WAYNE DYER 🔶 Ten Secrets For Success And Inner Peace

10 secrets for success and inner peace this is dr wayne dyer introduction there's never a day that goes by that i don't think about god more than thinking i experience the presence of god in most of my waking moments it's a feeling of contentment and satisfaction that's beyond anything that i might convey here in a book or a Program such as this i've come to know the peace of spirit in my life and because of this knowing all of my concerns problems accomplishments and accumulations diminish in importance in this program i will elaborate on 10

principles to success and inner peace which if mastered and practiced on a daily basis will also guide you to the same sense of tranquility i've often been asked to speak at high schools and colleges over The past three decades frequently my readers encouraged me to write to young adults embarking on the journey of adulthood and to provide them with my secrets if you will for being successful and happy 10 secrets in this program are what i talk or write about when i have the opportunity to speak to young people however they're valuable for anyone who's

decided to consciously be on their own life path Each of us makes that choice depending on our individual time clock for some it's early in young adulthood and for others it happens in the middle or mature years these secrets apply whether you're just beginning your life path or nearing the end of it or on the path in any way most programs of this sort as well as graduation speeches stress the importance of hard work dedication Financial planning relationship strategies choosing the right career listening to one's elders and being respectful of the rules setting realistic goals

living in a healthy lifestyle and being in a state of gratitude this is good advice and certainly benefits those who choose to listen to and apply this wisdom it's my experience however both as a Lifelong teacher and a father of eight children ranging in age from 11 up to 33 that this kind of advice by itself leads one to wondering is that all there is so i have no advice on goal setting and putting your nose to the grindstone and planning your financial future or listening to us older folks respecting your culture and so on

in fact i've almost always listened to my own impulses paying the price for Taking the road least traveled and resisting enculturation so it'd be somewhat hypocritical of me to now tell you to do what i say and follow my rules instead what i offer you are 10 secrets that allow your spirit to guide you in my experience working with a variety of people over several decades far too many individuals choose to be anonymous members of the pack therefore suffering from the inner remorse that makes them feel like failures filled with conflict And resentment and wondering

what the meaning of life really is so i produce this program in the hopes that it will help you to avoid those feelings of inadequacy and help you feel the peace of god that truly defines success read these secrets with an open heart apply the ones that resonate with you and discard those that don't when you feel peaceful and successful you want to extend and export that peace And love the violence hatred prejudice and judgments in our world suggest that we have miles to go to reach a world of inner and outer peace i send

all of you love and all green lights [Music] the first secret have a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing [Music] Here's a quote from ralph waldo emerson i wish to say what i think and feel today with the proviso that tomorrow perhaps i shall contradict it all and here's a quote from robert frost i always entertain great hopes having a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing sounds easy until you think about how much conditioning has taken place in your life and how many of your current thoughts were

influenced by geography The religious beliefs of your ancestors the color of your skin the shape of your eyes the political orientation of your parents your size your gender the schools that were selected for you and the vocation of your great grandparents to list only some possibilities you showed up here as a tiny infant capable of an infinite number of potentialities many of your choices remain unexplored Because of a hopefully well-intentioned conditioning program designed to make you fit the culture of your caretakers you probably had next to no opportunity to disagree with the cultural and societal

arrangements made for your life there may have been some adults who encourage you to have an open mind but if you're honest with yourself you know that your philosophy of life your religious beliefs your manner of dress and your language are a function of what Your tribe and its heritage determined was right for you if you made any fuss about going against this pre-ordained conditioning you probably heard even stronger voices insisting that you get back in line and do things the way we've always done them fitting in superseded having a mind that was open to

new ideas if your parents were jewish it's unlikely that you are raised to honor and respect the muslim religion and vice Versa if both your parents were republicans it's improbable that you heard the virtues of the democratic party ex told whatever the reasons our ancestors may have had for not having open minds it's true that they inhabited a much less populated world than we do in today's overpopulated world we simply cannot continue to live with those old styles of closed-mindedness i urge you to open your mind to all Possibilities to resist any efforts to be

pigeonholed and to refuse to allow pessimism into your consciousness having a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing seems to me to be one of the most basic principles that you can adopt to contribute to individual and world peace no one knows enough to be a pessimist find an opportunity to observe a tiny little green sprout emerging from a seed When you do allow yourself to feel the awe of what you're seeing a famous poet named rumi observed sell your cleverness and purchase bewilderment the scene of an emerging sprout represents the beginning

of life no one on this planet has even a tiny clue as to how all of this works what is that creative spark that causes the life to sprout What created the observer the consciousness the observation and perception itself the questions are endless a short while ago earthlings in the space program were moving a tiny vehicle on mars via remote control invisible signals took 10 minutes to travel through space and arrive to make right turns and instruct the scoop to pick up some martian real estate to examine We all marvel at such technological feats but

think about it for a moment in an endless universe mars our closest neighbor is the equivalent of moving a billionth of an inch across any page that you might be reading we move a little vehicle on a neighbor next door and we're so impressed with ourselves there are billions and billions of planets objects and stars in our galaxy alone And there are uncountable billions of galaxies out there we are a speck and an incomprehensibly vast universe that has no end to it think about this if we found the end would there be a wall at

the edge of the universe if so who built it even more perplexing what's on the other side of the wall and how thick is it how can anyone be a pessimist in a world where we know so little a heart starts beating inside a mother's Womb a few weeks after conception and it's a total mystery to everyone on our planet in comparison to what there is to know we're only embryos ourself keep this in mind whenever you encounter those who are absolutely certain that there's only one way to do something resist being a pessimist resist

with all your might because we hardly know anything at all in comparison to what there is to know Can you imagine what a pessimist who lived only 200 years ago would think about the world we live in airplanes electricity automobiles television remote controls the internet fax machines telephones cellular phones and so on all because of that spark of open-mindedness that allowed progress growth and creativity to flourish and what of the future and all of your tomorrows can you picture faxing yourself back to The 14th century flying without machines telepathically communicating de-molecularizing yourself and rearranging yourself

on another galaxy or cloning a sheep from a photograph of a sheep an open mind allows you to explore and create and grow a closed mind seals off any sets creative explanation remember that progress would be Impossible if we always did things the way we always have the ability to participate in miracles true miracles in your life happens when you open your mind to your limitless potential the miracle mindset refuse to allow yourself to have low expectations about what you're capable of creating as michelangelo suggested the greater Danger is not that your hopes are too

high and you fail to reach them is that they're too low and you do have within you an imaginary candle flame that burns brightly regardless of what goes before you let this inner flame represent for you the idea that you're capable of manifesting miracles in your life in every single case of a person experiencing a spontaneous healing or overcoming something that was considered To be impossible the individual went through a complete reversal of personality they actually rewrote their own agreement with reality to experience god-like spontaneous miracles you must have a sense of yourself as god-like

the scriptures say with god all things are possible now tell me what does that leave out a mind that's open to everything means Being peaceful radiating love practicing forgiveness being generous respecting all life and most important visualizing yourself as capable of doing anything that you can conceive of in your mind and in your heart whatever universal law that has ever been utilized to manifest a miracle anywhere anytime and in any person it's still on the books it's never been repealed and it never will be you possess the same energy the same god Consciousness to be

a miracle worker but only if you truly believe and know it within yourself understand that what you think about expands as a man thinketh so is he if your thoughts are filled with doubt and you have a closed mind you will of necessity act upon those close-minded doubts and you'll see evidence of your thinking virtually everywhere you are on the other hand should you decide and Make no mistake about this it is a choice to have a mind that's open to everything then you'll act upon that inner energy and you'll be the creator as well

as the recipient of miracles wherever you are you'll experience what walt whitman meant when he wrote to me every cubic inch of space is a miracle what being open to everything means everything means just what it says no Exceptions when someone suggests something to you that conflicts with your conditioning rather than responding with that's ridiculous we all know that's impossible say instead i've never considered that before i'll think about it open yourself up to the spiritual ideas of all people and listen with an open mind to crazy schemes and ideas that at first seem to

be outrageous If someone suggests that crystals can cure hemorrhoids that natural herbs can lower cholesterol that people will eventually be able to breathe underwater or the levitation is possible listen and be curious let go of your attachments to what you've been trained to believe open your mind to all possibilities because whether you believe something is possible or impossible either way you'll be right How can that be true your agreement with reality and all that's possible determines what you'll become if you're convinced that you can't become wealthy and famous or artistic or a professional athlete a

great singer or whatever you will act upon that inner conviction that prevents you from manifesting what you really like all that you'll get from your effort is Being right when you need to be right you're attached to your conditioned reflex of the way things are and always have been and you assume they always will be releasing your attachments the first secret has two components one a mind that is open to everything and two a mind that is attached to nothing your attachments are the source of all your problems the need to be right to possess

someone or something to win at All costs to be viewed by others as superior these are all attachments the open mind resists these attachments and consequently experiences inner peace and success to release attachments you have to make a shift in how you view yourself if your primary identification is with your body and your possessions your ego is the dominant force in your life if you can tame your ego sufficiently you'll call upon your spirit to be the Guiding force in your life as a spiritual being you can observe your body and be a compassionate witness

to your existence your spiritual aspect sees the folly of attachments because your spiritual self is an infinite soul nothing can make you happy or successful these are inner constructs that you bring to your world rather than what you receive from it if you think peaceful thoughts you'll feel peaceful emotions and that's what You'll bring to every life situation if you're attached to being right or absolutely need something in order to be at peace or to be successful you'll live a life of striving yet never arriving it's possible to have a burning desire yet not have

attachments you can have an inner vision of what you intend to manifest and still detach yourself from the outcome how consider this observation in a course in Miracles infinite patience produces immediate results it sounds like a paradox doesn't it infinite patience implies an absolute certainty that what you'd like to manifest will indeed show up in a perfect order and exactly on time the immediate result you receive from this inner knowing is a sense of peace when you detach from the outcome you're at peace and you'll ultimately see the Fruits of your convictions suppose you had

a choice between two magic wands with wand a you can have any physical thing you desire by simply waving it with one be you can have a sense of peace for the rest of your life regardless of what circumstances arise which one would you pick a guarantee of stuff or inner peace for the remainder of your life if you opt for peace then you already Have one be simply have a mind as open to everything but attached to nothing let it all come and go as it will enjoy it all but never make your happiness

or success depended on an attachment to anything any place and particularly any person in all of your relationships if you can love someone enough to allow them to be exactly what they choose to be without any expectations or attachments from you you'll know true peace in your lifetime True love means you love a person for what they are not for what you think they should be this is an open mind and an absence of attachment [Music] the second secret don't die with your music still in you [Music] and here's a quote from euripides there is

just one life for each of us our own And abraham maslow once said a musician must make music an artist must paint a poet must write if he be at peace with himself what a man can be he must be don't die with your music still in you the world you live in is an intelligent system in which every moving part is coordinated by every other moving part there's a universal life force that supports and orchestrates everything it all works together in perfect harmony You are one of those moving parts you showed up here in

this body that you inhabit precisely on time your body will leave here with the same precision you're an essential piece of this complex system here you are in this intelligent system that has no beginnings and no ends in which all of the galaxies move in harmony with each other you must have shown up here for a reason Khalil gibran said when you are born your work is placed in your heart so what is your work your purpose are you living it out the way your heart urges you to listening to your heart take a moment

right now and point to yourself your finger is very likely pointing right at your heart not at your brain but it's your heart this is who you are the constant beating of your heart in And out out and in is a symbol of your infinite connection to the always present heartbeat of god or the universal intelligence your left brain calculates figures things out analyzes and comes up with the most logical choices for you it thinks thinks thinks your right brain represents your intuitive side this is the part of you that goes beyond reason and analysis

it's the part of you that feels things That's sensitive to love that's emotional about what's important to you your right brain allows you to tear up as you hold your babies or bask in the beauty of a glorious day your left brain can analyze it while your right brain lets you feel it pick a situation and ask yourself if what you know or what you feel is most important to you generally what you'll take care of first depends on the situation and Circumstances you're in your intellect can be figuring out exactly how you're supposed to

act in a relationship when things are collapsing or when they're rapturous and then there are times when what you feel will supersede what you know if you are feeling fearful scared lonely or on the other hand thrilled loving and ecstatic these will be the dominant forces you'll act upon these are the times when your Right brain is right your right brain will always lead you passionately to your purpose listening to your right brain there's an intuitive invisible presence that's always with you i picture this presence as a nagging little creature who sits on your right

shoulder and reminds you when you've lost your sense of purpose this little fellow is your own death urging you to get on with what you showed up here for Because you have only so many days to get it done and then your body will be departing for this visit your invisible companion will prod you when you're spending another day doing what somebody else has dictated if it's not a part of your own passion in life you'll most likely always know when you're off purpose because of your thoughts of frustration you might not always act on

this knowledge though because your left brain has not mustered Up the courage to do the bidding that your right brain knows is your destiny your inner intuitive voice keeps urging you to play the music that you hear so that you won't die with it inside of you but your left brain says wait a minute be careful don't take risks you might fail you might disappoint all of those who have a different view of what you should be doing then your right brain invisible Companion your death speaks even louder the volume gets turned up and up

and trying to get you to follow your dream listening exclusively to your left brain will turn you ultimately into a pretender or even worse a commuter getting up every morning going with the crowd doing that job that brings in the money and pays the bills and getting up the next morning and doing it all over again as a well-known song implies meanwhile the music inside of you fades Almost to a point of being inaudible but your constant invisible companion always hears the music and continues tapping you on your shoulder the attempts to get your attention

may take the form of an ulcer or a fire to burn up your resistance or being fired from a stifling job or being brought into your knees with an accident usually these accidents illnesses and forms of bad luck finally get your attention but not always Some people end up like tolstoy's character ivan ilitch who anguished on his deathbed what if my whole life has been wrong a fearsome scene i must say you don't have to choose that fate listen to your invisible companion express the music that you hear and ignore what everyone else around you

thinks you should be doing as thoreau put it if a man does not keep pace with his companions Perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer let him step to the music he hears however measured or far away be willing to accept that others may even see you as having betrayed them but you haven't betrayed your music your purpose listen to your music and do what you know you have to do to feel whole to feel complete and to feel as if you're fulfilling your destiny You'll never be at peace if you don't get

that music out and let it play let the world know why you're here and do it with passion being passionate means taking risks you may indeed find yourself living a comfortable life when you don't follow your instincts you pay your bills fill out all of the right forms and live a life of fitting in and doing it by the book but it's a book that was written by Somebody else you're aware of that nagging companion saying to you this may look right but does it feel right are you doing what you came here to do

for many people the answer is how do i know what my heroic mission is you'll find your passion in what inspires you the most and what does the word inspire mean it derives from the words in spirit when you're inspired you never have to Ask about your purpose you're living it for one of my children it's about riding horses and being at the stables she's in heaven when on horseback or even cleaning out a stall filled with horse manure another daughter is only inspired when she's singing writing music or performing she's felt that way since

she was two for another it's her artwork and design that makes her feel purposeful forget another is designing websites and Creating computer programs for others for me it's writing and speaking and creating products to help people become self-reliant this has always been my passion even as a young boy so what is your passion what stirs your soul and makes you feel like you're totally in harmony with why you showed up here in the first place know this for certain whatever it may be you can make a living doing it and Simultaneously provide a service for

others i guarantee it the only thing that will keep you from playing the music you hear and marching to the unique drum beat you experience within is fear according to a course in miracles there are only two basic emotions one is fear the other is love you may fear the disapproval of others take that risk and you'll discover that You receive more approval when you don't seek it than when you do you may fear the unknown take that risk as well wander in there asking yourself what's the worst thing that can happen if this doesn't

work out the truth is that you will just move beyond it you're not going to starve to death or to be tortured if something doesn't work out you might fear being successful you may Have been conditioned to believe you're inadequate or limited the only way to challenge these absurdities is to go toward what you know you're here for and let success chase after you as it most assuredly will or you may fear the biggest one of all you may fear failure the myth of failure this may come as a surprise to you but failure is

an illusion no one ever fails at anything Everything you do produces a result if you're trying to learn how to catch a football and someone throws it to you and you drop it you haven't failed you simply produced a result the real question is what do you do with the results that you produce do you leave and moan about being a football failure or do you say throw it again until ultimately you're catching footballs failure is a judgment it's just an opinion it comes from your fears Which can be eliminated by love love for yourself

love for what you do love for others love for your planet when you have love within you fear cannot survive think of the message in this ancient wisdom fear knocked at the door love answered and no one was there that music that you hear inside of you urging you to take risks and follow your dreams is your intuitive connection to That purpose in your heart since birth be enthusiastic about all that you do have that passion with the awareness that the word enthusiasm literally means the god and theos within the azim the god within the

passion that you feel is god inside of you beckoning you to take the risk and be your own person i've found that perceived risks are not risky at all once you transcend your fears and let love and self-respect in When you produce a result that others laugh at you're also stirred to laughter when you respect yourself stumbling allows you to laugh at yourself as an occasional stumbler when you love and respect yourself someone's disapproval is not something you fear and avoid the poet rudyard kipling declared if you can meet triumph and disaster and treat those

two imposters just the same yours is the earth and everything that's in it the key word here is imposters They're not real they exist only in the minds of people follow your right brain listening to how you feel and play your own unique brand of music you won't have to fear anything or anyone and you'll never experience that terror of lying on your deathbed someday saying what if my whole life has been wrong your invisible companion on your right shoulder will pride you each and every Time you're moving away from your purpose it makes you

aware of your music so listen and don't die with that music still in you [Music] the third secret you can't give away what you don't have [Music] here's one of my favorite quotes from George bernard shaw no man who was occupied in doing a very difficult thing and doing it very well ever loses his self-respect and also from gerta johann wolfgang derta as soon as you trust yourself you will know how to live you can't give away what you don't have of course you can't give away what you don't have that seems so obvious that

