As part of the Artist’s Way Challenge (A challenge I started last week), I’ve posted above my desk 3 affirmations. Two were directly from the book, and have to do with accepting yourself as a creative entity, and the third was one you had to write yourself. I’m not going to share them with you, because Julia Cameron says to keep them to yourself, but I do want to talk about the impact that these affirmations have had in my life so far.
First, I’ll quickly discuss the process of working with affirmations.
Everyone of us operates within a paradigm (a specific way in which we see the world). To see some examples of old paradigms I used to operate from (for examples) click here. The purpose of the affirmation is to rewrite those paradigms so that you can begin to see the world in a different way. “I am shy and have difficulty speaking in front of large groups of people” could become “I love sharing my stories and experiences with others.”
For this challenge I have created an affirmation related to my abilities as an actor, and I have posted it in a very visible place so that I have no choice but to see it everyday. I also write this affirmation out by hand as part of my morning pages every morning. You must work with this statement until you believe it to be true.
In the beginning, every time that you say or think about it, a little voice in the back of your head is going to scream/laugh at you “who are you kidding. That’s not who you are” I’m going to say something a little bit surprising here: listen to the voice. What is it saying to you? Write down the statements of doubt that it’s beating into you, and try to understand where these thoughts are coming from. Then, turn these self-defeating thoughts on their head. Argue with yourself, and construct an argument in your favor. Why are these thoughts not true. Do this everyday, and when you no longer hear the arguments you may have started to embody that affirmation. Do this, and you will see your life transform before your eyes. BUT…here’s the weird thing: the transformation won’t surprise you. The changes you see will just make sense, because you have lifted yourself up to a higher vibration.
The moment you cease to want or wish (two verbs which only takes place in the future) for things you don’t have, or for qualities you don’t possess, and begin appreciating what you have and simply behaving as the person you want to be (get rid of the tomorrows) – is the moment that you will begin to see your life transform.
Believe me when I tell you, that the first step in your transformation is affirmations. Integrate them into your routine today.
I have been doing morning pages for the past 2 weeks, and affirmations for the past 3 days, and here are the immediate changes I have observed in my own life:
Yesterday, I was on set for a short film with my school, and I have never felt so confident and comfortable in the film-set environment. Whenever the director gave me a direction, I took it and translated it into something I could use. By doing this I was able to make the performance my own, while still fulfilling the needs of the director. I felt like a professional, and when I went to sleep that night I thought to myself “I am ready to start doing this professionally.” I had so much fun.
Earlier this week I also posted an ad onto Craigslist looking for someone to design a logo for my blog. I received many responses, and requested my vacation pay from work so that I could give my blog a facelift. Then I received an e-mail from a friendly stranger. The e-mail was from Tom Raycove, the CEO/Founder of Disrupted Logic Interactive Inc. Out of the goodness of his heart, this man designed a logo for me for free. It is the one you now see featured on my homepage. He said that he saw my site and felt inspired. He requested nothing in return. Wow. As soon as I am financially able, I intend to give this man the payment he deserves for his hard work.
It has been an amazing week, and I am so grateful for all the good that is arriving in my life. I can’t wait for what’s to come.
Cheers.