A Review of There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem By Dr. Wayne Dyer
A wonderful book for people seeking a deep inner peace is Dr. Wayne Dyer's There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem. Since Dr. Dyer has been writing his newer books on the topics of intention and inspiration, this book has faded into the background but its message is just as relevant today as
it was when it was published in 2001. In fact, this book may be a prerequisite for those who seek to embrace Dr. Dyer's more recent messages.
There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem is written in Dr. Dyer's usual conversational and personal style. The first half of the book describes principles that help the reader understand the concept of "spiritual solution". Dr. Dyer uses ancient wisdom from a variety of sources to open the
reader's mind to new perspectives in problem solving.
For example, in the first chapter, Dr. Dyer introduces Three Steps for Accessing Spiritual Direction and in the second chapter, five Aphorisms (truths or principles) based on the writings of an ancient Yogi mystic named Patanjali. These principles help the reader develop an understanding that seeing
ourselves as spiritual beings helps us change our perception about what we normally consider "problems". And Dyer invites us, wherever we are in our own personal journey to join in this shift in perception by quoting a poem from the thirteenth century Sufi poet Rumi.
"Come, come whoever you are,
Wanderer, worshipper,
Lover of leaving-it doesn't matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vows
A hundred times, a thousand times.
Come, come again, come."
Dyer makes a point of distinguishing between spirituality and religion in saying that spirituality comes from within and has to do with our personal experience of God, rather than any particular practices or teachings. He says that in this definition, spiritual practice is a way of making his life
work "at a higher level and of receiving guidance for handling problems."
The second half of the book centers around St. Francis of Assisi's prayer "Lord, Let Me Be An Instrument of Thy Peace". This part of the book is titled, "Putting Spiritual Problem Solving Into Action." Each chapter is based on one of the first seven lines of the prayer and demonstrates how spiritual
problem solving happens in real life. The powerful message that is reinforced throughout is that having a lack of peace in our lives is due to an error in our thinking. Above all it is a profound acceptance of the way things are and people as they are that gives us peace. It is when we have thoughts
that things should be different than they are that we experience upset and suffering. Dyer says, "Thoughts that send you away from your peace go something like this: "If only you were more like me, then I wouldn't have to be upset right now," or 'If only the world were the way I think it should be,
then I could be at peace.' But people are not the way you think they should be, nor is the world anything but what it is. Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be. As simple as this sounds, this is the secret to being an instrument
of God's peace."
This book is filled with personal stories from Dr. Dyer's own life as well as anecdotes from lives of some of his readers and friends. This makes There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem a very accessible and practical guide for people choosing to approach their lives from a spiritual
perspective. As an element of learning to accept life on its own terms and bringing a sense of joy and peace to our lives, Dr. Wayne Dyer's There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem makes a contribution that a spiritual seeker cannot afford to miss.
