Archive for the ‘Mindfulness’ Category

4 Powerful Habits to Clear Your Mind During Meditation

from Wayne Dyer's Getting in the Gap

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Mindfulness

4 Powerful Habits to Clear Your Mind During MeditationPerhaps the most elusive space for human beings to  enter is the gap between our thoughts. When you attempt to clear your mind, usually the act of clearing your mind only leads to more thoughts.

After all, thinking about what it would be like to be in the gap between our thoughts…is just another thought.

Have you observed the following at times? Usually we stay on one thought until another one takes over, leaving very little unused space. The spaces between our thoughts are brief, and seldom does anyone wonder what it would be like to have fewer thoughts, or what we’d find in the void between them. But the paradox is obvious.

Rather than expanding that space between, we move on to more thoughts. So why should we concern ourselves with entering the elusive gap? Continue Reading

Wayne Dyer’s 12-Step Program to Simplicity

12 Step Program to Simplicity by Dr. Wayne Dyer

Wayne Dyer’s 12-Step Program to Simplicity is excerpted with permission from Chapter 8 of Wayne Dyer’s book, Living An Inspired Life.

For a moment, let’s imagine what it would be like to be fully alive without a physical shell or any of the stuff we need and desire for maintaining life on Earth.

We’d have a mental energy that allowed us to move forward or backward, up or down, instantly creating whatever we desired. We’d be free to wallow in an exquisite existence without time or space as we know it.

We’d be in a state of pure bliss, in love with everything and everyone. We’d have no duties or bills to tend to, no fear of losing anything, no one judging us, no possessions to insure, no demands on our time, and no goals to achieve.

What we’re envisioning is actually the world of Spirit, which we experienced before we came here and will return to when we shed our body (or as William Butler Yeats poetically called it, our “tattered coat upon a stick”).

Remember that a central premise of this book is Continue Reading

Why the Inside Matters

I’m in the middle of what has become my annual Canada tour and it’s such a pleasure to feel all the love from my spiritual kinspeople here. I think of myself as “almost Canadian” since my parents were both born in Ontario, my father in Chatham in 1914 and my mother in Hamilton in 1916. I grew up in Detroit and Canada is part of my world. Last month I spoke at the Hay House I Can Do It Conference in Vancouver—wonderful and beautiful as always. And on June 29, I’ll be speaking at the Hay House I Can Do It Conference in Toronto. It’s the weekend before Canada Day on July 1 so maybe we’ll have some early fireworks to enjoy.

I have some great Canada stories, like the time I got lost in Vancouver’s Stanley Park and instead of my usual six miles ended up running a marathon before I found my way out! Lately, I’ve been sharing one of my favorite Toronto experiences with my audiences. It happened several years ago when an unsuspecting young man helped me illustrate an eternal truth we all need to be reminded of:

I was preparing to speak at an I Can Do It conference and I decided to bring an orange on stage with me as a prop for my lecture. I opened a conversation with a bright young fellow of about twelve who was sitting in the front row.

“If I were to squeeze this orange as hard as I could, what would come out?” I asked him.

He looked at me like I was a little crazy and said, “Juice, of course.”

“Do you think apple juice could come out of it?”

“No!” he laughed.

“What about grapefruit juice?”

“No!”

“What would come out of it?”

“Orange juice, of course.”

“Why? Why when you squeeze an orange does orange juice come out?”

He may have been getting a little exasperated with me at this point. Continue Reading

How Do You Sleep?

Metaphysical teacher Neville Goddard offers us this description of what takes place while we sleep: Sleep is the door through which the conscious, waking mind passes to be creatively joined to the subconscious. Sleep conceals the creative act while the objective world reveals it. In sleep man impresses the subconscious with his conception of himself.

Each night as I drift off to sleep, I adamantly refuse to use this precious time to review anything that I do not want to be reinforced in the hours of being immersed in my subconscious mind. I choose to impress upon my subconscious mind, and therefore the mind of God to which I am eternally joined, my conception of myself as a Divine creator in alignment with the one mind. I groggily reiterate my I ams, which I have placed in my imagination, and I remember that my slumber will be dominated by my last waking concept of myself. I am peaceful, I am content, I am love, I am writing, I am the governing power of the universe, and I attract only to myself those who are in alignment with my highest ideals of myself.

This is my nightly ritual, always resisting any temptation to go over any fear or unpleasantness that my ego might be asking me to review. I assume the feeling in my body of those I am statements already fulfilled, Continue Reading

Without a Doubt

Abraham Maslow spent a good part of his adult life researching and writing about the idea of self-actualization. He described the small percentage of people he called “self-actualizing” as living at the extraordinary level of consciousness. I vividly recall Dr. Maslow’s assertion that one of the highest qualities these self-actualizers possess is the inclination to be independent of the good opinion of others.

I’m deeply attracted to this idea of living extraordinarily—independent of the good opinion of others—stressing it in many of the books and recordings I’ve produced, starting in 1971. Dr. Maslow passed away on June 8, 1970, the same day I received my doctorate degree—I’ve often felt that in some mystical way, he was passing the baton to me.

One of Dr. Maslow’s most significant attributes of living a self-actualized life is self-trust. When you trust yourself to decide your destiny, you don’t allow externals to discourage or influence you. You have faith, and faith is attained through complete trust and confidence in the power of the one universal mind, which you are inextricably a part of. It is the God-realized you that placed the thoughts and feelings that represent your destiny into your mind and body.

One of the reasons I’m able to write about the hidden power of manifestation buried deep within each of us is that during childhood I unconsciously practiced these ideas while in foster homes—and they simply became a part of who I am. Continue Reading

Wayne Dyer Returns to PBS with Wishes Fulfilled!

Best-selling author, beloved spiritual teacher, and internationally renowned lecturer Dr. Wayne Dyer returns to PBS for his ninth public broadcasting presentation, WISHES FULFILLED. In this special, taped in Escondido, California on October 21, 2011, he once again offers an inspiring and motivational message to viewers. Based on his book Wishes Fulfilled: Mastering the Art of Manifesting (Hay House, March, 2012) WISHES FULFILLED presents Dr. Dyer’s main message: It is possible for every person to live an extraordinary life. What’s more, it is possible for every person to manifest their deepest desires — if they honor their inner divinity, consciously choose to live from their “Highest Self,” and practice the steps outlined in his presentation. DR. WAYNE DYER: WISHES FULFILLED is part of special programming premiering on PBS stations beginning March 3, 2012 (Check local listings at http://www.pbs.org/tvschedules/).

Using his trademark humor, Dr. Dyer introduces The Five Wishes Fulfilled Foundations, outlining a program for mastering the tools necessary for living a profoundly satisfying life. Viewers will learn how to use Imagination, Living from the End, Assuming the Feeling of the Wish Fulfilled, Attention, and the Last Five Minutes of Each Day to create new and astonishing thought patterns, while defeating unproductive and recurring habits.

As is his practice, Dr. Dyer introduces viewers to provocative and original thinkers, including New Thought philosophers and authors Neville Goddard and Uell S. Andersen. He also cites teachings from the Old and New Testaments, the “I Am” Discourses, and shares poetry from Emily Dickinson, William Blake and others.

Special guest Anita Moorjani shares the stage with Dr. Dyer for an emotional interview. Anita, the survivor of a Near Death Experience, shares her perceptions of that experience with Dr. Dyer. Continue Reading

Stay Loose

Whether you are waiting to return a serve on the tennis court or listening for your name to be called for a job interview, your instinct is to stay loose. Be ready, be flexible, be poised to respond when the time is right. Staying loose is part of living in the present moment. Your readiness to move is part of your wisdom and gives you the power you need to live your best life. In the 76th verse of the Tao Te Ching, Lao-tzu describes the flexibility that living things possess: “All things, including the grass and trees, are soft and pliable in life.” He contrasts that living pliability with the dry and brittle quality of death. Choosing to remain flexible is choosing life: “A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind.”

You may have been taught that strength is measured by how “hard” you are in your thinking or how inflexible you are in your opinions and that weakness is associated with those who bend. But when confronted with any stressful situation, keep in mind that being stiff won’t get you very far, whereas being flexible will carry you through.

Change the way you think about strength. Aren’t the physically and mentally strong those who can bend and adapt to life—especially as we age? The more you think in rigid ways, refraining from considering other points of view, the more you’re liable to break. As Lao-tzu reminds us, “The hard and stiff will be broken,” while “the soft and supple will prevail.” Our minds and our bodies need flexibility to thrive. When we see ourselves as flexible and supple, we are able to bend in harmony with our Divine source. By listening, yielding, and being gentle, we all become disciples of life.

Are You Aging or Sage-ing?

Recently I participated in an interview for a documentary on the subject of aging. “Is 60 really the new 40?”  It reminded me of a class I took in college where we explored the theory that what you believe about aging, your expectations, will determine what your experience of aging will be. Do we have to accept the notion that aging must involve deterioration of body and mind? I’ve always said that I will never let an old person into my body. That is, I don’t believe in “thinking” old.

