Using music and your own voice CD

Lee asked me about posting my experience using the affirmations so here goes……

The affirmations I picked up from here are working fine. I used them as a base for my 2nd affirmation CD. Had to adjust them to suit my own goals and I think they will work out nicely. It is an 11 minute cycle that keeps repeating.

I make an audio recording of my own voice……. telling me things about myself. There is just something about hearing things in my own voice that is comforting. I know that I would not intentionally lie to myself so….. It works!

Though most people use the “I AM” phrase, I find that it creates a mental conflict so I use the “You are” format. I also try to make my voice come out as sounding like a friend who is trying to make me see the good things they see. That way, something of sincerity comes across in voice tone. This voice is “reminding me” of the way I am.

Many people choose the “I AM” method to start out their affirmations. I find that doing that creates a mental conflict in me. I hear from the CD “I am wonderful” and the next thought out of my head is “wonderful my butt! If you’re so wonderful, then how come……….” It works better for me to use “You are” There is then no conflict.

Background music is added to keep it from being boring. Simple music that makes you think about a quiet walk in the forest or sitting on the porch watching the grass grow seems to work. I avoid anything loud and fast, choosing to keep it slower and almost melancholy……maybe thoughtful?

The first CD I listened to for 2 1/2 months. Changes were subtle; yet there. The feedback from others has been good as I cannot always see or detect how I am changing. The method works if you use it. I have a job that allows me to pound that CD into my head 9 hours a day. A first, it can be annoying but after a while, it can actually be comforting.

As time goes on, I’m learning other subtle things about using the affirmations this way. Recently, I got a realization of my own behavior and I didn’t like it. Seems I am a lot more judgmental and critical of people and myself than I realized. The nice thing about having the opposing affirmation on the CD is that it made me stop and think………. “DO I really want to get involved in this?” “Has this really got anything to do with me?” It’s quite interesting how just being reminded can change how you approach something. It’s like the voice saying “you have choices here! Is this the one you really want to go with?”

Another spot was using the affirmation “I am inferior to no one! Doesn’t matter what they make, who they are or who they THINK they are. I am inferior to on one!” After that rolled around in my head a while, I found that I did not act shy or timid as much. I guess hearing things this way, helps us to make new decisions about how we act and think and in this case, to understand that I have just as much value as anyone else.

How do you go about making a music cd or just a plain cd with your own (spoken) affirmations on it? Would I have to special order something like that?

Would downloading your affirmations on a Mp3 player do the same thing? Or maybe put them on a tape recorder…listen to them all night. And during the day sometimes.

I’m have a few affirmations now….getting more everytime I log on :) and it would be nice to have them recorded so that I could listen to them on a daily basis.

Recording them is pretty easy! I use the CD format because it is easiest for me. Choose whatever works best for you. MP3, tape or CD…..Makes no difference! Main thing is to just get them into your head.

The program I use to make the recordings is Audacity and is free. Here is the link: http://download.cnet.com/Audacity/3000-2170_4-10058117.html?tag=mncol

The way I do it is to make a list of the affirmations I want on the recording. Then read them a number of times to get comfortable with them. It will take a little adjusting. Use words that are comfortable for you. I find some words are just not what I would normally use in my own speech. So change anything that doesn’t feel like you. The words are a sincere friend telling you about what they see in you. Watch your choice of words. Think about them a bit as you tweak the script.

Once you are ready, load Audacity. The prgram is easy to use.

Record your voice, leaving spaces between affirmations. Let it be slow and easy. It’s not a race. Save your voice track as a separate thing first. That way you can always change music easily. Any new variations of the original should get a new name. You may need to amplify the volume and that is in the top menu stuff.

Once the voice is done, select the music you want. I am using something called The SIlent Path”. I like it because it is soft, slow and thoughtful.

On the top tabs you will find a way to import the audio.

Once you have your music in, save it to a new name and then export it as MP3 or whatever. Play with the program. It won’t take you long to figure it out. It’s pretty user friendly.

In response to dinkledorfer’s post:
I love it! Many years ago when I was going to aircraft maintenance school I used my home-made recordings to memorize test questions. I was working at the time and between my job and the full-time school program (M-F 8:00 – 4:00) there wasn’t much time for studying. I’d simply pop the cassette (of myself reading the thousands of test questions) in my walkman – or the car stereo between work, home & school – and listen to it virtually all of the time. That was pretty much all of the studying that I did, and it really worked.
I’ve also used self-recordings for affirmations, like you using the “you are” format, starting off with “You are the man!” It’s been a few years now, but you’ve inspired me to do it again.

