Written by: Elsy Flores, Aroused Co.

I don’t chase. I attract. What belongs to me will simply find me.

Positive affirmation, the hype of the season. Trends have come and gone, but this particular one will stand the test of time. Positive affirmations aren’t made up; they are actually backed by science – Neuroscience. Neuroscience is the study or science of the brain and the nervous system – what it does, how it develops, and its structures. Our lives, thoughts, and environment play a big role in the state of our brain.

The brain isn’t a stagnant organ. It actually moves, develops, and changes, all due to humans. This changing process is called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity refers to the numerous abilities of the brain to restructure itself throughout life due to our environment, behavior, thoughts, and life experiences. Aside from neuroplasticity, there is also neurosexology. Not surprisingly there is a connection between the brain, sex, and sexual disorders. Sexual disorders like loss of sexual desire, erectile dysfunction, lack of lubrication, changes in arousal, and perturbed orgasms can be early features of a neurological disorder. Even during sex, our brain plays a
significant role. Neurosexology studies the connection between our brains and sex. This means that with positive affirmations, we might also have some impact on our sex life.

Our affirmations and thoughts can make that change and influence our attitude towards sex. Positive affirmations are positive thoughts you speak life into, intending to use them to uplift, calm, support, and upbuild your brain and soul. Sometimes people use them to repress negative and saddening thoughts or to repel bad energy.
Think of the brain as an open book with blank pages that people can write with their own thoughts and words. This is why whenever people think about something, the brain releases chemicals called neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters control mood and emotions.

Do you remember how you feel when you show appreciation or do something you enjoy? You feel good, right? It is because at that moment, your brain releases a surge of rewarding neurotransmitters like dopamine. Chemicals like dopamine are what make you feel good. Studies have been conducted using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show how positive affirmations trigger the reward centers and rewire the brain. The ventral striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex are the parts of your brain that respond to exciting activities.

Using the fMRI showed how these areas of the brain lit up when positive affirmations were said, especially affirmations that involved something about the future.
Other areas of the brain that lit up during the study were the prefrontal cortex and posterior cingulate. These areas are connected to self-related processing and can serve as a way of blocking out or reducing the effect of negative information. Repeatedly using positive affirmations helps people respond more maturely and positively to challenging situations and experiences. Over time this leads to rewiring and building a strong and resilient brain.

Our experiences and thoughts wire our brains, and we can harness the power to change our brain’s wiring by taking control of our thoughts. How we intentionally direct the flow of energy and information through our brain’s circuits can change the brain’s activity and wiring. Now that you have seen that positive affirmations can rewire the brain, I encourage you to say those positive words every morning. Look in the mirror, think about those affirmations, visualize them and say them. Loud and proud.

Our brains may define who we are and what we do, but we can change that with just a mere thought. Mental liberation or liberation from the mind is the last key step every individual must take before achieving inner peace. It means freedom from the conditioning to which we are subject. It is liberation from the learning, beliefs, values, opinions, prejudices, judgments, world views, attitudes, standards, which we harbor in our minds because of our interaction with the external world.

Affirmative pleasure is being conscious and intentional about how, when and where we seek pleasure from. Being intentional entails focusing your attention and state of mind on a certain thing, person, or circumstance. It is one of the best things we can do for our sex life since it forces us to concentrate more intently on our pleasure and on a partner. It can appear as quitting harmful behaviors like making up orgasms, daydreaming during sex, or thinking of penetration as the “grand finale” of any sex session.

Intentionality puts us in a mental state where we can fully enjoy ourselves and pay attention to each and every experience we’re experiencing. When we hear pleasure we do not associate it with liberation, at least not the liberation of the mind. Many people view seeking pleasure as being materialistic or hedonistic but this is untrue.

Pleasure, especially affirmative pleasure, is freeing! It gives one the opportunity to enjoy a new life; free from shame and other societal constructs holding one back from achieving the liberation of the mind. Affirmative pleasure also allows a person to detach from toxic sexual behaviors that have socially constructed to force people into thinking they can only achieve pleasure through certain rules. In fact, affirmative pleasure is a way to secure inner peace with one of our most naturalistic
tendencies. A mentally liberated person is easy to spot. They are not inspired by any particular goal, instead they strive to achieve inner freedom and detachment from material things.

How do you feel about affirmations and pleasure practices? What role does pleasure play in your life? What’s your favorite affirmation?

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