Louise Hay, international bestselling author, coaches people to do mirror work. She asks her clients to look into their own eyes and state, “I love and approve of myself just the way I am.” She says do it three or four hundred times a day especially if you want to heal something in your life.
I discovered Louise Hay before I became a minister. I saw her and the singing trio Alliance at a convention somewhere in the 80’s.
I bought her books and her tapes. Yes, they were tapes then. I loved her voice. It is so soothing, calming. It felt to me like pure love.
This month, we are paying tribute to Louise’s work; our theme for the month is based on her best-seller, You Can Heal Your Life. My topic this week is Mental Equivalents, which means the thought or belief which caused the illness in the first place and more importantly, the new belief which will heal your life.
Back of everything is the idea, that we must love ourselves unconditionally.
When you look in the mirror do you compliment yourself and praise yourself? Many metaphysicians do this. They are living happy, healthy, loving lives. But we have been trained to do the opposite. WE have learned to critique ourselves, to measure as not good enough.
One of the many techniques, Louise offers is to see yourself as a small child under six years old, unsure and yearning for love. Would you harshly criticize this beautiful soul for not getting it right. for making mistakes? I believe you would be compassionate and kind. That is exactly what we need to do for ourselves too. I did a great deal of work on myself and recognize that there is still more to do.
The group Alliance sang at the gatherings that she had for people dying of AIDS. (Many people lived despite the dire predictions.) I believe that learning to love themselves was key to their healing. The lyrics of I Love Myself the Way I Am, written by Jai Josephs are: