365 Affirmations to Nourish Your Soul Cards

About Affirmations

Many people have found that repeating positive affirmations every day helps them rewrite negative self-talk and feel better about themselves. I hope that this collection of daily affirmations does just that – and more.

Saying the same small assortment of our favorite affirmations every day can help us overcome negative pattern that we are aware of. Trying out 365 different affirmations over the course of a year can reveal to us issues and patterns that we didn’t even know we needed to address.

The 365 affirmations in this collection are written in many styles using many voices and addressing many issues. Many will say essentially the same thing, but in a slightly different way or with a different “flavor.” If you pay attention to how your mind, your heart and your body respond to these different approaches, you may learn valuable information about your family patterns, your unconscious fears, and your hidden needs.

For example, “I am forgiving,” ‘I am learning how to forgive,” “I choose to be forgiving,” “I am capable of forgiving,” “I give myself permission to forgive,” “I deserve forgiveness,” “I forgive myself,” “I forgive you,” “I release my anger,” and “I am forgiven,” are all about forgiveness. But some of these might feel very comfortable to say, and others might generate resistance. Saying it to your inner child (I forgive you) may feel awkward or may release much more pain than the others.

If the phrasing of some of the affirmations here troubles you, you certainly have every right to rewrite them in any way you please. But before you do that, I encourage you to say them at least twenty times, and sit with whatever feelings they generate.

On that point, most people find it helpful to say an affirmation at least 100 times a day. There is nothing magical in that number, it is just enough repetitions to soak in and shift some perceptions. Ideally, you would say it 100 times in a row. Most of these affirmations are short, and will only take about five minutes to say them. But if that is difficult to schedule, then saying twenty in a row five times during the day can also work. Of course, saying them in the back of your mind all day long is also a great way to let them sink in. It is hard to overdose on positive visions of yourself.

Try to say the affirmations, either out loud or to yourself, with expression. Explore emphasizing different words. Think about what they mean. Pay attention to how it feels in your heart and in your body. Be open to any memories they may trigger. You may find that sitting quietly with your eyes closed and placing your hand over your heart increases the impact of many of these phrases.

Another helpful technique is to rub a worry stone or affirmation coin with your thumb as you say the affirmation. Repetitive motion is proven to be calming. If you are upset later in the day, simply rubbing a coin can trigger a body memory of the positive affirmation and return you to a state of calm.

Affirmations that you think will be easy and uplifting may be the ones that leave you in tears. For example, when I said the affirmation, “God loves me,” instead of making me happy, it made me sad. It revealed a great deal to me about my subconscious belief that God was disgusted by me. In time, I was able to rewrite that belief.

Speaking of God, some of the affirmations will use the word “God,” while others will say “Higher Power,” or even “the Universe.”  You can use them interchangeably if you prefer, though reading them as written might be more revealing.

When choosing your affirmation, you can take a card from the front, pull one out at random, or sort through a few to see which one feels right for today. You can start your 100 repetitions immediately, or think about it and do them later. In either case, I encourage you to put it in your pocket or purse and carry it with you so you can glance at it throughout the day. You might want to prop it up on your keyboard or somewhere else you can see it.

At the end of the day, put it back in the holder for next year. If you found it to be particularly powerful, make a note on the back, stand it on end, or put it somewhere different where you can find it. That way, you can pull it out when you need it again. There is no rule saying you can’t use the same card once a week – or every day for a week. Over time, you might find patterns in the ones that speak to you. If some of these affirmations simply don’t resonate with you, you can be grateful. It means that you already received the support you needed in that area of your life. You already have the virtue that that affirmation was written to nourish. Not everyone was so lucky. You may also discover that affirmations that spoke to you today will no longer have an effect on you a few months from now.

That’s called growth. My hope is that you achieve lots of it.

Warmly,

Justice Saint Rain

P.S. If you have any affirmations you would like to add or subtract for future editions, please let us know.