Affirmations vs Afformations: Which Are Better?
I am a big fan of using positive affirmations as a tool to create an amazing life, but I know they don’t always work for everyone. Your mind can be full of doubt when you recite your affirmations and it often responds with a big “Yeah, right!! So not true!” Fortunately, there’s a work around – you can turn your affirmations into empowering questions.
After fruitless attempts at manifesting with affirmations, Noah St. John birthed the idea of Afformations.
“If human thought is the process of asking and searching for answers to questions, why are we going around making statements we don’t believe? I somehow knew that if we started asking ourselves better questions instead of saying statements we didn’t believe, it would change everything…
When you ask a question, your mind automatically begins to search for an answer. Empowering questions unleash your ability to take action. The answers to empowering questions produce feelings of positive self-worth and ultimately lead to answers that tell the truth about Who You Really Are.”
– Noah St. John
Afformations are empowering “why” questions that suggest that something is already true for you. When you ask a question, your mind automatically begins to search for an answer. Because it assumes that it’s already true, it gets right to work answering why it’s true. In this way, your subconscious mind (who has an intimate connection with the Universe) then supports you in making it your reality.
Afformations help to change your subconscious thought patterns from negative to positive – by changing your beliefs about yourself and your relationship to the universe. This in turn allows your mind to focus on what’s right about you or your life, rather than continuing to focus on what’s wrong.
Why Are They Called Afformations?
The word Afformations comes from the Latin word formare, which means “to form or give shape to”. When you ask questions about yourself or others — whether positive or negative — you are inviting new thought patterns, which then begin to form a new framework for how you see and experience life.
What’s the Difference Between Affirmations and Afformations?
An affirmation is a statement of something you would like to be true in your life. For example, a classic affirmation is, “I am wealthy.” The problem is, for many people, when they say things like “I am wealthy,” their mind doesn’t accept it and responds, “Yeah, right!” That means you don’t believe the positive statements you’re telling yourself.
However, an Afformation is an empowering question that assumes that what you want is already true or has already happened. For example, in this case, instead of saying “I am wealthy” you can ask, “Why am I so wealthy?” Since your mind is programmed to search for answers to questions, it will start to search for the answer to your question.
Why Do Afformations Start With the Word ‘Why’?
Noah St. John explains, “Two basic forces govern human behavior: The Why and The How. The Why is your motive or ‘Why-To’ of doing something. The How is your method or ‘how-to’ of doing it. Have you ever noticed that you can know how to do something, but never let yourself do it? There are hundreds of things you could do right now that you choose not to do. You have the how of doing these things, but of course you don’t have the why of doing them. This means motive always trumps method, which means The Why always trumps The How – and that is why Afformations start with the word “Why”.
In a muscle testing experiment, Noah St. John asked a woman to repeat an affirmation that wasn’t true. She tested weak for the affirmation, which means her subconscious mind hadn’t accepted it. When she changed the affirmation into a question, she tested strong, which means her subconscious mind accepted the question.
How to Use The Afformations Method
1. Identify what you want, and write it down.
2. Form your desire into a question that assumes that what you want is already true. You can start with the following suggestions:
“Why is it so easy for me to…?”
“Why am I…?”
“Why did I…?”
“Why do I have…?”
“Why do I love…?”
Because there are an infinite number of questions you can ask, use these examples as starting points for your own new, empowering Afformations.
3. Accept the truth of your new questions. There are four simple ways to give yourself to your new, empowering Afformations and accept them as true. You can:
Read them.
Write them.
Say them.
Listen to them.
While all four modes are essential, the mode that produces the fastest results is listening. Record yourself reading your list of Afformations and listen to it daily. When you listen to empowering Afformations, you will begin to drown out that negative voice in your head and stop giving power to it.
Repeat this process as often as necessary until you install your new, empowering beliefs. Some Afformations will be easier for you to believe, while others will take more time to bridge your Belief Gap. Don’t rush the process. Baby steps are what’s called for here.
4. Take inspired actions based on your new assumptions about your life.
How Many Afformations Should You Work With at One Time?
Studies have shown that while the conscious mind can hold only a few ideas at a time, your subconscious mind can hold many more. That’s why you can never really overwhelm your subconscious mind.
20 Afformations Examples
1. Why am I so healthy?
2. Why do I love my body?
3. Why do I have abundant energy everyday?
4. Why am I so happy?
5. Why do I radiate perfect health and well-being?
6. Why is it so easy for me to lose weight?
7. Why do I love to exercise?
8. Why am I so loved?
9. Why do I feel valued and appreciated?
10. Why do I always have plenty of money?
11. Why is my bank balance always growing?
12. Why is my business such a huge success now?
13. Why is it easy for me to save money?
14. Why am I so good at investing wisely?
15. Why am I so confident?
16. Why do I feel empowered?
17. Why do I sleep so well at night?
18. Why do I love my life?
19. Why am I so abundant?
20. Why is my life so fun?
Which is Better – Affirmations or Afformations?
Louise Hay was the queen of affirmations and used positive statements to help heal herself from cancer. I’ve also heard Kryon say that affirmations are a powerful and effective tool in creating a life we love.
Noah St. John, on the other hand, found affirmations to be non-effective and swears by Afformations, as well as many other people who have used this method.
Personally, I like to use both.
Sometimes I’ll use affirmations and sometimes I’ll use Afformations. And sometimes I say my affirmation first, then follow it with an Afformation. For example:
I am empowered.
Why do I feel empowered?
My income is increasing exponentially.
Why is my income increasing exponentially?
I feel so loved, connected, and supported by Spirit.
Why do I feel so loved, connected, and supported by Spirit?
What are you experiences with affirmations? Have you tried using Afformations? Please share your comments below.