A Tribute To One Of My Teachers - Dr. Wayne Dyer

I have never met Dr. Wayne Dyer in person. He has been my teacher though his books, TV programs and educational videos where he has spoken by himself or with other spiritual teachers. 

Dr. Dyer passed away in his sleep sometime in the early morning hours on August 30, 2015. He is known to many as the "father of motivation" (About the author, Hay House email I received recently). I, for one, have been motivated through the years to make many changes in my belief system and in my daily life. 

In honor of his passing and his work, Hay House is making the video "The Shift" available to watch for free until September 8, 2015. I just finished watching "The Shift". It was well worth the two hours of sitting. I hope you will find the time to also watch it. Here is the link where I found it.

http://www.drwaynedyer.com/the-shift-movie-watch-now?

Here are a few little tidbits that I found interesting from watching the video.
1.  Enthusiasm comes from two words meaning "the God within."
2.  Stop interfering in your own life.
3.  You don't attract what you want. You attract what you are.
4.  Let go of ego/self and be of service to others.
5.  How can you ignore what is in front of you? Because you are 
     too busy doing other things.
6.  Sometimes you just have to show up for life.
7.  Everything will happen perfectly.
8.  Your purpose is always found in service.
9.  Leave the planet better than you found it.

Last Sunday morning I shared a guest blog article that I wrote back in February 2008. Over the years since then I have thought about sharing the article here on my blog but that didn't happen until last Sunday, the very day that Dr. Dyer left his body behind. You will find the link to that article at the end of this post.

In the comment section of that blog article entitled "Five Ways To Leave Pain Behind", a friend and I talked about the coincidence of me posting that article on the very day that Dr. Dyer died. Dr. Dyer is the one who taught me that there is no such thing as coincidences in the Universe. God/the Universe orchestrates things to happen when they are supposed to. There is no guesswork.   There is no luck or coincidence that caused something to happen. My belief is that those things were meant to happen whether I know the reason or not. I believe there is a higher intelligence in the Universe. 

If you believe something different, I am okay with that too. My beliefs are my own and your beliefs are yours. We are each of us at different steps along the path of life. 

Dr. Wayne Dyer helped me to open my mind to new ways of thinking and seeing life and most importantly myself. He helped me to learn my own value as a human being and as a member of the ever-expanding Universe. I will always be grateful to him for that introduction into things greater than myself/my ego. Thank you Dr. Dyer for the things that you are still teaching me. I hope to be as wise as you one day.
Patricia

Related Posts:

Five Ways To Leave Pain Behind @
http://patriciasingleton.blogspot.com/2015/08/five-ways-to-leave-pain-behind.html

Origin Of Name: Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker

I have never explained to myself or anyone else where the name of my blog came from before today. That is because I didn't really get it before today. At the time that I started my blog in June 2007, I didn't understand the significance of the name. I felt guided by Spirit/God to name my blog Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker.  I listened to that guidance even though I didn't understand it, at the time. I have learned to follow spiritual guidance of that kind. It never fails me. God always knows better than I do. Today I got the significance of the name and will do my best to explain it to my readers.

All of my journey though healing from incest, and life in general, has been a spiritual journey, even when I wasn't aware of the spiritual side of it. My healing has taken me on a spiritual journey of reconnecting with myself and with God. I have learned to listen to His guidance through the wonderful mentors that He has guided me to through the years. When those mentors chose other paths that I didn't need to go down then I learned to turn inward and listen to my own inner teacher that God gives each of us because we are his precious children.

I learned that we are all Light Workers who shine our light for those survivors who come after us. Every time we share our healing stories, we are shining our light for others to see that healing is possible. 

I think the reason for making Light Worker into one word instead of two, which my computer considers correct, is because Lightworker is more complete, more whole. It is who I am. It is who you are. It is a new becoming for many of us. It certainly was for me. I am not sure that I fully understand that myself yet so I don't know if I am explaining it well. That part of me is still evolving and so is my understanding. 

I know that many more of us are sharing our stories and shining our lights for others than at any other time in history. I know that together we are stronger than alone. The journey started out with women leading the way to speaking out and breaking the silence of child sexual abuse. Now men are joining us in the fight to light the way for other survivors and to prevent more children from having to join the ranks of survivors who are hurting from what was done to them in their childhoods. When we are big enough and strong enough no one will be able to stop us. No more children have to be abused. We won't shut up until this happens. We are the generation that says no to child abuse.  Much more has to be done before it is stops but each day, I see more survivors - more Lightworkers - joining our march forward and shining their light. Soon the darkness will have no place to hide. We won't let it. 
Patricia

Awareness Is The Key To Growth

Awareness is the key to growth. In typing the word "awareness", instead I typed "awakeness". What an odd slip of tongue or should I say slip of hand since I was typing instead of speaking? I will need to think about that for awhile.

Where did this idea come from? I was visiting and commenting on one of the blogs that I read written by another abuse survivor who goes by the name of Just Be Real. That is also the title of her blog about her spiritual journey through recovery from sexual abuse. JBR says that her blog is about "Recovery into Greatness!" I really like that. Both of us write from a position of power over our abuse and abusers rather than as a helpless victim that we were as children when the abuse happened.

Another statement that JBR has posted on her blog says, "I WILL STOP GIVING OTHERS THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY JOY!" What a great message that is to all survivors and the world. Thanks for sharing that JBR. You are such a brave soul and a bright light to all who visit your blog. Seeing your courage and struggle gives me the courage to continue in my own journey through recovery.

The title of the article that inspired my article is "ADMITTING I AM WEAK". You will find this article at the following site:

http://justbereal77.blogspot.com/2009/12/admitting-i-am-weak.html

My comment to this article was "The awareness that you get from Spirit is such a blessing to your recovery. Until you are aware, you can't change anything. ..."

Awareness is so very important as my above comment states. I believe that my awarenesses come from Spirit, my Higher Self, my Higher Power, God, intuition. Whatever you choose to call it isn't as important as what you do with the awareness. If you don't act on it, nothing happens. If you choose to act on the awareness, your whole view of your world can sometimes change. Some changes are small. Some are huge. Sometimes all you get is a minor shift in attitude.

Like I said in my previous article, sometimes the changes you choose to make can have a ripple effect that goes out from your center and can bring about small or enormous changes in the world and the people around you.

I keep using the word "choose". Such a little word and it can have such a huge effect on your life.

For example: I choose to no longer be a victim.
I choose to take responsibility for my own happiness.
I choose to take responsibility for the choices that I make in my life.
I choose to continue to grow in 2010 and beyond.
I choose to be real in all of my relationships.
I choose to continue to be involved in the community of sexual abuse survivors that I have found online to share my strengths and my weaknesses in order to be real.
I choose to continue to visit and read other blogs and leave comments on those blogs because as survivors we can support each other in our moments of strength and weakness.

Thanks JBR for your inspiration and courage in choosing to be real. It inspires me to do that same. Have a glorious 2010.
Patricia

Name It, Claim It, Make It So---Intention To Hear Your Spirit Guides

Slade Roberson recently wrote an article called "You Can Hear Your Spirit Guides". You will find the link to this article at the bottom of the page along with some other links with information about Slade. In the article, Slade says, "If you wish to communicate more effectively with your spirit guides, the number one thing you need to tell yourself and your guides is that you are open to their presence and to receiving their guidance."

Here is the intention that I set for hearing my guides:

I am open to being psychic. I do hear my spirit guides in whatever form they choose. I play a significant part in the forming of my world.

Like most people, I was a little afraid of my psychic abilities. I was more puzzled than afraid. I really didn't know what to do with these abilities. Sometimes they are right on with the messages that I receive and sometimes, because I don't have the whole picture, they make no sense to me. The messages are easier to receive when the messages are for me rather than for someone else. If the message is for someone else, that means I have to risk voicing the message and being wrong in front of someone else. What if they look at me like I am crazy, like I have totally lost it? What will I do then? I have learned to present the information anyway. Whether I understand it or not, it is usually understood by the person that needs it. I am doing them a disservice by not presenting the information.

If you are interested in learning how to hear your spirit guides, Slade gives classes occasionally. I have taken two of the classes and greatly benefitted from them. Slade teaches you how to be more aware of the psychic hits that you get from your guides on a daily basis. We totally ignore so much of what our guides send us because it doesn't come in the form that we expect it to. That is why my affirmation says, "I do hear my spirit guides speaking in whatever form they choose."

