

It's a great book to work through with a partner or close friend. Thanks to Angela for recommending it to me
More on the power of thought, not in a "the Secret" kind of nebulous way, but in a "you are what you think" or "you become what you believe" kind of way.

In her book You can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay writes that self criticism will only  perpetuate negative feeling and behaviour. She says, "The place to put the mental energy is into releasing the old and creating a new thought pattern." She suggests constructing affirmations that counter your negative thought. Affirmations are a way of reprogramming your brain's thinking tracks. Affirmations are a way of being pro-active as well as reactive to negative thought patterns.

I really like Hay's encouragement to focus on what you wish to retain in your life as constructive and what you are willing to release as destructive. An example of an affirmation she gives, "I am willing to release the need to be unworthy. I am worthy of the very best in life, and I now lovingly allow myself to accept it."

I found it helpful to make a list last year of the things I wanted to release and retain as I entered 2011.
Different from a New Year's resolution, but with the same intention for positive change. I was amazed, looking at my list in April, how I'd released all already! Incredibly potent the brain is.


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