Although I’ve transitioned through many bodies—a baby, toddler, child, teen, young adult, mid-life and older adult—my spirit is unchanged. I support my body with exercise, my mind with reading and writing, and my spirit with the knowing that I am part of the Divine source of all life. Don’t program yourself to break down as you age with thoughts that decline is inevitable.

On October 8th, one of my greatest role models will celebrate her 85th birthday. Continue Reading

Your Chosen Path

“Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.”

– Robert Frost

One of my favorite poets, Robert Frost, is the author of one of the world’s best-loved and most famous poems, “The Road Not Taken.” This poem about choosing an independent course applies in all areas of our lives. To me, Frost says be wary of following the pack, and don’t do anything simply because everyone else is doing it. Also, do what you do in the manner that you perceive it, regardless of how everyone is doing it, or has done it. The importance of choosing your own path is reflected in the poem’s conclusion—that taking the road “less traveled by” makes all the difference. Virtually all the people we revere took the road less traveled by, and that is why they were able to make a difference.

Frost himself was expected to be a farmer, lawyer, and then a teacher. He tried farming and left it. He entered law school to be the lawyer his grandfather wanted him to be, but departed almost immediately without notice. He left Harvard because of an illness, perhaps brought on by trying the road most traveled. But poetry was in his heart, and when he went down a road that few traveled with him, it made all the difference, and today we have his poetry because of that choice.

Frost’s poem invites you to forget peer pressure and instead know that if you truly want to make a difference in your life, you cannot do so by doing things the way everyone else does or because everyone else is. If you choose to lead your life just like everyone else, then what exactly is it that you have to offer? The road most traveled by is one that will allow you to fit in and feel accepted, but it will never allow you to make a difference. Continue Reading

Blessed Are the Cheerful!

In terms of outward appearances there is something noticeable about people who have reached a high level of spiritual awareness. They seem to be in a constant state of bliss. In my own life I know that my state of cheerfulness is a reliable gauge of my level of spiritual enlightenment at that moment.  The more cheerful, happy, contented, and satisfied I am feeling, the more aware I am of my deep connection to Spirit.

Ask yourself this key question, “How do I feel most of the time?” If your answer is that you feel anxious, anguished, hurt, depressed, frustrated, and so on, then you have a spiritual disconnect. This could mean you have allowed your personal energy field to become contaminated by the debilitating forces of low energy around you.

When you are spiritually connected, you are not looking for occasions to be offended and you are not judging and labeling others. You are in a state of grace in which you know you are connected to God and thus free from the effects of anyone or anything external to yourself. Continue Reading

One Indivisible Family

“No man is an island, entire of himself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main….”

John Donne, 1624

 

Are you familiar with these classic lines? Here seventeenth century metaphysical poet John Donne expresses the idea of oneness and unity consciousness. Ancient mystical wisdom tells us that in the garden of the mystics, distinctions such as I, you, he, she, and they do not exist. To reach a higher state of awareness and bliss in our lives, we must understand the truth of that first line, “no man is an island.” That can happen only when our ego gets the message.

Our ego insists that we are separate from others and defined by where our boundaries stop and others start. Similarly, our ego tells us that we are separate from our environment and that we are here to sort of push it around as we desire. Yet mystical teachers and poets are always reminding us of our connectedness and the oneness of everything and everyone. We must look beneath the surface and beyond appearances to grasp the unity consciousness they speak of.

Imagine a wave or a drop of water considering itself apart from the ocean. It is weak when separated, but returned to its source it is as powerful as the ocean. Thinking of ourselves as separate from others, we lose the power of our Source and diminish the whole of humanity. When you see yourself as connected to everyone, you stop judging others and begin to see all of us connected to the same unseen silent life force.

Compassion becomes an automatic reaction when you see all of humanity as one undivided and indivisible family. Viewing all others as family members lets you feel more compassion and love toward them. John Donne’s words remind us that we all need each other. Continue Reading

Resolve to Get Real

Forget about those New Year’s resolutions in which you decide on the first day of January how you will be conducting your life in September, some nine months later. Here’s why: any resolution that involves you making decisions about long-range upcoming behavior reinforces the self-defeating notion of living in the future rather than in the present moment. In fact, you can go about resolving until the cows come home, and you still have to live your life just like everyone else on this planet—ONE DAY AT A TIME. The important questions to be asking yourself are “How am I going to use my present moments this year?” and “Will I waste them in reviewing to myself how I used to behave, or how I would like to behave in the future, rather than resolving to live each day to the fullest?”

What you can do is set up day-to-day goals for yourself, and then resolve to begin living with present moment awareness for the rest of your life. For example, instead of deciding you are going to give up sugar for a year, resolve to go one day without eating sugar. Anyone can do virtually anything if it is for only one day. Continue Reading