Louise Hay – An Influential Author And Publisher Of Self-Help Books
Louise Hay was teaching people to change their lives by changing their thoughts long before the film 'The Secret' made the Law of Attraction popular among self help enthusiasts.
She has become one of the most influential voices in recent times in the New Thought movement.
Not only has she touched the lives of people all around the world through her insightful books and seminars, she has even established a publishing house that has allowed many of today's most inspirational and motivational self help authors to affect the lives of millions through the many works she has published and distributed.
The Personal Life Story of Louise Hay
Life has not always been easy for this popular author of self help books. In fact, she had a hard start in life.Louise Hay was born in Los Angeles on October 8, 1926 into a poor family headed by a violent stepfather. She suffered through abuse, poverty, and rape at the age of five. She dropped out of school at the young age of 15 and had her first child by the age of 16.
She fled Los Angeles with little education and no diploma after giving up her child to adoption, and found herself in Chicago as one of the working poor.
She eventually moved to New York where she had some success working as a model for big name designers such as Oleg Cassini and Bill Blass. In 1954 she married a businessman and enjoyed a successful life for a time, traveling the world, and even meeting with royalty and dining at the White House. Her happiness was not destined to last however. Her husband left her for another woman and Louise Hay found herself devastated by life events once again.
When Hay sought comfort at a local church, her life was forever changed.
Religious Science Enters the Life of Louise Hay
The church Hay attended was the First Church of Religious Science where she was introduced to the concept of changing your life by changing your thoughts. She was immediately captivated by the idea and began reading all she could by leaders of the New Thought movement such as Florence Scovel Shinn and Ernest Holmes.It wasn't long before she became a practitioner of Religious Science and became a popular speaker who spread the message of the importance of positive thinking and the use of affirmations. She also embraced other paths and even studied transcendental meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
In her practice, Louise Hay began to notice how the people she counseled tended to develop certain medical complaints based upon the types of thoughts they held. She devised a reference book that linked thoughts to disease and this became the basis of the book for which she is most well known.
Louise Hay the Author
Louise Hay has authored several self help books, but her first and most influential was 'Heal Your Body'. 'Heal Your Body' began in 1970 as a reference pamphlet that expanded into a book. In 1984 the book was revised into the bestselling 'You Can Heal Your Life'. This book won her great acclaim and sold millions of copies. Louise Hay became well known outside of her New York circle and appeared on many talk shows including Donahue and Oprah.
Self help books by Louise Hay include:
• 'Heal Your Body: The Mental Causes for Physical Illness and the Metaphysical Way to Overcome Them' was first published in 1970. Today it is available as a book, audio book, and ebook on Amazon.com's ebook format Kindle. This is an A-Z reference book for treating medical conditions. To use the book, a reader finds his medical condition listed and reads the common mental thoughts associated with it that may have contributed to the disease. He can then use the suggested affirmations to help dissolve the damaging thoughts and create better health. An example is the medical condition multiple sclerosis which Hay links to hard heartedness and inflexibility in thinking. To overcome these she suggests this affirmation: "By choosing loving, joyous thoughts, I created a loving joyous world. I am safe and free."• 'You Can Heal Your Life' is a revised and renamed version of Heal Your Body that has been published in many forms such as a gift book with colorful illustrations, and a box set with a book version and DVD. Her message is any condition can be healed if the proper mental work is done first.
• 'The Power Is Within You' was first published in 1991 and became one of Louise Hay's popular self help books. This book teaches readers how to reclaim their power in various areas of life such as relationships, parenting, and creativity. The book ends with a chapter filled with meditations for planetary and personal healing. The book helps readers recognize their inner voice and release fears that hold them back. Through doing this they become more open to vibrant health, happier relationships, and prosperity.
• 'Love Your Body' was first published in 1998 and is now available as an audio book, book, and ebook. This small work is filled with self help tips in the form of affirmations to help readers learn to love their bodies to feel healthier, happier, and more beautiful.
• 'Inner Wisdom: Meditations for the Heart and SoulI' was published in 2000 and today is available in paperback, hardback, and Kindle ebook. This work is filled with meditations and affirmations on a variety of subjects. Hay recommends opening the book at random and reading an affirmation, knowing it was the perfect one for you at that moment. She further advises to read a meditation from the book at the start of each day and before going to bed. The goal is to break up old destructive thought patterns and open the mind to new ways of thinking that will change things for the better.
• 'I Can Do It' was published in 2004 and is a small book of affirmations with an included CD. This work helps readers understand how to use affirmations correctly and how they can be very powerful tools for creating change for the better.
