You Can Heal Your Life

You Can Heal Your Life

by Louise L. Hay

Deeply ingrained false beliefs can negatively impact every area of our lives, but we can modify our thoughts and emotions to improve them. This is the power of the mind: it can heal our wounds from childhood, change our current mindset, and create the life we want and deserve.

Summary Notes

The Heal Your Life Philosophy

“Everyone, myself included, is responsible for everything in our lives, the best and the worst.”

Our thoughts and beliefs shape the entirety of our lives. We face problems and can even fall physically sick when we hold onto negative thoughts and attitudes. The harsh ways others have treated us and the negative signals we received during childhood tend to stay with us and manifest as limiting beliefs in adulthood.

However, we do have the power to change our lives for the better. This can be achieved by reshaping and eliminating our limiting beliefs and creating new, powerful, positive thoughts and affirmations.

Actions to take

Discover Wounds & Problems

“If a thought or belief does not serve you, let it go! There is no written law that says that because you once believed something, you have to continue to believe it forever.”

All of our problems stem from limiting beliefs we picked up as children. Everyone who has been a part of our lives has impacted how we see ourselves. Our self-image was shaped when our parents, relatives, instructors, teachers, neighbors, and friends criticized us, expressed their opinions about us, or transferred their beliefs to us.

Most of our beliefs were implanted artificially, meaning they aren’t rooted in the truth. Until we realize this, we will be unable to address our issues and live a nice and beautiful life because everything we believe becomes true.

For example, if you believe you do not deserve love, you won’t attract it or develop self-love; if you believe you’re not good enough, you won’t attract new opportunities or have the confidence to achieve your goals. However, if you recognize that false beliefs are simply learned thoughts that negatively impact your life, you will be able to release them and generate new, good thoughts, leading you to a more positive life.

Remember that we have the power to acknowledge the truth about ourselves. We just have to learn how to use that power.

Actions to take

Heal Your Mind

“We must change the way we think, speak and express ourselves. Only then the circumstances in which we live will change.”

Negative thoughts, limiting beliefs, preconceived assumptions, and incorrect self-concepts can harm our minds and cause low self-esteem, self-hatred, unpleasant emotions, and even diseases.

Two skills that serve to heal the mind are:

  • Reframing dysfunctional thoughts and beliefs
    Our thoughts create our reality, so reframing dysfunctional thoughts is an essential skill. You can practice this by taking your negative, false-belief-based thoughts, taking control over them, and then consciously turning them into positive ones. For example, if you were told as a child that you were not good enough, you should take that thought and tell yourself, "I am good enough, just the way I am." You may not accept the new sentence immediately, but it is important not to give up and repeat it until you adopt it as a new thinking pattern.

  • Mental cleansing
    You must cleanse your mind of harmful thoughts and beliefs to heal it. This can be achieved through visualization, in which you imagine cleaning your mind like a house, going from room to room, and discarding all unnecessary thoughts, beliefs, misconceptions, and prejudices about yourself. Meditation and deep breathing are good methods for visually dispelling negative thoughts and beliefs.

Some examples of thoughts you need to remove from your mind are:

  • I'm not good enough.
  • I don't deserve love.
  • I'm not capable of doing that.
  • Nobody does it, so I don't need to either.
  • Everyone does it, so I have to too.
  • It's too late or too early for that.
  • I'm too old/young/fat/skinny/lazy/weak/stupid/smart, etc.

Actions to take

Heal Your Soul

“Love is the miracle cure."

Self-love is the main element of healing. Some of the signs that you don't love yourself are self-criticism, poor diet, use of alcohol and drugs, the delusion that no one loves you, living in chaos and without order, procrastinating on things that can bring you well-being, constant whining, attracting lovers or friends who humiliate you, and so on.

The first step towards self-love is to stop criticizing yourself; instead, start to consciously create positive affirmations that you want to adopt.

For example:

  • I love you and accept myself exactly as I am.
  • I agree with who I am.
  • My body is beautiful.
  • I am good enough.
  • I deserve love.
  • I am perfect, exactly as I am.
  • I attract positive life experiences and love.

It is essential to remind yourself regularly that you accept and love yourself, that you are content with yourself just as you are, and that you are at peace with yourself. Negative thoughts will not disappear immediately; there will be moments when you will probably feel resistance to change. In these cases, you must be persistent and constantly repeat positive thoughts and affirmations.

Actions to take

Heal Your Body

“All diseases come from the inability to forgive.”

We can make ourselves physically sick with our negative thoughts and beliefs. Our bodies are a mirror of our thoughts and prejudices. When the body gets sick, it sends us a message, and we need to stop and hear it.

Here are examples of some mental patterns that create some diseases:

  • Headaches are a sign of self-punishment and not forgiving yourself. Migraines are common in people who strive to be perfect.
  • Eye problems are a sign that we don't want to see something.
  • Laryngitis is an angry outburst so strong that we can't even speak.
  • Lung problems arise from fear; we are afraid to breathe life to the fullest. Asthma results from a lack of love, worry, and unshed tears.
  • An ulcer results from fear and a strong feeling that you are not good enough. If you have a stomach problem, it means you cannot "digest" someone or something.
  • Arthritis is a consequence of the habit of excessive criticism.
  • Tumors result from an old wound that has been nurtured for a long time.
  • Nerve problems are a symptom of poor communication.

Therefore, all our negative convictions, thoughts, and beliefs can lead to physical consequences and illnesses. The good news is that we can feel better by finding negative thoughts and beliefs, letting go of them, and replacing them with good ones.

Actions to take

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