If you are interested in learning more about your spirit guides and how to contact them, check out Slade's blog, Shift Your Spirits. Start with the article linked below. If you like what you read spend some time checking out the rest of Slade's articles.

What is your intention toward hearing your guides?
Patricia


Related Links:

You Can Hear Your Spirit Guides --- http://sladeroberson.com/spirit-guides/you-can-hear-your-spirit-guides.html

Epiphanies From Freaking Out --- http://lightbeckons.com/2008/09/09/epiphanies-from-freaking-out


Ghosts, Spirits, Seances - and a story --- http://www.personal-growth-with-corinne-edwards.com/ghosts-spirits-seances-and-a-story/


Stephen Hopson Interview with Slade Roberson of Shift Your Spirits, Part I of II --- http://www.adversityuniversityblog.com/2008/08/26/stephen-hopson-interview-with-slade-roberson-of-shift-your-spirits-part-i-of-ii/

Stephen Hopson Interview with Slade Roberson of Shift Your Spirits, Part II of II --- http://www.adversityuniversityblog.com/2008/09/02/stephen-hopson-interview-with-slade-roberson-of-shift-your-spirits-part-ii-of-ii/

Spiritual Instead Of Religious

I just looked outside my house to the street to see a bus from one of the area churches dropping off about 5-6 teenagers in the neighborhood to go walking door-to-door to do what that particular church calls soul-saving. I live in the Bible Belt of the South (USA) so this happens quite often. Sometimes it is teenagers. Sometimes it is adults. This is a practice that I have never been comfortable with, no matter what church I was attending at the time.

To me, my spirituality is personal, between God and me. If someone asks, I will talk about it but I don't feel the need to try to "save" someone else. If I want to influence others, I think my actions---how I live my life---is a better way to do that than talking to change someone's mind and beliefs.

I have never felt right telling someone that my religion is better than theirs. I believe how you live your life is more important.

We are all on our own journey back to God. How we get there is up to each individual.

Most of the time that someone comes to my door to discuss religion, unless they were invited by me, gets politely turned away. I don't feel the need to be convinced by them that my beliefs are wrong and I don't feel the need to convince them that their beliefs are wrong. We are each exactly where we need to be in our spiritual journeys.

Someone asked me once why I read and used the information from so many books rather than just following the original 12-Step information that I was given. I think that my answer could also apply to why the world has so many different religions. Not everyone learns the same way. What appeals to me and helps me learn and remember may be different than what you need to learn and remember the same subject. I think that is why we have so many different religions in the world. Different ways of processing need different ways for information to be presented to the people of the world. Does that make sense to you? You may process information, religious or otherwise, differently than I process that same information, therefore, you and I may need the information to be presented in different ways to each of us.

Also, we aren't all on the same page at the same time. That can further complicate things. Different page, different time, doesn't mean that I am any more or less spiritual than you are.
Patricia

Related Articles:
What Is God --- http://patriciasingleton.blogspot.com/2008/03/what-is-god.html

Are You Judging Others As Less Spiritual Than You? --- http://patriciasingleton.blogspot.com/2007/12/are-you-juding-others-as-less.html

Ego-centered selfishness vs. Spirit-centered Selfishness --- http://patriciasingleton.blogspot.com/2008/03/ego-centered-selfishness-vs-spirit.html

Tools Of The Ego --- http://patriciasingleton.blogspot.com/2008/04/tools-of-ego.html

You Had It All The Time

My friend Slade Roberson from the blog Shift Your Spirits recently wrote an article called "Are You Developing Too Rapidly?" found at http://sladeroberson.com/manifesting/are-you-developing-too-fast.html.


I read the above article just after reading the beginning chapters of a book called "I Had It All the Time" written by Alan Cohen back in 1995. I wanted to share a few quotes from the book in case you are like me and haven't read anything by Alan Cohen.


From the Foreword, on page ix:
"Sooner or later we reach the point where living the truth becomes more important than seeking it. Knowledge, techniques, and experiences pale in the face of riches of the heart. Learning must give way to being."


From page xii:
"You are not a black hole that needs to be filled; you are a light that needs to be shined. The days of self-improvement are gone, and the era of self-affirmation is upon us. It is time to quit improving yourself and start living."



