Vicky Thompson’s new book is a tool you may find helpful for releasing stress and reorienting your thinking powers.

According to Thompson, people have “monkey minds” that jump around from one negative thought to another, and affirmations and meditation can keep the “monkey mind” under control while providing a comforting feeling of inner peace.

But what, exactly, are affirmations? The author defines them as “powerful statements of intention about what you intend to create in your life.” Affirmations serve as guideposts and motivate and induce positive action. They are powerful tools in maintaining a positive mental state, reducing day-to-day stress, achieving a goal, improving health and creating a sense of peace and well-being. Some experts believe it takes a minimum of twenty-one days to change behavior, and that positive attitude is vital for both health and happiness.

Thompson’s book is a practical approach to begin using affirmations in your life. Divided into thirty days, each day offers an affirmation and a meditation prayer to go with it. During these thirty days, five areas are explored: love, intuition, inner wisdom, forgiveness, and service. Each day focuses on a specific area. The meditation prayers are accompanied by visualization techniques. For example:

“See yourself standing on a mountain. The sun shines brightly, illuminating you and creating a golden glow around your body. This golden light surges through your body, filling you with the power of God as you say the following prayer:” (day 2)

• Days 1-5: learn to fuel change
• Days 2-11: develop an intuitive spiritual practice
• Days: 12-18: access inner wisdom
• Days 19-24: use the tools of forgiveness
• Days: 25-30: use your spiritual energy to serve yourself and others.

If you wish to reduce stress, be more able to handle daily problems and look at them from a higher perspective, but you don’t have a lot of free time to spend on meditation, this might be the perfect book for you. Thompson’s approach only takes a few minutes each day. Readers of Deepak Chopra will find this work enjoyable and helpful.