Words: Victor Parachin
When you’re having a tough day, reach for a good thought.
Often described as simply a self-help and new age author who taught people the art of positive thinking, Louise Hay’s teachings were actually based on ancient, traditional Vedic metaphysical philosophies. From those she learned and promoted concepts such as the power of positive thinking, focusing the mind to heal the body, and that medical maladies are often linked with negative thoughts, a connection which could be broken.
Louise Hay was born on October 8, 1926 in Los Angeles. The first four decades of her life were extremely difficult and challenging. She was sexually abused as a child, became pregnant at sixteen, gave the baby up for adoption, dropped out of high school, worked in low paying jobs until she found some success as a fashion model, married a British businessman Andrew Hay, but after 14 years of marriage was devastated when he left her for another woman. She was in her forties when she began to explore Eastern philosophies such as meditation, mind management, visualisation and the power of right thinking. During that time Hay studied Vedic teachings with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, famously known as guru to the Beatles, at his “Vedic city” in Iowa. She also immersed herself in the writings mystics from various religious traditions and extensively read popular authors who promoted the power of thought and positive thinking.
In addition, Hay began attending the First Church of Religious Science in Manhattan, where she heard the message that the power of thought could improve one’s circumstances. This resonated deeply with Hay who later recalled: “I heard somebody say there, ‘If you’re willing to change your thinking, you can change your life. My jaw dropped. I said, ‘Really?’”
All of those experiences provided Hay with spiritual tools she personally utilised when diagnosed with cervical cancer in the late 1970s. Going against medical advice, she chose not to follow the protocols of Western medical treatment for cancers and opted to engage in an intensive program of meditation, affirmations, visualisation, and healthy nutrition along with psychotherapy to help her deal with childhood memories of sexual abuse. “I … had to love myself a great deal more than I did, and I had to clear the patterns of resentment that I had held from when I had been a battered and sexually abused child,” she said in one audio book, Cancer: Discovering Your Healing Power. “It was imperative for me to let go of the blame.” Within six months the cancer was gone.
Hay began teaching hoping her experiences and insights would help others heal from life’s trials and traumas. She became a very popular lecturer. Unable to keep up with requests for her to teach, Hay self published her first two books in order to reach a wider audience. The f irst one was Heal Your Body (1976) followed by You Can Heal Your Life (1984), which became an international best seller having sold more than 50 million copies in 30 languages. Using her royalties, she founded the publishing firm Hay House to continue publishing her books as well as those of other metaphysical authors.
A consistent theme in her teaching and writing were the power of thoughts. Simply stated, positive thoughts create positive results and negative thoughts bring about negative results. It comes down to a matter of choice. Too many choose to focus on the negative but, Hay said, that could easily be changed. In her book, You Can Heal Your Life, she explained: “If you choose thoughts that will create problems and pain, that’s rather foolish. It’s like choosing food that always makes you ill. We may do this once or twice, but as soon as we learn which foods upset our bodies, we stay away from them. It’s the same with thoughts. Let us stay away from thoughts that create problems and pain.”
A believer in self-motivation via the use of affirmations, Hay taught those for others to use in their lives. Some of her most popular affirmations include: I look within to find my own treasures… Wellness is the natural state of my body… I am surrounded by love… I handle my own life with joy and ease… I am one with the very power that created me… We are all family and the planet is home… I open my heart and sing the joys of love… All that I seek is already within me… Every person, place and thing on this planet is interconnected with love… I am at home in the Universe.
Along with a great love for humanity, Hay had a deep compassion for animals often adopting neglected, mistreated creatures. “For the past twenty years or so, I’ve rescued several animals,” she shared. “I told each one, ‘I cannot do anything about your past; however, I promise you will live a life of love and joy for the rest of your lives.”
Louise Hay died August 30, 2017, her 90th year. Constantly and consistently she promoted an expansive vision of life inviting her readers and audiences to join her. “Envision the world as a great place to live in,” she wrote in The Power Is Within You. “See all the sick being made well and the homeless being cared for. See disease become a thing of the past and all hospitals now apartment buildings. See prison inmates being taught how to love themselves and being released as responsible citizens. See churches remove sin and guilt from their teachings. See governments really taking care of people.”
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