Do affirmations really work?
There are many spiritual teachings that speak of the power of positive affirmations in one’s life as a force for transformation. Basically if we keep telling ourselves that something is true long enough - like “I am love” for example - the hope is that we begin to fully believe it and manifest that reality in our lives. But does it work?...

As anyone can, I can only offer my own view based on my life experience and what I can offer is a resounding NO!!! They do not work - at least in my truth.

I should qualify this statement and say they can work temporarily and some people appear to have success with them - at least for a while.

A case of ‘Call my bluff’?
So why don’t affirmations stand the test of time? The answer is quite simple really. Whenever you make a statement about yourself, you create an internal identity around the affirmation. There becomes a ‘someone’ inside trying to manifest a reality on the outside.

In so doing you separate yourself from ‘the all that is’. But of course this state is an illusionary one because you cannot really separate yourself from what you are. In my experience, we can live in a false reality for a while but eventually, the illusionary bubble will always burst. Why is that?

The absolute - all that is - has but one purpose. That is to know itself as the unlimited, undefined, infinite potential that it is and it creates you and I as vehicles through which to express that. So every time you make an “I am” statement you are in effect challenging the absolute to be less than what it is and that is not possible. It will call your bluff!

So how do we choose who we are?
The secret is that we don’t need to choose to be anything because we are ALREADY a positive force for change. The Buddha spoke of the inner fire that melts all darkness in its path. This is the fire of change that arises authentically and naturally from the absolute - when we do not limit and confine ourselves.

It is the fire of compassion for all those who are still caught up in the illusion that there is ‘someone’ inside of themselves. The inner fire is the experience of release from that illusionary universe. When burning brightly, it transforms all in its path.

"Be a lamp unto yourself.
Don't search for light anywhere else;
the light is already there, the fire is already there.
Just probe a little deeper into your being, enquire.
Maybe much ash has gathered around the fire...
Just probe deep inside, and you will find the spark again.
And once you have found a single spark inside you,
you will become a flame, soon you will be a fire...
a fire that purifies, a fire that transforms,
a fire that gives you a new birth and a new being.
Be a lamp unto yourself."
- Last words of Gautama, the Buddha

At Openhand, we use breathing to fan the inner flame and then movement to release that through every part of the body. If you would like to know more about kindling this fire of transformation, then you might consider coming to one of our events like our New Year Retreat taking place in Glastonbury from 29th December to 1st January 2007. Call us on 01458 830443 or click on this link...click here

Why play “Call my bluff” when you can play the real thing?

Chris