SPIRITUAL SOLUTIONS

Wayne Dyer (2003). There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem.

Dyer earned a Doctorate of Education in Guidance and Counseling, and is a prolific author. His first book that i read in the 1970's, Your Erroneous Zones, profoundly influenced my thinking as a teen. 

The theme of this book is that there is a spiritual solution to every problem, that problems are illusions created in the mind by incorrect thinking, and that the solution to these mental problems is to change our thinking in light of the spirit (defined as an energy/intelligence that is the source of all life, i.e., God). Some might call this "spiritual bypassing," ignoring the body in favor of the mind and spirit.

The first half of the book is lessons from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Dyer suggests that low frequency is associated with the "negative" and faster frequency with the "positive" [for me, at least musically, lower frequencies don't imply negative emotions, lower frequencies can be quite calming and peaceful, whereas very high frequencies, like the hum of a frig, i find irritating].

The second half of the book is an elaboration on the prayer of St. Francis which begins, "Lord make me an instrument of your peace." The main theme is to replace negative emotions with positive ones--this doesn't sit right with me in light of Karla McLaren's book the Language of Emotions where she advocates listening to ALL emotions, treating them as teachers, worthy of being listened to, that emotions are messengers and we need to drop into the emotion to learn what it has to teach us.

There are many inspiring quotes sprinkled throughout the book, and some of the sound advice related to the prayer of St. Francis includes: meditate, get into nature, send love to others, be a channel of healing, let go and let God, surround people with white light, look for and appreciate beauty, and ask "how may i serve."