OTHER HAY HOUSE PRODUCTS BY DR. WAYNE W. DYER
BOOKS
Being in Balance
Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life
Co-creating at Its Best (with Esther Hicks)
Don’t Die with Your Music Still in You
(with Serena J. Dyer)
The Essential Wayne Dyer Collection
Everyday Wisdom
Everyday Wisdom for Success
Excuses Begone!
Getting in the Gap (book-with-CD)
Good-bye, Bumps! (children’s book
with Saje Dyer)
I Am (children’s book with Kristina Tracy)
I Can See Clearly Now
Incredible You! (children’s book
with Kristina Tracy)
The Invisible Force
It’s Not What You’ve Got! (children’s
book with Kristina Tracy)
Living the Wisdom of the Tao
Memories of Heaven (with Dee Garnes)
My Greatest Teacher (with Lynn Lauber)
No Excuses! (children’s book
with Kristina Tracy)
The Power of Intention
The Power of Intention gift edition
A Promise Is a Promise
The Shift
Staying on the Path
10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace
Unstoppable Me! (children’s book
with Kristina Tracy)
Your Ultimate Calling
Wishes Fulfilled
AUDIO/CD PROGRAMS
Advancing Your Spirit (with
Marianne Williamson)
Applying the 10 Secrets for
Success and Inner Peace
The Caroline Myss & Wayne Dyer Seminar
Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life
(unabridged audio book)
Change Your Thoughts Meditation
Co-creating at Its Best (with Esther Hicks)
Divine Love
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer Unplugged (interviews
with Lisa Garr)
Everyday Wisdom (audio book)
Excuses Begone! (available as an
audio book and a lecture)
How to Get What You Really,
Really, Really, Really Want
I AM Wishes Fulfilled Meditation
(with James Twyman)
I Can See Clearly Now (unabridged audio book)
The Importance of Being Extraordinary (with
Eckhart Tolle)
Inspiration (abridged 4-CD set)
Inspirational Thoughts
Making the Shift (6-CD set)
Making Your Thoughts Work for You (with
Byron Katie)
Meditations for Manifesting
101 Ways to Transform Your Life (audio book)
The Power of Intention (abridged 4-CD set)
A Promise Is a Promise (audio book)
Secrets of Manifesting
The Secrets of the Power of Intention (6-CD set)
10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace
There Is a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem
The Wayne Dyer Audio Collection/CD Collection
Wishes Fulfilled (unabridged audio book)
DVDs
Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life
Co-creating at Its Best (with Esther Hicks)
Excuses Begone!
Experiencing the Miraculous
Forever Wisdom of Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
I Can See Clearly Now
The Importance of Being Extraordinary (with
Eckhart Tolle)
Inspiration
Modern Wisdom from the Ancient World
My Greatest Teacher (a film with bonus
material featuring Wayne)
The Power of Intention
The Shift, the movie (available as a 1-DVD
program and an expanded 2-DVD set)
10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace
There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem
Wishes Fulfilled
MISCELLANEOUS
Daily Inspiration from Wayne Dyer Calendar
(for each individual year)
The Shift Box Set (includes The Shift DVD and
The Shift tradepaper book)
10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace Cards
All of the above are available at your local bookstore,
or may be ordered by visiting: Hay House USA: www.hayhouse.com®;
Hay House Australia: www.hayhouse.com.au; Hay House UK: www.hayhouse.co.uk;
Hay House South Africa: www.hayhouse.co.za; Hay House India: www.hayhouse.co.in
Copyright © 2006 by Wayne Dyer
Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc. www.hayhouse.com • Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au • Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk • Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za • Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast Books: www.raincoast.com • Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in
Editorial supervision: Jill Kramer • Wayne Dyer’s editor: Joanna Pyle
Design: Charles McStravick • Photo of Tysen: Courtesy of Wayne Dyer
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private use—other than for “fair use” as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews—without prior written permission of the publisher.
The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.
A previous edition of this book was published under the title Inspiration (978-1-4019-0722-8).
The Library of Congress has cataloged the earlier edition as follows:
Dyer, Wayne W.
Inspiration : your ultimate calling / Wayne W. Dyer.
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-1-4019-0721-1 (hardcover) • ISBN: 978-1-4019-0722-8 (tradepaper)
1. Spiritual life. 2. Inspiration--Religious aspects. 3. Self-realization--Religious aspects. I. Title.
BL624.D93 2006
204’.4 --dc22
2005024760
ISBN: 978-1-4019-4943-3
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1st edition, March 2016
Printed in the United States of America
For my mother,
Hazel Irene Dyer.
You inspire me—
thank you,
thank you,
thank you!
For Immaculée Ilibagiza.
