7 Spiritual Practices to Heal Your Life - Life Loves You

It's pretty much the same as other spritual books. I got really bored in the first few pages that talked about his kids and how much they liked Louise Hay. Very boring and not sure why Robert Holden spent so much time on that story. I got so frustrated that I closed the book and shelved it. Very disappointing

Life Loves You is a mixed blessing. After slowly and carefully reading each chapter, making sure to apply the lessons provided for application, I found much to like that I will mention later in this review. Unfortunately, I also found much that I didn’t think belonged in this book by Louise Hay and Robert Holden.

What I liked least was the repetitive nature of the ongoing conversation between Hay and Holden, which can be summarized by this quote, repeated again and again throughout the book: “Love yourself as much as you can.” I get it! We must feel good about ourselves before we can share our love with others. Long ago Thomas Harris wrote a popular book, I’m OK, You’re OK, which demonstrates the importance of having a positive self-image. This theme is a constant that runs through every chapter of the Hay/Holden book.

Also, I did not like the “pie in the sky” nature of the Hay/Holden philosophy, if it can be called that, which is that “life is beautiful” and “life loves you,” which is repeated from beginning to end of their book. Ironically, Holden mentions the First Noble Truth of the Buddha: “Life is full of suffering.” He hints at The Second Noble Truth that suffering is caused by attachment, greed, and desire. Hay suggests that if we just love ourselves enough, suffering will cease. Indeed, she thinks that our suffering is caused by the fact that we don’t love ourselves enough. Such thoughts are superficial and come close to being nonsensical.

All this said, I found much to like in this little book, which is why I give it three stars. I took notes and compiled a list of twenty memorable passages. I will now give my readers the best of this list.

“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow.” Hay/Holden begin their second chapter with this profound quote from the Buddha and they develop this idea and recommend that we judge less and look for every chance to affirm our life. “Awareness is the first step to changing anything” says Hay and in this she agrees with the Buddha who tells us that “mindfulness” is an important part of the Eightfold Path that brings peace and contentment.

Hay/Holden begin their fourth chapter with this quote: “Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free.” They have good things to say about the liberating power of forgiveness to release us from the pain we cause ourselves by living in the past and dwelling on real or imagined injuries we have received from others. They mention Ekhardt Tolle and his famous book, The Power of Now. The present is the only place we can live. The past is gone forever and the future is only a promise. Right here, right now, is the only place life can be lived and Hay/Holden suggest that now is best lived when we forgive, forget, and move on with our lives. “The present moment is your point of power,” says Hay. “You can create only in this moment now.” Wise words, I think, and well worth repeating and applying in our lives.

It would appear from everything I have written that, perhaps, the Hay/Holden book has a Buddhist flavor to it, and this would not be wrong, but it would be incomplete. Many of the lessons of Jesus Christ are also included in this book. Like Thomas Jefferson, whom Holden mentions, Holden considers Jesus to be one of the greatest of all teachers. He quotes this famous passage from the Bible: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness…” Then he mentions a famous painting by William Holman Hunt, “The Light of the World,” which he has framed and placed on his desk.

I was not familiar with this painting and went to the Internet to find it. Fortunately, I have a color printer and was able to copy it, cut it out, and place it at my desk where I can see it as I write this review. In this painting Jesus holds a lantern and holds open a door for us to enter. This painting helps Holden to release his creative spirit and I can see why it is so important to him.

Now that I am coming to the end of this long review, my apologies to my readers, I think I will add a star; four now seems appropriate given what I have to say about the value of the Hay/Holden collaboration. Yes, their book is sometimes trite, superficial, and repetitive, but it is also thoughtful and sometimes even profound when they quote and discuss the teachings of the great masters. It is the first, and probably the last of their books that I will read, so, unlike other reviewers, I have no way of knowing how much of this book is rehashed material from their previously published works. Recommended with noted reservations.

I chose LIFE LOVES YOU by LOUISE HAY & ROBERT HOLDEN because I really liked Holden's book Happiness Now!: Timeless Wisdom for Feeling Good FAST.

In LIFE LOVES YOU, Holden collaborates with long time self-help author Louise Hay to pass on nuggets of wisdom that can help one get centered and try and see that life is, for lack of a better phrase, still worth living.

He does this by writing about the conversations he's had with Hay and how she and himself have solved issues or have dealt with the sometimes bumpy road that we're all traveling on.

