a habit of using your daily declarations first thing when you wake up and last thing before you go to sleep. Keep a list of them beside your bed and do your best to memorize them for use at other times throughout the day.
You can say them to yourself out loud, hearing the sound and feeling the vibration of your voice, or repeat them silently in your head, listening to the inner sound of your thoughts and feelings as you do so. Alternatively, you could write them down, type them out, sing them, chant them or record yourself saying them and play back your recording of the declarations at regular intervals. If you are a particularly visual person, write or paint them in bright colours and paste them on to doors, mirrors, the refrigerator and other places where they will be constantly visible to you.
DECLARATIONS IN COMBINATION
Throughout the day you can repeat your declarations to yourself in combination with other activities such as exercising, walking to your place of work, doing the washing up or practising relaxation techniques and meditation. Whatever you do as part of your daily routine, there are bound to be activities which do not fully engage your mind and which can be combined in some way with the use of declarations.
It is perhaps particularly valuable to combine the use of your daily declarations with many of the other exercises, techniques and meditations I have created for you in this book. You could choose four or five appropriate declarations to repeat a couple of times over as you settle down to meditate, then repeat them once again as you complete the process.
The whole concept of positive thought and declaration is an interesting area to explore. Indeed, the use of positive thought techniques to heal and enhance other areas of our lives, such as our relationships and our physical well-being, appears to have a positive, knock-on effect on psychic development. For more detailed information about the construction and use of positive affirmations for health, well-being and success, you may wish to refer to my book Principles of Self-healing. For now, here are some appropriate declarations, read them through slowly to yourself once or twice and begin to use them straight away.
DAILY DECLARATIONS FOR INTUITIVE AWARENESS
It is safe for me to develop my intuition.
My intuitive awareness grows in strength and sensitivity.
I trust the power of my imagination.
I easily harness and utilize my psychic gifts.
I am a creative, imaginative and intuitive person.
DAILY DECLARATIONS FOR CLAIRSENTIENCE
It is safe for me to develop my clairsentience.
I trust my ‘gut’ feelings and reactions.
It is easy for me to act upon my clairsentient abilities.
My instincts are valuable, effective and highly developed.
I am a powerfully clairsentient person.
THE MIND WITHIN THE BODY
The terms ‘gut’ feeling or ‘gut’ intuition are not accidental ones. The area of the body between the heart and the groin which encompasses the stomach and solar plexus is particularly sensitive and could be said to have its own intelligence. Indeed, the stomach and solar plexus contain two of the seven main energy centres or chakras that are integral to the teachings of the Indian Yogic system as discussed in Chapter 3 (see diagram). What is more, on a physiological level this region of the body contains a mass of nerve-endings and, while it is quite different, it could be said that it rivals the area of the brain in its complexity. Is it possible that each of us has a brain in our body as well as in our head, and that we have a body-mind or body-intelligence to match?
Certainly as a hands-on healer and a counsellor who teaches self-healing techniques I would have no hesitation in asserting that the body has its own intelligence which can be employed and stimulated for healing to occur. It would make sense for each of us to develop that body-intelligence at an extrasensory level to bring us guidance, inspiration and clear information about our own state of health and the well-being of others.
When I give hands-on healing I often help my clients to develop a special dialogue between themselves and their own unique physical intelligence. I guide them into a state of relaxation, and channel healing energy through my hands, my voice, my heart and my mind. Within my own body I frequently receive an impression of my clients’ physical state. I register the location of blocked, overactive or depleted energy in my clients’ body and I encourage them to explore that part of their anatomy. Often they will develop a clear impression of what their body needs to help restore itself, and together we can work with that information to stimulate positive change. Sometimes the solution is purely physical but often it is a combination of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual approaches that produces the best results. Information about the best path to healing is usually forthcoming when both the healer and the person seeking help can consult their individual body-intelligence and ‘gut’ awareness.
It is in the gut that we tend to experience pleasure and pain; the pleasure of being loved and accepted, perhaps, or the pain of loss or rejection. It is also in the gut that we often experience a feeling for the environment we are in or the people we meet. Walking into a house with an unsettled atmosphere may leave us with an unsettled feeling in the pit of our stomach, while meeting a person who is genuinely kind, honest, friendly and pleased to see us will invariably leave us with a warm glow that is quite tangible.
MEDITATION: STIMULATING ‘GUT’ AWARENESS
Find somewhere quiet and comfortable to sit, unplug the telephone and make sure that you are not going to be disturbed. Sit with your back supported and your body open and relaxed, your arms and legs uncrossed. If you prefer you can lie down for this, but again make sure that you keep your body open rather than curled up.
I am going to invite you to use some positive mental images. Some people have strong images when they do this, some haven’t. For this exercise to work for you, it is enough just to hold the idea, feeling or concept in your mind.
So to begin, breathe deeply, allowing every breath to fill your lungs completely without straining, and then slowly exhaling. Take a couple of minutes to notice the feeling of your breath as it moves in and out of your body and then gently allow it to assume its own deep rhythm for a while.
Imagine that the area of your solar plexus (just below the centre of your rib cage) and stomach contains a powerful mind that steadily vibrates with the impulses from its own intelligence, awareness and sensitivity. Every physical sensation, feeling and emotion exists as a ripple of awareness from this extraordinary body-mind.
Imagine yourself breathing directly into your body-mind, the breath from your lungs easily connecting you to your physical and emotional intelligence. As you do this, be aware of stimulating a stronger relationship between this part of yourself and your conscious awareness so that you are always attuned to the power of your gut instinct. What are the feelings that you sense within your body at this time? What are your emotions telling you? Are you feeling calm, excited, sad, joyful, turbulent, peaceful, passionate, angry or loving? Do your best to notice all of your physical and emotional sensations and accept them, allowing them to ebb and flow in their
