How Author Louise Hay Helped Me Love Myself: A Deeply Personal Tribute

Countless lives touched by one soul. Louise Hay, 90 years young, passed away on 30th August, 2017 leaving behind her legacy of love.

“In the infinity of life, where I am

All is perfect, whole and complete”

[ 1926-2017 ]

Louise Hay touched not just my life but also millions of lives all around the world through her teachings, books, audio tapes, and workshops. She was a true visionary, brilliant author, popularly known as the ‘Queen of Affirmations’, ‘Mother of Self Help’ and the pioneer of the concept of how stored emotions create physical diseases in the body. She was amongst the first to create a conversation around the mind-body connection. She led the way and opened the door to love, peace and healing to her readers.

This New York best-selling author revolutionized the life of millions and created the Hay House Community, a publishing company that will continue her legacy of self-help, spirituality, and healing.

Is it a coincidence that she transitioned on the ‘National Grief Awareness Day’? No, it is just one of those synchronicities, the Universe provides, that the one who taught me and a million others, how to process through our grief and sadness, chose this very day to pass over.

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At a vulnerable moment…

I was in a bookstore, 3 years ago, recently separated from my husband, feeling as lost as ever. I was not sure what I was looking for; I was just browsing through the self-help section wondering which book was going to make my pain more bearable. Until then, I was caught up in a positivity realm of, ‘Positive thinking results in positive experiences’.

That said and done, I wasn’t sure how to escape from all the terrible sense of pain and loss, I had inside of me. This feeling of sorrow, over my broken relationship, was overwhelming me in its intensity and I was no longer certain of how to handle any of this.

I chanced upon a yellow book, You Can Heal Your Life on the bookshelf. I flipped through it, wondering what it was about. There was a workbook along with this book, and as I went through the pages, something about the exercises spoke to me. I bought it home, hoping it was going to help me escape from all these sleepless nights.

I was wrong. Rather than an escape from the pain, it set me on a journey of confronting my pain, and then letting it go. I felt that she was holding my hand, and guiding me through the process of healing my heart. Her words permeated through my mind and settled deep in my soul, leaving me touched and at peace.

What I learnt from Louise Hay

A culmination of few of the many teachings I learnt from her books:

Grief is a matter of the heart and soul. Grieve your loss, allow it in, and spend time with it.

There was no easy prescription for the pain and the guilt I was feeling; it was a process of going through all of these feelings, and only then letting it out.

Every thought you think is creating your future

Our thoughts and beliefs of the past have created this very moment, and all the circumstances leading up to this moment.

“Every thought you think and every word you speak is an affirmation. All of your self-talk, your internal dialogue, is a stream of affirmations. You’re using affirmations every moment whether you know it or not. You’re affirming and creating your life experiences with every thought and word”. – Louise L Hay

However, it is just a thought. You can just say “No” and choose to let it go. It is a thought and a thought can be changed. Choose positive affirmations and you will attract positive experiences.

Love is always the answer

Irrespective of the question, love is always the answer.

“I found that there is only one thing that heals every problem, and that is: to know how to LOVE YOURSELF.” – Louise L Hay

Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives

This is one of the greatest teachings that has touched my life. I had always thought of self -love as selfishness. As women, we are often taught to put others’ needs before our own. But self-love is not selfishness. Just as when a flight needs to do an emergency landing, the air hostess tells you to put on your life jacket first, and only then fasten the life jacket of your children, this is true for our self too. You cannot pour from an empty cup. You can never love another person completely until you love yourself first. You cannot give, what you don’t have. It is important to love and accept yourself completely.

Forgiveness is a healer

Forgiveness is never about advocating another person’s actions or behavior. It is not about accepting and living with the person who has hurt you either. It is never about another person. It is only about you. It is about letting go of the hurt, pain and the resentment that you are holding onto. Forgiveness sets you free and heals you from the inside.

You may not know how to forgive, and you may not even want to forgive. But being willing to forgive, sets the healing process to start.

“Forgiveness is for yourself because it frees you. It lets you out of that prison you put yourself in.” ~ Louise Hay

Be grateful for what you have; you’ll end up having more

The words ‘Thank you’ are the two magic words. The Universe loves grateful people. The more you are grateful for what you already have, the more abundance you are going to be blessed with.

From Louise Hay, I learnt how to love myself, just as I am. To take responsibility for my life and to let go of blame. To let go of the past, the patterns and beliefs, which do not serve me anymore. I learnt to forgive the people who hurt me. I learnt to be grateful for what life has blessed me with.

I learnt the importance of affirmations and inculcated the practice of mirror work. I learnt to nurture the inner child inside of me. She helped me to build the best relationship of all, a relationship with my own self.

These were just a few of the lessons I learnt from Louise Hay and I am forever grateful to her for her teachings. She did not just touch my life, she transformed the way I look at my life.

If I were to carry a book till the end of my life, and beyond, I would choose to take, You Can Heal Your Life with me. It is the Bible that sits by my bed and by which I try to live my life. It contains the essence of what my soul strives to live with – Peace, Harmony, and Love.

Thank you, Louise. Rest in peace. Thank you for being a guiding star. You have always been and will continue to be a beacon of light, guiding me, along with millions of others along their life’s journeys.

Top image via www.louisehay.com

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