Don’t Belive Everything You Think
I’ve been a fan of most of Wayne Dyer’s books and PBS talks for years. He’s a modern philosopher and spiritual teacher in the lineage of Emerson and Thoreau.
In fact, I credit one of the most significant shifts in my life to his book Your Sacred Self. I recommend it anyone seeking their own version of truth.
The book I’m reading now is his latest, Excuses Begone! How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits.
Part I opens with the following quote by Lao-tzu:
“Every human being’s essential nature is perfect and faultless, but after years of immersion in the world we easily forget our roots and take on a counterfeit nature.”
How true this is.
Old psychic tapes, popular culture, even mainstream religion teaches the opposite: You’re too young, too old, not strong enough, not mature enough, too inexperienced, lacking in real-world experience…the list of excuses are endless.
While these are well-meaning and for the most part well-intentioned, we fall victim to the ‘mind viruses’ they impart. Dyer believes these mental memes or mind viruses to be as infectious as influenza.
I think he’s right.
In my own life I’ve seen the effects of belief in any number of these excuses. And while each false belief needs to be individually assessed in our own lives, I belive that false beliefs about our abilitites or inabilities (excuses) are all too easy to access and live by.
Some false beliefs lead to lying.
There was a time in my life when I lied about nearly everything. I was in high school at the time and not only was I the shortest person among the 1200 students (true) but I was also the most insignificant (a false belief in my life at the time).
Because I believed I was so insignificant (growing up hearing that I was a failure only reinforced this), I felt I needed to create a world that was more attractive to others, more attractive to myself, and one that allowed me to feel that I mattered in some way.
I created experiences that were totally false, and even cut out magazine photos and tried to pass them off as myself to my friends.
I look back on it now and I laugh a little -and cry a little, too-, but at the time, the false belief that I would always be a failure was so pervasive that creating this false world where I was the center of attention seemed like my only hope.
The Book’s Organization
Part I – Identifying and Removing Habitual Thinking: In this section Dyers sets the stage for making possible the journey that lies ahead. There is a chapter that examines the most common excuses we use and how to overcome them.
There is a saying that when you turn on the light, the darkness shrinks and truth is revealed. This portion of the book is similar to turning on the lights. Excuses become exposed for what they are when the lights of commonsense and truth are flipped on.
Part II – Key Principles: In this section Dyer puts forth and examines seven principles that help make excuses a thing of the past. Each chapter in this section has tips for applying the prinicples to your life.
Admittedly, this is where most authors like Dyer go wrong, in my opinion. Seven principles and the seven questions in Part III are a bit much to keep track of…or is that just an excuse? 
Part III- Excuses Begone – A Paradigm Shift: In the final section, Dyer writes about seven questions to pose when examining the validity of something you believe abut yourself. By asking these questions, you can be in a better position to know whether or not this belief serves or deludes you.
I recommend this book.
If you’d like to read more about it and look at the table of contents, click on the images on this page and they will take you to the Amazon.com site where you you can look inside the book and decide for yourself.
What are you reading?
What book has you currently secreting away hours at a time to read? Is it something you’d recommend? Tell us what you think by leaving a comment. As always, your comments are welcome! :)
I’m immersed in books about Abraham Lincoln. His life story is calling to me in some way I just have not figured out. I’ve always loved American history, but this is beyond “interest” and definitely obsessional.
Dr. Leah http://www.singlemommyhood.com´s last blog post..When Dad unexpectedly appears
That’s some heavy summer reading if we’re talking Carl Sandburg’s biographical tome!
Lincoln is a fascinating figure. Nice choice.