What’s in it for me? Discover the transformative benefits of positive thinking.
When Louise Hay was diagnosed with cervical cancer, she believed it was the result of a lifetime of mental and physical trauma.
As a result, she became a seeker, searching out holistic remedies and natural doctors.
Along the way, she learned how to heal and love herself.
According to Hay, our minds – and our long-held beliefs about ourselves – are the source of all our physical and emotional ailments.
So, she says, we can overcome these problems simply by changing our thinking.
These blinks dive deep into Hay’s transformational method, giving you not only practical tools you can use to begin healing your life but also the inspiration to follow it through.
In these blinks, you’ll learn how to do a mental house cleaning; how to make peace with your past; and how to control your thoughts moving forward.
We manifest whatever we think.
The first step in Louise Hay’s transformational self-healing method is to understand that you’re responsible for everything in your life.
While this doesn’t mean you’re responsible for, say, your car getting a flat tire, you are responsible for how you feel about it.
If you tend to react with self-pity – this always happens to me – perhaps you feel as if you’re walking around in a world full of flat tires and bad luck.
This is because each one of your thoughts – the things you’re thinking right now – form your reality.
Here’s the key message: We manifest whatever we think.
While this level of omnipotence might feel like a lot of responsibility, don’t worry, because the Universe has your back.
The Universe – or the Higher Power or God or whatever you want to call it – supports you in whatever you want to do, helping you manifest whatever you want to achieve.
And while it supports you, it never judges you.
The Universe basically just gives you whatever you ask for.
The problem, however, is that while the Universe doesn’t judge you, you constantly judge yourself.
And since your subconscious tends to believe whatever you think about yourself, you probably carry around a pretty negative self-image.
Familiar thoughts like, I’m too stupid, too lazy, too short, too tall, are all just a million different ways of saying: I’m not good enough.
This isn’t your fault.
You picked up these ideas when you were little – from careless adults who made offhand remarks, which got buried deep in your heart.
Then, as you grew older, you continued to carry these beliefs around, which is why they continue to manifest themselves.
Because you manifest what you think.
According to Hay’s method, healing begins by changing your attitude toward the past.
And you can do this by practicing forgiveness – forgiveness of all those people that hurt you, all those adults that made offhanded comments.
And let’s not forget your parents, because even if they were the worst parents ever, carrying around that anger only bogs you down.
Forgiveness, in contrast, allows you to drop that burdensome anger, freeing yourself to take responsibility for your own happiness.
The first step on the journey to loving yourself is to clear away your limiting beliefs.
What kind of problems do you have in your life right now?
Maybe your back aches all the time or you get constant headaches.
Or maybe you’re an artist without inspiration or an unemployed person struggling to make ends meet.
Maybe you’re single and lonely and longing for that special someone.
Whatever your problem is, the best way to start solving it is to focus your energy on the main problem causing the rest: you don’t love yourself.
Loving yourself is easier said than done, of course – so then, where to begin?
The key message here is: The first step on the journey to loving yourself is to clear away your limiting beliefs.
More than likely, you have a list of “shoulds” – a list of things you think you’re supposed to be doing.
Or things you think you’re supposed to be: I should be tougher, I should work harder, I shouldn’t complain.
But understand that by saying you should be doing these things, you’re actually saying you’re wrong for not doing them.
And who says you should be doing them in the first place?
Perhaps it’s better to ask yourself what you could be doing?
Because could is a magical word – it opens up possibilities.
The question to ask yourself then is: Why haven’t I done all the things I could do?
The answer is likely connected to some of the ways you don’t love yourself.
For instance, do you often criticize yourself?
Abuse your body with drugs and alcohol?
Undervalue your abilities?
Stay perpetually single or hop from one toxic relationship to another?
Procrastinate?
Apart from being harmful and painful, all these actions also reinforce a lack of self-worth – telling yourself on a subconscious level that you don’t deserve anything better.
While it may be painful to examine your actions, it's vitally important.
Examining your actions isn’t merely to count regrets; rather, it’s a kind of mental housecleaning.
In the same way that you’d clean a room, you now get the chance to go through your memories and dust off the ones that comfort you, reexamine the ones that bother you, and throw out the ones that don’t serve you anymore.
Most importantly, this exercise helps you get familiar with all your limiting beliefs.
Now, when you’re done cleaning up the past, it’s time to return to the present.
It is, after all, all you have, so why waste it reliving the past when you can, right now, begin the practice of controlling your thoughts?
Your power lies in the present moment – and each thought creates your reality.
Do you ever wake up, see storm clouds outside, and think to yourself, Ugh, what a terrible day?
If so, let’s pause a moment and consider that judgment.
What’s really so terrible about the day?
The fact that it’s wet and gray?
