Continued from my June blog on the effects that positive affirmations can have on our lives, and tips on how to create your own statements.  Here are some affirmations that may be helpful in expressing what you wish for yourself, or they may trigger an ‘a-ha!’ moment, helping you to recognize a certain thought pattern that may be holding you back in some way.  It’s fun to use a list like the one below to exercise your intuitive muscles, too!  Try scanning through the list and if a certain phrase or word stands out to you, ‘go with your gut’ and use it in a positive affirmation for a few weeks.  You may realize the reason for needing that positive word to be real in your life, or you may not understand at first why a particular phrase jumped out at you. Try using it anyway!  You’ve got nothing to lose and chances are that your intuition, your gut feeling that you used to pick that phrase, knows why those words might help you before you consciously know why.  For example, I did this several months ago and the affirmation “I listen to my inner truth” stood out to me.  I thought it was strange, because I’m big on consciously acknowledging gut feelings and staying true to my hearts desires and all that stuff.  So not sure why that was something I needed to focus on more, I used the affirmation regularly anyway.  I wrote it in bright colors on an index card and put it on the mirror in my bedroom, and I’d repeat it a few times when I’d glance at it, not giving it much thought otherwise.  Then over a period of a couple of months, it randomly dawned on me that I was indeed “listening to my inner truth”, but there were many times where I was not acting on it.  This little discrepancy was holding me back in huge ways in my life, and I never became aware of the extent of it until I let this little phrase cross my mind from time to time!  This is probably an extreme example, but hopefully it shows how sometimes the simplest techniques can cause great growth.  These two blogs show two very different ways of using positive affirmations:  you can keep it simple and to the point of something you know you want to work on, (“I am self-confident and outgoing in social situations”), or you can go big and broad, like most of the examples below, while staying open to insights, (“I am aware of all I need to do to be happy in life.”) Positive Affirmation Suggestions:  (mix and match, add new words…just remember to keep them positive and in the present tense.)       ~I accept myself as I am. ~I am grateful for the experiences of my life. ~I am worthy of a good life. ~Love is at the center of my life.   ~I listen to my inner truth. ~I share my feelings with ease and comfort. ~I acknowledge the presence of spirit working in my life. ~I release fear, doubt, and pain as I accept that my life is blessed. Affirmations taken from: The Book of Chakras: Discover the Hidden Forces Within You, by Ambika Wauters.