New to the Board...

Howdy Folks,

I came across this forum on a google search for Wayne Dyer, and I am very pleased to find myself here. I've read many of the threads and at this point I felt it was high time to introduce myself... )

I was first introduced to a more spiritual way of thinking around the time I was 21. I am sorry to say that for various reasons I became weary of my religious upbringing and began to question what I had been taught while growing up. Oddly enough, just around that time my sister met the man who would become my brother-in-law. My family instantly loved him, along with his peaceful manner, etc... and after I got to know him our conversations would sometimes take a turn toward matters of spirit. So many things we talked about... and the discussions we had made more sense to me than anything I had ever heard before.

Fast forward a few years. I happened to be home from work one day and caught an episode of Oprah. She had a guest who was talking about his *new* book, "Ageless Body, Timeless Mind." You guessed it, Deepak Chopra. I was intrigued by the interview and bought the book. I loved it! I read a number of his other books and found myself saying "that's exactly how I feel..."

Fast forward a few more years. My dad lost a long battle with illness and passes away. I move to Pennsylvania with my mother to start fresh. I decide to choose a career I love instead of what makes money, and it doesn't even come close to paying the bills. I'm hopeless, and spirituality has lost some of it's zing for me...

Fast forward a few more years (this is the last time, I promise) I've got a good job in a new town and here I am. Someone I would never have expected recommended a book to me called "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. Of course, I loved it. I found it rekindled in me the feelings I had let slide over the years, and I also found that he cleared up some of the things I never understood while reading Deepak Chopra. I read "The Power of Now" over and over... Then a few months ago while visiting my sister and brother in law they mentioned Wayne Dyer. I said "where have I heard that name before?" and they reminded me that Deepak mentions him from time to time... Then they told me that they had found some of his books among my father's collection. It turns out my father was a little more open minded than he let on... wink Just a few weeks later I *happened* to see Wayne Dyer on the PBS special. Coincidence? I think not...

Wow, I just scrolled up and realized how long I've been rambling. I hope ya'll don't mind if I write a book here, but it's actually been interesting for me to reflect on things as I type...

So now I've read the Power of Intention and a couple of Wayne's other books. I love his style. He makes me laugh out loud, and he speaks about things that fascinate me. A number of times I have seen what he talks about in my own life. Too many coincidences to ignore. (I can't tell you how many times I'll think of a friend and two minutes later they call me on the phone). And speaking of abundance, I just found out that I'm getting more than double the bonus I got last year at work, and due to a stroke of luck (cough cough) with some company vehicle changes I recently found myself driving a fully loaded Lincoln Navigator. Heck, when my boss was handing me the keys he grabbed his sunglasses out of the truck and said "hey, you want these? I don't wear them..." They were exactly the sunglasses I had promised I would buy myself for Christmas. Stuff right out of a Dyer book I tell ya... hahaha

So why do I still waver? Why is it that sometimes I feel very *connected to source* and then the slightest shot to my ego will send me into a tailspin? Why does what most people would consider a "good job that pays well" leave me feeling empty?

I have come a long way over the years, but I want to take that step from believing to KNOWING. I don't want to be the kind of person who gets all excited about the guru of the week and then falls off the wagon, yet I know that these kinds of teachers keep coming into my life for a reason. I want to find my higher purpose so bad I can taste it. And while a Navigator is nice, there's still this hole... I feel like I'm not doing what I was meant to do. I feel like I have no idea what I'm searching for...

So I ask, how do you go from believing to KNOWING and find that unwavering peace?

Andrew

PS - Sorry this was so long winded. I *intended* to just say hello to everyone and this is what came out. heh...

Hi Andrew, I'm kind of new here myself, but I wanted you to know how much I enjoyed your post. It wasn't "rambling" at all. In fact, you raised a question I've been wondering about a long time myself.

