Affirmations are one of the simplest and most powerful things we can
do to change the quality of our lives, and to create the things we want.
The power of affirmations
Affirmations are the force of creation.
“Every thought has a counterpart in a word or sound; the word and the thought are inseparable. The external part of a thing is what we may call the thought. The same thought may be expressed by different words or sounds. Though the sounds vary, yet the relation between the sound and the thoughts is a natural one”.
(Swami Nikhilananda Sri Ramakrishna Math:)
The power of affirmations can be stated very simply: Affirmations are the force of creation. For
AUM being the sound symbol of Parmatman (Supreme Reality), it is considered to be the first vibration as sound emanating at the beginning of creation.
“In the beginning was the word….”(John 1:10)
To affirm means to make firm. There is very little mystery about how and why affirmations work, once the principle is understood. An affirmation is simply a spoken declaration, in the present tense, which creates a desired reality.
Affirm what you know to be true in your heart, and you will create that reality. Affirm that you are free, and strong, and attractive, and prosperous, and loving – and you will find, often in a remarkably short time, that your outer world will begin to change as a reflection of your changing inner consciousness.
The act of creation
To understand how an affirmation has the power to create something, we must first understand how creation works. A great many different mythologies, mystical traditions, scientific studies, and religions have investigated the mysteries of creation. Many of these have come up with similar findings.
How is it possible for another person to know what idea or thought I have in my mind? Is it possible for me to make that idea come out of my mind and make it enter the mind of another person? To do that, I will have to summon the help of Mother Saraswati (Vak Devi) the goddess of speech (also known as the goddess of learning), or use the written word to communicate. This power or shakti when combined with the static thought, makes it possible for the thought or idea to travel.
This is a miraculous power or shakti. If I am speaking to an audience of fifty people, this power becomes manifold or multiplies and with my each thought enters the minds of all fifty people. If my talk is broadcast via satellite and if there are a million listeners, this shakti becomes a million fold. Its capacity is unlimited.
This combination of the product of human consciousness (thought) with Shakti makes manifestation of things possible. The clothes we wear, the chair on which we seat, the books we read, the computers we use; all these were first conceived as ideas in the human mind. The chairman of a big corporation conceives of an idea that a fifty-story sky-scraper building should be built. He conveys this idea, using his power (shakti) of speech, to the board of directors who approve it.
The idea is then conveyed with the aid of Mother Saraswati (speech or written words) to the financiers, to the architect, to the contractors, to the labourers on site. The result is the manifestation of a fifty-story building. The thought became a thing. Thoughts are things. Examine everything that surrounds one in the house.
Everything before being made existed as thought or idea before becoming a stove, table, clock, calendar, screwdriver, soap powder.
This is at the human level of microcosm.
At the cosmic level of macrocosm, the combination of Shiva and Shakti (Spirit and Matter) makes possible the manifestation of the universe. The dynamic shakti functions on the static Shiva. The substratum is Shiva and the vibrant manifestation is shakti. Like the screen (the substratum) and the projected image upon the screen (in a movie theatre).
Shiva and shakti are inseparable aspects of the one Reality, like the whiteness in milk; like the brilliance in diamond and like the word and its meaning. Just as heat is inherent in fire, the power inherent in God (Shiva) is maya (shakti). The manifest universe is the display of shakti or maya.
Man is constituted of both Shiva and Shakti. The persisting personality in him is Shiva and the perishing form is shakti. The being in him is Shiva and the becoming in him is shakti. The awareness or consciousness is Shiva and the physique is shakti. The sentient Shiva manifests Himself through the insentient matter viewed as shakti. The insentient physique enshrines and nurtures the sentient in man. In other words, Mother Nature nurtures what is sentient in man. Shakti rears the Shiva in man. Therefore, worshipful attitude towards Shakti is incumbent upon man evolving in Shivahood.
Theology abounds in terms such as Uma-Maheshwar, Lakshmi-Narayana, Radha-Krishna, Sita-Ram, Shiva-Shakti, Purusha-Prakriti, Ardhanarishwar, spirit and matter. These are all indicative of the fact that existence is a mixture of the sentient and the insentient.
(The following explanation is by Marc Allen)
I feel that the Kabbala- so-called ‘esoteric’ Judaism – expresses it very clearly and simply. Those who have studied other traditions will see many similarities.
To study the Kabbala is to study the ‘Tree of Life’. All things are contained within the Tree of Life. The creation of the Tree of Life reflects the mysteries of all creation. And the study of the Tree of Life explains the mysteries of ourselves, for we are a microcosm, mirroring the vast macrocosm: ‘As above, so below’.
The Tree of Life begins with emptiness, within the vast, shining void of space. Then it begins as a very subtle ‘spiritual impulse’ – the impulse to create. Then this very subtle spiritual impulse becomes something more tangible: a thought, a clearer, more definite impulse to create something. Once the impulse has become a thought, it gains momentum and becomes a feeling, an emotional impulse. This feeling, supported by a sustained thought, soon becomes manifested in physical form, as an object we can experience with our senses.
The way in which the Tree of Life is formed reflects the way in which everything in our lives is created. Everything has gone through this cycle: it is first a spiritual impulse, then a thought, then a feeling, then it becomes a physical manifestation. Everything we have created in our lives was first a thought, and then a feeling. Anything we consistently hold in our minds to be true or real will become true or real in our physical universe.
This explains why affirmations are so powerful – and why they are not so mysterious. Affirmations are our very thoughts themselves, supported by our emotions. We are saying affirmations all the time – whether consciously or unconsciously. The universe always says ‘yes’ to our affirmations, always supports them, because we are the universe, we are the Tree of Life, and we are creating our own reality, through our thoughts and feelings and spiritual impulses.”