For many years, I saw myself as a black hole wanting to be filled with love, with food, with something so I wouldn't feel so empty. I felt emptiness because, like my parents, I had abandoned myself.


What it took me years to realize and what this book says is, "I had it all the time."

I spent years running here and there, reading this book, watching that video on self-improvement. According to Alan Cohen's book, I didn't have to do any of that searching. I already had it; I just didn't know it. All I had to do is remember who I really am.


In the book "I Had It All the Time," Mr. Cohen talks about self-discovery rather than self- improvement. He says your spirituality isn't your journey. You don't have some place to go; you are already there and always have been. The real you doesn't need improving. You have forgotten the greatness of who you really are in searching for self-improvement when all you really need to do is remember and just be.
Patricia

Seeking, Truth, Spiritual, Warrior---Words For Who I Am

One of the many books that I am currently reading is "Eat, Pray, Love, One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia" written by Elizabeth Gilbert. On pages 102-105, Elizabeth tells her readers about a discussion that she has with an Italian friend of hers. Elizabeth has come to the realization that Rome isn't where she really belongs even though she loves the country of Italy. Her friend Giulio says the reason she doesn't belong is because her word is not the same as the word of Rome.

His theory is that each city has one word that describes it. Giulo says (paraphrased by Elizabeth) that ". . . every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there. If you could read people's thoughts as they were passing you on the streets of any given place, you would discover that most of them are thinking the same thought. Whatever that majority thought might be---that is the word of the city. And if your personal word does not match the word of the city, then you don't really belong there." According to Giulo the word for Rome is SEX. The word for the Vatican is POWER. According to Elizabeth, the word for New York City is probably ACHIEVE and for Los Angeles the word would be SUCCEED.

Giulo then proceeded to ask Elizabeth, "What was the word in your family when you were growing up?" Then he asked Elizabeth was her word was?

The word in my family when I was growing up would have to be RAGE. Rage overpowered every word, every act, every thought in my family when I was growing up. What was the word for your family? Are you still living that word or has it changed? Has that word become the pattern that you have recreated in relationship after relationship in your adulthood? Many of us do this until something causes us to wake up and see what we are creating.

What would be my word today? SEEKING could be my word. TRUTH could be another. It is really difficult to stick with just one. SPIRITUAL would be good. Some days, WARRIOR is true.

When I first left home, APPROVAL was probably my word. I wanted the approval of others at any cost. If I had your approval, I must be ok. I must have value. I must be good enough if you liked me. Today, it is ok if you approve of me but my own approval is much more valuable to me. If you don't approve of me today, that is ok too. I know that I can't please everyone. For the most part, as long as I am true to who I am, I really don't care much what you think. My true value comes from me, not you.

What is your word?
Patricia

Mirroring---Good And Bad In Each Of Us

My husband was doing some reorganizing in the bedroom earlier and ran across a notebook of mine with writings from 1997 and 1998. Here are a few ideas that I found that I had written down and wanted to share with you today. When I learned these things, they made a huge difference in how I related to myself and others. These came from a class that I was taking at the time.

1. "The faults you see in others are merely projections of your own; the good you see in others is a reflection of your own goodness."---It was easier for me to see this in relation to what I thought of as the bad in me than it was for the good in me. Everything that you like and admire in another person is because you have that same trait in yourself. We are all the same---good and bad.

2. "Think no evil, think what is good. See no evil; see what is good. Hear no evil; hear what is good. Speak no evil; speak what is good. Do no evil; do what is good."---I think this is a quote from Sai Baba but I don't know the source for sure.

3. "If you want happiness and if you want peace, you must give love. Only though love will you find true happiness. Only through love will you will inner peace."

4. "Develop your love; live in love. Love lives by giving and forgiving."

The above words of wisdom were taught to me by my spiritual teacher of the time, Saji Burke. I have never said "Thank You." publically to Saji before. He taught me about Sai Baba and made my first two trips to India an accomplishment that I will always treasure. I would never have had those experiences without Saji's guidance. One of the most difficult lessons that Saji also taught me was that sometimes the student outgrows the teacher. Saji isn't in my life today. I often think about him and wish him well wherever he is. Because of Saji and his teachings, my world is a much better and bigger place. Thank you, Saji. I will always love you.
Patricia