I've read scores of books by Wayne Dyer and other spiritual authors, and now I'm reading The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire by Deepak Chopra. Wow, his books are deep and even though he speaks in analogies so you can understand, I still find myself at times saying "Whaaaat???" But anyway, I'm getting the message, but I'm finding it so hard like you said, to stay on the wagon. Problems arise, and I find myself worrying and fretting, thinking of the worse case scenario and I have to force myself to go back to my spiritual core, but it's very hard to stay there. The human part of me always seems to win over every time. I too long for that peace and I don't know how to get it and stay there.

As for my job, it's just been OK. I'm retiring in a few months, and getting psyched about that, but I'm looking back and thinking that I spent over 30 years in a job that never fulfilled me. Now I'm praying for God to direct me to a life that matters after retirement.

I wish there was a way to just stay spiritually focused at all times. I'm finding it very difficult. I've seen Wayne Dyer's specials on PBS and he seems so calm, so serene, so at peace. I'm sure he has problems in his own life - I see that he's divorced and that must have been extremely painful and difficult for him. But he rose above it and seems perfectly content. But then he lives and breathes spirituality with the work he does and it keeps him centered. So how does the average person with secular jobs keep on a spiritual track? I'm finding it very difficult. I keep spiritual sayings all around my desk and it helps some, but not a lot. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks for writing Andrew, I hope you post more often.

I wish there was a way to just stay spiritually focused at all times. I'm finding it very difficult. I've seen Wayne Dyer's specials on PBS and he seems so calm, so serene, so at peace. I'm sure he has problems in his own life - I see that he's divorced and that must have been extremely painful and difficult for him. But he rose above it and seems perfectly content. But then he lives and breathes spirituality with the work he does and it keeps him centered. So how does the average person with secular jobs keep on a spiritual track? I'm finding it very difficult. I keep spiritual sayings all around my desk and it helps some, but not a lot. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Isn't that as easy as "deciding" to BE what you want?

We all fall off the horse from time to time, but being "spiritual" is accessible at any time of day or place with a simple decision to intend it.

8)

Sounds easier than it might be, but I've found it to be true for me.

I am as centered or peaceful or spiritual as I decide to be on any given moment.

Thank you Linda and Chris for the replies. I appreciate you both taking the time to give your thoughts. )

It's funny, sometimes I get down about things and then sometimes I feel so connected and happy that it's beyond belief. A year ago I was a very angry and "disconnected" person. Perhaps that means I am making progress and a few bad days aren't the end of the world... ;)

I am most certainly going to stick around this forum and participate when I feel I have something useful to say. It is very nice to know that there are folks just a click away who are on the same path.

Andrew

Hi all, (especially Andrew and Linda)

I relate so much to what you both wrote. I'm going to be 53 in a few weeks and feel like I'm on such a similar path. It was a conversation at my sister's 40th birthday party (1994) that brought me to The Celestine Prophesy by James Redfield. After that came Bringers of the Dawn by Barbara Marciniak, and then Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer. I've been a huge fan of Wayne's for may years, and have read almost all of his books.
I'm sure my life challenge is self discipline because whenever I set my mind to do something on a regular basis (exercise, meditate, etc.) I soon find myself not following through after a few days. One summer, I meditated alot, and thought I was really on track, but as soon as school started again (I'm a teacher) and I had to get up early, I became very irregular again with both. I also have a strong question about my purpose, and the concern as to whether or not I made a wrong turn on my path. I know, everything is divine, and I couldn't have made a wrong turn or I wouldn't be here, but I've had very little periods of joy in 25 years of teaching. I even left teaching for 4 years, and due to salary considerations came back! As a teacher in the inner city of Philadelphia, I face stress, frustration, and as hard as I try to be different, find myself judging and constantly wanting things to turn out differently. Most of my students do poorly in school, and my wanting a different outcome is only because of what I know will be their future prospects without good education. I know about all the spiritual bullet points such as focusing on what I want, loving unconditionally, non judgement, and forgiveness. That's extremely challenging when your class is below grade level, don't seem to care, and one of them just cursed you out.
Having said all this, my life out of school is wonderful. I won't go into details but that end has been a bucketful of blessings, and I acknowledge and give thanks for that part daily. I often wonder who I served. In 25 years did I mean anything to any of these kids? (I've taught all grades 1-7 and even high school remedial reading.) Does my professional life have purpose or did I make a huge mistake? Even changing careers was not the answer. Should I have stayed in my second career, even though the money put a huge strain on what my wife and I wanted for the rest of our lives?
I believe in God and an intelligent universe. I believe in meaningful coincidences. I believe we are all right where we need to be. Still, questions exist. How many more people would be writing the same kinds of things as we, if they allowed themselves to be honest and open? It's our path. We seem to have to work to obtain the light and peace we yearn for. Until we realize that it has been with us all the time. Love and peace to all.

Hello Craig,

I have a feeling I am about to contradict some of my whining above, as your post struck a chord with me...

I just got back from grocery shopping, and before I left the house I had the Wayne Dyer PBS special running on TiVo. I like to just play it while I do things around the house as it makes for positive background noise... anyway, I forgot to turn it off when I left and it was still playing when I got home. I put the groceries away and came back here to check my email and this forum, and as I walked back here to my office the PBS show was at the part where Wayne talks about the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus." About a minute later I find myself reading your message... )

In case you haven't seen the movie (which is well worth renting by the way), Richard Dryfus plays a musician who takes a job teaching because he and his wife are struggling and need to pay the bills. He wants this to be a temporary thing until he can get back into music and write the great symphony he wants to write. Well, he ends up staying at the school for years and years until he is forced into retirement when they drop the music program due to budget cuts. In the meantime, he never got to write his symphony or become the famous musician he wanted to be... and he wondered if his life had made any difference at all... At the end of the movie, just as he has packed his things and is leaving the school, the assembly hall is FULL of his former students who want to wish him well. One girl that he helped years ago was now a governor, and it was a heartwarming scene that taught him just what a difference he DID make throughout his life.

(For anyone who hasn't seen Mr. Holland's Opus, I sincerely apologize if I ruined it for you. It's still well worth watching).

I can remember a handful of teachers over the years who made a big impact on me, and unfortunately they will never even know it. As an adult I look back on the lessons I learned from them, and to tell you the truth it has never been anything from a textbook that mattered, but the person my teacher was that taught me something. So please, don't sell yourself short. More than likely you have made a HUGE difference to a number of people, you just don't know it. )

Andrew

Dear Andrew,

Thanks for your kind words. Best of everything on your path.


Craig

Hi Craig,

May I ask what career you wanted to persue besides teaching? I have found myself wanting to go back to an old career myself, but I waver due to finanical concerns...

When I was 11 years old, my parents bought an old house in Brooklyn, New York. All of the wood in the house was oak and had many coats of paint. My father and I spent years refurbishing the entire place; he used the heat gun to melt off the paint, and I did the refinishing. After many years of having a messy home, we had eventually finished and done a beautiful job...

Then I was off to college to get my accounting degree. It didn't take me long to find out that accounting wasn't for me. heh...

When my dad became ill, I worked odd jobs at night so that my mother and I could take care of him and not put him in a nursing home. My twenty something years were difficult, but my dad's illness taught me a lot. As I mentioned in an earlier post, after my father passed away I chose a career I loved rather than something that made money. You see, my father was going to do everything he wanted to do when he retired. He never got to do any of those things... after his death I told myself I was going to enjoy each day and not live for tomorrow...

Well, I got a job in a cabinet shop in Pennsylvania. I loved the work, but the best I could do at 30+ years of age was 11 bucks an hour. That did NOT pay the bills. I eventually got fed up with how I was treated by coworkers as well as my employer, so I quit. At that time the internet was brand new and I was able to make more money sitting at home in front of my computer than I could at the shop, so that's what I did. I was eventually offered a job with an internet company, and while the first couple of years were great I find now that I am once again just there for the paycheck. I don't love what I do, but finally the financial part of my life is comfortable and has some nice perks.

I would LOVE to go back to cabinet making and woodworking, but today it seems that price is more important than quality, and shops are nothing more than factories and devoid of any real craftsmanship. I would like nothing more than to hang a shingle and do what I love, but I fear I would get eaten alive by competition...

So, what was it you wanted to do?

I would love to hear input from some other folks as well. )