***Claim Your Magnificence by Louise Hay

[Guest guest]

" CLAIM YOUR MAGNIFICENCE " Written by Louise L. Hay

" You'll never experience high self-esteem if you have negative thoughts about

yourself. Self-esteem is merely feeling good about yourself, and when you do so,

you develop confidence. Confidence then builds self-esteem -- each step feeds

upon the other. Once you get the rhythm going, you can accomplish almost

anything.

" Since self-esteem is what you think about yourself, you have the freedom to

think anything you want. So why would you want to belittle yourself?

" You were born extremely confident, and you came into this world knowing how

wonderful you are. You were so flawless when you were a tiny baby. You didn't

have to do anything -- you were already perfect, and you acted as if you were

aware of that fact. You knew that you were the center of the Universe. You

weren't afraid to ask for what you wanted. You freely expressed your emotions.

Your mother knew when you were angry; in fact, the whole neighborhood knew it.

And when you were happy, your smile lit up the entire room. You were so full of

love and confidence.

" Tiny babies will die if they don't get love. Once we're older, we learn to

live without love, but no baby will stand for that. Little babies love every

inch of their bodies. They have no guilt, no shame, no comparisons. They know

that they're unique and wonderful.

" You were once like that. Then somewhere during your childhood, your

well-meaning parents passed on their own insecurities and taught you feelings of

inadequacy and fear. At that point, you began to deny your own magnificence.

These thoughts and feelings were never true, and they certainly aren't true now.

So I want to bring you back to the time when you really knew how to love

yourself by talking about mirror work.

" Mirror work is easy and very powerful. It simply involves looking into a

mirror when you say your affirmations. Mirrors reflect our true feelings back to

us. As children, we received most of our negative messages from adults, many of

them looking us straight in the eye and perhaps even shaking a finger at us.

Today, when most of us look into a mirror, we'll say something negative. We

either criticize our looks, or berate ourselves for something else.

" To look yourself in the eye and make a positive declaration is one of the

quickest ways to achieve positive results with affirmations. I ask people to

look in their eyes and say something positive about themselves every time they

pass a mirror.

" If something unpleasant happens to you during the day, immediately go to the

mirror and say: " I LOVE YOU ANYWAY. " Events come and go, but the love you have

for yourself can be constant, and it's the most important quality that you

possess in life. If something wonderful happens, go to the mirror and say,

" THANK YOU. " Acknowledge yourself for creating this wonderful experience.

" First thing in the morning and last thing in the evening, I want you to look

into your eyes and say: " I LOVE YOU, I REALLY LOVE YOU. AND I ACCEPT YOU

EXACTLY AS YOU ARE. " It can be tough at first, but if you stick with it, in a

short time this affirmation will be true for you. Won't that be fun?

" You'll find that as your self-love grows, so will your self-respect, and any

changes that you find yourself needing to make will be easier to accomplish when

you know that they're the right ones for you. Love is never outside of you --

it's always within you. As you're more loving, you'll be more lovable.

" Affirm:

MY LIFE GETS MORE FABULOUS EVERY DAY.

I LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT EACH NEW HOUR BRINGS.

I AM A RADIANT BEING, ENJOYING LIFE TO THE FULLEST.

I AM NEITHER TOO LITTLE NOR TOO MUCH, AND I DO NOT HAVE TO PROVE MYSELF TO

ANYONE.

TODAY, NO PERSON, PLACE, OR THING CAN IRRITATE OR ANNOY ME. I CHOOSE TO BE

AT PEACE.

FOR EVERY PROBLEM THAT I MAY CREATE, I AM CONFIDENT THAT I CAN FIND A

SOLUTION.

LIFE SUPPORTS ME IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY.

" So choose new thoughts to THINK about yourself, and choose new words to TELL

yourself how magnificent you are and that you deserve all the good that Life has

to offer. Because you do deserve it! "

Written by Louise L. Hay. Excerpted from THE LOUISE HAY NEWSLETTER,

July/August 2004, Published by Hay House Inc.

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Love & Hugs, PJ, owner of affirmations to de-stress yahoogroup

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AffirmationstoDe-Stress

A positive thinking, positive affirmations support group, that discusses ways to

cope with the stresses of daily life. Come aboard! PJ and Gang