“But,” you sa y , “disease,
disharmony , des pair , and so on all appear to exist and run rampant in our
world.”
When w e feel separated from our sacred center , it’ s easy to b elieve so
strongly in the s eparation that we explain any unpleasantness as  a problem. In the world of Spirit, or God, p roblems simply don’ t exist and aren’ t real. When your spiritual connection is weak, you move away from the world of
Spirit, and problems come from your belief in separation. Y our mind creates
the illusion of separateness, and your body , influenced by your ego
thoughts, takes on diseases. Our  societies are the creation of our collective
thoughts. They take on the sam e separation-sickness, and the n we have
what we call social pr oblems. All  of the so-called problem s, however ,
represent a spiritual deficit that can be remedied with spiritual solutions. Think of it this way: If you change your mind , you  will solve your problem. (I’ve written an entire book on this subject called Ther e Is a Spiritual
Solution to Every Pr oblem  [Harper Collins, 2001]. )How to Go about Changing Y our Mind
Can you accept the idea that it’ s  your belief in your separation from God
that crea tes the attitude that you label a problem? Can you explo re this idea
that what you’re calling proble ms are all simply illusions, or mistakes of
your int ellect? If God is every where, there is no place that God is not;
therefore, you have God with you at all times. Y ou may believe otherwise. It is this belief s ystem that creates your so-called problems. If yo u can bring
truth to the presence of these illu sions, they will dissolve—just as you know
that three plus th ree equals six i s true, and that three plus three equals ten is
untrue. B y bring ing truth to the  presence of this arithmetic erro r , it simply
dissolves. So t oo will all  of your belief s that create “problems” in y our mind
dissolve when you bring the hig her ener gy of truth to them. St. Francis of
Assisi, in his f amous prayer , beseeches us to change our mind to this
thought: “Where there is hatred let me sow love.” Light always dissolves
darkness. Love always nullifies hate. Spirit always cancels problems. Problems exist  as beliefs of  your ego mind, which is unable to
conceptualize an awareness of  your spiritual mind, just as dark has no
concept of light. By a ctually rewriting your agre ement with reality , you can ch ange your
mind and send away any perceived problem. Change your attitude toward
yourself, and resolve to believe in your connectedness to the higher ener gy
of God, even in the direst of circumstances. T urn anything that seems
problematic ove r to your higher self, trusting that the “problem”  is not what
it seems to be. Rewrite your agreement about who you are and what you’re
capable of achieving. Y our New Agreement with Reality
Y our thoughts are the source of virtually everything in your life. Every
relationship that you’re in is something that you carry around with you. If
your rela tionship is lousy , it’ s because you think of it that way . The person
you’re in a relat ionship with isn’ t with you in this moment, or w hen you’reat w ork, or wh en you’re in th e bathroom, but your thoughts about that
person are always with you. The only way you can experie nce another
person is in your thoughts. Y ou can’ t get b ehind their eyeballs and be  them. Y ou can only process
them wi th your thoughts. If you look for what’ s wrong about them and store
that negative image in your mind , then that’ s where your relationship exists. If you change yo ur thoughts to w hat you love rather than to what you label
as w rong, you’ve just changed your entire relationship. It went  from lousy
to great by your changing your mind! T ry to always r emember that you carry every relationship around with
you in your head. Robert Frost reminded us, “Y ou love the things you love
for what  they are.” When you for get this and process other pe ople on the
basis of what you think  t hey should be, or what they used  to be, or how they
compare to what you  are, then you’ve  sent love away , and in your mind, the
relationship has soured. Y ou experience every thing  and  eve ry one  in your
thoughts. Chang e your thoughts, and you change what you carry around in
your head as problems. The world is just the way it is. The economy is just as it should be. The
people who are behaving “badly” in the world are doing what they’re
supposed to be doing. Y ou can process it in any way that you choose. If
you’re f illed wi th anger about all of those “problems,” you are one more
person who contributes to the pollution of anger . Y our desire to do something ab out the lowest ener gies will mo tivate you
to b e mo re loving, more feeling, and more peaceful. And in so  doing, you
may inf luence t hose who are th e farthest removed from God to return to
their source. This new agreemen t with yourself to always stay connected to
Spirit even when it seems to be the most dif ficult thing to do  will allow
whatever degree of perfect harmony that your body was desi gned for to
proliferate. T urn  “diseases” over to God, and treat your body to regular
exercise, healthy  food, lar ge am ounts of pure water , and plent y of rest to
allow it to function as a container for Spirit to flow through. Y our new agreement with realit y in which you’ve blended you r physical
self and  your personality with y our spiritual God-connected self will begin
to radiate a higher ener gy of love and light. Wherever you go, others will
experience the glow of your God consciousness, and disha rmony anddisorder and all manner of pr oblems simply will not flourish in your
presence. Becom e “an instrument of thy peace,” as St. Francis d esires in the
first line  of his famous prayer . Move up the ladder of human  awareness
from th e lowest to the highest. Become a mystical being  by simply
changing your mind from one that created and experienced problems, to
one that resolves them. The Three Levels of
Consciousness
Throughout your life, you can measure yourself on the following three
levels o f consci ousness. Few , if any , ever stay at any one leve l all of the
time. These levels of awareness are presented from lowest to highest. 1. T he first le vel is ego con sciousness. In ego consciousness, your
primary empha sis is on your personality and your body . There’ s an
exceptionally strong belief in your separateness from everyone else, from
all th at y ou’d like to attract into your life, and from God. This attitude puts
you into a state of competing for your share as if your job is to get there
first. W inning and being number one seem to be the most important things
you can do when  you live at the level of ego consciousness. Y ou  spend a lot
of your time m easuring your success on the basis of how you stack up
against others. If yo u ha ve mor e than others, yo u feel better about yourself. Ha ving more
money m akes you feel better . A ccumulating more awards and prestige and
climbing higher  on the corporate ladder encourages you to feel good about
yourself. Ego consciousness pro ds you to compete, compare, and conclude
that you are the best, so you concentrate on running faster and looking
better than others. It’ s at this l evel of consciousness that problems exist. This is where inner peace is virtually impossible and success eludes you,
because you must always be striving to be someplace else. In order  to walk comfortably along the extra mile, you must tame this
ever -demanding, impossible-to -satisfy ego. Feelings of despair , anger ,hatred, bitternes s, stress, and depression stem from the ego’ s anxiety and
insistence on living up to an ex ternal standard. The result is the anguish of
not mea suring up or fitting in properly . The ego will seldom allow you to
rest, and demands more and more because it’ s terrified that you’ll be called
a fa ilure. When you move beyond ego and make your higher self the
dominant force in your life, you’ll begin to feel that contentment and inner
glow of peace and success that characterizes the extra mile. 2. T he second level is gr oup consciousness. Gro up consciousness is
similar to ego co nsciousness with the exception that you move p ast yourself
as the central focus of your life, and you now include othe rs who are
members of your tribe or your clan. Y ou suppress your individual ego and
join a lar ger or g anization, the group ego. Y our membership is based upon
your fam ily , your heritage, your racial background, your religion, your
language, your political af filiation, and so on. Y ou’re required to think and
act like the gro up to which yo u’ve been assigned. Y ou go to war in the
name of  patrioti sm to kill others who have been conditioned to do the same. Y ou iden tify you rself as a partic ular ethnic person, often with la bels such as
Italian, Chinese, or African American. At t he group consciousness level, you’re often dedicated to continuing
social problems such as war , b rutality , and religious persecution, which
originated in ancestral enmities  that have existed for thousands of years. But it also comes right down to daily living. Families insist tha t you adopt
their viewpoint, hate whom they hate, and love whom they love. Y ou have
blind allegiance to a company that may be making weapons of destruction,
a concept to which you’re normally opposed, but you do it anyway because
“it’ s my job.” Some policemen and soldiers victimize their fellow human
beings by behaving worse than the criminals or so-called enemies they
abhor so much. Our inhumanity to our fellow human beings is often
justified on the grounds of a group-consciousness mentality . Members of
gangs or societies will behave in horrid ways, spurred on by a group or clan
mentality . In short, what the gro up dictates becomes your identification card
as a human being. Remember that you can’ t solve any problem with the same mind that
created it. In order to resol ve a struggle that results from group
consciousness, you have to change your mind or continue to have theproblem haunt you. Resolving problems related to group consciousness
involves moving into the highest level. 3. T he t hird lev el is mystical c onsciousness. This level of problem-free
consciousness is distinguished by the feeling of connectedness  rather than
separateness. At the level of my stical consciousness, you feel connected to
every individual, every creature, the entire planet, and God. Feeling connected means you truly sense that we are all one, and that
harm d irected at others is r eally harm directed at ourselves. Here,
cooperation supplants competition; hatred is dissolved with love; and
sadness is reduced to nothingne ss with joy . At this level, you’re a member
of the human race, not a subgroup. Here, you’re a nation of the world with a
global awarenes s, rather than a patriot of any one country . In mystical
consciousness, you won’ t feel separate from any one, any thi ng, or God. Y ou won ’ t be what you have , wh at y ou accomplish , or what others think  of
you. Y ou will be the beloved, and you will have changed your mind! Problems will now be only illu sions of the mind that you no l onger carry
around with you. As the great hu manitarian Mah atma Gandhi put it, “Man becomes great
exactly in the de gree to which h e works for the welfare of his fellow man.”
This is the level of mystical or God consciousness. It is a place  where you
can live a proble m-free existenc e by changing your thoughts fr om ego and
group consciousness to the higher level of mysticism. Here, you truly
understand what  Thoreau meant when he said, “There is no rem edy for love
but to love more.”T h e  S e v e n t h  S e c r e t
The happiness of your life depends
upon the quality of your thoughts …
take car e that you entertain
no notions unsuitable
to virtue and
r easonable natur e.
— Marcus Aurelius
God does not command
that we do gr eat things,
only little things with
gr eat love. — Mother T eresa
T h e r e
A r e  N o
J u s t i f i e d
R e s e n t m e n t s7
T h e  S e v e n t h  S e c r e t
Ther e Ar e No
Justified Resentments
Y ou hear people say this all the time: “I have a right to be upset because of
the way  I’ve been treated. I hav e a right to be angry , hurt, dep ressed, sad,
and rese ntful.” Learning to avoid this kind of thinking is one of  my top ten
secrets for living a life of inner peace, success, and happines s. Anytime
you’re filled with resentment, you’re turning the controls of your emotional
life over to others to manipulate. I became aware of how powerful this lesson was many years ago while
sitting i n on a meeting of 12 people who were in a recovery group for
alcoholism and drug addiction. All 12 of those people were accustomed to
blaming others for their weakne sses, using almost any excuse as a rationale
for r eturning to their self-defeat ing ways. On a poster hanging in the room
were these words: “In this group, there are no justified resentments.”