You may be wondering why i would make it one of my 10 secrets for success and inner peace it's because i found that most people who don't enjoy inner peace and success in their lives have failed to master this simple truth think of the people you know who give love in response to negative energy that's directed their way there aren't very many people who respond lovingly in that situation The ones who do are able to do so because they have love to give away they know that it's impossible to give away what they don't have

and they've gone that extra mile to acquire what it is that they want to both attract and give away if love and joy are what you want to give and receive then remember that you can't give away what you don't have but you can change your life by changing what's inside If you're willing to go that extra mile changing what's inside consider the following concept of your inner reality your thoughts create your reality because your thoughts determine how you respond to situations in your daily life those responses are the energy you have inside of you

to give away if you feel anger it's because you have anger energy in your body like everything in our universe your thoughts Are a form of energy everything that you feel and experience is the result of what i call attractor energies this means that you get back what you put out into the world thus what you've attracted to you is what you have to give away to others low energy attracts low energy some of the low energy thoughts are anger hate shame guilt fear not only do they weaken you but they attract more of the

same By changing your inner thoughts to the higher frequencies of love harmony kindness peace and joy you'll attract more of the same and you'll have those higher energies to give away these higher and faster frequencies that empower you will automatically nullify and dissipate the lower energies in the same way that the presence of light makes darkness disappear loving and respecting yourself by becoming more loving toward yourself You will attract more of the higher faster energies and begin to change what's inside you in your thoughts cultivate an inner voice an attitude that's one hundred percent of

the time for you imagine an aspect of yourself that's only supports and loves you you might schedule a certain time of the day when that's the only thought that you allow yourself to pay attention to gradually this attitude will extend to other People even if you can only do it for a minute or two you'll begin to receive this energy back and ultimately be able to send thoughts of love and joy to everyone and everything in your world notice when your thoughts drift into the lower energy of ridicule or hate or guilt and change the

thought at the very moment if it's all possible if you're unable to change the thought then at least love yourself for what you did do That is for noticing make a pact to remind yourself often of the secret of not being able to give away anything that you don't have then work on your personal program of self love self respect and self-empowerment and create a huge inventory of what you wish to give away one of the lessons i continue to learn and practice is that the universe responds with the same energy that we send out

If you attract a lot of people who wish to take advantage of you you need to consider what you're doing to attract victimizers into your life if you run into anger a lot explore the angry thoughts you have inside of you if your consciousness is a gimme gimme gimme energy you'll attract all manner of demanding energies into your life you know if this is true by the number of deadlines not being met or demanding bosses or customers you encounter and The feeling of being a victim send out gimme gimme gimme energy to the universe and

it will do the very same to you in return if what you give is self-respect and self-love the universe via the attractor energy will return the love and respect you've been radiating it's really so simple you can't give away what you don't have the irony of giving if you wanted to give a dozen oranges to Your neighbor as an expression of love you obviously would need to be in possession of twelve oranges if you intended to purchase a new automobile for your parents to show your gratitude to them for putting you through medical school naturally

you'd need to have the funds to do so likewise you can't give love away to others if you don't have any for yourself you can't show respect for others if you lack self-respect you can't give happiness away if you feel Unhappy and of course the reverse is true you can only give away what you do have and all that you're giving away each and every day are items from your own personal inventory if you give away hatred it's because you've stored up hatred inside of you to give it away if you give away misery it's

because you have a ready supply available from which to select and to distribute This concept is simplified by a description of squeezing an orange when you squeeze an orange you'll always get orange juice to come out this is true regardless of who does the squeezing what time of day you squeeze what instrument you use to squeeze or what circumstances surround the orange squeezing what comes out is what's inside the same logic applies to you when someone squeezes you in some Way that is puts pressure on you or says something unflattering or critical and out of

you comes anger and hatred and bitterness and tension depression or anxiety it's because that's what's inside the irony is that you can't give away what you don't have because you're always giving away what you do have if you want to move into the realm of purpose by giving and serving others ask yourself what do i have inside and why have i Chosen to store these kinds of energies in me to give away to others finding your purpose you most likely yearn to know what your purpose is how can i find my purpose is the question

i'm asking most often the questioner often elaborates on his or her dilemma by saying i would be happier if i could be on purpose but i i just don't know what my purpose is in life my response is that you come into this World with absolutely nothing you will leave this physical world with exactly the same all of your acquisitions and achievements can't go with you therefore the only thing you can do with your life is give it away you'll find yourself feeling purposeful if you can find a way to always be in the service

of others purpose is about serving it's about taking the focus off of you and your self-interests and serving others in Some way you build because you love to build but you build to make others happy you design because your heart directs you to but those designs are in the service of others you write because you love to express yourself in words but those words will help and inspire readers if you don't yet know what your purpose is you'll continue to seek it throughout the various stages of your life There are many different models that describe

the stages of life here i'm using the four archetypal stages of athlete warrior statesman and spirit to briefly show what your purpose is in each stage in the athlete archetype the focus is exclusively on the physical body and how it looks and performs the warrior archetype wants to compete defeat and collect the rewards the statesman archetype emphasizes fulfilling the Desires of others by asking how may i serve at the final stage and the highest that we know is the archetype of spirit at this stage you realize what is meant by being in this world but

not of this world the spirit part of you knows that neither the body nor this world is its exclusive domicile this spirit archetype invites you to minimize your material world concerns And to put more of your energy into the essence of life which is love and service as you progress through these four archetypes you'll find yourself thinking less and less of your own self-interest and more and more about how you can make the world a better place for all in this way you discover a great truth the more you chase after your own goals and

pursue your self-interest the more these aims will elude you but when you Turn your thoughts and then your activities regardless of what they are to serving others those things that you used to chase after will begin to follow you wherever you go when you get yourself out of the picture completely the forces of the universe will seem to conspire to provide all that you previously sought for yourself and then because you're not attached to them any longer they'll flow in and out Of your life freely in essence i'm urging you to stop taking your life

so personally you can end any and all suffering by reminding yourself that nothing in the universe is personal of course you've been taught to take life very personally but this is an illusion tame your ego and absolutely free yourself from ever taking anything personally keep these thoughts in mind particularly when you feel lost or unsure of your Purpose my purpose is about giving i'll direct my thoughts off of me and spend the next few hours looking for a way to be of service to anyone or any creature on our endangered planet this will bring you

back to a realization that it doesn't matter what you do as long as you're able to give in order to fully give and be of service and ultimately feel purposeful you must be able to say yes You ask yourself do i really possess what it is that i wish to give away [Music] the fourth secret embrace silence [Music] here's a quote from john stuart mill solitude in the sense of being often alone is essential to any depth of meditation or character and solitude in the presence of natural Beauty and grandeur is the cradle of thought

and aspirations which are not only good for the individual but which society could ill do without and the man who founded alcoholics anonymous bill w said perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the sense of belonging that comes to us embrace silence you live in a noisy world Constantly bombarded with loud music sirens construction equipment jet airplanes rumbling trucks leaf blowers lawn mowers and tree cutters these human-made unnatural sounds invade your senses and keep silence at bay in fact you've been raised in a culture that not only issues silence but is

terrified of it the car radio must always be on and any pause and conversation is a moment of embarrassment that most people quickly Fill with chatter for many being alone is a nightmare and being alone in silence is pure torture the famous scientist blaise pascal once observed all man's miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone the value of silence there's a momentary silence in the space between your thoughts that you can become aware of With practice in this silent space you'll find the peace that you crave in your daily

life you'll never know that peace if you have no spaces between your thoughts the average person is said to have sixty thousand separate thoughts every day with so many thoughts there are almost no gaps if you could reduce that number by half you would open up an entire world of possibilities for yourself For it is when you merge into the silence and become one with it that you reconnect to your source and know the peacefulness that some call god be still and know that i am god says it so beautifully in the psalms of the

old testament the key words are still and no be still actually means silence mother teresa described silence and its Relationship to god by saying god is the friend of silence see how nature trees grass grow in silence see the stars the moon and the sun how they move in silence we need silence to be able to touch souls this includes your soul it's really the space between the notes that makes the music you enjoy so much without the spaces all you would have is one continuous noisy note Everything that's created comes out of silence your

thoughts emerge from the nothingness of silence your words come out of this void your very essence emerged from emptiness those who will supersede us are waiting in the vast void all creativity requires some stillness your sense of inner peace depends on spending some of your life energy in silence to recharge your battery and remove tension and anxiety and Reacquaint you with the joy of knowing god and feel closer to all of humanity silence reduces fatigue and allows you to experience your own creative juice the second word in the old testament observation is no no k-n-o-w

refers to making your personal and conscious contact with god to know god is to banish doubt and become independent of others definitions and descriptions of god instead you have Your own personal knowing and as melville reminded us so poignantly god's one and only voice is silence accessing more silence in your life i urge you to demand more and more time for silence in your life one of the most effective ways to bring this about is to make meditation a daily practice and remember there's no such thing as a bad meditation give yourself time to sit

quietly alone at first your thoughts Will take off trying to convince you that this is a waste of time that you should be out there being productive and that you've got so many other things to do hundreds of other unrelated thoughts will pop up in and out of your mind but you can weather this thunderstorm of mental protestations by sitting quietly and becoming the observer to all of this inner chatter eventually you'll be able to move to the gaps between your Thoughts and notice how peaceful you felt in that silent gap when you emerge from

it try it right now use the lord's prayer concentrate on the word our and then father try to go into the gap between the two words our and father and do it again with who and art and in in heaven just slip momentarily into the gap and notice how peaceful and exquisite you feel in that gap i teach a meditation which i describe in detail and guide you through with my Voice in a cd cassette called meditations for manifesting this meditation uses the sound of ah as a mantra to keep your thoughts from wandering during

the morning meditation this mantra sound is in virtually all names of the divine listen for it for example in god yahweh allah krishna jehovah by repeating this mantra sound you make Conscious contact with god the evening meditation uses the sound of om the sound of gratitude for all that has manifested in your life repeating the sound of ah in the morning and om in the evening for approximately 20 minutes creates an opportunity for you to experience inner peace and success in a way you may never have known before i talk about this even more completely

