I love how it feels when ...

So, let's talk about affirmations! (affirmation: a present tense, positive, personal statement that is repeated frequently to oneself)  Even if you've never purposely used an affirmation, you can well imagine how ridiculous and fraudulent you might feel if you were saying to yourself "I am thin, I am healthy, I am prosperous, I am successful at xyz, I am relaxed and peaceful, I am super-fantabulous" -- especially if you were feeling about a hundred miles away from any of that stuff being the truth!!  

Here's an easy way to bring yourself much closer to actually feeling that all that positive stuff could possibly be true for you -- simply add the words "I love how it feels when ..."!  

Feel the difference between these two thoughts:

I am healthy and eating mindfully.  (Yeah, right!  Self-worth plummets as you reach for a Twinkie.)

I love how it feels when I am healthy and eating mindfully.  (Yeah, I really do!  And I've felt that way before!  Grabbing an apple as you head out the door to walk the dog.)

Cool, eh?  Adding "I love how it feels when ..." allows for the fact that you may not feel that way at the moment, but also acknowledges that at some point you have felt that way.  Now, if you know me at all, you know that I like to cover as many bases as possible with my meditations and mindfulness habits, so I have of course turned this into a fabulous phrase that takes care of absolutely everything:

I love how it feels when all aspects of my life reflect who I really am.  Yeah, baby!  The great thing about that phrase is that it comes into my head when something really good happens -- and when things don't seem to be going so well.  Bases covered, yippee!

And why do we even want to bother with all this stuff?  Because we get what we expect.  So, I'm keeping a darned close eye on what I'm expecting.  I'm fond of saying that "I'm in a highly anticipatory state, despite the lack of physical evidence for it".  Hee hee.  

Happy Spring!  Redwing blackbirds -- forsythia -- skunk cabbage -- ah, yes!  
Love from the hammock --
MJ