Louise Hay gained renown as author of You Can Heal Your Life, the “affirmations bible”. What many do not know is her role as a healer and hero of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. She was also trained as a Science of Mind Practitioner. This training was the foundation for her miraculous life’s work, based as it was upon the principal that thoughts are the primary cause of all that we manifest into our lives.

The energy of thought is creative and attracting in nature. It brings into our experience that which is an energetic match. Every thought works with the precision and unfailing accuracy of law. Yet most of us stumble though our days and lives picking up and dwelling upon whatever random thoughts come our way. We don’t even realize the potent power we possess in choice. When a thought arises, whatever it’s origin, observe it and consider how it feels. Then choose to pick it up and give it your attention, or choose to let it go. Better yet, replace it with one that is aligned with your greater good.

Five years ago I was at a crossroads in my life. Everything I had valued and thought of as true and real in my life, my very sense of identity, was destroyed. All I could see, all I thought, was loss, disorder, chaos and despair. In one dark moment that I thought was near ‘the end’, I gave voice to the thought that there was no purpose, no direction, guidance or reason in my life. A wise friend gave me this affirmation: “My life is divinely guided and I’m always moving in the best direction.” I didn’t believe it, but at her urging I took that phrase as my mantra. I repeated it morning, noon and night; quietly and out loud; in bed, in the shower, in the car, and most of the time in tears. It seemed so patently and blatantly false at first, almost a taunt!

Since then my life has been transformed by the power of those words. Hindsight has shown that time to have been not ‘the end’ but a beginning. I have been guided with stunning intuition and miraculous manifestations that continue to take me in the direction of my dharma. Each day takes me a step closer to being the living expression of Spirit I was born to be. So become aware of what thoughts you choose to focus on. The possibilities are endless and the choice is yours.

Many indigenous cultures, most notably those in India and Asia, claim a place for ancestors in the pantheon of deities and spirits to be honored, worshipped and relied upon for assistance and guidance. Recent research in trauma and epigenetics suggests a sound scientific basis for this practice. In his book “It Didn’t Start With You; How inherited family trauma shapes who we are and how to end the cycle”, therapist Mark Wolyn details the story of, among others, a young man struck down at the start of a promising life at age nineteen, by debilitating insomnia. During these sleepless nights he was gripped by violent shivers and the physical sensation of extreme cold, as well as an overpowering fear that if he falls asleep he will never wake again. After investigating and detailing the cellular and neurological mechanisms at work, Wolyn concludes this anecdote with an astonishing discovery. Unbeknownst to him, the young man had an uncle that had died many years before he was born. The loss of this ancestor, struck down at the start of a promising life at just nineteen, was so grievous to the family it was never discussed. He was stranded in a blizzard and froze to death. By recognizing and honoring this ancestor, giving him a voice and returning him to the family as it were, the trauma was released and healed.

I’ve done my own trauma and ancestor work, and it is amazing how strong the grip of inherited trauma can be on all levels; physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. With the help of Wolyn’s work and an excellent trauma therapist I now understand my grandmother Edith’s trauma as she lay dying in childbirth and how and why I came to “relive” it. I have felt her anguish at the loss of the child that she never got to hold. I have forged an energetic connection with this young woman, so full of life and promise, that I never got to know. And through that connection, healing has flowed. Healing for me, undoubtedly, and for her, but also for the family, generations past and yet to come. I set out to heal myself, and discovered so much more. Healing is sacred work that spans beyond our limited perception of space and time. It’s effects go far beyond what we can know and healing for one is healing for all.