In a book called getting in the gap making conscious contact with god through meditation and it's available through hay house there are many opportunities to access silence i try to meditate each time i stop at a red light with the car stopped and my body inactive frequently the only thing still moving are the thoughts in my mind i use those two minutes or so at the stoplight to bring my mind into harmony With my inner car and body i get a wonderful bonus of silence i probably stop at a red light 20 or 30 times

in a day creating 40 minutes to an hour of silence and there's always someone behind me to let me know when my time is up by breaking the silence with a honking horn meditation not only affects you it impacts everyone around you when you're at peace you radiate a different kind of energy Than when you're stressed or depressed the more peaceful you become the easier you can deflect the negative energies of those you encounter this is like having an invisible shield around you that nothing can penetrate unless it's at a higher spiritual energy than your

shield a hostile current is greeted with a smile and an inner knowing that this is not your stuff a person who attempts to bring you into their misery cannot succeed without your Agreement your meditation practice keeps you immune not only can you deflect the negativity of those around you but your sense of peace will bring others into harmony with you studies have been done to measure the serotonin levels of those in the vicinity of a large group of meditators now serotonin is a neurotransmitter in your brain that indicates how peaceful and harmonious you feel amazingly

just Being in the energy field of those who meditate raises the serotonin levels of the observers these implications are startling the more you achieve peacefulness through meditation the more your peaceful state impacts those around you i find that my meditating not only calms me but it has a soothing effect on my family and those around me but the primary benefit is that after a meditation i find it almost impossible To be annoyed or negatively impacted by anything meditation seems to bring me into contact with a source of soothing energy that makes me feel deeply connected

to god making conscious contact with god most organized religions have taken on the task of explaining god to their congregations including all of the rules that god supposedly has laid out for humankind You cannot come to know god through the experience or testimony of others this must be done by you i urge you to meditate because it will bring you more peace remove stress improve your surroundings and deflect negativity all of this and more will definitely show up when you meditate regularly i include the embracing of silence as one of my top 10 secrets for

inner peace and success Primarily because it's the only vehicle i know of for making conscious contact with god god is that which is indivisible there's only one omnipresent presence called god this presence is everywhere and is a force that creates and sustains life it can never be divided or cut up into pieces it's only one power in the universe not two everything in your experience as a human being appears to be in duality however Up exists because of its opposite down light exists because of dark right exists because of wrong you've never seen a person

with a front who doesn't have a back and outside without an inside a north pole or a magnet without a south pole our physical world is a world of dichotomies and combinations of opposites always divisible silence however is the one experience you can have That's indivisible you cut silence in half and all you get is more silence there's only one silence therefore silence is your one way to experience the oneness and the indivisibility of god this is why you want to meditate this is how you know god rather than having to settle for knowing about

god you will find your answers in the silence remember it's out of the void the emptiness that everything is created When you write a musical note the silence from which it comes is just as much a part of the note as is the sound so it is with healing anything or any relationship going into the quiet and listening will inspire you i can't imagine speaking or writing without first going to god in silence i seek alone time and space to allow my inspiration to emerge the wilderness is therapy Anytime in your life when you're feeling

out of sorts in any way go to nature and find your peace sending troubled teens to the wilderness to care for animals and commune with nature almost always brings them peace and serenity drug addictions disappear when young people are confronted with climbing a mountain or canoeing across the lake people who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses often find that Months in a cabin in the isolated wilderness meditating and communing with god is the exact therapy they need and sometimes the source of miraculous spontaneous remissions if you ever suffer from insomnia walk barefoot on the grass

for 10 minutes before going to bed nature has a marvelous way of healing many maladies try spending a day in an isolated spot listening only to the sounds of nature the birds the insects The rustling of leaves the wind these are the sounds of healing that can offset the painful sounds of 18 wheelers cement mixers boom boxes and the like give yourself opportunities to be in the wilderness as a regular part of your life routine take a day each month or week or two to be alone and commune with god this is the ultimate therapy

and it's much less expensive than paying someone to listen Keep your silent communion with god to yourself everything that you wish to manifest emerges from spirit from the silence you don't use your ego to manifest in fact ego can inhibit the creative process for this reason i urge you not to divulge your private insights what you intend to create as saint paul said that which is seen hath not come from that which doth appear When you talk about your emerging manifesting ideas and relate your insights to others you often feel the need to explain and

defend them what happens is the ego has entered and once the ego is present the manifesting stops silence is where manifesting occurs so keep your potential miracles in the treasured silence that you embrace as often as possible you can rely upon it and enjoy basking in the serenity and inner peace that Silence and meditation always bring [Music] the fifth secret give up your personal history [Music] here's a great quote from william butler yates florence farr once said to me if we could say to ourselves with sincerity the passing moment is as good as any i

shall ever know we could die upon this instant and be United with god and agnes once said here lies my past goodbye i have kissed it thank you kids i wouldn't have missed it give up your personal history when a speedboat zooms across the surface of the water there's a white foamy froth behind it that's called the wake of the boat the wake is nothing more than the trail that's left behind The answer to what's driving the boat is that the boat moves because of present moment energy generated by the engine this is what makes

the boat move forward across the water do you think it's possible for the wake to drive the boat can the trail that's left behind make a boat go forward these are rhetorical questions with obvious answers i'm sure you agree that the wake is only the trail left behind and that is not What drives the boat forward i'm suggesting that you apply this idea to your life the wake of your life is nothing more than a trail that's left behind thought of in this way it's absolutely impossible for that wake to drive you forward the wake

is not in any logical way responsible for what you're experiencing or failing to experience today the wake is just what it is and nothing more a trail that you've left Behind but have you being a victim of your personal history for well over a quarter century now i've worked with people to help them access high levels of awareness it's my experience that most people live their lives in the wake by hanging on to personal histories to justify their self-defeating behaviors and the scarcity in their lives they hang on to past pains abuses and shortcomings as

Calling cards to announce a poor me status to everyone they meet within minutes of their introduction i was abandoned as a child i'm an alcoholic i'm an incest survivor my parents were divorced and i've never gotten over it the list could go on for hours and hours your past is over by bonding to your past you not only ensure that you'll be immobilized today but you prevent yourself from healing by Referring to past struggles and using them as the reasons for not getting on with your life today you're doing the equivalent of attributing to the

wake the ability to drive the boat this also works in reverse many people refer to the good old days that are gone forever as the reason why they can't be happy and fulfilled today everything has changed no one respects anybody else like they used to a dollar used to be worth a dollar now everything is so Overpriced people don't seem to want to help out like they didn't win the past when we were kids we respected authority today's kids walk all over their parents this is also living in the wake and assigning responsibility to the

past for why you can't be successful or happy today getting out of the wake imagine a pencil with the ability to only write your past history it has no use otherwise all of your past is in that pencil Are you going to keep it what for are you going to give it up perhaps omar kaim will inspire you with this poem written a thousand years ago the moving finger writes and having writ moves on nor all thy piety nor wit can lure it back to cancel half a line nor all thy tears wash out one

word of it you can cry all night about the history in that pencil all that it contains and all you wish you could erase or bring it Back again but all of your tears can't wash out one word of the past as the poet philosopher reminds you you want to let go of your personal history that's symbolized by that pencil but when you walk away from it no matter how far you walk you look back and there it is you're ready to be rid of your personal history and to move fully into the present moment

but the pencil is always there when you look back I suggest that you pick up the pencil and with compassion allow the words wombs and pains of the past to be written embraced examined understood accepted and loved for all that you've learned and experienced the act of picking it up and embracing it will give you the strength to transform the past into song poem paint or ritual if you feel called to do those things or to throw it away in your unique way embracing your personal history in a Universe that's an intelligent system with a

divine creative force supporting it there simply can be no accidents as tough as it is to acknowledge you had to go through what you went through in order to get to where you are today and the evidence is that you did every spiritual advance that you will make in your life will very likely be preceded by some kind of a fall or seeming disaster those dark times accidents tough Episodes periods of impoverishment illnesses abuses and broken dreams were all in order they happened so you can assume they had to and you can't unhappen them embrace

them from that perspective with help if you need it and then understand them accept them honor them and finally retire and or transform them in your own way i know someone who gives them a new job description become free to immerse yourself in this Moment the now that's called the present because it's simply that a present to open relish nurture play with and enjoy and explore all you get is now the willingness and ability to live fully in the now eludes many people while eating your appetizer don't be concerned with the dessert when reading a

book notice where your thoughts are while on vacation be there instead of thinking about what should Have been done and what has to be done when returning home don't let the elusive present moment get used up by thoughts that aren't in the here and now there's an irony to this habit of having your mind drift to other times in other places you can only drift off in the now because now is all you ever get so drifting off is a way of using up your present moments you do indeed have a past but not now