Regardless of what anyone would say to another group member , no matter
how con frontational or ugly the accusations, each person was reminded that
there are  no justified resentments. Y ou may need to consider whom you
resent before you can make your own choice about whether this is useful
for y ou. Resentments give you a n excuse to return to your old w ays. This is
what got you there in the first place! Why Resentments Are There
Y ou may be familiar with a popular television show called Who W ants to
Be a Millionair e? If the contestant answers 15 multiple-choice questions, he
or she wins a million dollars. Starting with a $100 question, the person in
the “hot seat” answers five questions until reaching the $1,000 level. At this
point, the person is guaranteed to leave with something. Then the questionsincrease in dif ficulty . If the co ntestant reaches $32,000, again, there is a
guarantee of leaving with that amount. So, there are two crucial levels to
attain: the $1,000 level, which is achieved by answering five relatively
simple questions; and the $32,000 level, which involves five increasingly
dif ficult questions. I’ve just  related  details about this TV program to present the idea of the
two levels that you must achieve in order to have a chance at the highest
“million-dollar” level of awareness. The $1,000 level is one in which you
learn to leave blame behind in your life. If you don’ t do so, y ou go home
with nothing. Removing blam e means never a ssigning responsibility to anyon e for what
you’re experiencing. It means  that you’re willing to say , “I may not
understand why  I feel this way , why I have this illness, why I’ve been
victimized, or why I had this accident, but I’m willing to say without any
guilt or resentment that I own it. I live with, and I am responsible for ,
having it in my life.” Why do th is? If you take responsibility for having it,
then at least you have a chance t o also take responsibility for rem oving it or
learning from it. If y ou’re in so me small (perhaps unknown) way responsibl e for that
migraine headac he or that depr essed feeling, then you can go  to work to
remove it or discover what it’ s message is for you. If, on the other hand,
someone or something else is responsible in your mind, then of course
you’ll h ave to wait until they  change for you  to get better . A nd that is
unlikely to occur . So, at the $1, 000 level, blame has to go. Otherwise you
go home with nothing and are unable to participate at the higher levels. Y ou mu st be willing to pass a new test at the second critical level, the
$32,000 question, which is the final obstacle you must face in order to
move i nto the  more exalted realm of self-actualization and higher
consciousness, t he million-dollar spiritual level. At this level, you must be
willing t o send the higher , faster ener gies of love, peace, joy , for giveness,
and kindness as your response to  whatever comes your way . Thi s is the start
of the uncrowded extra mile where you have only love to give away . Someone says something to you that you find of fensive, and rather than
opting fo r resent ment, you are a ble to depersonalize what you’ve just heard
and resp ond wit h kindness. Y ou would rather be kind than right. Y ou haveno need  to make others wrong or to retaliate when you’ve bee n wronged. Y ou do this for yourself. There  is a Chinese proverb, “If you’re going to
pursue revenge, you’d better dig two  graves.” Y our resentments will destroy
you. They are low ener gies. And along the extra mile, you’ll only meet
others w ho have  fully grasped t his concept. The ones who hav en’ t made it
to this level are all back with the crowd who went out of the game long ago
on an easier question, and most are still back there wondering why they
keep going home with nothing! But I can assure you that they continue to
blame others for their emptiness. First, yo u have to get past blame. Then you have to learn to se nd love to
all, rathe r than anger and resentment. The story is told of the enlightened
master who always responded  to outbursts of criticism, judgment, and
ridicule with love, kindness, and  peace. One of his devotees asked him how
he could possibly be so kind and peaceful in the face of such disparaging
invective. His response to the devotee was this question: “If someone of fers
you a gift, and you do not accep t that gift, to whom does the gift belong?”
The answ er leads you to the extra mile. Ask yourself, “Why would I allow
something that belongs to some one else to be a source of my resentment?”
As the title of a popular book says, “What you think of me is none of my
business.”
Stop Looking for Occasions to Be Of fended
When y ou live at or below or dinary levels of awareness, you spend a
great de al of time and ener gy fi nding opportunities to be of fended. A news
report, an economic downturn, a rude stranger , a fashion miscue, someone
cursing, a sneeze, a black cloud, any cloud, an absence of clouds—just
about an ything will do if you’r e looking for an occasion to be of fended. Along the extra mile, you’ll never find anyone engaging in such absurdities. Become a person who refuses to be of fended by any one, any thing, or
any set of circumstances. If something takes place and you disapprove, by
all mean s state what you feel from your heart; and if possib le, work to
eliminate it and then let it go. M ost people operate from the eg o and reallyneed to be right. So, when you  encounter someone saying things that you
find inappropriate, or when you know they’re wrong, wrong, wrong, for get
your need to be right and instead say , “Y ou’re right about that!” Those
words will end potential conflict and free you from being of fended. Y our
desire is  to be peaceful—not to  be right, hurt, angry , or resentful. If you
have enough faith in your own b eliefs, you’ll find that it’ s impo ssible to be
of fended by the beliefs and conduct of others. Not being of fended is a way of saying, “I have control over  how I’m
going to feel, and I choose to feel peaceful regardless of what I observe
going on . When you feel of fend ed, you’re practicing judgment. Y ou judge
someone else to be stupid, insensitive, rude, arrogant, inconsiderate, or
foolish, and then you find you rself upset and of fended by their conduct. What yo u may not realize is th at when you judge another person, you do
not define them. Y ou define yourself as someone who needs to judge others. Just as no one can define you w ith their judgments, neither do you have
the p rivilege of defining others. When you stop judging and simply become
an obser ver , you  will know the  inner peace I’m writing about  here. W ith
that sense of inn er peace, you’ll find yourself free of the negative ener gy of
resentment, and you’ll be able to live a life of contentment. A bonus is that
you’ll find that others are much more attracted to you. A peaceful person
attracts peaceful ener gy . Y ou won’ t know God unless you’re at peace,
because God is  peace. Y our res entments literally send God out of your life while you’re busy
being of fended. Not being of fen ded will mean eliminating all v ariations of
the following sentence from your repertoire of available thoughts: “If only
you wer e more like me, then I wouldn’ t have to be upset right  now .” Y ou
are the way you  are, and so are those around you. Most likel y , they will
never be  just like you. So stop e xpecting those who are dif ferent to be what
you think they should be. It’ s never going to happen. It’ s your ego that demands that the world and all the people in it be as you
think th ey shou ld be. Y our hig her sacred self refuses to be anything but
peaceful, and sees the world as it is, not as your ego would like it to be. When you respond with hatred to hate directed at you, you’ve become part
of the problem, which is hatred , rather than part of the solution, which is
love. Love is without resentment and readily of fers for giveness. Love andfor giveness will inspire you to work at what you are for  ra ther than what
you are against. If you’re again st violence and hatred, you’ll f ight it with
your own brand of violence and  hatred. If you’re for  love and peace, you’ll
bring those ener gies to the prese nce of violence, and ultimately dissolve the
hatred. When Mother T eresa was asked to march against the war in V ietnam, she
replied, “No, I won’ t, but when you have a march for peace, I’ll be there.”
A Final W ord about Forgiveness
and Resentment
At the root of virtually all spiritual practices is the notion of for giveness. This was what came out of Jesus of Nazareth while he was be ing tortured
on a  cross by a Roman soldier throwing a spear into his side. It is perhaps
the most healing thing that yo u can do to remove the low ener gies of
resentment and revenge from your life completely . Think about every single person who has ever harmed you, cheated you,
defrauded you, or said unkind things about you. Y our experienc e of them is
nothing more than a thought that you carry around with you. These thoughts
of resen tment, anger , and hatred represent slow , debilitating ener gies that
will disempower you. If you c ould release them, you would know more
peace. Y ou practice for giveness for two reasons. One is to let others know that
you no longer wish to be in a state of hostility with that person; and two, to
free you rself fro m the self-defeating ener gy of resentment. Resentment is
like veno m that continues to pour through your system, doing it’ s poisonous
damage long after being bitten b y the snake. It’ s not the bite th at kills you;
it’ s the venom. Y ou can remove  venom by making a decision to let go of
resentments. Sen d love in some  form to those you feel have w ronged you
and notice how much better yo u feel, how much more peace you have. It
was one act of profound for giveness toward my own father , whom I never
saw or talked to, that turned my life around from one of ordinary awareness,
to one of higher  consciousness, achievement, and success beyo nd anythingI h ad ever dared to imagine. In deed, there are no justified res entments if
you wish  to walk along the extra  mile and enjoy inner peace and success on
every step of the path.T h e  E i g h t h  S e c r e t
It is necessary to the happiness
of man that he be mentally
faithful to himself. — Thomas Paine
First say to yourself
what you would be,
and then do what
you have to do. — Epictetus
T r e a t  Y o u r s e l f
A s  I f  Y o u
A l r e a d y  A r e
W h a t  Y o u ’ d
L i k e  t o  B e8
T h e  E i g h t h  s e c r e t
T r eat Y ourself
As If Y ou Alr eady
Ar e What Y ou’d
Like to Be
Whatever it is that you envision for yourself—no matter ho w lofty or
impossible it may seem to you r ight now—I encourage you to b egin acting
as if what you would like to become is already your reality . This is a
wonderful way to set into motion the forces that will collaborate with you to
make your dreams come true. T o activate the creative forces that lie
dormant in your life, you must go to the unseen world, the w orld beyond
your for m. Here  is where what doesn’ t exist for you in your world of form
will be created. Y ou might think  of it in this way: In form, you receive in-
formation. When you move to spirit, you receive inspiration. It is this world
of inspiration that will guide yo u to access anything that you would like to
have in your life. What It Means to
Become Inspired
Some of the most significant advice I’ve ever read was written more than
2,000 years ago by an ancient teacher named Patanjali. He in structed his
devotees to become inspired. Y ou may recall that the word inspir e
originates from the words in  and spirit. Patanjali suggested that inspiration
involves a mind that transcends  all limitations, thoughts that break all their
bonds, and a consciousness that expands in every direction. Here is how
you can become inspired. Place your thoughts on what it is you’d like to become—an artist, a
musician, a computer programm er , a dentist, or whatever . In your thoughts,begin to  picture  yourself having the skills to do these things. No doubts. Only a knowing. Then begin acting as if these things were already your
reality . A s an artist, your vision allows you to draw , to visit art museums, to
talk with famous artists, and to immerse yourself in the art world. In other
words, you begin to act  as an artist in all aspects of your life. In this way ,
you’re getting out in front of yourself and taking char ge of your own
destiny at the same time that you’re cultivating inspiration. The more you see yourself as what you’d like to become, the more
inspired you are. The dormant forces that Patanjali described come alive,
and you discover that you’re a greater person than you ever dreamed
yourself to be. Im agine that—dormant forces that were dead or nonexistent,
