The world recently lost one of the most amazing teachers of our time, Louise Hay. While I never met her in person, I have been a student of hers for more than 17 years. She taught me several powerful lessons.
In 2000, a friend loaned me a set of Louise Hay cassette tapes on self-esteem and loving myself. I remember thinking, “WHAAAT? Love myself? What does that mean and what the heck is self-esteem?”
I am grateful to Louise and her teachings. It helped me create my own personal growth journey based on love and healing myself. When I started it, I had no idea what was ahead for me…I was completely unaware and so disconnected with myself. Here are my learnings from Louise:
Self-Esteem
l did learn in time, to like, love, and approve of myself. From that experience, I created and taught a self-esteem class for prostitutes in the inner city of Chicago. It was a labor of love. On behalf of a nonprofit, I taught the class every Wednesday evening for three years. By sharing and teaching what I had learned with others, I helped women heal themselves and I, too, healed myself along the way.
Affirmations
I AM are the two most powerful words you can say. Louise spent her lifetime teaching this work. I learned the true power of the words, “I am enough,” “I am creative,” “I am worthy.”
Healing Myself
I learned that loving myself was the first step in healing myself. When I was going thru my breast cancer journey, I learned about loving myself on a whole new level. I had to learn to love myself and practice extreme self care. I had to put myself first in front of everything – which I grew up believing was selfish. I learned I was here to help others. But, I now know I have to love myself first.
So many blessings and love to my dear teacher, Louise. She left the world a lot brighter.
Louise, thank you for sharing your story and your wisdom with us.
Image copyright: Hay House Publishers, via Twitter, used under Creative Commons license.
If you need someone to talk to, please reach out. You’re not alone. We can connect one-on-one or in a small, supportive group setting: