Thursday, June 5, 2008

Dedication to LOUISE HAY


Despite being a high school drop out because of a pregnancy at age 15, Louise Hay went on to become one of the best selling authors in history; she owns her own publishing empire and perhaps affected the New Age community like no other.

I ‘discovered’ her accidentally. A few years ago, my wife was on a trip to her home in Europe when she met a friend who told her about Louise. This friend was battling breast cancer and incidentally, Louise had suffered cancer as well.

I received a call from my wife one day while she was on her trip. She told me that I needed to get a book called “Heal Your Body” by Louise L. Hay. I said, “Louise who?” as I was writing down her name. She said that her girlfriend, the one with the breast cancer, had this book and it had helped her tremendously in her thinking, helping her become more positive.

So I went out to look for this book and was surprised to find that it was so small and thin – less than one hundred pages. I also found that the whole book was about affirmations from a mind/body perspective. In other words, Louise discovered that our mind or our thinking could affect our body in certain ways; the same way she found out that her cervical cancer stemmed from not ‘letting go’ of the abuse she suffered as a child.

I had heard of mind/body communication but more so from books and journals of science – never from an ‘affirmation’ point of view. When I read over the many ailments listed in Hay’s book, along with probable causes of the ailment and associated affirmations or new positive thinking, I thought to myself – no way!

I know I am not from the ‘Show me’ state of Missouri but I wanted proof. Yes, I read many of her testimonials but I wanted to experience it first hand. So what better way for me to do this than to try it out on some of my clients who were battling emotional and/or physical pains.

This is how I did it: I would get a call for a session appointment -- let’s say the client was suffering from constipation. Typically the way I would work with this type of issue (before reading Louise) was through general suggestions about the flow of nature and balance. After reading “Heal Your Body”, I would ask the client during the consultation if she had any of these issues: “Refusing to release old ideas. Being stuck in the past or sometimes like to keep what she has and not share with others.” To my surprise, the client would agree to all of the above. Since this was the case, I would tailor the suggestions around these affirmations. This particular case actually happened and this approach caused the lessening of her constant bouts of constipation and today, she’s happy to tell me, she is doing much better.

But I didn’t stop there. Even though Louise had one point in her win column (on Constipation, that is), I wanted to test it on another client. I got a call from a client who had suffered from lower back problems for years. She had gone back and forth to chiropractors, general medical doctors, and even had surgery. So I asked her if she ever worried about money or felt that she didn’t have financial support (Louise’s mind/body connection for lower back pain). The client agreed, surprised that I had guessed all of this, and I made my suggestions accordingly. It eased her pain tremendously. In fact, she reported to me years later that she was still lower back pain free.

Of course I tested it on others as well and each time, the client would agree with the mind/body communication and causes of their ailments. So I have to say, this little book has been a gem for me and my clients.

Now I cannot guarantee that anyone else will receive these results by reading this book and practicing the affirmations but I can say that they worked for me and some of my clients.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/magazine/04Hay-t.html?_r=1&ref=books&oref=slogin

John
Clinical Hypnotherapist & Life Coach
Hypnosis & Self-Enhancement Books & CDs: http://www.hypnotizeanybody.com
Hypnotherapy Services: http://www.hypnotherapy4health.com
Joimethod: http://www.joimethod.com

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