classic titled Yoga Sutras under the pseudonym Patanjali. In this book he categorized yogic thought in four volumes. His treatises were entitled Samadhi (Transcendence), The Practice of Yoga, Psychic Power, and Kaivalya (Liberation).
Many consider the words of this mystic and the sutras, or methods, he offered on how to know God and how to achieve a heightened level of awareness, the original foundation for building a spiritual base and liberating oneself from the limitations of the body and the ego.
I have selected this passage from Patanjali because I believe it expresses a universal truth across the miles and eons of time. I urge you to go through Patanjali’s words with me, step by step, and while you do, remind yourself that millions of people, to this day, study the words of this teacher from ancient times who is still considered an avatar offering us his divine wisdom. He explains that when we become truly inspired by something that we consider extraordinary, truly extraordinary things will begin to happen for us, particularly in our thought processes. Somehow, when we become intensely involved in what we truly love to do, our thoughts begin to change and lose that quality of feeling limited in any way.
From my own personal experience I know that I feel most “on purpose” in my life when I am speaking to an audience and when I am writing. I have a deep sense of being used in some way at those moments, as if it isn’t really this physical body called Wayne Dyer that is producing the talk or the book. In those moments I notice that my mind does not contemplate the concept of limitation. I know that I am not alone and that divine guidance is with me, and I speak or write effortlessly. It seems to me that the body and the mind are in a state of harmony during those moments. Some have called this state “flow,” others call it “peak experience.” Patanjali describes it as “your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world.”
As you read these words, keep in mind the timelessness of this advice. Even those living in pre-pre-premodern times knew the significance of being on purpose in life. At the moments of peak experience, these inspired moments of feeling at one with God and the entire universe, you experience life as truly wonderful. This occurs when you are involved at a level that is called inspirational. Your attention is not on what is wrong or missing, but on the balanced feeling that comes from being in spirit. You are cocreating with spirit. In other words you are having an inspirational moment.
Patanjali then speaks of what I consider the most phenomenal aspect of being in this state of inspirational grace. “Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive,” he tells us. This means that many of the things we thought were outside our power to manifest awaken within us. I have found that when I am truly inspired in some extraordinary project, I forget about fatigue, despite an absence of sleep. I find that I don’t think about being hungry, and in fact my body just seems to cease all its incessant demands and shifts into a state of moving me through my work effortlessly. Jet lag disappears when I am centered in my activity, even though I have crossed eight or nine time zones in a single day.
These faculties and talents that Patanjali describes are simply dormant if you are not taking the steps to become inspired in your life. I think the use of the term “dormant forces” is very critical here. When you are in that centered state of purpose, you activate forces in the universe that previously were out of your range. What you need will show up. The right person will be there on time. The phone call will come. The missing pieces will be brought to you. You manage the coincidences of your life, which sounds paradoxical. But when you enlist spirit by being inspired, the ancient Zen proverb applies: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”
When I speak or write from a “how may I serve” mindset and lose my ego in the process, the words “stuck” or “blocked” never enter my awareness. I seem to know that the guidance is there, as long as I (my ego) stay out of it completely. That dormant force that Patanjali mentions is activated by a connection to the divine when the focus is on a project that engages soul purpose. This becomes the inspirational project that attracts the outer forces as long as there is no ego interference. Then, as Patanjali suggests, “You discover yourself to be a far greater person than you had ever imagined.” Extraordinary! Goethe once wrote, “Man is not born to solve the problems of the universe, but to find out what he has to do.” I might add, “And to pursue it with inspiration.”
If you doubt your ability to transcend limitations and activate long-dormant forces, then just consider with an open mind this sage advice from one of the world’s greatest spiritual masters. Read each thought as if he is speaking directly to you. Inside you is a greater person than you may ever have dreamed of. Patanjali suggests that person emerges when you are inspired by the extraordinary. Your next question is very likely, “But what if I don’t know what that project is? How do I go about finding my purpose?”
Keep in mind that your job here is not to ask how, but instead to say yes! Open yourself to the ideas presented in this passage from the Yoga Sutras of ancient times, and trust that the how will be provided. Ask yourself, “When do I feel most fulfilled? When do I feel extraordinary and like a great person?” Whatever the answer to those questions, you will find that it has something to do with serving your fellow man, serving your planet or universe, or serving God. As you let the ego diminish and make the commitment to be inspired and involved in an extraordinary project that does not just benefit your ego, you will know what to do.
To put Patanjali’s powerful ideas to work for you, try these suggestions:
Record in some form the activities of your life in which you feel most in-spirit (inspired). Don’t judge them as being too insignificant or invaluable. Whether it’s playing with babies, or gardening, or tinkering with your automobile, or singing, or meditating, simply keep a log of these activities.
Use this inventory to see who out there in the world is actually making a living doing these things every day. Whatever you love can be turned into an extraordinary project to expand your consciousness in every direction. Mobilize new forces and talents in yourself that send you the message that you are a much greater person than you ever imagined.
Listen only to the voice within you that beckons you to that extraordinary activity. Filter out advice from those who are telling you what they think you should be doing with your life. The key is to become inspired from within, not from without; otherwise the word would be outspired!
Remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson as you break the bondage of your conditioned way of thinking about yourself and your life’s purpose. “The measure of mental health is the disposition to find good everywhere.” Try it and see how those faculties and talents come alive.
THE SIX MISTAKES OF MAN
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The illusion that personal gain is made up of crushing others. |
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The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected. |
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Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it. |
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Refusing to set aside trivial preferences.
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