springing into being and collaborating with you as a result of your
becoming inspired and acting as if what you want is already here! By havi ng the courage to decl are yourself as already being where you
want to be, you will almost force yourself to act in a new , exciting, and
spiritual fashion. Y ou can also apply this principle to areas other than your
chosen v ocation. If you’re living a life of scarcity , and all of the nice things
that many people have are not co ming your way , perhaps it’ s tim e to change
your thinking and act as if what you enjoy having is already here. V isualize the beautiful automobile that’ s your dream car and paste it on
your bed room door , as well as on the refrigerator . While you’re at it, paste it
on t he dashboard of the car yo u’re now driving! V isit a showroom, sit in
your car , and note the beautiful new-car aroma. Run your hands over the
seats, and grip the steering whe el. W alk all around your car , a ppreciating
the lines of it. T ake your car for a test drive, and visualize that you’re
entitled to drive this car , that you’re inspired by it’ s beauty , and that it’ s
going to find a way into your life. In some way , somehow , this is your car . T alk to others ab out your love fo r this car . Read about it. Bring up a picture
on your computer screen, and l eave it there to view each time you’re near
that computer . All of this may seem silly to yo u, but when you become inspire d and act
as if what you want is already here, you’ll activate those dormant forces
that will collaborate to make this your reality .Extending Inspiration Everywhere
T reating yourself in the manner described above can become a habitual
way of life. This doesn’ t involve deception, arrogance, or hurting others. This is a silent agreement between you and God in which yo u discreetly
work in harmony with the forces of the universe to make your dreams
become a reality . This involves a knowing on your part that success and
inner peace are your birthright; that you are a child of God; and as such,
you’re entitled to a life of joy , love, and happiness. In your relationships with your lovers, coworkers, and family , act as if
what yo u would  like to material ize in these relationships is alre ady here. If
you want a sense of harmony in the workplace, maintain a clear vision and
expectation of this harmony . Th en, you’re out in front of your day , seeing
five o’cl ock arriving peacefully  for everyone when it’ s still seven-thirty in
the morning. Each time you ha ve an encounter with someone, your five
o’clock vision pops into your head, and you act in a peaceful, harmonious
way so as not to nullify what y ou know is coming. Furthermore, you act
toward everyone else as if th ey , too, are all that they are capable of
becoming. These k inds of expectations lead you to say , “I’m sure you’ll have
everything ready this afternoon,” rather than, “Y ou’re alway s late with
everything, and I wish you woul d get on the ball.” When you tre at others in
this way , they al so fulfill the des tiny that you’ve reminded them is there for
them. In your family , particularly wit h your children, it’ s important to always
have this little thought in mind: Catch them doing things right. Remind them often of their inherent brilliance, their capacity for being
responsible, thei r innate talents, and their fantastic abilities. T rea t them as if
they’re already responsible, bright, attractive, and honorable. “Y ou are so
terrific. I’m positive you’ll feel great about your interview .” “Y ou’re so
smart, I  know you’ll study and  do well on that exam.” “Y ou are always
connected to God, and God doesn’ t do sickness. Y ou’re going to feel much
better tomorrow at this time.”When you act toward your ch ildren, parents, siblings, and even more
distant r elatives as if the relationship was great and going to stay that way ,
and you point out their greatness rather than their goofiness , it is their
greatness that you will see. In your relationship to your signif icant other ,
whomever that may be, be sure to apply this principle as frequently as you
can. If things aren’ t going well, ask yourself, “Am I treating this
relationship as it is, or as I would like it to be?” So how do yo u want it to
be? Pea ceful? H armonious? Mutually satisfying? Respectful? Loving? Of
course you do. As such, before  your next encounter , see it in those ways. Have expectations that focus on the qualities of inner peace and success. Y ou’ll find yourself pointing out what you love about that person rather
than what they’re doing wrong. Y ou’ll also see the other person responding
to yo u in  love and harmony rather than in an embittered way . Y o ur ability to
get out in front of yourself and  see the outcome before it transpires will
cause you to act in ways that bring about these results. This strategy for living works for virtually everything. Before I speak to
an a udience, I a lways see them as loving, supportive, and having a terrific
experience. Bef ore writing, I see myself with no writer ’ s b lock, being
inspired and having spiritual gu idance available to me at all times. As A
Course in Miracles  rem inds us, “If you knew who walked beside you at all
times, y ou could never experience fear again.” This is the essence of
inspiration, as well as seeing the future in terms of how you want it to be—
and then acting exactly in that manner . Synchronicity and Inspiration
There ar e no coincidences. Any thing that coincides is said to fit together
powerfully . Y ou move into spirit and feel inspired when you’re activating
the f orces of the universe to work with you. Since all is guide d by Spirit,
there is less of a  gap between your thoughts and seeing the res ult of those
thoughts materialize for you. As you place more and more of your ener gy
on what you intend to manifest, you start seeing those intentions
materializing.Y ou’ll think about a particular person, and that individual will
“mysteriously” appear . Y ou’ll n eed a book for your studies that you can’ t
find, and  it will show up in a “mysterious” delivery . Y ou’ll ha ve in mind
that you  want information on a vacation spot, and it will arrive in the mail
“mysteriously .” All of these so-called mysteries will soon be vie wed by you
as part of the s ynchronicity of  the universe working with yo u and your
highly ener gized thoughts. Y ou mus t hold on to the idea th at you can negotiate the presenc e of these
things b y keepin g your ener gy f ield always focused with love o n what you
passionately inte nd to create. The law of attraction is put into pla y , and your
thoughts literally become attrac tor ener gies. At first, it will seem startling
and alm ost unbe lievable. As you stay in spirit and act as if what you desire
is already here, you’ll find it le ss and less puzzling. Connected to God as
you always are, you are the divine force that puts this synchronicity into
your eve ryday li fe. Y ou will realize very soon that what you think about is
what expands; therefore, you’ll become more mindful and care ful of what
you thin k about . This process o f treating yourself “as if” begin s with your
thoughts, impacts your emotional state, and finally stirs you into action. From thoughts to feelings to actions, they will all react af firmatively when
you stay inspired and get out in front of yourself in ways that are consistent
with wh at you want to become . Declare yourself to be a genius, to be an
expert, to be in  an atmosphere of abundance, and keep that vision so
passionately that you can do no thing but act upon it. As you d o, you will
send ou t the attractor ener gy that will work with you to mate rialize your
actions based upon those stated declarations. T reat ev eryone you encounter with the same intention. Celebrate in others
their fin est qualities. T reat them all in this “as if” manner , and  I guarantee
you that they will respond accordingly to your highest expectations. It’ s all
up to you. Whether you think this is possible or impossible, either way
you’ll be right. And you’ll see the T ightness of your thoughts manifesting
everywhere you go.T h e  N i n t h  S e c r e t
Ther e ar e only two ways to
live your life. One is as
though nothing is a miracle
The other is as though
everything is a miracle. — Albert Einstein
In the faces of men
and women, I see God,
— W alt Whitman
T r e a s u r e
Y o u r
D i v i n i t y9
T h e  N i n t h  S e c r e t
T r easur e
Y our Divinity
Y ou are  a divine creation of God. Y ou can never be separate from that
which created you. If you can t hink of God as the ocean and yourself as a
container , you may find it helpful in moments of doubt, or when you feel
lost or alone, to remember that you are a container of God. W hen you dip
your gla ss into the ocean, what y ou have is a glass of God. It’ s not as big or
as strong, but it’ s still God. As long as you refuse to believe oth erwise, you
won’ t feel separate from God. Think of a drop of water from the ocean of abundance that’ s separated
from it’ s source. Separated from it’ s source, that droplet of water will ultimately evaporate
and retu rn to it’ s source. The  point is that while it’ s in liquid form,
disconnected fro m it’ s source, it loses the power of it’ s source. This is the
essence of the secret of always treasuring your divinity . While you’re separated in your mind from your source, you lose your
divine p ower , the power of your  source. Just like the drop of wa ter , you too
will change form and ultimately return to your source. As long as you feel
disconnected fro m God, you lo se the power of your source, which is the
unlimited power  to create, to be miraculous, and to experienc e the joy of
being alive. The drop of wat er , disconnected from it’ s divine source,
symbolizes your ego. What Is Y our Ego? Y our eg o is nothing more than  an idea that you carry around with you
everywhere you  go. This idea tells you that you are the sum total of what
you hav e, what you do, and who  you are. Ego insists that you ar e a separatebeing, that your personality and your body are your essence, and that you
are in competition with every other ego to get your share of the pie, which
is limited and finite. Therefore, ego asserts, you must be wary of others who
also wan t all that they feel they ’re entitled to. Consequently , ego leads you
to believ e that there are enemie s to be wary of at all times. Since you’re
separate from them, you must disdain cooperating with them for fear of
being cheated. The result is that you have to distrust everyone! Y our ego also tells you that you’re separate from everything that’ s
missing in your life, and so you  must spend a great deal of ener gy chasing
after what’ s missing. Moreover , because who you are accordin g to ego is
your body and y our personality , you’re separate from God. Go d is outside
of you, a force to fear just like  all of those external forces attempting to
control you. So you beg this e xternal force to provide you w ith special
powers to overcome all of those other egos who are trying so hard to snare
what is rightfully yours. Y our ego keeps you in a constan t state of fear , worry , anxiety , and stress. It implores you to be better than everyone around you. It besee ches you to
push ha rder , an d to get God on your side. In short, it maintains your
separate status from God and allows you to be terrified of your own
divinity . Embracing Y our Divinity
Ther e is  no place that God is n ot. Remind  yourse lf of this every day . It
has been said that God sleeps in the minerals, rests in the veget ables, walks
in th e animals, and thinks in us. Think of God as a presence r ather than a
person—a prese nce that allows a seed to sprout, that moves the  stars across
the sky , and sim ultaneously moves a thought across your mind. A presence
that grow s the grass and grows  your fingernails all at the same time. This
presence is everywhere; therefore, it must also be in you! And if it’ s
everywhere, it must be in all that you perceive to be missing fro m your life. In so me inexplicable way , you’r e already connected to all that you’d like toattract in to your life by the presence of this universal, all-pow erful Spirit
called God. Y ou may  have read about some of the great saints in India. The y seem to
possess the magical powers of instant manifestation, their presence appears
to he al t he sick, and they communicate a sense of divine bliss a nd peace to
all th ose they encounter . One saint was asked by a reporter fro m the W est,
“Are you God?” The saint responded without hesitation, “Y es, I am,” to
which everyone in attendance seemed stunned. Then after a brief pause, he
continued, “And  so are you. The only dif ference between you  and I,” he
said, “is that I know it and you doubt it.”
