You Can Heal Your Life Companion Book

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Date: Mon, 16 May 2005 17:20:49 +0530

Subject: You Can Heal Your Life Companion Book

You Can Heal Your Life: Companion Book

$17.95 ~ ISBN: 1-56170-878-X

http://www.hayhouse.com/lifestyles/juvenate/878x_2.htm

Louise L. Hay, the internationally renowned author and lecturer, brings you

the companion book to her landmark bestseller, " You Can Heal Your Life. "

Here, Louise applies techniques of self-love and positive thinking to a

wide range of topics that affect us all on a daily basis, including:

health, fearful emotions, addictions, money and prosperity, sexuality,

aging, love and intimacy, work, and more.

As Louise says, " These exercises will give you new information about

yourself that will enable you to make new choices. If you're willing, then

you can definitely create the kind of life you want. "

Louise says: " Life Is Really Very Simple. What We Give Out, We Get Back.

What we think about ourselves becomes the truth for us. I believe that

everyone, myself included, is responsible for everything in our lives, the

best and the worst. Every thought we think is creating our future. Each one

of us creates our experiences by our thoughts and our feelings. The

thoughts we think and the words we speak create our experiences. "

*********

Contents

PART I: INTRODUCTION

Basic Techniques

Beliefs

PART II: THE PROCESS

Health

Fearful Emotions

Critical Thinking

Addictions

Forgiveness

Work

Money and Prosperity

Friends

Sexuality

Love and Intimacy

Aging

PART III: YOUR NEW LIFE

Your New Picture

Recommended Reading

Self-Help Resources

About the Author

Excerpt: Chapter Four Fearful Emotions

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" Fears are merely thoughts, and thoughts can be released. "

Fearful Emotions Checklist

I'm anxious all the time.

Nothing works for me.

Growing older frightens me.

I'm afraid of flying.

People scare me.

What if I become homeless?

I have difficulty expressing my feelings.

My temper is out of control.

I can't focus on anything.

Everyone is against me.

I feel like a failure.

What if I have to endure a painful death?

I'm scared of being alone.

In any given situation, I believe that we have a choice between love and

fear. We experience fear of change, fear of not changing, fear of the

future, and fear of taking a chance. We fear intimacy, and we fear being

alone. We fear letting people know what we need and who we are, and we fear

letting go of the past.

At the other end of the spectrum, we have love. Love is the miracle we're

all looking for. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives. I'm not

talking about vanity or arrogance, because that's not love. That's fear.

I'm talking about having great respect for ourselves, and gratitude for the

miracle of our body and mind.

Remind yourself when you're frightened that you're not loving and trusting

yourself. Not feeling " good enough " interferes with the decision-making

process. How can you make a good decision when you're not sure about

yourself?

Jeffers, in her marvelous book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, states

that " if everybody feels fear when approaching something totally new in

life, yet so many are out there 'doing it' despite the fear, then we must

conclude that fear is not the problem. " She goes on to say that the real

issue is not the fear, but how we hold the fear. We can approach it from a

position of power or a position of helplessness. The fact that we have the

fear becomes irrelevant.

We see what we think the problem is, and then we find out what the real

problem is. Not feeling " good enough " and lacking self-love are the real

problems.

Emotional problems are among the most painful of all. Occasionally we may

feel angry, sad, lonely, guilty, anxious, or frightened. When these

feelings take over and become predominant, our lives can become emotional

battlegrounds.

What we do with our feelings is important. Are we going to act-out in some

way? Will we punish others or force our will upon them? Will we somehow

abuse ourselves?

The belief that we're not good enough is often at the root of these

problems. Good mental health begins with loving the self. When we love and

approve of ourselves completely - the good and the so-called bad - we can

begin to change.

Part of self-acceptance is releasing other people's opinions. Many of the

things that we've chosen to believe about ourselves have absolutely no

basis in truth.

For example, a young man named was a client of mine several years ago

when I was seeing people privately. He was devastatingly handsome and made

a good living as a model. He told me how difficult it was for him to go to

the gym because he felt ugly.

As we worked together, he recalled that a neighborhood bully from his

childhood used to call him " ugly. " This person would also beat him up and

constantly threaten him. In order to be left alone and feel safe,

began to hide. He bought into the fact that he wasn't good enough. In his

mind, he was ugly.

Through mirror work, self-love, and positive affirmations, has

improved tremendously. His feelings of anxiety may come and go, but now he

has some tools to work with.

Remember, feelings of inadequacy start with negative thoughts that we have

about ourselves. However, these thoughts have no power over us unless we

act upon them. Thoughts are only words strung together. They have no

meaning whatsoever. Only we give meaning to them, and we do so by focusing

on the negative messages over and over again in our minds. We believe the

worst about ourselves. And we choose what kind of meaning we give to them.

Whatever pain we might be in, let's choose thoughts that nourish and

support us.

We're always perfect, always beautiful, and ever-changing. We're doing the

best we can with the understanding, knowledge, and awareness that we have.

As we grow and change more and more, our " best " will only get better and

better.

EXERCISE: Letting Go

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As you read this exercise, take a deep breath, and as you exhale, allow the

tension to leave your body. Let your scalp, forehead, and face relax. Your

head need not be tense in order for you to read. Let your tongue, throat,

and shoulders relax. You can hold a book with relaxed arms and hands. Do

that now. Let your back, abdomen, and pelvis relax. Let your breathing be

at peace as you relax your legs and feet.

Can you feel a noticeable change in your body since you started reading the

previous paragraph? In this relaxed, comfortable position, say to yourself,

" I am willing to let go. I release. I let go. I release all tension. I

release all fear. I release all anger. I release all guilt. I release all

sadness. I let go of old limitations. I let go, and I am at peace. I am at

peace with myself. I am at peace with the process of life. I am safe. "

Go over this exercise two or three times. Repeat it whenever thoughts of

difficulty come up. It takes a little practice for the routine to become a

part of you. Once you're familiar with this exercise, you can do it

anywhere at any time. You will be able to relax completely in any

situation.

EXERCISE: Fears and Affirmations

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After each category listed below, write down your greatest fear. Then,

think of a positive affirmation that would correspond to it.

CAREER

Sample Fear: I'm afraid that no one will ever see my value.

Sample Affirmation: Everybody at work appreciates me.

Your Fear:

Your Affirmation:

LIVING SITUATION

Sample Fear: I'll never have a place of my own.

Sample Affirmation: There's a perfect home for me, and I accept it now.

Your Fear:

Your Affirmation:

FAMILY RELATIONS

Sample Fear: My parents won't accept me the way I am.

Sample Affirmation: I accept my parents, and they, in turn, accept and love

me.

Your Fear:

Your Affirmation:

MONEY

Sample Fear: I'm afraid of being poor.

Sample Affirmation: I trust that all my needs will be taken care of.

Your Fear:

Your Affirmation:

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Sample Fear: I think I'm fat and unattractive.

Sample Affirmation: I release the need to criticize my body.

Your Fear:

Your Affirmation:

EXERCISE: Positive Affirmations

Choose an area of fear from the last exercise that's most pertinent and

pressing for you. Using visualization, see yourself going through the fear

with a positive outcome. See yourself feeling free and being at peace.

On the lines below, write down a positive affirmation 25 times. Remember

the power you're tapping into!