Readers might remember that I got nice new frames for my spectacles lately. Of course, the same visit to the optometrist revealed me to have ‘dry eye’, a condition associated with being pregnant, suffering a stroke, and other things (such as having eyes).
Well, in the course of doing some research for this book I’m writing, I have now discovered something bad about dry eye. Something really bad.
Take a look at this extract from Louise L. Hay‘s 1994 classic best-selling book, You Can Heal Your Life…
It’s from a table of physical health problems that runs on and on over several pages. It’s not just any old list. According to Louise, it’s “the” list.
You can see ‘Dry Eye’ right there, in between Depression and Dysentery. Now, what’s really worrying are the other two entries in the table. Basically, according to Louise L. Hay, the ‘probable cause’ of my having dry eye is as follows:
Angry eyes. Refusing to see with love. Would rather die than forgive. Being spiteful.
You see? I knew I wasn’t pregnant! The real cause of my dry eye is a cluster of unpleasant thought patterns that involve my inability to effectively manage my emotions.
And it’s true — I would rather die than forgive!
Except it’s not. It’s not true. Being dead sucks real bad. Forgiveness? Meh, I can do forgiveness. So on balance, the probable cause is improbable. But who knows, maybe there’s something in it.
Thankfully help is on hand. For, according to Louise L. Hay, I can heal my life. How I do this is by developing a “new thought pattern“, as outlined right there in that table. All I need to do is to learn off and regularly repeat the following affirmation:
“I willingly forgive. I breathe life into my vision and see with compassion and understanding.”
I can do that. As in, I can say that.
But there is one little drawback. I recited my affirmation just there and nothing happened. Apparently I need to recite it several times. How many times exactly? Well, I’ll let Louise herself tell you how she does it:
Take one or two affirmations and write them 10 or 20 times a day. Read them aloud with enthusiasm. Make a song out of your affirmations and sing them with joy. Let your mind go over these affirmations all day long.
Huh?
By the Hay doctrine, what causes physical illness is this: a bad attitude. And insufficiently joyful singing. (You know, now that I think of it, sick people are hardly ever singing.)
For information, You Can Heal Your Life is one of the best selling books ever. As in ever ever.
So, you know, it must be true.
It must be true.
It must be true.
It must be true.
(Repeat ad infinitum)
Brian Hughes is an academic psychologist and university professor in Galway, Ireland, specialising in stress, health, and the application of psychology to social issues. He writes widely on the psychology of empiricism and of empirically disputable claims, especially as they pertain to science, health, medicine, and politics.
i wonder if ‘blephritis’ (sp?) as another of these
one tries warm tea, OTC eyewash (london times?) steroid creams etc
do they know?
i end up on the plain
I think you should just give in and surrender to your irrational side, learn to forgive all these charlatans and snake-oil merchants. Then you can have wet eyes like the rest of us. Yay!
Looks like you thought about erasing the rest of the text and gave up during the process. :p
As far as the post goes, I’d certainly agree that the “probable cause” is a bit far-fetched. đ
Although we do have to realize that there are real effects from the mind upon our body that can result in illness. It just strikes me as a flawed approach to generalize that a given symptom is *always* caused by a *particular* attitude/state of mind.
Absolutely…
Repeat after me every minute of every day for the rest of your life:
” I must not be cynical or doubt Louise Hay. I must forgive her for coming up with a healing procedure that worked so effectively for her that she decided if it works for me it works for the rest of humanity. Even if she too makes me angry.”
” My anger is an expression of my metaphysical illiteracy !… and why I cannot be a god-like disease free immortal being “.
“There are not many factors which contribute to any given illness, sickness or disease ! ”
” I must learn to forgive Lousie Hay and show see her with understanding and compassion”
” The eyes see all ”
“I must breathe life into my dead Gollum, Frankenstein of a body, mind, and spirit !”
” If Louise Hay says that I am a spiteful, angry, unloving, stubborn, uncompassionate, and mericless… then she must not have the devil and his damned anti – Christ army harassing her 24 /7; which means that she must be one of Satan’s posing as a do gooder bringer of light ! ”
” Louise Hay knows me better than I do; because I do not know myself ”
Therefore I will become a mind – controlled Louise Hay zombie who spends his life chanting cognitive therapeutic affirmations all my days ! I think I would rather suffer the dry eyes !
Stephen, you should be a comedy writer.
Your second to last affirmation is interesting. (..âthen she must have not have the devil and his…etcâ) Please explain…! I think I agree with that one, if I understand it correctly.
Dry eyes seem to be all about unforgiveness….So, if Jesus was a comedian, there probably wouldnât be a dry eye in the house! But he isnât a joker. He told us to forgive even those who hurt us, as He has forgiven us. Iâm sure forgiveness has more healing benefits to it than we can quantify…