The Mind sees in PICTURES so why use affirmations?

8 replies
Hi ALL

Simply put, the mind sees images and pictures, so why use affirmations?

Thanks
#affirmations #mind #pictures #sees
  • Profile picture of the author Jonathan 2.0
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    It also understands words. (And, they can influence your subconscious.) Some people may be better at visualizing than affirmations.
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  • Profile picture of the author RHert
    I think you need both. Some people are more visual, other tactile, others auditory. You need to use what works best for you but when you can combine all three it cements it in the mind a thousand times more than a single sense.
    You can trick your mind into doing all of these without actually doing them in real life. It just takes practice.
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    • Profile picture of the author abundantlife
      Watch this picture:

      A banana split is an ice cream-based dessert. In its classic form it is served in a long dish called a boat. A banana is cut in half lengthwise (hence the split) and laid in the dish. There are many variations, but the classic banana split is made with scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream served in a row between the split banana. Pineapple topping is spooned over the vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup over the chocolate, and strawberry topping over the strawberry. It is garnished with crushed nuts, whipped cream, and maraschino cherries.

      Would you dare say," I don't see it?"

      And yet it's all words, just words. We use words to create images to share an idea with another. An affirmation or a poem can do the same thing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Will Edwards
    Originally Posted by JamesBuk View Post

    Hi ALL

    Simply put, the mind sees images and pictures, so why use affirmations?

    Thanks
    It's a complete nonsense put about by those who have PROJECTED their own internal understanding of thinking processes onto the world. Granted this misunderstanding is propagated by well-meaning people who do not know better, but nevertheless, the mind does much, much more than think in pictures.

    Will
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  • Profile picture of the author AdWordsUzmani
    if i say to you "car" what you think?
    of course your car (if you have one!)
    so words can be picture or image for us
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    • Profile picture of the author rbarnhart1
      Visualization and affirmations are good tools, if you know how to use them. The underlying driver of both is belief. You can repeat an affirmation all day, every day for a month and if you still don't believe it...you will get no benefit from it. The same is true for visualization.

      The fact that you can "picture" something in your mind does not guarantee that you're going to get the result. You have to have a strong enough belief, which then guides accurate knowledge and thinking. This will stimulate action and commitment, which will eventually lead to the desired result.

      How do you generate the belief? There are several ways, but the most effective seems to be meditation. In meditation, you connect with your inner self, which is the source of belief. Thoughts and pictures are not involved. There is just awareness.

      What this means is that you have to actively work on three levels: the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. You generate belief at the spiritual level. You use affirmations and visualizations on the mental level. And you take action on the physical level. That leads to desired results.

      Let's take this a step further. Think about the person who writes affirmations cards and posts them on their mirror. This person may also cut out pictures and hang these up as well. If affirmations and visualizations work, this seems like a good idea.

      While these practices can have some value if used correctly, in most cases you'll find that this person really does not believe the things they are hanging on their mirror. In fact, everyday they have a reminder of the things they don't have. They are literally trying to convince themselves of things they really don't believe.

      Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. You can absolutely enhance affirmations and visualizations. Creating a vision board is a great tool. But, what matters is the belief you assign to the things on the vision board. Are you using the vision board and the affirmation cards as an aide or a crutch?

      One person will get great results from these activities while another will get no results at all. The only difference between the two is belief.
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      • Profile picture of the author JamesBuk
        Originally Posted by rbarnhart1 View Post

        Visualization and affirmations are good tools, if you know how to use them. The underlying driver of both is belief. You can repeat an affirmation all day, every day for a month and if you still don't believe it...you will get no benefit from it. The same is true for visualization.

        The fact that you can "picture" something in your mind does not guarantee that you're going to get the result. You have to have a strong enough belief, which then guides accurate knowledge and thinking. This will stimulate action and commitment, which will eventually lead to the desired result.

        How do you generate the belief? There are several ways, but the most effective seems to be meditation. In meditation, you connect with your inner self, which is the source of belief. Thoughts and pictures are not involved. There is just awareness.

        What this means is that you have to actively work on three levels: the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. You generate belief at the spiritual level. You use affirmations and visualizations on the mental level. And you take action on the physical level. That leads to desired results.

        Let's take this a step further. Think about the person who writes affirmations cards and posts them on their mirror. This person may also cut out pictures and hang these up as well. If affirmations and visualizations work, this seems like a good idea.

        While these practices can have some value if used correctly, in most cases you'll find that this person really does not believe the things they are hanging on their mirror. In fact, everyday they have a reminder of the things they don't have. They are literally trying to convince themselves of things they really don't believe.

        Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. You can absolutely enhance affirmations and visualizations. Creating a vision board is a great tool. But, what matters is the belief you assign to the things on the vision board. Are you using the vision board and the affirmation cards as an aide or a crutch?

        One person will get great results from these activities while another will get no results at all. The only difference between the two is belief.

        thank you

        Then for the person using vision boards and / or affirmations how can they enhance this?

        what i have understood is that when we meditate or get into a relaxed state that is when we are in the alpha and perhaps theta state where installing new beliefs is easy. What i have also read is that when we create a new belief we are creating a new neural pathway and by doing this repetitively we will create a new belief, do you agree?
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        • Profile picture of the author rbarnhart1
          @ JamesBuk

          Then for the person using vision boards and / or affirmations how can they enhance this?
          This is not an easy question to answer because everyone is at a different level of development. What works for one person may not work for another. The short answer is that you have to be sure that you do not "want" the things that you are affirming or visualizing.

          "Wanting" is a specific state of mind that has a specific connotation. It means that you recognize not having the thing you want. It's a lack mentality. The trick is to use these tools to experience having the things you want without experiencing the "want" for them.

          what i have understood is that when we meditate or get into a relaxed state that is when we are in the alpha and perhaps theta state where installing new beliefs is easy.
          Yes, this is true. There are different types of meditation and each is used for a different purpose. And, each has specific benefits. But, let me clarify my previous statement about meditation.

          Belief is closely related to being -- in other words, it is related to who we are as a person. Meditation is directly related to our being as well. When we meditate, we are connecting to the essence of who we are. It's that mechanism of connecting that helps us create a new belief.

          I'm not sure if I have the space here to explain my understanding of how to create a belief. It's not just the mediation. You have to first recognize that a new belief is needed, then you have to change thought patterns, behavior patterns, and more. The meditation just helps get these things into the subconscious and connect it to the inner self.

          Our current beliefs were not necessarily created in a deep meditative state. Rather, they developed at various times when something significant happened to us; usually an emotional event. For example, when you trust someone deeply and they tell you something that you didn't know, a belief can develop instantly (regardless if the information is true or false).

          So, what we are doing with meditation is not just the creation of a new belief, it's the replacement of an old one. This allows us to gain more control over our beliefs and design them the way we want. It also makes as aware that we are susceptible to unwanted beliefs unless we guard the subconscious mind. This requires practice in reviewing new ideas and new events. We don't just accept everything we see and hear. We use accurate thinking and a systematic review process before we let it influence our beliefs.

          What i have also read is that when we create a new belief we are creating a new neural pathway and by doing this repetitively we will create a new belief, do you agree?
          Knowledge forms in this way, but not necessarily beliefs. You can certainly strengthen a belief with this process, but beliefs can form instantly and last a lifetime without much reinforcement. The important thing is being in control of your belief system and learning how to develop it in a way that you choose.
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