Affirming

Definitions: (1) asserting conclusively; (2) confirming with reasonable proof; (3) making a positive statement; validating

Synonyms: asseverative, assuring, attest, aver, avouching, declarative, ratifying

Balancing Quality: thankful

Quotes:
• I will act as if I make a difference. — William James (1842-1910) American psychologist and philosopher
• An affirmation is a strong, positive statement that something is already so. — Shakti Gawain (1948-) American inspirational author

Affirmations:
• I am (name your desired quality), and I am growing in understanding of (this quality) as I continue to live it.
• I am a lovable person. I have the right to say “no” to people without losing their love. — Leonard Orr (1938-) American teacher

Observation: You can read your environment, it is giving you feedback. I used to think that Native Americans used to think <Oh, there goes a crow. That means something.> Now, I know, from my own experience, that when I’m thinking something, what I see – the crow – shows up to affirm my thought while I’m thinking about it. — Gerard “Jerry” Vincent Hubert Downs (1949-) American photographer & writer

Tips:
• Affirmations help you stay focused on the positive.
• The key to affirmations is to let your higher self, your cosmic identity, do the talking. Transfer the seat of consciousness from the ego-self to your soul-self.

Suggestions:
Applying the technique of autosuggestion to affirmations:
1. Write each affirmation ten to twenty times.
2. Work with one or more affirmation every day until they become part of your consciousness: at the start of the day, just before bed, whenever you feel the need.
3. Record your affirmations on tape multiple times and play them back to yourself.
4. Make a list of your most meaningful affirmations.
5. Put specific names and situations into your affirmations.
6. Make your affirmation personal and invent new ones.
7. Say the affirmations in the first, second, and third persons.
— Adapted from The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity {1962} by Catherine Ponder (1927-)

Symbols: 1) the column; 2) yes [nodding the head up and down]




Affectionate

Definitions: (1) having great love or friendliness; fondness; (2) proceeding from or indicating love; benevolent; (3) tender feeling; warm regard

Synonyms: ardent, devoted, earnest, kind

Quotes:
• A correct answer is like an affectionate kiss. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German polymath [eight disciplines]
• Son, brother, father, and friend – there is room in the heart for all the affections, as there is room in heaven for all the stars. — Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French playwright

Symbols: 1) a hug; 2) a kiss




Affable

Definitions: (1) easy to approach and talk to; courteous; (2) having effortless manners; gracious; (3) having a kindly countenance; benign

Derivation: Latin, “to speak”

Compatible Qualities: friendly, perspicuous

Synonyms: accessible, civil, complaisant, friendly, mild, polite, urbane

Quote: Two persons who have chosen each other out of all the species with a design to be each other’s mutual comfort and entertainment have, in that action, bound themselves to be good-humored, affable, discreet, forgiving, patient, and joyful, with respect to each other’s frailties and perfections, to the end of their lives. — Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English essayist
     Note: Just like a snowflake has six spikes, so to do positive qualities have a set of companion qualities that grow with them.




Aesthetic

Definitions: (1) appreciative of and responsive to beauty; (2) sensitive to art and attractiveness; artistic; (3) an authority in matters of good taste; (4) prone to cultivate and indulge in the beautiful

Quote: Beyond the logical standards, there were aesthetic questions. New developments in physics always gave you, first, a logical structure that was more elegant. Second, once you understood it, the structure was not only elegant, it was simpler. Third, from the structure came consequences that were more complex than before. There was not choice between beauty and truth, really. You had to wind up with both. — Gregory Benford (1941-) American astrophysicist and author, Timescape {1980}




Adventuresome

Definitions: (1) bold; daring; inclined to take risks; (2) courageous; enterprising

Synonyms: audacious, brave, daring, daredevil, swashbuckler

Too Far: foolhardy, rash, reckless

Quotes:
• Adventure is not in the guidebook and beauty is not on the map. — Terry Russell (~1960’s) and Renny Russell (1946-) On the Loose {1966}
• The principle difference between an adventurer and a suicide is that the adventurer leaves himself a margin of escape (the narrower the margin the greater the adventure), the margin whose width and length may be determined by unknown factors but whose successful navigation is determined by the measure of the adventurer’s nerve and wits. It is always exhilarating to live by one’s nerves or toward the summit of one’s wits. — Thomas “Tom” Eugene Robbins (1936-2025) Another Roadside Attraction {1971}

Symbol: a ship




Advancing

Definitions: (1) improving or making better; benefiting; (2) promoting or furthering the good; (3) making progress; developing; (4) moving forward; proceeding

Synonyms: accelerating, elevating, exalting, heightening, raising

Quotes:
• No one has a monopoly on truth, and science continues to advance. Yesterday’s heresies may be tomorrow’s conventional wisdom. — Dean Michael Ornish (1953-) American researcher
• The scientific man does not aim at an immediate result. He does not expect that his advanced ideas will be readily taken up. His work is like that of the planter – for the future. His duty is to lay the foundation for those who are to come, and point the way. — Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian-American inventor, futurist, electrical & mechanical engineer




Adroit

Definitions: (1) expert in using the body or mind; nimble; (2) cleverly skillful; resourcefully inventive; ingenious

Synonyms: artful, dexterous, proficient

Derivation: Latin, “to set in a straight line”

Quote: The adroit man profits by everything, neglects nothing which can increase his chances; the less adroit, by sometimes disregarding a single chance, fails in everything. — Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) French military commander & political leader

Observation: Proverbs aims to show a person how to become adroit at the greatest skill of all, the skill of living. — Unknown




Adorable

Definitions: (1) worthy of or one who is receiving worship; worthy of divine honors; (2) worthy of the utmost love or respect; (3) delightful; charming

Quote: Playing with my daughter, I sat down because I couldn’t chase her anymore and she said, ‘Please, Daddy. I love playing with you’ and I couldn’t catch my breath. I just couldn’t. I was heaving, trying to catch my breath and looking at my adorable little girl with her puppy dog eyes pleading with her father to play. — Joseph Anthony Gatto Jr. (1976-) American comedian

Comment: It would be presumptuous to believe you are worthy of adoration. But is is entirely within the right of every individual who is striving for perfection to know they can be loved by other humans. Love from God is assured.




Admirable

Definition: (1) deserving of the highest esteem; a person who inspires approval or respect; (2) worthy of emulation in character or quality

Synonyms: approving, excellent, magnificent, pleasing, worthy

Derivation: Latin, “to wonder”

Quotes:
To be one’s self, and unafraid whether right or wrong, is more admirable than the easy cowardice of surrender to conformity. — Irving Wallace (1919-1990) American author
There is only one admirable form of the imagination: the imagination that is so intense that it creates a new reality, that it makes things happen. — Sean Proinsias O’Faolain (1900-1991) Irish short-story writer

Comment: Definition number (2) may need some explanation. This is hero worship. When someone appreciates another person to the point of wanting to be like them, they often mimic their behavior. By attempting to copy the admired person’s positive qualities; they are personalizing those values bringing them into their own soul.




Adjusted

Definitions: (1) having achieved a harmonious relationship with the environment; (2) person to person(s) accord; (3) accommodated to suit a particular set of circumstances or requirements

Synonym: adaptable

Quotes:
• Beauty: the adjustment of all parts proportionately so that one cannot add or subtract or change without impairing the harmony of the whole. — Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) Italian artist & architect
• If you’re in the middle of the ocean with no flippers and no life preserver and you hear a helicopter, this is music. You have to adjust to your needs at the moment. — Thomas Alan Waits (1949-) American musician

Inspiration: God is a frequency. Stay tuned. — Alan Cohen (1946) Inspirational author