A Force for Good: Stuart Wilde

Earlier this week, I was scrolling down a news site looking for info. Instead I found something completely different. Stuart Wilde had died. Now, he died in May and this is June so obviously I was a bit out of date. But that didn’t lessen the impact at all. I was gutted.

Wilde, for those who don’t know him, was one of the gurus of the self-help movement, and ranks alongside other well-known names such as Wayne Dyer, Denise Linn and Louise Hay. What I liked best about Stuart Wilde’s work was his humorous style, his down-to-earth attitude, and how he could take challenging concepts and make them practical, almost a matter of common sense. For me, Stuart’s words were inspirational, but grounded in the day-to-day. That’s what made him a breath of fresh air.

One of his books, The Force, talks about detachment.

Wilde explains that while there’s a place for helping others, such as giving to charity, the main way to make an impact is to raise our energy, staying balanced and non-judgemental and allowing others to be themselves. Focusing on improving ourselves, Stuart says, enables our energy to oscillate faster, and us to express more of the lifeforce. Stuart explains that all things have a vibrational energy and what distinguishes one from another is the speed at which that entity oscillates. As human beings we have a great potential to express the lifeforce, but negative behaviour holds us back. This is why discipline is so important.

When we are balanced, calm and detached, and focused on improving ourselves, the things we need are pulled towards us. We learn to accept ourselves and others, know we’re where we’re meant to be, and don’t judge.

None of this is easy, naturally. Stuart advocates four disciplines: physical, nutritional, emotional and balance, the latter being about not getting drawn into the world’s problems. Getting involved for the wrong reasons drags us down and doesn’t provide the right kind of help. Yes, we can send our charity donation, and that’s valuable, but to raise our own energy is the best practice, because that helps raise the world’s energy and provides a lift to those around us.

The initiate’s path is a difficult one. Wilde explains that our spiritual goal is to experience life, and to rise above the things that challenge us. Pain and suffering are not part of the universal plan: they exist because the vibrational field of the earth plane is very dense. By concentrating our energy through discipline and balance, we begin to raise ourselves out of suffering, and express more of the lifeforce. Our lives improve. But of course, there’s a catch.

To progress spiritually, we have to face our inner self, with all its fears, illusions and negativities. That isn’t easy. But by gradually coming to know who we are, both the good and the not so good, and accepting our fears and vulnerability, we’re able to go beyond these things.

As Wilde himself said:

‘Your goal, therefore, is to concentrate on your strengths, believing in yourself, loving yourself, not infringing on others, and going beyond those things that you find hardest to deal with. Accepting that goal is half the battle; taking responsibility for yourself is the other half.’ (The Force, p69)