• 'The Adventures of Lulu: Three Stories to Help Build Self-Esteem and Courage in Children' was published in 2005 and is dedicated to helping children develop courage and strong self esteem. There are three stories in the book: Lulu and the Dark: Conquering Fears, Lulu and Willy the Duck: Learning Mirror Work, and Lulu and the Ant: a Message of Love. Hay feels that children can benefit from self help books like adults, and the earlier they are taught how to make good choices, the better they will feel about themselves as they grow older.
• 'Colors & Numbers: Your Personal Guide to Positive Vibrations in Daily Life' was published in 2010 and is also available on the Kindle. Hay teaches that a personal color and number surround each of us at birth and by consciously using that number and color in our daily lives, we can become more attuned to cosmic forces.
• 'You Can Create An Exceptional Life' was published in 2011 in collaboration with Cheryl Richardson. It is available as a book or Kindle ebook. This book teaches readers important spiritual principles that have shaped the lives of the authors in many areas of their lives. The book has sections on increasing prosperity, loving ourselves, loving our bodies, developing positive relationships, and facing death in a peaceful way.
• 'Heart Thoughts: A Treasury of Inner Wisdom' was published in 2012 and is a collection of spiritual treatments, meditations, affirmations, and excerpts from Hay's lectures and other books. The goal of the book is to help readers release limiting beliefs and awaken to an easy and peaceful new life.
• Louis Hay has published several self help CDs that include meditations and affirmations for healing such as 'Forgiveness/Loving the Inner Child', 'Overcoming Fears', 'Self-Esteem Affirmations', 'How to Love Yourself', 'Change and Transition: Moving from a State of Fear Into a State of Love', 'Receiving Prosperity', '101 Power Thoughts', 'Cancer', and 'Experience Your Good Now!: Learning to Use Affirmations'.
• Hay has also published card sets including 'Wisdom Cards' and 'Power Thought Cards'. These cards display beautiful artwork as a background for an empowering affirmation on one side and a visualization exercise on the other that are intended to inspire and bring joy.
Louise Hay The Publisher
In 1984, Louise Hay established Hay House, the publishing company for many of today's most enlightened authors. She has published works by Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Doreen Virtue, Esther Hicks, Suze Orman, Sylvia Browne, and Marianne Williamson. Hay House produces books, CDs, calendars, and card decks by the millions.Hay House also produces TV specials such as the series Wayne Dyer puts on for PBS pledge drives. All said, Louise Hay has become one of the most influential and powerful women in the mind/body/spirit movement today.
The Philosophy of Louise Hay
It might be that Louise Hay has been so successful because she believes what she teaches. She claims to have healed herself of cervical cancer by shunning medical treatment and using her methods instead. She learned to let go of the resentment and anger that was buried deep within her as a result of her childhood abuse and rape. Through positive thinking, affirmations, and natural health protocols she overcame her cancer in the late 1970s.Louise Hay is also known for her work with AIDS patients at a time when the medical community and society basically shunned them in general. In fact, Hay may be able to attribute a great deal of her success to the fact that her methods of treatment gained her a large following in the AIDS community and earned her much respect especially when self help authors of the time tended to cater to middle class or wealthy women rather than those truly in need.
Louise Hay firmly believes we create our own lives bit by bit as a result of our thoughts and as such we can change our lives by controlling what we think. She has spent her life teaching this simple concept to others and helping like minded authors become successful through her publishing house.
The Style Of Louise Hay
Early New Thought authors had powerful messages but their works are often difficult to read and understand. The magic of Louise Hay is that her writing is simple and speaks directly to the heart of the reader. In fact, her message is so simple, it may be easy to overlook its power.Her self help books are ideal gifts for readers of all ages, particularly so for those enduring life's trials. Her books give hope to those battling diseases of the body and give them tools for improving health. Her books have grown from simply helping people overcome physical disease. Using positive thinking and affirmations, she believes one can overcome any life problems such as poverty and relationship issues.
The style of Louise Hay is one that is gentle and encourages readers to release anger and bitter feelings that keep them stuck in disease and poverty. Her methods are deeply rooted in ancient metaphysical teachings that were revived by leaders of the New Thought movement towards the end of the last century. Religious beliefs have been based upon these principals and the results have been proven to work in the lives of millions of people all around the globe. The work of Louise Hay isn't a fad or the latest pop psychology. It makes for a great introduction into the realm of metaphysics and the power of thought.
Louise Hay Today
Although she is in her eighties, Louise Hay continues her important work as one of the most influential authors of self help books. She continues to spread her teachings of the power of thoughts and runs Hay House with the assistance of a partner. She heads a charitable foundation and stays busy in both her professional and private life.She recently produced a movie based on her life. In 2008 the movie 'You Can Heal Your Life' was released featuring Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, Esther and Jerry Hicks, Gay Hendricks, Doreen Virtue, and Greg Braden. The movie tells the story of the life of Louise Hay and spreads the message of the power of thoughts, and how she used that power to create the life she now enjoys.
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