“Every word you speak is an affirmation. The subconscious is always listening.” – Louise Hay
The words you tell yourself have the tendency to become your reality. This truth is practiced in many different modalities and can be applied to any area of your life including your health, wellbeing and happiness.
Your words can be expressed out loud, as silent thoughts or as written messages. The latter is especially powerful when your purpose is to use your words as a deliberate tool to create a desired reality. I use the art of purposeful writing in my personal life and in my clients lives in many different ways and I want to share the following 3 writing exercises with you. They truly have the power to change your life and to give birth to a newer and healthier you.
Writing down your affirmations and resistances.
- In this writing exercise, choose an affirmation that reflects your desired state of health and wellbeing.
- State it in the positive and in the present, as if it is already true. For example, don’t write “I would like to not be tired”, instead, write: “I am vibrant and full of energy”.
- Choose just one affirmation per exercise, even if you have many health goals.
- In a notebook, write down your affirmation.
- Notice if any resistant thought comes up and write it down.Resistant thoughts can be something like: “Yeah, right”, “That’s not true.”, “Who am I kidding”, “I am tired all the time”, or any other thought that negates, belittles or does not fully believe the affirmation is true. The point of the exercise is not to argue with your thoughts, just notice them and write them down.
- After you write down each resistant thought, write the affirmation again.
- Fill the whole page.
As you do this exercise, you will notice that your resistance starts out loud but then runs its course, the more you are able to express it on paper, the less “bite” it has until it eventually evaporates.
I recommend doing this exercise daily until no resistance comes up and you can fully embrace the affirmation and allow it to manifest in your life.
You can repeat this exercise with new affirmations, focusing on one at a time.
Rewriting your life as ‘Healthy Me’.
Take a few pages and fun colorful pens and write the following exercise as if you are writing a movie script named ‘HEALTHY ME”. In it, describe your life as if you were living as the healthiest version of yourself. Be very detailed and think of all aspects of your day and all areas of your life that will be affected.
For example: Where do you live and how does your living conditions look like? How do you feel when you wake up in the morning? What clothes do you wear? Who are the people you are interacting with and what kind of a relationship do you have? What do you do for work? What kind of activities do you do, physical and otherwise? List all the ways you take care of yourself and your health, what you eat, how you prepare your food, how much sleep you get, what self care rituals you practice.
As you describe each detail, write down how you feel about it. For example: “I wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and well rested, I am excited about my day”, “I stop at the farmers market on my way home, I feel so delighted by all the colorful vegetables and fruits, I buy some greens, carrots, radishes and sweet potatoes and I feel grateful for the earth and it’s bounty”.
After you finish writing your “movie” I recommend that you read it daily and connect to the feelings it brings up. Everyday, do at least one thing that is inspired by that vision. With time, that ‘healthy me’ will become closer and closer to who you really are.
What my wise and higher self wants me to know.
We all have a part of ourselves that is connected to our soul, our spirit, our creator, the universe or however you want to call it. That part is our wise and higher self. We often see and feel it when we have a spark of intuition or when we hear an inner voice that guides us or when we have strong gut feelings. That part of us is our best guide and has our best interest at heart.
In this exercise, write a letter to yourself as your higher and wise self. I recommend tthat you close your eyes and do a little inner connection and meditation first. Ask your higher self to come forth and let you know what it has to say. Set an intention to listen and be open and receptive.
As you write your letter, remember that your higher self is always loving, always supportive and always on your side. Start your letter with “Dear (your name)” and let your intuition take over and let the words flow. When you’re done, sign it with “your wise higher self”.
Read the letter and reflect on what would be a good next step for you based on its message.