And yes you have a future but not now and you can consume your now with thoughts of them and maybe but that will keep you from the inner peace and success you could be experiencing it's helpful that the other creatures waste the present in thoughts of past and future a beaver only does beaver and he does it right in the moment he doesn't spend his days wishing he were a young beaver again or ruminating over the fact that his beaver Siblings received more attention or his father beaver ran off with a younger beaver when he

was growing up he's always in the now we can learn much from god's creatures about enjoying the present moment rather than using it up consumed with guilt over the past or worry about the future practice living in the moment and refuse to allow any thoughts based on your past to define you stop and take notice of all that's in Your immediate space the people creatures vegetation cloud formations building designs everything stay in the present by meditating and getting closer to the ultimate now which is god god is only here and now think about this god

will not be doing anything different one hour from now than god is doing right now and god is not doing anything different now from what god was doing a thousand years ago The truth is that you can only come to know god if you're willing to be at peace in the present moment in the fourth secret i discussed how meditation is a way of making conscious contact with god here i would like to let you in on a sublime secret that i learned from one of my most influential teachers you will only come to truly

know god when you give up the past and the future In your mind and merge totally into the now because god is always here now very few people understand and live this principle largely because of their conditioning and unwillingness to train their minds in present moment living that's one of the reasons why i sometimes say that it's never crowded along the extra mile on the extra mile choosing inner peace and attracting success into your life while living in the present moment becomes a way of Being you can begin by releasing your personal history from your

repertoire of available excuses for why you're not living in peace no longer relying on your personal history make an effort to remove all labels that you've placed on yourself labels serve to negate you you must ultimately live up to the label rather than being the limitless spirit that use your true essence you're not an American an italian or an african you're a member of one race the human race you're not a male or a female a democrat or a republican you're one with the true oneness god you are not athletic or magical mathematical or literary

or any other label transcending labels particularly those that have been placed on you by others in your past opens you to the opportunity of soaring in the now in any way that you desire you can be all Things at any present moment in your life i recommend that you find a way to transform your personal history and remind yourself as you do that you're transforming any and all beliefs that you've used as labels or indicators of your limitations replace all that with a knowing that you're not what you've done what you've been how others have

taught you or what has been done to you you're part of the Beloved connected always to your source and therefore connected to the unlimited power of the beloved your past history and all of your hurts are no longer here in your physical reality don't allow them to be here in your mind muddying up your present moments your life is like a play with several acts some of the characters who enter have short roles to play others have much larger roles some are villains and others are good guys but all of them Are necessary otherwise they

wouldn't be into play embrace them all and move on to the next act the sixth secret you can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it and here's a great quote from carlos castaneda any path is only a path and there's no affront to oneself or to others in dropping it if that's what your heart tells you to do and from cicero any man can make Mistakes but only an idiot persists in his error you can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it any problem can be resolved with a spiritual

solution one of the most intriguing passages in a course in miracles suggests that you don't have a problem you only think you do the opening lines of the torah as well in genesis in the bible state god Created heaven and earth and later and all that god created was good if you interpret these words literally it's quite clear that problems are impossible if god created everything and all that god created was good then bad doesn't exist but you say disease disharmony despair and so on appear to exist and run rampant in our world when we

feel separated from our sacred center it's easy to believe so strongly In the separation that we explain any unpleasantness as a problem in the world of spirit or god problems simply don't exist and aren't real when your spiritual connection is weak you move away from the world of spirit and problems come from your belief in separation your mind creates the illusion of separateness and your body influenced by your ego thoughts takes on disease our societies are the creation of our Collective thoughts they take on the same separation sickness and then we have what we call

social problems all of the so-called problems however represent a spiritual deficit that can be remedied with spiritual solutions think of it this way if you change your mind you'll solve the problem i've written an entire book on this subject called there's a spiritual solution to every problem How to go about changing your mind can you accept the idea that it's your belief in your separation from god that creates the attitude that you label a problem can you explore this idea that what you're calling problems are all simply illusions or mistakes of your intellect if god

is everywhere there's no place that god is not therefore you have god with you at all times you may believe otherwise that is this belief system That creates your so-called problems if you can bring truth to the presence of these illusions they will dissolve just as you know that 3 plus 3 equals 6 is true and that 3 plus 3 equals 10 is untrue by bringing truth to the presence of this arithmetic error it simply dissolves so too will all of your beliefs that create problems in your mind dissolve when you bring the higher energy

of truth to them saint francis of assisi in His famous prayer beseeches us to change our mind to this thought where there is hatred let me sow love light always dissolves darkness love always nullifies hate spirit always cancels problems problems exist as beliefs of your ego mind which is unable to conceptualize an awareness of your spiritual mind just as dark has no concept of light by actually rewriting your agreement with reality you can change your mind And send away any perceived problem change your attitude for yourself and resolve to believe in your connectedness to the

higher energy of god even in the direst of circumstances turn anything that seems problematic over to your higher self trusting that the problem is not what it seems to be rewrite your agreement about who you are and what you're capable of achieving your new agreement with reality your thoughts are the source of Virtually everything in your life every relationship that you're in is something that you carry around with you if your relationship is lousy it's because you think of it that way the person you're in a relationship with isn't with you in this moment or

when you're at work or when you're in the bathroom but your thoughts about that person are always with you the only way you can experience another person is in your thoughts you can't get behind their eyeballs and be Them you can only process them with your thoughts if you look for what's wrong about them and store that negative image in your mind then that's where your relationship exists if you change your thoughts to what you love rather than do what you label as wrong you've just changed your entire relationship it went from lousy to great

by your changing your mind try to always remember that you carry every relationship around with you in Your head robert frost reminds us you love the things you love for what they are when you forget this and process other people on the basis of what you think they should be or what they used to be or how they compared to what you are then you've sent love away and in your mind the relationship is soured you experience everything and everyone in your thoughts change your thoughts and you change what you carry around in your head

as problems The world is just the way it is the economy is just as it should be the people who are behaving badly in the world are doing what they're supposed to be doing you can process it in any way that you choose if you're filled with anger about all those problems you are one more person who contributes to the pollution of anger your desire to do something about the lowest energies will motivate you to be more loving more feeling and more peaceful and in so Doing you may influence those who are the farthest removed

from god to return to their source this new agreement with yourself to always stay connected to spirit even when it seems to be the most difficult thing to do will allow whatever degree of perfect harmony that your body was designed for to proliferate turn diseases over to god and treat your body to regular exercise healthy food large amounts of pure water and plenty Of rest to allow it to function as a container for spirit to flow through your new agreement with reality in which you blended your physical self and your personality with your spiritual god-connected

self will begin to radiate a higher energy of love and light wherever you go others will experience the glow of your god consciousness and disharmony and disorder in all manner of problems simply will not flourish in Your presence become quote an instrument of thy peace unquote as saint francis desires in the first line of his famous prayer move up the ladder of human awareness from the lowest to the highest become a mystical being by simply changing your mind from one that created and experience problems to one that resolves them the three levels of consciousness throughout

your life you can measure yourself on the following three levels Of consciousness few if any ever stay at any one level all of the time these levels of awareness are presented from lowest to highest the first and lowest level called ego consciousness in ego consciousness your primary emphasis is on your personality and your body there's an exceptionally strong belief in your separateness from everyone else from all that you'd like to attract into your life and from god this attitude Puts you into a state of competing for your share if your job is to get there

first winning and being number one seem to be the most important things you can do when you live at the level of ego consciousness you spend a lot of your time measuring your success on the basis of how do i stack up against others if you have more than others you feel better about yourself having more money makes you feel better accumulating more awards and prestige and climbing higher On the corporate ladder encourages you to feel good about yourself ego consciousness prides you to compete compare and conclude that you are the best so you concentrate

on running faster and looking better than others it's at this level of consciousness that problems exist this is where your inner peace is virtually impossible and success eludes you because you must always be striving to be someplace else In order to walk comfortably along the extra mile you must tame this ever demanding impossible to satisfy ego feelings of despair anger hatred bitterness stress and depression stem from the ego's anxiety and insistence on living up to an external standard the result is the anguish of not measuring up or fitting in properly the ego will seldom allow

you to rest and demands more and more because it's terrified that you'll be called a failure when you Move beyond ego and make your higher self the dominant force in your life you'll begin to feel that contentment and inner glow of peace and success that characterizes the extra mile two the second level is called group consciousness group consciousness is similar to ego consciousness with the exception that you move past yourself as the central focus of your life and you now include others who are members of your tribe or your clan You suppress your individual eagle

and join a larger organization the group ego your membership is based upon your family your heritage your racial backgrounds your religion your language your political affiliations and so on you're required to think and act like the group to which you've been assigned you go to war in the name of patriotism to kill others who have been conditioned to do the same you identify yourself as a particular ethnic person often with Labels such as italian chinese or african-american at the group consciousness level you're often dedicated to continuing social problems such as war brutality and religious persecution

which originated in ancestral enmities that have existed for thousands of years but it also comes right down to daily living families insist that you adopt this viewpoint hate whom they hate and love whom they love you have blind allegiance to a Company that may be making weapons of destruction a concept to which you're normally opposed but you do it anyway because it's my job some policemen and soldiers victimize their fellow human beings by behaving worse than the criminals or so-called enemies they abhor so much our inhumanity to our fellow human beings is often justified on

