Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Mind

By Wayne W. Dyer, Ph.D.

One can hardly help but look at our global societies and see that there’s a problem, and the problem lies in the fact that we seem to be stuck with traditional worldviews that simply do not work, as much as we like to pretend they do, or that they will someday. The truth is that every worldview becomes ineffective, dysfunctional, and divisive if it’s held on to and not allowed to evolve and mature. Societies are much like individuals, and as we know, most of our problems as individuals come about from holding on to “childish things.” This being the case, maybe it’s time we, as a global society, look at our own “childish things” and grow up. As I expand the boundaries of who I am I start to see that “I” am part of an amazing symphony called existence, and all that is is part of me, and I am part of everything and everyone. I am but a note in the grand symphony of life, and it may be true that the earth is but a small verse in the uni-verse (uni=one verse=song). All notes and verses come and go, but as we know, the song remains the same. —Rahasya Poe, Lotus Guide

Living Contentment

The third verse of the Tao Te Ching advises rearranging priorities to ensure contentment. Focusing on obtaining more objects of desire encourages external factors to have control over us. Pursuit of status, be it monetary or a position of power, blinds us to our relationship to the eternal Tao and the contented life that is available. Overvaluing possessions and accomplishments stems from our ego’s fixation on getting more—wealth, belongings, status, power, or the like. The Tao recommends refraining from this kind of discontented way of life, which leads to thievery, contentiousness, and confusion. Rather than seeking more, the Tao practice of gratitude is what leads us to the contented life. We must replace personal desires with the Tao-centered question: How may I serve? By simply changing these kinds of thoughts, we will begin to see major changes taking place in our lives. The advice to practice “not doing” and trusting that all will settle into a perfect place may sound like a prescription for laziness and a failed society, yet I don’t think that’s what Lao-tzu is offering here. He isn’t saying to be slothful or inactive; rather, he’s suggesting that trusting in the Tao is the way to be directed by the source of your creation and to be guided by a higher principle than your ego-driven desires. Ego-fixated wants can get in the way of divine essence, so practice getting ego out of the way and be guided by the Tao in all that you do. In a state of frenzy? Trust in the Tao. Listen for what urges you onward, free from ego domination, and you’ll paradoxically be more productive. Allow what’s within to come forward by suspending worldly determination. In this way, it will no longer be just you who is conducting this orchestration that you call your life. Much of the third verse contains advice on how to govern. I view this not as political or administrative advice but rather as it pertains to our personal lives and those we’re entrusted to guide—that is, our immediate family, and in a larger sense the human family that comprises all of those with whom we’re in daily contact. Encourage your relatives to empty their minds of thoughts about status and acquisitions and to think instead about serving others and contributing to the health and strength of all. Model the harmony of this attitude; after all, everyone has a calling to be inspired. The source of creation is not interested in material possessions or status. It will provide what is needed—it will guide, motivate, and influence you and everyone else. Ego (and its incessant inventory of desires) probably needs to be weakened so that the beauty of the Tao can be sensed. Demonstrate this to others by being a leader who removes the egocentric temptations that foster envy, anger, and competition. If Lao-tzu were able to view our contemporary world from his 2,500-year-old perspective, I believe that he’d offer the following advice based upon this third verse of the Tao Te Ching:

“Remind yourself daily that there is no way to happiness; rather, happiness is the way”

You may have a long list of goals that you believe will provide you with contentment when they’re achieved, yet if you examine your state of happiness in this moment, you’ll notice that the fulfillment of some previous ambitions didn’t create an enduring sense of joy. Desires can produce anxiety, stress, and competitiveness, and you need to recognize those that do. Bring happiness to every encounter in life instead of expecting external events to produce joy. By staying in harmony on the path of the Tao, all the contentment you could ever dream of will begin to flow into your life—the right people, the means to finance where you’re headed, and the necessary factors will come together. “Stop pushing yourself,” Lao-tzu would say, “and feel gratitude and awe for what is. Your life is controlled by something far bigger and more significant than the petty details of your lofty aspirations.”

“Trust the perfection of the eternal Tao, for it is the ultimate Source of the 10,000 things”

The Tao is working for and with you, so you needn’t remind it of what you crave or what you think it has forgotten on your behalf. Trust the harmony of the Tao. It took care of everything that you needed in your creation as well as your first nine months of life without any assistance from you and totally independent of any desires you may have had. The Tao will continue to do so if you just trust it and practice not doing. Inventory your desires and then turn them over to the unnameable. Yes, turn them over and do nothing but trust. At the same time, listen and watch for guidance, and then connect yourself to the perfect energy that sends whatever is necessary into your life. You (meaning your ego) don’t need to do anything. Instead, allow the eternal perfection of the Tao to work through you. This is Lao-tzu’s message for our world now. Henry David Thoreau made the following observation in the middle of the 19th century as he wrote at Walden Pond, and I feel that it personifies the third verse of the Tao Te Ching:

Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito’s wing that falls on the rails. . . . If the engine whistles, let it whistle till it is hoarse for its pains. If the bell rings, why should we run? . . . I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born.

“Trust in your essential sageness.

Don’t let desires obscure your eternal connection to the Tao”

Do the Tao Now

Watch for an opportunity today to notice that you’re planning to buy something. Choose to do the Tao and listen for guidance. Be grateful that you have the choice to make the purchase, and then practice listening to yourself and not doing. Through your feelings, the Tao will reveal the way for you in that moment. Trust it. You might be guided to buy the item and savor it with gratitude, donate it, procure one for you and one for someone else, give the money to a charity instead of getting the item, or refrain from obtaining it altogether. Practice doing the Tao in everyday situations and you’ll know contentment in a deeper sense. As this verse says, “When action is pure and selfless, everything settles into its own perfect place.” Now that’s my definition of contentment!

Wayne W. Dyer, Ph.D., is an internationally renowned author and speaker in the field of self-development. He’s the author of 30 books, has created many audio programs and videos, and has appeared on thousands of television and radio shows. His books Manifest Your Destiny, Wisdom of the Ages, There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem, and The New York Times best sellers 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace, The Power of Intention, Inspiration, and Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life have all been featured as National Public Television specials. Dr. Dyer’s Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Mind: Living the Wisdom of the Tao, published by Hay House, will be released July 31, 2007. He holds a doctorate in educational counseling from Wayne State University in Detroit and was an associate professor at St. John’s University in New York. Visit his website at www.DrWayneDyer.com