A Tribute to Louise Hay and Thoughts of Change

A couple of days ago I learned that my favorite self help author, Louise Hay, died peacefully at the age of 90 on August 30.

I have given away more of her book, "You Can Heal Your Life" to my friends, relatives and clients than I can count. I give it away, buy a new one, and then give it away again. It is the book that I credit with helping me change my life from a life of misery to a more empowered and joyful version of myself that I now enjoy.

I can't even count how many times I read her book over and over and over again. The first time I read it I could hardly believe some of the words which jumped off the page and slapped me in the face. I became such an advocate for the words on the pages of that book that anytime someone around me was sick, I would run to the book to find the emotional trigger and find the positive affirmation to turn it around. Everytime I got a bladder infection (once a month or so at the time), I would go within to see who I was pissed off at (always the same person). However, she helped me realize it was not that person's fault that I was pissed off. It was my choice to be angry and to internalize that anger until it affected my health.

Some claim that to say that our conditions in life are a direct result of our thinking is not possible. What about those who are born into poverty or with a deadly illness? How can we say we are responsible for everything that happens to us in our lives? I can't say for sure that 100 percent of our issues are self generated, but our thinking and our emotions are responsible for many illnesses and problems. For myself, when I began to take responsibility for my thinking and my emotions, many of my physical issues have disappeared. (yes,  no more bladder infections!)

I will have to offset the claim of belief generated illnesses with a disclaimer that, yes, sometimes, shit just happens. I think we as Souls choose certain experiences to help our Souls evolve and what better way to grow a strong soul than to go through a challenge of some sort. Kind of like weight lifting for the Soul. But who is to say that our Soul on some higher plane of existence did not set it up? Or maybe our Soul chose it to help someone else grow their soul? Who knows. These days I am not so much about why did it happen as what was my reaction to what happened and how can I get through this with a good attitude? And yes, I am still working on this. I still sometimes get angry while driving or while standing in a long line. I am a perfect combination of the best and worst versions of myself. Instead of asking myself, what belief created this challenge, I ask, what can I do to make myself feel better? Louise's postive affirmations always do the trick.

I guess it is not surprising that her message was not readily supported by the press. It is so easy to blame something outside of ourselves for our problems. One of the favorite scapegoats is the devil in many of the churches I attended. "The devil made me do it" was a popular catch phrase a few years ago. Although I have left behind the thoughts of a devil whose main objective is to make our lives a living hell, apparently many still hold to that belief. To my relief when I left behind that belief, I ceased to run into the devil much.

What can I say about a woman who loved so much and made such a contribution to the lives of so many? Thank you seems like such a small token.

Can you think of one person who maybe said one thing that completely changed your thought processes and began the road to a completely different version of yourself? For me that was Louise Hay. Maybe you don't hold to the belief that your thoughts and emotions affect your health to the degree that Louise Hay claimed. That is fine. Her loving affirmations could do no possible harm. Now I don't claim to advocate refusing medical treatment or professional help when you have a life threatening illness or issue, but I do advocate suplementing your care with positive affirmations and happy thoughts!

When we empower ourselves we empower our children, we empower the people in our lives who we call friends, lovers, relatives, co workers, or even just someone we are friends with on Facebook or Twitter. If we affect even one person to make a change in their lives that then affects everyone they are connected to, think of the changes that happen.

Just for today, take one of Louise's affirmations and say it at least ten times and see if you don't feel better. Here are a few:

"I love and approve of myself."
"I am open and receptive to change,"
"Every thought we think is creating our future."
"My happy thoughts help create my healthy body."

If we feel better, we will feel healthier. If we feel good, we will be able to handle crisis in a more positive and loving way. Maybe your illnesses and problems will go away on their own and maybe they won't. But you may feel more peaceful and loving going through your difficult times. What could be wrong with that?

Thanks Louise Hay. Rest in peace.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/obituaries/louise-hay-dead-widely-read-self-help-author.html?mcubz=1

http://www.hayhouse.com/

Independence Day!

Today is the day we in the US celebrate the day we declared our independence from England. At the time, our independence had not yet been acknowledged by England, but our forefathers wrote what has been known as the Declaration of Independence, and signed it, and put it out there for all to see. Then we celebrated!

here is the link for the picture above: http://www.appymall.com/blog/2014/06/29/best-apps-july-4th-2014-independence-day

I would like to suggest that today, there are many things in our lives which have outlived their usefulness, things that now we could very well live without.

