Me, My Hair, & the City

If you follow me on Twitter you have no doubt seen me retweet @AffirmationSpot at least 10 times throughout any given day. As a lover of positive energy, I am an avid follower of thought provoking motivational tweets.

I have often wondered who was the mastermind behind @AffirmationSpot. Well, the motivational genius whose affirmations I and thousands of others enjoy is none other than Ray Davis.

Check out my interview with Ray below. His story and overall view on life is nothing less than amazing. Prepare to be inspired!

Adrienne: Who is Ray Davis?

The Affirmation Spot: I am first and foremost a human being. It is my belief that we are all human first before any other label we may have or role we may play. Beyond that I’m a husband, step-dad, writer, thinker, and motivator. I was born in raised in the Kansas City area. I attended the University of Kansas and graduated with a B.S. in Education. I’ve always been someone who seeks the beauty and meaning in life. My grandmother was a published poet and I began writing under her guidance at a very young age.

At 25, I experienced my moment of truth. I fell deathly ill and nearly died. My doctor commented that he had “never seen anyone with electrolyte counts so low who was still alive.” I could not stand, fell to 96 pounds, and could not eat or drink. Eventually, I was diagnosed with a rather rare condition known as Addison’s Disease.

With the appropriate treatment, I was able to stabilize my medical condition. However, my career, financial situation, and mental state were in a shambles. I was depressed, underachieving, and alone. None of the dreams I had for myself were coming true. I felt like a failure.

I came to the realization that if my outer world was to change, then my inner world had to change. I began meditating, using affirmations, and reading everything I could get my hands about self-improvement. I took Joseph Campbell’s famous advice to “Follow your bliss.”

Over the next several years, I began going for my goals and area after area in my life began to fall into place. I realized that if I could face the situation I had faced and come back, then others could do the same. I became committed to doing what I could to help others realize the potential that lives within. It remains my passion.

Adrienne: Who or what inspires you?

TAS: There are so many things that inspire me. In fact, I have found that inspiration exists around us all day every day in many forms. Nature inspires me. People who live their dreams inspire me. Music and language inspire me. Oddly enough, what inspires me most is all the negativity in the world and the pain I see it causing people, nations, and our planet. That inspires me to do what I can to make a difference and demonstrate that by focusing on the positive we can turn ourselves and this world around.

Adrienne: What is The Affirmation Spot?

TAS: The Affirmation Spot is one of my dreams in the process of coming to fruition. It is my primary website where I offer mp3 affirmation downloads and soon many more original motivational products.

When I began using affirmations I was not into the Stuart Smalley mirror talk method. I recorded cassette tapes of my own affirmations and listened to them during the day and at night when I would go to bed. I would allow the affirmations to play all night and would use a second tape player to play some kind of background music.

Soon I began to realize that the 100s of affirmations I listened to subconsciously while I slept were appearing in my mind during the day. More than that they offen appeared spontaneously to respond to the negative thoughts I was trying to overcome. I realized that listening passively to affirmations was just as effective as listening intently.

When i created TAS my goal was to offer downloadable mp3 affirmations for just about any life situation and to make them affordable for anyone to download and use.

Adrienne: Why do you feel affirmations and/or motivation are important?

TAS: Affirmations are important because they are a simple, but effective tool designed to do one thing. Their purpose is to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts. For some reason, we human beings tend to error towards the negative. There are societal pressures that tell people that being negative is somehow more “realistic” than being positive. Many people are afraid of being “fooled” by their positive thoughts or expectations. Many would rather be unhappy and unfulfilled than risk the disappointment of seeing the bright side.

The damage this does to a person is enormous. This process is magnified by the negativity in the media and even from our political leaders. The messages are disempowering and tend to reinforce the negative self-talk that people have in their minds.

Because we feel negatively towards ourselves, we feel negatively towards others. We become fearful and mistrustful. The more unlike us somone thinks, looks, or acts the more negatively we feel toward them. All this negativity is projected out into the world and onto each other. This causes social divides, wars, hatred, violence, bigotry. Much of this is unconscious and remains so until we become consicous.

Motivaiton is a consumable. Most of us, with few exceptions, have to work at being positive and staying motivated. It’s a lifelong discipline and process. The ultimate goal, in my opinion, is to become an empowered thinker. Empowered thinkers are conscious of themselves and others, aware of what is going on in the world, and committed to think and act positively to make a difference.

As more people adopt this mindset, we will see happy, fulfilled people following their bliss and supporting each other in doing so. The “Us” vs. “Them” mentality will fade from human memory.

Adrienne: What is your favorite affirmation?

TAS: Wow. There are so many. I probably write 30-50 new affirmations for myself and others every day. I think I have to stick with one of the first ones I ever wrote. I used to listen to this one repeatedly and say it to myself 100 or more times a day. This one operates on a number of levels when you stop and really think about it. It transformed my life.

“Whatever I need always comes my way.”

Adrienne: What words of encouragement would you give someone who is attempting to make their dreams a reality?

TAS: Make sure it’s your dream, your bliss, you’re following. If it’s really somone else’s dream, your heart will not be in it.
1. Dream a dream that’s big enough to scare you a little bit.
2. Never measure yourself by your past. Many people limit their futures by thinking their pasts are their limit. I always like to tell people that yesterday’s limits are today’s starting point. The past only matters if you plan to repeat it.
3. Be willing to take some risks. We live in a Universe where reward is rarely won without risk. Playing it safe will only keep you safe from every dream you ever had.
4. Find the hero within you. He or she is there. That person is ready to take you on your “hero’s journey”. Your dream is what Joseph Campbell termed “the call to adventure”.
5. Keep moving forward each day. The first step toward any dream is to take a step. Even a step taken in doubt is better than no step. Many people are waiting for the “perfect moment”. There is none more perfect than right now.
6. You are going to hear “no” and “you can’t” along the way. There is always a chorus of them cheering the dreamer on to victory.
7. Believe in yourself. There is no substitute for it.
8. Find people to support you in your dream and be someone who supports others in theirs. Be a dream magnifier.
9. Always be filled with love and gratitude for what you have right now. Don’t allow your journey to the dream to become a road of daily dissatisfaction. Appreciate now and the journey you are on and you will appreciate the reward of the fulfilled dream all the more.
10. Following your dreams is not selfish or wrong. In fact, it can be one of the most selfless things you can ever do.

Adrienne: Is there anything extra you would like readers to know about you or the Affirmation Spot?

TAS: Just that I believe in them. I know for a fact that every person reading this right now is a miracle in motion. I know firsthand that however low you are right now there is a light at the end of the tunnel, if you have the courage to believe and act for change. Finally, think of the world we can create when person by person we become empowered and liberated to be the people we came here to be.

To learn more about The Affirmation Spot click here.

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