Conscious Inklings Blog. IDEAS, INSIGHTS & INK-SPIRATION. / faith

We have 12,000-60,000 thoughts per day. Our brains are firing, wiring, and soaking up information constantly as we move through our lives and even right now you are likely processing these words while other thoughts are ricocheting off the corners of your mind. The fact of the matter is that our brains are turned on and are gathering and internalizing data at record speed and the majority of those thoughts are the same as yesterday’s, which were the same as the day before. But even more alarming is that it is estimated that 80% of those thoughts are negative. That’s right. As we brush our teeth, kiss our kids, get stuck in traffic, call for take-out, step in the shower, lead that big meeting, there are conscious and subconscious negative thoughts that are bombarding us.

But can our thoughts—negative or positive—truly have an impact on us? The answer is yes. In fact, in a recent interview, Conscious Ink’s founder Frank Gjata, mentioned Dr. Masura Emoto’s work in a recent interview. Dr. Emoto is known for his studies that showed the impact of positive and negative messages on water on a molecular level. Positive and negative words and phrases were spoken over distinct jars of water and then frozen. The water was then put under a microscope to reveal that the water that had been infused with negativity had a disfigured, asymmetrical, and almost blobbish molecular structure while the water infused with positivity had crystalline symmetrical shapes like a snowflake under the microscope. Balanced and intricate elegance. Our bodies comprising of 50-75% water and our brains processing tens of thousands of thoughts a day, the concept then forces us to ponder how our negative and positive thoughts impact our minds and our bodies.   

If you were put under a microscope, what would you see?

Would you see harmony and elegance?

Or would you see distress and pain?

The Conscious Ink tattoos are about claiming the positive for yourself.

They are about taking back your thoughts and words so that you can affirm your desires and your truth as you shift the statistics and biology to your favor. The consistent reminder and action of re-orienting yourself to the positive as well as by actively creating positive associations in your life, you are actually changing your neural pathways to accommodate a shifting mindset that breaks away from limitations, doubt and fear and moves toward infinite possibility and limitless power and true connection.

What words do you claim today?

How will you use them to rise?

Laurie Brown sent her experience of hope and healing. This is her story.

This journey started in February of this year. After a routine mammogram, I was informed that I had breast cancer. I was stunned. Up until that moment, I had never been a patient in a hospital. The last time I had been in a hospital was 56 years ago when I was born! I thought to myself this can't be happening to me. I never get sick. But the tests didn’t lie, and I had to come to terms with the fact that I had cancer.

On Monday, March 27th, the surgery to remove the tumor was scheduled.

It was supposed to be a relatively easy procedure. But then just prior to the surgery, it was determined that the invasive nature of the cancer required a surgery that would be more involved than a lumpectomy. It would be a major surgery. They performed a partial mastectomy on the left breast (where the cancer was located) and for cosmetic reasons, a similar procedure on the right breast.

It turned out that despite the tiny size of the tumor, the genomic analysis of the tumor itself revealed that it's a high-risk cancer (meaning it’s highly invasive and likely to recur and metastasize). That all translated to chemotherapy instead of radiation therapy. In addition, the oncology surgeon recommended that I undergo a bi-lateral mastectomy by the end of the year.

This was devastating news.

When I was informed that I would have to undergo chemotherapy, I was encouraged to seek out community forums like the one at breastcancer.org. The forum has been an invaluable source of support and information (from current patients and survivors). In addition to extremely helpful tips to get ready for and cope with chemo, women have shared the many resources available to breast cancer patients. One of the women shared that she had received a temporary tattoo from Conscious Ink so I decided to check it out. At that point, I had been through one round of chemo and I was looking for any and all forms of support.

I figured since I spend most of my day typing on a computer, I would purchase the tattoos in pairs and apply one to each forearm for the remaining five rounds of chemo. Since the tattoos are temporary, I planned to apply them a few days prior to each round of treatment so that I could focus on the affirmations for a few days – even if only in my peripheral vision.

My favorite word is “Grace”. So I started there.

The chemotherapy would be administered via infusion. To accommodate this process, a port-a-cath (port) was installed in my chest wall. The sight of the wound and the port bothered me. For the first time since this all started, I did not want to look in the mirror.