What things do you have in your life which you would like to live without? Debt? Loneliness? Grief? Anger? Resentment? Sickness? A relationship challenge?

Just for today, declare your independence from these things! Thank them for their place in your past, for just in showing up in your life you were made aware of something that needed adjustment!

Go grab a piece of paper, and using our forefather's example, write down all those things from which  you are ready to declare your independence!

Sign the paper! This makes it official! You are ready to be independent!

Now, celebrate!

"Wait a minute, Joy," you might say!" I have not yet seen the results of my statement of independence. Shouldn't I wait until I see it happen?"

NO! A thousand times NO!

If you are to birth something new into your life, you first have to let go of the old! Be gone, poverty! Thank you for letting me know that I need money to survive in this world. Be gone, sickness! Thank you for making me appreciate health! 

Celebrate your independence! See your independence before the first shot is fired from the battle that is sure to ensue! Do you think your old patterns are going to go away just because you asked them nicely? 

Now, you can frame that statement of independence up somewhere where you are sure to see it every day, or you can come up with your own ritual to seal it into your life.

Make sure you make your independence statement powerful and positive!

Our forefather's wrote:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it....

You can read the whole thing HERE.

Now, let me point out something to you. When this was written, not all men were considered to be equal. Some of the men who penned this actually owned slaves! Imagine that! They wrote something that they themselves did not even practice or believe! However, a seed was sown that eventually led to the abolishment of slavery. Today, we are still battling over whether some people have the same rights as others. I believe that because our forefathers wrote down and declared this to be a part of our government, eventually we will get it right! But not without a fight!

When you declare your independence, get ready for a battle! But you will overcome! Your independence will not come easily! But you are up for it!

If you are in a relationship and a person is treating you disrespectfully, put in your statement that all of your relationships are based on mutual respect, and you release any and all relationships that are not this way! If you are in a dead end job and you want to earn a living in a way that gives you joy, declare that you are able to earn a living doing  what you love in a peaceful and life affirming environment! If you are battling a sickness or even an extra ten pounds, affirm that your body is a temple, and that temple serves your soul in the most healthy way possible! 

I think you get my drift! 

I hesitate to mention that this is the tarot card that depicts this message of declaring your independence from something or someone who holds you captive, but here it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_%28Tarot_card%29

Yep, you got it! The Devil card..

What is holding you captive? Are you ready to let it go?

Just for today, declare your independence! Let it go! Celebrate your freedom from whatever it is that holds you captive!

Remember that if you need help with your process, feel free to contact me for a private session. I offer phone, skype, and in person readings, channelings from your guides and loved ones on the other side, and emotional healing sessions through Reiki and Shamanic practices. You can email me HERE or contact me through my WEBSITE. 

Now go celebrate your independence!

Five of Swords

This morning in my daily tarot card draw, I drew this card:

This is normally a card which represents some sort of conflict. As you can see on the card, one man is gathering the swords that the other men have laid down. The sky looks ominous. The man holding the swords has a smug look on his face. The other two men have their backs turned to the main character and are walking away.

As you can well imagine, when I drew this card, I was a bit apprehensive, thinking that there was a possibility of some sort of conflict ahead. I drew the card this morning before I went to work, and then again when I was driving home the card was poking its head out of my purse as if to say, "remember me! remember me!"

This card is a warning against the attitude of "I'm right, I know I'm right, and I don't care who that affects." We really have to be careful that we are not right at the expense of being kind. We may lose relationships when we stand our ground no matter what the cost.

I don't always post my daily tarot draw on my blog, as you know, but today I felt that this card was not just particularly for me. I don't really have any conflict going on right now (at least not that I am aware of), so when I drew this card it puzzled me. And then when it made itself aware to me a second time, then I knew that something was up.

Maybe those of us who are in the habit of sending out prayers, positive energy, love and light, or whatever you want to call your petitions to the Universe, might want to send out some good energy to any conflict that is brewing in the world today. You never know but maybe Spirit wants us to avert another disaster, and we can do it with our prayers.

 Maybe this was a call to us to stop being so insistent on being right all the time and instead look for ways to bless others, even those who in our estimation don't deserve it.

Whatever the reason for Spirit giving me this card, I just think it wouldn't hurt for those who read this blog to send love and light out into the world, and request that there be peace. Thanks to you for joining me.