OK….I downloaded the program. (I could do that! Yea! :) ) Now, how do you use it? I don’t even know if my laptop has a microphone/recorder on it…I’m not computer literate….yet. This is my 1st laptop. Had a windows 98 desktop that got trashed when I moved. My husband had promised to teach me stuff way before he died but he never did. All I know how to do is cut n copy. So, any help would be wonderful. Thanks for sending the link. :)

˚isn’t it wonderful?  

Posted on 26/09/2009.

Listening to audio tapes are wonderful!

Back when I was in school I’d “bathe” in information, until material that was once foreign sounding began to sound like I wrote it myself. I’ll be doing that soon for something I’ll need to know for work/and profession goals.

I also use audios like Brian Tracy to lovingly kick me in the pants to keep on going when I’ve begun to feel I’ve already done “so much”.

I use to make my own self hypnosis tapes. It probably would be a good thing now—though blue mirror works so well for me, that I haven’t.

Lady D, Please contact me through email. I will arrange a way to walk you through the program. I have used it enough now, that I can guide you.

Your user manual should tell you if your laptop has a built-in mic or not. If not, they are very inexpensive. I think I paid 7 bucks for one at Walmart. Nothing fancy….. keep it simple. If you have an old cassette player that had a plug-in mic, you can usually use that one.

Getting it done will not be a problem. I’ll guide you.

Laurie,

I have tried the hypnosis route with little success. @ hypntheripists later and still, no one can seem to help me get there. I have been trying to get them to use mis-direction techniques to get past my defenses with no success. I know more about them than they do. It’s difficult for me to understand why a trained person cannot get a willing subject under hypnosis but that is what I have run into. ANy thoughts would be welcome??????

Lady D, the email address is [email protected]

˚isn’t it wonderful?  

Posted on 26/09/2009. Last edited on 27/09/2009.

In response to dinkledorfer’s post:
Hello dinkledorfer,
First know you have the power to accept or reject any suggestion. I repeat you are the power. You accept or reject. If you “take in a suggestion” you feel wasn’t ok for you, you can reverse it. I have a lot to say on the subject of hypnosis and susceptibility. Though I want to begin by saying no one hypnotizes you, you hypnotize yourself.

I’ll write more when I’m less tired, this is part 1 (:.

You are the one that gives yourself permission to accept an affirmation, or a visual image. Within ethical hypnosis, there is no stage-like manipulation. It’s a therapeutic systematic list of process affirmations that resonate with the client.

Though, when I speak of hypnosis, I refer to self to self (true self hypnosis).

You don’t need a person to do this for you, unless your blocks are so great, and therapy is needed for specific guided cues to break barriers and replace them with things that could only be found by getting to know the you, that you haven’t yet discovered.

With most people, especially people like yourself that is finding so much success with affirmations, hypnosis-like suggestions are already in process.

All hypnosis is ->dealing with an alertness w/ mind with an ultra relaxed body.

Laurie, I was trying to get to a point whereas I felt like something was different than my normal relaxation into visualization process. I have tried some of the things like eye catalypsy and arm levitation by myself (listening to a youtube video and had some success. With the trained people I have so far worked with, even those things didn’t work. One tried a mis-direction technique( I gave her the info on how to do it) and she botched it up so bad it was worthless. I have tried to be very patient, understanding that it is a process and can take time but my patience is wearing thin. I’m getting better results with my CD’s over time than the stuff that is costing a lot more. Perhaps I have watched too many stage hypontists (their DVD’s) but doing so has led me to understand that there are other methods available to try if the slow….bore you to death ones fail.

Any thoughts?

Joseph

˚isn’t it wonderful?  

Posted on 30/09/2009.

In response to dinkledorfer’s post:

- going beyond normal relaxation comes with practice.

When you go the gym, you don’t instantaneously become strong.

- Give yourself affirmations like:
With each relaxation exercise I do, I give myself permission to go even deeper.

-Semantics are very very important in self-hypnosis, just like w/your affirmations. You may not like the word deeper. What word to you means beyond the relaxation you’ve already experienced? With that word add-> and with each time you do a particular exercise, what you feel is even greater than the times before. You can even say 10x greater.

