S is for Self-Improvement & Self-Realization #AtoZChallenge

This year my A to Z Challenge is all about wellbeing - something I'm particularly passionate about. Whether it's physical, emotional, mental, spiritual or even the wellbeing of my business, I want to lean more! Today it's all about Self-Improvement & Self-Realization :D

Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement —economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. 

Self-realization is an expression used in psychology, spirituality, and Eastern religions. It is defined as the "fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one's character or personality."

Wikipedia

When I was about 17 I was given a book by someone who meant a lot to me. Tragically she died shortly thereafter but that book stayed with me for years. It was a self-help book called You Can Heal Your Life and was written by Louise Hay. Sadly, I've since lost that copy but I recently bought a kindle copy and devoured it in a couple of days. It's basically about the power of positivity and how loving yourself can heal yourself. It really is an amazing read and I would recommend it to everyone. Carol, the woman who gave me the book in the first place, was my A'level psychology and business studies teacher. She was also a tarot card reader and a great believer in self-improvement. She read my cards once and told me I would reach self-realization. I always thought it was kind of cool that she'd 'seen' something so amazing in the cards. 

In hindsight (and with the wisdom of age!) I've come to believe she told me that to 'make' me believe that self-realization is possible for me. Perhaps it's because of what she said that I've become so interested in self-improvement. But it's not important. What is important is that I do believe it is possible. 

You CAN heal your life

Many years ago when I was a teenager, I was lent a book that would have a profound impact on me. The name of that book? You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. The woman who lent me the book died about a year later. Something else that had a profound effect on me. You see, she was rather a special lady. She was my psychology and business studies teacher and she was also my dad’s girlfriend. She only lived with us for a short time before a massive asthma attack took her life. I was distraught. I’d lost my mother only about five years previously. So as you can imagine it was a difficult time for my family and I.

I’d developed quite a bond with her: I guess you could say she’d become a bit of a mentor, so to lose her when I was only seventeen hit me hard. But that book helped me enormously. You see, Carol (that was her name) was a tarot card reader and she told me not long before she died, that I would be successful in life, that I would reach self-realisation. Since she told me that, I have always had a strong belief in myself. I do have bad days, we all do. But when I do feel a little low, then that book is where I turn.
The author Louise Hay is an incredible woman who cured herself of cancer through positive thought and her book, You Can Heal Your Life, uses positive affirmations to help people make drastic changes to their lives.
Whenever I read it, I feel a huge burst of positivity and love bubble up from within me. It truly is an amazing read.
Over the past few months, I’ve been delving further into the world of affirmations and have discovered some wonderful books, all of which I will be telling you about at some stage. But first of all, if you are feeling low and need a boost, please get yourself a copy of Louise’s book. It just might change your life. In the meantime, check out her website for more details about positive affirmations and how they can make a difference.