Can The Artist See The Big Picture?

(Photo by photo-g-nick on Flickr)

Once upon a time, there was an artist. He loved to paint. He would spend hours painting beautiful pictures. He was happy, for he was engaged creatively.

Then, one day, he met with a motor bike accident one day. It was an accident, which was near fatal. He did survive however; but had to amputate his right arm, the arm that he used to paint with.

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What Enneagram Type Am I?

I was often asked this question by those who are confused: What Enneagram Type am I?

As an Enneagram Executive Coach, I’d like to offer the suggestion to first read about each of the 9 personality types that the Enneagram comprises of. Below is the follow up to the updated post on Enneagram Quiz: How Would You Cross the River.

According to the Enneagram, we have one core Personality Type. It appears that we are either born with it or that it can be the result of early nurturing. This core is home base and it doesn’t change. It describes you the most. If you are a bird, which is free to roam and to explore all other types, you always come flying home. You reside in this sector; as if it is a familiar nest.

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25 Ways To Nurture Your Soul

Start to nurture your soul to improve the quality of living. If you are currently starving yourself of love, warmth and all things chocolate, it is time to do things differently. Starving your soul is tantamount to a refusal to say yes to the joy of enjoying rich beauty and abundance around.

By starving your soul of needed nourishment, you end up carrying a negative vibe. It is evident when you are constantly swearing, complaining and being rude to others. Soul starvation makes you bitter, needy, angry and resentful. It is even possible that you feel lonely because friends inadvertently shy away from you.

Conversely, when you nurture your soul, life feels full. You become a lover of life. Every little experience opens you to delight. Rose buds unfolding their miracles. Unicorns riding on rainbows in the sky. Red strawberries coated in fresh cream. And the scent of early morning dew. Invariably, living life with an exuberance puts you in a heightened state of energy consciousness

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68 Seconds Of Pure Thought: Visualize In 4 Creative Ways

Apparently, all you need is 68 seconds of pure thought to bring about the manifestation of a major miracle. According to Abraham-Hicks, your intention setting begins with a block of 17 seconds.

How Thought Creates A Major Miracle

In a nutshell,

A block of 17 seconds generates an energy expansion equivalent to 2,000 action hours and results in the creation of a mini miracle.

Pure Thought (Seconds)	Energy Expansion (Action Hours)	Manifest
17	2,000	Mini Miracle
34	20,000	Medium Miracle
51	200,000	Large Miracle
68	2,000,000	Major Miracle

Remember the key is to have pure thought; that is a thought with absolutely clear intent. It means that you do not have any have any sabotaging or canceling thought that follows the first. If you can have pure thought after pure thought, you increase the number of combustion points. By passing the mark in 68 seconds of pure thought, you would have transmitted a positive energy of intention into the Universe.
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How To Build Intuitive Awareness For Inspired Actions

For the law of attraction to work, taking both obvious and inspired actions is necessary. For abundance to manifest, you must move towards your desires both on an internal and external level. Internally, your desires must be clear, strong and in alignment with your soul purpose. Externally, you must take appropriate affirming actions.

“An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.”
— Quote by Arnold Glasow

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Guest Post: 7 Steps To Positive Self Talk

Yippeee!! My maiden post on the site, Pick the Brain, is finally up. Check out my new article on 7 Steps to Positive Self Talk.

Here’s an except….

“Most of us are in constant mental chatter. We talk to ourselves all day long and, unfortunately, this self talk is frequently negative. Often it is tainted with guilt about our past or anxiety about our future. This negativity can destroy any seed of hope that we may otherwise have in striving for our dreams.”

Read it on Pick The Brain Here….

I wish to thank Peter for publishing it on his site. It’s much appreciated! Please visit and comment/Digg this article. Thank you in advance!!

8 Steps To Mental Housekeeping For A Happy Home

Mental housekeeping is the act of taking care of your mental home. Your mental home “houses” your mind, the seat of real authority that controls your total well-being. We often pay close attention to our physical home but little to the state of our mental home. Considering that our mental home holds the thoughts that can change our outer reality, this can be a real shame.

