Affirmation from Louise Hay
Photo by “JCT(Loves)Streisand”

about a year ago, i first heard of self-healing through affirmations and the name Louise Hay.  i forgot about it for awhile until november?  something like that.

basically, the idea that she has shaped is that every thought pattern you have, good…bad…or otherwise affects the physical.  for instance, do you bite your nails?  does your knee always bother you?  do you have a stiff neck?  baldness?  fatique?  pink eye?  bunyons?  canker sores?  i could go on and on…in fact, her book DOES go on and on.  her research, books and life work seems to shape around the fact that YOUR thoughts can create physical patters and physical ailments … or diminish them.  completely.

“The point of power is right here and right now in our own minds.  It does not matter how long we have had negative patterns, an illness, a rotten relationship, a lack of finances, or self-hatred; we can begin to make a change today.  The thoughts we have held and the words we have repeatedly used have created our life and experiences up to this point….What we are choosing to think and say today, this moment, will create tomorrow and the next day and the next week and the next month and the next year….This is where we being to make changes.  What a liberating idea.  We can begin to let the old nonsense go.  Right now.  The smallest beginning will make a difference.”

her story starts with cancer.  she was diagnosed with a severe form of cancer, told she had three months to live and given a few options.  through a series of detoxifying her body and mind, clearing and reshaping her thoughts and working to release resentment and anger she held – her cancer was gone from her body and stays gone to this day.  wow.  can you imagine, the power of thought ridding your body of cancer?

Affirmation from Louise Hay
Photo by “JCT(Loves)Streisand”

alright, i know this sounds hokey.  and i am certainly not diminishing anyone who has had cancer, fought cancer, survived or died from cancer.  but just think about the possibilities.

she challenges her reader:

“Take a little time to listen to the words you say.  If you hear yourself saying something three times, write it down.  It has become a pattern for you.  At the end of a week, look at the list you have made, and you will see how your words fit your experiences.  Be willing to change your words and thoughts and watch your life change.  The way to control your life is to control your choice of words and thoughts.  No one thinks in your mind but you.”

“I have learned that for every condition in our lives, there is a NEED FOR IT.  Otherwise, we would not have it.  The symptom is only an outer effect.  We must go within to dissolve the mental cause…”  before you are able to put the affirmations to work, you must “work on the WILLINGNESS TO RELEASE THE NEED for the cigarettes or the headache or the excess weight or whatever.  When the need is gone, the outer effect must die.  No plant can live if the root is cut away.”

okay, so stay with me a little longer…some of my own “conditions”

canker sores – festering words held back by the lips.  blame

back problems – lower back – fear of money.  lack of financial support; middle back – guilt; upper back – lack of emotional support.  feeling unloved.  holding back love.

fatigue – resistance, boredom.  lack of love for what one does

headaches – invalidating the self.  self-criticism.  fear

nail biting – frustration.  eating away at the self.  spite of a parent.

neck (cervical spine) – represents flexibility.  the ability to see what’s back there.

neck problems (refusing to see other sides of a question.  stubbornness, inflexibility.

nervousness – fear, anxiety, struggle, rushing.  not trusting the process of life.

overweight – fear, need for protection.  running away from feelings.  insecurity, self-rejection.  seeking fulfillment.

pain – guilt.  guilt always seeks punishment.

pimples – small outbursts of anger {think about teenagers and their acne struggles – aren’t they ALWAYS angry!?}

stiff neck – unbending bullheadedness.

if i am honest with myself, i can’t argue with very much of what is above.  i know that’s a pretty big list, but it is certainly not everything!  with each and everyone of those “conditions,” Louise Hay lists an affirmation that if you say and work into your daily routine, believe it and live it, that ailment will go away.  that seems pretty darn cool…and almost too good to be true…

Affirmation from Louise Hay
Photo by “JCT(Loves)Streisand”

but, i have a plan.  i want to tackle the whole list {and more} at once…grab every single one of those affirmations and say them until i am blue in the face, breath and say them again.  but the reasonable side of me is going to pick 2-3 and work on them until they seem to be no more.  then, i’ll continue down the list.  for now, we shall see.

three more things…

first – my Louise Hay calendar has a short and long affirmation for january.  i’ll share it with you below.

second – i challenge you to do the activity above and/or pick out 3-4 conditions you have.  i’m happy to take your emails {jessica@coldairac.com}, i’ll look up the condition and send you back the affirmation.  or you can check it out yourself in her book {info below}.

third – all the quotations and factual information in this blog post came from Heal Your Body A-Z, The Mental Causes for Physical Illness and the Way to Overcome Them written by Louise L. Hay.

january:

quick affirmation: I trust that Life will provide me with everything I need and want.

longer affirmation:

I trust myself, and I trust Life.

