Mind

On the Optimum Use of Affirmations & (Subliminal) Messaging Programs

to support cancer recovery & personal goal achievement

I believe it's very important to integrate affirmations and particularly visualizations of yourself as healthy into your full health recovery plan, i.e. to both often repeat positive phrases to yourself and to hold a strong mental picture of yourself as healthy, vital, energetic etc. An excellent example of the mind-blowing results achievable in this manner can be read under Terminal cancer healed thanks to a radical shift in consciousness: reprogramming the mind for healing.

Based on what I have read about affirmations and the “mechanics” of the subconscious (as far as they are known and explored), here are five suggestions for the optimum use of affirmations:

1. Use only positive expressions such as "I am healthy." or "My ... is healthy and functioning perfectly."

Avoid integrating into your affirmation what you wish to overcome, for example don't say "I am cancer-free" but rather something that expresses your ideal state such as "I am perfectly healthy". "I am in wonderful health" etc. Carefully avoid statements phrased in the negative, such as “I don’t have cancer anymore”. Apparently the subconscious doesn’t register the negation or only listens to the actual expression used, such as “have cancer”. So always use statements phrased in the positive.

2. Use present tense:

Say "I am healthy, I am healed, I feel great, I am full of energy now", don't put things off into the future such as by saying, "I will be healthy again".

3. Use believable (to you) statements and increment them gradually.

Start for instance with "I think it is possible to get healthier", increment to "I think I am getting healthier", then to "I am getting healthier", then "I am healthier", and finally "I am healthy". Similarly, “I am healing” ... “I am healed”.

4. For optimum effectiveness of your affirmations and visualizations, start by meditation to reach a state of deep relaxation — the alpha brain wave state

The perhaps most impressive while quite simple method I know of is the one taught by José Silva (Silva Mind Control, now called Silva Technique). Read examples of what can be achieved this way under .Terminal cancer healed through the mind and Terminal cancer healed thanks to a radical shift in consciousness: reprogramming the mind for healing

5. Use affirmations display software and/or subliminal messaging programs)

You can download a great customizable affirmations display program plus over 850 general affirmations from http://orinaffirmations.paradisenow.net for free. This program allows one to have one’s own affirmations flash onscreen, thus bathing the mind as long as desired in the thoughts of one's choice.

One can even set it to extremely short display times such as 1/100th of a second which makes whatever is displayed a truly subliminal message since the conscious mind is too slow to decipher its meaning.

Additionally, the shorter display time (such as 50 milliseconds) of each message allows for completely unimpeded working at whatever task you may be occupied with on your computer. On the other hand, you might better enjoy consciously absorbing your affirmations and perhaps feel irritated by a rapidly flashing display — it is a matter of experimentation.

How effective is subliminal messaging? I don't know. I recently saw a commercial "subliminal messaging program" endorsed by people of great renown in the spiritual arena but which (to my dismay) was promoted by highly fraudulent and deceptive hype (such as promising you near-instant solutions to long-standing problems and becoming a genius at whatever you desire, “naturally” all without any effort whatsoever on your part).

While it is conceivable to me that some will indeed experience immediate beneficial changes in their lives just by having subliminal messages flashing at them on-screen for a few hours, days or weeks, I think it is very deceptive to promise or guarantee the same instant improvements to everyone.

In fact, my own experiences confirm this: I am healthy and personally use a subliminal messaging program for general upliftment and support in reaching goals but have not had dramatic improvements as promised, even after a full month of constant exposure to positive affirmations for many hours every day.

Such people and sales persons who raise possibly false hopes clearly put profits above ethics, profiting from those desperate for help (or unwilling to put in personal effort towards the solution of their challenges). Please be careful whom you trust and support. (Personally I think that we are constantly being tested as we go along, and that many “fall” when faced with the temptation that power brings, money being a major one of them...)