-I think your preconceived ideas of hypnosis are truly causing you to anticipate something other than the relaxation response with yourself.

-Stage hypnosis appears one way for the show. I’m not speaking of stage-acts. Most individuals who volunteer for the act are extreme extroverts or extreme introverts or those who enjoy taking in suggestions for the sake of a show. As I have mentioned.. ethical non-stage self hypnosis is something you achieve over time w/practice.

-The first time I ever experienced the kind hypnosis that practitioners use was in a psych class in the mid 70’s. It was incredible! I trusted the hypnotists very much. We had just heard their hypnosis talk before hand, explaining what hypnosis is and what it isn’t. We learned how it could be used for pain and studying etc.

I was so excited w/trust and desire, that I allowed myself to become relaxed, and allowed them to put a medical clamp on my arm and they tightened it, and I felt no pain. I did that! I allowed it. I trusted, I gave permission. That was the beginning of my learning about hypnosis.

Hypnos in Greek means sleep. In reality hypnosis is the opposite of sleep. you are actually more alert under hypnosis then you are right now, just also totally relaxed. I can share some exercises w/you, I had learned, if you’re interested.

The hypnosis thing has taken some interesting turns. Though it’s not taking me wher I had planned on going, it did take me to making the affirmatioin CD’s and those have worked beautifully. A side benefit to the sessions though is to be able to have a barometer of how I’m doing and that has been nice. Some changes are subtle and I can’t see them but others can.

Tried to use another hypontist, figuring maybe the one I had wasn’t skilled enough but it was an amusing bust. She said I don’t need her help. I can do it on my own. Ha! She also said my aura was very bright. I like the sounds of that.

Have to share a caution about making CD’s and playing them where other people can hear. I drive around all day making deliveries and CD 1 was no problem. Cd 2, I put some rather personal items on and got some very amusing looks as that part of the CD spoke when I was dropiing a package off. I won’t elaborate on the subject matter but you can figure it out. So a bit of thought might be a good idea when constructing the CD. Save the really personal stuff for times of complete privacy.

Thanks for the idea – I’ve been rather busy over the last few years with study and with my course ending in a few weeks – I’ve been starting to make a list of things I want to do that I never had time for.

1. Get an Ipod
2. Make an affirmation tape. I like the suggestion of using “you”. Seems I’m better at listening to comments that others make about myself than believing what “I” say.
3. Also learn French, that can go with the Ipod as well
4. Make a nice space in the house away from TV and other distractions, MeditatingMama has always provided nice visualisations of this, would like to include a couple of kitties but family has allergies. Should put this one top of the list.

I want to get started right now but got 2 assignments to do, last two ever!

In response to Vivi exercises daily!‘s post:

Hey Vivi, I went to www.byki.com and downloaded Arabic lists to my mp3 player and have been using that with great success.

Here is the french link

There are many lists, so check it out. These are free to download and listen. :)

In response to meditatingmama’s post:
Thanks MM I look forward to using that resource.

I’ve got some Michel Thomas CD’s that I’ve had for YEARS and must try and start again. He has great language courses, not sure of Arabic, but his methods are very good if anyone wants to check it out, not that I can boast about anything yet!

Been playing a CD ‘Bach for Meditation’ today while I work. I find it helps me focus on the task. My mind is quick to drift off and the music pulls me in and keeps my thoughts on the job at hand. And the pace is very slow and allows me to breathe deeply, they say the Largo tempo is excellent for learning.

Anyone got a favourite CD for the calming times? Some suggestions might link in nicely with this thread to be added to voice recordings of affirmations.

˚isn’t it wonderful?  

Posted on 19/10/2009.

In response to Vivi exercises daily!‘s post:
great question?? I’m interested in that too.

Would love to hear Bach for meditation too.

There is some great music for studying that is suppose to increase learning.I’ll see if I can help find it for all of us. Hope people respond to this too. Would love a big selection.

In response to laurie- worksout-daily&w/everything she’s got~ ~‘s post:
Just found there is a series called x for Meditation (Beethovan, Vivaldi, Handel etc) from Naxos label.
I’ve been listening to Beethovan for Meditation all morning whilst I work and it’s nice and I’m concentrating better.

WOW So it worked pretty well for you! Good for you! I’ll try to find my way in doing this..

Thank you very much!