There are sections that explain why forgiving (yourself, your past, etc.) is so important, how and why it is important to embrace your inner child, why you should follow that inner voice with trust, and that living in the present moment can make all the difference in the world.

The book is really about helping one change their focus on life from external things to internal things, and that no matter what you are lovable and worthy. It's also reinforcing the idea that life gives, what it gives you, and it is up to you to define how you go forward and interpret the situation.

I had to knock off one-star because the book does get a little repetitive with the conversations, but more importantly the concepts covered in this book are much too profound to grasp with such a little book with little explanation. For instance, Holden was discussing having a health concern and Hay told him to look at it as life giving you a gift (I'm paraphrasing but the gist is that this issue should be received with open arms), which I can agree with because I understand that we grow by rising to the challenge -- which comes from my own life experience, but for someone who hasn't had those types of explorations and experiences it would make no sense. How could something that is hurting you be a gift?

Another instance is that life loves you and that you are lovable, I agree, and that you are both lovable and perfect as is, which is also fine. But for someone who hasn't found themselves (or has yet to come to the understanding that the self is made and not found) this means very little. What if you have been cheated on by a lover or friend or perhaps treated poorly by family members etc., how can one feel lovable? How can life love someone when it's seemingly throwing problems at them? What if they're born into abject poverty, how does that exemplify that life loves them?

Obviously I'm using the above as rhetorical questions, and maybe it's because my own character doesn't allow me to blindly accept statements without some proof, so that's why I think some readers will take issue with this book.

I happen to agree with everything listed in the book, but that's because I learned all of these lessons the hard way. I get that we should look at life not with scorn or disappointment or feel that life is plotting against us. I've also learned to look at setbacks as part of a larger design and that we should take all of it -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- as simply experiences that help us grow. But for someone who is in the middle of turmoil and heartache this book will mean nothing but blanket phrases that -- on the surface and present moment -- provide no solutions.

Other than that I think the LIFE LOVES YOU book is a great way to re-connect and remind oneself that life is a wonder and that this journey we're on rests solely on our interpretation of it.

Louise Hay is a treasure. Her books and related products have positively affected many, many lives. In turn, many of those whose lives have changed, have in turn changed the lives of others.

I would not hesitate to recommend any Louise Hay product, just because it's her work.

In reviewing 'Live Loves You,' it occurs that there are at least two categories of audiences: those who have read Louise Hay in the past; and those who would be encountering her for the first time.

For those who are new to her work, this is a good introduction. It appears to have been written largely by coauthor Robert Holden. In addition to mining her earlier work, Holden has interviewed Hay extensively. Much of the narrative of the book is built around extensive conversations between the two. Holden is himself a prolific writer in the Hay House stable.

Building off of Hay's classic 'Heal Your Life' message, this book proposes seven "spiritual practices":

--Looking in the Mirror
--Affirming Your Life
--Following Your Joy
--Forgiving the Past
--Being Grateful Now
--Learning to Receive
--Healing the Future

Each chapter includes references and quotations from Hay's works, as well as related conversations between the coauthors. Readers who relate to personal anecdotes will not be disappointed.

In all, 'Life Loves You' is an excellent compendium, introducing new readers to Louise Hay and her transformational thinking.

Readers who are familiar with Hay's work may also find value here. The book can be seen as a useful refresher in her thinking, in an easy-to-use format.

In sum, this is an excellent book. As with any offering in the "self-help" genre, its value is very much related to how one approaches it, and what one is seeks from it. New readers of Louise Hay will find this to be a fine introduction into her work. Longtime readers of Hay may wish to compare this offering with others, to ascertain what combination best works for them.

Louise Hay and Robert Holden are two best-selling self-help authors whose guidance is based upon timeless spiritual principles. This pair team up in conversation here to craft an insightful and inspiring book called Life Loves You. The book focuses on 7 spiritual principles and practices that readers can apply to transform their lives and the way they look at life. These principles will sound familiar to spiritual students and self-help veterans, as they are found in many other books. If you've read books by Wayne Dyer, Eckhart Tolle, and studied spiritual teachings like A Course in Miracles, then you will find that this book reinforces the ideas presented in those writings. In this relatively short book the authors discuss these ideas in practical and engaging ways. Each topic that is discussed is accompanied by a practice or exercise the readers can use in their daily lives.
The 7 practices are:
1. Looking in the mirror
2. Affirming your life
3. Following your joy
4. Forgiving the past
5. Being grateful now
6. Learning to receive
7. Healing the future
The authors point out that unhappiness and insecurity are common themes that appear in all our lives. In a society where anxiety and depression are consuming many people's lives it is key for us to learn to love ourselves, build faith and trust in life, and follow our passion and joy without attachment to the past or future. Our basic beliefs about ourselves and about life need to be transformed if we wish to live more joyous and fulfilled lives. This book provides useful practices to help us shift those beliefs and relate to life in a more optimistic and empowering way. There is nothing revolutionary here for those who have done lots of spiritual exploration and self-help reading, while hearing these messages shared in a personal way by these 2 authors helps people relate to these teachings and appreciate how valuable they are.

