There’s a level of awareness available to you that you are probably unfamiliar with. It extends upward and transcends the ordinary level of consciousness that you’re most accustomed to. At this higher plane of existence, which you and every human being who has ever lived can access at will, the fulfillment of wishes is not only probable—it is guaranteed. – Wayne Dyer
Subtitled Mastering the Art of Manifesting, this is perhaps Wayne Dyer’s insights on the subject Law of Attraction. Throughout the book, he often shared his personal experiences of how applying and practicing the Universal Law led him to the manifestations of his desires. Interspersed are the works of Neville Goddard, one of the pioneers in metaphysics and new thought, and the teachings of Saint Germain as derived from a spiritual book, The “I AM” Discourses.
Let’s go ahead and dive into the lessons we can learn from Wishes Fulfilled.
Self-Concept
A higher concept of yourself involves taking on new truths and shedding your old views of what you can achieve. This is the only way you can achieve your desires.
Wayne tells us that our concept of ourselves is everything we believe to be true. And everything we believe to be true has brought us to who we are and where we are now.
These beliefs fall into two categories: the outer self-concept and the inner self-concept.
Your outer self-concept relates mostly to your body and personality. It’s what you fill out about yourself on the pages of a diary. Or it’s what you tell others when asked to introduce yourself. These include your beliefs about who you are as a person, your talents, skills and abilities, your disposition in every area of life – relationships, career, health, etc.
On the other hand, your inner self-concept is in short, your soul. Do you believe you have one? This is the invisible portion of our being, what most spiritual teachers refer to as Consciousness. Wayne personally calls it “the ghost in the machine.”
Maybe for easier comprehension, we can use the computer machine analogy this way: your outer self is the hardware, while the inner self is the software. How our hardware performs depends on the programming of our software. Our self-concept is based on our beliefs, the programs installed in us.
Wayne says that if we want to become a person who has the capacity to have our wishes fulfilled, we have to do some re-programming of the concept we have of ourselves. We have to move to a higher plane of existence where we are a co-creator of our life. This movement to a higher plane is, in fact, our soul’s purpose – spiritual growth – to ascend to higher consciousness.
Burning Desire
An inner knowing, along with a burning desire, is the prerequisite for becoming a person capable of manifesting his or her heart’s desires.
I want to share a few lines from Rumi’s poem with you:
There is a candle in your heart,
ready to be kindled.
There is a void in your soul,
ready to be filled.
You feel it, don’t you?
The desire burning inside, you feel it? It is found within your heart. It comes from your soul.
More often than not, we drown out this desire with things we can acquire. But even after acquiring everything we thought would satisfy us, we still feel incomplete.
In my own experience, I thought this burning desire has something to do with what you do and some objective goals you want to achieve. I thought it was about having a successful business or becoming a best-seller author. What I realized, and still continue to learn, is that it’s a desire of becoming the person you really ought to be, as an embodiment of your soul, which seeks expression in everything you do.
The burning desire is not something you fulfill in some distant future, but it’s a deep yearning for a moment-to-moment fulfillment.
There are wishes we want fulfilled, things we want manifested, and goals we want achieved. But all these stem from the burning desire within that keeps them alive. “As within, so without.”
The Higher Self
The initiates of old insisted on the importance of the knowledge of the higher self because this awareness opens up tremendous possibilities for growth, progress, and, yes—the ability to have one’s wishes fulfilled.
Based on the study of what is called initiatic science, Wayne quotes that the principal goal of an initiate (student) is to know the higher self. It says that emphasizing only the needs of our physical (lower) self, and ignoring the needs of the higher self, results in the soul suffocating and dying of hunger and thirst.
We refer to the lower self as the ego. Wayne says it is the part of us that believes we are defined by what we achieve, own, or win. It’s whatever reinforces the belief of our separateness, of whatever sets us apart, better or worse than others.
Knowledge of the higher self is necessary so we can come to know that the true wishes we want to fulfill, more than the material gains, are the soul’s hunger for freedom and thirst for life.
Our soul longs for the 3 E’s: expansion (spiritual growth), expression (freely express who we are), and experience (feel alive and live life to its fullest).
If we want our wishes fulfilled, we have to align our lower self, along with our wishes, with that of the burning desire of our higher self – the 3 E’s of our soul.
The God Within
Your higher self is a piece of an all-loving, all-embracing creative Source. All you need do is accept that this is not something external to yourself. It resides within you (the kingdom of heaven is within)—in fact, it is you—and all you need do is begin to align yourself with this Divine essence, begin to act like it acts and think like it thinks, and you will begin the process of manifesting just as it does. This is the true essence of living a life in which your wishes are fulfilled.
All we need do is accept; accept the true essence of God. God is Love, the Source and Creator of All-That-Is. And we are God’s Children, an extension of the Source, a co-creator, and that God is not outside of us, but within.
But what we tend to do instead is deny; deny the Truth that is, was and always will be. We have replaced God based on our ego’s image and likeness – a fearsome god, the god of vengeance, the god that condemns the sinners, the god that loves based on conditions.
As Wayne suggests, we have to transcend these limiting false beliefs and start accepting our Divine nature. We have to practice describing ourselves first as a spiritual being. We have to nurture a relationship with the God within us – befriend it, consult it frequently, pay attention to it, and believe in it. This is how we can live a life in which our wishes are fulfilled.
The Highest Self
Imagine God as the ocean. If you take a bucket of water out of the ocean, is the water in the bucket the ocean? Yes, indeed, it is altogether ocean—and the ocean, even though it is larger, is still altogether the whole of the ocean in the bucket.
“Be still, and know that I AM God.”
Are you ready for the biggest reveal? Be still… and know that you are that I AM.
Wayne cites another spiritual book, Three Magic Words, and these words are “You are God.”
AWE. MY. GOD. — Okay, don’t freak out.
I know this one may sound blasphemous. But on second thought, what really is blasphemy? Is it not the denial of the Truth?
This is something neither books, doctrines, nor any spiritual master can convince us of accepting. It is something we have to experience in order to know, realize, and remember.
As Wayne wrote it, it is a knowing that we can only feel. It manifests as a feeling of ineffable love, a love incapable of being known intellectually.
But if we try to think about it, this Truth was already implied in the teachings of Jesus and other prophets. Reflect on the passage, “Be ye perfect, even as God is perfect,” which means to be like God. Or simply, be God.
Wayne says this is part of our spiritual evolution. We evolve from the consciousness of ego, to the higher self, to the highest self. Or as Rev. Michael Beckwith puts it, these are the stages of spiritual growth we move along in life: to us, through us, and as us.
“As God” – that’s when we live from our highest self – as creators of our life.
Imagination
Be willing to dream, and imagine yourself becoming all that you wish to be. If you live from those imaginings, the universe will align with you in bringing all that you wish for—and even more than you imagined when you were living at an ordinary level of consciousness, or what Thoreau calls “common hours.” Keep in mind this basic axiom—if all that now exists was once imagined, then what you want to exist for you in the future must now be imagined.
To stress the importance of imagination as the first foundation for fulfilling our wishes, Wayne quotes Henry David Thoreau who said, “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
He offers us four guidelines for a healthy imagination:
- Never place into your imagination thoughts about things you wouldn’t want to materialize. Worry is the improper use of imagination. Focus only on what you want.
- Never allow your imagination be contaminated by ideas about how your life used to be. Your present is the result of your past thoughts. It is also in the present where you can create your future reality. But you cannot hang on to your old ideas and limiting beliefs that keep you from achieving the fulfillment of your dreams. You must be willing to change your concept of yourself.
- Never allow someone else’s ideas of what’s possible or impossible for you, how you should be, or anything else. Your imagination is yours and yours alone.
- Do not let your imagination be restricted to the current conditions of your life. Don’t get too obsessed with what is. Your what is reality is only providing you contrast, so you can get clearer and more specific about what you want. You came up with your wishes because they are not yet in your current physical reality, but they already exist in the realm of your imagination.
