The first time I met Louise Hay in person was backstage at an I Can Do It! conference in Las Vegas. Reid Tracy, president of Hay House, introduced us. “Welcome to the Hay House family,” Louise said, as she gave me a warm hug.
Louise was due on stage in ten minutes to welcome the crowd and introduce me as the first speaker of the day. “May I do your makeup for you?” she asked me. I don’t wear makeup normally, but her offer was too good to turn down. Louise worked on my face with an array of brushes, powders, creams, and something glossy for my lips. We had great fun. Everyone backstage was highly amused. With her finishing touch, Louise looked me in the eyes and said, “Life loves you.”
Life loves you is one of Louise’s best-loved affirmations. I think of it as her signature affirmation, the heart thought that represents her life and her work. She loves to tell people, “Life loves you.” Each time I hear her say these words, I feel it like honey in my bones. Early on, I thought that Life loves you would be a great subject for a Louise Hay book. I mentioned it to Louise. I also spoke to Reid Tracy. “Tell me when you’re ready to help her write it,” he said. I didn’t think he was serious. Anyway, I was busy with my own writing projects.
A few years passed, and I wrote three new books for Hay House: Be Happy, for which Louise wrote the foreword; Loveability; and Holy Shift! The idea of a book about Life loves you would pop into my mind occasionally, but I didn’t do anything about it. The day after I finished Holy Shift!, I’d planned to play golf. However, by lunchtime I’d written a synopsis for Life Loves You, a book co-authored by Louise Hay and Robert Holden. I had no choice but to write the synopsis that morning. I didn’t have to think about it. The words just tumbled onto the page.
I showed the synopsis to my wife, Hollie. “Where did this come from?” she asked me. I told her I was as surprised as she was. “Send it immediately,” she said. I e-mailed Patty Gift, my editor, on October 7th. Later that day, Patty wrote that she and Reid Tracy loved my synopsis and that Reid would present it to Louise. Louise’s birthday was October 8th. On October 9th, I got an e-mail from her, full of happy emoticons: balloons, cake, hearts, and gifts. She wrote, “I am so excited, Robert. How long have you been planning this, dear one? I am honored to be part of this special event. Life will help us in every way. Happy birthday to me! Much love, Lulu.”
Our book, Life Loves You, is the fruit of a dialogue between Louise and me. I visited Louise in San Diego, California, three times between Thanksgiving and Easter. We spent a total of nine days together. I recorded all our conversations. We also scheduled regular calls on Skype. Over the years, Louise and I have met up at more than 20 I Can Do It! conferences in Europe, Australia, Canada, and America. I’ve interviewed Louise for the Hay House World Summit, and Louise has attended several of my public talks and workshops. As you will see, I share stories and conversations from some of these meetings as well.
Life Loves You is an inquiry that takes you to the heart of who you are. It explores your relationship with the world. It asks deep questions about the nature of reality. In recent years, science has learned to see the world in a new way. For instance, we know now that atoms are not separate little things but expressions of universal energy. A universe of separate things never really existed. Everything is part of everything. Each of us is part of a greater Unity. We have a relationship with the stars, with each other, with all of creation.
Science recognizes that the world is not just a physical place; it is also a state of mind. “The universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine,” wrote Sir James Jeans, the English physicist. Exploring the consciousness of creation is the new frontier of science. Louise and I believe that the basic building block of creation is not the atom; it is love. This love is not a sentimental thing. It is not just an emotion; it is the creative principle behind the dance of life. It is universal. It is intelligent. It is benevolent. We are all an expression of this love. It is our true nature.
Life Loves You is both an inquiry and a practical exercise. Louise is a spiritual pragmatist, and I am interested in philosophy only if it can be applied to everyday life. Hence we made the subtitle of our book 7 Spiritual Practices to Heal Your Life. There are seven chapters, and each chapter ends with a spiritual practice that helps you turn theory into experience. In addition to the seven main practices, there are a number of other exercises, too. You might like to do the exercises in the book with a partner or in a study group. Please don’t skip them. Love is not just an idea, after all.
