Louise Hay is one of the grande dames of metaphysics.
I first encountered her work in the early 80s when she was one of the few spiritual teachers who walked toward the AIDS crisis. Her message then was simple: self-hatred will never do; self-love is the answer. She was right then, and she is right now.
The 84 year old doyenne has a new book out--Experience Your Good Now! Always a good reminder. She has written a power-packed small book on the wonders and privileges of the use of affirmations.
According to Ms. Hay, "an affirmation is anything you say or think." She teaches that we have the power to choose our thoughts and our words. An affirmation "will either help eliminate something from your life or help create something new in your life." I got my start as a spiritual teacher doing workshops about how to do affirmations. They've worked for me for decades.
Affirmations help you "change the way you think and talk." And some of us really need to do just that. Let's pause for a moment. Consider these questions:
- Do you hear yourself when you speak to others?
- What tone of voice do you use?
- What's your intention?
- How's your delivery?
- Now, how do you speak to yourself?
Consistent, feeling use of affirmations creates an atmosphere in which growth can flourish. The key is to use them consistently and with feeling. There is a CD which comes with this small book. She recommends that readers listen to it for 30 days.
The best part of this book is that Ms. Hay tackles areas of life that affect us all and creates template affirmations for each one: Health, Fearful Emotions, Critical Thinking, Addictions, Forgiveness, Work, Money and Prosperity, Friends, Love and Intimacy, and Aging. Her affirmations are wonderfully phrased and effective.
Here's one that spoke to me because I live with a chronic disease. "I release the need in me that has created this situation." I must confess that I've done an awful lot of work on the disease. I understand where it came from, and why I carry it, and although I've been able to make a real difference in my experience of the illness through spiritual work, I haven't been able to get rid of it. (The doctors say it's impossible! I don't believe that.) So her affirmation grabbed me where I live! I have some idea of what the need in me is that created this situation, but I don't really need to know that to release it. Believe me, I'm affirming all over the place. Consistently and with feeling.
Another affirmation at the end of her chapter on Healing spoke to me as well. "I give myself permission to be well." Period. No qualifications. Interestingly, this idea gives me permission to be well -- whether I get rid of the disease or not!
At the end of each chapter, she gives a "treatment" for that area of life. In some scientific traditions, a treatment is what they call prayer. Her treatment for Money and Prosperity ends: "All is well in my prosperous world." It's so nice to claim prosperity both for myself and for the world.
In 28 years as a spiritual director and counselor, people often ask me where they can study "Advanced Metaphysics". I usually laugh. "There is no such thing," I say. "In metaphysics, we're all beginners all the time."
It could be argued that Ms. Hay's book is for beginners. Affirmations are often a way that people begin to approach their own minds as mutable. Louise Hay has been teaching affirmations for at least 30 years. In her book, they are as fresh as when I first learned of them. No matter if you're an old consciousness cutie or a baby-stepper, this book is a precious reminder that what we think about we bring about -- and we need that more than ever now.
For spiritual nourishment, visit Dr. Susan Corso's website and blog, Seeds for Sanctuary. Follow her on Twitter @PeaceCorso and Friend her on Facebook.