Your Erroneous Zones

This is one of Wayne Dyers early books, from the 70's. While a lot of his later work weaves around the metaphysical or spiritual realm, this one is pretty much a self help book in the strict sense...one on attitudes and attributes....and you almost get to see his own journey. 

At one point I even found myself reading with a little hesitance and skepticism..... everything just sounded so familiar and known. (I've read lots of his later books)

But that's the aha from this book.

I read through. And as I read, I realized all over again how reiterations speak, not as much from what's written but more from your own space of readiness. 

When there's a fund of good stuff in there, it's about parsing through to that one or two sentences which will strike home for you. A trigger which opens a whole new thought process. 

The book is in essence a method towards personal mastery and effective choice making. And in the process breaks through a lot of myths and preconditioning that our society and system imposes on us.

While I'm not going through each of the erroneous zones he speaks of, here are some of the questions he puts out ( and there's chapters to talk about each):

• Do you believe that your mind is your own? Do you own your own feelings?

• Are you motivated from within rather than from without?

• Are you free from the need for approval? Needing approval is tantamount to saying "your view of me is more important than my own opinion of myself"

• Do you set up your own rules of conduct for yourself?

• Have you eliminated all dependency relationships?

• Are you free from ever feeling guilty?

• Are you a doer rather than a critic?

• Are you free from the desire for justice and fairness?

• Do you welcome the mysterious and the unknown?

• Can you grow your own roots?

• Can you give and receive love?

• Can you enjoy spontaneously without having a plan?

• Are you treated by others the way you want to be?

• Are you motivated by your potential for growth, rather than a need to repair your deficiencies?

The effort is to move away from a lot of the 'shoulds' and 'oughts' that we have, and answer as many of these questions as we can with a Yes. The real choice is whether you decide to be personally free or remain chained to the expectations that others have of you.

The book is aimed at eliminating any 'worms' or 'blinders' that may be keeping you from beautiful new experiences, and to discover and choose your own directions.