 

Mental housekeeping is needed because we have in our minds, many negative thoughts. Everytime we say “I can’t”, “I will try”, or “I don’t want”, we are engaged in negative thinking. When we think negatively, we are not going to get what we desire. This is also true, according to the Law of Attraction. Instead, we really should be focusing on what we want to bring about positive results.

 

Your mind, which controls a lot of things about your physical body, holds thoughts that are handed down from the generations before you. Additionally since the time that you were born, you have already received countless thoughts, impressions, ideas, prejudices and judgements. Yet, much of what you have received to make your mental home, is accepted without questioning or further thought. Hence, it can be said that you are really the result of past thinking.

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Remove Your 10 Blocks To Creativity

Encountering blocks to creativity?

Let’s first consider adopting a shift in perspective.

Most people, including yourself, may think about about creativity as doing well in art and music. Hence, if you find that you are nowhere near producing great works in these areas, you may well declare that you are not creative. However, I would like to embrace a broader definition of what creativity is.

To begin with, you need not be a genius to be creative. Creativity is a surge – a burst of imaginative and new ideas or your own unique interpretation of your five senses – that arises within your inner Being and turning this surge into reality. It also involves the the translation of your unique gifts and talents into something new and useful.

Creativity can also be about problem solving. In fact, you do not need to have a big problem to solve, to be considered creative. If you can solve your everyday problems in an ingenious way or come up with solutions to plug gaps, you are creative.

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7 Jazzy Ideas To Making Positive Daily Affirmations FUN

Positive daily affirmations are declarations of a desired outcome or goal. Affirmations are reprogramming tools for your mind. They can help you develop positive thinking, get rid of unhelpful beliefs, reduce stress, build your self esteem and attract the life you want.. As an example, the statement that “I easily and consistently make $10,000 a month” will be an appropriate affirmation that overrides the limiting “I find it hard to make $10,000 a month”.

To anchor a positive daily affirmation firmly in your subconscious, find out the pitfalls that you need to avoid. Next, keep repeating it so that it becomes the “truth” for you. The more frequent you make the declaration, the more effective it gets.

Having said that, I’ve often found that it can get pretty boring making the same declaration several times a day and day-after-day. Just imagine repeating the following positive daily affirmations like a mantra:

“I easily and consistently make $10,000 a month.”
“I weigh a healthy X pounds.”
“I attract girls/men very easily.”

I’m not sure whether you would agree with me….that while these affirmations may just do the job, they do not sound exciting in the least!

So I’m thinking: how about using some creativity to jazz up the practice of using Positive Daily Affirmations?

Well…..

Here is a list of 7 ideas from my toolkit for making Positive Daily Affirmations a FUN exercise!

1. Make Your Affirmations Into A Song!

While racking my brain for ideas, I came across one from Gary Craig, who founded the Emotional Freedom Technique. Gary suggested turning affirmations into a jingle.

Remember the nursery rhyme Old McDonalds Had a Farm? For those who just cannot recall, here’s the rhyme:

Old McDonalds had a farm. Ee-ii-ee-ii-o.
With a quack quack here. And a quack quack there.
Here a quack and there a quack. Everywhere a quack quack.
Old MacDonalds had a farm. Ee-ii-ee-ii-o.

Using Gary’s proposed lyrics and the same tune to Old McDonalds, here’s how you would sing to an affirmation involving a money goal:

I earn 10K a month. Very E-asily.
And a dollar dollar here. And a dollar dollar there.
Here a dollar. There a dollar. Everywhere a dollar dollar.
I earn 10K a month. Very E-asily.

Another song that I’ve thought of, that can be easily adapted is “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”….

My Bonnie lies over the ocean, my Bonnie lies over the sea, My Bonnie lies over the ocean, O bring back my Bonnie to me.
Chorus: Bring back, bring back, O bring back my Bonnie to me, to me. Bring back, bring back, O bring back my Bonnie to me.

