by Louise Hay
This was the second book I read in my mind/body healing journey. I felt that everything I had been taught, all the cultural norms and mores I had never even been aware of let alone questioned, had to be re-examined as I read this book. It was like putting on an entirely new set of lenses with which to view myself and my life. When I came across a new idea, I would set the book aside for a while so I could process, ponder, evaluate, and assimilate the idea. There were a few ideas I disagreed with, but everything in here I at least considered and examined closely before discarding it as half-truth or false. I was surprised that the majority of the ideas in the book I agreed with, once I had given them sufficient thought. I believe we all have the ability to discern truth from error when we are living close to God through prayer and study.
There were many life-changing principles I learned from this book, but I will only mention one of them here. Louise Hay teaches that everything in our life is there because we want it there. This was highly offensive to me when I first read it. I had been un-well most of my adult life and when I read this book I had spent the previous 3 years deteriorating after having 2 babies close together. On a conscious level there was simply nothing I wanted more than to be healthy and well. To state that I was sick because I wanted it just plain made me mad. But there is something hardwired into my brain, call it OCD, or whatever you want, that doesn't allow me to move on from an idea until I have looked at it from every angle, prayed about it, pondered it, held it up to the light and looked deep into the dark places inside myself. To my great shock and disappointment, I discovered that yes, I had some payoffs for being sick. In other words, it was meeting some needs that I hadn't figured out yet how to meet in other ways.
The great news about this discovery was that maybe I had a little more control over my health than I had previously thought. Perhaps I could figure out how to meet those needs in healthy ways, thus eliminating the pattern in my life of 'dis-ease', as Louise calls it. I set my mind to it and I won't say it was easy. These were some pretty deeply rooted habits. But I was determined. I was done being sick. So I took the next step in my journey and starting 'releasing the need' to be sick by getting my payoffs in healthy ways. I'll get specific with one example. I used to have a really hard time asking for help. To admit that I needed help from someone was so horrible, I can't even describe it. One of the first payoffs that I recognized was that being sick gave me the 'right' to ask for help. If I was well, but a little tired, I would never ask my husband to hold down the fort while I had a power nap. But if I was suffering from one of my bouts of stomach pain, I knew I was justified to go lay down in the bedroom for a bit while he took care of things. The funny thing was that none of this was coming from him. He was fine to do his part either way, it was all in my head. I was only giving myself permission to receive help if I was sick. So, I got sick. It was working pretty effectively!
Well, I knew that I needed to start opening my mouth and asking for help. It was like my mouth was nailed shut. It was so hard at first! But little by little, I starting prying my mouth open and asking for help when I needed it. It is something that has changed drastically in my life and I would say now I'm pretty good at it. I had to tell myself that I didn't need to be sick anymore, I would take care of my needs in healthy ways.
One other great thing about this book is that at the end she has compiled a list of common physical ailments with their corresponding emotional imbalance. It is truly amazing how often this is right on. Our body's ailments are messages to us of things we need to heal in our lives. This resource at the back of her book takes a lot of the work out of figuring out what the message is for you. It is also insightful for understanding our childrens' needs when they are dealing with health issues.
I don't buy very many books, most I borrow from the library, but this is one that I recommend everyone have on their shelf. The resource at the back is so valuable. I use it on a weekly basis.
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