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May/June 2010 Featured Stories
Modern-Day Health Miracles

by Louise L. Hay

Thirty years ago I wrote my first book, Heal Your Body, to help people recognize the importance of the mind-body connection.

After enduring an abusive childhood spent in extreme poverty, as well as subsequent years of low self-esteem, I knew firsthand how influential replacing old negative beliefs with new and positive ones could be. And when I was later diagnosed with cancer, I understood that this was an opportunity to clear out my old patterns of resentment, once and for all. I did a lot of forgiveness work, released the pain of the past, and healed my body and spirit. Most important, I learned to genuinely love and approve of myself.

Healing from Dis-ease

The word disease has too many of our old beliefs about health attached to it. I prefer to spell the word as dis-ease to signify those things that are not in harmony with us or our environment. This also emphasizes that the natural state of the body is ease. I believe that every state of dis-ease is created by our thoughts.

Our body wants good health and comfort. But our body is also listening to every word we think or speak about it, and reflecting our inner beliefs back to us. When we listen to our body instead of covering up every symptom with a pill, we understand what we require for healing. When we accept responsibility for our thoughts, we take back control of our health.

Victoria, a reader who lives in California, contributed the following story, which demonstrates how listening to your body and changing your thoughts can create healing in all areas of your life.

“You have three months to live, maybe six,” said the neurologist to my husband of seven months. “I suggest you get your affairs in order.” As we left the office, I felt numb. This could not be happening to us. We were still in the honeymoon phase, and I was determined to hold on to our joy and not lose Jim to brain cancer. We were not victims — we had the power to create miracles.

Although he knew when we married that I was interested in metaphysics, my new husband was not used to my way of looking at life. The son of a Marine Corps colonel, Jim grew up following the rules and conventional modes of thinking, and became a Marine himself.

Now that he had been diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most lethal forms of brain cancer, he wanted to go the traditional route. This resulted in two brain surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation. After following this program and learning that yet another tumor had grown during the process, he was now open to other methods, and we had no time to lose.

Jim and I agreed not to accept the reality that was painted by the medical community, but instead decided to create our own. The doctor was not God, and I knew that there were other possibilities in the universe for us.

In order to bring in a healthy parallel reality, we pretended that he was already well. Even though he was incredibly weak and confined to a wheelchair, I asked my husband to remember how good it felt when he was at his physical peak, and we held steadfast to that feeling and vision. Believe became our mantra.

We continued to explore and incorporate ways to assist Jim’s body in healing itself. Our course of action included everything we thought might work: taking mounds of supplements, juicing, toxin cleansing, acupuncture and a clinic in Houston that for years was considered “alternative.”

We took measures to heal issues in present and past lives. People from all faiths prayed, and imagined him as already well. We created a visualization technique that Jim repeated countless times in which the tumor shrank in size — and then it actually did disappear.

Doing the Work with Louise

When treating any medical issue, it’s important to talk to a healthcare professional. However, it’s also important to discover the root of the illness within you. You cannot completely cure a dis-ease by only treating the physical symptoms. Your body will continue to manifest illness until you heal the emotional and spiritual issues that are the source of the dis-ease.

You will get a better understanding of your thoughts about health by completing the exercises below.

Releasing Health Problems

True healing involves body, mind and spirit. I believe that if we “cure” an illness and yet do not address the emotional and spiritual issues that surround that ailment, it will only manifest again.

So, are you willing to release the need that has contributed to your health problems? Keep in mind that when you have a condition that you want to change, the first thing you have to do is say so. Say, “I am willing to release the need in me that has created this condition.” Say it again. Say it looking in the mirror. Say it every time you think about your condition. It’s the first step to creating change.

The Role of Illness

Next, complete the following statements as honestly as you can:

1. The way I make myself sick is …
2. I get sick when I try to avoid …
3. When I get sick, I always want to …
4. When I was sick as a child, my mother/father always …
5. My greatest fear when I’m sick is that …

Your Family History

Then take a moment to do the following:

1. List all of your mother’s illnesses.
2. List all of your father’s illnesses.
3. List all of your illnesses.
4. Do you see a connection?

Beliefs about Dis-ease

Let’s examine more of your beliefs about dis-ease. Answer the following questions:

1. What do you remember about your childhood illnesses?
2. What did you learn from your parents about dis-ease?
3. What, if anything, did you enjoy about being sick as a child?
4. Is there a belief about illness from your childhood that you’re still acting on today?
5. How have you contributed to the state of your health?
6. Would you like your health to change? If so, in what way?

Self-Worth and Health

Now let’s examine the issue of self-worth with respect to your health. Answer the following questions. After each one, say one or more of the positive affirmations that follow to counteract the negative belief.

1. Do you feel you deserve good health?
2. What do you fear most about your health?
3. What are you “getting” from this belief?
4. What do you fear will happen if you let go of this belief?

Affirmations

I am feeling wonderfully well.

I radiate good health.

My body heals rapidly.

I am filled with energy and enthusiasm.

I am healthy and whole and filled with joy.

I love myself and am gentle with my body.

Good health is mine now. I release the past.

Louise L. Hay, founder of Hay House, is the author of the new book Modern Day Miracles and the international bestseller You Can Heal Your Life. Visit www.hayhouse.com.