The fact is that the only thing keeping you from having a good day is the negative attitude you bring to it.
This is the key message: Your power lies in the present moment – and each thought creates your reality.
Luckily, your thoughts can be changed.
So let’s start by examining some of the negative thoughts you might be carrying around.
Perhaps you think nobody loves you because you’re not in a relationship.
Or you think your poor health is just family genetics.
Or you’re depressed because that’s just the way it’s always been.
But these are simply thought patterns – and you’re here to change them.
You have to be willing to change though.
Instead of wallowing in hopelessness or getting angry at others, you have to recognize that the only way to create a difference in your life is to change your own thoughts and behaviors.
Many people react to this idea with stubbornness, but the tighter you grasp onto an old belief, the more important it is for you to let go.
One way you can begin this process is to repeat to yourself: I am willing to change.
Touch your throat when you do this because it’s an important energy center.
Go to a mirror and look yourself in the eyes – I am willing to change.
How do you feel?
Hesitant?
Uncomfortable?
Excited?
Afraid?
Whatever you’re feeling, just let it wash over you without judgment.
Simply notice it for what it is.
When it comes to emotional recovery, mirror work is a very powerful tool.
That’s because it reflects all the negative thoughts you have about yourself – either feelings about your “imperfect” body or, worse still, a sense of shame when you look yourself in the eyes.
So to face yourself in the mirror and deliver a positive message is an act of bravery.
From now on, try to say something positive to yourself every time you pass a mirror.
Lastly, remember that even though you’re now willing to change, quite often you still may not want to.
Be on the lookout for these moments of resistance, because they’re growth opportunities in disguise.
Your body is trying to communicate what’s going on inside – take time to listen.
By this point, you’re probably getting a headache pondering all the trouble your thoughts might be causing you.
But according to the author, the bad news doesn’t stop there: because your thoughts may be causing physical problems as well.
In many ways, she notes, your body mirrors your negative beliefs about yourself, and thinking this way long enough creates visible effects.
Don’t believe it?
Just look at anyone walking around with a scowl on their face.
Do you imagine they’re thinking happy thoughts?
The key message in this blink is: Your body is trying to communicate what’s going on inside – take time to listen.
For instance, according to the author, hair represents strength and so baldness results from tension and fear.
Earaches and deafness arise from anger about what you’re hearing.
Likewise, blindness results from not wanting to see something.
And headaches come from not wanting to validate yourself.
This is why perfectionists are prone to migraines.
In the end, she believes, all health ailments stem from fear and anger.
Although fear and anger may take many forms – like impatience, resentment, jealousy, anxiety, doubt, lack of self-worth – they’re all feelings that poison the body.
So the author recommends that the next time you encounter a physical ailment – whether it’s constipation or varicose veins, arthritis or a sore throat – ask yourself what this body part represents and how you could be manifesting fear or anger in this area.
For example, since your legs help you move around in life, varicose veins might be a sign that you hate being where you are.
So where would you rather be instead?
And if you find this a bit kooky, the author encourages you to try to stay positive and have an open mind.
Because the Universe supports you – it wants you to be healthy and happy – and you can want the same thing for yourself.
Resistance uncovers the problem, and the problem uncovers the need.
What do you do when you feel uncomfortable?
Do you leave the room?
Change the subject?
Avoid eye contact?
Procrastinate by doing busywork or cleaning the house?
Doomscroll on your phone?
No matter what you do to escape yourself, it’s all resistance.
But resistance to what, exactly?
Well, that’s actually the point.
The author suggests that all your problems stem from long-held patterns and beliefs.
They’ve been with you so long that you hardly notice they’re there.
So to overcome them, you need to become aware of them, and that’s why resistance is so useful.
For instance, how did you feel about the mirror exercise a few blinks back?
If it felt silly or stupid, your resistance might indicate that you don’t want to look at yourself or that you don’t like yourself.
The key message here is: Resistance uncovers the problem, and the problem uncovers the need.
For instance, have you ever been presented with an idea and then found yourself thinking: What difference would it make?
My situation’s different.
That doesn’t sound like it’s for me.
Those are all assumptions and limiting beliefs.
Another form of resistance is giving your power to others – My partner wouldn’t like that, or, It’s all his fault.
Or just limiting self-concepts – I’m too old for that, too weak, not smart enough.
Resistance also appears as a way of delaying change – I don’t have time to think about that right now.
I’ll get to it later.
Impatience is another form of resistance because if it can’t be done right now, it’s not worth doing at all, right?
And then, of course, come denial and fear – What if I fail?
Get hurt?
Get rejected?
What all these forms of resistance have in common, the author notes, is that they foreclose the opportunity to get to know and love your true self.
Just as resistance points the way to your problems, your repeated problems point the way to your needs.