Battle Scars

So the month of September was my month of quiet. I was not trying to post messages from Spirit on my blog.  I spent more time alone. I tried to meditate more frequently than usual. Some days I was more successful than others in my quest for spiritual contemplation.

I still drew a tarot card every day. Most of the time they were fairly good cards. I can't say that the entire month was spent receiving amazing inspiration and Angelic guidance. Most of the time the Voice that speaks to me was silent as well. I took this as a message that this was my month to reboot.

We all need that time when we reboot our internal computer. Just turn everything off and allow ourselves time to just enjoy our everyday lives. Get outside. Rescue a squirrel. Clean the pond. 

I still enjoyed teaching some classes and seeing a few clients. When the connection needed to be on, it did not let me down.

In the past week or so, however, I drew this card. More than once.

The first time I drew this card I took it as a message that it might be a difficult day. I might have to work hard to make any headway.

The second day I drew this card was only a few days later. Hmmmm.

I took this as a message that I didn't get the message the first time. (ha ha.. yes sometimes this happens.)

So I asked the card.. "what are you trying to tell me?"

I heard, " describe what you see.."

I saw the man. The wands (representing ideas, inspiration, etc.) were firmly planted behind him. He is holding one in his hand. He is looking off to the side. He is a bit wounded in the head but seems to be mostly okay. There is a bit of a scowl on his face.

"Joy, getting to where you are has not been easy. You have worked hard to learn the things you have learned, to accomplish the things you have accomplished. Along the way at times you have felt like you have been "wounded" by those who are not on the same page as you.. correct?"

"Yes, I guess you are right."

"It is time to let go of those battle scars. It is time to release and forgive any who have intentionally or unintentionally sent you energy that was less than loving or helpful."

I have been reading E-Squared, a book that gives you experiments on energy and teaches us that we are all connected, a concept which I already know and believe, but the particular chapter I had been reading had taught me that my thoughts, sent out toward another human being, are captured by their energy and known at a deep, if not unconscious level. I had always kind of wondered if the thoughts of others, directed at me at a critical or unloving level, could affect me, and this book theorizes that, yes, it does affect us. I had heard arguments both ways, some saying that negative energy directed toward us does not affect us if we are walking in love. Others say that, yes, it does affect us, just as if we love our plants and send them kind thoughts and words they grow better, a fact that can be documented by experimentation.  Or that the thoughts we send our bodies has a factor in our appearance. Or that the thoughts we send others is "heard" by their energy bodies.

We are all guilty of sending less than loving thoughts out toward others. How about that inefficient store clerk? How about that driver who cut you off in traffic? How about your spouse who points out your shortcomings but seems to be unaware of theirs? I think you get the direction I am heading.

My conversation with this tarot card seemed to be urging me to let go of my battle scars.

I thought I had done that long ago.

However, just to placate the "messenger" within the card, I decided to forgive and send loving thoughts to everyone who came to my mind who could, in my estimation, possibly have less than loving thoughts about me, or, for whom I could have less than loving thoughts about towards them.
I imagined myself giving each person who came to my mind the gift of a ball of light, symbolizing the light of love and acceptance. For if I say "forgiveness", I assume that there is something to forgive, or an offense that is in need of releasing the weight of. However, who am I to assume there has even been an offense? In "acceptance", I am saying in essence that there has been no offense, and I am completely accepting of that other person and any discrepancy in our words or thoughts. I thought it important to release any and every person who I have come into contact, either in person or by just the mere fact of having come into contact by some sort of communication (for example, by reading something that I have written or they have written). I also completely loved and accepted anyone from any previous lifetimes or even lives between lifetimes for whom there may have been any offense or assumed offense.

Is there someone or a group of someones for whom you have gained "battle scars?"

Are you holding onto those wounds, nursing them sometimes, or perhaps, wishing for some retribution?

Is there someone for whom you wish a less than loving "retribution"?

It is time to release those thoughts!! Believe it or not, your thoughts are like arrows in that person's energy field! It might be that they are small and relatively harmless, such as that "you idiot!" remark as  you slam on your brakes due to someone's driving skills. Have you ever had a sharp pain in your body that came and went relatively quickly? Who's to say that someone was not sending you a "thought dagger"?

I don't want to be the recipient of a "thought dagger" so I want to make sure I am not the perpetrator of one.

And then there are those "thought daggers" we send to ourselves.

But that is another blog for another day.



I love you all.

Thanks for reading.