6. Become aware of possible “tail-enders” and learn how to erase them

Sometimes or often affirmations don’t seem to work and one powerful reason can be that after saying or reading an affirmation, we may subconsciously append what Gary Craig, founder of EFT, brilliantly describes as “tail-enders”. One illustrative example from his (formerly) free "Palace of Possibilities" ebook:

“...the stated affirmation often has competition within the person's system. That competing affirmation gets tagged on at the tail end of the stated affirmation in a subtle, yet powerful, way and becomes the "true" affirmation. For example, our 200 pound woman who says, "My normal weight is 130 pounds and that's what I weigh" is likely to have one or more "tail enders" show up at the end of her affirmation. They might go like this...

"But if you lose the weight, others will expect you to keep it off."
"But if you lose the weight, you will have to spend a lot of money for new clothes."
"But if you lose the weight, men will hit on you and expect sex."
"But if you lose the weight, men won't hit on you and then you will know you aren't loveable."
"But if you lose the weight, you will have to give up your favorite foods."

This list of tail enders is endless. These are just examples. They are not spoken or articulated, of course, but are subtle (and powerful) reflections of the existing obstacles for losing weight. Can they be eventually overridden by the persistent use of the affirmation? Probably. However, it's a rare person who will keep up this persistence.

Why? Because first, they are not seeing any immediate results and, second, they feel uncomfortable with the emotional discord that goes on between the stated affirmation and the competing tail enders. They often conclude that they are lying to themselves and just give up. As you can see, the affirmation process usually needs help. It needs EFT to erase those existing tail enders.”

See Introduction to EFT, a DIY technique which can also be used in combination with affirmations (I’ve often practiced it).

7. Become aware of possible "secondary gains"

See On (subconscious) reasons and (conscious) remedies for self-sabotage.

8 Additional tips

While not directly related to the subject of affirmations, here is another tip gleaned from Mirsakarim Norbekov's excellent work: try to smile as often as possible, particularly when looking into the mirror. Apparently the mind amalgamates the physical (muscular) expression of wellbeing — the smile — and the feeling of wellbeing, so when you physically express wellbeing by intentionally shaping your mouth into a smile, the emotional feeling of wellbeing tends to follow.

And a final piece of advice would be to also start requesting most benevolent outcomes.

Recommended books

Please note: the easiest way to support the work of this humanitarian site is doing your Amazon shopping via its Amazon partner links which will send a small commission my way without you incurring any extra costs.

Scientific Healing Affirmations: Theory and Practice of Concentration

by Yogananda

“A systematic start to tapping your mind power: I spent years as a biofeedback therapist, helping individuals harness the power of their mental and emotional states to effect healing for chronic pains, illnesses, and addictions. Over time it became clearer and clearer that the most powerful healing effects had little to do with expensive biomedical biofeedback equipment and everything to do with basic mind-body-breathing techniques that have been known for thousands of years to advanced yoga practitioners.

Yogananda's little volume is an extremely powerful tool for beginning your self-healing. He guides you to the various approaches that might work best for you depending on your personal temperament.

Reading the book is extraordinarily inspiring, but it takes *practicing* the methods to experience the healing. They are skills — and they become powerful with practice.

If you add regular meditation to your life routine you will also find that your inner INTUITION develops and that you can sensitively customize the suggested affirmative and healing practices to your own circumstances. My own survival of life-threatening illness is testimony beyond what I have seen in my clients.

You have power within you that is hard to conceive. (Review by richardpinneau.com)

You the Healer: The World-Famous Silva Method on How to Heal Yourself and Others

by José Silva

While you can learn all the basic techniques online, you may find reading this book extremely helpful since it provides step-by-step instructions for controlling the body by controlling the mind, including the use of affirmations.

Terminal cancer healed through the mind gives an example of someone who regained his health using the Silva method.

... and for the best, easiest, and least expensive ways I know to heal cancer

after studying the subject for some twenty years, click here.

Related sections

Mind
Love

If you value this content and wish to support my work (all donations are gratefully received), please donate: