Your Sacred Self audiobook

This is one of those books that you can pick up, flip to a random page, and immediately gain something personally from it. Although everything wasn't appealing, the parts that were worked wonders. This book really helped me in my college years when my mind would be racing about what major I was going to choose, who/how I wanted to be, or what I was going to do after I even graduated college! I would be racing about decisions that didn't even have to be made for 4 more years! The book really gives you tools and concrete examples of exactly how to control your thinking while helping you recognize that your thinking may be limited by the past, projections in the future that you have absolutely no control over, or what you think are ingrained beliefs within yourself, but in reality are beliefs you've never questions or challenged to form those in the first place. If you have negative thoughts or beliefs the books helps you reflect on those and ultimately change them if you want to put in the time. Your awareness is taken to another level and you begin to realize that you are no better than anyone, but you are certainly just as good as anybody. I learned to stop comparing myself to others and fearing the next step or the next several steps and simply taking in each moment as it comes.

Basically, 1) the nagging voice in our heads is Ego, which likes to keep us generally poisoned with bad emotions: fear of failing, judging others to make ourselves feel bigger, competing for fancy things to prove our worth, and feeling ugly/fat/stupid so we stay locked in our ego-prison. The premise of the book is that 2) we are all made of the same energy particles and are therefore, divine. Like in yoga, "namaste" means "the divine in me salutes the divine in you" or the like. So this metaphysics, not religion. In summary, if we can silence our ego and tap into our higher selves, we can manifest our own blissful universe (aka the law of attraction).Below are some of my notes from the book - I left out a lot of Ego description b/c I've already read "A New Earth" by Eckart Tolle, which describes in great detail the persistence of the Ego. Many of the notes below are paraphrased."God" here is not a big man in the sky. God is the divinity within each of us, the energy that binds us to each other and the earth, our higher selves. ______________________Each day, ask "How can I serve?"Let go of everything that you have been told is impossible or unrealistic and allow yourself the freedom to make your own contract with God about what is possible for you. Release your doubt. Know.Faith is an inner knowing and capacity to see God in everything, including myself. The invisible faith (becomes an invisible energy,) a power that was previously hidden from you... I have used this kind of faith to swim across a lake in 45-degree water without experiencing the sensation of cold. I type for hours and see poems and chapters emerge, without writers block, because I know that i am not alone. The cosmic energy is there within me for my use in fulfilling my personal destiny.I have often had precisely the right book or article show up in the mail when I was stuck at a particular place in my writing. Frequently I have visualized the appearance of a particular writer in my life by concentrating on his or her words, and the magically had them appear in my life. Become the witness: observe your feelings, thoughts, cravings, and pain. watch them go by, and then let them go. As you cultivate the new awareness you will find yourself enjoying the silence even more than when you used to seek out the noise as your companion. Cultivating the witness with introduce you to yourself not as the doer but as the observer of the doer. You will come to welcome this realm as a respite for the hurry-up world that you have been living in. "In my world, nothing ever goes wrong." Nisargadatta Maharaj describing that it is all part of a divine design. We should relax and let it run its course. Rather than engage in confrontations, be the witness. "When you have the choice between being right and being kind, always choose kind." Perhaps try recapitulation - recapturing the lost energy of your past. Read Taisha Abelar's "The Sorcerer's Crossing" for a detailed 'how to'Shut down your inner dialogue (it's the same shit over and over anyway)In order to understand my mind, I use the metaphor of a pond with a limitless depth. I do not call this metaphor or the practice of it "meditation" because there are countless methods of meditation practice. This is a visualization of shutting down the inner dialogue. The surface is where all the noise is. It's where the ice freezes, rain pelts, wind makes waves, and junk/leaves/bugs collects. This is the chatter of finances, deadlines, health, children, appointments, shopping lists, violence in the Middle East, the book you are reading, traffic, car repairs, your headache, etc. Level 2: just below the surface: a storm is still visible, but its presence not felt in the same way. Drop a pebble from the surface - it is like a thought. Thoughts in level 2 are being analyzed. Level 3: Pebble is well below the surface, the chatter is lessening, so is the need to analyze everything. You are allowing your mind to see the flow of how things are all connected and held together. Level 4: Stillness in Bliss Level 5: the Field of All Possibilities. Rather than focusing on a single thought, I am able to put my inner awareness on the space that exists between my thoughts. This space is a mental formless thing, just as all inner considerations are. Only the focus of your awareness can shift away from a single though and go to that space between. the pond metaphor works as you begin to shut down the ceaseless, monotonous inner dialogue. As the pebbles drop, be the witness. Observe compassionately. The storms will continue in your life, as they do on the pond. Serenity will no longer be defined as freedom from storms but will e known as peace during that wild weather. Take 5 minutes to focus on nothing when life gets crazy. Use your breath to focus. Or your heartbeat. put your awareness between your thoughts, or visualize running through a crowd - using the gaps between the people as your focus.Learn to meditate. call your local Transcendental Mediation centerIn meditation, use a candle or a rose or a tree for focus (without naming it. just be). Do not carry a rose to our beloved because in it is already embodied a message which unlike our language of words, cannot be analyzed.Free the Higher Self from the EgoEgo tricks you into thinking you are better than others by judging others to be less than, whether physically, spiritually, fashionably or otherwise. Just because you've begun this higher self practice, does not make you better than others. You're all made of the same stuff and you're all experiencing the human journey. Ego behaviors: confronting and arguing, competing and comparing, chasing and striving, worrying, seeking attention, giving yourself deadlines and pressure, accumulating and acquiring, chattering to yourself, gossip, and being offended. Also, putting yourself down with self-deprecating statements causing you to shy away from risks. By doing so, you are agreeing with the ego. Only your ego is holding you back. "The fear that is a substitute for love is simply a fear of being unacceptable. Virtually all fears can be traced directly back to self-esteem. If you love yourself, you will be able to transform your fears with love rather than allow them to direct your life." "When fear is released, the focus of your life shifts form the vehicles of your expression -- the approval seeking and avoidance of rejection -- to the divine you and what the authentic you is expressing. ""Your ego wants you to believe that you are unacceptable and will gleefully assist you in creating an image to prove that is so. Manifestations like obesity and personal slovenliness often are fear-based projections of yourself." "By hanging onto the fears of your insufficiency, you can avoid taking any risks." "Your fear driven ego will try to convince you that love is not the answer. You will notice thoughts about proving something to others, about shopping and owning grand things, or about bills that can't be" paid with love... "This is ego trying to put you into scarcity consciousness, where fear reigns." (224) Replace turmoil with PeaceBe sympathetic, release fear and guilt and replace them with love, forgiveness and kindness. In in doubt as to what to say, be silent. Do not fear rejection. Resist the need to boast and/or talk about yourself. Stop exaggerating. Taking credit is unimportant. Resist judgment and fear of being homeless, abused, mentally dysfunctional, ill, poor, etc.Produce to distribute, feed before you eat, give before you take, think of others before yourself. Remind yourself that "I am enough", forgive yourself, notice acts of kindness others do rather than their wrongdoings, remind yourself how much you have to give, show others that verbal assaults are meaningless. Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass: I exist as I am, that is enough If no other in the world be aware I sit content, And if each and all be aware I sit content. One world is aware, and by far the largest to me, and that is myself. And whether I come to my own today or in ten thousand or ten million years, I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness, I can wait. When you have the awareness that the divine in me is the same as the divine in you, you are able to radiate/send live and kindness without noticing appearances. On the path of the sacred way, you experience that force flowing through you and others -- even if the others don't recognize it in themselves. When you need more of anything to feel positive about yourself, you are always in a race without a finish line, and you cannot achieve spiritual bliss. The way out of this trap of self-repudiation is to recognize that the earth habitat is not your complete home. Edgar Allan Poe reminds us: "All that we see or seem / Is but a dream within a dream." When you know your lifetime is a dream within a larger dream, you can stop using outer appearances as a meaningful gauge. Quit striving: The need to strive for answers... will be replaced by a patient knowing that divine design will reveal what the next step along the path of your sacred quest will be. In mediation, I say, "I am leaving it in your hands. My ego is pushing but it just doesn't feel right, so I will silently wait to see in what direction I am to go. Use me as you see fit." The Prayer of St. Francis Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair; hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may never seek so much To be consoled as to console, To be understood as to understand, To be loved as to love with all my soul. For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

I've read this quite a few times over the years and find it to be an enlightening as well as helpful book. So grateful that Dr. Dyer wrote so many books before he passed because his wisdom was so spot-on and his insights into human nature were just what I have needed at certain times in my life.

I have had this book for years and always picked it up but never came around to reading it. That I feel is because the time was just not right. This is one of those books either you connect with and understand or you don't. It is an interesting philosophy on life and I found a lot of it relevant to myself. I enjoyed reading this one, it really gets you thinking outside of the box. A great read for those seeking spiritual growth. Five out of Five Gold Stars.

This is a great rallying call for people to stop focusing so much on the external but to spend more time looking at the internal elements of our being, our missions, beliefs, inner dialogue etc. It is particularly relevant in this day and age of social media and consumerism together with all the distractions that come with it. I found the exercises in particular quite fascinating and refreshing.

Very revealing book which elaborates on the subject of self actualization. Dr Dyer uses many practical examples to explain why- and how you can rid yourself of ego-based behavior.Dr. Dyer is a follower of Shri Nisargadatta Maharaj, one of the founding fathers of the Advaita Vedanta movement.

I think i've read everything Dr. Dyer has published. This is my favorite.

This book will help you understand so much about transcending into our higher selves, and not giving in to fear. We all need to know how to do this. I really enjoyed reading about this, and I would recommend all people should educate themselves on these principles. We are stronger when we set our hearts on love.

I saw Wayne Dyer on an infomercial once and was pretty impressed with some of the things he was saying. Hence, I bought this book. I learned a great deal from it and looked at particular things in different ways than I had in the past. Parts of the book seemed boring to me but for the most part I enjoyed it.

I was mesmerized by the beauty and wisdom in this book.Wayne Dyer takes us on a journey where the spirit triumph over ego. This book will serve as an extremely valuable guide to all those who seek the exultation of the spiritual experience and who value total freedom as the ultimate goal of life.

Eye opening book for spiritual Guidance.

Rating: 9/10 Reading this ended up being way more intense than I was anticipating. I listened to it in audiobook format and was planning to use it to fall asleep since it is read by Dyer himself in his calm and soothing voice. However, this proved to be difficult as it stirred up powerful emotions and gave me so much to think about. Dyer’s words are soothing and encouraging, but also challenged me to think about the beliefs I hold and what I really know with certainty. I would highly recommend this for anyone interested in dispelling fear and doubt from their life, detaching from the ego, and aligning with their higher self. Dyer assures the reader that there is no such thing as failure, that you are always on the right path. This is a hopeful and much needed message as it gave me so much space to reflect on the things I’ve been afraid of, the suffering I’ve gone through, and the beliefs I’ve held because of it. By the end of this read I could feel myself settling settling into a more peaceful state.

This book has changed my thinking and my life. It has so many different lessons and practical tips that one can adopt in daily living. I have truly started believing more in the "sacredness" of my soul.

** spoiler alert ** Wow this book was very deep! I could only read small bits at a time. The book goes deep into your ego and how it controls almost all of your life in an unhealthy way. I particularly liked the section on being the witness to your thoughts and not the one experiencing it.

Wish this was a required reading for the world! I'm grateful that he wrote this book to leave as a legacy when he passed away in 2015. He's a missing hole on earth! Thank you for writing this treasure Wayne, wherever your spirit and soul are eternally housed.

Love Wayne Dyer this book was great and is definitely a must read for spiritual awareness. It talk’s about how we all battle with Ego and let it get in the way of our lives and our sacred self. This book is about peace and love, both of which we need more of in the world!