I am often sceptical of holistic remedies and new age thinking but Louise Hay’s ‘You Can Heal Your Life’ contains a lot of explanations and advice about feelings of dis-ease that more often than not accurate.
She identifies just two mental patterns that poison the body and lead to illness : fear and anger.
I currently have a sore throat and feel that I am on the point of losing my voice.
Louse Hay describes the throat as an “avenue of expression” and a “channel of creativity”.
As a consequence, she states that problems with this part of my body are due to: “the inability to speak up for one’s self. Swallowed anger. Stifled creativity. Refusal to change”.
This diagnosis strikes a chord with me and rings true.
In my family, I am currently feeling that my voice isn’t being heard and am finding it harder to communicate with my 16-year-old daughter who is experiencing a lot of growing pains and psychological challenges resulting from school, boyfriends and other peer pressure.
At work, I am in a situation where I am no longer sure of my role. I am finding it harder to motivate myself and to feel that my work is worthwhile.
In other general situations, when I am with Italians and try to express my opinions; I feel the burden of having to articulate complex ideas or emotions in my second language.
Many of these would be hard enough to say in my mother tongue and the linguistic filter leaves me feeling that I have barely scratched the surface about what it is I really want to say.
Louise L. Hay’s cure is to change my thought pattern and feel that it’s okay to make noise. She advises the following affirmations:
- I express myself freely and joyously.
- I speak up for myself with ease.
- I express my creativity.
- I am willing to change.
The voice of Henry Miller in the opening lines of his novel The Tropic of Cancer also come to mind as I contemplate these thoughts:
“To sing you must first open your mouth. You must have a pair of lungs and a little knowledge of music. It is not necessary to have an accordion or a guitar. The essential thing is to want to sing. This then is a song. I am singing”.
If this post makes you think you should be singing more too – click on ‘like’ button. It would help me feel less alone.
Image : The disembodied mouth in Samuel Beckett's 'Not I' is a poignant image of isolation.
Have you ever noticed how self books usually have brash unimaginative covers. If they have any image at all it is usually a naff shot of the author looking immensely pleased with himself/ herself.