Here is the version that I am proposing….

My earnings comes easy to me-e,
my earnings come easy to me.
My earnings comes easy to me-e.
O give me my earnings right now.

Chorus: Earning O earning O earning my 10K a month, a month.
Earning O earning O earning my 10K a month.

2. Make Art out of Positive Daily Affirmations.

Perhaps you are less of a singer than an artist. If you are more visual, then consider using art to express your positive daily affirmations.

You can start a scrap journal and paste or draw anything in it that supports your affirmation. For instance, if your affirmation is “I make $10K a month”, think about the things you can buy. Then, find the pictures that support them. Stick pictures like a new designer handbag, new clothes, watch, etc. into your journal.

Alternatively, instead of pictures, you can also different phrases to support your affirmation. For instance, I have come across phrases like “dream home come true”, “a million possibilities”, “arouse your creative imagination” and “inspirational living” while flipping through home and decor magazines. Cut these phrases out and paste them into your scrap book.

Art can be expressed in a variety of ways, using different mediums. Other than cutting and pasting pictures for magazines, you can also consider using a software to create an affirmations board (refer to the above image that I made). The idea is to use your creativity in more ways than one, to connect to your inner Self while making affirmations.

3. Dress The Part.

This will depend on the affirmation that you are making. Obviously, if you have a weight loss affirmation, then it may not be quite possible to dress the part yet.

But if you have an affirmation on a money goal, then dressing the part can be a powerful make-believe that you have already made it. Notice how you feel if you are always dress shabbily compared to if you have got your best clothes on?

If you have an affirmation that says “I am a successful businessman”, then your dressing smartly can also help to conjure the same thought in the minds of your prospects.

4. Daydream About Your Affirmations Coming True.

Daydreaming is a powerful exercise. When you use your imagination, you are building an imagery in your subconscious mind.

In your daydreams, you can complete just about any impossible tasks out there, with wonderous results. You can be Superman, Wonder Woman, or James Bond (See also point 6 below)!

While daydreaming, affirm your goals. Stretch your imagination. Have fun, thinking of how your affirmations can come true.

“The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don’t know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.”
— Unknown

5. Use Role Models To Create Your Affirmations.

How about borrowing this famous line?…..
“Just call me Bond. James Bond.”

Obviously, you should use the appropriate role model for the affirmation that you are working on.

For instance, if you have an aspiration to be a motivational public speaker, then your affirmation may sound like this “Just call me Tony. Tony Robbins.”

If you have an aspiration to look fit, then your affirmation may be “Just call me Jennifer. Jennifer Lopez.”

If you have an affirmation to be a super woman, then your affirmation may be “Just call me Wonder. Wonder Woman”.

6. Use Empowering Adjectives.

The choice of words can help in bringing about a stronger emotion to your positive daily affirmations. For instance, don’t you think there is a difference between saying “I earn $5K a month” as compared to “I easily and consistently make $5K a month”?

You can also add empowering adjectives, to make a more eloquent affirmation, like:
Awesome
Elegant
Delightful
Magnificent
Energised
Vibrant
Beautiful
Creative
Wonderful
Great

Emphasize the adjective while stating your new affirmation….

Old Positive Daily Affirmation: I am in a state of good health.
New Positive Daily Affirmation: I am in a state of Vibrant health.

Old Positive Daily Affirmation: I make $5K a month.
New Positive Daily Affirmation: I make an Awesome $5K a month.

Old Positive Daily Affirmation: I am in a job that I love.
New Positive Daily Affirmation: I am in a Magnificent job that I love, with access to many Wonderful opportunities.

7. Make-Believe Mini Exercises.

Think up ideas for make believe on your affirmations coming true. Back to my example again on the money goal, consider writing a blank check to yourself. On the check, fill in your name and write the figure that you desire. Keep it n your wallet. In your mind, imagine spending the dollar amount and feeling happy about your purchases. Repeat this exercise every month.

In Conclusion

Explore making affirmations into a poem, poster, food decoration. Anything! Since you were a child, your negative beliefs probably got programmed in a multitude of ways. My point is why not do the same with positive affirmations in a FUN JAZZY and more interesting way?

Love and Abundance Always,

 

 

P.S. Sharing is caring! Share this post with your friends on social media. Thank you in advance 🙂

7 Instances Why Your Positive Affirmations Fail To Work

Are you about to give up and proclaim that positive affirmations do not work?

You already are aware of the benefits of thinking positively. And so, you have been trying to use positive affirmations daily. Yet, despite repeating them like a mantra for several times a day, you’ve not met with any success.

In my post today, I would like to share with you a couple of key learnings that I have made. I would like to share some examples of my own. Be on your way to making positive affirmations work for you!

What Are Positive Affirmations

Positive affirmations are thoughts or statements on a desired state or outcome. The desired state or outcome can cover any aspect of your life such as in abundance, success, relationships or health. One common example of an affirmation is “I consistently and easily make $X a month”. Using positive affirmations is powerful because consistent thoughts can become realities. Hence, the more often you reinforce the positive, the more it is likely to happen.

While you would prefer to believe that you are a positive person, in reality, it could be  the opposite. On a subconscious level, you may have several negative self sabotaging thoughts and beliefs. These thoughts are usually formed from the various experiences that you have had, the conditioning that you went through as a child, your sense of fair play, your successes and failures and the values that you have been taught and come to adopt.

Consistent thoughts make up your belief system, when you give them power and more focus. Gary Craig, the founder of the Emotional Freedom Technique, calls them “writings on your wall”. They form the “writings on your wall” from which you frequently consult in your everyday life.

If the “writings on your wall” tend to be negative and limiting, they can hinder you from taking risks, achieving your dreams or simply being the best that you can be. Here are some common examples of “writings on the wall” that are not very useful:

– “Don’t rock the boat.”
– “Don’t risk getting yourself hurt.”
– “Know where you come from.”
– “You are not all that capable.”
– “Don’t draw too much attention to yourself. No one likes a showoff.”

Positive affirmations are statements that can help replace these “writings on your wall”. They are great to use after clearing negative emotions and thoughts. Positive affirmations are great for financial abundance, enriching relationships and pursuing possibilities.

Hence, if repeating positive affirmations have not worked for you, find out why.

Why Aren’t Your Positive Affirmations Working?

1. Presence of Tail Enders

Perhaps one of the main reasons why positive affirmations do not work is because of the presence of tail enders. Tail enders are beliefs and thoughts that appear at the end of the affirmation.

Let me give you an easy example to illustrate what a tail ender is. Say your positive daily affirmation is “I easily and consistently make $50,000 a month”. Your tail enders may go like this….

– “But if I make $50,000 a month, I will have friends and relatives come borrow money from me.”

– “But if I make $50,000 a month, I will be known as rich by my friends and rich people are not nice.”

– “But if I make $50,000 a month, I will have to work very hard in my job to earn that and I will have no life left.”

– “But if I make $50,000 a month, my friends will not like me.”

– “But if I make $50,000 a month, women (or men) will want to be with me more for how much I make and not for whom I am.”

The list of tail enders can go on and on. You can have tail enders for just about any affirmation that you use for health, relationships, love, etc. So if you have been diligently saying your positive affirmations but find that they are not working, you may want to ask yourself if you’ve got some tail enders that are sabotaging your initial intent. Tail enders can easily reduce the effectiveness of your affirmations. It takes a while to unearth all the limiting tail enders but once you uncover them, you open up the opportunity to erase them. And you can do this with EFT.

2. Your Affirmation Is A Should.

You may make an affirmation which you do not really want. Often enough, people make affirmations because their parents say so, all their friends are doing so or it sounds like a good affirmation to affirm.