Then my Conscious Ink order arrived. I decided that if I had to look in the mirror, I wanted to see something positive. I placed the “Perfectly Imperfect” tattoo near the port. When I saw myself in the mirror, I saw the tattoo. I felt better – almost instantly.

I just decided to shave my head since the chemo was making it all fall out (I was kinda hoping the chemo would make me lose weight, not hair!) The bonus tattoo “It’s going to be okay” that came with my order is a wonderful reminder to keep my head and heart high.

So far, I’ve been through one round of chemo with my Conscious Ink tattoos. I know that glancing at “Grace” and remembering to just “Breathe” helped to calm me in the days leading up to the treatment day. I am hopeful that as I continue on this road to recovery, all of the affirmations that I’ve chosen will help to ease the anxiety and fear that can be frequent companions.

Despite the scary diagnosis, painful, (sometimes debilitating) treatment, I cannot, will not, complain. I am blessed to be surrounded by so much love and support from friends and family and coworkers. But what has really given me hope since my diagnosis is the outpouring of truly caring support that I have received from strangers. I don’t mean people like oncology nurses whose job it is to care for me. I mean people I have never met. For example, when I placed my tattoo order, I included a note about why I was making the purchase. On the packing slip that came with my Conscious Ink order, I found a handwritten note from someone named Stephanie. She encouraged me and told me that she was sending “abundant love and healing light” my way.

In today’s climate of hatred and intolerance, these simple acts of compassion and sympathy are sorely needed.

If I could tell the world one thing, I would say, “Be kind.” Take a moment to let people know you care about them. Send cards, texts and emails filled with encouragement, support and much needed humor! Sending a brief one or two line note might seem like a small thing to you. Trust me, the impact can be profound.

* Do you have a Conscious Ink story to tell? Share it with the Conscious Ink family by emailing amy@consciousink.com. 

Someone asked me recently what my greatest accomplishment was, and to be honest, I was completely stumped.  I thought about my life and surveyed my experiences trying to determine what I was most proud of.  As I tried to think of all of the things I had achieved in my life, I realized that what I was most proud of was not something I had done so much as it was who I had become.

For so much of my life, I lived in a place of self-doubt and self-criticism.  I was so quick to ask myself “what if I can’t?” or “what if I fail?”  I chose the paths that seemed to pose the least amount of risk; but by playing it safe, I was depriving myself of opportunities for true growth and ignoring the voice deep inside of me that was beckoning me to follow my heart, to pursue the things that made me feel most alive, and to create the life that I dreamt of.

Over time, I realized that telling myself that my dreams were too big and settling for a life that seemed "good enough" was not a path to happiness.  I realized that, in order to find true fulfillment, I needed to be the architect of my own world, to develop my own unique vision of a full and happy life, and then work to create that every day.   But before I could create the life that I wanted, I needed to do some internal spring-cleaning and clear out the clutter that had accumulated in my life.  I needed to let go of the fear, the self-doubt, and the beliefs that were holding me back from living my bliss.

It is a never-ending process, and it requires a consistent, conscious effort, but as I began to clear away the thoughts and behaviors that were no longer serving me, I was surprised by the things that I found, things that were always there but had been buried under all of the negative self-talk and limiting beliefs.  I found courage, not as something that magically appears out of nowhere, but as something that can be practiced and developed.  I found faith, as I surrendered myself to a life of authenticity.  The "what if"s no longer held so much weight as I found that choosing the things that feel right and true for me at my core will always lead me to where I should be.  And as I began to make authenticity a way of life, I found a kind of happiness that I had never known before--a happiness that radiates from deep within me, one that doesn’t hinge upon the opinions of others or things going my way or measurable forms of success.  The happiness that I found was the joyful experience of truly being myself and its has impacted my life in so many ways.

I am now more present, every day.  I work harder at everything I do because I own the choices I make and choose to do the things that nourish my soul.  I try to embrace every experience as an opportunity to learn and grow, and I bring more positivity into my relationships and the world around me because I have discovered a powerful source of love and light inside of myself, and I am absolutely certain that there is no accomplishment that could be greater than that.

“Whomever you truly are... honor that person. No dream was ever realized by disappearing into the shadows of self-deceit and doubt.”  - Jaeda DeWalt

Conscious Ink temporary tattoos were created to help you heal, let go, and grow! Check out our inspiring and affirming body art in Conscious Ink Temporary Tattoos.