Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life

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Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Lifeby Dr. Wayne Dyer

The following is an excerpt from Dr. Dyer's forthcoming book Change YourThoughts, Change Your Life which is to be released July 31st.20th VerseGive up learning and you will be freefrom all your cares.

What is the difference between yes and no?What is the difference between good and evil?Must I fear what others fear?Should I fear desolationwhen there is abundance?

Should I fear darknesswhen that light is shining everywhere?In spring, some go to the park and climb the terrace,but I alone am drifting, not knowing where I am.

Like a newborn babe before it learns to smile,I am alone, without a place to go.Most people have too much;I alone seem to be missing something.

Mine is indeed the mind of an ignoramusin its unadulterated simplicity.

I am but a guest in this world.While others rush about to get things done,I accept what is offered.

I alone seem foolish,earning little, spending less.

Other people strive for fame;I avoid the limelight,preferring to be left alone.

Indeed, I seem like an idiot:no mind, no worries.I drift like a wave on the ocean.

I blow as aimless as the wind.All men settle down in their grooves;I alone am stubborn and remain outside.

But wherein I am most different from others isin knowing to take sustenance from the great Mother!***Living Without StrivingIn this verse of the Tao Te Ching, you're encouraged to experience your lifefree of worldly striving. Lao-tzu advises you to slow down your incessantdemands for more, and to relax your efforts to fill up every moment inanticipation of being somewhere else. You're invited to experience life in a waythat can be summarized in the title of Ram Dass's book Be Here Now.Be here in your mind as well as in your body, in a state of appreciation and anabsence of longing. Let go of wondering about doing the right thing. Release thewhat-ifs and all of your goals for the future, replacing them with the power ofthis instant. Be here, and remember to do it now, for thinking about beingsomeplace else uses up your precious present moments. The enlightened sage makesa practice of immersing himself completely in the current "nowness" of his life.Being here now is accomplished by adopting an acceptance of life as it ispresented by the great Mother, or the Tao. It's a surrendering process, if youwill—simply allowing this great all-creating, all-nourishing Source to take youwhere it will. You give up the idea of having to get more or to be in anotherplace in the future, and instead see yourself as whole and complete just as youare. This surrendering process allows you to bear witness to the unlimitedabundance and eternal light that is always present. You retrain yourself to giveup your beliefs about lacks and shortages; you instead trust in the great Sourceto provide what you need, as it has always done for all beings.Lao-tzu emphasizes that this wasn't a socially accepted standard even 2,500years ago, as he refers to himself as an outsider who is unlike most people.Striving for satisfaction was viewed at that time as a proper role in life, justas it is today. The narrator of this verse admits that he is drifting, notknowing where he is, yet his tone is ironic. It's as if he's saying, "No onereally knows where they are in this endless universe with no beginning and noending, so why not admit it and allow yourself to be moved by the Tao thatbrought you here from nowhere?"You're being encouraged to simplify your life by not seeking another thing. Yes,others might judge you as unmotivated and call you an ignoramus, but your rewardwill be the strong sense of inner peace that comes from a direct knowing thatyou're here as a guest who's always being provided for. Yes, you may seem to bemissing something, but the something is really only an illusion. You're nolonger living inside of yourself with a desire to be someone else or to gainsomething that seems to be omnipresent in all of those around you—you've tradedin striving for arriving."I accept what is offered," says the narrator of this provocative verse in theTao Te Ching. He continues to express that this may seem foolish, perhapsechoing your thoughts as you contemplate letting go of striving. Lao-tzu istelling you to change how you see what's here now in your life, for then it willbecome exactly what you need in order to be happy. In other words, you canchange how you look at striving and have contentment without anxiety and fear.When you live by the tenets explained in this verse, you begin to have aworry-free existence. Imagine that! No concerns or fears—only a sense of beingconnected to the Source of all, knowing that all will be handled for you by thesame force that's always handling everything. Lao-tzu is teaching you to freeyour mind from its persistent nagging. The world and everything in it arealready taken care of by the Tao . . . it has always done this and always will.Your mind continually urges you to strive in spite of the all-providingperfection of the Tao; it prompts you to pursue fame, to look for a groove orpurpose. Lao-tzu encourages you to do precisely the opposite: Stay outside therat race and let your mind be in peaceful harmony with the Tao rather thanworrying and fighting. The concluding line of this passage of the Tao Te Chingsays it all, instructing you to change how you look at your life by "knowing totake sustenance from the great Mother!"The following are suggestions coming from Lao-tzu to you in the 20th verse ofthe Tao:Practice letting go of thoughts about what's not here now.Just allow yourself to meld into the perfection of the universe you live in. Youdon't need another thing to be happy; it's all being provided for you righthere, right now. Be in this moment, and free yourself of striving for somethingmore or someone else. This is a mind exercise that will put you in touch withthe peace of the Tao. Affirm: It is all perfect. God's love is everywhere andforgets no one. I trust in this force to guide me, and I am not allowing ego toenter now. Notice how free you feel when you relax into this no-fears,no-worries attitude.Take time to "let go and let God," every single day.Say the words over and over to yourself until you can actually tell what thedifference feels like. Letting go is a markedly distinct physical andpsychological experience, much different from striving. Let go of your demands,along with your beliefs that you can't be happy because of what is supposedlymissing in your life. Insisting that you need what you don't have is insane! Thefact that you're okay without what you think you need is the change you want tosee. Then you can note that you already have everything you need to be peaceful,happy, and content right here and right now! Relax into this knowing and affirm,again and again: I am letting go and letting God. I am a glorious infant nursingat the great all-providing Mother's breast.Do the Tao NowBegin to notice the situations where you're not in the moment because you'restriving to complete or attain something for a future benefit. You may notrealize how often you endeavor to accomplish all sorts of things with the ideathat once you do, you'll finally have the time to do what you really want. Thisis one of the most pernicious ways that many of us unconsciously prevent (orperpetually postpone) a life free of striving. It's a tough one to become awareof, and may be easiest to see when our free time becomes hijacked by familymembers or business emergencies.Here's an example: You've put in extra hours at work all week in order to have adeliciously imagined free day to [fill in the blank], when you learn that yourspouse has invited a friend of a friend who's never been to this part of thecountry before—and whom you've never met—to stay at your home.There are two opportunities to practice living without striving in thissituation. The first, of course, is to catch yourself wrapped up in striving forfuture benefit, notice what you're doing, and focus on the now. The second comesafter the example above, which is a difficult but incredibly rewarding exercise.Do the Tao now by accepting what is offered—that is, know that this situation,in some way that your striving ego rejects, is actually sustenance from theGreat Mother.---------------------------------Watch for Dr. Dyer's new inspirational Public Television special airing thisAugust. Check your local listings for broadcast dates. Click here to pre-orderChange Your Thoughts, Change Your Life from Amazon.com.Back to Top ÄThanks...A positive thinking, positive affirmations support group, that discusses ways tocope with the stresses of daily life. Come aboard! PJ and Gang

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