In Chapter 1, Looking in the Mirror, we explore the Mirror Principle. This principle recognizes that our experience of the world mirrors our relationship with ourselves. We see things not as they are but as we are. Thus the world mirrors the basic truth about us, which is I am loveable. And it also mirrors our basic fear, I am not loveable. The world can be a dark and lonely place when we are estranged from our heart and do not love ourselves. However, one sincere act of self-love can help us experience creation’s gentleness and see the world anew. The spiritual practice for Chapter 1 includes a practice called Letting Life Love You and a meditation, Love’s Prayer.
In Chapter 2, Affirming Your Life, Louise and I talk about our school days and how we were first taught to see the world. I share a story about a lecture at college that changed my worldview forever. It was called “Do you honestly, truly, really believe that a flat tire can give you a headache?” Here we invite you to consider that life is not judging you, criticizing you, or condemning you. We suffer from our own psychology. Other people may hurt us too, but life itself is not against us. Why would it be? Life is deeply affirming. We are an expression of creation, and life wants us to be the Unconditioned Self we truly are. The spiritual practice for this chapter is called 10 Dots.
Chapter 3, Following Your Joy, is about listening to your inner guidance. “Life loves you isn’t about getting your own way; it’s about getting out of your way,” says Louise. Louise talks about her inner ding, and I talk about my Yes with a capital “Y.” Life is always trying to guide us, support us, and inspire us. Sometimes we are too caught up in our own story and lost in our personal misery to be able to see this. The spiritual practice is to create an affirmation board, to help you follow your joy and live a life you love.
Chapter 4, Forgiving the Past, is the midpoint of our inquiry. Here we investigate some of the common blocks to letting life love you—for example the fall from grace: the perceived loss of innocence and source of our learned unworthiness. We explore the guilt story, a tale told by the superego that once upon a time life loved me and I was loveable, but not anymore. We talk about inner-child work and reclaiming our original innocence. The spiritual practice is called The Forgiveness Scale. It is one of the most powerful forgiveness exercises we know.
In Chapter 5, Being Grateful Now, Louise and I look at the principle of basic trust recognized by psychologists as essential in both childhood development and adult life. Basic trust is what we are born with. It’s a knowing—we feel it in our bones—that we are part of creation and are supported by a loving and generous Unity. Basic trust recognizes that life doesn’t just happen to you; it happens for you. It sees that you have the best seat in the house for your life. Every experience—good or bad, happy or sad, bitter or sweet—offers you an opportunity to let life love you. The spiritual practice for this chapter, Daily Gratitude, combines gratitude with mirror work.
Chapter 6, Learning to Receive, looks at the benevolent-universe theory from Buddhism. Louise shares her experience of painting a portrait of the Buddha called The Blessing Buddha. The painting took Louise five years to complete. Painting it was a profound meditation that helped her to feel more deeply the loving kindness that exists in the design of life. “Life is always trying to love us, but we need to be open if we are to see it,” says Louise. The spiritual practice for this chapter is A Receiving Journal. The purpose of this journal is to help you recognize more clearly how life is loving you right now.
In Chapter 7, Healing the Future, we arrive at the question Is the universe friendly? Albert Einstein is said to have called this the most important question we can ask. Louise and I believe an equally important question is How friendly am I? At the deepest level, our purpose in life is to be a loving mirror to the world. Our goal is not just to let life love us but also to love life back. We are here to love the world. If each of us did this just a little bit more, the world would not be such a fearful place. The spiritual practice for Chapter 7 is called Blessing the World.
Louise and I are so happy that you hold our book in your hands. We are grateful for the opportunity to write it together. We hope and pray that our work supports you all the more in letting life love you and in being a loving presence in this world.
Life loves you!
Louise Hay and Robert Holden