Book: “Life Loves You: 7 Spiritual Practices to Heal Your Life” by Louise Hay and Robert Holden

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

This book is a reflection of a nice conversation between Louise Hayden and Robert Holden. You follow them through time having conversations about life loving you. They go over their childhood memories and their past. They come to a conclusion that they did not love or accept themselves when they were younger.

They quote Albert Einstein and Buddha for how we should love and accept ourselves so that Life Loves You or God Loves You. The universe, according to Albert Einstein, is either a friendly or unfriendly place? Which do you decide upon? It's a choice.

Each chapter is followed by an exercise. The first is to do mirror work. Being able to face yourself and say that you love yourself is key. Then the 10 dots of Affirmations, lets you place 10 markers around your house where you affirm something positive in your life every time you see the 10 dots or 10 stickers around your house.

An Affirmation Board is like the Vision Board – simply affirming what is important in your life. Daily Gratitude whether first thing in the morning, throughout the day or last thing before you go to sleep is very important. Being receptive to receiving good is very helpful. By creating a receiving journal you open yourself to what the world can provide. Finally, blessings to and of the world, heals the future.

This book is enjoyable to read. It reads very easily and reflects upon Louise's life and how she has progressed. She did not expect or know Hay House would be the sensational success it is today other than she wanted to self-publish – “You Can Heal Your Life.” From there, she simply did what was in front of her. Many of her successes were at a later stage of life but that did not stop her from moving forward. From learning to ball dance to producing art work at a elderly age, Louise does not let life stop her and so we should follow a similar example. She produced the “Blessing Buddha” as a work in progress for five years and it became a hit at Art Beat in Vista, California with many prints being sold. The Blessing Buddha is currently in the Hay House headquarters.

I recommend this book for spiritually aware people or people who would like to become more so. If you are feeling down about yourself, this is a good book because it helps you to love yourself more.

Tags: reflection, conversation, Louise Hay, Robert Holden, childhood, memories, Albert Einstein, Buddha, fear, friendly, universe, Mirror Work, Affirmations, Gratitude, Vision board, Receiving Journal, Blessings, Hay House, You Can Heal Your Life, success, elderly, ball dancing, art work, Blessed Buddha, California, spiritual development, love.

The basic building block of life is not the atom; it is love, both authors believe that. Love is your true nature, your spiritual DNA, and the song of your heart.

This is a conversation between Louise Hay and Robert Holden on their work and the affirmation from Louise that Life Loves you. This is an excellent read to re-enforce and validate the power of positive thinking, gratitude, and living in the now. I would not recommend starting with this book if you are not familiar with the concepts or their work. Louise’s book, You can Heal your Life or Heal your Body, might be a better starting place. Robert has an amazing way to pull out of Louise specific details and information about her life’s journey. Louise discusses her disbeliefs, her questions, her frustrations, and her shifts and success along the way.

What I liked was the conversation style, using Robert’s children as examples of the principles, the stories from Roberts’s workshop, and the exercises at the end to support each principle, and learning more about Louise’s life. Thank you for rephrasing and restating and keeping the conversation going. What a gift both of these people are to the world.

I’m was not familiar with Roberts work and wished there was a little more about it. If you enjoyed this format you might also enjoy, Cheryl Richardson interviewing Louise Hay about her life and career in a book called, You Can Create and Exceptional Life.

Life Loves You covers familiar ground for those who have read the writings of Louise Hay, Robert Holden, and others in the spiritual growth/self-help field. So, what makes it different and worth reading?

1. It's a well-organized review of some basics to self love and restructuring your thoughts and attitudes towards yourself, others, and life. There are seven chapters, each covering a basic concept: self love through mirror work, affirming your life, following your joy, forgiving the past, daily gratitude, learning to receive, and blessing the world.

