I’ve thought a lot about how I’ve celebrated the New Year in previous years. I sat with my journal and pen, and I asked myself: “How have I celebrated past New Years well and not well?” The “well” list was short and to the point; the “not well” list was much longer and all over the place. The “well” list featured things I’ve done only in recent years; the “not well” list was mostly from years long gone. Maybe I am finally getting the hang of how to celebrate the New Year?!
Creating a Space
It started in the second week of December. Not just an urge; more like a command. Eventually, I couldn’t put it off any longer. It was time to Continue Reading
I often get asked questions about fear, especially fear of public speaking, fear of writing, fear of rejection, fear of criticism, fear of pretty much anything and everything. So, here’s my answer.
Yes, I still get afraid. When I pay attention to my mind, I notice it is full of fears – fears about pretty much anything and everything. I’d love to tell you that I’ve become less afraid as the years have gone by, but, honestly, I’m not sure it’s true. I’d say I’m either more afraid now than before, or, I am, at least, more aware of my fears than before. Becoming a father hasn’t helped matters! I notice I worry about my children continually. It’s like my heart no longer belongs to me, and it runs around inside both their bodies – and either of them could fall over and get hurt at any moment.
While it’s true that I still get afraid, it’s also true that I have a much better relationship to fear now. The way I now relate to fear has been influenced largely by my study of A Course in Miracles (ACIM), which offers a training in Continue Reading
Honoring the Legacy of a Master Teacher
As I write this today, I’m on a cruise ship, the Silhouette, heading for Jerusalem. I’m on the Holy Land & Beyond Tour, a 14-day spiritual pilgrimage hosted by Life Journeys and Hay House. There are 550 people in our party. We’re here because of one man: Wayne Dyer. It was Wayne’s dream to take a group to The Holy Land. Alas, Wayne Dyer died on August 30th, this year.
In the last few weeks, I’ve attended three public tributes to the life and work of Wayne Dyer. In London, at the I CAN DO IT!® conference, I led a tribute to Wayne. A week later, at the Orlando I CAN DO IT! conference, I sat with Maya, Wayne’s assistant for 38 years, as Hay House and Wayne’s family paid tribute to Wayne. And last week, in London Continue Reading
Why Saying Yes Will Get You Where You Want To Be
One week before Louise and I were due to start writing Life Loves You, I received an e-mail from the author Sandy Newbigging asking me to write a foreword for his book Mind Calm. I felt honored to be asked, but I thought I didn’t have the time and needed to keep my focus on this book. I e-mailed Sandy to say my answer would have to be no, but somehow I ended up saying yes. It wasn’t an I-should yes, or an I-must yes, or even a be-kind yes. It was a truthful yes. Or what I call my Big Yes—with a capital Y.
Another name for this Yes is my Sacred Yes. I sense this Yes in my belly (gut instinct), I feel it in my heart, and I hear it in my head. When it shows up, I feel like I have almost no choice whether to follow it. This is the “Yes” that simply feels true. To go against it would be inauthentic. Continue Reading
How to Break Free of This Cycle
One of the themes I’ve been exploring in my inner child counseling is the pressure I put on myself when I was young to be “a good little boy.”
Early on, I worked out that good little boys didn’t get shouted at, didn’t get hit, and didn’t get into trouble. I hoped that if I was always good and never bad, my parents would never say to me, “We are so disappointed in you.” I hated it when they said that.
However, being good full-time is hard work. You have to suppress a lot of feelings. You can’t always speak the truth. Sometimes you have to lie. And that feels bad.
A Battle No One Can Win
Trying to be a “good little boy” is difficult for lots of reasons. For starters, adults have different versions of what good is. Your mum and your dad might not agree on what good is. Your grandparents probably don’t agree with what your parents think. Your teachers have their own ideas—and so too do your friends. And everyone changes his or her mind all the time anyway, and that just makes you mad. You can’t win. It’s so unfair. But you tell yourself that you mustn’t say anything because—of course—that’s not “good.” Continue Reading
In the pursuit of happiness, there is a single misperception: the belief that your source of happiness is outside you.
All your pain comes from the belief that your source of happiness is outside you. This little fear that happiness is not inside of you already is what feeds your mental junk, your learned unworthiness, and your “not good enough” stuff. Notice how all your thoughts of fear and lack are reversed the moment you accept that every piece of universal joy rests already in your heart. Feel this, now.
Every culture has its sacred sites and holy meeting grounds. Thousands of people every day travel in pilgrimage to far off places like Lourdes, the Great Pyramids, Ayers Rock, the Grand Canyon, Mount Shasta, Stonehenge, Mount Athos, and the Himalayas. These places hold sacred energy, they say. And yet, nowhere is more sacred than the human heart—home of your Unconditioned Self.
You are sacred ground. Do you see this?
Your two physical eyes see bits of things. They see bits of the color spectrum, bits of the Continue Reading