You could never
even imagine
how much better
off this world is
because you were
“left to tell.”
I love you.
CONTENTS
Introduction
PART I: INSPIRATION—LIVING IN-SPIRIT
Chapter 1: Living Your Life in-Spirit
Chapter 2: Your Life Before Your Birth into a Body
Chapter 3: Why We Left Our Full-Time Spiritual Identity Behind
Chapter 4: How It Feels to Return to Spirit
Chapter 5: Findi
ng Your Way to an Inspired Life
PART II: THE FUNDAMENTALS OF INSPIRATION
Chapter 6: Essential Principles for Finding Your Way to an Inspired Life
Chapter 7: Inspiration and Your Own Magnificence
Chapter 8: Inspiration Is Simple
Chapter 9: There’s Nothing More Powerful Than an Idea Whose Time Has Come
PART III: GIVING AND RECEIVING INSPIRATION
Chapter 10: Absorbing the Inspiration of Others
Chapter 11: Being an Inspiration for Others
Chapter 12: Transcending Commonplace, Uninspiring Energy
Chapter 13: Inspiration in Action
PART IV: CONVERSING WITH YOUR SPIRITUAL SOURCE
Chapter 14: Your Spiritual Source Can Only Be What It Is
Chapter 15: Your Spiritual Source Knows
Chapter 16: It’s All about Remembering
Chapter 17: The Language of Spirit
PART V: A PERSONAL LOOK AT INSPIRATION
Chapter 18: How Life Looks When I Am Inspired
About the Author
“The highest knowledge man can attain is the yearning for peace, for the union of his will with an infinite will, his human will with God’s will.”
— ALBERT SCHWEITZER
“Every tree and plant in the meadow seemed to be dancing, those which average eyes would see as fixed and still.”
— RUMI
“Let me have the glory with Thee that I had with Thee even before the beginning.”
— JESUS OF NAZARETH
INTRODUCTION
I LOVE BEING INSPIRED, and I trust that the idea of living an inspired life appeals to you as well. I’ve written this book with the paramount idea of showing you what I’ve learned about this magical concept.
Writing this book has been a transcendent experience for me. For many months I awoke every morning at approximately 3:30, and after spending my own personal, private moments with God, I sat down to write. Every word of this book was written out longhand. I’d place my hand on the table and allow the ideas to flow from the invisible world of Spirit through my heart and onto the pages. I know deep within me that I do not own these words—I’m merely an instrument through which these ideas are expressed. I trust in this process, and it works as long as I remain “in-Spirit” while I write. I also trust that these ideas will work for you.
This is the most personal book I’ve written in my four decades as an author. I’ve chosen to use examples from my own life—that is, those I’ve experienced firsthand. The personal nature of this book is a deliberate choice. I discovered as I went along that, in order to write about such a deeply felt subject as inspiration, I needed to convey what I felt as authentically as possible. Just as one can never actually know what a mango tastes like from another person’s description, I wouldn’t have been able to adequately convey my familiarity with the experience of inspiration by citing case studies of others. By writing from my heart, I’ve been able to keep the flavor of inspiration alive here in these pages.
(By the way, as I was finishing this work, I had an incredible mystical encounter with one of God’s most fragile creations. In the last chapter I’ve described that astonishing experience, along with what your life might begin to look like if you apply the insights offered throughout Living an Inspired Life.)
I’m also well aware that I’ve repeated one theme over and over throughout these pages. I decided not to edit out this repetition because I see this book as an instrument for moving you to a place where you truly understand what it means to be in-Spirit. This oft-repeated theme is: Live in-Spirit. You came from Spirit, and to be inspired you must become more like where you came from. You must live so as to become more like God.
One of my favorite mentors and storytellers, Anthony de Mello, was a Catholic priest who lived in India and could convert complex philosophical issues into understandable and simple teachings using the art of storytelling. Here’s a short tale from The Heart of the Enlightened, in which Father de Mello does such a good job of summing up much of what I want to convey to you about living in-Spirit:
The devotee knelt to be initiated into discipleship. The guru whispered the sacred mantra into his ear, warning him not to reveal it to anyone.
“What will happen if I do?” asked the devotee.
Said the guru, “Anyone you reveal the mantra to will be liberated from the bondage of ignorance and suffering, but you yourself will be excluded from discipleship and suffer damnation.”
No sooner had he heard those words than the devotee rushed to the marketplace, collected a large crowd around him, and repeated the sacred mantra for all to hear.
The disciples later reported this to the guru and demanded that the man be expelled from the monastery for his disobedience.
The guru smiled and said, “He has no need of anything I can teach. His action has shown him to be a guru in his own right.”
