“Important as the struggle for existence has been and even still is, yet as far as the highest part of man’s nature is concerned there are other agencies more important. For the moral qualities are advanced, either directly or indirectly, much more through the effects of habit, the reasoning powers, instruction, religion, etc., than through natural selection.” —CHARLES DARWIN

Words create worlds. What we habitually tell ourselves and others about the nature of reality profoundly influences the quality of our lives and relationships. Replacing outmoded ways of thinking with inspiring, evidence-based concepts can be transformative.

The following affirmations may assist you in integrating The Great Story into your life and habitual ways of being in the world. As you read or, better yet, read them aloud, I invite you to pause after each and notice if anything opens up for you. Consider the statement long enough to begin to feel it. Edit or adapt them however you’d like.

Memorized, even just one or two of these affirmations can influence how you habitually see your inner and outer world.

1.  I am an interdependent cell within the body of Life. Everything I see, hear, and feel is part of me—part of my larger Self, my true Nature.

2.  I am the sum total of 14 billion years of unbroken evolutionary development now reflecting on its immense journey. I am graced by a growing awareness of the awesome implications of my larger sacred story.

3.  I am one with the living face of evolution. I participate in, and as, the ongoing emergence of the Universe and planet Earth. I do so with courage, compassion, gratitude, and care-full action.

4.  I feel a deep connection to the whole of reality. I know that my breathing, seeing, hearing, and feeling are acts of communion. My senses are portals to the holy.

5.  I am grateful for the prehuman components of my evolved mind—and for my physical, social, and interpretive instincts.

6.  I know that I may not live to see the Sun rise again. I cherish this eternal moment.

7.  I trust that whatever happens on the other side of death is just fine. I can find comfort in mythic night language without clinging to any particular belief about the afterlife.