Affirmations: The Creative Power of “I AM” In Hamlet Shakespeare asked the most famous question in all literature: “To be or not to be?” Rene Descartes, 17th century French philosopher and scientist wrote, “I think, therefore I am.” The answer to Shakespeare’s question and the solution to all of our problems lie in the first person present tense of the verb to be: I AM. When you say I AM and concentrate on positive thoughts and feelings, you will create positive experiences in your life. I am safe. I am healthy. I am prosperous. I am loved. Unfortunately, fear and pain keep many of us focused on negative things. If you believe you are sick or unworthy or destined to fail, you are. How can you look beyond present fears and pain to create positive results in your life? By using affirmations. Affirmations are short, clear statements of your desired goal designed to make positive changes in your conscious and subconscious mind. By articulating your intentions clearly without worrying about how you can or will accomplish them, your mind begins doing the work for you. As your mind becomes increasingly committed to your goals, the ways to accomplish or fulfill those goals will present themselves to you. Because you're focusing on changing yourself, when you’re just starting it’s good to begin your affirmations with "I...." Affirmations must be completely positive, with no negative words or ideas (i.e., no, not, stop, refrain). Make sure that each word in the affirmation is a word that you want to affirm. For example, “I am debt-free” includes the word debt—something you definitely do not want to affirm. If you want to be debt-free, affirm financial abundance and prosperity. Try “I have financial abundance” or “I prosper in everything I do.” Affirmations must also be written in the present tense. If you want strength, don’t affirm it in the future tense “I will be strong” or “I’m going to be strong.” That keeps the strength you want out in the future instead of bringing it into your present being. Affirm “I am strong” and know that the strength you desire is already yours. The Affirmation poem we created to use with the Token of ChangeTM starts with gratitude.  Gratitude is the key to our relationship with Life, with God, or with the Universe.  When we are grateful, we appreciate the creative power of the Universe.  Kindness follows gratitude as the key to our relationship with all other living things.  The poem includes two affirmative principles that are absolutely as true as any principle of math or science we learned in school:  (1) I create what's on my mind, and (2) My world reflects the change in me.  The poem then focuses our attention on two positive thoughts:  Perfect health...Prosperity... .  The elipses (...) following each word is to encourage you to focus your attention on other specific positive thoughts that you would like to affirm and create in your life.  Perhaps your current situation has you feeling like you could never be healthy or prosperous.  Release that feeling and focus instead on what perfect health means to you and what prosperity means to you.  As you perfect those ideas in your mind's eye, you tell your subconscious mind--the part of you that heals cuts and bruises and recreates every cell of your body every few years--that this is what you believe in and this is what you want.  Your subconscious mind will comply.  What you think and believe is what you will experience.   Everything that you want already exists for you just as if you’d ordered it online and were only awaiting its delivery. When you understand and appreciate this truth, you begin to feel genuinely grateful. That gratitude opens the door to abundance in your life. If you need help writing effective affirmations specific to your current circumstances, please e-mail us at TokenofChange@Yahoo.com. Laurie A. Gray www.SocraticParenting.com