Y ou are a piece of God. Y ou ar e a divine creation—a being of light who
showed up here as a human bei ng at the exact moment you were supposed
to. Y our body will depart at precisely the right moment as well. But you’re
not that  body you behold, no r are you it’ s personality or any of it’ s
possessions and accomplishments. Y ou are the beloved. A miracle. A part
of th e eternal p erfection. A piece of the divine intelligence th at supports
everything and everyone on th is planet. In a world in which this divine
intelligence creates everything, there can be no accidents. Eve ry time you
experience fear ,  self-rejection, anxiety , guilt, or hate, you’re denying your
divinity and succumbing to the influences of that insidious ego mind that
has convinced you of your disconnection to God. Author U. S. A nderson wrote an inspiring book many years a go called
Thr ee Magic W or ds. Mr . Anderson writes about th e ability to become a
miracle worker and to live up to the ideal of the promise made by Jesus
Christ: “Even the least among you can do all that I have done, and even
greater things.” The author doesn’ t reveal what the three magic words are
until the end of the book, when the reader discovers that the words are Y ou
ar e God. N ot God in the sense of “above all others and better than everyo ne
else,” bu t in the sense of being eternally connected to your sourc e, the ever -
present p ower of love that never abandons you and never runs d ry . Y ou can
rely on this source if you remind yourself that it includes you at all times.T h e  T e n t h  S e c r e t
Believe that life is worth living, and
your belief will help cr eate that fact. — W illiam James
Nothing is, unless our
thinking makes it so. — W illiam Shakespeare
W i s d o m  i s
A v o i d i n g  A l l
T h o u g h t s  T h a t
W e a k e n  Y o n1 0
T h e  T e n t h  S e c r e t
W isdom Is
A voiding All Thoughts
That W eaken Y ou
Every single thought you have  can be assessed in terms of whether it
strengthens or weakens you. In f act, there’ s a simple muscle test you can do
to try out any thought that you’re having in the present moment. It works
like this : Hold your arm out to y our side, and have someone els e attempt to
push your arm down while you resist. Think of telling a lie, and notice how
much weaker you are than if you think of a truth. This can be done for any
thought that elicits an emotional reaction. In a book titled Power vs. For ce , Da vid Hawkins, M.D., elabora tes on this
method and provides a map of consciousness to show you how every
thought computes to either weaken or strengthen you. Authentic wisdom is
the ability to mo nitor yourself at all times to determine your relative state of
weakness or strength, and to shift out of those thoughts that weaken you. In
this way , you keep yourself in a n upbeat, higher state of conscio usness, and
you prevent your thoughts from weakening every single or gan of your body . When y ou use your mind to em power you, you’re appealing to that which
uplifts and raises your spirits. Power ur ges you to live and perform at your own highest level, and it is
compassionate. F orce, on the other hand, involves movement. This is unlike
power , w hich is a standing field that never moves against anything. Because
force is in mot ion, it always creates a counter -force. That co unter -force
constantly cons umes, and must be fed, ener gy . Rather than being
compassionate, force is associated with judgment, competition, and
controlling others. For example, in an athletic event, your thou ghts are on
overpowering your opponent, b eing better than another , and playing and
winning at any c ost. The entire muscular structure of your body is actually
weakened, because thoughts of force weaken you.On t he o ther han d, if in the midst of an athletic event you can keep your
thoughts on performing at yo ur highest capacity , on using your inner
strength to muster the ener gy to be as ef ficient as it’ s possible fo r you to be,
and to have great respect for yo ur God-given abilities, you will actually be
empowering yourself. A though t of force requires a counter -force, and a
battle that weakens; while a th ought of power strengthens you, since no
counter -force is called into play to consume your ener gy . Power thoughts
ener gize you, since they make no demands on you. Thoughts That W eaken Y ou
If a simple thought will make the muscles of your arm go weak or strong,
imagine what it must be doing to all of the other muscles and or gans of your
body! Y our heart is a muscle that’ s weakened by thoughts that disempower
you. Y ou r kidneys, liver , lungs, and intestines are all surrounded  by muscles
that are af fected by your thoughts. The thought that makes most  people the weakest is shame , which
produces humiliation. The importance of for giving you rself cannot be stated strongly enough. If
you carr y aroun d thoughts of s hame about what you’ve done in the past,
you’re weakening yourself both physically and emotionally . Similarly , if
you use  a technique of shame and humiliation on anyone to get them  to
reform, you’re going to create a  weakened person who will never become
empowered until those shameful and humiliating thoughts are removed. Removing your own thoughts of shame involves a willingness to let go, to
see your past behaviors as lessons you had to learn, and to reconnect to your
source through prayer and meditation. After shame, guilt and apathy  thoughts make you the weakest. They
produce the emotions of blame and despair . T o live in guilt is to use up your
present moments being immobilized over what has already transpired. No
amount of guilt will ever undo what’ s been done. If your past behavior
mobilizes you to learn from your mistakes, this is not guilt; it’ s learningfrom the past. But to wallow in the present moment over your so-called
errors is guilt, and it can only take place now . Releasing guilt is like removing  a huge weight from your shoulders. Guilt
is r eleased through the empo wering thought of love and respect for
yourself. Y ou empower yours elf with love and respect, le tting go of
standards of perfection and refu sing to use up the precious currency of your
life, the now , with thoughts that only continue to frustrate and w eaken you. Instead, you can vow to be better than you used to be, which is the true test
of nobility . Apathetic thoughts create despa ir . They are the thoughts that keep you
from being engaged in life. Ap athy stems from self-pity and a  need to be
entertained continually to avoid  boredom. Y ou can never be apathetic or
lonely if you love the person you’re alone with. Every moment of every day pr esents an unlimited number of options for
living fully and being connected to life. Y ou don’ t need a television or a
radio co nstantly blaring to avoid apathy . Y ou have your own mind, which is
a kingdom of limitless potential. Y ou have the ch oice each day to wake up and say , “Good morn ing, God”
or “ Good God, morning!” It’ s always a choice. Any moments that you fill
with thoughts of boredom and apathy will truly weaken you physically ,
emotionally , and  spiritually . T o me, it’ s an insult to this wondrous universe
filled with a hundred million miracles to ever allow myse lf to think
thoughts of boredom or apathy . The other prominent thoughts that compete to make you weak include
fear and  anger . Both of these categories of thought employ f orce, which
produces a counter -force and an  inner atmosphere of tension an d weakness. When y ou’re afraid, you’ve moved away from love. Remember , “Perfect
love cas teth out all fear .” What you fear , you resent and ultimat ely begin to
hate. Thus, the d ichotomy of hate and fear are at work within you, always
weakening you. Every thought you have in which you’re in a state of fear
keeps you away from your purp ose, and is simultaneously weakening you. Y our fearful thoughts are invitin g you to stay immobilized. When you find
yourself in a fea rful mode, stop right there and invite God ont o the scene. T urn fear over to  your Senior Partner with these words: “I don’ t know how
to deal with this , but I know I’m connected to Y ou, the miracul ous creativeforce in this universe. I’ll move my ego out of the way and turn it over to
Y ou.” T r y it. Y ou’ll be surprised  by how quickly that higher ener gy of love
will nul lify and dissolve your fearful thoughts and empower you at the
same time. Anger , likewise, is an emotional reaction to thoughts that say , “I want the
world to be the way I want it, not the way it is; therefore, I’m angry .” Anger
is often justified  as normal, but it will always make you weak;  and as this
principle reminds you, wisdom  is avoiding all thoughts that weaken you. Y ou don ’ t have to be angry to right a wrong or work toward a better world. When you become more peaceful, you will only have peace to give away . Moments of frustration won’ t trigger anger; they’ll help you be more aware,
and then they’ll spur you on to a solution. Every th ought o f anger moves y ou away from love and into violence and
vengeance, which are forces that spur counter -forces, weakening everyone
involved. All of these thoughts of shame, guilt, apathy , fear , and anger are
ener gies, since everything in our universe is a vibrating frequency . Those
that wea ken you  are low/slow f requencies, and they can only be dissolved
by bringing the higher/faster ener gies of Spirit to their presence. Thoughts That Strengthen Y ou
When you shift from a thought that’ s a very low ener gy vibration to one
of a higher freq uency , you go from weak to strong. When your thought is
on blam ing others, you’re weakened. But when you shift to loving and
trusting others,  you become strong. Y our thoughts come with an
accompanying ener gy , so you might as well shift to those that empower
you. Once you realize that what you think about is the sou rce of your
experience of reality , then you’ll begin to pay more attention to what you’re
thinking in any given moment. Many y ears ago, in a tremend ously popular audio program called The
Strangest Secr et , E arl Nightinga le taught many of us that we become what
we think about a ll day long. Y ou r thoughts determine whether you’re being
empowered or weakened—whet her you’re happy or sad, succe ssful or not.Everything is a thought that you carry around with you. Happy thoughts
create h appy molecules. Y our health is determined lar gely by the thoughts
you hav e. Passio nately think that you won’ t get a cold, and your body will
react to your thoughts. Refuse to entertain thoughts of fatigue , jet lag, or
headaches, and your body responds to your thoughts. Y our mi nd tells your body to produce the drugs it needs to keep you
healthy . Give someone a sugar pill and convince them that it’ s an anti-
arthritic drug, and that person’ s body will react to the placebo with the
increased production of anti-arth ritic ener gies. The mind is a powerful tool
in cr eating health. It also create s divine relationships, abundance, harmony
in business—and  even parking p laces! If your thoughts are focu sed on what
you want to attract in your life, and you maintain that thoug ht with the
passion of an ab solute intention, you’ll eventually act upon that intention,
because the ancestor to every single action is a thought. The mo st empowering thoughts you can have are those of peace, joy ,
love, acceptance, and willingness. These thoughts don’ t create a counter -
force. Powerful , joyful, loving thoughts stem from your wi llingness to
allow the world to be as it is. Then you’re in a state of inner bliss where
serenity replace s fighting, reverence for all of life substitutes for craving
and anx iety , and  understanding  supplants scorn. Y ou become an optimist. Rather than seeing the glass as half empty , it’ s always half full. All of this is nothing more than a conscious decision on your part to be in
char ge of your thinking. Be aware at any given moment in your life that you
always h ave a choice about the  thoughts you allow in your mind. No one
else can  put a thought there. Regardless of the circumstance s you find
yourself in, it is you r choice . Choose to replace disempowering, weakening
thoughts with thoughts of a higher spiritual frequency . Don’ t convince yourself that it c an’ t be done or it’ s easier said than done. Y our mi nd is yours to control. Y ou are the creator and selector of your
thoughts. Y ou can change them at will. It is your God-given inheritance,
your cor ner of freedom that no one can take away . No one can have control
of your thought s without your consent. So choose to avoid thoughts that
weaken you, and you will know true wisdom. It is your choice!A b o u t  t h e  A u t h o r
Dr . W ayne W . D yer  is an internationally renowned author and speaker in
the f ield of self- development. H e has created numerous best-selling books,
audios, and videos; and has appeared on thousands of televisio n and radio
programs, including The T oday Show , The T onight Show , and Oprah.H a y  H o u s e  L i f e s t y l e s  T i t l e s
o f  R e l a t e d  I n t e r e s t
Books
A Gar den of Thoughts , by Louise L. Hay
Inner W isdom , by Louise L. Hay
In the Palm of Y our Hand ,
by Liz Gerstein
A Journal of Love and Healing ,
by Sylvia Browne and Nancy Dufresne
The Love and Power Journal ,
by L ynn V . Andrews
Meditations , by Sylvia Browne
Prayers , by Sylvia Browne
Simple Things , by Jim Brickman
Y ou Can Heal Y our Life Gift Edition ,
by Louise L. Hay
Y ou Can Heal Y our Life Companion Book ,