Finally, when using your imagination to manifest your wishes, let go of your “plan” or logical ideas of how they are going to happen. Often, your wishes are fulfilled way better than what you have imagined.
Feel Them
Because your feelings, especially the feeling of love, are impressed on your subconscious mind, which is responsible for virtually everything that you do, experience, and manifest in your life—your mission is to get to that place of assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled, even if the wish has yet to materialize in your physical reality.
Wayne sums up the creative process this way: no assumption of the feeling of the wish fulfilled, no fulfillment of your wishes. In other words, it is imperative to include in our imagination the feeling of being and having what we desire.
Here’s how it happens: we think through our conscious mind. In order to turn thoughts into things, they must be impressed on our subconscious mind. And for thoughts to be impressed, they must be felt.
“Ask and it is given,” as taught by Abraham Hicks. In the realm of our imagination (spiritual realm), whatever we asked for (wish) has already been given (fulfilled). Abraham calls this the “Vortex,” the invisible reality where all our desires exist.
Wayne explains it clearly, that to know something spiritually, we must experience it. And how we feel is our experience of life. So, for us to experience the fulfillment of our wishes, we have to assume the feeling as if they were already fulfilled.
Now, feelings include both the emotion and the sensation. We already know that we have to align our thoughts with the highest self (the Source), and whenever we do, we feel the emotions of love, joy, and all that awesome goodness. They come from our soul. That’s one key.
The other is the sensation, which comes from our body. For instance, you wish to recover from an illness. How does your body feel when it’s healthy and disease-free? How does it feel being able to do anything when your body is at its optimal state? Or maybe you wish to drive a new car. How does the steering wheel feel upon the palm of your hands? Or the pedals upon your feet? We have to imagine, act as if, from that feeling space.
It’s also important to know that the subconscious mind is loyal and impersonal. Loyal, in that it accepts as true what you feel is true. And impersonal, because it cannot distinguish what is real from what is imagined. It does not recognize ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. It always gives form to the thoughts impressed upon it no matter what.
Subjective Attention
Attend first to the feeling within you by giving it your wholehearted attention rather than reacting toward the external person or influence. Redirect your attention with trust, love, and kindness from outside to inside. This is called subjective attention. This is the way that you operate whenever the subject matter of the future you and all that you are manifesting arises in your field of awareness.
Wayne describes attention as what you do with what’s in your mind. And there are two kinds: objective and subjective attention.
Objective is when you unconsciously give attention to external influences – the opinions of other people, circumstances or anything – and you allow them to affect your creative process.
Subjective is when you consciously pay attention to your thoughts and feelings regardless of what other people say and whatever is happening around you. You focus on the imagined reality within you that you desire to manifest.
This requires practice. My suggestion is to minimize as much as you can those external influences that you think would be cause for distraction. I personally don’t watch the news anymore, lessen my FB time (unless I’m chatting with my crush, of course) and try not to get involved with toxic people or anything that no longer serves me for my greatest good.
Then replace those influences with things that “fan your flames” – the positive influences. Surround yourself with people that support you. Read inspirational books. Watch motivational video clips (I listen to a lot of Abraham Hicks recordings on YouTube and I highly recommend you do too). Listen to love songs and uplifting music. Pet your dog. Pet yourself, too.
Practice subjective attention until it becomes a habit. Practice believing until it turns into knowing. Practice until it no longer feels like a practice. Practice, practice, practice and you will be surprised to find out your wishes are finding their way to your reality.
Wish Before You Sleep
Sleep is the natural state for your subconscious mind, which rules about 96 percent of your waking life… Your conscious mind, as you go to sleep, is capable of impressing your great I am upon your subconscious mind, which is a sliver of the one all-creating subconscious mind. This one mind never sleeps because it is infinite and therefore everywhere and in everything—it is always in the process of creating and manifesting. Throughout those hours while your conscious mind is resting, your subconscious mind is receiving and processing all that you’ve downloaded into it, and getting ready to turn its impressions into form and circumstances.
