… And still, think that we are loving people who are deeply religious or spiritual. It is not possible only because the two energies are not in alignment. This is how we are.

People go to their religious institutions to pray, or they sit in meditation to send loving energies to ‘save the world’, yet when they leave these spaces, they live in hate. The hate is not just the outward expression of hatred directed at others through speech or action; the hate is also directed at self.

I know not everyone is religious and that not everyone prays, so let’s take this definition of prayer further.

Prayer can also be defined as an invocation or an act to seeks to activate a connection with an object of worship or to find a relationship towards a life goal. It can take the form of a hymn, incantation or recitation of a creed statement. This also includes affirmations we say to ourselves, words that we repeatedly say to ourselves to reassure ourselves, or to remind ourselves.

Let’s take this conversation a notch down towards the more practical and earthly side of things.

Have you ever wondered why the thousands of people out there who repeatedly say their affirmations of abundance are still plagued continuously by money issues? Many would profess to be non-religious or non-spiritual, and they would even be ashamed to say that they recite affirmations. But they do, in their heads. They repeat words to help themselves move out of the lack cycle.

BUT the thing is if there is a sense of unworthiness, lack of self-esteem, lack of self-love, whatever they utter to themselves about abundance whether out loud or inwardly, they are cancelled out so to speak.

We have a pretty amazing mind. Our consciousness works in a way where it attracts to us what we have, to give us more of what we have. Like magnets.

So we have all been told that if we repeatedly do certain affirmations and fake it till we make it ala The Secret, we will get what we want. The thing is we need more than declarations, deeply rooted inside of us are parts of us that are in the shadow meaning they are unknown to us, t, which acts as magnets to attract life lessons to us, that we need to learn — that is the true secret.

And what is also amazing about our minds is that if there is anything in conflict within us, we do not get what we want no matter what. But we get what we need — this is where the story of our lives goes through a roller coaster ride.

I am not saying to stop reciting your abundance affirmations but keep a mind out for other affirmations you say to yourself or others that are in conflict with the abundance ones. For eg, if you want to be more abundant, you want more to increase business in your startup and you formally recite affirmations for it, then it is not a good idea to criticise and judge other startups in conversations. Or if you want to be a better public speaker, stop judging others and comparing yourself to others to try to gain a one-up in your own mind.

All the other chatter that we do, in our own minds and in conversations are forms of affirmations that work against what we truly want.

Observe. Don’t judge.

So we really cannot pray in love and live in hate, or pray for more and live in selfishness/ selfcenteredness. No one has ever gained peace of mind, success or abundance via the path of conflict.