by Louise L. HayCard Decks
The Four Agr eements Car ds ,
by DON Miguel Ruiz
Heart and Soul , by Sylvia Browne
If Life Is a Game, These Ar e the Rules Car ds ,
by Cherie Carter -Scott, Ph.D. Inner Peace Car ds , by Dr . W ayne W . Dyer
Miracle Car ds , by Marianne W illiamson
Power Thought Car ds , by Louise L. Hay
Power Thoughts for T eens , by Louise L. Hay
Self Car e Car ds , by Cheryl Richardson
W isdom Car ds , by Louise L. Hay
Zen Car ds , by Daniel LevinW e hope you enjoyed this Hay House Lifestyles book. If
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_OceanofPDF.com_10_Secret_for_Success_and_Inner_Peace_-_Dr_Wayne_W_Dyer.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        “But,” you sa y, “disease,
disharmony, des pair, and so on all appear to exist and run rampant in our
world. ”
When w e feel separated from our sacred center, it’ s easy to b elieve so
strongly in the s eparation that we explain any unpleasantness as  a problem. In the world of Spirit, or God, p roblems simply don’ t exist and aren’ t real. When your spiritual connection is weak, you move away from the world of
Spirit, and problems come from your belief in separation. Y our mind creates
the illusion of separateness, and your body, influenced by your ego
thoughts, takes on diseases. Our  societies are the creation of our collective
thoughts. They take on the sam e separation-sickness, and the n we have
what we call social pr oblems. All  of the so-called problem s, however,
represent a spiritual deficit that can be remedied with spiritual solutions. Think of it this way: If you change your mind, you  will solve your problem. (I’ve written an entire book on this subject called Ther e Is a Spiritual
Solution to Every Pr oblem  [Harper Collins, 2001]. )How to Go about Changing Y our Mind
Can you accept the idea that it’ s  your belief in your separation from God
that crea tes the attitude that you label a problem. Can you explo re this idea
that what you’re calling proble ms are all simply illusions, or mistakes of
your int ellect. If God is every where, there is no place that God is not;
therefore, you have God with you at all times. Y ou may believe otherwise. It is this belief s ystem that creates your so-called problems. If yo u can bring
truth to the presence of these illu sions, they will dissolve—just as you know
that three plus th ree equals six i s true, and that three plus three equals ten is
untrue. B y bring ing truth to the  presence of this arithmetic erro r, it simply
dissolves. So t oo will all  of your belief s that create “problems” in y our mind
dissolve when you bring the hig her ener gy of truth to them. St. Francis of
Assisi, in his f amous prayer, beseeches us to change our mind to this
thought: “Where there is hatred let me sow love. ” Light always dissolves
darkness. Love always nullifies hate. Spirit always cancels problems. Problems exist  as beliefs of  your ego mind, which is unable to
conceptualize an awareness of  your spiritual mind, just as dark has no
concept of light. By a ctually rewriting your agre ement with reality, you can ch ange your
mind and send away any perceived problem. Change your attitude toward
yourself, and resolve to believe in your connectedness to the higher ener gy
of God, even in the direst of circumstances. T urn anything that seems
problematic ove r to your higher self, trusting that the “problem”  is not what
it seems to be. Rewrite your agreement about who you are and what you’re
capable of achieving. Y our New Agreement with Reality
Y our thoughts are the source of virtually everything in your life. Every
relationship that you’re in is something that you carry around with you. If
your rela tionship is lousy, it’ s because you think of it that way. The person
you’re in a relat ionship with isn’ t with you in this moment, or w hen you’reat w ork, or wh en you’re in th e bathroom, but your thoughts about that
person are always with you. The only way you can experie nce another
person is in your thoughts. Y ou can’ t get b ehind their eyeballs and be  them. Y ou can only process
them wi th your thoughts. If you look for what’ s wrong about them and store
that negative image in your mind, then that’ s where your relationship exists. If you change yo ur thoughts to w hat you love rather than to what you label
as w rong, you’ve just changed your entire relationship. It went  from lousy
to great by your changing your mind. T ry to always r emember that you carry every relationship around with
you in your head. Robert Frost reminded us, “Y ou love the things you love
for what  they are. ” When you for get this and process other pe ople on the
basis of what you think  t hey should be, or what they used  to be, or how they
compare to what you  are, then you’ve  sent love away, and in your mind, the
relationship has soured. Y ou experience every thing  and  eve ry one  in your
thoughts. Chang e your thoughts, and you change what you carry around in
your head as problems. The world is just the way it is. The economy is just as it should be. The
people who are behaving “badly” in the world are doing what they’re
supposed to be doing. Y ou can process it in any way that you choose. If
you’re f illed wi th anger about all of those “problems,” you are one more
person who contributes to the pollution of anger. Y our desire to do something ab out the lowest ener gies will mo tivate you
to b e mo re loving, more feeling, and more peaceful. And in so  doing, you
may inf luence t hose who are th e farthest removed from God to return to
their source. This new agreemen t with yourself to always stay connected to
Spirit even when it seems to be the most dif ficult thing to do  will allow
whatever degree of perfect harmony that your body was desi gned for to
proliferate. T urn  “diseases” over to God, and treat your body to regular
exercise, healthy  food, lar ge am ounts of pure water, and plent y of rest to
allow it to function as a container for Spirit to flow through. Y our new agreement with realit y in which you’ve blended you r physical
self and  your personality with y our spiritual God-connected self will begin
to radiate a higher ener gy of love and light. Wherever you go, others will
experience the glow of your God consciousness, and disha rmony anddisorder and all manner of pr oblems simply will not flourish in your
presence. Becom e “an instrument of thy peace,” as St. Francis d esires in the
first line  of his famous prayer. Move up the ladder of human  awareness
from th e lowest to the highest. Become a mystical being  by simply
changing your mind from one that created and experienced problems, to
one that resolves them. The Three Levels of
Consciousness
Throughout your life, you can measure yourself on the following three
levels o f consci ousness. Few, if any, ever stay at any one leve l all of the
time. These levels of awareness are presented from lowest to highest. 1. T he first le vel is ego con sciousness. In ego consciousness, your
primary empha sis is on your personality and your body. There’ s an
exceptionally strong belief in your separateness from everyone else, from
all th at y ou’d like to attract into your life, and from God. This attitude puts
you into a state of competing for your share as if your job is to get there
first. W inning and being number one seem to be the most important things
you can do when  you live at the level of ego consciousness. Y ou  spend a lot
of your time m easuring your success on the basis of how you stack up
against others. If yo u ha ve mor e than others, yo u feel better about yourself. Ha ving more
money m akes you feel better. A ccumulating more awards and prestige and
climbing higher  on the corporate ladder encourages you to feel good about
yourself. Ego consciousness pro ds you to compete, compare, and conclude
that you are the best, so you concentrate on running faster and looking
better than others. It’ s at this l evel of consciousness that problems exist. This is where inner peace is virtually impossible and success eludes you,
because you must always be striving to be someplace else. In order  to walk comfortably along the extra mile, you must tame this
ever -demanding, impossible-to -satisfy ego. Feelings of despair, anger,hatred, bitternes s, stress, and depression stem from the ego’ s anxiety and
insistence on living up to an ex ternal standard. The result is the anguish of
not mea suring up or fitting in properly. The ego will seldom allow you to
rest, and demands more and more because it’ s terrified that you’ll be called
a fa ilure. When you move beyond ego and make your higher self the
dominant force in your life, you’ll begin to feel that contentment and inner
glow of peace and success that characterizes the extra mile. 2. T he second level is gr oup consciousness. Gro up consciousness is
similar to ego co nsciousness with the exception that you move p ast yourself
as the central focus of your life, and you now include othe rs who are
members of your tribe or your clan. Y ou suppress your individual ego and
join a lar ger or g anization, the group ego. Y our membership is based upon
your fam ily, your heritage, your racial background, your religion, your
language, your political af filiation, and so on. Y ou’re required to think and
act like the gro up to which yo u’ve been assigned. Y ou go to war in the
name of  patrioti sm to kill others who have been conditioned to do the same. Y ou iden tify you rself as a partic ular ethnic person, often with la bels such as
Italian, Chinese, or African American. At t he group consciousness level, you’re often dedicated to continuing
social problems such as war, b rutality, and religious persecution, which
originated in ancestral enmities  that have existed for thousands of years. But it also comes right down to daily living. Families insist tha t you adopt
their viewpoint, hate whom they hate, and love whom they love. Y ou have
blind allegiance to a company that may be making weapons of destruction,
a concept to which you’re normally opposed, but you do it anyway because
“it’ s my job. ” Some policemen and soldiers victimize their fellow human
beings by behaving worse than the criminals or so-called enemies they
abhor so much. Our inhumanity to our fellow human beings is often
justified on the grounds of a group-consciousness mentality. Members of
gangs or societies will behave in horrid ways, spurred on by a group or clan
mentality. In short, what the gro up dictates becomes your identification card
as a human being. Remember that you can’ t solve any problem with the same mind that
created it. In order to resol ve a struggle that results from group
consciousness, you have to change your mind or continue to have theproblem haunt you. Resolving problems related to group consciousness
involves moving into the highest level. 3. T he t hird lev el is mystical c onsciousness. This level of problem-free
consciousness is distinguished by the feeling of connectedness  rather than
separateness. At the level of my stical consciousness, you feel connected to
every individual, every creature, the entire planet, and God. Feeling connected means you truly sense that we are all one, and that
harm d irected at others is r eally harm directed at ourselves. Here,
cooperation supplants competition; hatred is dissolved with love; and
sadness is reduced to nothingne ss with joy. At this level, you’re a member
of the human race, not a subgroup. Here, you’re a nation of the world with a
global awarenes s, rather than a patriot of any one country. In mystical
consciousness, you won’ t feel separate from any one, any thi ng, or God. Y ou won ’ t be what you have, wh at y ou accomplish, or what others think  of
you. Y ou will be the beloved, and you will have changed your mind. Problems will now be only illu sions of the mind that you no l onger carry
around with you. As the great hu manitarian Mah atma Gandhi put it, “Man becomes great
exactly in the de gree to which h e works for the welfare of his fellow man. ”
This is the level of mystical or God consciousness. It is a place  where you
can live a proble m-free existenc e by changing your thoughts fr om ego and
group consciousness to the higher level of mysticism. Here, you truly
understand what  Thoreau meant when he said, “There is no rem edy for love
but to love more. ”T h e  S e v e n t h  S e c r e t
The happiness of your life depends
upon the quality of your thoughts …
take car e that you entertain
no notions unsuitable
to virtue and
r easonable natur e. — Marcus Aurelius
God does not command
that we do gr eat things,
only little things with
gr eat love. — Mother T eresa
T h e r e
A r e  N o
J u s t i f i e d
R e s e n t m e n t s7
T h e  S e v e n t h  S e c r e t
Ther e Ar e No
Justified Resentments
Y ou hear people say this all the time: “I have a right to be upset because of
the way  I’ve been treated. I hav e a right to be angry, hurt, dep ressed, sad,
and rese ntful. ” Learning to avoid this kind of thinking is one of  my top ten
secrets for living a life of inner peace, success, and happines s. Anytime
you’re filled with resentment, you’re turning the controls of your emotional
life over to others to manipulate. I became aware of how powerful this lesson was many years ago while
sitting i n on a meeting of 12 people who were in a recovery group for
alcoholism and drug addiction. All 12 of those people were accustomed to
blaming others for their weakne sses, using almost any excuse as a rationale
for r eturning to their self-defeat ing ways. On a poster hanging in the room
