I have been listening to Wayne Dyer since my early 20’s when my good friend Trish introduced him to me by handing me a tape (yes, a while back now) with a recording of him speaking in Vancouver.
On that tape he talked about his love of running and joked that when he visited rainy Vancouver he would simply run in the hallways. I smirked at the site of him all kitted up in his running gear running past the maids in the halls.
Some years later I met Wayne in Dublin, Ireland and it was not too long after that he quite seriously helped turn my life around.
My business, based in England, was suffering. This meant, at that time in my life, that I was also suffering.
What Wayne reminded me of one morning, as I contemplated the stressful day I was about to have, was that I was not my business. In other words, regardless of what happened to my business, I was still going to be here. He reminded me that I was here, in this life, to have a series of experiences and that many of them may not be ‘pleasurable’ in the moment, but that they were all purposeful. He also reminded me to return to a practice that had been a major part of my life: meditation.
That morning, as I looked at my life as an experience, and meditated on what I was learning and how it may serve me in the future, I began to feel better. Every morning for the next few months I took some extra time, meditated and prepared myself for the day ahead. It may be coincidence, but those few months marked a massive turn around in my business and made it possible for me to sell that company three years later and retire from the IT sector.
So, why did I feel better? There are many possible reasons:
1) Scientific
We now know, as a result of brain chemistry and blood flow studies, that when a person meditates the blood flow to various parts of the brain increases and the brain produces a number of ‘feel good’ chemicals.
2) Spiritual
Just about every spiritual belief system on the planet calls for some quiet contemplative time that one could call meditation or prayer. One major component of my meditations over the years has been to undertake a ‘rampage of gratitude’ before delving into the deeper mediation. Most religions or organized spiritual communities also teach ‘giving thanks’ before asking God to answer your own prayers.
My experience has been that taking some time each morning to find a long list of things to be grateful for, is one of the most valuable investments in time anyone can make. The more gratitude you have for your life, and your past, the more faith you will have in your current circumstances and your future.
3) Energetic
There are many people who believe that by meditating that they can change their ‘frequency’ or ‘vibration’. Much of the “Law of Attraction” teaching is based upon these ideas. These are not, however, new ideas. In the original version of Napoleon Hill’s classic, Think and Grow Rich, the word ‘vibration’ occurs 58 times (I just did a count using acrobat). Think and Grow Rich was first released in 1937.
Even in the 60’s a common term ‘vibes’ indicated the energy that someone was projecting or had around them. If you didn’t like someone’s ‘vibe’ it meant you didn’t like the way you felt when you were around them.
When you meditate you certainly do produce a certain calm, centered energy in your life. This is something that is palpable to others and something that affects the way you respond to events in your life.
So why am I thinking about this today? Well, lately, we have so many projects on the go: a film production company in California, hosting ontheset.biz, completing two books at the moment, business consulting, public speaking, most of which creates a lot of travel opportunities for me — and the list goes on. Obviously, these are all exciting and fun projects, and I am enjoying working on them. And, I have lost some of my centered nature in the flurry of activity I experience and the demands I receive each day.
How has this impacted me? In a number of tiny ways that add up to produce stress — something I have not experienced in a long time. Don’t get me wrong — I am not heavily stressed, or particularly worried about anything. I just noticed, recently, that I was not as calm and balanced as I would like to be.
Yesterday, I walked out into the kitchen where Elise was preparing some food and I heard a voice I recognized — I looked around to find no-one else in the kitchen. Then I realized it was the stereo. Elise was listening to Wayne Dyer while she cooked.
I smiled to myself, considered the timing, and listened to Wayne’s perfectly timed (again) message. This morning I went for my run, with Wayne’s words echoing in my head and prepared myself for a productive, but centered, day. With my post-run glow on, I walked out to the dock, sat down legs crossed and went inside.
At first my mind followed the sounds of the birds and the water gently lapping the shore and then I started thinking about everything I was grateful for, including each of the exciting business projects and opportunities around me.
After thinking on those things for a while, I went deeper. And deeper.
When I returned to the waterfront and the chirping birds, I walked back toward the house with a powerful sense of calm. A humming bird flew by, stopped, hovered, and then flew on.
Yes, this is going to be a great day indeed.