You Can Heal Your Life

One of the most legendary books in the history of the self-help genre is Louise Hay's You Can Heal Your Life. Originally self-published, it went on to become a mammoth bestseller and the source of Ms. Hay's business and publishing empire. And, in more recent years, it has broken new ground by becoming the first self-help book to be turned into a full-length motion picture.
The book is pretty much run-of-the-mill New Thought. At the time of its writing Louise Hay was a popular Science of Mind minister, and her book and career would probably have faded into obscurity under normal circumstances. But something extraordinary happened. The AIDS crisis began, and Louise Hay, with her slightly raunchy and matter-of-fact manner, her mysterious background and her frank acceptance of gay and lesbian people, became the spiritual inspiration to thousands of men who were dying from that terrible disease. Suddenly, Hay and her little book were an intrinsic part of a social and cultural moment that caught up some of the greatest and most creative minds of a generation. Leading her famous "Hay Ride" healing sessions which were packed to the rafters with gay men, Louise Hay became the first major religious figure who addressed the AIDS problem directly, and treated people with AIDS with dignity and compassion. Hers was a lone voice for some years, and her personal bravery and integrity have been, I feel, forgotten in recent years. In the early 80s very few people were saying it was alright to be gay, and this elderly lady-minister, with her old-fashioned New Thought ideas and quaint little book, was a lonely voice in the wilderness.
You Can Heal Your Life became mainstream, of course, and was for many years - and remains - a bestseller. Hay was one of the first to see the possibility of new forms of media, and released many cassettes of her meditations and other work.
The book is beautifully, if simply, written, and Hay has a great gift for getting her ideas across. She has been criticised and lampooned mercilessly over the years, but she has gone from strength to strength, becoming a powerful publishing industry tycoon with her own company Hay House, which has made the careers of many others in the self-help and metaphysical fields.
Indeed, Hay has never really written another book - her entire philosophy was so succinctly and so prefectly expressed in You Can Heal Your Life. Other books have been printed, but they are really just transcriptions of her talks and workshops, as any avid listener to her audio material can soon discover.
It makes for fun reading, and is frequently outrageous. She uses a male prostitute as an example of how to apply prosperity thinking, for example, and she suggests that people should masturbate when they feel a migraine coming on. The book consciously addresses itself to actors, artist, writers and other creative types, proving that Ms. Hay, writing from LA, knew who her core clientele would be.
But the fact remains that it is one of the most seminal and culturally influential self-help books ever to be written, and new generations of readers are constantly discovering it. Her simple prose and clear thinking make the book much more accessible than other New Thought classics, and her message of love and self-acceptance seems to continue to strike a chord in the public imagination.

Wayne Dyer

Dr. Wayne Dyer is the godfather of the contemporary self-help scene.
He rocketed to fame in the 70s with his saucily title Your Erroneous Zones, a self-help classic that I can remember everyone was reading when I was a child. I think the local librarian even banned it, thinking it too racy for a small North Queensland town.
Ever an energetic self-promoter, Dyer's face loomed large on the cover of that book, and he bore a striking resemblance to my father. He still does, as a matter of fact, so that may be the reason for my fondness for him.
Dyer's work has shifted with his readership over the years - from basic, psychology-based self-help to more spiritually inclined material. He was banging on about the law of attraction long before The Secret, and in recent years he has been basing his work on the Tao Te Ching.
Apparently he is returning to his roots in Jungian psychology, and is very big on the idea of "the afternoon of life," which is borrowed from Jung. I have just bought his newest book, but am not very far in, so can't report on what influences are obvious in it yet.
Dyer was at the forefront of producing audio visual product based on his work, maybe seeing the limited future (and earning potential) of books. Last year he released a very fine film, which seems to have largely escaped people's notice. He declined, apparently, to appear on The Secret - a decision I'm sure he's been kicking himself over ever since. I recently listened to a CD of he and Marianne Williamson in conversation, and the regret they both shared over dismissing Rhonda Byrne's offer was palpable. Which just goes to prove, you're never too big to turn down a promotional opportunity.
I like Dyer's recent work. Very much, in fact. I think that, as usual, he is absolutely tuned in to the zeitgeist and has seen that people are looking for an excuse to step back a bit and stop pushing their lives so frantically. I'm also interested in the way that he has re-incorporated Eastern ideas into his life and teaching (I think in his early years he was an enthusiast for Ram Dass' guru).
He's a likeable figure, avuncular and relentlessly sensible. And incredibly productive - I don't know how he maintains the energy!