were these words: “In this group, there are no justified resentments. ”
Regardless of what anyone would say to another group member, no matter
how con frontational or ugly the accusations, each person was reminded that
there are  no justified resentments. Y ou may need to consider whom you
resent before you can make your own choice about whether this is useful
for y ou. Resentments give you a n excuse to return to your old w ays. This is
what got you there in the first place. Why Resentments Are There
Y ou may be familiar with a popular television show called Who W ants to
Be a Millionair e. If the contestant answers 15 multiple-choice questions, he
or she wins a million dollars. Starting with a $100 question, the person in
the “hot seat” answers five questions until reaching the $1,000 level. At this
point, the person is guaranteed to leave with something. Then the questionsincrease in dif ficulty. If the co ntestant reaches $32,000, again, there is a
guarantee of leaving with that amount. So, there are two crucial levels to
attain: the $1,000 level, which is achieved by answering five relatively
simple questions; and the $32,000 level, which involves five increasingly
dif ficult questions. I’ve just  related  details about this TV program to present the idea of the
two levels that you must achieve in order to have a chance at the highest
“million-dollar” level of awareness. The $1,000 level is one in which you
learn to leave blame behind in your life. If you don’ t do so, y ou go home
with nothing. Removing blam e means never a ssigning responsibility to anyon e for what
you’re experiencing. It means  that you’re willing to say, “I may not
understand why  I feel this way, why I have this illness, why I’ve been
victimized, or why I had this accident, but I’m willing to say without any
guilt or resentment that I own it. I live with, and I am responsible for,
having it in my life. ” Why do th is. If you take responsibility for having it,
then at least you have a chance t o also take responsibility for rem oving it or
learning from it. If y ou’re in so me small (perhaps unknown) way responsibl e for that
migraine headac he or that depr essed feeling, then you can go  to work to
remove it or discover what it’ s message is for you. If, on the other hand,
someone or something else is responsible in your mind, then of course
you’ll h ave to wait until they  change for you  to get better. A nd that is
unlikely to occur. So, at the $1, 000 level, blame has to go. Otherwise you
go home with nothing and are unable to participate at the higher levels. Y ou mu st be willing to pass a new test at the second critical level, the
$32,000 question, which is the final obstacle you must face in order to
move i nto the  more exalted realm of self-actualization and higher
consciousness, t he million-dollar spiritual level. At this level, you must be
willing t o send the higher, faster ener gies of love, peace, joy, for giveness,
and kindness as your response to  whatever comes your way. Thi s is the start
of the uncrowded extra mile where you have only love to give away. Someone says something to you that you find of fensive, and rather than
opting fo r resent ment, you are a ble to depersonalize what you’ve just heard
and resp ond wit h kindness. Y ou would rather be kind than right. Y ou haveno need  to make others wrong or to retaliate when you’ve bee n wronged. Y ou do this for yourself. There  is a Chinese proverb, “If you’re going to
pursue revenge, you’d better dig two  graves. ” Y our resentments will destroy
you. They are low ener gies. And along the extra mile, you’ll only meet
others w ho have  fully grasped t his concept. The ones who hav en’ t made it
to this level are all back with the crowd who went out of the game long ago
on an easier question, and most are still back there wondering why they
keep going home with nothing. But I can assure you that they continue to
blame others for their emptiness. First, yo u have to get past blame. Then you have to learn to se nd love to
all, rathe r than anger and resentment. The story is told of the enlightened
master who always responded  to outbursts of criticism, judgment, and
ridicule with love, kindness, and  peace. One of his devotees asked him how
he could possibly be so kind and peaceful in the face of such disparaging
invective. His response to the devotee was this question: “If someone of fers
you a gift, and you do not accep t that gift, to whom does the gift belong. ”
The answ er leads you to the extra mile. Ask yourself, “Why would I allow
something that belongs to some one else to be a source of my resentment. ”
As the title of a popular book says, “What you think of me is none of my
business. ”
Stop Looking for Occasions to Be Of fended
When y ou live at or below or dinary levels of awareness, you spend a
great de al of time and ener gy fi nding opportunities to be of fended. A news
report, an economic downturn, a rude stranger, a fashion miscue, someone
cursing, a sneeze, a black cloud, any cloud, an absence of clouds—just
about an ything will do if you’r e looking for an occasion to be of fended. Along the extra mile, you’ll never find anyone engaging in such absurdities. Become a person who refuses to be of fended by any one, any thing, or
any set of circumstances. If something takes place and you disapprove, by
all mean s state what you feel from your heart; and if possib le, work to
eliminate it and then let it go. M ost people operate from the eg o and reallyneed to be right. So, when you  encounter someone saying things that you
find inappropriate, or when you know they’re wrong, wrong, wrong, for get
your need to be right and instead say, “Y ou’re right about that. ” Those
words will end potential conflict and free you from being of fended. Y our
desire is  to be peaceful—not to  be right, hurt, angry, or resentful. If you
have enough faith in your own b eliefs, you’ll find that it’ s impo ssible to be
of fended by the beliefs and conduct of others. Not being of fended is a way of saying, “I have control over  how I’m
going to feel, and I choose to feel peaceful regardless of what I observe
going on. When you feel of fend ed, you’re practicing judgment. Y ou judge
someone else to be stupid, insensitive, rude, arrogant, inconsiderate, or
foolish, and then you find you rself upset and of fended by their conduct. What yo u may not realize is th at when you judge another person, you do
not define them. Y ou define yourself as someone who needs to judge others. Just as no one can define you w ith their judgments, neither do you have
the p rivilege of defining others. When you stop judging and simply become
an obser ver, you  will know the  inner peace I’m writing about  here. W ith
that sense of inn er peace, you’ll find yourself free of the negative ener gy of
resentment, and you’ll be able to live a life of contentment. A bonus is that
you’ll find that others are much more attracted to you. A peaceful person
attracts peaceful ener gy. Y ou won’ t know God unless you’re at peace,
because God is  peace. Y our res entments literally send God out of your life while you’re busy
being of fended. Not being of fen ded will mean eliminating all v ariations of
the following sentence from your repertoire of available thoughts: “If only
you wer e more like me, then I wouldn’ t have to be upset right  now. ” Y ou
are the way you  are, and so are those around you. Most likel y, they will
never be  just like you. So stop e xpecting those who are dif ferent to be what
you think they should be. It’ s never going to happen. It’ s your ego that demands that the world and all the people in it be as you
think th ey shou ld be. Y our hig her sacred self refuses to be anything but
peaceful, and sees the world as it is, not as your ego would like it to be. When you respond with hatred to hate directed at you, you’ve become part
of the problem, which is hatred, rather than part of the solution, which is
love. Love is without resentment and readily of fers for giveness. Love andfor giveness will inspire you to work at what you are for  ra ther than what
you are against. If you’re again st violence and hatred, you’ll f ight it with
your own brand of violence and  hatred. If you’re for  love and peace, you’ll
bring those ener gies to the prese nce of violence, and ultimately dissolve the
hatred. When Mother T eresa was asked to march against the war in V ietnam, she
replied, “No, I won’ t, but when you have a march for peace, I’ll be there. ”
A Final W ord about Forgiveness
and Resentment
At the root of virtually all spiritual practices is the notion of for giveness. This was what came out of Jesus of Nazareth while he was be ing tortured
on a  cross by a Roman soldier throwing a spear into his side. It is perhaps
the most healing thing that yo u can do to remove the low ener gies of
resentment and revenge from your life completely. Think about every single person who has ever harmed you, cheated you,
defrauded you, or said unkind things about you. Y our experienc e of them is
nothing more than a thought that you carry around with you. These thoughts
of resen tment, anger, and hatred represent slow, debilitating ener gies that
will disempower you. If you c ould release them, you would know more
peace. Y ou practice for giveness for two reasons. One is to let others know that
you no longer wish to be in a state of hostility with that person; and two, to
free you rself fro m the self-defeating ener gy of resentment. Resentment is
like veno m that continues to pour through your system, doing it’ s poisonous
damage long after being bitten b y the snake. It’ s not the bite th at kills you;
it’ s the venom. Y ou can remove  venom by making a decision to let go of
resentments. Sen d love in some  form to those you feel have w ronged you
and notice how much better yo u feel, how much more peace you have. It
was one act of profound for giveness toward my own father, whom I never
saw or talked to, that turned my life around from one of ordinary awareness,
to one of higher  consciousness, achievement, and success beyo nd anythingI h ad ever dared to imagine. In deed, there are no justified res entments if
you wish  to walk along the extra  mile and enjoy inner peace and success on
every step of the path. T h e  E i g h t h  S e c r e t
It is necessary to the happiness
of man that he be mentally
faithful to himself. — Thomas Paine
First say to yourself
what you would be,
and then do what
you have to do. — Epictetus
T r e a t  Y o u r s e l f
A s  I f  Y o u
A l r e a d y  A r e
W h a t  Y o u ’ d
L i k e  t o  B e8
T h e  E i g h t h  s e c r e t
T r eat Y ourself
As If Y ou Alr eady
Ar e What Y ou’d
Like to Be
Whatever it is that you envision for yourself—no matter ho w lofty or
impossible it may seem to you r ight now—I encourage you to b egin acting
as if what you would like to become is already your reality. This is a
wonderful way to set into motion the forces that will collaborate with you to
make your dreams come true. T o activate the creative forces that lie
dormant in your life, you must go to the unseen world, the w orld beyond
your for m. Here  is where what doesn’ t exist for you in your world of form
will be created. Y ou might think  of it in this way: In form, you receive in-
formation. When you move to spirit, you receive inspiration. It is this world
of inspiration that will guide yo u to access anything that you would like to
have in your life. What It Means to
Become Inspired
Some of the most significant advice I’ve ever read was written more than
2,000 years ago by an ancient teacher named Patanjali. He in structed his
devotees to become inspired. Y ou may recall that the word inspir e
originates from the words in  and spirit. Patanjali suggested that inspiration
involves a mind that transcends  all limitations, thoughts that break all their
bonds, and a consciousness that expands in every direction. Here is how
you can become inspired. Place your thoughts on what it is you’d like to become—an artist, a
musician, a computer programm er, a dentist, or whatever. In your thoughts,begin to  picture  yourself having the skills to do these things. No doubts. Only a knowing. Then begin acting as if these things were already your
reality. A s an artist, your vision allows you to draw, to visit art museums, to
talk with famous artists, and to immerse yourself in the art world. In other
words, you begin to act  as an artist in all aspects of your life. In this way,
you’re getting out in front of yourself and taking char ge of your own
destiny at the same time that you’re cultivating inspiration. The more you see yourself as what you’d like to become, the more
inspired you are. The dormant forces that Patanjali described come alive,
and you discover that you’re a greater person than you ever dreamed
yourself to be. Im agine that—dormant forces that were dead or nonexistent,
springing into being and collaborating with you as a result of your
becoming inspired and acting as if what you want is already here. By havi ng the courage to decl are yourself as already being where you
want to be, you will almost force yourself to act in a new, exciting, and
spiritual fashion. Y ou can also apply this principle to areas other than your
chosen v ocation. If you’re living a life of scarcity, and all of the nice things
that many people have are not co ming your way, perhaps it’ s tim e to change
your thinking and act as if what you enjoy having is already here. V isualize the beautiful automobile that’ s your dream car and paste it on
