What are Affirmations and Intentions?

Affirmations are concise, mindful statements that have the power to change our lives. The words we speak and think hold pivotal role in creating the life we desire for ourselves.

It is thus imperative to learn how to mindfully frame potent affirmations and intentions and incorporate them into your daily practice.  

Example of Self-Love Affirmations

I invite you to practice the following Self-Love affirmations, in the morning, before going to bed at night, or at any time you feel you need to nourish yourself from within:

I AM BRAVE

I AM STRONG

I AM SMART

I AM LOVED

Close your eyes and repeat these affirmations silently to yourself. As you are thinking the words, feel your entire being immersed in their essence.

 Nature Affirmations

Nature affirmations can be practiced not only when immersing in nature but also indoors, or anywhere for that matter; all you need is to be there in your mind.

If going outdoors isn’t available to you, you can always commune with nature in your mind: Sit comfortably, close your eyes and see with your mind’s eyes a beautiful landscape, be it an actual memory or a fruit of your imagination. Then, repeat the following affirmations silently to yourself (this can be as powerful as “actual” immersion in nature):

I AM GRATEFUL FOR MOTHER NATURE

I AM ALIGNED WITH NATURE

I AM GROUNDED

I AM GROWING

I AM FLOURISHING

I AM NATURE

I AM GRATEFUL FOR CREATIVE INTELLIGENCE

I AM THE WHOLE OF CREATION

Communion with mother nature is a profound process of healing that also beholds great teachings.

Subtle Intention (Sankalpa) Setting

At the conclusion of meditation, when our awareness is expansive, it is auspicious to set subtle intentions (or Sankalpas, in Sanskrit) for our body, heart, mind, and soul. We think them silently to ourselves and let them go, trusting that the universe will handle all the details.

Sankalpas are subtle intention embedded in the field of awareness. Sankalpa is referred to as “a resolve where there is no turning back”. When planting the seeds of intention in the silence of pure awareness, at the level of being, we are activating the infinite organizing power of the universe.

The intention of the entire meditation process is to take us back to our true self, and from there, to manifest into the world. As it is said in the Upanishads, the ancient Vedic text: