by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer: Two right turns can bring you home…
In the words of Patanjali, “Dormant forces, faculties, and talents come alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” This great Hindu philosopher is referring to what happens when we move toward a spiritual mind-set and away from an ego-dominated one—that which previously appeared to be nonexistent suddenly comes alive. We become more than we ever thought we could be. This seeming miracle occurs when we reverse the direction of our lives and discover at last where we are headed. Two right turns make a U-turn and this “you-turn” sends us back toward our spiritual Source and the amazing power that the path of our true life direction offers us.
The most important thing we can do to defuse the influence of ego is to proclaim ourselves ready! Remember the ancient saying that instructs: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” The teachers and teachings are always there, throughout the entire span of our life. But when ego is running things, those teachers go unnoticed. Once we truly acknowledge our readiness to live a life on purpose and filled with meaning, there’s very little to do. We begin living in a different world than we experience in our ego-directed persona. As I’ve written and said many times: When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change.
Briefly summarized, here’s what happens when ego does a U-turn and heads in the direction of our place of origination:
- We shift to personal empowerment. Our ego self has always focused on external power. As we move toward Spirit, though, we replace ego’s need to influence external situations or other people with a preference for personal empowerment. We stop fighting ego’s endless battles and instead shift to Meaning. We do this through conscious compassionate curiosity, and caring first and foremost for our inner self. Noninterference becomes a higher priority than being right or dominating others.
- We see ourselves connected to everyone. Ego feels separate and distinct from others, a being unto itself. As we move back to Spirit, we recognize our connectedness. The essence of living a life on purpose is to think like God thinks, and the creative Source of all life is just that—responsible for all life. We all share the same Source and have the same destiny. Seeing ourselves as a part of everyone eliminates the need to compete with anyone.
- We are motivated by ethics, serenity, and quality of life. Ego is motivated by external achievement, performance, and acquisitions. As we move back to Spirit, we shift our focus to internal pursuits. Our preparation for living a life of purpose involves a major shift in attitude in the direction of feeling peaceful, being honest, and assisting others.
- We shift to the possibility, even the expectation, of miracles being a part of life. As we move toward originating Spirit, ego’s investment in a scientific cause-and-effect interpretation of life is diluted. We acknowledge the presence of the mysterious and unfathomable, and we relinquish skepticism by relying less on our senses and much more on our intuitive knowing.
- We pursue a meditation practice. Ego eschews the practice of meditation and often labels it as a waste of time—or even worse, lunacy. Shifting to our Source of being leads us to seek silence to consciously contact God as a natural component of a meaningful life.
- We begin to recognize ourselves in nature’s beauty and intricacy. Ego’s interest in contemplating the beauty of nature is minimal. When we journey back in the direction of Spirit, our interest in the miracles that appear in the natural world is endless. Out of this grows our preference to live in harmony with this universe, rather than to exert influence and power over it.
- We are less judgmental, and we easily understand and forgive. Ego is rather adamant about the importance of seeking revenge. Shifting to Source causes us to enjoy opportunities to practice forgiveness. Pursuing and achieving vengeance, retaliation, and reprisal prevent us from feeling purposeful and living a life of Meaning. We become truly sensitive to the edict that we don’t define others by our judgments; we are simply defining ourselves as people who need to judge.