your bed room door, as well as on the refrigerator. While you’re at it, paste it
on t he dashboard of the car yo u’re now driving. V isit a showroom, sit in
your car, and note the beautiful new-car aroma. Run your hands over the
seats, and grip the steering whe el. W alk all around your car, a ppreciating
the lines of it. T ake your car for a test drive, and visualize that you’re
entitled to drive this car, that you’re inspired by it’ s beauty, and that it’ s
going to find a way into your life. In some way, somehow, this is your car. T alk to others ab out your love fo r this car. Read about it. Bring up a picture
on your computer screen, and l eave it there to view each time you’re near
that computer. All of this may seem silly to yo u, but when you become inspire d and act
as if what you want is already here, you’ll activate those dormant forces
that will collaborate to make this your reality. Extending Inspiration Everywhere
T reating yourself in the manner described above can become a habitual
way of life. This doesn’ t involve deception, arrogance, or hurting others. This is a silent agreement between you and God in which yo u discreetly
work in harmony with the forces of the universe to make your dreams
become a reality. This involves a knowing on your part that success and
inner peace are your birthright; that you are a child of God; and as such,
you’re entitled to a life of joy, love, and happiness. In your relationships with your lovers, coworkers, and family, act as if
what yo u would  like to material ize in these relationships is alre ady here. If
you want a sense of harmony in the workplace, maintain a clear vision and
expectation of this harmony. Th en, you’re out in front of your day, seeing
five o’cl ock arriving peacefully  for everyone when it’ s still seven-thirty in
the morning. Each time you ha ve an encounter with someone, your five
o’clock vision pops into your head, and you act in a peaceful, harmonious
way so as not to nullify what y ou know is coming. Furthermore, you act
toward everyone else as if th ey, too, are all that they are capable of
becoming. These k inds of expectations lead you to say, “I’m sure you’ll have
everything ready this afternoon,” rather than, “Y ou’re alway s late with
everything, and I wish you woul d get on the ball. ” When you tre at others in
this way, they al so fulfill the des tiny that you’ve reminded them is there for
them. In your family, particularly wit h your children, it’ s important to always
have this little thought in mind: Catch them doing things right. Remind them often of their inherent brilliance, their capacity for being
responsible, thei r innate talents, and their fantastic abilities. T rea t them as if
they’re already responsible, bright, attractive, and honorable. “Y ou are so
terrific. I’m positive you’ll feel great about your interview. ” “Y ou’re so
smart, I  know you’ll study and  do well on that exam. ” “Y ou are always
connected to God, and God doesn’ t do sickness. Y ou’re going to feel much
better tomorrow at this time. ”When you act toward your ch ildren, parents, siblings, and even more
distant r elatives as if the relationship was great and going to stay that way,
and you point out their greatness rather than their goofiness, it is their
greatness that you will see. In your relationship to your signif icant other,
whomever that may be, be sure to apply this principle as frequently as you
can. If things aren’ t going well, ask yourself, “Am I treating this
relationship as it is, or as I would like it to be. ” So how do yo u want it to
be. Pea ceful. H armonious. Mutually satisfying. Respectful. Loving. Of
course you do. As such, before  your next encounter, see it in those ways. Have expectations that focus on the qualities of inner peace and success. Y ou’ll find yourself pointing out what you love about that person rather
than what they’re doing wrong. Y ou’ll also see the other person responding
to yo u in  love and harmony rather than in an embittered way. Y o ur ability to
get out in front of yourself and  see the outcome before it transpires will
cause you to act in ways that bring about these results. This strategy for living works for virtually everything. Before I speak to
an a udience, I a lways see them as loving, supportive, and having a terrific
experience. Bef ore writing, I see myself with no writer ’ s b lock, being
inspired and having spiritual gu idance available to me at all times. As A
Course in Miracles  rem inds us, “If you knew who walked beside you at all
times, y ou could never experience fear again. ” This is the essence of
inspiration, as well as seeing the future in terms of how you want it to be—
and then acting exactly in that manner. Synchronicity and Inspiration
There ar e no coincidences. Any thing that coincides is said to fit together
powerfully. Y ou move into spirit and feel inspired when you’re activating
the f orces of the universe to work with you. Since all is guide d by Spirit,
there is less of a  gap between your thoughts and seeing the res ult of those
thoughts materialize for you. As you place more and more of your ener gy
on what you intend to manifest, you start seeing those intentions
materializing. Y ou’ll think about a particular person, and that individual will
“mysteriously” appear. Y ou’ll n eed a book for your studies that you can’ t
find, and  it will show up in a “mysterious” delivery. Y ou’ll ha ve in mind
that you  want information on a vacation spot, and it will arrive in the mail
“mysteriously. ” All of these so-called mysteries will soon be vie wed by you
as part of the s ynchronicity of  the universe working with yo u and your
highly ener gized thoughts. Y ou mus t hold on to the idea th at you can negotiate the presenc e of these
things b y keepin g your ener gy f ield always focused with love o n what you
passionately inte nd to create. The law of attraction is put into pla y, and your
thoughts literally become attrac tor ener gies. At first, it will seem startling
and alm ost unbe lievable. As you stay in spirit and act as if what you desire
is already here, you’ll find it le ss and less puzzling. Connected to God as
you always are, you are the divine force that puts this synchronicity into
your eve ryday li fe. Y ou will realize very soon that what you think about is
what expands; therefore, you’ll become more mindful and care ful of what
you thin k about. This process o f treating yourself “as if” begin s with your
thoughts, impacts your emotional state, and finally stirs you into action. From thoughts to feelings to actions, they will all react af firmatively when
you stay inspired and get out in front of yourself in ways that are consistent
with wh at you want to become. Declare yourself to be a genius, to be an
expert, to be in  an atmosphere of abundance, and keep that vision so
passionately that you can do no thing but act upon it. As you d o, you will
send ou t the attractor ener gy that will work with you to mate rialize your
actions based upon those stated declarations. T reat ev eryone you encounter with the same intention. Celebrate in others
their fin est qualities. T reat them all in this “as if” manner, and  I guarantee
you that they will respond accordingly to your highest expectations. It’ s all
up to you. Whether you think this is possible or impossible, either way
you’ll be right. And you’ll see the T ightness of your thoughts manifesting
everywhere you go. T h e  N i n t h  S e c r e t
Ther e ar e only two ways to
live your life. One is as
though nothing is a miracle
The other is as though
everything is a miracle. — Albert Einstein
In the faces of men
and women, I see God,
— W alt Whitman
T r e a s u r e
Y o u r
D i v i n i t y9
T h e  N i n t h  S e c r e t
T r easur e
Y our Divinity
Y ou are  a divine creation of God. Y ou can never be separate from that
which created you. If you can t hink of God as the ocean and yourself as a
container, you may find it helpful in moments of doubt, or when you feel
lost or alone, to remember that you are a container of God. W hen you dip
your gla ss into the ocean, what y ou have is a glass of God. It’ s not as big or
as strong, but it’ s still God. As long as you refuse to believe oth erwise, you
won’ t feel separate from God. Think of a drop of water from the ocean of abundance that’ s separated
from it’ s source. Separated from it’ s source, that droplet of water will ultimately evaporate
and retu rn to it’ s source. The  point is that while it’ s in liquid form,
disconnected fro m it’ s source, it loses the power of it’ s source. This is the
essence of the secret of always treasuring your divinity. While you’re separated in your mind from your source, you lose your
divine p ower, the power of your  source. Just like the drop of wa ter, you too
will change form and ultimately return to your source. As long as you feel
disconnected fro m God, you lo se the power of your source, which is the
unlimited power  to create, to be miraculous, and to experienc e the joy of
being alive. The drop of wat er, disconnected from it’ s divine source,
symbolizes your ego. What Is Y our Ego. Y our eg o is nothing more than  an idea that you carry around with you
everywhere you  go. This idea tells you that you are the sum total of what
you hav e, what you do, and who  you are. Ego insists that you ar e a separatebeing, that your personality and your body are your essence, and that you
are in competition with every other ego to get your share of the pie, which
is limited and finite. Therefore, ego asserts, you must be wary of others who
also wan t all that they feel they ’re entitled to. Consequently, ego leads you
to believ e that there are enemie s to be wary of at all times. Since you’re
separate from them, you must disdain cooperating with them for fear of
being cheated. The result is that you have to distrust everyone. Y our ego also tells you that you’re separate from everything that’ s
missing in your life, and so you  must spend a great deal of ener gy chasing
after what’ s missing. Moreover, because who you are accordin g to ego is
your body and y our personality, you’re separate from God. Go d is outside
of you, a force to fear just like  all of those external forces attempting to
control you. So you beg this e xternal force to provide you w ith special
powers to overcome all of those other egos who are trying so hard to snare
what is rightfully yours. Y our ego keeps you in a constan t state of fear, worry, anxiety, and stress. It implores you to be better than everyone around you. It besee ches you to
push ha rder, an d to get God on your side. In short, it maintains your
separate status from God and allows you to be terrified of your own
divinity. Embracing Y our Divinity
Ther e is  no place that God is n ot. Remind  yourse lf of this every day. It
has been said that God sleeps in the minerals, rests in the veget ables, walks
in th e animals, and thinks in us. Think of God as a presence r ather than a
person—a prese nce that allows a seed to sprout, that moves the  stars across
the sky, and sim ultaneously moves a thought across your mind. A presence
that grow s the grass and grows  your fingernails all at the same time. This
presence is everywhere; therefore, it must also be in you. And if it’ s
everywhere, it must be in all that you perceive to be missing fro m your life. In so me inexplicable way, you’r e already connected to all that you’d like toattract in to your life by the presence of this universal, all-pow erful Spirit
called God. Y ou may  have read about some of the great saints in India. The y seem to
possess the magical powers of instant manifestation, their presence appears
to he al t he sick, and they communicate a sense of divine bliss a nd peace to
all th ose they encounter. One saint was asked by a reporter fro m the W est,
“Are you God. ” The saint responded without hesitation, “Y es, I am,” to
which everyone in attendance seemed stunned. Then after a brief pause, he
continued, “And  so are you. The only dif ference between you  and I,” he
said, “is that I know it and you doubt it. ”
Y ou are a piece of God. Y ou ar e a divine creation—a being of light who
showed up here as a human bei ng at the exact moment you were supposed
to. Y our body will depart at precisely the right moment as well. But you’re
not that  body you behold, no r are you it’ s personality or any of it’ s
possessions and accomplishments. Y ou are the beloved. A miracle. A part
of th e eternal p erfection. A piece of the divine intelligence th at supports
everything and everyone on th is planet. In a world in which this divine
intelligence creates everything, there can be no accidents. Eve ry time you
experience fear,  self-rejection, anxiety, guilt, or hate, you’re denying your
divinity and succumbing to the influences of that insidious ego mind that
has convinced you of your disconnection to God. Author U. S. A nderson wrote an inspiring book many years a go called
Thr ee Magic W or ds. Mr. Anderson writes about th e ability to become a
miracle worker and to live up to the ideal of the promise made by Jesus
Christ: “Even the least among you can do all that I have done, and even
greater things. ” The author doesn’ t reveal what the three magic words are
until the end of the book, when the reader discovers that the words are Y ou
ar e God. N ot God in the sense of “above all others and better than everyo ne
else,” bu t in the sense of being eternally connected to your sourc e, the ever -