the grounds of a group consciousness mentality members of gangs or societies will behave in horrid ways spurred on by A group or clan mentality in short what the group dictates becomes your identification card as a human being remember that you can't solve any problem with the same mind that created it in order to resolve a struggle that results from group consciousness you have to change your mind or continue to have the problem haunt you resolving problems related to group consciousness involves moving into the highest level which is the third level and called Mystical consciousness this

level of problem-free consciousness is distinguished by the feeling of connectedness rather than separateness at the level of mystical consciousness you feel connected to every individual every creature the entire planet and god feeling connected means you truly sense that we are all one and that harm directed at others is really harm directed at ourselves here cooperation supplants competition Hatred is dissolved with love and sadness is reduced to nothingness with joy at this level you're a member of the human race not a subgroup here you're a nation of the world with a global awareness rather than a

patriot of any one country in mystical consciousness you won't feel separate from anyone anything or god you won't be what you have what you accomplish or what others think of you you will be the beloved and You will have changed your mind problems will now be only illusions of the mind that you no longer carry around with you as the great humanitarian mahatma gandhi put it man becomes great exactly in the degree to which he works for the welfare of his fellow man this is the level of mystical or god consciousness it's a place where

you can live a problem-free existence by changing your thoughts from ego and group consciousness to the higher level Of mysticism here you truly understand what thoreau meant when he said there is no remedy for love but to love more [Music] the seventh secret there are no justified resentments [Music] here's a quote from marcus aurelius the famous roman emperor the happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable To virtue and reasonable nature and here's mother teresa god does not command that we do great things only

little things with great love there are no justified resentments you hear people say this all the time i have a right to be upset because of the way i've been treated i have a right to be angry hurt depressed sad and resentful learning to avoid this kind of thinking Is one of my top 10 secrets for living a life of inner peace success and happiness anytime you're filled with resentment you're turning the controls of your emotional life over to others to manipulate i became aware of how powerful this lesson was many years ago while sitting

in on a meeting of 12 people who were in a recovery group for alcoholism and drug addiction all 12 of those people were accustomed to blaming others for their Weaknesses using almost any excuse as a rationale for returning to their self-defeating ways on a poster hanging in the room were these words in this group there are no justified resentments regardless of what anyone would say to another group member no matter how confrontational or ugly the accusations each person was reminded that there are no justified resentments you may need to consider whom you resent before you

make Your own choice about whether this is useful for you resentments give you an excuse to return to your old ways this is what got you there in the first place why resentments are there you may be familiar with a popular television show called who wants to be a millionaire if the contestant answers 15 multiple choice questions he or she wins a million dollars starting with a 100 question the person in the hot seat answers five questions until reaching The thousand dollar level at this point the person is guaranteed to leave with something then the

questions increase in difficulty if the contestant reaches thirty two thousand dollars again there's a guarantee of leaving with that amount so there are two crucial levels to attain the one thousand dollar level which is achieved by answering five relatively simple questions and the thirty two thousand dollar level which involves five increasingly difficult Questions i've just related details about this tv program to present the idea of the two levels that you must achieve in order to have a chance at the highest million dollar level of awareness the one thousand dollar level is one in which you

can learn to leave blame behind in your life if you don't do so you're going to go home with nothing removing blame means never assigning responsibility to anyone for what you're Experiencing it means that you're willing to say i may not understand why i feel this way why i have this illness why i've been victimized or why i had this accident but i am willing to say without any guilt or resentment that i own it i live with it and i am responsible for having it in my life why do this if you take responsibility

for having it then at least you have a chance to also take responsibility for removing it or learning from it If you're in some small way perhaps unknown responsible for that migraine headache or that depressed feeling then you can go to work to remove it or discover what its message is for you if on the other hand someone or something else is responsible in your mind then of course you'll have to wait until they change for you to get better and that is unlikely to occur so at the one thousand dollar level blame has to

go otherwise you go home with nothing and are unable To participate at the higher levels you must be willing to pass a new test at the second critical level the thirty two thousand dollar question which is the final obstacle you must face in order to move into the more exalted realm of self-actualization and higher consciousness the million-dollar spiritual level if you will at this level you must be willing to send the higher faster energies of love peace joy forgiveness and kindness As your response to whatever comes your way this is the start of the uncrowded

extra mile where you have only one love to give away someone says something to you that you find offensive and rather than opting for resentment you are able to de-personalize what you've just heard and respond with kindness you would rather be right than kind you have no need to make others wrong or to retaliate when you've been wronged you Do this for yourself there's a chinese proverb if you're going to pursue revenge you better dig two graves your resentments will destroy you they are low energies and along the extra mile you'll only meet others who

have fully grasped this concept the ones who haven't made it to this level are all back with the crowd who went out of the game long ago on an easier question and most are still back there wondering why they keep going home with nothing but i Can assure you that they continue to blame others for their emptiness first you have to get past blame then you have to learn to send love to all rather than anger and resentment the story is told of the enlightened master who always responded to outbursts of criticism judgment and ridicule

with love kindness and peace one of his devotees asked him how he could possibly be so kind and peaceful in the face of such disparaging invective His response to the devotee was this question if someone offers you a gift and you do not accept that gift to whom does the gift belong the answer leads us to the extra mile ask yourself why would i allow something that belongs to someone else to be a source of my resentment as the title of a popular book says what you think of me is none of my business stop

looking for occasions to be offended when you live at or below Ordinary levels of awareness you spend a great deal of time and energy finding opportunities to be offended a news report an economic downturn a rude stranger a fashion miscue someone cursing a sneeze a black cloud any cloud an absence of clouds just about anything will do if you're looking for an occasion to be offended along the extra mile you'll never find anyone engaging in such absurdities become a person who refuses to be Offended by any one or anything or any set of circumstances if

something takes place and you disapprove by all means state what you feel from your heart and if possible work to eliminate it and then let it go most people operate from the ego and really need to be right so when you encounter someone saying things that you find inappropriate or when you know they're wrong wrong wrong forget your need to be right and instead say you're right about that those words will End potential conflicts and free you from being offended your desire is to be peaceful not to be right hurt angry or resentful if you

have enough faith in your own beliefs you'll find that it's impossible to be offended by the beliefs and conduct of others not being offended is a way of saying i have control over how i'm going to feel and i choose to feel peaceful regardless of what i observe going on when you feel offended you're practicing judgment you Judge someone else to be stupid insensitive rude arrogant inconsiderate or foolish and then you find yourself upset and offended by their conduct what you may not realize is that when you judge another person you do not define them

you define yourself as someone who needs to judge others just as no one can define you with their judgments neither do you have the privilege of defining others when you stop judging and simply become an Observer you will know the inner peace i'm writing about here with that sense of inner peace you'll find yourself free of the negative energy of resentment and you'll be able to live a life of contentment a bonus is that you'll find that others are much more attracted to you a peaceful person attracts peaceful energy you won't know god unless you're

at peace because god is peace your resentments literally send god out of your life while you're busy being Offended not being offended will mean eliminating all variations of the following sentence from your repertoire of available thoughts if only you were more like me then i wouldn't have to be upset right now you are the way you are and so are those around you most likely they will never be just like you so stop expecting those who are different to be what you think they should be it's never going to happen it's your ego that demands

that The world and all the people in it be as you think they should be your higher sacred self refuses to be anything but peaceful and sees the world as it is not as your ego would like it to be when you respond with hatred to hate directed at you you become part of the problem which is hatred itself rather than part of the solution which is love itself love is without resentment and readily offers forgiveness love and forgiveness Will inspire you to work at what you are for rather than what you're against if you're

against violence and hatred you'll fight it with your own brand of violence and hatred if you're for love and peace you'll bring those energies to the presence of violence and ultimately dissolve the hatred when mother teresa was asked to march against the war in vietnam she replied no i won't but when you have a march for peace i'll be there a final word about forgiveness and Resentment at the root of virtually all spiritual practices is the notion of forgiveness this is what came out of jesus of nazareth while he was being tortured on a cross

by a roman soldier throwing a spear into his side it is perhaps the most healing thing that you can do to remove the low energies of resentment and revenge from your life completely think about every single person who has ever harmed you cheated you defrauded you or said unkind things About you your experience of them is nothing more than a thought that you carry around with you these thoughts of resentment anger and hatred represent slow debilitating energies that will disempower you if you release them you would know more peace you practice forgiveness for two reasons

one is to let others know that you no longer wish to be in a state of hostility with that person and two to free yourself from the self-defeating Energy of resentment resentment is like venom that continues to pour through your system doing its poisonous damage long after being bitten by the snake it's not the bite that kills you it's the venom you can remove venom by making a decision to let go of resentments send love in some form to those you feel have wronged you and notice how much better you feel how much more peace

you have it was one act of profound forgiveness toward my own father whom i never saw or Talked to that turned my life around from one of ordinary awareness to one of higher consciousness achievement and success beyond anything i'd ever dared to imagine indeed there are no justified resentments if you wish to walk along the extra mile and enjoy inner peace and success on every step of the path the eighth secret treat yourself as if you already are what you'd like to be [Music] thomas payne had a wonderful quote he said it is necessary to