2. There's a good balance between reading and doing-- each chapter has one main exercise that they encourage you to commit to doing on a daily basis, and several other mini-exercises. This approach encourages you to do something concrete to change your life without overloading you.

3. It's well-written and contains the experience and wisdom of two people who have devoted decades to spiritual growth and helping others. Much of the book is based on spiritual conversations between Robert and Louise on the topics, and it feels like you're sitting down to a cup of tea with both of them.

This is an excellent book, both devotionally to deepen your growth if you've read dozens of books of this type, and an excellent introduction to self-love and spiritual growth

A small little book that is an interesting, if slightly unusual, blend of Christianity and Buddhism, it repeats the basic concept of "life loves you" (ergo the title) and "life is beautiful." Louise Hay and Robert Holden are relatively well-known self-help gurus, and this focuses on conversations between them. The biggest cons are that it gets repetitive, which is a little difficult to stomach in such a small book, and the fact that people in the depths of despair are going to have a hard time getting to the point of really believing life loves them. There is a saying in recovery circles, "act as if" - and even the repetition of the positive affirmations or acting as if life loves you or life is beautiful when an individual is experiencing otherwise is difficult to do and sustain. Holden even mentions "life is suffering" - but doesn't really discuss the juxtaposition of that with the concept of "life loves you" and how to resolve that conflict.

Individuals looking for affirmations and self-reflections will enjoy the book.

This book is an invaluable little book (the size of a devotional) that focuses on developing self-love. It draws on spirituality, but not in a dogmatic way -- rather in a way that encourages you to get in touch with your inner life and being, in accordance with what are similar to Buddhist beliefs in lovingkindness and self-acceptance.

There are seven main chapters in the book, and each contains an overview and examples of the idea being explained, along with exercises to cultivate those beliefs.

It's a lovely book to read when feeling stressed out, and I know I will go back and re-read chapters from it often.

Inspiring, uplifting. I find that any book by louise hay helps to ground me and "settle my soul". With that said, it isn't really new material if you have read all her other books. but the format is different, you have an additional voice and, I find, it is great to have uplifting practices reinforced over and over. Especially during this time in the world..i found refuge in this book.

This book is an invaluable little book (the size of a devotional) that focuses on developing self-love. It draws on spirituality, but not in a dogmatic way -- rather in a way that encourages you to get in touch with your inner life and being, in accordance with what are similar to Buddhist beliefs in lovingkindness and self-acceptance.

There are seven main chapters in the book, and each contains an overview and examples of the idea being explained, along with exercises to cultivate those beliefs.

It's a lovely book to read when feeling stressed out, and I know I will go back and re-read chapters from it often.

Inspiring, uplifting. I find that any book by louise hay helps to ground me and "settle my soul". With that said, it isn't really new material if you have read all her other books. but the format is different, you have an additional voice and, I find, it is great to have uplifting practices reinforced over and over. Especially during this time in the world..i found refuge in this book.

This is a saccharin exercise in self indulgence. There is nothing new here, it is just a rehash of the same stuff that filled her other books. I found the authors mutual love fest inane and boring. the book itself is a small hard covered tome containing 236 pages not counting the promotional material in the back or the blank pages used for notes. I was hoping for some inspiration but was disappointed. Nothing new here and even worse nothing relevant. Life may love this book but I don't. Pass.

'Science recognises that the world is not just a physical place; it is also a state of mind.' This beautiful book contains 7 spiritual practices to heal your life and to acknowledge that: "Life loves you, no matter what. Life loves you the way you are right now." Enjoy it!

I recently had gastric sleeve surgery and have felt down on myself a lot in the last year.. Reading this book really helped me learn to love ME.. It's a easy read and a great self improvement book. Now that I am on the path of recovery I plan to read again as it was extremely uplifting!

I am sure Robert Holden has a beautiful family but I am really over hearing about them. He relates almost every concept to his young children which is very annoying. His " I said, She replied" style of writing is also incredibly frustrating. I wanted to like this book but it is total hogwash and I could not finish it.

A lovely, lovely book that will help you connect with the divine truth that you are a being of love, and the more you love yourself, the more you are able to connect with life and share your love with others, thereby blessing life with your love, as life blesses you too, because LIFE LOVES YOU. "I love life, and life loves me" is my favourite affirmation, and it always helps me tune in to the wisdom of my soul.