present p ower of love that never abandons you and never runs d ry. Y ou can
rely on this source if you remind yourself that it includes you at all times. T h e  T e n t h  S e c r e t
Believe that life is worth living, and
your belief will help cr eate that fact. — W illiam James
Nothing is, unless our
thinking makes it so. — W illiam Shakespeare
W i s d o m  i s
A v o i d i n g  A l l
T h o u g h t s  T h a t
W e a k e n  Y o n1 0
T h e  T e n t h  S e c r e t
W isdom Is
A voiding All Thoughts
That W eaken Y ou
Every single thought you have  can be assessed in terms of whether it
strengthens or weakens you. In f act, there’ s a simple muscle test you can do
to try out any thought that you’re having in the present moment. It works
like this : Hold your arm out to y our side, and have someone els e attempt to
push your arm down while you resist. Think of telling a lie, and notice how
much weaker you are than if you think of a truth. This can be done for any
thought that elicits an emotional reaction. In a book titled Power vs. For ce, Da vid Hawkins, M. D. , elabora tes on this
method and provides a map of consciousness to show you how every
thought computes to either weaken or strengthen you. Authentic wisdom is
the ability to mo nitor yourself at all times to determine your relative state of
weakness or strength, and to shift out of those thoughts that weaken you. In
this way, you keep yourself in a n upbeat, higher state of conscio usness, and
you prevent your thoughts from weakening every single or gan of your body. When y ou use your mind to em power you, you’re appealing to that which
uplifts and raises your spirits. Power ur ges you to live and perform at your own highest level, and it is
compassionate. F orce, on the other hand, involves movement. This is unlike
power, w hich is a standing field that never moves against anything. Because
force is in mot ion, it always creates a counter -force. That co unter -force
constantly cons umes, and must be fed, ener gy. Rather than being
compassionate, force is associated with judgment, competition, and
controlling others. For example, in an athletic event, your thou ghts are on
overpowering your opponent, b eing better than another, and playing and
winning at any c ost. The entire muscular structure of your body is actually
weakened, because thoughts of force weaken you. On t he o ther han d, if in the midst of an athletic event you can keep your
thoughts on performing at yo ur highest capacity, on using your inner
strength to muster the ener gy to be as ef ficient as it’ s possible fo r you to be,
and to have great respect for yo ur God-given abilities, you will actually be
empowering yourself. A though t of force requires a counter -force, and a
battle that weakens; while a th ought of power strengthens you, since no
counter -force is called into play to consume your ener gy. Power thoughts
ener gize you, since they make no demands on you. Thoughts That W eaken Y ou
If a simple thought will make the muscles of your arm go weak or strong,
imagine what it must be doing to all of the other muscles and or gans of your
body. Y our heart is a muscle that’ s weakened by thoughts that disempower
you. Y ou r kidneys, liver, lungs, and intestines are all surrounded  by muscles
that are af fected by your thoughts. The thought that makes most  people the weakest is shame, which
produces humiliation. The importance of for giving you rself cannot be stated strongly enough. If
you carr y aroun d thoughts of s hame about what you’ve done in the past,
you’re weakening yourself both physically and emotionally. Similarly, if
you use  a technique of shame and humiliation on anyone to get them  to
reform, you’re going to create a  weakened person who will never become
empowered until those shameful and humiliating thoughts are removed. Removing your own thoughts of shame involves a willingness to let go, to
see your past behaviors as lessons you had to learn, and to reconnect to your
source through prayer and meditation. After shame, guilt and apathy  thoughts make you the weakest. They
produce the emotions of blame and despair. T o live in guilt is to use up your
present moments being immobilized over what has already transpired. No
amount of guilt will ever undo what’ s been done. If your past behavior
mobilizes you to learn from your mistakes, this is not guilt; it’ s learningfrom the past. But to wallow in the present moment over your so-called
errors is guilt, and it can only take place now. Releasing guilt is like removing  a huge weight from your shoulders. Guilt
is r eleased through the empo wering thought of love and respect for
yourself. Y ou empower yours elf with love and respect, le tting go of
standards of perfection and refu sing to use up the precious currency of your
life, the now, with thoughts that only continue to frustrate and w eaken you. Instead, you can vow to be better than you used to be, which is the true test
of nobility. Apathetic thoughts create despa ir. They are the thoughts that keep you
from being engaged in life. Ap athy stems from self-pity and a  need to be
entertained continually to avoid  boredom. Y ou can never be apathetic or
lonely if you love the person you’re alone with. Every moment of every day pr esents an unlimited number of options for
living fully and being connected to life. Y ou don’ t need a television or a
radio co nstantly blaring to avoid apathy. Y ou have your own mind, which is
a kingdom of limitless potential. Y ou have the ch oice each day to wake up and say, “Good morn ing, God”
or “ Good God, morning. ” It’ s always a choice. Any moments that you fill
with thoughts of boredom and apathy will truly weaken you physically,
emotionally, and  spiritually. T o me, it’ s an insult to this wondrous universe
filled with a hundred million miracles to ever allow myse lf to think
thoughts of boredom or apathy. The other prominent thoughts that compete to make you weak include
fear and  anger. Both of these categories of thought employ f orce, which
produces a counter -force and an  inner atmosphere of tension an d weakness. When y ou’re afraid, you’ve moved away from love. Remember, “Perfect
love cas teth out all fear. ” What you fear, you resent and ultimat ely begin to
hate. Thus, the d ichotomy of hate and fear are at work within you, always
weakening you. Every thought you have in which you’re in a state of fear
keeps you away from your purp ose, and is simultaneously weakening you. Y our fearful thoughts are invitin g you to stay immobilized. When you find
yourself in a fea rful mode, stop right there and invite God ont o the scene. T urn fear over to  your Senior Partner with these words: “I don’ t know how
to deal with this, but I know I’m connected to Y ou, the miracul ous creativeforce in this universe. I’ll move my ego out of the way and turn it over to
Y ou. ” T r y it. Y ou’ll be surprised  by how quickly that higher ener gy of love
will nul lify and dissolve your fearful thoughts and empower you at the
same time. Anger, likewise, is an emotional reaction to thoughts that say, “I want the
world to be the way I want it, not the way it is; therefore, I’m angry. ” Anger
is often justified  as normal, but it will always make you weak;  and as this
principle reminds you, wisdom  is avoiding all thoughts that weaken you. Y ou don ’ t have to be angry to right a wrong or work toward a better world. When you become more peaceful, you will only have peace to give away. Moments of frustration won’ t trigger anger; they’ll help you be more aware,
and then they’ll spur you on to a solution. Every th ought o f anger moves y ou away from love and into violence and
vengeance, which are forces that spur counter -forces, weakening everyone
involved. All of these thoughts of shame, guilt, apathy, fear, and anger are
ener gies, since everything in our universe is a vibrating frequency. Those
that wea ken you  are low/slow f requencies, and they can only be dissolved
by bringing the higher/faster ener gies of Spirit to their presence. Thoughts That Strengthen Y ou
When you shift from a thought that’ s a very low ener gy vibration to one
of a higher freq uency, you go from weak to strong. When your thought is
on blam ing others, you’re weakened. But when you shift to loving and
trusting others,  you become strong. Y our thoughts come with an
accompanying ener gy, so you might as well shift to those that empower
you. Once you realize that what you think about is the sou rce of your
experience of reality, then you’ll begin to pay more attention to what you’re
thinking in any given moment. Many y ears ago, in a tremend ously popular audio program called The
Strangest Secr et, E arl Nightinga le taught many of us that we become what
we think about a ll day long. Y ou r thoughts determine whether you’re being
empowered or weakened—whet her you’re happy or sad, succe ssful or not. Everything is a thought that you carry around with you. Happy thoughts
create h appy molecules. Y our health is determined lar gely by the thoughts
you hav e. Passio nately think that you won’ t get a cold, and your body will
react to your thoughts. Refuse to entertain thoughts of fatigue, jet lag, or
headaches, and your body responds to your thoughts. Y our mi nd tells your body to produce the drugs it needs to keep you
healthy. Give someone a sugar pill and convince them that it’ s an anti-
arthritic drug, and that person’ s body will react to the placebo with the
increased production of anti-arth ritic ener gies. The mind is a powerful tool
in cr eating health. It also create s divine relationships, abundance, harmony
in business—and  even parking p laces. If your thoughts are focu sed on what
you want to attract in your life, and you maintain that thoug ht with the
passion of an ab solute intention, you’ll eventually act upon that intention,
because the ancestor to every single action is a thought. The mo st empowering thoughts you can have are those of peace, joy,
love, acceptance, and willingness. These thoughts don’ t create a counter -
force. Powerful, joyful, loving thoughts stem from your wi llingness to
allow the world to be as it is. Then you’re in a state of inner bliss where
serenity replace s fighting, reverence for all of life substitutes for craving
and anx iety, and  understanding  supplants scorn. Y ou become an optimist. Rather than seeing the glass as half empty, it’ s always half full. All of this is nothing more than a conscious decision on your part to be in
char ge of your thinking. Be aware at any given moment in your life that you
always h ave a choice about the  thoughts you allow in your mind. No one
else can  put a thought there. Regardless of the circumstance s you find
yourself in, it is you r choice. Choose to replace disempowering, weakening
thoughts with thoughts of a higher spiritual frequency. Don’ t convince yourself that it c an’ t be done or it’ s easier said than done. Y our mi nd is yours to control. Y ou are the creator and selector of your
thoughts. Y ou can change them at will. It is your God-given inheritance,
your cor ner of freedom that no one can take away. No one can have control
of your thought s without your consent. So choose to avoid thoughts that
weaken you, and you will know true wisdom. It is your choice. A b o u t  t h e  A u t h o r
Dr. W ayne W. D yer  is an internationally renowned author and speaker in
the f ield of self- development. H e has created numerous best-selling books,
audios, and videos; and has appeared on thousands of televisio n and radio
programs, including The T oday Show, The T onight Show, and Oprah. H a y  H o u s e  L i f e s t y l e s  T i t l e s
o f  R e l a t e d  I n t e r e s t
Books
A Gar den of Thoughts, by Louise L. Hay
Inner W isdom, by Louise L. Hay
In the Palm of Y our Hand,
by Liz Gerstein
A Journal of Love and Healing,
by Sylvia Browne and Nancy Dufresne
The Love and Power Journal,
by L ynn V. Andrews
Meditations, by Sylvia Browne
Prayers, by Sylvia Browne
Simple Things, by Jim Brickman
Y ou Can Heal Y our Life Gift Edition,
by Louise L. Hay
Y ou Can Heal Y our Life Companion Book,
by Louise L. HayCard Decks
The Four Agr eements Car ds,
by DON Miguel Ruiz
Heart and Soul, by Sylvia Browne
If Life Is a Game, These Ar e the Rules Car ds,
by Cherie Carter -Scott, Ph.
The author states that all problems are a result of a person's belief in separation from God.
What is the source of all problems, according to the author?
The author suggests that changing one's thoughts and perspective is the key to resolving social problems, and that this can be achieved by moving beyond ego and group consciousness to a higher level of awareness.
What is the key to resolving social problems, according to the author?
The author recommends reframing one's thoughts and emotions to focus on love, peace, and kindness, and to avoid negative thoughts that weaken one's energy and connection to God.
What is the author's advice on how to deal with negative thoughts and emotions?
The author suggests that one should not hold onto resentments and negative emotions, but instead focus on love, forgiveness, and inner peace. He also recommends that one should not judge others and instead focus on the qualities they possess.
What is the author's advice on how to deal with resentments and negative emotions?
The author suggests that one should focus on positive and empowering thoughts, and to never give up on their desires. He also recommends to visualize and act as if one's desires have already been fulfilled.
What is the author's advice on how to manifest one's desires?