Restore Your Faith

As the Tao says, hidden in all misfortune is good fortune, and in good fortune lies misfortune. Life is made of peaks and valleys, and being in a valley doesn't mean there isn't a peak on the horizon. In fact, it's usually a good indication that something great is going to come your way. When you're at a low point in your life, keep moving. The only direction you can go is up.

Faith, as I see it, is a positive belief in the universe. It doesn't have to be a belief in any sort of deity, although for many it often is. In that regard, here are five ways to find faith after it has been lost or shaken.

Be open to the radical idea that your loss of faith is really a misalignment on your part and that you play some kind of a role in determining what shows up in your life. This doesn't mean that you should feel blame for the negativity, horrors or the bad experiences that are showing up in your life. Rather, begin to see everything as an alignment; look at the whole world as an energy system.

When your energy is low, when you're down or depressed or hurt, or when your thoughts go to that low place, the universe is likely to send things into your life that will cause you to lose faith. Be open to the idea that you're not really aligned with the universe that you want. That's a hard thing for a lot of people to accept, but it's a radical first step in finding your faith.

Albert Einstein once said that the most important question you'll ever answer is: "What kind of universe do you want to live in? One that supports you or one that works against you?" Make the declaration that you live in a friendly and supportive universe.

For example, in my film The Shift, the character of David, played by Michael DeLuise, regains faith in the universe only after he changes his mind and begins to realize that he has been attracting the wrong things to his life. What he once saw as boring and routine, he begins to see as beautiful and full of opportunity; in turn, the universe begins to work for him.

It has been said that when the student is ready, the teachers will appear. The teachers are always there—however, the question is whether you're ready to take advantage of them and turn your situation into an opportunity.

Instead of looking for occasions to be offended, which is what most people do (for example, "I don't like what he said," "I don't like the way she dresses," "I don't like traffic" or "I don't like the president"), start to look for occasions to be supported.

Think about this famous quote from Walt Whitman: "To me, every cubic inch of space is a miracle." Begin to have what I call a "Miracle Mind-set": Realize that every thing—every mosquito, every baby, every tree, every cloud—is a great mystery. Start to see the mystery and miraculousness of all things, and ask yourself where it all comes from. If creation is possible, then whatever it is you've lost faith in can be recreated if you believe in a supportive universe.

This is the thing that helps me most when I'm down or have lost faith: to extend kindness and service to someone else, to want more for someone else the peace that I want for myself. By doing this, I begin to take my attention off myself, off what's wrong and what I don't like (my ego). Instead, I begin to think in terms of giving rather than receiving, of offering and serving. I change my inner mantra from "What's in it for me?" to "How may I serve?" Almost instantly, when I shift attention off myself and reach out to others, the thing that I thought could never be fixed is, in fact, fixed.

Create affirmations that match up with your revised worldview, such as:

• The assistance I need is on its way.
• The right people are going to show up.
• All things are possible when I decide to have faith.
• I banish all doubt.
  

Instead of looking for what's wrong with the world, begin to look for what's right. When you lose faith or when something happens to you that just shakes it a bit, begin to ask yourself, "What is the lesson here?" Usually, after enough time passes, you can look back and say, "Oh, now I get it." For example, most alcoholics can look back on the years they were drinking and say, "Now I know why I had to go through that to get to this place." And most breakups help you become a better person in your next relationship.

When you lose everything, a time will come when you realize why you had to have that experience. Try to bring that realization into the present moment. Ask: "What is the lesson in this for me now? How is this going to help me become a person who is going to fulfill my own destiny?"

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer is an internationally renowned author and speaker in the field of self-development. He's the author of more than 30 books and currently stars in the feature-length film The Shift.