We have now reached my favorite part of our discussion – sleeping! I love sleeping. One reason is that our body heals itself more when we are asleep. It’s our reset button.
And it is equally helpful in making our wishes fulfilled. But it is not so much about sleeping itself. It is more about what we do, or to be specific, what we think about before we fall asleep.
Sleep is where our subconscious mind goes to work. When the conscious mind is away, the subconscious mind goes to play. So we better prep ourselves before we get into the game of the creative process played by the subconscious mind. Like a coach, we put our player in a wishes-fulfilled mindset. We talk to it as if our life depended on it. Because it does.
The subconscious mind executes as coached, as what thoughts and feelings we commanded it. And it plays out the game of life we will experience in our waking moments.
So we better have a pre-sleep pep talk to our subconscious mind with thoughts of empowering “I Am” statements, such as I am healthy, I am wealthy, I am abundant, I am all-your-wishes.
Truly, the bed is where all the magic happens!
Seven Questions
Once you decide to live from this Divine awareness, your life takes on an air of appreciation for the mysterious and a belief in the miraculous. All of your God-realized wishes will indeed be fulfilled.
Wayne lays out seven questions we can ask ourselves to assist us in having our wishes fulfilled. Here they are, in no particular order of importance:
- Does it feel natural?
Wayne said that the time it takes your assumption to become reality is proportionate to the naturalness of being it. Again, practice until it feels natural. - Am I willing to command my I Am presence?
This is about having absolute faith in the I Am presence within you, the Consciousness of the creative force you have access to. This is not in any way being arrogant or egotistical, but in fact, an act of humility for you to recognize the abiding presence of God within you. It comes from a sense of utter faith and conviction of the truth of who you really are. - Are my wishes in alignment with my highest self?
God is love. Are your wishes coming from a place of love? Are they for the greatest good not only for you but for all? - Am I free of judgment, condemnation, and criticism?
Here’s a good assessment we can do: Say we wish to be successful, how do we see others being successful? What you wish for others, you also wish for yourself. - Do I pray as if my prayers are already realized?
Claim it! Truth is, all prayers are already answered even before we ask for them. The Source hears every call and responds to every desire. So rather than a prayer of asking and hoping, which implies not having what you’re asking for, how about a prayer of thanksgiving? - Is my mind open to possibilities?
Let go of your perceived outcomes. God is full of surprises! So just be in the place of allowing, in a state of receiving, because the answers you’re seeking come in unexpected, extraordinary ways that are beyond your comprehension. Keep your mind open to possibilities and be ready for awesomeness! - Am I willing to meditate to the I Am That I Am frequencies?
As Wayne stresses, meditation is a vital practice to access conscious contact with your highest self. Try this simple yet powerful meditation I learned from James Twyman, from his documentary film The Moses Code. We’re going to use the I Am statements as our mantra along with our breathing. Try “I Am Love”. Breathe in with “I Am,” then breathe out with “Love”. Repeat the breathing mantra pattern long enough until you can feel your energy (vibrational frequency) raising. You might feel some tingling sensations in your body, particularly in your solar plexus (stomach) and heart (chest) chakras. You can substitute any word for “Love” as you wish: Peace, Joy, Abundance, to anything more specific.
May all your wishes be fulfilled!
Wishes Fulfilled: Mastering the Art of Manifesting
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
WAYNE DYER (1940-2015) was an internationally renowned author, speaker, and pioneer in the field of self-development. Over the four decades of his career, he wrote more than 40 books (21 of which became New York Times bestsellers), created numerous audio programs and videos, and appeared on thousands of television and radio shows.
Other Books by Wayne Dyer
Your Erroneous Zones: Step-by-Step Advice for Escaping the Trap of Negative Thinking and Taking Control of Your Life
Manifest Your Destiny: The Nine Spiritual Principles for Getting Everything You Want
10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace
Being in Balance: 9 Principles for Creating Habits to Match Your Desires
