Thoughts for Holy Week

There's this man whose teachings I have been following since I watched his film, The Shift: From Ambition to Meaning. Dr. Wayne Dyer has become more than just another self-proclaimed guru to me. His words of wisdom have been actually guiding me in my growth.

I've written about his movie here, so I won't go into detail about it again. To give you a short summary though, The Shift: From Ambition to Meaning deals with finding meaning in your life through gratitude, being in the present, and service.

Dr. Dyer mentions Jesus Christ and Catholic saints like St. Francis of Assisi and St. Pio in his teachings. He has shared a miracle he experienced with St. Francis and another miracle with St. Pio. This is interesting because he is not a Catholic. In fact, he does not believe in religion.

About religion, he has said, "My belief is that the truth is a truth until you organize it, and then becomes a lie. I don't think that Jesus was teaching Christianity, Jesus was teaching kindness, love, concern, and peace. What I tell people is don't be Christian, be Christ-like. Don't be Buddhist, be Buddha-like." He is also quoted to have said, "Religion is orthodoxy, rules and historical scriptures maintained by people over long periods of time. Generally people are raised to obey the customs and practices of that religion without question. These are customs and expectations from outside the person and do not fit my definition of spiritual."

I don't know if I believe in the same thing — I still consider myself a Catholic, though I'm not an exemplary one in terms of practice — but I think I've reached a point in my life when I can let people think what they want and believe in what works for them without feeling the need to force my beliefs upon them.

I'm following Dr. Dyer on Twitter and Facebook, and here are several quotes I'd like to share with you in the spirit of Holy Week.

"I cannot always control what goes on outside. But I can always control what goes on inside."

"With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose."

"I choose the path of kindness. The more you extend kindness to yourself, the more it will become your automatic response to others."

"What other people think of me is none of my business. One of the highest places you can get to is being independent of the good opinions of other people."

"When you meet anyone, treat the event as a holy encounter. It's through others that we either find or love our self. For you see, nothing is accomplished without others. When you eliminate the concept of separation from your thoughts and your behavior, you begin to feel your connection to everything and everyone."

"Let go of your need to have more. When you stop needing more of everything, more of what you desire seems to arrive in your life. Since you're detached from the need for it, you find it easier to pass it along to others, because you realize how little you need in order to be satisfied and at peace."

"Keep doing what you love to the best of your ability. Stop judging and get out of your own way."

"Practice letting go of thoughts about what’s not here now. Just allow yourself to meld into the perfection of the universe you live in. You don’t need another thing to be happy; it’s all being provided for you right here, right now. Be in this moment, and free yourself of striving for something more or someone else."

And finally, my favorite:

"Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you."

Have a meaningful Holy Week, everyone!

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