EVERY DAY CAN BE SEEN as a gift. Of course, some days are easier to accept as gifts than others are. On difficult days, it is a good thing to remember that one of the most powerful and important gifts given to us is the power to change our lives by using affirmations.

Most of us are in the habit of using negative affirmations like "I can't do that", "S/he doesn't like me", "I am a failure", "I am unattractive", "I am too fat (or skinny)", "I don't have enough money, time, resources, patience, schooling, creativity, etc., to make things go my way." You get the picture - literally. Your unconscious mind gets the picture and uses its considerable power to insure that your will is carried out. It's a bit like hypnosis; only it's us hypnotizing ourselves! Many of the difficulties in our lives come from our negative beliefs about others and ourselves.

We can replace negative affirmations with positive ones. Even the ultimate negative affirmation, "I cannot change myself and my life, that is just the way I am and that is just the way things are," can be replaced by using affirmations that you design for yourself, that you find in books and other media, or by using affirmations like the ones we use everyday in our own lives, The Breathe Easy Deck, or The Healing Deck (Chronicle Books, $9.95) or in our newest creation, Little Reminders: The Law of Attraction ($12.95 Enchanted World/Sterling Publishing). When you repeat positive affirmations several times a day with faith and conviction, affirmations become a powerful ritual that can reach your unconscious mind and help you re-program your self-image.

Negative affirmations work because we repeat them often and we believe them without any doubt. To escape the trap of your old programmed negative affirmations, you have to believe with every fiber of your being the positive affirmation you are saying when you say it. It is important to read and savor every word. You may feel like an actor at first, but soon you will be able to see the truth in what you are saying and your affirmations will work that much better.

In the year 1910, author Wallace D. Wattles's book, The Science of Getting Rich, became one of the first books published on how to achieve success. Nearly one hundred years later, Australian television producer Rhonda Byrne used the principles in Wattles's work to enhance her own life and to inform her international best-selling book and movie, The Secret. These works and those of other pioneering success authors such as Napoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone, Robert Collier, James Allen, and Florence Scovel [Shinn] have helped millions of people around the world improve their lives by using a principle that has come to be called the Law of Attraction.

The Law of Attraction states that when you focus on the negative aspects of life, you seem to attract more of them to you, and when you focus on the positive aspects of life - including circumstances you would like to manifest - you seem to create a more successful and enjoyable life. Your strongly felt beliefs and your unconscious programming will affect the way you live, look, and conduct yourself when you talk to others or respond to their statements, sending clear signals that can work for you or against you.

This principle, however, is quite ancient and can be found in the teachings of Jesus, who said, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," and Buddha, who said, "All that we are is the result of what we have thought."

Until you see the power of affirmations work seemingly miraculous changes in your own life, just try believing what you are saying for the few minutes you are using them, several times a day. It can't hurt. After a while, these affirmations will become the new way your body, mind, and spirit respond to the challenges of every day life. I'd like to share with you how we use our affirmation cards every day:

These affirmations are the ones that have worked best for us. What Amy and I like to do every morning is shuffle one of our decks without looking at it and pick a card at random or, sometimes, we go through the deck a pick the card that best relates to the goal we have set for ourselves. We then say and repeat that affirmation until we feel that we believe it as much as we can. They we say it three more times, seeing in our minds eye a picture of our situation changing for the better and the actual words sinking into our heart, our mind, and our whole body. We assume that whatever card has come up is what we need to work on that day.

We then put the card where we can see it during the day to remind us what we are working on. This can be on your mirror, desk, table, alter, refrigerator, computer, dashboard, nightstand, etc. It is important to remind yourself to repeat your affirmation as many times a day as you can. It is a source of amazement to us how often the affirmation card we pick "randomly" strongly relates to the events of that particular day.

When you are feeling out of sorts, you can shuffle and pick one card from the deck to affirm. You may be surprised how often it relates to what is making you feel out of sorts and even more surprised at how much better you feel after you have done your affirmation.

Please be patient with yourself and, if you decide to use them in your process, be patient with our cards, too. To completely undo the work of your deeply embedded and strongly believed negative affirmations, it is necessary to basically replace them with positive affirmations. This takes time. You should repeat your affirmations whenever you want to, but especially when you catch yourself thinking thoughts you know work against your best interests. With patient practice, you will create the new habit of thinking positively about yourself and your capabilities. That can help you change your life from where you are now to the life you have always dreamed of.

Whether you have been looking for your soul mate, respect, contentment, romance, fun, financial security, a job you love, self-esteem, and the best life possible for you, our affirmations can be an important part of your campaign to achieve your goals. If done regularly and with sincerity, you may soon be surprised at the changes you see starting to occur in your life.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Amy Zerner and Monte Farber are the world's foremost designers of interactive personal guidance systems with over two million copies of their tarot, astrology, alchemy, Goddess, love, psychic, and shamanism divination systems in print in twelve languages.

For nearly 30 years, internationally known self-help author Monte Farber and artist Amy Zerner have combined their deep love for one another with the work of inner-exploration and self-discovery. Their bestselling titles include: The Chakra Meditation Kit, The Tarot Discovery Kit, Astrology Gems, The Animal Powers Meditation Kit, True Love Tarot, The Enchanted Tarot, The Instant Tarot Reader, The Psychic Circle, Karma Cards, The Enchanted Spellboard, The Truth Fairy, The Breathe Easy Deck, The Healing Deck, Secrets of the Fortune Bell, Wish Upon a Star, and Goddess, Guide Me.

Visit their award-winning Website: www.TheEnchantedWorld.com.