2024 - Why Struggle? - Week 48 - Your Mouth And Mindfulness

Greetings and welcome to the Why Struggle Podcast.

I'm your host,

Barbara J.

Faison,

And my intention with this podcast is to offer ideas,

Insights,

And inspirations so you can live life better.

Greetings and welcome to 2024,

Week 48,

Your Mouth and Mindfulness.

This is an episode about how to use your mouth and words as a mindful practice.

The words we think and speak are powerful.

As we continue on our journey of my 5 Mindful Ways to Struggle Less and Enjoy Life More,

Mouth is the second M.

Last week,

I shared how music changes your brain chemistry.

And next week,

I'll talk about mindfulness and meditation.

I hope you gave some thought to how to access music to shift your mind and energy,

And maybe even added or came up with a playlist as suggested.

Every day and in every way,

I use my voice to heal,

Educate,

And inspire.

Every day,

I grow stronger and more confident in using my voice.

I am a magnet for the right people who appreciate,

Honor,

And compensate me well for sharing my voice on their projects.

I am grateful to my Source God for sharing the right thoughts,

Feelings,

Ideas,

And resources for my ultimate success.

This is one of my daily declarations.

Are you ready to hear more about how using your mouth can help you struggle less and enjoy life more?

Enjoy this excerpt about the second mindful practice,

Your Mouth.

The second M is Mouth.

One of my first published articles was for a local magazine called Africa's Children back in the late 1990s.

I wrote about the power of words.

When I was a young child growing up,

My mother was gorgeous.

I looked like my father.

Oftentimes,

Children would say to me,

That's not your mother.

I would have to defend myself and say,

Yes,

She is my mother.

You may have heard the expression,

Sticks and stones may break my bones,

But words will never hurt me.

I disagree.

When we recognize the power of the words that we think and speak,

We can make major changes in our lives.

Using our mouth to speak words of life over ourselves is a powerful practice.

Learning to use your mouth and creating a habit around positive affirmations can be life-changing.

Affirmations are defined in many ways.

It can be a positive assertion,

To assert to be true,

To declare to be positive,

To declare the existence of something.

Whichever way you choose to define an affirmation,

Remember affirmations are personal,

Related to you,

Portable,

Write them or say them wherever you can,

Positive,

Indicating something desirable,

And present tense.

Keep them in the present tense such as,

I am,

Or I am willing,

Versus I should,

Or I could.

You may have heard that the two words,

I am,

Are the most powerful words in the universe,

Because I am is a powerful creation tool.

Whatever we put behind the words,

I am,

Solidifies what you are embodying in your life.

So,

If you don't feel completely confident saying,

I am strong,

I am fill in the blank,

Add the word willing.

So,

For example,

You might say,

I am willing to be powerful,

Versus I am powerful.

It took a lot of years of reprogramming my thoughts and how I felt about myself because of those words that the young children spoke to me.

And that may be why I have a love affair with affirmations and positive affirming words.

I created something I call GTP,

Go-to phrases.

It's one of my ways to keep my mind engaged with positive thinking.

So,

I have these go-to phrases that I keep on my mental playlist.

Here are a few.

Things are always working out.

All is well in my world.

I am in the right place at the right time with the right people doing the right thing.

My timing is always divine.

I am open to miracles and watch things come from out of nowhere to now here.

And one of my favorites from Louise Hay is everyone loves me and always wants to help me.

And this one I got from a good girlfriend,

Regina,

When I'm not quite sure how things are going to work out.

I can't wait to see how this is going to work out.

So,

We know that when we speak affirming words,

It impacts how we feel in our bodies.

Science has caught up to what we probably already knew.

According to this article in Positive Psychology by psychologist Catherine Moore,

She's an HR manager with a passion for positive psychology research.

Here are some of the benefits of daily affirmations.

Number one,

Self-affirmations have been shown to decrease health-deteriorating stress.

Number two,

Self-affirmations have been used effectively in interventions that led people to increase their physical behavior.

Number three,

They may help us to prevent perceived otherwise threatening messages with less resistance,

Including interventions.

Number four,

They can make us less likely to dismiss harmful health messages,

Responding instead with the intention to change for the better and to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Number five,

They have been linked positively to academic achievement by mitigating GPA decline in students who feel left out at college.

Number six,

Self-affirmation has been demonstrated to lower stress and rumination.

Just to give you an idea of how long I've been doing affirmations,

I came across some affirmations I had written in 2008 in my affirmation notebook.

Here are a few of them.

I choose to live in trust.

There is enough for everyone.

I have wonderful gifts to receive and I receive them joyously.

So,

You know what time it is.

It's time to affirm your life.

I believe we can train our brain using affirmations and it's just practice.

Here are some of the affirmations from my 40-day energy balancing affirmations track.

We'll recite some affirmations to continue to remind ourselves that we have the power to proactively manage our lives.

Listen and repeat the affirmations.

Remember to substitute I am willing if you prefer instead of I am.

So,

Let's begin.

I am safe now and always.

All is well now and always.

I feel grounded now and always.

I enjoy a passionate life now and always.

My relationships are nurturing and peaceful now and always.

I feel my feelings and appreciate them now and always.

I am a powerful person now and always.

I own my talents,

Abilities,

Gifts,

And skills now and always.

I trust my sacred intuition now and always.

I love myself now and always.

My heart is open.

It is safe for me to love now and always.

I forgive myself and others with ease now and always.

I am a loving person now and always.

My voice is important now and always.

I am willing to be a powerful communicator now and always.

I speak with power and purpose now and always.

I am wise and make the best decisions now and always.

I trust my sacred intuition now and always.

I am connected to all there is now and always.

I am light and love now and always.

I feel connected to my higher power now and always.

I am enough now and always.

So,

Remember,

You can put in willing wherever it feels right to do so.

End of excerpt.

What's one of your favorite GTPs,

Affirmations,

Declarations,

Or scripture?

Leave a comment,

Observation,

Or reflection where you're listening to this podcast.

Transcribed by https://otter.

Ai