I trust that the meaning of this story will become clearer and clearer as you immerse yourself in this book. You have a profound calling back to Spirit. It is working right now in your life, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading these very words in this very instant. I urge you to heed that calling and come to know the pure bliss that awaits you as you make an inspired life your reality.
In-Spirit,
Wayne W. Dyer
PART I
INSPIRATION—LIVING IN-SPIRIT
“A physical body was given him [man] by Nature at birth. Somewhere exists the original Divine spark launched from God and which, refound, will be his conscious spirit.”
— RODNEY COLLIN
from The Theory of Conscious Harmony
CHAPTER 1
LIVING YOUR LIFE IN-SPIRIT
“When you are inspired . . . dormant forces, faculties, and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”
— PATANJALI
IN THE TITLE OF THIS BOOK, I’ve deliberately used the word calling to indicate the importance of inspiration as it applies to our lives. There’s a voice in the Universe entreating us to remember our purpose, our reason for being here now in this world of impermanence. The voice whispers, shouts, and sings to us that this experience—of being in form in space and time—has meaning. That voice belongs to inspiration, which is within each and every one of us.
Inspiration responds to our attentiveness in various and sometimes unexpected ways. For example, when I began writing this book, I debated between two subtitles: Your Ultimate Destiny or Your Ultimate Calling. One day while swimming in the ocean, I was going back and forth in my mind, trying out both titles. Still uncertain when I’d finished my swim, I called Reid Tracy, president and CEO of Hay House, the company that publishes my books, from a pay phone to get his opinion about the title. While I waited for him to answer, the word calling appeared on the miniature screen of the phone. Nothing else, just calling. And then the word began to flash on and off as if it were trying to get my attention.
When Reid answered, I told him what had just occurred, and we both agreed on Your Ultimate Calling for the subtitle of my new book. All of this may appear to be nothing more than a silly coincidence, but I know better.
Consider that the word coincidence itself relates to the mathematical idea of angles that coincide. When two angles join in this way, they’re said to fit together perfectly. Not accidentally—perfectly. Any so-called coincidence might then just be an alignment of forces fitting together in flawless harmony. The word calling flashing before my eyes, for instance, at the exact moment that I was trying to choose between calling or destiny exemplifies an opportunity to notice something important. You see, what catches our attention might be more than a coincidence—it might also be a potential incident of inspiration.
We know that there’s something deep within us waiting to be known, which we sometimes call a “gut reaction” to life’s events. We have a built-in yearning to seek our inspired self and feel wholeness, a kind of inexplic
able sense that patiently demands recognition and action. We might describe it as a mechanism persistently projecting the words destiny, mission, or purpose on our inner screen. It’s possible to have our daily behavior so aligned with these inner feelings that we unequivocally know what our calling is. In fact, if you put this book aside and check in with what you’re feeling at this moment, my guess is that you’ll hear a part of yourself crying out, “Yes, I want to have more inspiration in my life! I want to know my calling!”
I promise you that after your first reading of this book, you’ll begin to be intimately connected to your inspired self. I say this with such certainty because it’s my calling to write and publish these words. You see, you’re a component of my ultimate calling.
I think of the word inspiration as meaning “being in-Spirit.” When we’re in-Spirit, we’re inspired . . . and when we’re inspired, it’s because we’re back in-Spirit, fully awake to Spirit within us. Being inspired is an experience of joy: We feel completely connected to our Source and totally on purpose; our creative juices flow, and we bring exceptionally high energy to our daily life. We’re not judging others or ourselves—we’re uncritical and unbothered by behaviors or attitudes that in uninspired moments are frustrating. Our heart sings in appreciation for every breath; and we’re tolerant, joyful, and loving.
Being in-Spirit isn’t necessarily restricted to the work we do or the activities of our daily life. We can be inspired and at the same time be unsure of what vocation to pursue or what activities we want to schedule. Inspiration is a simple recognition of Spirit within ourselves. It’s a return to that invisible, formless field from which all things emanate, a field of energy that I called “intention” in my previous book The Power of Intention.
In this book I’m going beyond an understanding of the inherent power of intention, however, by describing how to live in-Spirit and hear the voice of inspiration even when we’re doing absolutely nothing that we’d call purposeful. This is quite different from being highly motivated; in fact, it’s almost the opposite of motivation.
Motivation vs. Inspiration
It’s important to note that whatever is needed to fulfill our calling is part of the present process. Arthur Miller, who was perhaps the most accomplished dramatist in the U.S., is an example of a man who knew this. In an interview late in his life, he was asked, “Are you working on a new play?” Mr. Miller’s answer went something like this: “I don’t know if I am or not, but I probably am.” This delightful response suggests that Miller’s writing came from inspiration—that is, something other than ego spurred him on.