Affirmations
are messages or phrases directed at the subconscious
mind.
e.g.
"I
hate sweet sugary food"
Affirmations
work better if they are short, precise and always positive.
A negative suggestion such as
"you will
not smoke", will only confuse the subconscious mind, and may
have the opposite of the desired effect, as the mind in
trance is not capable of understanding the meaning of "not".
The mind works at it's best using images, and it would be
almost impossible to visualize not doing something. The
correct affirmation would be
"I hate
smoking" or "I love to have clean, healthy lungs".
An
affirmation may take the form of a repeated phrase, or even
better with some visualization. An actor may perform a
dress-rehearsal one day before the actual theater show.
The
subconscious mind doesn't care if your actuation was real or
just your own imagination, the result will be the same. So
the same way goes for someone who is afraid of a driving
test. When someone has visualized taking a test in a calm
peaceful manner, then when it comes down to the real day of
the test, one is more relaxed.
Someone
who becomes shy and afraid while trying to date women, can
overcome this problem in two ways, by going on as many dates
as possible to gain experience, or to visualize going on a
date. The sub. mind will gain experience from these fantasy
dates just like we do while dreaming.
I have
tried to include as many methods as possible into my
hypnosis recordings, to reprogram the subconscious mind, to
replace old unwanted thoughts with new fresh healthy
messages.