Wishes Fulfilled: Mastering the Art of Manifesting Paperback – December 3, 2013

I'm a spiritual person. I love learning about ways to connect with my spirituality, and I am always open to others' ways of thinking. Abstract thoughts, non-mainstream philosophy, and good old "woo" are nothing new for me, and I am a generally intelligent person who can understand things (even if I don't necessarily agree with them or believe them).

That being said - this book was really, really difficult, right out of the box. You know that Gloria Estefan song, "The Words Get in the Way"? I have to laugh, but that sums up the issue I had with this book. Whatever good parts of the book exist (and I do believe there's probably wisdom in there somewhere), they are obscured by layers and layers of personal anecdote and, for lack of better terminology, word salad. I wanted to take a red pen and cross out every superfluous sentence so that I could get to the actual POINT of what he was saying.

I feel like Dr. Dyer could have gotten his points across without all the references to himself, his studies, his experiences, him him him him. I also felt at times like he was working reeeeeally hard to "sell" readers on what he was saying, which automatically puts my guard up - because anyone that has to work that hard and weave all kinds of pretty words together to convince you on something (1) doesn't quite believe it themselves, (2) knows it's just not true, or (3) promised his publisher a certain word count. I don't need cool stories, bro. I don't need excessively flowery language. State what you believe, plainly, and let me decide for myself if - and what - resonates.

I am only on Chapter 2, and I have no desire to read further. I tried to return the book but, alas, because it is a Kindle edition, it looks like I'm stuck with it. I won't delete it, and maybe I'll return to it at some point to try to read it again when I have more patience to slog through the slush. I will, however, take away two of Dr. Dyer's very good points that I managed to distill:

1) You don't have to believe every thought, idea, or notion that comes into your head during your constant stream of consciousness; choose the things that serve you well, and let go the things that do not.
and
2) We have limitless potential; therefore, we should do everything we can to not put limitations on ourselves, regardless of what we have come to believe about ourselves as "true" or "unchangeable."

Wayne Dyer's really reminding me about the teachings of Abraham(/Esther Hicks--see Youtube), and The Secret, and related recent New Age
/Higher Thought (thank God(dess)) media about taking your own life by its horns--
YOU create your own life! It's time to take responsibility for your thoughts...and actions ...to manifest your most loved Wishes Fulfilled.

I love Wayne's gentle style, Zen attitude (I also own his Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life) & open-mindedness;
he is not afraid to interject episodes/examples from his own private life into his works (+he's got a life full of interesting experiences & big challenges -- which lends respect). He is also likeable and easy to understand.

p49(beginning of ch3) gets to the meat of it: "you are a God-realized being, you will welcome it as the central focus of your life... your HIGHEST SELF [concept] is truly omniscient, almighty, & capable of producing miracles. ..you will see a new reality -- a majestic idea of yourself..." & he quotes St Paul in Philippians(Phil 2:5-6)
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of god, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God"
"You move from being a spark/fragment of God to being able to assert that I AM GOD and not feel as if you're committing blasphemy ...
"the creative Source of all being, a God who is responsible for creating the miraculous movement from nonbeing to being...Who is formless--Who does nothing yet leaves nothing undone--a God Who is everywhere. This is a Divine invisible presence that's within you. this idea is at the basis of all great spiritual teaching throughout all time".

Thus I can advocate this book (even) for Christians...I used to be one, and through it I discovered Agape, True Love ~~ and LOVE is exactly what we are!

See how Wayne does it again(p50):"Perhaps it is a radical idea for you to declare, "I am God" and "God is love", or believe that "He who abides in love abides in God, and god in him"(I John 4:16) is who you are. When you are this God, this essence of pure love, ...Jesus: "With god all things are possible". Now,ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE leaves out nothing, including your ability to FULFILL ANY & ALL WISHES that are aligned with God."

(p77) "your great gift of I AM THAT I AM,...is your Divine inheritance from your creator."
Our imagination is our sacred tool ... Wayne wants us to develop it, let it run free, and put no limits on it, as it is where/how we create our worlds.
(p77) "reprogram your imagination to take you where you intend to be...Creation originates in the world of Spirit-- or, to say it differently, your imagination is the Source of all that has yet to manifest for you. By staying only with what your sense tell you is your reality, you place a barrier to letting your imagination create all that you wish,, all that you desire. Your imagination is unlimited...REPROGRAM your imagination to take you everywhere--EVERYWHERE that you are brave enough to envision for yourself".

This is good stuff, in keeping with positive, expansive New Age thought, and quite congruent with other contemporary authors/teachers --
Wayne often quotes historical great minds~ Thoreau, Neville Goddard(Feeling Is The Secret), Uell Stanley Andersen, + the Tao, + even John Lennon & famous physicists (Planck/Einstein) ! These often make the lessons tangible,
& of course Wayne's own life interjections bring his messages down-to-earth & touch the heart.

First Read (Kindle 5/18/12): One of the best books I've ever read, certainly my favorite by Wayne Dyer in a long time. One of those books you get done reading and want to read it over again right away. Highly recommended! :)

Second Read (Hardcover 12/24/17): Well, I wanted to read it again right away, but it took me five years to get to it. Fantastic book on seeing our wishes fulfilled first, then acting from that place that already sees the outcome. References Neville's "The Power of Awareness" a lot, which is also fantastic. A lot of references to the "I am discourses" as well, which I have yet to read. Still view this as one of his best works, and highly recommend it.

I think this is the best book on manifesting that I've read. I've only had it a couple of weeks, but am in my second reading of it. I've been applying the techniques (I AM love, I AM universal power, etc) & am feeling much better about life in general & am also seeing some manifesting taking place. Thank you Dr. Dyer.

I have listened to this CD many times and have purchased it for everyone I know and love ... mainly for CD #5 ... 'Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep'. If that is all you get out of this CD set you will be given a gift of a lifetime. What we put into our conscious mind just before we go to sleep at night 'marinates' for 8 hours, so it's very important to make sure our last thoughts at night are what we want to create in our life. Just listen and you will see what I mean :). This is a perfect gift for anyone you love who may be struggling in life.