You may even have a tail ender that says this “I easily and consistently make $50,000 a month but I do not really want it.” In this example, it may be that you have other dreams, rather than just a money goal.

It is important that you make affirmations according to what you really want, rather than make them based on your shoulds. Your wants are aligned desires that come from within your soul and not from someone else’s dream.

3. Your Affirmation Is Not Realistic Enough.

If your affirmation appears to be a lofty goal to you, you may inadvertently set up tail enders that says it is too difficult to attain. Let’s use the first example again for illustration. For instance, if you currently make $1000 a month, then making an affirmation on “I easily and consistently make $50,000 a month” may be too much of a stretch to you.

Of course, you can use meridian tapping or Emotional Freedom Technique to erase the tail enders. But you may find yourself having to deal with a long list of negative sabotaging thoughts. It may be far easier to set an interim but more realistic affirmation; such as “I easily and consistently make $5,000 a month” and work your way up. You will find that you will have less obstacles to clear subconsciously, as you move up the ladder.

4. Your Affirmation Is Not Exciting Enough.

If your affirmation is not exciting enough, you may lose motivation. Affirmations must have enough “pull” for you to focus your intent on. For instance, from currently making $1,000 monthly, would $5,000 a month be a good enough affirmation for you to work on? I would think so.

Your affirmation also works best if you say it with some emotion. When you can actually “feel” your affirmation, its impact increases dramatically.

One important tip is that it is best that you do not let others know too much about your dreams and affirmations. Announcing them to people who are not very supportive and who have little understanding about what you are doing, can invite criticisms. They may just douse your enthusiasm, causing you to give up on your affirmation. Hence, it is best to keep things to yourself, focus your thoughts and get some results, before sharing your findings with others.

5. Your Positive Affirmation Is Not Made In The Present Tense.

Your affirmation is less effective if you use words like “I will be _________” instead of “I am ________ “. Of course, you may feel that it is inappropriate to affirm something that has not happened yet. But saying things in the present tense will program your subconscious mind to believe that what you affirm is already a fact. Once your subconscious mind believes that it is true, you will find yourself taking actions to make your goal a reality.

6. Your Affirmation Focuses On The Negative Rather Than Accentuating The Positive.

Think back about all your affirmations. Are you formulating them in the positive or in the negative sense? Affirmations made from a negative perspective will only draw your subconscious mind to your old habitual and limiting thoughts. They will not be as effective in bringing about desired positive outcomes.

“Positive anything is better than negative nothing.” Elbert Hubbard quotes (American editor, publisher and writer, 1856-1915)

7. Your Affirmation Is Not Supported By Your Dreams. 

You may associate dreams as something that is so big but which are unattainable. And so, you pooh pooh the idea of dreaming: why waste time imagining the impossible when dreams seldom come true?

Well, there is much value in daydreaming. And in case you believe so, daydreaming is not just for kids. When you daydream, you connect yourself with all possibilities. The act of daydreaming itself creates a nice feeling when you think “how nice if I would be if I can/am _________”. When you feel good, you start to exude a positive energy vibration. According to the Law of Attraction, you may well start to attract the opportunities that matches the same vibration.

“Dreams are like the paints of a great artist. Your dreams are your paints, the world is your canvas. Believing, is the brush that converts your dreams into a masterpiece of reality.”
— Unknown

Summary: Guidelines To Help Make Positive Affirmations A Success

1. Make affirmations short and succinct, with no tail enders.

2. Base your affirmations on wants and not shoulds.

3. Make them realistic.

4. Make your affirmations exciting enough.

5. State affirmations in the present tense.

6. State affirmations in the positive.

7. Augment your affirmations with dreams.

In short, before you conclude that positive affirmations do not work, go through this checklist first and see if you have made them correctly.

It is important to have fun while making affirmations. Adjust them from time to time to eliminate boredom. Cover your intent adequately with affirmations by focusing on different aspects of your goal and watch your desires unfold before you.