Whether you have a history of toxic relationships or procrastination, binge eating or chain-smoking, these behaviors correspond to some need deep within you.
And each harmful need corresponds to a limiting belief.
To begin healing from this, the author recommends you throw aside self-criticism and start practicing positive affirmation.
Consider something you want to let go of, perhaps the thing causing you the most pain, and say to yourself: I am willing to release the need for .
.
.
Tell yourself that you deserve happiness, let yourself receive this blessing.
In order to change, you must release the past and look to the future.
As you begin to heal and release the need for your toxic behaviors, you’ll probably experience some discomfort.
To cope with this, it might help to picture your inner child as undisciplined, allowed to stay up late whenever it wants.
Now, by working to let go of resistance, it’s as if you’re trying to institute a strict bedtime.
Sure, the child will kick and scream at first, but stick to it and soon enough the new routine will establish itself.
And, perhaps for the first time ever, you’ll realize that you’re in control.
And as this process unfolds, watch for discomfort.
Perhaps as you change you’re noticing friction in your relationships, either in your personal life or in your work life.
Having just given up a bad habit or thought pattern, you’re now seeing your life with more clarity and the discomfort is a good indicator of what’s no longer working for you.
The key message here is: In order to change, you must release the past and look to the future.
You’re now in greater control of your thoughts because you know that your experience of life depends on what you choose to think.
So instead of staying stubborn and angry about how difficult things feel, say to yourself something like, Change is becoming easier for me.
This may feel simplistic and silly, but the author believes that by saying these affirmations aloud you’re aligning yourself with the power of the Universe that flows within you.
And as you become willing to release the need to do things that harm you, you’ll find that it’s becoming easier to let go of the past.
The only thing you control is what you’re thinking right at this moment.
So why waste it by holding on to old hurts and resentments?
Instead, picture yourself as the small child you once were.
Look into your eyes and see the longing for love that resides there.
Hug this child, embrace this younger self with all the warmth and tenderness you can muster.
Say I love you, and let yourself know how beautiful you are.
The secret to loving yourself is learning to think in positive affirmations.
Have you ever thought to yourself, I wish I wasn’t so broke all the time?
Or, I don’t want to be so fat, so lonely, so unhappy?
While these thoughts may lead you in the right direction, they’re still negative, as the author points out.
And since you manifest whatever you think, too much negative thinking will bring negativity into your life.
The key message here is: The secret to loving yourself is learning to think in positive affirmations.
So what’s the solution?
The author believes it's simple.
Start by turning all those negative statements into positive affirmations: I am successful, I am healthy, I have loving people in my life, I am happy and joyous.
By framing your situation in a positive way, you’re focusing your attention in the right direction.
But it’s important to remember: always state your affirmations in the present tense.
That’s because if you say I want to be healthy or I will be successful, your subconscious will keep putting it off.
With these positive affirmations, you’ll be well into the process of self-acceptance.
And as you get into the habit, start by regularly telling yourself something like, I approve of myself.
As you continue to feel better, the author recommends practicing more awareness.
What thoughts make you happy?
What activities and people make you feel good?
As you grow more aware of the abundance in your life, you’ll find it easier to go where it feels warm – that is, toward the things that bring you most joy.
If you’ve ever planted a vegetable garden, you know that growing seeds takes time.
But as the shoots start coming out of the ground, you’re filled with joy.
It’s the same with learning to love yourself.
Love is the seed, the affirmations are the water, and the positive thoughts are sunshine.
And even though this process may be difficult, try not to think of it as hard work.
You can support yourself by being excited about this new skill that you’re learning: self-love!
There are many other things you can do to support your process, too.
Daily gratitude lists to remind yourself that your life is abundant.
Or practice meditation and exercise to strengthen mind and body.
And at night, skip the doom and gloom of checking the news on your phone.
Instead, bless the day and sleep in peace.
Final summary
The key message in these blinks: Peace and happiness are your birthrights – this is what the Universe wants for you.
If this kind of serenity seems out of reach, you’re simply not in tune with yourself.
Start by replacing negative thoughts with positive affirmations – and as you slowly learn to love yourself, the Universe will lay a bounty of happiness at your feet.
Actionable advice: Practice daily affirmations.
Pick a small number of your positive affirmations to concentrate on for the day.
Write them out on a piece of paper 20 times.
Read them aloud to yourself enthusiastically.
Carry them with you as you go about your day.
Soon enough, these affirmations will become beliefs.
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What to read next: Spirit Hacking, by Shaman Durek So you’ve just learned how to control your thoughts and positively affirm yourself, as you begin to move toward true self-love.
But as you go forward on this path to fulfillment, why not reinforce these lessons with the ancient practice of shamanism?
Take a deep dive into our blinks to Spirit Hacking and find out how to access infinite dimensions of happiness.