Wendy
Affirmations are arguably the most useful tool available to us to develop positive thinking skills. We can see the foundations of affirmations in many familiar practices from psychology to religion in various forms. Some of these forms include chanting, prayer and hypnosis. Affirmations are statements made by the conscious mind that are directed at the subconscious mind. In many ways it is how our intelligent mind can communicate with our primitive mind. As most of the information we have ever absorbed into out subconscious has come to us in words, we are able to modify that information with new words. Most people use negative affirmations alarmingly often. Habitually when people make mistakes they will reprimand themselves verbally with harsh words, eg calling themselves idiot. Often the harsh words we say out loud to ourselves are the same harsh words spoken to us in the past that have formed our negative or erroneous subconscious beliefs about ourselves.