I know that I was born a beautiful and trusting soul.

If things get difficult, I turn within and anchor my thoughts in truth and love.  I ask for guidance from the Universe, and I make my way safely through stormy seas and calm, blissful weather.

My job is to stay in the present moment and to choose clear, simple, positive thoughts and words.

I trust the process of life in all its mysterious and wondrous ways.

yes, i realize january is just about over…but, hey – say the short affirmation three or four times today through the 31st and say the longer affirmation once a day.  finally, i don’t think it will STOP working at 11:59pm on january 31st, so its probably pretty safe to keep using these affirmations into february if you so desire!  😉

here’s to changing our thought patters for a happier, healthier, better self with less “conditions!”

Affirmation from Louise Hay
Photo by “JCT(Loves)Streisand”

quite obviously i haven’t blogged in awhile.  when i created this blog, i was hoping it would turn into a great documentary to our first experience as homeowners.  {i got that from a classmate} but life got in the way, i was busy, we were busy, i just didn’t have time to write.

well, i guess, that is not really the truth.  we always find time for what is important, right?  i have been uninspired.  or maybe, i’ve had too much inspiration, not enough direction.  either way…

i see blogs that my classmates write, i read them, i digest them, i am awed by them.  i read popular blogs, and business blogs.  i read blogs about cooking and blogs about photography.  how do they find the ideas, the words, how do they come up with such interesting things to say about business, art, their journey, faith, work, friends, etc. etc. etc.  is my life not interesting?  am i dumb?

whenever i sat down to write, i always felt like what i had to say was unimportant.  but that brought forth the question, who am i writing for?  what am i writing about?  do i hope my blog will be known as funny?  creative? sad?  inspirational?  informative?  am i writing for me?  for a general internet audience?  for friends, family?  no one?

My house covered in snow.

so, i have remained uninspired.  i haven’t found a way to answer these questions.  and life gets in the way.  first i’m going to figure that out next week, then, the week after…soon its been a month…two…six…and i think at this point … 9 months or so?  geez.  where does the time go!

i can’t believe i have owned a house for almost 9 months!  holy wow!

life has changed so much over the last two years.  i graduated from college!  i moved back to texas!  i finally released my brother!  i have started to forgive myself!  i have lost more than 50lbs since leaving siloam!  i released the stress, the anger, the fear, the depression that came from going to school at a university where i didn’t really “fit in.”  i am a homeowner! i work for papa at coldair, we are a corporation…we are no longer a small, sole proprietorship company!  i sell an amazing eco-friendly cleaning product line ~ rockin’ green!  i joined pink zebra home fragrance as a consultant!  i became single!  i started working two jobs – i now am {proudly-ish} a cashier at my local target {yay for discounts!} i have roommates for only the second time in my life!  i fell in awe of a 17 year old with an incredible story to tell.  i upgraded from a small sedan to finallyan suv {maybe not the most fiscally smart decision, but i am SO happy with it!!}!

My New Rav4!!

change.  that was my mantra the last few years.  everything was changing.  well, heck, over the last 4 years if you go back to losing ben and moving away from my “home”. i guess that is the mantra of humanity.  change.  maybe mantra is the wrong word…but i like it.

this year, my mantra is “me.”  selfish? probably.  but, i am told constantly that i need to take time to work on me.  to be with me.  to make me better and happier and well, just make me whoever i am meant to be.

focusing on me is hard for me.  so far, i haven’t done a good job of it.  but every day, i remind myself that this is MY year.  this is my year to get my finances in order.  this ismy year to stand up for myself for whatever it may be.  it is my year to spoil myself.  it is my year to work my tail off so hopefully next year i can relax.  it is my year to discover what i like and what i dislike.  it is my year to forget people that don’t serve me good purpose and spend more time with those that do.

i hope i also make it my year to write. i miss writing.  i miss blogging.  i used to write and blog all the time.  i’m not sure what happened.  somewhere along the way, i just stopped.

so here’s to me.  here’s to a new year.  here’s to whoever might read this blog.  if you don’t like it, no hard feelings.  move on.  i don’t mind.  once i write again, maybe i’ll try to be like my classmates and all those other great blogs out there.  but for now, i just want to write for me.

happy new year to ya’ll.  may it be the best one yet!  and now, to brag on my beautiful/handsome/adorable siblings!