the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself an epic titus who was a slave back and became a philosopher two thousand years ago said first say to yourself what you would be and then do what you have to do treat yourself as if you already are what you'd like to be whatever it is that you envision for Yourself no matter how lofty or impossible it may seem to you right now i encourage you to begin acting as if what you would like to become is already your reality this is a wonderful way

to set into motion the forces that will collaborate with you to make your dreams come true to activate the creative forces that lie dormant in your life you must go to the unseen world the world beyond your form here is where what doesn't exist for you In your world of form will be created you might think of it this way in form you receive in formation when you move to spirit you receive inspiration it is this world of inspiration that will guide you to access anything that you would like to have in your life what

it means to become inspired some of the most significant advice i've ever read was written more than two thousand years ago by an ancient teacher named patanjali He instructed his devotees to become inspired you may recall that the word inspire originates from the words in and spirit patanjali suggested that inspiration involves a mind that transcends all limitations thoughts that break all their bonds and a consciousness that expands in every direction here's how you can become inspired place your thoughts on what it is you'd like to become an artist a musician a Computer programmer a dentist

whatever in your thoughts begin to picture yourself having the skills to do these things no doubts only a knowing then begin acting as if these things were already your reality as an artist your vision allows you to draw to visit art galleries to talk with famous artists and to immerse yourself in the art world in other words you begin to act as an artist in all aspects of your life in this way you're getting out in Front of yourself and taking charge of your own destiny at the same time that you're cultivating inspiration the more

you see yourself as what you'd like to become the more inspired you are the dormant forces that potentially describe come alive and you discover that you're a greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be imagine that dormant forces that were dead or non-existent springing into being and collaborating with you as a result of Your becoming inspired and acting as if what you want is already here by having the courage to declare yourself as already being where you want to be you will almost force yourself to act in a new exciting and spiritual fashion you

can also apply this principle to areas other than your chosen vocation if you're living a life of scarcity and all of the nice things that many people have are not coming your way perhaps it's time to change your thinking and act as If what you enjoy having is already here visualize the beautiful automobile that's your dream car and paste it on your bedroom door as well as on the refrigerator while you're at it paste it on the dashboard of the car you're now driving visit a showroom sit in your car and note the beautiful new

car aroma run your hands over the seats and grip the steering wheel walk all around your car appreciating the lines of it take your car for a test drive and visualize that You're entitled to drive this car that you're inspired by its beauty and it's going to find a way into your life in some way somehow this is your car talk to others about your love for this car read about it bring up a picture on your computer screen and leave it there to view each time you're near the computer all of this may seem

silly to you but when you become inspired and act as if what you want is already here you'll activate those dormant forces that will Collaborate to make this your reality extending inspiration everywhere treating yourself in the manner described above can become a habitual way of life this doesn't involve deception arrogance or hurting others this is a silent agreement between you and god in which you discretely work in harmony with the forces of the universe to make your dreams become a reality this involves a knowing on your part that success and inner peace are your Birthright

that you are a child of god and as such you're entitled to a life of joy love and happiness in your relationships with your lovers co-workers and family act as if what you would like to materialize in those relationships is already here if you want a sense of harmony in the workplace maintain a clear vision and expectation of this harmony then you're out in front of your day seeing five o'clock arriving peacefully for everyone when it's still 7 30 in the morning each time you have an encounter with someone your five o'clock vision pops into

your head and you act in a peaceful harmonious way so as not to nullify what you know is coming furthermore you act toward everyone else as if they too are all that they're capable of becoming these kinds of expectations lead you to say i'm sure you'll have everything ready this afternoon rather than you're always late with everything and i wish you'd Get on the ball when you treat others in this way they also fulfill the destiny that you've reminded them is there for them in your family particularly with your children it's important to always have

this little thought in mind catch them doing things right remind them often of their inherent brilliance their capacity for being responsible their innate talents and their fantastic abilities treat them as if they're already responsible bright attractive And honorable you are so terrific i'm positive you'll feel great about your interview you're so smart i know you'll study well and do well on that exam you're always connected to god and god doesn't do sickness you're gonna feel much better tomorrow at this time when you act towards your children parents siblings and even more distant relatives as if

the relationship was great and was going to stay that way and you point out their greatness rather than their Goofiness it is their greatness that you will see in your relationships to your significant other whomever that may be be sure to apply this principle as frequently as you can if things aren't going well ask yourself am i treating this relationship as it is or as i would like to be so how do you want it to be peaceful harmonious mutually satisfying respectful loving of course you do as such before your next encounter see it In

those ways have expectations that focus on the qualities of inner peace and success you'll find yourself pointing out what you love about that person rather than what they're doing wrong you'll also see the other person responding to you in love and harmony rather than in an embittered way your ability to get out in front of yourself and see the outcome before it transpires will cause you to act in ways that bring about these results this strategy for Living works for virtually everything before i speak to an audience i always see them as loving supportive and

having a terrific experience before writing i see myself with no writer's block being inspired and having spiritual guidance available to me at all times as a course in miracles reminds me if you knew who walked beside you at all times you could never experience fear again this is the essence of inspiration as well as seeing the future in terms of how you Want it to be and then acting exactly in that manner synchronicity and inspiration there are no coincidences anything that coincides is said to fit together powerfully you move into spirit and feel inspired when

you're activating the forces of the universe to work with you since all is guided by spirit there's less of a gap between your thoughts and seeing the result of those thoughts materialize for you as you place more And more of your energy and what you intend to manifest you start seeing those intentions materializing you'll think about a particular person and that individual will mysteriously appear you'll need a book for your studies that you can't find and it will show up in a mysterious delivery you'll have in mind that you want information on a vacation spot

and it will arrive in the mail mysteriously all of those so-called mysteries will soon be viewed By you as part of the synchronicity of the universe working with you and your highly energized thought you must hold on to the idea that you can negotiate the presence of these things by keeping your energy field always focused with love on what you passionately intend to create the law of attraction is put into play and your thoughts literally become attractor energies at first it will seem startling and almost unbelievable as you stay in Spirit and act as if

what you desire is already here you'll find it less and less puzzling connected to god as you always are you are the divine force that puts the synchronicity into your everyday life you will realize very soon that what you think about is what expands therefore you'll become more mindful and careful about what you think about this process of treating yourself as if begins with your thoughts Impacts your emotional state and finally stirs you into action from thoughts to feelings to actions they will all react affirmatively when you stay inspired and get out in front of

yourself in ways that are consistent with what you want to become declare yourself to be a genius to be an expert to be in an atmosphere of abundance and keep that vision so passionately that you can do nothing but act upon it as you do you will send out the attractor Energy that will work with you to materialize your actions based upon those stated declarations treat everyone you encounter with the same intention celebrate in others their finest qualities treat them all in this as if manner and i guarantee you that they will respond according to

your highest expectations it's all up to you whether you think this is possible or impossible either way you'll be right and you'll see the rightness of your thoughts Manifesting everywhere you go the ninth secret treasure your divinity [Music] here's albert einstein's observation there are only two ways to live your life one is as though nothing is a miracle the other is as though everything is a miracle and walt whitman once said in the faces of men and women I see god treasure your divinity you are a divine creation of god you can never be separate

from that which created you if you can think of god as the ocean and yourself as a container you may find it helpful in moments of doubt when you feel lost or alone to remember that you are a container of god when you dip your glass into the ocean what you have is a glass of god It's not as big or as strong but it's still god as long as you refuse to believe otherwise you won't feel separate from god think of a drop of water from the ocean of abundance that's separated from its source

separated from its source that droplet of water will ultimately evaporate and return to its source the point is that while it's in its Liquid form disconnected from its source it loses the power of its source this is the essence of the secret of always treasuring your divinity while you're separated in your mind from your source you lose your divine power the power of your source just like the drop of water you too will change form and ultimately return to your source as long as you feel disconnected from god you lose the power of your source

which is the unlimited power to create To be miraculous and to experience the joy of being alive a drop of water disconnected from its divine source symbolizes your ego what is your ego your ego is nothing more than an idea that you carry around with you everywhere you go this idea tells you that you are the sum total of what you have what you do and who you are ego insists that you are a separate Being that your personality and your body are your essence that you are in competition with every other ego to get

your share of the pie which is limited and finite therefore ego asserts you must be wary of others who also want all that they feel they're entitled to consequently ego leads you to believe that there are enemies to be wary of at all times since you're separate from them you must disdain cooperating with Them for fear of being cheated the result is that you have to distrust everyone your ego also tells you that you're separate from everything that's missing in your life and so you must spend a great deal of energy chasing after what's missing

moreover because who you are according to ego is your body and your personality you're separate from god god is outside of you a force to fear just like all of those external forces attempting to Control you so you beg this external force to provide you with special powers to overcome all of those other egos who are trying so hard to snare what is rightfully yours your ego keeps you in a constant state of fear worry anxiety and stress it implores you to be better than everyone around you it beseeches you to push harder and to

get god on your side in short it maintains your separate Status from god and allows you to be terrified of your own divinity embracing your divinity there is no place that god is not remind yourself of this every day it has been said that god sleeps in the minerals rests in the vegetables walks in the animals and thinks in us think of god as a presence rather than a person a presence that allows a seed to sprout that moves the stars across the Sky and simultaneously moves a thought across your mind a presence that grows

