The brain contains neural networks that are the storage and transmission system for our thoughts. When new thoughts are introduced new neuron-to-neuron connections are created to represent the new information. Our body physically changes as the result of this new thought! Later we may draw on this network again when in a situation or a thought process that is related to the original pattern in some way. The more often a particular neural pattern is accessed the more it is reinforced and the less susceptible to change it is. It is also more difficult to establish a new neural pattern when it is in opposition to an existing strong and well used network. Trying to introduce a new pattern that is in opposition to another existing pattern is referred to as Cognitive Dissonance in psychology.

Suppose we want to introduce a new thought pattern into our inventory of neural networks. We have attended the seminar or read the new book and now we are re-energized and ready to try an affirmation once again. Let's say that the vision we want to manifest is "I am writing a book". You have never written a book but you have always wanted to. Given that we have always wanted to but have not yet written a book it is probably safe to assume there is a pattern in place that says "I can't write a book because ..." Otherwise why don't we just write the darn thing? Ironically for all of this time the more we thought about wanting writing a book the more we also reinforced a vision of ourselves Not writing a book. This has reinforced that physical neural pattern and will now make it more difficult to override with a new pattern that is in opposition.

This time we are going to use affirmations. We develop an affirmation that goes like this: "I am writing a self help book of approximately 30,000 words". Like we learned in the seminar we begin to repeat our affirmation. We repeat it many times the first day. We are enthusiastic and can almost sense a reality to the words. The next day we continue to repeat the affirmation. We notice that really nothing has changed, we aren't doing anything differently, we haven't miraculously written a book in the last 24 hours or even sat down to write one sentence for that matter. Not a problem, we keep it up for a couple more days although the number of times we remember to say the affirmation is now on the decline. I stop, I feel like I am deceiving myself, what was I thinking? After one week we stopped and now feel defeated, that once again our enthusiasm got us nowhere and that next time we won't so easily be led down the path of irrational exuberance and self deception.

I'm sure you can deduce what happened. The old pattern remained in place and dictated our thinking and therefore our actions before the new pattern could be established. Up here topside, what was our experience? We have a little better understanding of the mechanics down in the thinking factory but what was the outer manifestation of this? First; a level of enthusiasm for a solution to a long held desire, second; we entered into the process of the solution, in this case repetition of an affirmation, third; doubt began to creep into our process, fourth; doubt took over and we gave up. Can you see these stages as they may have happened to you in a real and similar situation in the past? Desire - Perceived Solution - Enthusiastic Action - Waning Enthusiasm - Stop. It happens to almost everyone in many different kinds of situations.

Let's try again only this time we have an appreciation for what is really going on. If we are to install a new pattern we must reinforce it repeatedly until it is stronger than the one it is in opposition to. When the brain figures out that it now has a new operative pattern that is up and running it will defer to this pattern in the future and less to the old one. So I guess perseverance is going to have to be the strategy. We have to know this consciously in order to combat the feelings of self deception that we will inevitably experience in the middle of the affirmation process. So here we go, let's begin repeating the affirmation remembering what the real process is under the hood and that what we are trying to accomplish is an actual physical rewiring of our thinking network.

Day 1, no problem, the same level of enthusiasm as before. All is well. Day 2, it is beginning to feel a little weird, this repeating of the same phrase over and over again. But, I'm not going to stop because I know that this is basically the same as practicing the scales on a musical instrument. Day 3, it seems that remembering what this is all about is helping me to keep moving. I am still remembering to repeat my affirmation and my enthusiasm hasn't really declined all that much. Day 4, It is a little boring and I find it a little more difficult to remember my affirmation. I have to think a little harder, it's not as automatic as it was on days 1 and 2. Days 5 and 6, same thing as day 4 only it is getting even more difficult to remember. I'm actually losing sleep trying to remember it and repeating it over and over because I'm afraid I won't remember it. Now the process feels almost painful. I have to try hard to remember to say it and when I do it is as though I have to remember it word by word, it doesn't hang together like it did before as an easily remembered and recited sentence. I push on although the frequency is declining. Around day 8 I'm starting to get the strange sensation of a new possibility. It does feel different, not like the usual me. I feel like if I keep this up I will truly transform myself into another person in some way. I'm a bit scared of that idea, where am I going? I've always been this way, a new me isn't clear to me right now. It almost feels like I'm having a shifting of my internal tectonic plates. But I push on, taking confidence in the fact that there is a process underway that should lead to a permanent positive change; which was the whole point to begin with, right? Now I begin to see myself responding to my environment a little differently. Before I used to have a hard time sitting down to write, now it seems almost as if I'm finding reasons to write. I see myself more in action, albeit doing little things, and very subtly coming into alignment with my goal.

At this stage some people will quit even though they can see the process working. The thought of leaving a part of ourselves behind and moving into a new way of feeling, thinking, and acting has a bit of a surreal feeling to it. This is the place where if you pass through you can almost certainly be assured that there will be some level of change that will align with your affirmation. So onward and upward we go, keep saying the affirmation. Just because we see some actual changes and signals that this is working we can't be deluded into thinking that the pattern is strong enough to survive on it's own without our conscious reinforcement. What do they say, it takes 21 days to form a new habit? Maybe this why.

We have persevered, it has been about 20 days since we started our affirmation journey, and believe me it feels like it was a journey. I have had to immerse myself in the process, remembering all the time that I am in an endurance contest with my own mind. I can see now how I was saying no to so many little things that could have brought me closer to what I was wanting. I see now that every time I thought about writing a deep sense of frustration would creep in and I would go into avoidance with some other distraction or excuse. If you research Cognitive Dissonance you will find that frustration is a common result when two opposing ideas are held in the mind at the same time. I see now that the little things I could have done to create supporting structures around the practice of writing would not happen. I was subconsciously saying "I can't write, why bother". Now so many little yesses are adding up and resulting in some pretty significant new patterns of behavior. Sitting down to write isn't a chore, the old pattern isn't dominating anymore, there is no cognitive dissonance anymore around writing. I also notice that somehow more opportunity is presenting itself to me along the lines of my affirmed goal. Why is this? Is it the Law of Attraction? We can save that discussion for another time.

We can decide what we want to be, and then as though we were an outside agent, effect the change process. And, amazingly, we are still present to experience the results as a variety of new sensations, thought patterns, and activities. Affirmations do work if we remember that there is a process under way. This is the cure for the feelings of doubt, and the one that usually gets me; the feeling that I am deceiving myself. Now I realize that what I am really doing is "constructive self-deception". Like I mentioned before this process applies to many things. If you think about it what we think, feel, and do every day has the same effect on our system as an affirmation does. Being in the same places, listening to the same people, reading the same type of literature, it all either creates or reinforces existing neural patterns in our brain. An affirmation is just a laser focused influence upon our minds instead of an aggregate of the random and repetitive influences we encounter every day.

The more we realize that we can use our intention and our values to establish real and lasting change in our behavior the closer we come to self mastery. Which brings us to a fundamental idea that many people have a very hard time accepting; we are in charge of and responsible for what we think. Take a quiet moment and consider this. Every time your mind wanders think, "what should I be thinking rather than this?" Sounds too much like work doesn't it? I will actually have to live the rest of my life controlling my thoughts? Consider this though, the more investment made in building the patterns for a positive thought inventory the less work it takes in the future and the more good feelings you receive as a dividend in the future. And in the not to distant future I think, maybe only 20 days.

 Copyright © 2008 - Jim Andrews - All Rights Reserved