the grass and grows your fingernails all at the same time this presence is everywhere therefore it must also be in you and if it's everywhere it must be in all that you perceive to be missing from your life in some inexplicable way you're already connected to all that you'd like to attract into your life by the presence Of this universal all-powerful spirit called god you may have read about some of the great saints in india they seem to possess the magical powers of instant manifestation their presence appears to heal the sick and they communicate a

sense of divine bliss and peace to all those that they encounter one state was asked by a reporter from the west are you god the saint responded without hesitation Yes i am to which everyone in attendance seemed stunned and after a brief pause he continued and so are you the only difference between you and i he said is that i know it and you doubt it you are a peace of god you are a divine creation a being of light who showed up here as a human being in the exact moment you were supposed to

your body Will depart at precisely the right moment as well but you're not that body you behold nor are you its personality or any of its possessions and accomplishments you are the beloved a miracle a part of the eternal perfection a piece of the divine intelligence that supports everything and everyone on this planet in a world in which this divine intelligence creates everything there can be no accidents every time you experience fear Self-rejection anxiety guilt or hate you're denying your divinity and succumbing to the influences of that insidious ego mind that has convinced you of

your disconnection to god author us anderson wrote an inspiring book many years ago called three magic words mr anderson writes about the ability to become a miracle worker and to live up to the ideal of the promise made by jesus christ even the least among you Can do all that i have done and even greater things the author doesn't reveal what the three magic words are until the end of the book when the reader discovers that the words are you are god not god in the sense of above all others and better than everyone else

but in the sense of being eternally connected to your source the ever-present power of love that never abandons you and never runs dry you can rely on this source if You remind yourself that it includes you at all times [Music] the 10th secret wisdom is avoiding all thoughts that weaken you [Music] william james the father of psychology said believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create that fact and william shakespeare said Nothing is unless our thinking makes it so wisdom is avoiding all thoughts that weaken you every single thought you have

can be assessed in terms of whether it strengthens or weakens you in fact there's a simple muscle test you can do to try out any thought that you're having in the present moment it works like this hold your arm out to your side and have someone else attempt to push Your arm down while you resist think of telling a lie and notice how much weaker you are than if you think of a truth this can be done for any thought that elicits an emotional reaction in a book titled power versus force david hawkins a medical

doctor elaborates on this method and provides a map of consciousness to show you how every thought computes to either weaken or strengthen you authentic wisdom is the ability to Monitor yourself at all times to determine your relative state of weakness or strength and to shift out of those thoughts that weaken you in this way you keep yourself in an upbeat higher state of consciousness and you prevent your thoughts from weakening every single organ of your body when you use your mind to empower you you're appealing to that which uplifts and raises your spirits power urges

you to live and perform at Your own highest level and it is compassionate force on the other hand involves movement this is unlike power which is a standing field that never moves against anything because force is in motion it always creates a counter force that counter force constantly consumes and must be fed energy rather than being compassionate force is associated with judgments competition and controlling others for example in an athletic event your Thoughts are on overpowering your opponent being better than another and playing and winning at any cost the entire muscular structure of your body

is actually weakened because thoughts of force weaken you on the other hand if in the midst of an athletic event you can keep your thoughts on performing at your highest capacity and using your inner strength to muster the energy to be as efficient as it's possible for you to be and to Have great respect for your god-given abilities you will actually be empowering yourself a thought of force requires a counter force and a battle that weakens while a thought of power strengthens you since no counter force is called into play to consume your energy power

thoughts energize you since they make no demands on you thoughts that weaken you if a simple thought will make the muscles of your arm go weak or strong Imagine what it must be doing to all the other muscles and organs of your body your heart is a muscle that's weakened by thoughts that disempower you your kidneys liver lungs and intestines are all surrounded by muscles that are affected by your thoughts the thought that makes most people the weakest is shame the importance of forgiving yourself cannot be stated strongly enough if you carry around thoughts of

shame about What you've done in the past you're weakening yourself both physically and emotionally similarly if you use a technique of shame and humiliation on anyone to get them to reform you're going to create a weakened person who will never become empowered until those shameful and humiliating thoughts are removed removing your own thoughts of shame involves a willingness to let go to see your past behaviors as lessons you had To learn and to reconnect to your source through prayer and meditation after shame guilt and apathy thoughts make you the weakest they produce the emotions of

blame and despair to live in guilt is to use up your present moments being immobilized over what has already transpired no amount of guilt will ever undo what's been done if your past behavior mobilizes you to learn from your mistakes this is not guilt it's learning From the past but to wallow in the present moment over your so-called errors is guilt and it can only take place now releasing guilt is like removing a huge weight from your shoulders guilt is released through the empowering thought of love and respect for yourself you empower yourself with love

and respect letting go of standards of perfection and refusing to use up the Precious currency of your life that is the now with thoughts that only continue to frustrate and weaken you instead you can vow to be better than you used to be which is the true test of nobility apathetic thoughts create despair they are the thoughts that keep you from being engaged in life apathy stems from self-pity and a need to be entertained continually to avoid boredom you can never be apathetic or lonely if you love The person you're alone with every moment of

every day presents an unlimited number of options for living fully and being connected to life you don't need a television or a radio constantly blaring to avoid apathy you have your own mind which is a kingdom of limitless potential you have the choice each day to wake up and say good morning god or good god morning it's always a choice any moments that you fill with thoughts of boredom and apathy will Truly weaken you physically emotionally and spiritually to me it's an insult to this wondrous universe filled with a hundred million miracles to ever allow

myself to think thoughts of boredom or apathy the other prominent thoughts that compete to make you weak include fear and anger both of these categories of thought employ force which produces a counter force and an inner atmosphere of tension And weakness when you're afraid you've moved away from love remember perfect love casteth out all fear what you fear you resent and ultimately begin to hate thus the dichotomy of hate and fear are at work within you always weakening you every thought you have in which you're in a state of fear keeps you away from your

purpose and is simultaneously Weakening you your fearful thoughts are inviting you to stay immobilized when you find yourself in a fearful mode stop right there and invite god onto the scene turn fear over to your senior partner with these words i don't know how to deal with this but i know i'm connected to you the miraculous creative force in this universe i'll move my ego out of the way and turn it over to you try it you'll be surprised by how quickly that Higher energy of love will nullify and dissolve your fearful thoughts and empower

you at the same time anger likewise is an emotional reaction to thoughts that say i want the world to be the way i want it not the way it is therefore i'm angry anger is often justified as normal but it will always make you weak and as this principle reminds you wisdom is avoiding all thoughts that weaken you you don't have to be angry to right or wrong or to Work toward a better world when you become more peaceful you will only have peace to give away moments of frustration won't trigger anger they'll help you

become more aware and then they'll spur you onto a solution every thought of anger moves you away from love and into violence and vengeance which are forces that spur counterforces weakening everyone involved All of these thoughts of shame guilt apathy fear and anger are energies since everything in our universe is a vibrating frequency those that weaken you are low slow frequencies and they can only be dissolved by bringing the higher faster energies of spirit to their presence thoughts that strengthen you when you shift from a thought that's a very low energy vibration to one of

a higher frequency you go from weak to strong When your thought is on blaming others you're weakened but when you shift to loving and trusting others you become strong your thoughts come with an accompanying energy so you might as well shift to those that empower you once you realize that what you're thinking about is the source of your experience of reality then you'll begin to pay more attention to what you're thinking in any given moment many years ago in a tremendously popular Audio program called the strangest secret earl nightingale taught many of us that we

become what we think about all day long your thoughts determine whether you're being empowered or weakened whether you're happy or sad successful or not everything is a thought that you carry around with you happy thoughts create happy molecules your health is determined largely by the thoughts you have Passionately think that you won't get a cold and your body will react to your thoughts refuse to entertain thoughts of fatigue jet lag or headaches and your body responds to your thoughts your mind tells your body to produce the drugs it needs to keep you healthy give someone

a sugar pill and convince them that it's an anti-arthritic drug and that person's body will react to the placebo with the increased production of anti-arthritic energies The mind is a powerful tool in creating health it also creates divine relationships abundance harmony and business and even parking places if your thoughts are focused on what you want to attract in your life and you maintain that thought with the passion of an absolute intention you'll eventually act upon that intention because the ancestor to every single action is a thought the most empowering thoughts you can Have are those

of peace joy love acceptance and willingness these thoughts don't create a counterforce powerful joyful loving thoughts stem from your willingness to allow the world to be as it is then you're in a state of inner bliss where serenity replaces fighting reverence for all of life substitutes for craving and anxiety and understanding supplant scorn you become an optimist rather than Seeing the glasses half empty it's always half full all of this is nothing more than a conscious decision on your part to be in charge of your thinking be aware at any given moment in your life

that you always have a choice about the thoughts you allow in your mind no one else can put a thought there regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in it's your choice choose to replace disempowering weakening thoughts With thoughts of a higher spiritual frequency don't convince yourself that it can't be done or it's easier said than done your mind is yours to control you are the creator and selector of your thoughts you can change them at will it's your god-given inheritance your corner of freedom that no one can take away no one can have control

of your thoughts without your consent so choose to avoid thoughts that weaken you and you will Know true wisdom it's your choice and those are my top 10 secrets for experiencing success and inner peace in your life god bless you namaste [Music] you